Chapter 33: Fear of Death

As he grew older and closer to death, Ahenaten became increasingly fearful. He feared the feeling of growing weak and knew that death was creeping closer and closer. Recalling his glorious life, he did not want it to end just yet.

Ahenaten remembered the burly man he had encountered when he was young, the archangel Faross that had held his hand and told him he would one day become a king of mankind. He was the messenger of the gods that had given him his divine sword and godly powers, and the man who had bestowed him knowledge of the gods. Ahenaten wanted to meet the angel again. Even if he had to die, he wanted to go to the Divine Kingdom and become an immortal being like that angel!

He began commissioning many temples dedicated to the Goddess of light Maria. He became a pious believer, spending a large amount of time praying in front of the statue of Maria every day.

During the last two years of his life, he took all the gold he had accumulated and ordered the best sculptors in his kingdom to make a large statue of the goddess of light out of pure gold. He ordered his entire kingdom to begin building a temple more beautiful than his own palace. In addition, he announced the state religion as the Church of Light and became the most devoted believer.

Behind every statue of the Goddess of light was a statue of a messenger with a mask on his face and a staff in his hand. He was the archangel Faross under the Goddess of light who had given Ahenaten the prophecy and his powers many years ago.

Each temple was populated by many priests and priestesses in white robes, all serving the goddess. However, despite everything he did and all the prayers he said over the few years, the Golden King Ahenaten did not manage to meet the angel, until the night of his death!

Inside the huge palace, a great fire roared in the fireplace. A rug of rare white bear pelt lay on the ground. Ahenaten sat in his great chair with a glittering, gem-filled golden crown on his head.

His hair was all white, and his face full of wrinkles. Moreover, his eyes were murky with cataracts. At the moment, he was gently cleaning the divine sword the angel had given him. However, the man who had once heroically challenged the world no longer had the strength to wield that sword.

Ahenaten sighed. In the shadows, he saw a figure approaching him. Immediately, he looked up sharply. Part of him, despite his age, was still a king.

“Why do you want to see me, Ahenaten?”

Ahenaten saw the figure who was in a white robe and a white mask decorated with the sigil of the sun in front of him. Ahenaten’s eyes widened when he saw the familiar person.

“It’s you! Are you really here? Or am I dreaming?” His voice was hoarse, but he sounded very excited.

Lu Zhiyu stood in front of Ahenaten and stared at him, sighing in his heart. The young boy that time was already so old at the moment. Time waited for no one; even great kings were at its mercy. “Ahenaten, you’ve done well,” he told him. “You are the first king of mankind. Your name will forever go down in history.”

“That’s not what I want!” Ahenaten protested loudly.

“That’s not what you said back then,” Lu Zhiyu said, puzzled. “You chose this path yourself, and you are a king now. You have everything you could have ever wanted: power, status, reputation, women, wealth. Why are you not satisfied?”

Ahenaten looked at Lu Zhiyu and pushed himself out of the chair shakily. With his eyes burning with enthusiasm, he stared at the young man before him, at his lean figure and strong hands. Time did not seem to have left any trace on Lu Zhiyu’s body.

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“But I will still die,” he said. “I finally understand, now that I am old myself, that this is all only as transient as a fleeting cloud. Only you, and the gods, are eternal! I want to be like you as well; I want to live forever!”

Lu Zhiyu could not help laughing and said the exact same thing he did many years ago, “You’re too greedy!”

Ahenaten took a step forward and roared angrily, “No. I did what you asked of me. It’s time for you to reward me!”

“But we never asked you for anything,” Lu Zhiyu shook his head and said. “You can determine your own fate, and you chose this path yourself. I once told you: the gods gave you life and land. They gave you wisdom, powerful abilities, and abundant food. Are those not sufficient to satisfy all your needs and desires?”

Lu Zhiyu looked at Ahenaten in his eyes. “The gods are not your servants. We gave you the ability to change your destiny. If you’re not satisfied with it, you must do something to change it. You cannot blame the gods for it.”

Lu Zhiyu sighed. “You never did anything for us; you did everything only for yourself. But greed has blinded you. Only the things that you cannot obtain are the best!”

“I can trade anything with you!” Ahenaten shouted at once. He danced around wildly and insanity filled his eyes. “Power, money, women, everything. I just want my youth back!”

“We gave you your everything,” Lu Zhiyu said, smiling. “Are trying to trade with me using something that I gave you?”

Seeing no point in talking with the old king anymore, Lu Zhiyu turned and his figure rippled and disappeared.

Seeing this, Ahenaten lunged forward. “You cannot leave!” he roared wildly in his palace. “I finished the mission you gave me! You cannot do this! You owe me this much! You liars!”

He thrashed around in rage, grabbing and smashing everything around him. In the end, he fell onto the ground like a child. “Don’t leave me! Don’t leave…”

Hearing the loud noises inside, the guard posted outside the room hurried in to check on the king. When he entered the room, he saw the king lying on the ground. His eyes had already lost their focus, and he was clearly no longer breathing. In his arms, he was still holding tightly onto the sword he had received from the angel, while his cold, lifeless eyes were staring at the mural of a man giving a sword and a bag of seeds to a boy under the dying sunset.

“The king is dead!” the guard screamed in terror, hurrying out of the room.

The news of the king’s death spread across the nation like wildfire. Soon, Ahenaten’s son was coronated and took his place as the king, continuing his father’s dynasty and legacy.

Lu Zhiyu had gone to see Ahenaten purely on a sudden whim. So many things had changed over the dozens of years. The flow of time was different for him, and this was the first time he had a real sense of that.

Ahenaten longed for immortality, but the only reason Lu Zhiyu had managed to retain his youth was because of the different flow of time. Ahenaten did not know that Lu Zhiyu was not immortal, either.

Nevertheless, seeing how weak Ahenaten was in the face of time had made Lu Zhiyu more afraid of death as well. “Can I really achieve immortality?” he questioned himself.