Whether it be my enemies or allies, I've cherished every single expression my powers have caused. Personally, my favorite expressions are the criers; something about the salty tears hitting the floor brings a smile to my face. But the one I'm witnessing right now is easily the first and worst expression I've gotten.

I hit Eternus with the most potent blast I could muster, and yet, the man in all of his horrific glory was still very much alive. Even with my focused containment, I'm lucky I didn't bring the entire complex down.

Though "alive" may be the wrong definition as he more so looked like an extra from a zombie movie. My blasts left numerous large bruises on his body, along with charred burns and multiple cuts. Combine that with Taurus wounds, and the simple fact is, by all standard measures, he shouldn't be breathing so much as standing.

And yet, despite all that Eternus struggled to get himself up as if the wounds weren't even there, his demeanor became far more casual while giving me that cursed expression.

Because when the beaten and broken man rose to his feet, all he could do was a chilling, all-encompassing laugh. The howling was the definition of deranged and forcing like a Frankenstein's monster from its very core. He knew every oncoming breath caused him agony, but still, he did it away.

Either way, his busted gut continued and echoed across the room for a seemingly eternity as the man finally became able to stand on his withered legs. Combined with his aura, the laugh made me feel smaller than an ant—an ant in the jaws of a lion that wanted to rip me apart slowly. Yet, with my existence threatened, my aura of authority once again flowed through me, giving me the strength to talk back with rage.

"WHY IN THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING?!"

The second my sentence finished. Eternus simply looked back to me, focusing his insane hateful storm on me to the point where it felt like a crushing weight as he stopped laughing to answer back.

"Sorry, But I just couldn't help but laugh when you called this real pain. Because up until now, I've been stabbed, shot, dismembered, concussed, pierced, cut, burned, frozen, electrocuted, smashed, and beaten. My entire life is pain, and I'm more than happy to share it with you," the man said as he started to shuffle towards me with an exciting vengeance.

Once again, a gripping fear took over, as all I could do was powerlessly gaze upon the figure as he equipped his tattered jacket, forming a frayed cape. At that moment, I realized that whoever I was facing wasn't Eternus anymore; the mannerisms and demeanor all felt wrong.

Even if he had some regenerative ability, even if he had some way of resisting my power, the bastard should still fall. Pain is nature's teacher; it rules and order are every living thing, nullifying my power would only mean. At that point, another numbing chill took over as I realized what I faced wasn't even human anymore. Instead, all I saw was a monster who had set his sights on my utter destruction.

Another grave headache plagued my cranium, but for once, I was happy for the sudden turn; it was just the ace of the sleeve I needed. So I converted that pain into power as my fists regained their red thunder, summoning all the courage I can muster. I stood my ground.

"I COMMAND YOU TO STOP!!!!!," I said as my scarlet trails connected with Eternus.

"No, I won't stop, can't stop. Not until you fall. Not while I allow you to exist at my discretion," he said in calm but almost soothing sadism, utterly unaffected by my attack as he kept walking through charred skin.

"I AM YOUR KING, AND YOU'LL LISTEN TO ME!!"

"No, I have no ruler, and I see none here. All I'm looking at is a worthless ingrate who disguises his sick abuse fetish through fake pleasantries. A fool who thinks he's king amongst the slums of a city that doesn't give a damn. A nothing that surrounds himself with the trash that has as much value as a literal piece of shit. If you are a king, then you are a king of nothing," he said with void-like apathy.

In vain, I upped the voltage, hoping I could at least be in vain, but the more my fear grew, the more Eternus' smile grew. Before I knew it, the monster managed to make contact with me, hitting me square in the nose with a beastly straight jab.

The inhuman speed and force sent me reeling; by the time I refocused my sights, Eternus had already winded up another punch with his now mangled right hand. From there, the demonic man didn't stop for a second as he unleashed a whole host of merciless and relentless blows. Nothing got held back as I swear I could hear his bones crack as much as mine. But he didn't even bother caring; instead, his sick smile grew even more crazed and excited by the second.

For the first time in years, I was the one to brace the full impact of my power, making every nasty punch feel like a sledgehammer that stung like lightning. But I didn't dare give in even when the white ring was soon splattered with my blood like it was some kind of abstract canvas that only this demon knew the design of. So instead, I cast a phantom pain spell on myself in a split-second motion, forcing every cowardly cell in my being to make one last desperate counterattack!

