**Chapter 3: The Dead Monarch**
Elysian, the city of divine inspiration, was experiencing one of its hardest moments in history. For centuries, the monarch of Elysian, responsible for maintaining the balance of emotions on Earth, had succumbed to a weakness, dragging both realms into war. The sacred spirits of former monarchs whispered the curse of the Gods through the streets of Elysian. The people choked on the smell of gunpowder, crying at the sound of gunfire. The land reeked of blood. The sorrow of Elysian's people reflected on Earth, manifesting as despair, anger, and resentment among humans.
The reigning monarch, having painfully learned that weakness was indeed a flaw, decided to test his daughters, ordering them to be brought before him. As the guards hurried to execute the command, the metallic clank of their silver armors echoed through the palace. That night, five young girls were woken up, summoned to face their father, the monarch of Elysian. Sleep still lingered in their eyes, dreams in their minds, unaware that this would be the last night they dreamt.
The Elysian monarch sat sprawled on his throne, his long white hair unkempt, blue eyes red. He stroked his pointed chin, his weary gaze fixed on his five daughters. Despite the late hour, they stood erect and alert, hands clasped at their stomachs, chins up, their expressions blank. They had no idea what was going through the man's mind looking at them so intently, nor were they particularly curious. More than anything... they were scared.
Unable to rectify his mistake, the monarch wished to prevent future generations from erring. He decided to send his daughters to Earth for a test. The rules were simple: In a place like Earth, unaffected by any magic, one without any weaknesses could not exist. Whoever remained without a flaw would be declared the heir, the next ruler after him.
One daughter failed the test by saving knowledge that was scorned on Earth, returning to Elysian as the embodiment of wisdom and justice. Another was captivated by love, returning as the symbol of love and loyalty. The third stole immortality from Earth and returned to Elysian as the sole immortal being, invincible with the power derived from hatred. The fourth vanished, unable to endure Earth's harsh conditions. The last daughter, strong enough not to acquire any flaws, was the true heir.
Without being sent to Elysian through the life cross in the Curtain, I would have never remembered all this. When I opened my eyes, all memories flooded my mind.
I tried to sit up, pressing my elbows into the ground. The thorns I landed on pierced my arm, eliciting a moan of pain from me. Yet, I didn't rush to get up. The white wood and lush green leaves of the tall trees gave me a clue about my location. I remembered this place. I was in Avar, Elysian's magical forest. Sunlight filtering through the dense trees rescued the forest floor flora from darkness. Yellow, brown, and orange fern-like plants crowded the soil, making it invisible. Butterflies with wings outlined in colorful lights scattered magical dust as they flew, illuminating the dark spots along with fireflies.
A sense of peace visited my curling lips. I was in Elysian, the universe where I was born and raised, among my own kind. From my first to my last moment, I remembered everything clearly, causing my heart to race wildly.
Was the test over? Is that why I returned from Earth? I didn't know that we would remember nothing on Earth, even believing ourselves to be human. I swallowed before biting my lower lip. Had I done something wrong? Is that why I lived like a human?
My breath came out choppy due to my quivering lips. Humans don't know the source of their emotions, they never think about it. They couldn't even imagine the existence of a universe like Elysian. Was I, the last descendant of the Elysian royal family, deemed worthy to be the heir? I wanted this, more than anything.
"I won't be going through any more coffin rides!" The shout made me flinch. Turning my head to the right, I saw Çağın, spitting out dirt from his mouth and dusting off the sand from his clothes. He must have woken up in a graveyard, having traveled here from the Curtain using a coffin. Watching him clean the dirt from his hair, I thought I'd prefer waking up in a graveyard over calmly awakening with the pain of the cross.
"There was no issue when you woke up in an undiscovered tomb and pocketed the gold..." I hadn't even noticed Eva standing beside Çağın until she leaned her head on her left shoulder, letting the thin tongue of the snake coiled around her arm touch her cheek. Though the action sent shivers of disgust through me, she smiled broadly and closed her eye in apparent pleasure.
Çağın remarked, "Life is hard on Earth, dear Eva." At that moment, my mind cleared, pushing aside even the longing I felt for Elysian, postponing the enjoyment of being back home.
