The Tyrant Wants to Live

Prologue – Fake Life

It was a fake life. I followed the life of another and followed his habits and actions throughout his life for at least 40 years. I couldn’t even remember my name anymore.

The tyrant’s shadow and dummy. If he was in danger of dying, I must die instead. That’s what my life was all about; there were several dangers over the years. Poisoning, terrorism, raids, treason. With each additional crisis, other fake emperors died.

When the enemies sounded their triumph, the tyrant, who reappeared like a ghost, held a feast of blood. He killed, again and again, leaving not a single person alive. Even their relatives and all those who were associated with them were killed. Even the dogs and the puppies wagged their tails at them.

He chased and killed them all. And each time the enemies were piled up, the dummies were slain. One, two, three, four…so many died it was hard to count. But I was the last one left.

“This time, it’s your turn. The emperor’s ill, and be his mask while he recovers.”

It was a simple command. The moment I first ascended the throne as a fake.

I faced resentment, anger, and murderous intent. I felt it.

I’m going to die.

But was it luck, or was it the words of a tyrant? The emperor did not wake up, and the length of time I was on the throne grew longer and longer. At first, I was just there to die.

“Listen. Send the Imperial Knights out to subdue the monster horde that arose along the outskirts and make the surrounding lords work together to mount an offensive.”

“The times are difficult. Adjust the tax rate and forbid the excessive collection from the lords.”

“Kill them because it’s an unsettling idea? Isn’t it because it’s an idea that annoys the nobles?”

I did everything to live. But the blood spilled by the tyrant was too much, and the empire was rotten from root to leaf. I was neither enough of a great saint nor a great emperor to handle it alone, and I was just a fake emperor who just struggled to stay alive.

That was me. In the end, as fated, catastrophe arrived. My brief reign was nothing more than trying to pee in your pants for warmth in the winter, and disgruntled nobles and people revolted across the empire.

The crisis didn’t end there. When the empire collapsed, the countries suffering from our pressure came together and invaded. Subsequently, monsters marched across the continent with a demon behind them.

The destruction of the continent came as the curtain of this play closed. And the first sacrifice of this destruction was…

“It’s all over.”

It was me.

The emperor disappeared somewhere, and I was the only one who was neither fully a fake nor an emperor. Screams, shouts, and the sounds of murder echoed across the city. A bloody sunset was cresting over the horizon as an army of invading rebels and demons took the castle.

A fake emperor sat alone on the throne in wait for the end.

“Aren’t you going to run away?”

“You came? It was getting lonely here.”

The imperial secretary and mysterious archmage visited me. The person who recorded the history of the empire from the beginning looked down at me and spoke.

“You couldn’t change your fate.”

“That’s right. I was swept away by the fate of a tyrant.”

“It’s been only for a while, but how did it feel to be real?”

“It was refreshing. But….”

I was going to die anyway, so there was no reason to hide my identity. Watching the sunset sinking in a mirror of my death soon to come, I rested my chin on my palm and pondered for a moment.

“I regret not living my life.”

I spat out a single line of regret.

“What if you had lived it? Do you think it would have changed the fate of this crumbling world?”

“I don’t know because I never did. But I couldn’t change my own destiny.”

The archmage smiled a little at my lighter tone.

“Then take this opportunity to live.”

“What?”

“Your own life.”

“How?”

“Don’t change your destiny. Devour it. That is the way you will live.”

“Devour…my destiny?”

“Yes.”

The wizard’s whole body was dyed black as he set his back to the purple sunset, and his blue eyes gleamed. Red, black, and blue.

It felt mysterious.

It was also engulfing my body.

“Catch the Emperor!”

I could hear the sound of the palace gates breaking and the voices of the rebels leaking through.

They were far. They didn’t invade. It just looked like a play, a dream, beyond a barrier. However, it soon faded as unknown letters became clear before me.

And I, who lived my whole life as a fake emperor without a name.

[The one who devours mysterious fate]

[The traces left by the former bearer of mystery encroach upon you. They chose this destiny to devour instead]

[The Greatest Destiny: Devouring the Fake Life. It changes destiny]

[A new destiny has been born]

I returned to the real emperor’s childhood.