I remember when I left the Palace of the King of Kings after meditating.
"How do you know Zed?" That was Yama's familiar voice.
I was shocked when Yama said that. I never imagined she knew Zed. It never crossed my mind that there was a connection between them.
"He's in my team, but how do you know him? Is he your lover?" I said this, smiling at her.
"W... What? No, it's not like that. His father is a friend of my father, and he's been my rival since childhood. But he's a good person, so they always call me the princess out of respect for my status, even if the rivalry between us is intense." She was saying this, her face red and her trembling hand wiping the sweat off her face.
This girl is really easy to deceive.
"And does the Demon King have friends?" I said this, looking at her with some suspicion.
"Yes, Shrek was my father's friend since childhood. My father always told me he loved him like a brother more than himself. My father also considered Zed like a son and was proud of both of us. I was first in rank..." She said this, a deep sadness appearing on her face.
"Why would your proud father conspire against you with your brothers and throw you in prison for all this time?" I said this, trying to understand what was happening.
Her tears started to fall.
Why is this damned girl crying now? I thought she was emotionless. Did her feelings surface when she saw Zed?
I approached her and whispered in her ear, "I think you're beautiful when you cry. If you keep doing that, I won't be able to control myself around you."
Her eyes were filled with extreme shock, and as usual, her blushing cheeks turned a lovely pink.
This damned girl really is beautiful, but she's a twisted demon.
"My father suddenly changed and became a different person, and the same happened to my brothers. My father loved the people, but suddenly he started torturing them and searching for something that no one knows the location of. That's why I ended up in that prison, and I don't know why I killed my brothers. But they tried to kill me, so that was my reaction. I wanted to get out of the prison to understand the truth, but then you appeared." She said this while wiping her tears and moving away from me.
"Do you want to meet Zed?" I said this, looking at her with intense seriousness.
"Yes, I really want to ask him about my father's and his father's conditions." She said this with a look of pleading on her face.
"To show you that your master is merciful, I will let you meet him. But from now on, you must listen to me." I said this as I approached her.
"I will listen to everything you say, but let me talk to him." She said this, and then she disappeared from the realm.
Now, standing before me, Zed was asking, "Where is she? Tell me."
His face showed signs of anger and confusion.
"Do you want to go to her?" I said this with a smile.
"Yes, I want to go to her. I'll give you whatever you want, but let me see her just once." He said this, showing genuine sincerity.
"Anything I ask?"
"Anything you ask."
"Even if I tell you I want your life?" I said this with a serious look on my face.
His voice trembled a little, but after a while, he looked at me and said, "It's yours, but after I do something."
"I don't want to kill you. I want you to be my loyal follower whom I can trust, and I will help you with whatever you want to do." I said this, placing my hand on his shoulder.
"Okay, but let me meet her before anything else." He said this, forming his hands into a respectful gesture towards me, showing his plea.
At that moment, the victorious shouts of the soldiers echoed all around. The sound was so loud it seemed it would reach the sky. Everyone was chanting my name because they had witnessed my power, so they thought I was a hero.
A hero? These fools will make me laugh to death.
I don't remember ever saving anyone before.
Did I?
Yes, once in my previous life.
One of those nights I loved to go out alone, away from everything, to light my cigarette in peace and blend into the crowd.
But suddenly, I found myself in a dark, deserted alley. I heard the footsteps of a child running towards me.
He looked at me with eyes filled with death, unsuitable for a child, and said, "Kill me."
This was the first time I was shocked in such a way. I had seen a lot, but I had never seen a child wanting to die with such strength and determination in his hopeless eyes. His face bore many scars, and his body was covered in wounds.
"What are you saying?" I said this to understand if what this child said and what I heard were real or if I was imagining things.
"Can't you hear? Just kill me now." He said this, looking at my gun and smiling with lifeless eyes.
Before I could utter another word, I saw three men approaching. The child hid behind me.
"Come here," one of the men said, looking at the child.
But the child neither replied nor listened to him.
I realized these men were the ones who tortured this child.
But I didn't speak.
One of the men approached me and placed his weapon on my head, saying, "Let him go before I kill you."
I looked at his trembling hand and shaking body, smiling sarcastically.
"Kill me," I said this, still smiling.
"I'm not joking. I will kill you." He said this angrily.
"And I'm not joking either. Are you going to kill me like this?"
Everyone heard the sound of a gunshot.
Blood splattered on my body.
Damn it.
Why is his blood so filthy?
I raised my gun and shot the other man, whose face was filled with shock.
The third tried to escape, but the third bullet pierced his skull from behind.
I'm really good at shooting now. I was happy about this.
The child was still standing behind me.
"Do you want to die?" I looked at him as I asked this.
"Yes," he said, his body trembling.
I put the gun in his hand and smiled, saying, "Don't be a coward. Kill yourself."
He raised the gun, placed it to his head, and started crying and shaking, but despite that, he pulled the trigger.
The sound was faint because there was no bullet to fire. My gun had only three bullets.
He cried and dropped the gun to the ground.
I threw my cigarette to the ground, stomped on it hard, and reloaded my gun.
"Learn to be the killer, not the killed. This life is filthier than you can imagine, so don't let it defeat you."
He looked at me intently, still crying.
I put the gun back in his hand and leaned close, whispering in his ear, "This is your only friend."
I pointed to his head with my hand after that.
"And this is your only master."
"Don't abandon the first, don't betray it, and don't disobey the second. If you do, you will become someone everyone fears. If you want to kill yourself, the gun is in your hand, and no one will save you. You will die like those rats."
I said this, turned around, and walked away.
"I'm Hassan. Remember my name. One day, I will repay you, hero."
I looked at him, wiping his tears as he said this.
Am I really a hero as he says?
Did I save him as he believes, or did I lead him into the abyss like myself?
I don't know.
But all I know is that I'm not fit to be a hero. I am the absolute evil in this world, the name that makes everyone tremble. I am the harbinger of hell. I am the Joker.
Shard approached us, so I quickly said to Zed, "Come to my room in the evening, and I will let you meet her."
He looked at me and nodded in agreement.
"Who is that witch?" Shard asked.
"I don't know. She appeared suddenly and disappeared suddenly." I said this, smiling at him.
"It was our good fortune she was passing by," Zed said.
"But I could have killed all those monsters alone," Khaled said, playing with his bloodstained dagger.
"I know that," I said, smiling at him mockingly.
The soldiers were still chanting my name loudly.
So, I went to the palace and sat on the king's throne.
While I was sitting, Hassan came quickly.
"I'm very happy with your victory and safe return," he said, smiling.
I picked up the king's large crown and walked towards Hassan.
I placed the crown on his head and said, "You are the king now. You own everything. Be happy."
His eyes were shining as he started spinning around, looking at the palace and smiling.
"I am the king," he said, smiling.
"Yes, you are the king. I promised you that you would become the king. Everything here will belong to you as I promised."
"Yes, you're right. I'm very happy. Thank you," he said, turning his face with a big smile.
But suddenly, that smile changed.
A lot of blood poured from his face.
If you looked at his abdomen, you would find my sword inside it.
"What is my sword doing in your abdomen?"
"W... Why did you do that? I fulfilled my promise."
"And I kept mine. I made you the king as I promised. But there can't be two kings for the same kingdom, so this is your
And I quickly pulled the sword from his body, causing blood to spread across my blade. So I picked up a piece of cloth from the table and wiped the blood off the sword.
"Damn you," he said as he fell to the ground.