Barbarian Quest

A pale-faced man was locked in an underground cell. Scars from knife cuts were clearly visible on his ankles and wrists where his tendons had been severed, leaving him unable to use his hands and feet.

Wheeze, wheeze.

Only the faint sound of Emperor Yanchinus' breathing filled the air.

“You’re a tenacious one. After all that, you still want to live?” the warrior assigned to guard the cell sneered.

Yanchinus had endured six months of humiliation and torture, living a life where death would have been a sweet release. Almost daily, he was dragged to the square to be mocked, and there was no part of his body left unscathed by prolonged torture.

At first, there had been attempts to rescue the emperor. But those efforts had faded away until no one even joked about rescuing the crippled emperor anymore.

“Drink this. If you die, the Great Chief will be displeased. Ptui!”

The warrior spat into the watery gruel before handing it over. His orders were simple: ‘Keep him alive and make him suffer for as long as possible.’

The warriors faithfully followed Urich’s command.

Initially, Urich would occasionally visit to watch Yanchinus from a distance. But at some point, even his interest in Yanchinus had vanished.

“Maybe the Great Chief has forgotten you even exist…”

Yanchinus was now a nobody. He had lost even the dignity of an emperor, and even if he somehow managed to escape by miracle, recovering in his current state was impossible.

Slurp.

Yanchinus shamelessly devoured the gruel spat on by the warrior. It was the closest thing to food that he would be getting all day.

The guard, witnessing Yanchinus' bizarre obsession and madness, clicked his tongue in disgust. It was unsettling even for the onlooker.

‘If it were me, I’d have killed myself before ending up like that.’

The former emperor seemed almost monstrous, desperately clinging to life. What he had become now was beyond the realm of typical human thought.

“He really is different, huh? A being who was once at the very top of the world. Be careful, he might try to eat you alive,” the guard said to the warrior taking the next shift.

Yanchinus pushed the empty bowl outside, then crawled on his knees to a corner.

Rustle.

He curled up under his violet eagle cloak, using it as a blanket. It was the same cloak he clung to even when he was being thrown into the underground prison, but its once brilliant violet color had become dull and nearly black.

‘It’s cold.’

Yanchinus was reduced to skin and bones. Parts of his flayed skin had not healed and had hardened away from his flesh.

His life of being well-fed and healthy had allowed him to survive this long, but even he had reached his limit. The cold of death had seeped into his organs, and it was common for him to cough up blood.

‘What have I been doing with my life to this point?’

The empire had risen quickly and fallen just as swiftly. The once mighty empire crumbled before the axes of the barbarians.

There was nothing to do in prison. Numerous mistakes became apparent as he just pondered over past events. Life was always about wanting just a little more, just a bit more. One often only had to think one step further, but no one could retrace a path already taken.

Nobody could live a life without mistakes. People laughed at fools who made mistakes, but everyone was bound to eventually do foolish things in life.

Even those cold and ruthless enough to kill their own parents made mistakes as they too could not surpass human limitations. Life was inherently unpredictable, and people relied on gods, trying to put fate on their side, hoping their idiotic mistakes would be hidden by divine intervention.

‘I was curious about a barbarian named Urich.’

It wasn’t just Yanchinus. Many civilized people were fascinated by the same barbarian.

‘But I should have severed that curiosity and killed him. My mistake was keeping someone who wouldn’t act according to my will so close to me.’

If Yanchinus had not favored Urich, would he have dared to cross the mountains again? Urich followed the paths paved by civilized people to cross the mountains. He had never crossed the mountains completely on his own.

‘I practically told him everything… I even told him in advance that I would conquer the west…’

Yanchinus’ shoulders shook as a wheeze-like laugh escaped him.

‘How arrogant of you, Yanchinus. Father always warned me to be wary of those around me.’

Even Urich, who had become an unparalleled hero, couldn’t foresee and prepare for the unknown. He only managed to thwart the empire’s conquest because he knew what Yanchinus was planning to do.

If you know when the enemy is coming, even the underdog has a chance. The Alliance’s victories always seemed miraculous, but they were never just random miracles.

‘Victory always comes from human effort. It’s never up to chance.’

Yanchinus pondered this countless times. He reviewed years of decisions, but it always led to one conclusion.

‘I, Yanchinus, lost to Urich.’

