Chapter 122 - Story Of The Old King

Zell looked around for somewhere to sit in the tomb, with little options he found a small platform barely above the fog and sat there. "So, what is your story, grandfather?" Zell asked.

"It was when I was a young man, perhaps fifteen or seventeen. I was on a mission leading the knights under my command to a nonhuman settlement. Word had spread of dangerous orcs that had moved close to the kingdom." The old king explained. "I was tasked with dealing with them. It was a day's ride to get to their encampment and oh what a glorious battle it was. It was the first blood I had let from a living being and it felt amazing as I danced through the battlefield.

My men and I made short work of their foul existence. After the battle we searched the encampment and found some captured maidens. I hate to think what would have happened to them had we not shown up when we did. You see orcs are a cursed race that cannot give birth to a female child. To get around this they have developed ways to turn human women into orc women."

"How is that possible?" Zell asked.

"Did my alleged grandson who claims to have become a god among dragons, really ask how one race becomes another?" The old king laughed. "No, it's quite alright and natural for you to be confused, having grown up in a near orc free world. I spent most of my time as king wiping their cursed race off the face of this planet.

Still, back to my story. One of those maidens, unknown to me, was a witch. My glorious aptitude for battle, dashing good looks, and charm had smitten her with me. Had I known I would have set her straight right away, but sadly I was young and thought her actions were caused by the trauma that she had just endured.

She rushed me and hugged me tightly and insisted I let her share my horse on the way back to the kingdom. Which I let her; she had been through enough as it was. Sadly, she took that simple act of kindness as reciprocation of her feelings. So, when I dropped her off with the guard when we got back to the kingdom, that's when things began to go downhill.

Apparently, she had attempted to get to me for months, but each attempt ended in failure as my guards would not allow a commoner such as her to grace my presence. Eventually her love for me grew into a bubbling hatred. She blamed me for ignoring her and getting her hopes up."

"Wait, you said you angered an old witch." Zell said. "Was she old or young? You made her sound young."

"That witch was young." The old king explained. "However, she had a loving mother and grandmother. Both of them were witches themselves. The grandmother was what is known as a reincarnate. She was placed upon this planet to do great things, or at least I hope that she was, and she just failed her mission. She was the one that was gifted from the gods with powerful magic.

Magic so strong it could bind the soul of a person to an object and force them to never pass on. That is what she did to me. Seeing her granddaughter's pain, she decided to take it upon herself to curse me so that I could never pass on and would be trapped in this tomb forever. After I died, I woke up here as a ghost over my own grave. The same young girl came to visit, she was as old as I was.

She told me everything that happened and how her grandmother had cursed me. She apologized but told me that only her grandmother was capable of changing the spell and that she passed on shortly after casting it. She told me she always regretted what her grandmother did for her, and that as she grew older, she understood that I never had feelings or ignored her. I was just the prince and was being myself.

She cried at my fate, but what was done was done. So, I told her to forget about me and to just continue to enjoy her life. I never saw her again. I haven't had any visitors since then, which made me sad. But looking back I never visited the dead kings of old either, so I couldn't blame my sons for not visiting me. Now tell me about yourself. I am sure you have a long story to tell as well. If you are in fact my grandson, I would love to know more about you."

Zell smiled as he started his story way back in the beginning. He told his grandfather of his life on Earth, how he had died and been reincarnated. He told him about his childhood, how growing up was hard because he was afraid of his own power. How the gods reincarnated his family's murderer as his sister in this world and how they made his grandson the demon lord. He told him about all the trials and tribulations that he had gone through. He told him everything. The old king just listened, his facial expressions changed based on what was being said, but he was hearing about the life of his grandson and could not be prouder.

"That was an impressive story, Zell." The old king said. "You have done your family name proud, but I have a request for you. Can you rebuild our kingdom? From your story it seems to have fallen into much despair since last I was alive. Your uncle and your sister did little favors for it. It needs someone like you to make it into what it needs to be."

"You mean someone from another world?" Zell asked.

"No, I mean a good man." The old king said. "Your story has made that clear. Above all else you are a good man, who cares about those around him and thinks about how his actions will affect not just the people around him, but the people of the entire world. That is the making of a good king. My sons did not have it, but I am glad that my grandson was born to be king."

"I have far too much to accomplish to be a king right now." Zell said.

"Then allow your mother to rule for now but promise me that you will take up the mantle." The old king begged.. "This world needs a strong Neuval, and you are the only one who can give it to them."