Kylrus was the most interesting person Arthur had ever met in his life, so he decided to take him to the castle. The journey itself drew attention, as a commoner boy was being escorted into the royal residence, something rarely seen.
There, Arthur learned more about him. Kylrus was ten years old, two years younger than Arthur, yet his presence and composure didn't reflect his age.
"You'll receive every resource you can think of, sword, artifact, medicines, healers, practice targets, everything. So, train hard"
"But why your highness? I killed your royal knights, shouldn't you want me dead instead?"
"You just squashed a few ants, forget about it. I want you to be stronger, you will be my opponent"
"Your opponent?"
"Yes, you will train here with all these resources and after one year we will have a rematch"
"I understand your high-"
"Call me Arthur"
"Alright... Arthur"
Since that day, Arthur started visiting Kylrus frequently. Despite his usual indifference toward everyone else, he made time for him. He even began sharing his thoughts about life, something he had never done with anyone before.
"Are you agreeing to me just because of my status?"
"No, it's natural for someone as strong as you to have such views about life"
Arthur realized something strange. Even though they were both strong, their views about life were completely different.
Kylrus was also very strong for his age, but his perspective had been shaped by hardship. Earlier, he had hesitated to hurt even those who wronged him or his family. But the struggles he faced since childhood, simply because of his low status and his family's financial condition, forced him to change. He adopted a principle: kindness toward the good, and ruthlessness toward the evil. He understood that in this world, strength determined everything.
Still, he never developed a God-complex like Arthur. He never saw others as beneath him.
Despite these differences, they respected each other's opinions.
They felt like two sides of the same coin.
One day, while training shirtless, Arthur noticed a mark on Kylrus's shoulder.
"Is that?"
"Yes, I was also born with a divine mark like you. But my parents told me to hide it, as people would think I am impersonating the crown prince. I think that's why I was different"
Arthur was clearly surprised to see this.
"That explains your talents, but then why were you born in such a poor family?"
"Well probably God wanted to test me if I am worthy of the powers, by putting me through challenges"
"I wish I faced challenges aswell"
"Grass is always greener on the other side. Maybe the day you will actually feel a challenge, you won't like it?"
Those words made Arthur pause, as if something inside him had been questioned for the first time.
"Hmm probably that day will never come"
"Anyways, you're my only friend, Kylrus"
"Same here Arthur"
"When I become the king, I'll keep you as my sword"
"Haha do you even need a sword?"
"Of course I do, but you still won't be able to surpass me by then"
"We'll see about that"
They started laughing. Even though laughter was something unfamiliar to Arthur, his personality changed noticeably when he was around Kylrus. The cold, emotionless demeanor faded, replaced by something more human.
Kylrus continued training and talking with Arthur every day, and their friendship deepened over time. Both of them had found purpose in their otherwise dull lives and were living what felt like their best days.
Arthur eventually took Kylrus to the cave.
"Whoa! Is that really a dragon?"
"Yea, his name is Valthyrix. I recently tamed him because of a special ability of my bloodline. Though he's much stronger than me now, I will defeat him soon"
"Isn't that wishful thinking boy? It seems you made a friend?"
"Yea, he is Kylrus, he's just as talented as me"
"You have an interesting soul, Kylrus"
"Thank you sir dragon, I wish I'll get to ride you one day"
"Haha I like you, you're much better than Arthur"
Arthur took Kylrus on trips, spent money freely on him, and gave him attention he had never given to his own siblings. With Kylrus, he was completely different.
Everything was perfect… until the rematch occurred after a year, just as promised.
And Kylrus dominated the fight.
The person who had always stood at the top, who had never lost, who had longed for a challenge…
Was defeated.
"No way I won!"
"Congratulations, Kylrus"
"It was all thanks to the resources you provided"
"Don't undercredit yourself"
On the surface, Arthur appeared calm and supportive.
But inside, something broke.
He had always wanted a challenge. Then why did this feel wrong? Why did this make him feel worse instead of fulfilled?