Without even bothering to remove the thorns sticking to me, I stood up. Despite the grass wrapped around my feet and the magic dust sticking to my face, I hurried towards Çağın. Standing in front of him, he turned to face me, his cheeks nearly creasing with a wide smile. Yet, this smile only fueled my anger. The slap I gave him turned his head to the right. "How could you leave me alone with that snake while I remembered nothing!"
He slowly turned his head back to me, eyebrows raised in surprise, lips parting slightly. His hand touched the cheek I had slapped. Mumbling incoherent words, he couldn't progress beyond pointless murmurs. When he realized what I was talking about, he turned to Eva angrily. "Did you bring her through the cross!?"
Eva, seemingly proud of her actions, confirmed, "Yes," prompting Çağın to react faster than me.
"I told you not to do that, Eva! She's an heir, if you treat her this way-"
"What do you mean?" I interrupted. Raising my eyebrows, I said, "Heir?" realizing I hadn't remembered everything. Had I won the test? The mere possibility sent my heart into a frenzy. Was I... going to be a monarch?
Çağın's tense facial expressions softened as a slow smile spread across his lips, giving me hope. His gentle voice confirmed, "The heir," making my knees tremble. My eyes welled up. I didn't know what to say or do.
"Your spirit is blessed with honor, my heir," I heard, and for a moment, I was intoxicated with happiness. But that phrase splashed cold water on my face, sobering me up. I felt my breath caught in my chest, my face contorting in pain. Experiencing such intense emotions in just a few minutes was... terrifying.
In Elysian, when an heir is sanctified with honor, it means the monarch... the monarch has died.
Swallowing hard, I asked, "My father?"
Çağın turned towards me, kneeling on one knee on the ground he had just emerged from. "My heir..." he said. "
Allow me to accompany you on your first duty."
---
Standing in front of the full-length mirror with golden frames, I combed my red hair that reached my waist. I was wearing my mourning costume, a black silk dress. I had shaded my green eyes with a few black makeup items and applied black lipstick to my lips. The makeup made my small face appear more sculpted and radiant. After cleaning the makeup smudges from my thin eyebrows, I was ready. I left the lipstick in front of the mirror on the floor.
They had given me two hours to accept my father's death. They told me he had passed away in his bed, peacefully freed from the illness that caused him pain. I hadn't cried. I was expected to face it calmly, and I did. I shouldn't dwell on it, shouldn't summon emotions that would upset me.
After all, a monarch's death was his true birth. Soon, I would release my father's eternal soul from his mortal body, allowing him to become a Sacred Spirit like his predecessors, continuing to serve Elysian by conveying messages they received from the Creator to the new monarchs.
I didn't linger in my room. My bare feet brushed against the cold floor as I left. The guard, who noticed the door opening, saluted me with his head. I briefly looked at the man, whose blue eyes were the only visible part through his armor, and started walking. He led the way, followed by ten other guards.
Feeling him draw close, I said, "Tell me."
"I am here to clear your doubts, my heir."
"You're not a guard, are you?" I adjusted my tone so only he could hear.
"Your late father assigned me to explain everything to you when the time came." I began descending the staircase at the end of the corridor with red walls, holding onto the gold-plated railing.
"Why did he leave me on Earth, and why didn't I remember anything there?"
"Your sisters stole emotions and some symbols from Earth, my heir, which made them very powerful. If you had been announced as the heir here, they would have harmed you. Your father protected you by hiding you on Earth and ordered your return on the day of his death. The reason you didn't remember anything was to minimize the chance of Earth's beings learning about Elysian. A woman carrying royal blood living among humans for years was risky enough." I nodded slowly, processing what he said. I knew Eva, who would harm me and was insanely jealous of my heirship. However, the others weren't fresh in my memory. I had last seen them one hundred and fifty years ago. For one hundred and fifty years, I had been protected from everything on Earth. The guard added, "When the human bodies you were hiding in died, your soul was blown into a selected human baby by our king. This way, your sisters couldn't find you."
