"Did God truly choose you?"
The eldest son's question, like a hidden thunder, suddenly exploded in mid-air.
The Sapo King slowly turned his head, staring at his eldest son without saying a word.
"What are you talking about?"
The son trembled involuntarily, sensing the chill in his father's tone.
Although he had heard the rumors of his father being chosen, after all, rumors were just rumors, not as palpable as with Prophet Al.
The eldest son dared not breathe heavily, standing silently amidst the drizzle, not daring to meet the king's gaze.
"You may leave."
The Sapo King uttered the words.
The eldest son looked at his father in shock. The voice was terrifyingly unfamiliar.
In the end, the eldest son still left, leaving the Sapo King standing alone in the midst of the rain.
The Sapo King looked up at the sky.
The drizzle grew heavier, the wild wind lashed upon the earth, and leaves rustled noisily among the forest.
The Sapo King watched the gloomy sky, the moonlight had long since disappeared, and the scenes from his dreams haunted him like specters.
Memories...
The Sapo King remembered the first time he led his people to hunt wild beasts on a cloud-gathering afternoon before they had learned the language.
At that time, an Ape King turned its face towards the sunlight, which was dissected by the clouds, obscuring everything, and with his excellent vision, he plunged a sharp stick into the body of a large beast, and its hot blood splattered forth. The beast's cries and the cheers of his people still twined in the glory.
The Sapo King turned away; Logos had already fallen into night, and he could no longer see the sunlight of that day.
Dark clouds gathered above Logos, with faint thunder rumbling amongst them.
Glory...
The undercurrent of the Sapo King's thoughts was still unsettled, like the surging ahead of a dam collapse. The glory he had once stored upon high shelves trickled out bit by bit, filling his body and soul.
The people of Logos had just acquired language, and their fur molted bit by bit. They were uneasy, they were wandering. It was he who took on the heavy responsibility, leading everyone to hunt large beasts, set up fences and dirt cages on the ground, and established the rudiments of a city.
The Sapo King faced the rain, gazing at the overcast sky, thunder intertwining within it.
"I remember that time."
The Sapo King muttered with his head bowed,
"Life was so beautiful then, and glory surrounded me."
Back then, he still had the strength to thrust the spear into the flesh of prehistoric beasts.
Back then, he could call out loudly again and again, and solemnly proclaim the rise and fall of the kingdom's fate each time.
Back then, he...
Wouldn't have to stand alone in the darkness.
"God, Lord of all creation,"
"What are you doing?"
The Sapo King raised his foot, pacing in the rain, his voice trembling slightly,
"How can you just watch these pasts pass away? Don't you have mighty powers beyond the reach of mortals?"
Rain fell to the ground, raising a slight dust like a fine mist, winding around the Sapo King, like those past glories that seemed within reach yet untouchable.
The Sapo King paced, and only then did he smell the stale, cold scent in the air. This rain was aging him, aging the Logos Kingdom he had established.
The king had aged, even his sense of smell was no longer sharp.
The dark clouds completely covered the sky, and the last glimmer of light dimmed, plunging the entire kingdom into pitch-black darkness.
There were puddles on the ground,
The Sapo King gazed sorrowfully at his own reflection.
The reflection showed how frail and aged he had become.
But in the past, in that glorious past...
It was he who told the people that their tribe had never had a name before, it was he who told the people that from then on, they should be separate from the beasts of the world...
The Sapo King would never forget that day. The mountain breeze gently blew, and the firelight flickered in front of everyone. It was he who spread his arms wide, heralding an invincible midsummer.
"The King of Humans has called out again and again on earth..."
The Sapo King faced the sky, asking:
"Has not even a trace of memory been left with the gods?!"
A storm suddenly arose, dark clouds enveloped the kingdom, starting with scattered raindrops, and then a torrential downpour pierced down, sweeping the land in an instant.
The Sapo King stood in the rain, tonight seemed like it would pass in an instant, the downpour was just temporary, and the dawn of another day would come.
At that time, brightness would once again bathe the Sapo King. A new day would start, and he would face the new aging, feeling life slowly slipping away, along with the glory, irretrievable.
The Sapo King stood alone, no one daring to disturb the twilight monarch.
Thunder roared suddenly between the clouds, flashing, and the cries of all beings were drowned in the rain.
The Sapo King walked in the rain, gazing at the sky, and said quietly:
"I must face a new day, I must face new aging,"
"I must accept the coming of physical death,"
"I must yield to time, so the remaining days can indulge in past glories..."
The storm grew fiercer, as if it would never cease. The voice of the thunder shook amidst the clouds, within the curtain of rain. Only the solitary figure of the Sapo King remained.
He was the world's first king.
He was the first person to have reason.
He was the first human, supposedly chosen like the Prophet.
But he was not the chosen one.
No matter how beautiful or rightful those rumors were, what had been revealed to Prophet Al had never been revealed to the Sapo King.