[ CW ] You have fought your way through hell . You have an army at your back that has been through the most brutal war mankind has ever endured . But as you burst into the chambers of the leader of your foes , you find him weeping quietly in his chair . What happens now ?

Here I stood, in a small study, with a small bed and a small desk and a small collection of books where Armosii the Unbeaten sat and wept. The Palace itself was stunning, curtains of the finest silk, stunning artwork on every wall, even the pillars were gilded and shined. The road here had taken the lives of my brothers, my sisters, and my right leg. Every painful step I took now on the makeshift wooden leg was a reminder of each loss I had suffered. 
 
 I motioned my guards to leave the room, leaving the door open behind me in case I needed their help. Armosii looked up. He was dressed in a simple outfit made of regular cloth, his battle armor still hung up on the wall. He was n't a frail man by any stretch of the imagination, but his skin sagged lightly around his face and his hair was thin and graying. 
 
 `` I'm not armed, there are no traps, you've nothing to fear.'' 
 
 I kept my sword drawn, and pulled up an old wooden stool and sat down. 
 
 `` Armosii, your guards have all been slain. The Western Kingdoms swear loyalty to me at the price of your head. I do n't have to tell you what happens next.'' 
 
 He nodded, and poured himself a cup of water. 
 
 `` Jidon, I will not resist or struggle, so long as you listen and let me drink this final cup of water.'' 
 
 I nodded, while I had no love for Armosii I did respect the man who had united the entire world under his oppressive rule and felt he deserved a last wish. Armosii tossed me one of the books from his desk. 
 
 `` Have you ever heard of this book?'' 
 
 I looked over the old tome in my hands, it's title read *The Grand Conquest of Ilosh*. 
 
 `` No, Armosii. I have not.'' 
 
 He tossed over three other books, all of them old and slightly decaying. None of them were familiar, written on the front of the oldest of them I could n't even recognize the characters. 
 
 `` Most of those books were written long before either of us, or our Father's were born. And each of them tells the story of a person like us, who have gained immeasurable power through adversity. Each of those books is about a man or a woman who dealt with unspeakable brutality and loss to achieve greatness. You can read about every victory, every defeat, every villain slain and innocent spared.'' 
 
 Armosii looked into the water in his cup and started gently sobbing again. 
 
 `` Each of these books shares in common that their hero had to, at the end of their journey, make one last kill to save mankind. One demon always stands in the way of peace.'' 
 
 Armosii knelt on the ground. 
 
 `` The books always end there. Always. When the next book starts, the hero from the last book is the villain of the next. ALL of them thought they could be the ones to bring peace, and justice to the world. All of them. All of them...'' 
 
 His voice tapered off into whispers as he closed his eyes. 
 
 `` Armosii, finish your drink'' 
 
 He snapped out of his trance, and a shaky hand made for his cup. 
 
 `` My Father had every copy of *The Grand Conquest of Ilosh* burned when he took the throne. He could n't have that kind of heroic narrative in our world about the Mad Queen, he could n't allow people to know how she had risen. His personal copy of the book survived, to remind him of how to avoid her mistakes. He still made them. When I succeeded him, I tried to remember the awful things he had done. And I did remember. That did n't stop me from having to make impossible decisions in the face of it all. What I mean to tell you Jidon, is that none of us plans on being the villain at the end of the story. But we all become it.'' 
 
 He put his hand on my sword, placing it on top of his heart. 
 
 `` How many thousands died because of your orders on the way here? How many thousands more will die when I fall and those still loyal to me refuse to surrender? Would your brothers have lived if you had n't chosen this path?'' 
 
 I pushed my sword into his chest, acting on impulse. Armosii's sobbing slowed down, and he collapsed on to the floor. 
 
 `` You only fought through hell to live to see it become yours. Inevitable... inevitable''
