Eternal Youth and the Passage of Time

"How did you get in here?!” The woman next to Adrian shouted out alarmed

“Guards!!"

"Oh hush demon, I'm talking to the boy now." The shadowy figure quipped, approaching the bed menacingly. The pressure in the room increased as the gravity of the situation began to weigh on Adrian's mind. As the shadow inched closer, guards ran into the room and attacked.

Without even looking back, the mysterious perpetrator subdued the guards with an unknown ability. The second the guards approached they were knocked out cold. The phantom didn’t even need to lift a finger. The woman next to Adrian clicked her tongue.

"looks like I'll have to deal with you myself "

She lunged at the perpetrator, pulling a knife out of her cleavage. However, she was easily dismantled by a swift chop to the neck, discombobulating her as she fell to the floor, knocked out cold! Her long hair covered her hourglass figure like a blanket.

"Get up boy and come with me." The perpetrator put a hand out towards Adrian who teleported away fearfully.

In a flash Adrian was on the roof of the castle, breathing a sigh of relief having evaded capture, but his joy was short lived.

"So yours is an ability to teleport. How amusing."

The shadow appeared behind Adrian in a flash. The king swivelled around, shocked at how quickly he had been hunted down. He had felt his ability was invincible, however the reality was far from this. He was but a goldfish in a sea of sharks, and one of them had come to play.

"Why did you do it ?! Have you no soul! "

Adrian needed no clarification and knew exactly what the shadow was referring to, turning his eyes away in shame.

" How weak and pathetic. I think you need more time to come to terms with the monster you’ve become. You see that mountain in the distance?" The shadow pointed to a peculiar landform.

"When you've had your fill of this realm and the sacrifices begin to take a toll on you, come find me there. You're not alone."

And with that the shadow disappeared leaving Adrian dazed and confused.

Who the heck was that?

The king thought, puzzled as he teleported back to his chambers, phasing into the room just as more guards appeared. He lifted the unconscious woman from the floor and looked away from the servants, his face covered by strands of his long hair, hiding his expression.

“Sire we came to-”

"LEAVE US!"

He shouted out enraged, causing the guards to retreat and scatter like cockroaches. His frustration stemmed from remembering his weaknesses, an unwelcome reminder of his previous life. It proved to him that he was still a coward, unable to move on in spirit from who he used to be. No matter how much power he had, he was still a weakling at heart, proven by his indulgence of the sacrifice.

He turned his face to stare at the crimson light of the full moon blasting through the open window, drenching him and the woman in his arms in brilliant white splendour. His hair parted to the sides, his eyes sparkling in the light, evoking a deep emotion. His soul was broken, and this encounter had proven it.

After that, time flowed faster than the mind could keep. A decade passed in the blink of an eye.

Generals aged, their hair silvering, backs bending, mental faculties waning, death approaching. Townspeople he had remembered the names and faces of grew old and weary, children he once greeted now brought him their own children, cats he had once pet had litters and their litters had litters of their own in turn. And through it all, Adrian did not age. Eternal in body, time flowed around him. He began to feel as if the kingdom was a living, breathing extension of himself. He was not far from the truth.

The woman who had accompanied him for many years was now older as well, remaining by his side through it all. Her wicked grin never once fading through all her years of companionship. When she washed him in the baths, her fingertips brushed the bite mark again, tracing it with devotion and a perplexing curiosity. Her eyes glinted like coals in a fire every time they met with the bite mark. The daughter of this woman, grown now, offered herself to Adrian with the same devotion as her mother. Adrian seamlessly accepted her as a part of the rhythm of loyalty and desire woven through his kingdom. They both tended to his every need together, showcasing a wicked system that intoxicated Adrian. His morals were twisted in ways he had never thought possible and for a brief moment he was able to forget his previous life.

