The Tyrant’s Cherished Flower

As she laid helplessly on her deathbed, Kalliste heard the howls of her two beloved pets from outside her door. Their cries created a musical sound in her ears, at the same time, it also blew a hole in her heart with a freezing altitude. It seemed that they felt their masters life fading away.

Kalliste sighed gently.

She knew that this would be where they parted ways. Thinking back, it had been exactly a year when she was diagnosed with Phthisis Cutis. An incurable, and disgusting skin disease that slowly ate her body away. Not even the bones were spared by this terrible illness.

The doctors said that she was cursed, but the faith healer theorised that she was now reaping the terrible karma for all her unpardonable sins. Kalliste believed the latters words. If this was her destiny, so be it. She was already exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to leave this shell of a body.

With all the strength that she had left, Kalliste slowly scanned her surroundings.

The dim lights in her almost empty room gave her eyes a comfortable feeling.

”Would I finally die this time around? ”

A bittersweet smile etched on her face. She could not even lift her hands, let alone, a finger. She could only move her head from side to side, though slowly.

As the cold breeze entered her room from the open windows, the sweet scent of lillies and roses bombarded her nose. From where she laid, Kalliste watched how the magnificent rays of the sun slowly hid behind the darkness of the night. The scintillating moon now hung over the horizon, making the emerald forest seemed like a gateway towards a fantastical world.

”Had I chosen another path, would I have been happy? ” Kallistes long lashes flattered as she slowly closed her eyes. Her mind wondered towards a distant past.

Kalliste was an orphan, however, she was not sad about it. She had a lot of brothers and sisters in the orphanage. Their mother figure was a kind, and gentle woman who loved them all dearly. Whenever she asked about her parents, the woman would only answer with the same sentence.

”I am sorry, dear. We have no idea. I found you beneath an old tree with nothing, but a thick book. Not even a letter was left behind. ”

After that, Kalliste stopped asking, and focused on her life. Growing up, she was like a moon surrounded by billions of stars. Like a supreme goddess lost in the mortal realm. No matter how beautiful the other girls might be, they always seemed to be missing something in comparison. If the other girls were pretty fairies, then Kalliste would be a goddess basking in the moonlight. She was even called the pinnacle of existence. Gifted to all kinds of arts, to the point that it was terrifying. She hated attention, though, and would rather lock herself up in her room. Growing up, she only had one wish. A normal life, away from the prying eyes of the people. Find a good man, have a family of her own, growing old with her loved ones, and finally dying with a contented smile on her face. But those were just an impossible dream. As soon as she turned fifteen, powerful cyborg machines invaded Earth. That was how the first war broke out.

Her world was turned upside down from that moment on. The sudden Invasion costed the lives of almost four billion people. The remaining humans had no choice, but to fight. She was one of those survivors. The massive trauma and her strong will to live caused something inside of her to awoken the dormant powers that she unknowingly possessed.

As she walked the path of a legend, she became the last hope, and light of humanity. However, no one knew the unbearable sorrow and grief that she bore.

Being a warrior robbed her of everything that she truly wanted. She did not even have time to shed tears for her fallen comrades as she was always on the battlefield.

When she got rid of the Cyborg King, Kalliste thought that the world would finally have some peace.

However, as soon as she got back, she was immediately deemed a terrifying monster to be kept alive. After everything that she did for them, everyone turned their back on her. The shock that she had that day was so great that she almost went crazy.

When she got to her senses, Kalliste realised that she had to survive. Thus, after completely destroying the organisation, she fled for her freedom. Soon enough, she was hunted down in the form of the highest treason.

After over a century of constant war, Kalliste finally learned valuable lessons. A true warrior learned to live with a pain and guilt that never healed. Accept hatred and anger like sweet honey, and embraced anguish as a part of her life.

For a war veteran like her, fighting endless wars, and killing billions like insects. It became an everyday occurrence for her. Yet she still struggled for her goals. To see another sunrise, to fight another day. For over over a century, she strived for dominance, for knowledge, and supremacy. Kalliste knew that her fate was sealed, but definitely, not her dreams.

Her thirst for a peaceful life that she would never achieve as long as she walked the path of the Legendary Kortik. A monstrous, and bloodthirsty beast of the battlefield.

Beauty, prestige, honor, skills, intelligence and power, in the end, nothing really mattered when one was already on the brink of death.

The loud sounds of lightning and thunder brought Kalliste back to reality. However, she was too tired to keep her eyes open. As her vision slowly faded to nothingness, the last thing she saw was the dusty book that was sitting on her table. Her only source of joy on this tiresome life.

She smiled as she tried to reach for it. However, her eyes slowly