The Cursed King

"Why are you not fighting back?" Loriel asked between his panting breath. His eyes were bloodshot from his anger, but still, he could still retain his clear mind.

Dante was so fierce and strong when they fought the last time. But why he couldn't fight back now? Was he injured?

Dimitri managed a choked laugh. "It is not worth my time to fight you. Your punishment has already been served so long. You'll lose the woman you love because you couldn't appreciate her."

Loriel growled and grabbed the man by the neck. "Bring her back or I'll crush your windpipe."

"Do it."

"Why you insolent god!" Loriel's hands tightened across Dimitri to force the Time Master to act but he didn't. Instead, the light in the man's eyes slowly vanished and finally… disappeared.

Loriel growled. "Do not think that I will let my guard down. Come on!! Fight me!"

However, Dimitri didn't answer anymore and the life from the god vanished. Loriel's eyes widened and he suddenly threw the body back and shook his head. "No. You're faking your death." 

There was no response and Dante did not rise up to his feet to laugh and mock him.

"You killed the Time God!"

"No, I didn't." Loriel shook his head. "He's not weak so why would he…" 

"This new god killed the old god!" Terror filled the faces of some of the gods.

Amidst it all, Loriel looked at his hands and shook his head. "No, he was going to bring me to Elise. I didn't mean to kill him as he did to me. At least, I wouldn't kill him until Elise was back with me. So this is impossible—ARGHHH!"

In annoyance at the sudden turn of events, Loriel screamed and shouted while clenching his fist tightly that veins popped on them. Tears of anger slid down his eyes at the thought of losing his only chance of reuniting with Elise. 

"You're faking it, Dante. Get up you coward and fight me." Loriel shouted at the thin air but refused to settle down. He didn't believe it and he shouted it across the entire Cretea.

In doing so unleashed his power in agony. The land was collapsing all around him and Loriel was on the edge of overexerting his powers to their limits. 

He was so frustrated and felt defeated. He won the fight with the Time Master, but why did he feel like he was the loser??

He was so close to meeting Elise but he ruined his chance by killing the only one who could bring back his wife. 

The winds howled across Cretea and the new gods were forced into hiding and shielding themselves by the sheer magnitude of the winds. A chunk of Cretea found themselves broken down alongside the temples collapsing as trees were uprooted. 

AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

In a fit of panic and agony, Loriel saw everything destroyed in his path because he couldn't control his emotions. 

The new gods struggled to get out of the rubble that was still slowly collapsing and the old gods suddenly surrounded him and pointed at him in unity. There was a look of seriousness on their faces as they gauged the new god. 

All of them combined their powers and said one thing.

"Leave."

"Go away."

"We do not want you here."

"Never return to Cretea."

It was unacceptable for Loriel to kill a god vital to Cretea but more importantly, it was highly frowned upon for a god to raise his hand against another. There was unity in Cretea because all of them decided to live together in peace.

Loriel was the opposite of it. So, before the king knew it, he was forced to leave and return back to the human lands. He chose to leave without any more altercations and made his way to Summeria.

There was nowhere else for him to go.

***

When Loriel returned to his kingdom, the land was already so different and so were the buildings and even the palace looked unfamiliar. Loriel saw the people look at him as if they saw a ghost or didn't even see him at all.

"I have returned," Loriel said but he was unhappy. 

His heart was heavy after the events that unraveled because he wanted to see Elise but now it seemed like the only option left for him was to wait for the moment in the future where he would meet his wife again.

"Your Majesty...er, Lord Loriel Ashborn." Horatio greeted him but he looked much older than the last time king saw him. The royal butler looked at Loriel in awe. The former king of Summeria left a nephew in charge when he left for Cretea but Horatio stayed and hoped for his return.

"What happened?" Loriel frowned.

"You were gone for seven years, Sir," Horatio explained.

"What?" Loriel was in shock and looked around at his surroundings. Finally, he sighed. "It only felt like… weeks at most. So time flowed differently there." 

It was similar to him being sent to the future by Dante for a year when he encountered Elise as a child. Back then, it was difficult for him to adjust but now the difference was nearly a decade.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" Horatio asked. "We have your old belongings in one of the palaces here, Lord Loriel. And we have Brick too."

"That old cat is still alive?" Loriel asked in amazement.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Er..." Horatio was used to serving Loriel compared to the nephew even after all these years. There was an even more regal aura to Loriel which was actually godly in reality. 

"I wish to see the cat," Loriel said with nostalgia.

Even though he hadn't greeted the new king yet, Loriel prioritized the cat over his own relative and was both happy and sad to see that the palace that his nephew didn't touch was the queen's.

"The new queen of Summeria is staying in the chambers of her husband," Horatio explained.

"I see, thank you." Loriel softly said as he eyed the cat. 

Brick was still alive but he could see the mistrust in its eyes and it started growling at Loriel in anger. The cat's memory was sharp and recognized him in an instant and it attacked Loriel.

If Brick could tell Loriel was more powerful than ever, it did not care and only tried to scratch him. A sad smile came on Loriel's face as he knelt down and petted its head.

"Yes, I miss her too and it is my fault."

His voice was shaky when he spoke, almost on the brink of tears.

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Poor Brick....

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