"The little emperor wore robes so heavy...he fell on his head, and broke his kingly shed!" I enthusiastically sang a childhood nursery rhyme, albeit...a bit badly.
Today was the best day of my life, and of my career as an amateur archeologist. I was not a very bad one at that, I had simply never received opportunities to propel myself into the spotlight, but today...it was finally my time to shine.
I raised my head to look at the changing surroundings.
In front of me, two thick and tall marble pillars towered about the height of two adult men, and an arch connected the two at the top, forming a titanic entryway.
I quickly and excitedly ran towards my pillars, my fingers caressing one of them. The pillar felt rough and textured, and as I swiped away my index finger, I noticed dust had settled from the pillar onto that finger.
On the spot where I had reached, a patch of white, pristine marble was now visible.
"Huff..." I breathed in and out quite deeply. I was somehow feeling anxious about this now.
"Subject Paul! Halt!" As I tried to steady my breathing, I heard a stern voice call out my name, and I jolted and stepped back.
Suddenly, a man wearing heavy, rusted iron armor appeared in front of me. The air around the man was oppressive, and the sword sheathed upon his waistband did not help my case too much.
This was a knight, a full-blooded low noble, someone who, by their birthright, was superior to me.
I instinctively bowed down, and greeted, "Sire! Salutations!"
The knight nodded through his helmet, and he stated, "Viscount Valmont has assigned you two hours to search upon the premises of Palais-Vestige, not a minute more, or you shall be tried for trespassing sacred grounds."
2 hours?! That was nothing, not even anywhere near enough time for me to explore and find anything worthwhile!
Gloom crept up inside of me, but from the knight's tone, I understood there was no way I could negotiate more time, I conceded.
"Thank you very much!" I bowed down once again.
The knight hummed coldly in response, and he then left through the entryway, marking me as the only person here.
Now then, as I detected no more of those pesky and hypertension-inducing nobles around, I could finally calm down...
Not for long, however, as I grew excited once again.
In front of me were the ruins of a great civilization. Not just any great civilization, but the greatest of civilizations, the Truscans, of course.
Today, everything from noble language, names, laws, buildings, gods, technology were derived from this civilization.
And I, the amateur archeologist, Paul Margot, son of Josephine Margot and John Margot, would have all of the ruins to myself for an entire two hours!
The more I thought about it, the better I felt.
I now looked beyond the entryway.
A rectangular temple greeted my sight. Similar to the entryway, pillars acted as the main support of the structure for the five hundred years it has stood here, and as he stood next to them, he could not help but gasp at their size.
Unfortunately, this was apparently a reconstruction of the original building, and the real ruins, where were they? Underground!
Palais-Vestige was said to have been the site of religious practices during the time of the Truscan Empire, and a guesthouse for the Emperor as he roamed about freely.
"Ughh..." I felt an uncomfortable itch at my upper neck, and raised my head and scratched it.
I had been feeling itchy up there for some time now, but faced with today's prospects, I did not even think to rub medicine on it and instead rushed down to the outskirts of the city...
Old habits die hard...
Eventually, I had to put aside my own little problems, and I made my way into the dark temple, guided only by my above-average night vision, which might as well have been my only talent and gift.
The interior looked aged, as one expected from a half a millennium-old building. Thick, green roots extended from the ground, up to the ceiling, where colorful, venomous-looking flowers grew.
Nothing here interested me, however.
Apparently, people had tried to dig into the ground to enter the real ruins, and the only thing they met was a solid defense, made entirely from a seemingly indestructible iron.
As an archeologist, however, I knew that the real way to enter the ruins was not the brute's way, but through using one's brain.
I was not smart, regardless, don't get the wrong picture, I only relied on the archeology guides I found in the city's library.
"Search for unnatural creases in the ground..." I whispered the first piece of advice I could remember and began searching accordingly.
A few minutes later, only a sigh of disappointment came out of my mouth.
Through feeling the ground, the only thing I had discovered was not an unnatural crease, but the chilling cold of ruins that spent the entire year in the shade.
My hands were freezing.
As I enclosed my hands around my mouth and tried to warm them up with my breath, I leaned down on the wall. The wall was hard and similarly cold.
"This wall feels really soft..." I flexed my shoulders, and strangely, a part of my upper torso began to feel numb. At first, I did not feel it(it was numb, obviously) but gradually, my entire body began sinking...into the wall?