Stepping outside, I ended our conversation by saying, "Please be in my room after the ceremony; we have things to discuss."
At the palace front, looking around the lake surrounded by trees, I noticed it wasn't as crowded as I expected. I continued walking, observing the surroundings. The lake's surface was covered with orange and yellow leaves. My father's lifeless body was in the middle of the lake, entirely submerged except for his head, which was slightly raised, his chin and part of his ears underwater. His crown, adorned with laurel leaves, was also half-submerged. The dull blue of his open eyes sparkled under the sun, attracting my attention despite the distance. I wondered if I saw a soft look in those dead eyes. Honestly, the stiffness of death didn't feel foreign to me.
Without looking at Çağın's face, who had approached me, I asked, "Where are the people?" indicating the ceremony area, which should have been filled with all of Elysian's citizens, but only the palace staff were present. I heard him swallow. He was aware of the distance I was keeping from him. Leaving me utterly vulnerable beside Eva was something I wouldn't easily forget. He had practically allowed Eva to flaunt her power over me!
"They say they won't accept an heir raised on Earth," he said, causing me to stop walking and look at him. He had shed the clothes he wore on Earth, now donning black linen trousers and a matching flowing shirt.
"But if the people don't accept me, I can't be a monarch!" I spoke in horror, slightly parting my eyes. A monarch exists to serve the people. I was supposed to make them feel good emotions so our people could send positive feelings to Earth, ensuring peace on Earth... How could someone who wasn't accepted by the people become a monarch? The absence of a monarch in Elysian would cause chaos here, and chaos here would lead to chaos on Earth.
"Also..." Çağın said in a tone that promised more bad news. "Your sisters need to accept your heirship as well." My gaze immediately shifted to Eva by the lake's edge. My dear sister... The others didn't even bother to come.
"Let's get through this ceremony first," I murmured, taking a deep breath. Leaving him behind, I continued walking, hearing him say, "Good luck."
A monarch's first duty is to conduct the funeral ceremony of the previous monarch. With that purpose, I stepped into the lake. The sensation of wetness that began at my toes reached up to my knees as I waded deeper. The wet dress clung to my entire body. Finally, I was completely submerged, yet I could still touch the bottom, as the water didn't lift me but rose above my head. This wasn't supposed to happen! When the water surpassed my height, it should have pushed me towards my father.
I closed my eyes, forcing myself to stay calm, and continued walking. I stopped right below my father's body, waiting to rise, but I remained stuck at the bottom. How could I close his eyes while submerged at the bottom of the lake?
I couldn't believe it…
My heirship wasn't recognized, so I wasn't considered a monarch, preventing me from conducting the ceremony. Knowing that my actions wouldn't change anything, I still tried to tiptoe. What was I supposed to do? I knelt down, pushed off, and jumped, which didn't help me rise either.
Failing this ceremony meant my father couldn't become a Sacred Spirit!
Realizing something was wrong, the guards and other palace officials shone lights into the lake, but I knew I couldn't do anything at the moment. I walked back the way I came. Emerging from the lake, it was apparent to everyone that I had failed. They didn't say a word as they followed me angrily back to the palace.
I sat at the foot of my bed, wrapping my arms around my legs and biting my lower lip to hold back tears. I had never been a crybaby, but the events of the day overwhelmed me before I could adapt, piling tons of responsibility on my shoulders. As if failing my duties wasn't enough, I had become an unwanted Earth-raised heir.
It felt like my heart was pumping anxiety and confusion. Breathing was a struggle. I tried to control the tears forming in my burning eyes when there was a knock on the door. Running my tongue over my lips, I managed to steady my voice and said, "Yes?" If
I made enemies within the palace on top of being rejected by the people, I wouldn't be able to handle it. I needed to mask my irritation as much as possible.
The door opened, and Çağın entered. He stopped about ten steps from me and said, "I'm sorry."
I laughed sarcastically. "For which part?" When he pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh out of anger, I knew he referred to bringing me through the cross from the Curtain. The cross or coffin was necessary for transitioning between Earth and Elysian. The coffin ensured we woke up in a graveyard, while the cross gave us the simultaneous experience of death's pain and birth's agony before sending us to our desired realm. Naturally, no one preferred this painful route...