He watched borders expand and new treaties forged with different races surrounding his kingdom, all of them pledging allegiance to him when hearing of his miraculous strength. And to his people, his eternal youth was a form of godhood. He walked through the cities under his control feeling both invincible and indispensable. He was welcomed and revered everywhere he went. Yet, in quiet moments, reflection rose like a tide.

He traced the cold marble of graves he had laid for the dead, a sense of awe and unease threading through him. The sacrifices remained constant throughout his rule and only increased in number. Every few years, a new victim and then every few months, until his kingdom had expanded so far that there was a need for a new sacrifice every single day. Some were old, others young, but they shared one thing in common; They were ready to be slain without complaint. It puzzled Adrian and over time he became numb to the senseless violence. No matter how much clarity he sought, he continued to take part in the rituals.

Meanwhile, festivals celebrated victories as the streets rang with the laughter of children. Elders bowed deeply in respect and all seemed perfect from the outside. But the sacrifices were beginning to take their toll. The weight of the countless deaths at his hand made Adrian develop night terrors. He would sit up in cold sweats screaming, only to be soothed by the woman beside him, her devilish grin never wavering. She seemed to be his only comfort until one day when he couldn't handle it any longer.

That’s when the words of the shadow returned to him. He would teleport to the top of the castle every now and then to look out at the mountain, perplexed at the puzzling visit by the nameless stranger all those decades ago.

What did it want? He's not alone? What did that even mean? Questions arose in his mind like bubbles to the surface of lava ready to erupt. And thus, he planned a visit to the mountain in a last ditch effort to erase the memory of his cowardice from that night.

"Where are you going, my liege?" The woman asked

"Just for an expedition along the plains. I'll be back before nightfall." He reassured her as he set out on his trip.

For the first time in many years, he saw her smile vanish as he set out on his journey. Using his powers of teleportation he cut the distance short expeditiously. Within merely an hour he had crossed over three of his territories to reach the mountain. He was surprised by how far his reach had expanded as the arm of his authority now reached the neighbourhood of the mountain itself. Soon he was at the foot of the gigantic structure. It was imposing up close.

Where's the entrance...

Adrian thought as he teleported around the area, only to find the massive land mass completely sealed off from all sides. He circled back around to his starting point and scratched his head, confused.

There's gotta be a mechanism here somewhere

He thought as his eyes met with a formation of rocks at the foot of the mountain that seemed somewhat out of place. He walked over to the patch and removed the twigs and branches from on top, knocking on the rocks beneath to find that they were hollow.

This seems like a start..

Adrian lifted the rocks and cleared the debris to find a metal cover at the bottom, removing it to find a long and winding metal staircase that led downward.

Jackpot

Adrian proceeded downward until he reached the bottom of the stairwell. From there a tunnel opened up in front of him and seemed to stretch for half a mile into the base of the mountain. He followed the path cautiously until he arrived upon yet another stairwell, this time leading upwards.

I wonder if he's up there..

Adrian thought as he ascended the stairwell and poked his head out of the opening at the top.

"What a surprise, look who decided to show up. You're only 2 decades late."

A voice called out from behind upon sight of Adrian's head, poking out from the ground like a worm on a damp and rainy day. He hauled himself up the opening and off the ground. He was now inside the mountain where the shadow had constructed a lair for itself. The shadow walked over and stood by him as Adrian got up and brushed the dust off himself. He could finally make out what it looked like.

A woman..

"Surprised are you?" She laughed. "So tell me, have you had your fill yet?"

Adrian was taken aback. Until now he had assumed that no one would know he was reincarnated here, but the woman knew more than she let on.

"My name is Diana, What's yours?"

"Adrian"

"Well Adrian, don't get too comfy. The women, the feasts, the victories, even the sacrifices, mostly everything you've experienced so far wasn't exactly 'real' . I’ve been watching you."

Adrian was shocked. Diana seemed to have answers to the questions that had been weighing on his mind. He was ready to learn the truth.

"Walk with me" she ordered as she led him deeper into the lair.