Let me ask you this: are all humans created equal?
Presently, equality is the only topic that the public is interested in debating in a civilized manner. Generally speaking, men and women should be treated equally, according to public opinion. They advocate for high employment rates for women, placing useful idiots in the limelight, handpicked by the privileged, in order to avoid being held accountable for their shady dealings.
To put it another way, the answer is no. People are unequal animals; there is no such thing as an "equal" person. It is only the unlucky that suffer.
With that said, the noise of torrential downpour thundering against his ears, Nicolaus Asenon draws his last few breaths while inhaling the earthy fragrance that exudes from the deluge.
As he lay face up, gazing at the sky with tears in his eyes, the sound of lightning undulating across the rainclouds caused him to softly chuckle. He seemed to be having a great time. He was making light of his situation and enjoying the irony of his own fate.
It was a terrible sight to see as the blood that was flowing from his body was being progressively washed away by the rain and dispersed over his immediate surroundings, leaving his body helpless and rendered inert.
In his musings, he pondered how his life had taken such a drastic turn from one of happiness and success to one of utter insanity in such a brief span of time.
What a twist of fate.
Having grown up as an orphan when his parents passed away when he was young, he had firsthand knowledge of the hardships that life can throw at a person.
From time to time throughout his life, he would experience brief spurts of bliss that would bloom out in his heart like a flower. Being happy as a family, with a kid, and with a beautiful wife is a wonderful feeling. In addition to doing a high-paying job.
It was when Nicolaus became aware of some shady business going on with his superiors that his life began to deteriorate further for him. He had toiled for the company with his blood, sweat, and tears, and yet, until recently, he discovered that he had been living the life of a slave.
Forced to suffer as a simple slave, being ordered and serviced by the demands of others, a mere puppet, manipulating strings under the watchful eye of a puppeteer in the shadows, laughing and slowly turning his existence into a living nightmare, this was his fate in life.
His reputation, dignity, and financial well-being were all shattered as a result of the subterfuge of a longtime colleague.
Is this truly how things work in life? The world is harsh and merciless. In a society where compassion is seen as a sign of weakness and only strength and power are regarded as the driving powers of the world, Nicolaus Asenon with his kindness is a negative trait to have.
From simple envy to outright persecution when he was caught observing their illicit operation, his former colleague worked his way up the ladder to make his life a living nightmare.
He was brought to his wits by his former colleague who took advantage of his position and used it to his favor. He used his money to bribe employees and devise plans behind his back, which he did not reveal.
Each relationship that he had developed over the years had shrunk to a handful of people and had gradually gone away as if they had never been in the first place as if they had never existed.
In fact, it was exactly these types of people that came to him for help when they were experiencing troubles dealing with the company, on top of their financial difficulties, which were both handled by Nicolaus in an instant and without hesitation.
What kind of individuals, rotten to the core, could possibly live with such a clean conscience after doing such heinous forms of cruelty? These people behave as though they are cold-blooded animals that have no sympathy for others.
Nicolaus watched in disbelief as his loving family crumbled, as his unfaithful slut wife was enticed by his former colleague to divorce him. His son watched in contempt to his own father as he looked at him as if he were a stranger in his life.
A persistent dilemma for Nicolaus was whether those cold-blooded animals were feeding his son falsehoods and tales that might be deleterious to the father-son bond between them.
In spite of all of his willpower, he couldn't keep himself from speaking to his son on the phone. As a result, he was constantly being rejected by him and responded to him as a treacherous father, and I should not have admired you for all this time.
His son, whom he had loved throughout his life and on whom he had lavished unreserved affection together with his wife, abandoned him when he was at his lowest point in life, causing him to spiral downward.
He couldn't comprehend how anything could go wrong!? Rather than discussing those shady transactions with him, his superiors just handed him the ultimatum without any more discussion or explanation.
Am I really a mere scapegoat? A speck in the grand scheme of things? The strong prey on the weak, the weak eat the weaker. People in positions of power rule the world! There is no power in the weak. Only tools for the strong to exploit. How could I be so dumb?
Something in Nicolaus's head snapped as he was contemplating all of this.
Is this the way everything comes to an end?
Could it be.. that I'm about to die?
No! I have no plan on dying! That bastard is still on the run, and I'm not going to let him get away until I've strangled him with both of my hands! It doesn't matter where you are on the planet; I'll hunt you down!
I'm going to murder everyone who has betrayed my trust! I'm going to murder you all! I shall no longer be nice to others since I have committed a mistake for which I have paid a high price!
Nicolaus was filled with an unspeakable rage in his heart.
He heard the heavens rumble above him in unison with his thoughts, showering him with heavier rain and making his body colder as Nicolaus clenched his fists against the asphalt with all of his strength.
His fingernails were stained crimson and fractured somewhat as a result of the immense tension caused by his own hate, which had caused them to split.
Because of the large amount of blood that had spread across his eyes, his vision had become distorted, and the world seemed to be a murky mass of scarlet.
