“Your Majesty, you have to see this!” Bruce exclaimed as he hurried into the throne room where Dario was sitting and reading some of his father’s books; historical books and books on leadership.Dario looked up at Bruce and seeing the urgency in his demeanor, he quickly asked, “what’s the problem?”Without answering, Bruce hurried to the newly installed television in the throne room and turned it on. “Uhm channel 6,” he murmured under his breath as he searched for the channel number on the remote control.The channel came on and Dario’s eyes squinted when he saw a familiar face on the screen. It was King Nathan. And it seemed like he was giving an announcement. King Nathan’s voice echoed through the throne room as Dario and Bruce watched attentively. “…If he wins, I will bow to him and surrender all that I possess. And if I win,” King Nathan paused for a moment to relish in his future victory. He continued, “If I win, which is definitely going to happen, he shall do the same!”Con
She then moved on to the next person to get his opinion. The young man she asked said, “The announcement by King Nathan has stirred a lot in the country. Everyone is arguing about it almost everywhere you go.”“Yes, I agree. It is almost impossible to not talk about,” she replied. “Some people think that Emperor Dario is wise to ignore and is smart to avoid unnecessary conflict…”“…what do you think about that sir?”The young man smiled and answered, “I think Emperor Dario is being cautious. Maybe he has his reasons, but I also believe he should face King Nathan. The people are talking, and his silence might be seen as fear.”“Hmm,” the news anchor nodded thoughtfully and faced the camera. “Interesting and valid points all around. It seems our Emperor Dario has the nation divided. Will he-“Suddenly, the news anchor was interrupted by a teenager’s scream.The teenager ran into the recording area and screamed, “Kings do these challenges often so why is he being a pussy?” But security m
Natalie heaved a silent sigh and put a smile on her face in an attempt to reassure Dario. “I believe in you and I know that you will win this challenge. May God go with you…” It was finally the day of the one-on-one challenge with King Nathan. Natalie and Dario stood next to the car in front of the mansion as she showered words of encouragement on him, adjusting his battle attire at the same time. Dario has a small smile stretched across his lips, “Thank you, Natalie. I can feel the worry in your tone, trust me, you have nothing to worry about. Persians are not losers,” he said with a soft voice. She adjusted his armor, her fingers lingering on the cool metal as she looked up into his eyes. “Be safe out there, I’ll be cheering for you from my seat,” she whispered, her voice filled with both worry and determination. Dario nodded. After making sure everything he needed for the challenge was in place, they took off and left for the battlefield.Back at the field, people already sat
King Nathan chuckled and kept chuckling. With each passing moment, his chuckles graduated into a louder and louder laughter. “How did I get a hold of your ring?” He asked Dario with a mocking tone. Dario’s mind then began to race with several possibilities and questions. ‘How did he get a hold of the ring??’ He thought to himself, his brows furrrowed deep. ‘Dario, that’s not an important question right now! This ring could make him immortal and give him the ability to read my mind!’ Dario’s heart couldn’t stop racing, it felt like it was about to race out of his chest. ‘How am I supposed to win this challenge then?!’ Dario began to think fast in split seconds on how he could turn things around. He needed to come up with a solution as fast as possible, as there was no time to start wondering how he got the ring in the first place. King Nathan’s heart swelled with satisfaction and victory as he stared at Dario. “You are finished!” He exclaimed, his voice low and like a d
King Nathan, already realizing that everyone was beginning to notice what was happening to him, quickly regained his composure. But, as much as he tried, he couldn’t hide it because it seemed like his energy was being sapped away slowly. His face contorted with frustration and fear as he felt every ounce of his strength ebb away. But still, he didn’t give up on trying to hide it. He immediately reached for his dagger from his pocket. He flexed his fingers, adjusting his grip on the handle to hide the confusion in his demeanor. In no time, desperation drove him to lunge forward at Dario with his dagger, but unfortunately, his hand trembled violently. He then went ahead to swing the dagger wildly in every direction at Dario, but effortlessly missed Dario entirely and instead sliced his own arm. “Ahh!” he winced in pain as he held his wounded area, his blood pouring out of the cut. He took a deep breath in an attempt to suppress the pain and decided to go on with fighting, Dario’s
*roar!!*Dario roared loudly, beating his chest with his other hand while King Nathan’s head was raised high with his other hand.He paused and moved the head from his left to the right in an attempt to show everyone what he had done. With his face stern, he roared again, pride evident in his demeanor as he beat his chest continuously.The more he roared, the louder the cheers of his people and supporters.Watching, Natalie couldn’t have been more proud of Dario. Her lips were spread into a very wide smile that her cheeks were starting to hurt. She clapped her hands non stop and screamed happily as her gaze never left Dario. Without even doing so much, Dario achieved victory. The Persians truly aren’t losers. “By the right of conquest,” Dario began, as everyone suspended their cheers to hear what he had to say. He continued, “ALL! that was King Nathan’s now bongs to me!” he declared, his words echoing across the entire area as cheers erupted again. This time, the cheers were eve
Blake left Elizabeth’s living room with a heavy heart and his hand clutched to his crimson red cheek. And at the back of his mind, he knew that the stakes had never been higher. Before he left her house, Elizabeth had given Blake a sound and stern warning. After Elizabeth landed a hot and thunderous slap on Blake’s face, he looked up at her with fear flickering in his eyes as she rained blames on him. He couldn’t believe that after everything, Elizabeth shifted all the blame to him, but what could he do?“You must find a way to eliminate that rat!” she exclaimed, her gaze boring into his.“How?” Blake asked her, his voice a little above a whisper. “Emperor Dario will be on high alert now. Getting close to him or doing anything will be nearly impossible.”“I… don’t… care… how you do it,” she hissed, taking her time to say every word as she stared down at him. “You must find a way. You do whatever it takes, even if you lose your life in the process…”Blake’s eyes widened at Elizabeth
The room fell silent as everyone exchanged puzzled glances before slowly disappearing. They knew something was off with Dario’s demeanor.There was a sudden change and they could all feel it. “Ethan! Evan!” Natalie called out to the boys, signaling with her hand for them to come to her. Just like expected, they both ran to her. “Let’s go get ready for dinner, my loves,” she said and led them out of the throne room while Bruce also followed.When everyone left and Dario finally turned back to face Blake, Blake wished the moment of everyone leaving lasted forever. ‘Why does he suddenly want to have a private conversation with me?’ Blake wondered as his stomach churned, but he maintained his smile. Dario took a moment to stare at Blake with a smile still lingering on his face. For some reason, the smile scared Blake the most. “Your Majesty,” Blake said, eager to fill the silence, “I just want to say again how incredible and magnificent you are. The way you-“Abruptly, Dario cut him