Alfred shot up. Once again, he found himself in a dark space. Despite seeming similar to where he went when poisoned, it felt different. "Quiet, isn't it." A child's voice came from behind him, causing Alfred to jump forward in fright and spin around. Standing there was a small boy with blond hair and blue eyes. Alfred felt his heartbeat explode as he looked at the boy, who was a carbon copy of his current appearance. Seeing him also brought the realisation that his body was now his old one.
"H-how?" The boy felt so real before him, but he knew it couldn't be real. The boy walked past him and clapped. The dark sky was filled with a massive screen showing the outside world. He clapped again, turning it off. Once more, he clapped, and bookshelves fell from the abyss above. Alfred found himself in an endless library with two chairs in front of them and a table holding drinks. The small boy took a seat and asked Alfred to join him.
The boy slowly sipped his drink, his emotionless eyes turning to one of delight. Before Alfred could talk, the boy lifted a finger to stop him, finishing his drink. With one last gulp, he licked his lips and put his cup down, turning to Alfred again. "This is our mind? My new home." The boy's eyes were emotionless, but Alfred could sense a hint of sadness in his voice.
"I- I- I'm sorry." His voice broke, and his head fell. He couldn't even look at the young boy before him, finally realising who he was. A tense silence lingered between the two for a few minutes, with Alfred refusing to look up.
"Ha." He gave a deep exhale before carrying on, "I hate you. You took everything from me, leaving me in your mind to simply watch but never act." Alfred's fists clenched as he felt drops fall from his eyes. Despite everything, he had always wondered what happened to the young boy whose body he took. It was his main source of guilt. Despite this, the boy's next words shocked him. "However. I forgive you. We are the same. We share each other's memories and personalities. And I know you didn't wish for this to happen. You were forced into a shitty situation and stripped of the world you knew."
The boy waved his hand, and a book flew onto the table. "Your memories, I found solace in them. Every day, I felt both of us slowly becoming similar, and I'm sure you must have noticed some... strangeness in your emotions." Alfred thought and nodded. He felt excitement in crisis and battle, which didn't make sense. "Although your personality overpowers, when my emotions skyrocket, you become affected."
Alfred finally looked up at the young boy's face. Gone were his emotionless eyes, instead replaced with sympathy. Alfred felt his mouth shake as he forced the words out. "What do you want from me? Your body, freedom. I'll do anything." His words sounded like a desperate plea. Although the boy said he had forgiven him, he couldn't believe it and wished to make it up.
The child's lips rose. His face was full of the playfulness of a child. "I don't want any of that anymore." He waved his hands, and multiple books fell to the table. Alfred read the titles of them. 'History of Rome,' 'Abbasid History,' 'Chinese History,' 'History of Britain,' 'Mongolian Empire.' More and more books fell all around him, all with similar titles. "No. I want to see the greatest empire created. One to rival the greats from your world. I want my Rome, my China, my Britain. If you wish to absolve your sin, create for me the greatest empire the world.. no universe has ever seen." The boy jumped up and spread his arms, his eyes glowing as he spoke.
It was a child-like dream that suited someone of his age. Alfred felt his lips curl, trying to hold his laugh. The young boy smiled at Alfred's reaction. He was no longer a child but a mix of both himself and the old man before him. He carried on with words that didn't belong to a child. "You understand what must be done to achieve what I want. All the blood you must spill, the lies you will have to tell, the destruction you must inflict on others."
Alfred's smile fell as he nodded before quickly returning to a smirk, "Then you must understand that your empire will crumble." The young boy responded with a deep laugh, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Of course. But if you wish for the peace you seek from me, do what I say. I don't care if you become Nero and live in infamy, Alexander and conquer the world, or Mehmed and destroy the relics of the past. Simply create one. Do it, whether it's a blessing or a curse for the world."
Alfred clenched his fist. The task he had been asked was monumental. Something that would destroy the entire balance of the world. Despite this, his guilt for what he had done to the boy, locking him in his own body, unable to control it, was what would destroy him if he didn't complete the task, never letting him die in peace. Even if the child in front of him said he forgave him, he could feel his emotions and know that it wasn't entirely truthful, only said out of pity.
"If that's what you wish, I'll make your name and family one the world can never forget. By any means, I will create what you want and erect a city worthy of this empire." His words, filled with resolve, brought a soft smile from the boy as his eyes began to imagine the future where the world would remember him for millennia. It was a task given to Alfred created from his childish wishes, but he hoped that Alfred would create it.
Slowly, he felt his eyes grow heavy as his head spun. "It seems you are about to awaken." The voice became more quiet as Alfred slowly slipped into a sleep. "Rember. Be ruthless. Conquer, destroy and create an Empire worthy of my great name." The childish words of the boy almost sounded like a whisper as Alfred drifted off to sleep, but the amount of pride held in them caused one more smirk to appear on his lips.
Alfred awoke. The forest behind him moved quickly past as the wind blew in his ears. "So be it," he whispered under his breath, watching the forest race past him, not forgetting the words told to him by the young boy.