Ruler Of Iron And Flesh

Inian watched the blood of the descendant boil on top of the water's surface. He relished with how mighty he felt right now.

'The world will bow to me.'

His hair waved above his head, heat radiated from his body, and Inian stayed up in the air.

He was about to fly up higher into the sky when he heard a voice calling to him from below, "Inian! Please come back down!" It was Burt's voice.

Inian soared back down to the ship, his eyes were still dark, and his figure was radiant.

"Are you trying to command the king?!" Inian asked, rage quivering in his voice.

Burt was startled, "n...no, I was just asking you to come back down so we can go home."

Inian walked up to Burt, and his size increased a few times, so he towered over Burt, "you don't ever give me a command!"

Burt backed down, "I'm sorry, Inian, it won't happen again."

Inian smiled, but then his demeanor returned to normal. His hair went to its regular length, and his body shrunk back down to his normal size.

"What did I just say?"

Burt looked at Inian with fear, "which Inian am I talking to? My friend, or the king?"

Inian shook his head when he realized what happened, "oh Burt, I'm so sorry." He went down on his knees and wept in front of Burt.

Burt stood there for a moment and then patted Inian's shoulder, "I forgive you, but you need to figure out what's going on with your mind. It'll end badly if you don't fix it."

Inian sniffled and nodded, then Burt looked at the gawking crew, "we've done what we came here to do, so now we can head back. Sorry for lying to you all about going on a casual trip. We'll give each of you ten diamond coins when we get back."

The crew was angry for a bit, but immediately got back to work when they heard ten diamond coins. After all, the danger has already passed, so all they need to do is get back to shore.

Inian stayed on his knees and tried to remember what happened. He was fighting the descendant, and then he felt a click in his mind. He felt high authority come over him. HIS authority.

After that, he partially blacked out, and only became lucid when he was back on the ship.

He needed answers, fast.

"Burt, I'm going to try and sleep below deck. I may be able to find out the answers as to what is happening to me."

"Good luck then Inian. I'm going to chill out on the deck here. It's been a bit of an adrenaline rush fighting against one of the most powerful monsters in existence."

Inian chuckled, "alright, enjoy."

He went below deck to one of the racks laid out beneath the ship and was out cold almost immediately. He left his wet clothes on and soon fell into a deep sleep.

In his dream world, it was always the same place. An open rocky field with a mountain to his left and the first king was sitting next to him.

"You forced your way in this time? Impressive," the first king said.

Inian didn't waste any time, "I need answers, I'm changing and feel different when I use more and more power. I don't understand how to stop it."

The wolf king looked off into the distance, "I see the authority of the king is beginning to corrupt you. It is a phase that every king must struggle through, but I can only imagine the difficulty it has for you, being human."

The wolf king sighed, "humanity has the strongest d.e.s.i.r.e for power, so the draw from the authority of the king is the heaviest on you I'm afraid. The only way to get through it is to get used to it."

Inian kept listening for more answers, but the wolf king didn't say anymore.

He was growing frustrated, "what can I do not to hurt anyone around me! You say that I need to get used to it, but how do I do that? How can I not let corruption get to me?"

The wolf king answered, "every king is different. The king before you destroyed an entire species of monsters because he was disturbed in his sleep. You need to understand the weight of the authority you've been given, and then use it. That is how you can best avoid corruption." The wolf king looked up at the sky, "I'm afraid my time is up, good luck young king."

"Wait, no!"

Inian called out as the dream world spiraled out of existence and he woke up back in the real world. The ship was gently rocking on the dark waters. It was night, and the moon reflected off the sea.

Shore was drawing closer to them, and their time on the boat was almost up.

The manager was out and about on the dock, "Well! I see you did manage to break my boat nearly."

After getting tossed around on the open water, the ship was in bad condition and looked like it was about to fall apart.

Burt chuckled, "Sorry about that," and he handed the boat manager 20 diamond coins to pay for repairs.

The manager's eyes widened, "why, thank you very much."

Burt also went around and paid each of the crew members for their work.

"Are you sure it's okay spending so much money Burt? What if you run out?"

"Don't worry about it Inian, after all, it's your money, and you are never going to run out."

Inian grumbled as Burt laughed and they made their way back inland.