It was just one thought. A simple message sent between neurons. Stating only that his hand should reach out. One decision that had altered the course of Ragdon's history so drastically that there was nothing that could be done that would let Ragdon go back.

The decision?

The decision for Bryant to let his fingertips brush the Amethyst Throne.

But there was no controlling the Amethyst Throne, only being controlled.

King Garonda XIV sits, or rather kneels, on the ground. His hands are tied behind his back, much like Wolf and Dove's when they were brought to the foot of the Amethyst Throne however long ago that was.

The former King of Ragdon had been doing a lot of looking back upon his life now that he was staring death in the face.

Funny how death looming just in front of you lets you remember everything so clearly, eh, he thinks.

King Garonda XIV doesn't regret his decision to become a vessel for the Amethyst Throne. He would do it again in a heartbeat.

What he regrets is not letting Ice join in and placing the curse on him where his heart would only beat four times a year. He had done that out of anger, when he had snapped at Ice for getting on his nerves. A childish move, like Clap. Oh, he really hates her. She would be the first to go if he were still a vessel for the Amethyst Throne. Yes, yes, she would.

He blinks slowly, thinking of how he would get his revenge and make it up to Ice; he had been his closest friend. If only Ice could see that he had tried to make Ragdon a better place. Maybe then he-.

King Garonda XIV is snapped from his thoughts by a huge paw cuffing him across the face, claws just barely digging into his skin. He looks up and is greeted by Phoenix's seething face.

"Get up. You have an audience. Told ya you'd have a crowd." Phoenix curls his lip into a smile that's all teeth and glinting, curved fangs.

Phoenix leads King Garonda XIV up the narrow hallway, through the remains of his castle, and down to the White Tent Sea. It's a long walk, one that King Garonda XIV stumbles on frequently. More than once he falls, groaning as he slams into the ground and hissing as the black cat bats at him until he gets up. The rope holding his hands behind his back bites at his skin and wears it raw.

Eventually, the two come to a platform that resides below the Earth Tree. Its ancient branches twist toward the sky. King Garonda XIV looks up at it. He hadn't left the Amethyst Throne in so long. He'd only seen it once after he touched the Throne and only very briefly, when the Throne had allowed him to shift into the dragon. Oh, how he missed the dragon.

The power surging through his veins, the adrenaline that made everything seem sharper, the excitement as he bathed the traitors in flames. What he would give to experience that again.

"Up." Phoenix jerks his head into King Garonda XIV's leg, and the twin horns on his forehead dig into his thigh.

Nasty little cat.

King Garonda XIV walks out onto the stage, losing his balance only once due to his bound hands. He looks out over the audience, and it appears most of the Ragdonians living in the White Tent Sea are here. Even a few children. The looks on all of their faces are all ones of disgust and anger.

"I'm gonna kill him," someone says, shoving forward.

"Me too!"

"I'll help!"

"Count me in!" The crowd starts moving as more and more rush the stage.

"Ah, ah, ah," Phoenix snaps, flames leaping into the air from his pelt. "I said you could watch. He's my kill. You try to kill him, I kill you."

No one says anything further and no one moves closer.

"You know, I have a question. What are the names of everyone in my family? The names of those whose lives you ripped away?" Phoenix glares at King Garonda XIV pitilessly.

The King racks his memories for the black cat's family. Maybe if he can just remember their names his death will be a little quicker. A little less painful. Oh, if only he still had the power of the Throne.

He longs to touch the Amethyst Throne just one more time. It's an all-consuming desire, one that claims nearly all of his mind. He cannot even string together a sentence, the desire is so strong.

Please, just remember, he begs his mind.

But it's to no avail; he can only think of his longing to feel the Amethyst Throne's presence one more time.

Phoenix laughs, and his breath catches in his throat as his lips curl. "You can't remember, can you? You can't remember the names of those you have killed. My brother. I'll make it easy. Can you remember his name? Tan fur, red bandana, brown eyes. The one you doomed to death when you had your stupid little tantrum and summoned the Siren. What's his name?"

"I-I," the King chokes out as he strains to pick out the name that's on the tip of his tongue.

"Two letters. What a shame that you can't string together two damn letters into his name." Phoenix stalks forward, murder blazing in his eyes. Every muscle is tensed like a bow string in his body and every breath seethes with fury.

"Here, I'll give you a hint. It's Ky."

Then the first blow arrives. Phoenix cuffs King Garonda XIV across the face, much like he did to wake the former King of Ragdon up.

Yes, former King of Ragdon. How would a true King be captured by one little cat?