There was no room for chance or miracles. Urich had meticulously prepared and focused solely on Yanchinus and the empire and charged at them.

‘When I realized I needed to face Urich and the Alliance with full force, it was already after the tide had turned. My decisions lagged behind the flow of the world.’

Past emperors had mostly led wars personally, going into battle and making judgments on the field.

‘I was too late in leaving Hamel. Instead of sending generals, I should have led the troops against Urich myself. Then I could have judged in real-time alongside Urich. But I stayed in the capital, acting reactively.’

It was only at the war’s end that Yanchinus and Urich commanded from the same battlefield, but by then, the empire was already at a significant disadvantage.

‘I thought victory was all but certain at the sewers.’

But there was a ghostly feint. The barbarians moved through Hamel as if they were fully aware of the city’s layout, weaving through its back alleys to evade the empire’s eyes. Even Yanchinus hadn’t anticipated such tactical maneuvers.

‘…Urich won because he had another trick up his sleeve.’

Yanchinus had anticipated and prepared for the sewer invasion. That was impressive foresight on its own, but Urich was a step ahead.

Yanchinus’ flow of thought was always the same. It was the same daily reflection.

‘I am tired.’

He closed his eyes as he felt that sweet sleep was coming.

‘If I close my eyes like this, will I be able to wake up tomorrow?’

There was no certainty with his body growing weaker by the day. But regardless, his eyelids fluttered and then fell.

“Get up!”

The guard poked Yanchinus just before he fell asleep. Yanchinus jerked awake and sat up, showing no trace of dignity or majesty.

“The Great Chief is calling you.”

The guard grabbed Yanchinus by the arm and lifted him, regardless of whether he understood or not, and dragged his limp, unresistant body along.

“Where are we going?” Yanchinus mumbled awkwardly. His pronunciation was unclear because all his teeth had been pulled out during torture.

There was no understanding anyway. As he was dragged along, Yanchinus looked at the familiar surroundings.

‘How long has it been since I’ve seen the imperial palace….’

It was Yanchinus’ home. Passing through the well-maintained garden, his palace came into view.

Creeeak.

As the door opened, a long banquet table came into sight where Urich was sitting at the end.

“How have you been, Yanchinus?”

Urich was tearing into chicken smeared with spices. He licked his fingers and gestured to Yanchinus with his chin.

“Long time no see.”

Yanchinus twisted his body and sat down on the chair with difficulty. Though his body had weakened, his eyes remained unchanged.

“This is delicious. Try some, I’m sure you haven’t had meat in a long time,” Urich said as he pushed a dish of pork toward Yanchinus, who stared blankly at him.

“Oh right, it’s probably hard for you to eat with those hands. I forgot.”

Urich twisted the corners of his mouth and clapped his hands. A woman who once served Yanchinus came out, dressed in nothing but a thin cloth.

“Go and serve the emperor! Tear the meat with your hands and feed him, like a mother bird feeding her chick!”

Urich slapped the woman’s buttocks and laughed.

Chew, chew.

Yanchinus chewed the meat with his gums and forced it down. His mouth moved, but his eyes remained fixed on Urich.

“Thank you for the grand hospitality.”

Yanchinus wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“You’re welcome. We cripples should stick together.”

Urich patted his thigh. He even brought out fine wine to host Yanchinus.

Yanchinus ate the food and drank the wine without saying much, not even asking why he had been summoned. He was solely focused on filling his stomach.

The woman serving Yanchinus broke out in a cold sweat. Watching Yanchinus sent chills down her spine.

‘I’ve always known he was a cold-blooded person without pity or compassion… but is he really human like us?’

The tendons in his hands and feet were severed, and his skin was peeled off in places like a spotted cow. Yet, Yanchinus just calmly ate in front of Urich and did not spit a single curse toward his enemy who had taken everything from him.

“That was quite good. It’s been a while since I had a proper meal.”

Yanchinus wiped his mouth. He couldn’t eat as much as before, as his body was so weak that it struggled to digest the meat. In fact, he felt like he could vomit at any moment.

‘I guess I can’t break Yanchinus with pain.’

Urich smirked. He hated Yanchinus. If only Yanchinus hadn’t tried to conquer the west, his life would have been different.

“So, Urich… did you call me here to kill me now?” Yanchinus asked as he raised his head, his sunken eyes gleaming with a twisted light.