He had always considered human emotions meaningless. Then why was he feeling something he couldn't ignore?
Jealousy, and not toward a stranger.
Toward his own friend, his only friend?
Was it because he was used to being at the top?
Was his pride hurt?
"Hey Arthur, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, being able to defeat me is a huge milestone others can only dream of, so there will be a huge feast tonight"
"I'll be waiting for it then!"
That evening, they sat across from each other at a large table. The room was quiet, almost unnaturally so. The table was filled with a wide variety of dishes, carefully prepared by the finest chefs in the palace.
"Isn't that a bit too much?"
"I eat this everyday it's nothing. Don't be shy"
"Well then I won't be polite"
Kylrus began eating.
Then he stopped.
He looked up at Arthur, noticing something unusual. Arthur's face, which was normally expressionless, now carried visible tension and guilt.
"The food… It's poisoned, isn't it?"
Arthur's expression twisted instantly into horror.
It wasn't ordinary poison. That couldn't kill someone as strong as Kylrus.
It was dragon's saliva.
Arthur had mixed Valthyrix's saliva into the food.
Valthyrix himself didn't know about this. He had given it months ago, believing Arthur would use it to create a weapon, it was Arthur's original plan anyways
'W-What have I done?'
"Why, Arthur?"
"I-I guess I know why"
Kylrus started coughing blood.
"If you had said, I would've destroyed my mana core, even crippled myself… But why did you backstab me?"
"Kylrus I-"
"All my life, I had faced humiliation and was treated unfairly until I met you, the only person who viewed me as an equal. Wh-"
His veins began bulging, his face turning purple as the poison spread.
"N-NO! I need a healer, right now. I can't let this happen. I can't let Kylrus die, why did I do this? WHY?? I NEED A HEALER"
Arthur knew that a healer won't be able to do anything, it isn't just some normal poison, but he had lost all rationality.
"Forget it, Arthur. It's too late now anyways. Didn't you once tell me that you hated pondering and regretting over an action you have already done? You hated having internal conflicts… What's done is done"
"I-I'm sorry Kylrus. I will fix everything, don't worry. I-I acted impulsively, I'm a fool, a fucking fool, an arrogant, prideful fool."
Arthur approached him, trembling, and grabbed his hands tightly.
"Kylrus, take that knife and kill me. I don't deserve to live after this"
"Shut up Arthur, I don't know about you but I truly considered you my friend, and I still do. Two divine marked beings dying on the same day? That's just disrespecting God. You're way more important than me, you are destined to greatness. What am I? A bug that can be squashed anytime"
Kylrus coughed more blood, his face now completely violet.
"Just promise me one thing, please send someone to take care of my mother. After dad died, she had been completely depended on me"
"Kylrus! You cannot die. NO! I'll fix everything... I promise I will"
"Goodbye Arthur... The past year was the best moments I had in my life."
Kylrus died.
In Arthur's arms.
For the first time in his life, Arthur's eyes filled with tears. His face showed disbelief, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
Kylrus had truly died.
And within that thirteen-year-old boy, something shattered completely. One part of him felt relief that he was once again at the top.
Another part of him was breaking apart.
'What have I done?'
"THAT FUCKING BASTARD"
Arthur snapped back to reality, standing once again before Valthyrix.
"You saw it? What's worse is that as he grew up, overtime he no longer regretted killing Kylrus, he just regretted killing him using a petty trick instead of a fair fight, that too because his pride said he would've won in a fair fight aswell. Can you imagine? That was his only regret when he grew up"
"I always knew he had a God-Complex… But this?"
"Kylrus was a massive fool, if it were me I would've used the knife and killed Arthur before dying myself. Fuck such a friendship, who in the right mind would forgive him after what he did??"
"Isn't that ironic coming from you? Anyways, do you know why I showed you all this?"
"Why?"
"Because, you forgot…."
Valthyrix's eyes locked onto Arthur's.
"Kylrus"