But instead of just a wakeup call, it's with the intent to kill. Claws slice through flesh and leave torn ribbons behind, blood streaming down King Garonda XIV's jaw. Its sickly warmth makes his stomach twist and churn.

"You took my family from me. You wanna know how much it hurts? How much it hurts when you have to watch them burn alive and know you're helpless to stop it? The pain when you know you can control fire so you should be able to save them and you can't? Hear their screams as they desperately try to escape and you can do nothing about it?

"What about when you see your brother, the last of your family, lying dead on the ground because he had been forced to drain the Blood Demon of the last of its power? When you feel the agony as you stare at his lifeless body, knowing that maybe you could've stopped it. You know how that feels? YOU KNOW?" Phoenix roars the words in the King's face. Pain explodes across King Garonda XIV's body as the black cat tries desperately to show him even just a fraction of the pain he had felt.

Not once does King Garonda XIV fight back, he just lets the blows come one after the other. He lets his nerves shriek and welcomes the distraction. Anything to get his mind off the longing for the Amethyst Throne.

Maybe he doesn't deserve the title of King Garonda XIV. A true King wouldn't have lost the Amethyst Throne. A true King wouldn't be being beaten by one little black cat, no matter how angry.

He's just beginning to slip away into oblivion when shouts arise.

"Phoenix! Stop!" Wolf. The Midnight Wolf. The sister of Dove. He only managed to complete half of his goal. Kill the Wolf and the Dove. Only Dove was killed. Wolf managed to escape and become something far more powerful.

"No. No one is stopping me from getting my revenge. He took everything from me. He's watched his reign come crumbling down, and now he has to pay the ultimate price. He has to pay with his life as I slowly rip it away from him. I'll make it as long and as painful as I possibly can. He has to feel the slightest fraction of what he has done to me and my family. That would be true suffering. Only when his heart gives out will I let him go."

Claws sink into King Garonda XIV's -or perhaps Bryant's- calf but they're soon ripped away.

"Phoenix, stop. I said to stop!"

"No! I already said no. Wh- no! Let me go! He has to die. What the hell? Get your hands off of me!"

"I can make him suffer more than death would make him suffer." That makes Phoenix hesitate.

"Ten seconds. Go." Phoenix's voice is distant, dangerous.

"He will walk Ragdon for eternity, never seeing anyone, surrounded by death, and unable to feel anything except for the longing to touch the Amethyst Throne just one more time. He will be in his own dimension, truly alone."

"I vowed the moment he took away my parents and sister that King Garonda XIV would die at my claws."

"I'll leave the choice to you. After all, I believe you harbor the deepest hatred for him." Wolf turns to Bryant, and he manages to turn his head just enough to meet her gaze. Her form is fuzzy through the haze of pain and the longing for the Amethyst Throne.

"Just know, Bryant, that I know it was the Amethyst Throne that turned you into what you are. I didn't know you before you became the self-named King, but I know it wasn't who you are now. But that's not an excuse. You had my brother killed. You would've killed me, too. But whatever Phoenix chooses, I will not stop him, and if he chooses for you to live forever, I will full heartedly agree. You got my brother killed, Bryant. Dove is dead because of you, and I do not care that it was the Throne that twisted your mind beyond help. You were the one who chose to let the Throne in. Dove should be here, and he's not. And I will live the rest of my life with the gaping hole in my chest that only Dove can fill, but he's gone and I never got to say goodbye."

The Midnight Wolf turns to Phoenix to speak again. Bryant closes his eyes and turns away.

"It is your choice and I will support you either way and am happy with both, but he would suffer for an eternity. Even long after I'm gone, whenever that happens, he will be wishing for the sweet, sweet release of death, to fall into oblivion and never feel anything again. The all-consuming longing for his fingers to brush up against the Amethyst Throne just one more time festering and eating away at him. The agony of remaining alone until the end of time. The madness from never seeing another human being, death surrounding him from all sides. Never seeing another living thing until the end of time."

Bryant -yes, he is no longer worthy of the title King Garonda XIV- manages to crack open his eyes so he can watch the black cat who literally holds his fate in his paws. Phoenix's eyes glow in manic glee as he thinks about the suffering Bryant might endure. Why, oh why, was he weak enough to let the Amethyst Throne be destroyed? If only he could've convinced everyone to see the Amethyst Throne the way he saw it.

Fear begins to gnaw at Bryant's insides.