With an outstretched hand, I focused on one last all-or-nothing blast! But before the lighting could even coil in across my body, the connection between my fingers got lost. Because in a state of pure savagery, Eternus, through gnashed teeth, bit into it that promptly snapped it in half in a fashion that sent fingers flying!

At that point, any bravado, aggression, and pride vanished. Instead, there was only pain as I got reduced to nothing more than a whimpering plebeian. Tears filled up my nearly swollen shut eyes as my vocal cords struggled to form one last scream of defiance.

But I couldn't even get that mercy as Eternus held his broken, bloodied hand inside my mouth and gave an almost shushing moment with his other one. From there, he gave one last deranged proclamation while placing his latter hand on my chest.

"No, No, No. You don't get to scream; they won't hear you anyway; they never do. No matter how much you beg, no matter how much you plead, they never care. All they do is take and take and take. So don't you dare scream, don't you dare cry and accept my burden. Experience true hatred."

Eternus gave one last violet move at that moment, hitting the point of maximal impulse and stopping my heart dead in its tracks! A numb weakness washed over my broken body as the only thing I could even do was watch my monstrous opponent fade away to blackness. And as I sunk deeper and deeper into that abyss, my life flashed before my eyes.

The nostalgic pain reminded me of my childhood, where my premature birth left me ripe with splitting headaches and a lame leg. Some of them were so bad that my family thought I would die multiple times, or at the very least, I should've. My bloody yet "royal" robe made me recall the only solace I had during that time; the daily readings of Shakesphere gave me hope.

I found love everlasting, humor ever-present, and tragedy ever potent; it left me thinking that I too could live a dramatic life.

And my flickering sight reminded me about how as the years rolled on with my condition only incrementally improving, I subconsciously realized that I would probably never experience the life I instinctually craved. Of course, it also didn't help that I was easy prey for the various animals that infest this superhuman society.

In this world, being powerless was already an excuse to become an easy target; being a lame cripple on top of that and expecting to live uninterrupted might as well be tempting fate itself. To survive, I had to placate the mundane demands of every bully or superior I met in life.

Each time all I would do is gaze upon their faces, taking in every twitched nerve and microexpression, knowing full well they savoured every second of my struggle. The worst out of my enemies, though, was probably the boss of my office job. Because of my condition, my workload was always short of my peers, meaning almost daily, I would get an ear full from the man, with one special day pushing me to the end of my rope.

"Sir, please don't fire me; I served this company for three years, you're the only one who would take me!"

"Yeah, and I can see why but I'm not a pussy like your previous superior. If someone is holding back this company, I will be more than happy to erase them if possible. You are no exception."

"But sir, you know I can't keep up, you know I'm-," I said while trying to hold back tears and maintain my pride.

"Go ahead and say it, admit you're nothing more than a disabled prick, and move the fuck on. Because if you're going to do nothing but be complacent in your weakness, then I have no use for you," my superior said cruelly while tasting the air for my salted-over tears.

But for once, those weren't tears of despair; they were one of pure, unfiltered anger. Because once again, I was left ignorant over why this man would find pleasure in my pain? Luckily for me, my power would finally make me understand, as I left my superior as nothing more than an eternally screaming babe.

When I saw his pained face trapped in agony, I felt happier than I've had in years, and I wanted to make sure that I held onto that happiness as long as humanly possible—hoping to claim the crown that I always passionately thirsted for.

I bounced around from place to place like a bad storm, leaving nothing but indisposed vegetables in my wake. Until I made it here in Krimo, an entire hub of debauchery and misery solidified in a seemingly endless pit. In here, I hoped to take all I could from people that once shared my fate, all in search of my own happily ever after.

But I guess my boss indeed was right to the bitter end because as I gazed upon the individual, not the demon that had taken my life, I had a life-changing epiphany that could only come in the fringe of life. Despite my royalty, my power, no my very being relied on order and complacency. Instead, I wanted peace and safety from all future pain, literally buried amongst trash.

However, by comparison, these Cons were far hungrier than I ever was, fully willing to embrace whatever pain their advancement causes like mad dogs. I wonder what horrors this world created to birth such individuals, monsters, and true rulers thirsty for power. Either it may have only been fair that the world would advance while I remained as stagnant as a relic.

Maybe Eternus was right in saying I was a king of nothing. Yet despite the crushing revelation, I remained at peace, finally knowing what place I had in this world. I didn't have to be afraid of any future pain anymore. So with my literal last breath, I decided to give my opponent one last pleasantry.

"Th- Thank you for taking my burden. I hope this serves you well, my king," I said solemnly before melding into the abyss.