“I’ve decided to forgive you, Yanchinus. Today is a day I show you mercy.”

Urich pulled an axe from under the table and struck it into the table.

“Forgive?”

Yanchinus let out a dry laugh.

“Yep, forgive.”

“Urich, I respected you as the victor. Forgiveness is not a word that should be used between us. We are simply the victor and vanquished.”

Hearing this, Urich tilted his head to the side while Yanchinus continued to speak and laugh.

“If I hadn’t made the decision to cross the Sky Mountains, you would have spent your whole life rolling around with beast-like women in that desolate land.”

Urich’s valor was widely known. Even the civilized people knew of his story, and bards had turned it into songs. It was rare to find someone who didn’t know how Urich came to the civilized world.

“That’s true. If you hadn’t sent your people over in the first place, even I wouldn’t have easily dared to cross the Sky Mountains.”

Urich agreed readily. Crossing the Sky Mountains on one’s own was like a distant dream, and if he had tried to cross alone, he would have buried his bones in the mountains like many of his ancestors.

Cause and effect were linked together, and Urich and Yanchinus were deeply connected even before they knew each other. Yanchinus’ ambition had brought Urich to the civilized world.

‘As my people say, I am the one who brought an end to the empire.’

As Yanchinus covered his mouth and coughed, blood droplets spattered onto the table through his bony fingers.

Urich scratched between his teeth with his nail and picked out a meat scrap before taking a deep breath.

“I never intended to forgive you. I wanted to torment you to the end, to make you taste regret. I waited for you to fall into despair and struggle.”

Yanchinus did not break. Even when branded with a hot fire poker between his thighs, a groan was all that escaped his mouth.

“Urich, you know this too, don’t you? We must not be human… We must never despair or grieve like ordinary humans. Those in our positions must be different in every way as if we transcend humanity. Only then will people look up to us. We must act as if we have been chosen by the gods, like superhumans, even if we’re just an ordinary human at the core.”

Urich burst out laughing.

“You’re completely right, wearing a mask for too long makes you forget who you originally were.”

“I forgot myself even before I put that mask on. No, I wonder if I even existed in the first place. I was destined to be an emperor from birth.”

An emperor had to be great. People naturally demanded extraordinary greatness from Yanchinus. Even a slight mistake was always criticized by comparing him to his great-grandfather and father.

“So are you asking for pity? Who would pity someone who had everything from birth, no matter what you try to tell them? How much would people laugh if those who had to abandon newborns because they had no food to feed them heard you?”

Urich sneered, but he actually understood where Yanchinus was coming from and knew that those in high positions were forced to embody the dignity that came with it. Great Chief Urich had to prioritize the duties of a great chief over his own identity.

‘Neither Yanchinus nor I ran away from that duty.’

Urich chose his duty by his will, while Yanchinus was born into it.

“Leave us.”

Urich dismissed the servants. Only Urich and Yanchinus remained at the table.

Creak.

Urich pulled the axe embedded in the table. Yanchinus’ eyes followed the blade.

Clench.

Urich gritted his teeth. Though he hated to admit it, he felt a slight kinship with Yanchinus; one that was similar to the love-hate relationship he had with Samikan. Despite their different methods and goals, they were both driven by their ambitions and desires.

Like fish in a drying pond, they constantly struggled. Even if their frantic movements turned the pond into muddy water, and they drowned in that mud, they never stopped moving forward. Even if the place they leaped onto was dry land, they didn’t just sit still and wait for death.

Those who changed the world were always those mad with desire.

Yanchinus’ ambition caused the fall of the empire, but thanks to Yanchinus, exchanges between the west and civilization began, ushering in a new era.

“Hooo, Relax your neck. It’ll hurt a lot if it doesn’t end in one stroke.”

Urich steadied his breath and swung his arm holding the axe backward. It had been a long time since he beheaded someone himself.

All sorts of thoughts filled Yanchinus’ mind as he closed his eyes and awaited Urich’s judgment. But soon, everything became quiet, and his thoughts converged into a single point as the world turned from black to bright.

Swish.

His head slid off his body cleanly.

Yanchinus vividly felt his death. It was a bizarre experience to remain conscious even after his head fell off his body.

Blink.

It was only for a moment, but Yanchinus saw it.

‘Cunning bastard.’

It was no coincidence that the winner was Urich.

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