"I'm sorry I cannot be the one to kill you. I really am. It's a shame I won't get to feel your lifeblood coating my paws. You know, I thought a lot about what it would be like to see you dead. That said, I'm sorry, but you need to feel the fraction of what you have done to me and my family. The way you're gonna be walking across Ragdon until the end of time, never seeing anyone ever again, being surrounded by death, and being numb to everything except the longing to touch the Amethyst Throne just one more time. I swore I would bring your reign crashing down, and I've succeeded at that. I wish I could tear your miserable life from your body, but this'll be enough suffering that you'll regret what you've done. Maybe not at first, but I'm confident you will. And if you don't, you heartless monster, just know I'll bask in the knowledge that you're suffering for an eternity. Have fun suffering until the end of time. Toodles, King." Phoenix spits the word, lips twisted into a feral grin, eyes flashing as flames crackle across his inky fur.

Bryant's heart, or whatever's left of it, sinks. He shakily gets to his knees to face his fate head-on. Blood coats his body like a second skin and ribbons of flesh hang off his frame, but he manages to stay upright. Phoenix sneers at him, not even the tiniest droplet of mercy in his fiery eyes, only glee that his vow had finally come true.

Wolf, the most powerful Midnight Wolf ever to have walked Ragdon, lifts her hands and Bryant can see flickers of the cosmos swirling in her open palms as she summons her powers. A bull floats amongst the clouds of dust. The unshed Midnight Tears in her orange eyes glow in a kaleidoscope of color. Only the strongest Midnight Wolves could harness the power of the Midnight Tear without shedding it, and Taurus was needed to get the extra power, same with Lupus, the wolf.

"Your fate has been decided," Wolf says before she slams her palms together. A crack echoes across the land. Twinkling lights hover in the air like fairy dust, drifting to the ground.

Fear claims Bryant's body in an iron grip. Wolf's hair rises as she casts the spell. The glittering silhouettes of the Midnight Wolves who had come before Wolf swirl around her. They watch her, and Bryant catches a glimpse of Arcane. A faint smile wisps across his face.

Bryant's legs give out as he begins to realize just what eternity means. His heart rate spikes and he braces himself on his knees as he watches Wolf, arms still cinched behind him.

Forever, he thinks. I'll live forever and won't ever be able to touch the Amethyst Throne.

The second the lights reach the ground, the earth begins to ripple.

The timelines are splitting. 

Bryant takes deep breaths to try to quell the fear that's gnawing at his insides. The stage warps and twists, and the feel of the wood beneath his touch softens and then vanishes. When he looks up, everyone surrounding him is beginning to dissolve. 

Soon, it's just Wolf and Phoenix. Then they too disappear. 

The last living face he sees is Phoenix's snickering sneer as he watches with a sick smile as the former King gets transferred into a new timeline. 

A mocking bye, bye is the last thing he hears. 

As soon as he's fully in his new dimension of Ragdon, the sparse grass and flowers around Bryant wilt and turn brown. He reaches and grasps a little daisy, but it crumbles to dust that slips through his fingertips. 

Wolf was right when she said he wouldn't feel anything except for the longing to touch the Amethyst Throne. He's completely numb. It's like his body is hollow. But there's the gnawing in his chest, the claws that tear through him. 

The all-consuming desire that he needs -needs- to let his fingers brush up against the cool stone of the Amethyst Throne just one more time. He reaches a hand up to his throat as he chokes for a breath. 

As a King, he had whatever he wanted the second he asked. But now... now as Bryant, he'd be ready to beg, to grovel at another's feet, for just the briefest moment of feeling the Amethyst Throne's caress, the sensation of its power coursing through his veins. 

Please. 

Bryant looks up, letting his eyes scan the horizon. The familiar landscape of Ragdon that he hadn't seen in years seems frozen, empty. A lonely eternity stares back at him, awaiting. He steels himself as best he can. He's strong. Was strong, before he foolishly lost the Throne. But he's still him. 

Bryant rises to his feet and begins to walk, knowing that this was his fate, chosen by Phoenix: to walk the island of Ragdon forever. 

Thank you so much for reading The King's Remorse. It has been quite the journey to get here, and it has been almost two years since I first created the document for Wolf's chapter and typed out the first sentence. It sounds cheesy, but I'm not really sure what to say. It's been fun getting to know the characters, and at times it felt almost as if they were the ones writing the story- I was just along for the ride. I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it! 

I have another story that I'm planning out, though I will not start writing it or uploading it for some time. I need to figure some more things out before I begin writing.  But I'm excited to share it! 

If you enjoyed the epilogue, please consider a vote.And comment your thoughts- I'd love to hear what you thought of The King's Remorse! 

I hope you're having a great day! 

-Werewolf14- :)