"Eva knew my heirship wouldn't be recognized; perhaps she's the one stirring up the people against me." There was no need for "perhaps"; I was certain of it. In Elysian, if you're part of the royal family, family ties mean nothing. Your biggest enemies are always your siblings, and you're trained from childhood to deal with this.
"So, what do you plan to do?" he asked, and I leaned my cheek on my knee, waiting. What indeed? I took a deep breath. At that moment, the question "What would my father have done?" crossed my mind, causing me to furrow my brows. I shook my head involuntarily. If my presence here meant surviving Earth as myself, I had to protect that. What would I do in a crisis?
I had to gain both my sisters' and the people's approval. If the people didn't accept me, it meant they preferred my siblings to rule. This meant if I gained my siblings' approval, I'd automatically win over the people who supported them.
Smiling, I stood up. "I'll visit my sisters."
He looked puzzled for a moment, then understanding dawned, and he grinned. Pointing at me, he exclaimed, "That's it!" and I laughed.
"Though I'm laughing, don't think I've forgotten how you left me defenseless with that ethnic brute," I added.
He stepped closer, chuckling, "Ethnic brute, huh?" Then he moved behind me, taking my shoulders to face me towards the mirror. "So, do I look like a mutated red panda then?"
The reflection in the mirror widened my eyes. My black makeup was smeared, my hair was frizzy from being wet, my dress dripped water, and sand stuck to my feet... "Look at this state..." I said, looking at him in the mirror. He grinned over my shoulder, his amber eyes shining in the reflection. Though he irritated me, his presence was a stroke of luck. He didn't have the ability to travel between Earth and Elysian using the Curtain like we did because he hadn't been sent to Earth due to his long lifespan. I knew his grandfather. Çağın belonged to one of the few families with special abilities outside the royal family. He could travel without using the Curtain, the only being capable of such a feat. He must have used the coffin hoping to emerge in a historical tomb and steal valuable jewels.
"Çağın..." I momentarily forgot my grudge. "Let's continue like this, okay? We're friends, like on Earth."
He smiled genuinely. "Of course, my heir." He guided me towards the bathroom in my room. "Then clean up first. Afterwards, let's go for a walk, and you can ask me anything you're curious about. I'm probably the only one who can answer your questions."
I struggled not to frown. Didn't he know about the guard my father assigned to explain things to me?
"What are you waiting for?" he asked, and with a fake smile, I replied, "Okay, meet me on the forest path in half an hour."
He nodded and left the room moments later. I shed my dirty clothes and entered the bathtub. Submerging in water again after the lake made me nauseous, not to mention the whirlpool of questions in my mind. The running water seemed to highlight my incompetence. I exhaled and hurried to clean up, eager not to linger in the water.
After dressing in a velvet, long green dress that accentuated my green eyes, leaving my wet hair loose, and putting on my boots, I left my room.
The guard I had spoken to before the ceremony was at the door. Seeing the brown flecks in the eyes of the man, whose eyes were the only visible part, made me smile. I nodded at him and began walking, confident that the people's rejection wouldn't last long. I felt the support of my late father, who had appointed me as the heir.
When I reached the forest path where the palace garden was located, Çağın was already there, holding a shiny package that immediately caught my attention. He handed me the chocolate with a smile, saying, "Here, I brought you some happiness."
I shook my head, refusing. "That thing only triggers the happiness hormone in humans." Ignoring my refusal, he opened the package and took a big bite. My rejection seemed to please him.
We walked silently among the trees until he finished his chocolate. Breaking the silence, he asked, "Who are you planning to visit first?"
"Not Eva." My response was clear. I could still feel her energy lurking around the palace. This meant she would always be on my back.
"Hesna, the embodiment of love and loyalty. I'm sure she'll accept you." My lips curled. Of course, I wouldn't expect anyone but Hesna to steal love.
"Bilun?" I asked without waiting for an answer. "The embodiment of wisdom and justice."
