The tale of The King

Long, long ago, in a very different place, there was a kingdom ruled by an ageless king. He tried to rule kindly though never forgetting the laws. His subjects loved him. Many generations have passed and his kingdom seemed to grow.
One day, a messenger brought grim news. In the other part of the continent, a few nations away, a terrible plague showed up. For now, it seemed like there was no way to stop it. The king sent the messages to his neighbors to ask them what they plan to do, should a plague spread.
Merely a few days have passed and more bad news came. More and more countries were infected. The king decided to take drastic measures and close off his country before the plague came. His neighbors didn't really like his decision, calling him too cautious and too fearful. But he didn't care what they said, as long as he could protect his kingdom.
More days have passed and fewer and fewer responses came to his letters. At some point, they all stopped. The guards patrolling the walls stopped trying to spot the messengers.
And then, the tragedy struck. Even though the walls were still closed, even though no one ever tried to storm them, somehow, the people of the kingdom started getting sick and dying left and right. There was nothing the king could do as even the royal physicians got sick, no matter their precautions.
One day, it all stopped. People stopped getting sick. Still, most of the population already died. Out of his court, the king and a few of his guards were the only ones who survived. That knowledge broke something in the king's mind. He went mad. In his pursuit of restoring the kingdom to its former glory, he worked many of his subjects to death. Deaf to their pleas, he would send out new instructions to follow. The king was so blind in his obsession, that he never noticed that his people were conspiring against him. He just ordered them to do more and more.
A group of assassins sneaked into his throne room. Of course, he wouldn't go out without a fight. But his opponents turned out to be inexperienced, and so, he managed to get rid of them easily. As he checked their bodies, he noticed that one of them was way younger than the others, merely a teen. He ordered his guards to get rid of the bodies.
While he stayed in the throne room the next day or two, his paranoia started to grow. If the traitors sent that child to kill him, who would they send next? Tired because of his fears, he fell asleep.
When he woke up, there was a sound of unrest in the castle. There were voices chanting something, guards were screaming and crying out in pain. Before the king managed to shout for any of his guards to tell him what's happening, a big group of people stormed the throne room. It was a coup d'état.
In the first few seconds, the king was shocked. "Why is it happening?" Then, his shock turned to anger. "How dare they? Wasn't I a good king to them? Didn't I save those ingrates from the plague? He picked up his spear and using it and his bare fists, he fought an army of traitors, his mind gone. He was in a blind rage, fighting more like a beast than a human, frothing at the mouth and huffing.
It is said that when he killed about half of the people who gathered there to slay him, he noticed a young boy standing there with a sword pointed at him. The child looked just like one of the assassins he killed a few days ago. The sight of an innocent child brandishing a weapon at him, almost a beast covered in blood and guts, made him realize what he has become.
He fell to his knees, ashamed and hopeless. At this point, if he survived, if he killed all those who opposed him, would there still be someone alive in his kingdom?
The boy moved towards him, raising his weapon. "It's the only way," the king thought as the blade swung down.

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Related people:
The King
Related items:
Kingslayer