Losing one more family member hurts so much.
"Fig, today is my last day with you." He wrapped his arms around himself, hesitating in his movements.
"What!" His eyes widened, mouth twisted, and nose crinkled.
"It's a shame I can't see you grow stronger. Well, I have one last hour; after that, my soul fragment will disappear. Don't worry, we will meet again, though I don't know when, but you will meet my other self at certain locations." He lowered his head, his face full of sadness.
Fig, speechless, stood up; his eyes were filled with tears. He still couldn't believe his master was leaving him, his heart shattering.
"Fig, listen. From now on, all the words I tell you, carve them into your heart." He took a pause, then continued, "Don't ever take the flying castle lightly. Right now, you're not strong enough to take that thing out of inv space, but when you grow stronger, use that thing properly. It's a cannon disguised as a castle; it’s a weapon strong enough to erase the strongest of kingdoms into dust." He made eye contact with Fig,his eyes turned pitch black.
Fig carefully listened to him, his body turning red from fever. The thought of losing one more family member was a huge burden on him.
****
The flying castle, the castle that floats in the sky, made of gold; it was so grand that even the highest-ranking kings spent their whole lives just to spend one month in it.
It was a weapon specifically made for massacring millions of lives. Only one shot from it was enough to destroy an area of hundreds of kilometers, and anything in that area would turn to dust.
****
"Master, you can't leave me like this; please don't go!" Tears were streaming down his face non-stop, and his fever was reaching a new peak.
"It's not like I want to leave you; I just can't. I have already used all my mana," he said, his face showing he was about to cry but couldn't because he was a soul.
Fig lay down on the ground; his family was about to leave, and he couldn't do anything. He felt hopeless.
Seeing Fig lying down, he stated, "Spending time with you was my best moment. Don't cling to the past; now you’ve got to move on." He then spoke, "Fig, you are a successor of a king; you need to be strong," he shouted.
Fig was shocked; until now, he didn’t know his master was a king and that he was the heir to a kingdom.
"I am an heir?" He sat up, his face filled with confusion.
"It must have been shocking for you. Let me clarify: we had a master-disciple relationship just because, beca—" he stopped, took a deep pause, his body shaking. He prepared himself, then whispered, "I am a failed king."
He then told his story to him.
"Long ago, there was a well-reputed kingdom, and I ruled it. I had many wives and a strong army, but then I got blinded by power and ignored all my responsibilities." He then took Fig inside a trapdoor.
The room was clean and empty; there was only one thing there, and it was a metal object hanging from the roof like a punching bag, made of the strongest metal ever to exist in the history of the world, known as darktal; it was pitch black.
He then pointed at the dent on the metal, which was shaped like a fist.
"Fig, throw your strongest punch at it."
Fig then gathered all his mana into his fist, covered it with black flame, then punched it.
"Boom!" The ground shook violently; his fist turned red, and blood started flowing from it.
He then saw there was not a single scratch on it.
"See? Only the origin flame can melt it. It took my whole life just to acquire the fire for a single punch. I punched continuously for 200 years, and even then, I was not able to achieve it; before I felt the fire, I died," he then spoke. "Don't be like me; I am just a failure."
****
Flame ranking:
Orange flame < Red flame < Blue flame < Purple flame < Black flame < Origin flame.
The deeper the understanding of flame, the more powerful it becomes.
****
"Master, don’t say that; you're not a failure. You raised me to this level; I am sure no other king could do that!".
He smiled and spoke, "How about this? The dream I wasn't able to complete, you fulfill it in my place, then I won’t be a failure."
"Just tell me, Master, I will fulfill it no matter what," his eyes filled with determination.
"Making my kingdom the strongest in the world, but now there is no kingdom for it, so go build a kingdom from scratch and make it the strongest in the world," he demanded, then spoke, "While making it, if you're lucky, you may meet my other fragments."
"I will do it! I will definitely make it happen," he lifted his head, chest out.
With a big smile, he put his hand on Fig's head, then spoke, "Thanks in advance then, little king, and goodbye," his body started disappearing.
While his body was disappearing, he thought, 'Sorry world, I am releasing a monster; hope he doesn't wipe out the whole continent.' With that, he was gone.
Fig's eyes were full of tears, his body burning hot; he slept while crying the whole night.