The pain he had experienced when he was hit by a car was overshadowed by his feelings when he witnessed his former colleagues' smug expression after taking away his whole existence.
Having just one idea in mind, he made his way to the side of the road where he lay a bleeding mess, while a huge line of blood progressively formed on his path.
Every movement he makes leads him to lose blood at a faster rate, and he was totally oblivious of just how much blood he has lost in the process. Thanks to the fact that his willpower is the only thing that is keeping him alive at this point.
The vehicle door that had hit Nicolaus opened with a creak, an old gentleman and a robust middle-aged man walked along with the rain staring at their handiwork.
This man had been killed by them in one fell swoop, their fiery emotions burning like a wildfire in their chest as they committed this crime.
This is an innocent guy who is obviously just got served with injustice, yet, he is still attempting to flee and is asking for assistance.
They had watched as this guy fought his way to the side of the road, his eyes were filled with anger and hatred.
Such willpower, such bravery, they have to admit this guy is unfortunate for this to happen to him.
They just hoped that in his next life, he would learn to recognize when it was necessary to stand back and avoid provoking those who he couldn't afford to provoke.
"There are no harsh feelings, buddy... I'm just doing my job." As the robust middle-aged man spoke slowly and with a wicked glint in his eyes, a murderous aura burst from his body.
Against the backdrop of the dismal rain, a flash of silver light can be seen as his arm seemed to move on its own accord.
He performed a downward thrust in a perfect movement, the dagger traveled straight and squarely towards Nicolaus' throat.
This one move seemed to him to have already been entrenched in his muscle memory as if he had already killed an untold number of men with this single gesture. It was done in a fluid and seamless way, with not a trace of emotion visible on his face at any point throughout the act.
After Nicolaus's neck was being slit apart like a piece of paper as the dagger cut through the delicate skin.
It was in the middle of the night, surrounded by rain, that a pair of blood-stained hands reached out for him desperately, attempting to grasp his sleeves in one last desperate effort to save his life.
With bloodshot eyes, Nicolaus tries to grab onto the robust middle-aged man he has his sights on. Nicolaus bellowed in his head, a look of malice on his face as if he were demented as if he were mad.
I'm not going to die! Regardless of the circumstances, this is a pledge I will not break! If I were to die right now, may God smite me down right now!
I would never again grovel for a place in this world. Instead, I would forge a world that would grovel before me!
In an unflinching manner, the robust middle-aged man twisted his sharp knife without hesitation, causing the stab in Nicolaus's neck to spread, even more, enabling the space between them to become even greater.
As a tide of helplessness washed over Nicolaus's body, it was easy to hear the gurgles of fresh blood coming from the dying man in front of him.
Nicolaus's eyes are starting to darken, and he is one step closer to death's door than he was before.
"You're not the first to have that same expression, and you're certainly not the last." The muscular middle-aged man thought.
Nicolaus's hands, which were gripping the sleeves of the robust middle-aged man, suddenly fell into the puddle on the damp sidewalk underfoot.
He could never have thought that today would be the day he would die, without first murdering his most formidable adversary in the process.
After taking one last glance at Nicolaus, who was about to die, the robust middle-aged man let out a sigh and immediately made an upward gesture, withdrawing the knife and cleaning it with Nicolaus's clothes.
Since it was raining hard on the day he died, the crime scene was completely cleared, and he was left with just a few minor acts to clean up after his dead corpse with the assistance of his companion.
Nicolaus was overwhelmed with regret and reluctance, but he was unable to bring himself back to life since the dead cannot be brought back to life by any means.
The victor is anointed king, while the loser is branded as an outlaw.
Whether or not you are guilty is irrelevant; as long as the King triumphs, that is all that matters. Nothing could change the facts of the situation, and the loser would be sent to the dustbin of history in no time.
A pair of footsteps could be heard on the wet pavement, as two distinctive figures walked in the rain.
The elderly gentleman and a young man who had just emerged from their vehicle, dressed in formal attire, appeared. They stood next to the dead body, staring at Nicolaus's corpse through the umbrella he had in his hand.
This was the first time the old gentleman had seen a small trace of pleasure in the young man's eyes and couldn't help but ask, "Sir... Why did you take the risk of walking outside and insisting on seeing this man's corpse?"
"Don't you believe having your work on display would provide you with a feeling of pleasure if you've ever worked hard to produce something special?" The young guy replied in a casual manner.
The dense thunderclouds rippled and churned as a lightning bolt flashed across the sky. The trio of men was completely unaware of what was happening above them.
In a split second, it struck them in a violent manner, burning their bodies as scorches of destruction spread like wildfire over the landscape. Everything that comes into contact with it is being annihilated.
However, despite their best endeavors, the three of them were instantly killed, before they could even scream.
In a brief moment, all four of them were gone, reduced to atoms, with just the smoldering crater left as a testimony to the lightning bolts' destructive might.
In the last moments of the trio's sentiments, which occurred in a single second, only one word flashed across their minds. Regret.