The Throne of Shadows: Poisoned by Ambition (part 2, short story)

More about The Throne of Shadows: Poisoned by Ambition (part 2, short story)

All my images - including base, evolutions and final results - and poetry are prohibited from commercial use.

NOTE FOR TRY: started in AIVision.

For part one, see: https://deepdreamgenerator.com/ddream/4rr8bopavtu

Credits and many thanks for the collaboration and short story go to: A☆11

—

The Throne of Shadows: Poisoned by Ambition

Butler (speaking to himself as he adds the poison):
"The king's health has been failing for days, but now, with each drop of this elixir, the truth is taking root. How easy it is to erase the undesired, how swift the temptation. Power... it slips into your veins just as silently as this poison. The moment you realize you control life and death, the lines between right and wrong fade. I serve only myself now—no longer a servant, but a master of fate."

Alfred (speaking to the butler upon receiving word of his brother's death):
"It’s done, then. My brother is gone. The throne... it’s mine. But do you know what’s strange? As I sit here, crown in hand, I feel... empty. Was I so sure I’d feel triumphant? Or perhaps... it is all just the beginning of another trap. One power leads to another, and another, until you’re so tangled you can no longer see the way out."

Butler (calmly, with a touch of irony):
"You’ve won, Alfred. But remember, even the mightiest of kings can fall prey to the same corruption that destroyed those before them. You think you’ve gained freedom, but in truth, you’ve merely entered a new cage, one of your own making."

Alfred (pauses, looking out toward the kingdom):
"Power, they say, is the ultimate victory. But now that I hold it, I realize it’s not a gift—it’s a curse. My brother's ambition killed him, but my own... could very well kill me. What is this unending thirst for control? It never quenches, it only deepens."

Alfred (quietly to himself): "Perhaps the true throne was never meant to be sat upon... but to be escaped from."

"- POWER CORRUPTS, AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY. -” These words by Lord Acton resonate within Alfred now more than ever. The poison that killed his brother is no different from the seeds of ambition that have now taken root in him. What begins as a means to freedom turns into the very chains that bind him. Alfred, like all before him, will one day come to realize that ruling with cruelty sows the same bitterness that once poisoned others. Perhaps, in the end, there is no true escape from the prison of power; the only question is, who will unlock the door to your undoing first?


With love, © Aífe



NB: A☆11 leaves us with this question: Can Alfred have trust in his Butler who killed his brother?