11ALB, the Lich Artefus was in shock. The man he knew as Nero the Mad King told him things that unveiled how he truly ruled: blind and emotion-filled. Artefus' teeth gritted as he realized he had become the same self-serving royal he had always hated.
But now, with the death of Nero, his eyes were expanded. All of his time in the frontlines, his equally rage-filled soldiers cheered him on, all while those who didn't support him were silent for the Lich's wrath. This wasn't the nation he dreamt of as a kid: he saw lights, joy, and safety for his people, not darkness, despair, and danger.
So as the sun rose, using his little energy, Artefus moved a bit of his finger, creating a crown of bones. He approached Nero's body and laid the crown on his head. The Lich began to walk away from the castle, determined to change, not just himself, but the nation he was now taking care of.
Outside the castle, Artefus proclaimed to every soldier the fall of Nero the Mad King, except he didn't call him that, "ALL ZANIAN PEOPLE!! NERO!! LAST KING OF ZANIA HAS FALLEN!!" He announced, gaining a few shocked glances; but most terrified of all were Nero's followers, for they were terrified of what the cruel Lich would do to them. But Artefus was no longer the battle-crazed maniac he once was, "To those who followed Nero," he said, amplified by magic, "I will give you no punishments, the nation is waiting for you with open arms."
Stunned warriors from both sides stared in awe at what Artefus had said. As the Lich continued his speech at the end of the war, he left the armies with one last vow.
"And lastly, I apologize, eleven years ago I made a promise of prosperity, but I have broken that promise. So now I give my life to make a vow, if I do not make Zania prosperous for over a century, in under fifty years, then I will accept an execution," Artefus' words were shocking to the people there. His speech was unique for a man of power at the time, he was critical of himself, transparent, and apologetic.
This was a different speech from the one eleven years ago, where he promised to bring back riches he received from wars and protect Zania from its enemies.
"But I will end it off with this," Artefus remarked, clearing his throat as he didn't want anyone to mishear what he was about to say, "From today forth, the Kingdom of Zania, will be dissolved." The crowd was flabbergasted, and swiftly replied with questions, but they became silent as Artefus laid out a hand to call for silence, "Zania's last King has fallen, its bloodline ends with Nero, so today, I shall create a new nation, one stripped from its dark past." Artefus' fist grasped the air as he announced the creation of the greatest nation in the period of After Lich's Birth, "FROM TODAY!! WE ARE THE EMPIRE OF ZAN!!!"
Zeroth was in shock, as a few weeks after the uprising in Zania, the new Empire of Zan stopped all wars they were a part of. Still guarded with many troops by its borders, Artefus, and his cabinet focused on bringing many changes to Zan.
But first, Artefus changed Zan's capital's name of Dazarek into Nerio, commemorating the fallen King. Artefus and some black scars developed iron mines and weapon factories around Zan, giving the people jobs provided by the riches they pillaged from fallen nations. With these weapons, Zan provided revolutionaries in Mizumi's and Kendro's conquered territories in Fabarol and Entarealm, inciting revolutions that made the Empire's enemies busy.
These riches were given to the everyday people of the Empire, with higher wages and more jobs, along with Artefus and his cabinet investing a lot in education; it resulted in new technologies, magic, and science being developed in Zan itself. Zan's great leap from 11ALB to 40ALB was astonishing. In under forty years, the Lich Artefus had turned the poorest country in the world into a top-ten economic power, being the strongest country in Akal militarily, and the second richest behind the other superpower Demeos.
The neighbors of the Empire were worried, so in 50ALB, a coalition arose, funded by Mizumi and Demeos, who were getting irritated that Zan was funding their rebels. As a result over six countries declared war on the Empire at the same time. Artefus had predicted this, so he was ready; thus began the second Artefusian wars, but this time, the people of Zan were no longer suffering.
Now, more than five hundred years later, the Great Lich finished his tale, widening both the world and the eyes of the young Rapl Tsukumo. In shock, Rapl questioned, "W-was that all real?"
Artefus with a gentle smile, turned to Rapl, "I wouldn't have told you if it wasn't." Rapl turned away from Artefus as he tried to gather his own thoughts. But as an entire minute went by where the two didn't utter a single word, Artefus began what he intended for Rapl to get, "Young Lich," he called, making Rapl turn to him, "What I wanted you to know in that tale, is that as figures of power, we need to focus on what we need to be taking care of. We are different people, yes, but we encountered the same problem, we focused on the enemy instead of our people; mine, was hatred, and yours, was empathy."
"I see," Rapl nodded, as he got what Artefus was finally saying. But as they sat again in silence, Artefus saw the pondering eyes of his apprentice, seeing it as a time to impart more wisdom, he opened his mouth again.
"I'm not telling you to get rid of those emotions okay?" Artefus added, his voice less serious than before, "We are children of Elios, imperfect by Temus' works, but still Elios told us to love ourselves and not to bottle up any emotions… I do things I don't like doing sometimes, my people always think I'm perfect and I know it all, but I sometimes mess up, I sometimes get angry…no… a lot of times, get angry. But those are emotions I use, because if I never use them, I never get to know how to control them. Your empathy towards other people should stick with you, never get rid of it, learn it, nurture it, so that you can control it. Your empathy right now is limiting you, and to progress you try to forget that that person is a person, don't do that, even though it's more painful for us, it's disrespecting them. Move with your empathy, do not be crippled by it, or throw it away."
Artefus rustled Rapl's hair as the young Lich nodded in response. Surprisingly to Rapl, Artefus didn't immediately leave him, he gave Rapl a few minutes of thought as he got some food, and together they talked, not about the nation, nor anything heavy, they merely talked.
Deep inside Rapl, there was a familiarity to it all, Artefus talked and acted like a parent to the young boy, and somehow, it felt so refreshing. For eight years, Rapl was left alone, a boy with no path that paved his way, many pitied him, but none ever came to be there for him. Except now, with the man so hated by the world, yet it was the only man that was there to pave a road for him.