"Does anyone know how Felin disappeared?" He shook his head. "I wasn't born then, but according to my grandfather, Felin's disappearance plunged the people into mourning. Eva took advantage of this grief to win the people over. Some even claim that she declared war on your father during this time, though the reasons are unclear. But one thing everyone knows is that currently, both in Earth and here, the dominant emotions are the desire for power and the hatred, resentment, and arrogance it breeds. So, the most powerful among you is Eva." This was not surprising. On Earth, there were plenty of people like Eva. Even Okan and Ayça had infiltrated my circle.
"Hesna comes second. I think the abundance of love, despite the peak of hatred, comes from mothers' love for their children," he continued to explain. "Bilun is the last."
Bilun, the eldest among us, grew up quite detached from us. She went mad when my father announced he would choose the heir in a different way, despite her expectations of becoming the heir due to her age! I remember her screaming about the injustice. The ones pleased by this were definitely Felin and Eva. Hesna, as always, was the harmonious one who stayed out of the fray. Me... What I was back then doesn't matter because no one cares that I was born here; they're too busy emphasizing that I'm an unwanted heir raised on Earth.
"Tomorrow, we'll visit Hesna," I declared. Convincing her should be easy, so starting with her made sense. Planning my roadmap seemed to infuse me with a newfound confidence
. I smiled. I could do this; I could make both my sisters and the people accept me.
As we continued walking, suddenly, three beings I had never seen before jumped in front of us. All three were shorter than my knees and dressed like humans.
"Are you the heir?" the one in the yellow jumpsuit asked. I nodded in response.
"What are you, dwarves?" Their simultaneous angry shout of "No!" followed by laughter and the addition, "We are little people!" had me spreading my hands and slightly nodding, "So, dwarves."
This seemed to infuriate them even more, so much so that the one in yellow, followed by red, and then blue on top, climbed onto each other's backs. Even in this formation, they didn't reach my height, I thought, until they started growing. Now they stood as tall as three of me stacked on top of each other. Looking up at them, they yelled, "You disrespectful heir, we are not dwarves!"
I couldn't stop the words, "Wow, magic dwarves," from slipping out, which only angered them further. They dismounted and returned to their original sizes, turning their backs on me with a huff.
As they walked away with small steps towards the trees, I asked, "What exactly are they?" I was certain I hadn't seen these creatures before being sent to Earth.
"Little people," he replied. "Those who gained infamy on Earth for their evil deeds, those who committed massacres, are punished this way. After death, they are brought here and put to work in fetch and carry tasks. Until Eva's power peaked, the regret felt by the little people kept our people away from evil."
Raising my eyebrows, I asked, "Whose idea was this?"
"Our late king's," he said, admiration evident in his smile.
We walked a bit further before parting ways. Before heading back to the palace, I made my way to the lake. I would set off at dawn to visit Hesna, telling no one but Çağın, as I didn't want Eva to catch wind of my plans. Actually, I wasn't sure if Eva was still in the palace or had returned to her own wasteland, but I could feel her malevolent energy quite close by.
Standing in front of the lake, my father's blue eyes shimmered against his pale complexion. The laurel leaves on his crown seemed to maintain their vitality thanks to the water, but I knew, inside his dead body, a soul was eager to escape. I had to sanctify his soul and present his wisdom to Elysian. This was my first responsibility with my new title.
I wouldn't care for compliments on my appearance since what was admired wasn't my creation. My stance, my words, and my successes were. When I realized I could be the god of my own soul, my first command was to succeed and earn respect. Respect was only given to those who deserved it in Elysian. I wanted to be respected. My father knew I was worthy of respect and deserving of the heirship; I couldn't let his trust down.
Perhaps now I should return to my room, don my mourning costume again, and then head to the lake to try reaching my father again until the water carried me to him.
My steps towards the palace were filled with determination and resolve. I smiled at the palace staff greeting me along the way, sensing their tension dissipating, which was important to me.
Upon entering my room, seeing the blue-eyed guard standing by my bed startled me enough to forget all my plans.
I smiled.
Not because he had followed my instructions to visit my room after the ceremony. After closing the door, I approached him with an expanded smile and said, "Father?"