"Merde!" I screamed the only word I knew in the sacred language of the nobles and priests, and it roughly translated to 'shit'.
...
I could feel my eyelashes fluttering...something was bright...I had regained feeling...I opened my eyes and took a look around without moving.
I did not stay motionless for long, as cathartic shock caused my body to jerk wide awake. I was no longer in the dark, aged hall of the temple, but...a brightly lit, beige, and gold corridor.
A gold chandelier towered from the gold ceiling, illuminating the golden room with a golden hue of light.
Large windows faced opposite of each other, and through the windows, a warm, soft light peered in, further illuminating the corridor. I was underground, how could windows allow light to enter? AND, why were there windows underground?
I approached one of the windows, but only a blinding light greeted me, I acquiesced.
Something else had taken my notice.
On the opposite side of the corridor, which was roughly the length of...I did not know what to compare it to, it was just very long and narrow.
On the opposite side of the corridor, there was a door, and it was as extravagantly and obnoxiously decorated as the rest of the corridor.
I did not know why I was in this place, but I did not complain.
"Even if I can't explore further, I could very well sneak some gold from here and sell it to the lady at the jeweler's, I'll strike ric-
"No, Paul, you are an archeologist, respectable and moral, abiding by the noble code of conduct..." In truth, I just wondered if I could find greater treasure.
_______
I did.
_______
I made my way towards the door, and turning the golden doorknob slightly, I was surprised to find that it smoothly rotated, and the door opened with a click.
I could not have imagined what I found beyond that door.
A pleasant smell suddenly assaulted my nostrils. It smelled of musk, lavender, and a slight hint of agarwood, a fragrance my father put on for special occasions. I could think about my father later though, as the scene in front of me required all of my attention.
This was a brightly-lit, golden room.
Yet, this time, the gold did not come from the decoration, or a chandelier, but from a...silhouette.
In the center of the room, there was a plain, wooden throne.
Upon the throne, I saw the most majestic figure I had ever seen.
A thick, velvety red and white robe hung over his body, and in each of his hands, a scepter seemed to further illustrate this person's majesty.
The robes were decorated by yellow bees, and the most striking thing was that...the entire person's body was coated in golden light!
I could not see a face beyond the light, but instinctively, I knew the face wouldn't be that of an ordinary human either.
It was at this moment that I...collapsed.
In my time of awe, I had not even paid mind to the overwhelmingly oppressive air that permeated the room. This was different from my altercation with the knight, it was on an entirely different level.
If the difference between the knight and I was the same as that between an ape and a human, then the 'person' in front of me was a god.
"Ugh!" I lost control of my body...
My knees and arms moved on their own, and gradually, I found myself in a kneeling position. On top of that, my head suddenly looked down, as if I was not authorized to look upon the divine figure.
As I remained in this position, alerts went off inside my mind as the golden light became a menacing, vermillion red.
I could not move, however.
At the edge of my vision, I then caught sight of something terrifying.
(You have failed the trial of succession.)
(You have become the Emperor's slave.)
(The Emperor orders your execution.)
A magic alert....? How could I encounter something like that, here?
And it was ordering my execution? The Emperor, this was the Emperor?!
A stream of thoughts was rushing down my mind, and none would go fulfilled. As terror overcame my entire being, however, another feeling came about.
An uncontrollable itch at my upper neck.
"Tsk!" I could not move, but the spot grew itchier and itchier...
A bead of sweat fell down my forehead, I could not resist the itch anymore. In that instant, I muttered the greatest burst of strength I ever had in my life, and raised my head, in rampant resistance to the oppression that the red silhouette cast upon my movement.
"AAAHH..." I groaned in pleasure as I scratched my neck, and the itch went away temporarily. As a consequence, I was staring at the figure directly, and it seemed we would share eye contact if it hadn't been for the coat of light around it.
Unfortunately, I could not wallow in bliss for very long, as the environment around me changed once again. This time, the golden, warm light returned, and the lines of text in front of me morphed and changed into something else, something that, I didn't realize at the time, would change my life.
(You have proved yourself worthy in the trial of succession.)
(The Emperor sees worth in you.)
(The Emperor abdicates.)
(He has revealed his last order.)
(You are his successor.)
"Huh?"