In the halls of what seems to be a prison, one man sat on a chair; in front of him was a table laid out with a single plate of steak, and on the other side of the table was another man sitting on a throne-like seat with his legs on top of one another, wearing a pleased smile.
The first man has his legs cuffed into the chair, all while wearing an orange shirt and pants, a prisoner's uniform. He sat there as he quietly used the knife and fork given to him to eat his last meal.
The other person in front of him wore a tuxedo and a top hat with white gloves; he had completely black hair, a pair of grey eyes, and a black spade tattoo on his right cheek. The man wore a smile as he looked at the person in front of him casually eating his meal.
Around the two men was a group of armed forces with their guns pointed at both of them; all of them were tense, some even trembling, for just beside the elegant gentleman, drawings of headless men in the same uniform as them lay flat on the floor. Literally, just a few minutes ago these were living humans, but with a single flick of a finger, their heads disappeared like smoke from their bodies, and with a second flick, their bodies that lay down onto the floor turned into vandalized drawings.
This situation remained the same and constant for a few minutes, as none of the guards made a move, all while the elegant man silently smiled and remained on his seat, and the prisoner continued to eat his meal until he took his last bite, laid down his utensils, and cleaned the stains on his face with a napkin.
"Congratulations on finishing your last meal, Sir Xein~"
"..."
The elegant man said to the prisoner with a playful tone, yet the prisoner, Xein, remained silent as he stared at the man with half-closed eyes.
"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Gladius of the Spade, Administrator of the 'World Ruler Selection,' and you, Sir Xein, are chosen as a participant in the competition for the power, crown, and authority to rule over this world as its own 'World Master.'"
Gladius said as he stood up from his seat and began making exaggerated movements, all looking directly at Xein for any reaction, yet to his surprise, Xein remained motionless, having no change in expression.
"Heeee~ You're no fun at all~"
"..."
Frowning at the lack of reaction, Gladius returned back to his seat, and with a flick of his finger, the whole room lost all of its colors; the trembling guards stopped moving as if time had paused. The only ones that showed signs of movement were Xein and Gladius.
Gladius's face then turned serious as he pulled out a folder out of thin air; as he opened it, he looked at Xein, now with a stern and serious look on his face as he started reading.
"Xein Johannes, no middle name, 22 years old, for the crimes of multiple first-degree murder, arson, and many more, you were sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole at the age of 18 years old. 3 years later, the punishment for your case was further increased as you were placed ondeath row, and now here you are eating your last meal before you meet your end."
"..."
Xein looked at Gladius with the same uncaring expression, yet this time Gladius's lips curled up into a small smile as he said the next words.
"You were born and lived in the Philippines until the age of 5."
"…!"
As Xein listened to the next words, his brows furrowed; watching this reaction, Gladius's smile deepened further.
"During your 5th birthday, on a walk to a carnival, a sudden terrorist attack happened. Your mother and father died in the attack. Having no other family, you were left alone to fend for yourself. You found yourself wandering with nothing in the streets, begging passersby for money just to get by, going around the garbage bins of restaurants just to have another meal for the day, and then 5 months after that, you were kidnapped by human traffickers for organ harvesting."
"You were then shipped here to the US to be butchered. By some luck, only one of your kidneys was taken, and you, alongside other children, were sent to an orphanage near a church. Not even remembering your real name, you were instead named "Xein Johannes" by your closest peers."
"There you and the other children spent 13 years being "used," from the orphanage director to the staff up to the priest of the church near the orphanage. You were quite their favorite too, having even had some politicians get a "taste" of you, hehe."
*Thud*
Xein banged his fists into the chair as he looked at Gladius with hate-filled eyes, while the latter only looked at him with an amused expression.
"As you turned 18, you and the other orphans of the same origin as you whom you called Siblings, made up a plan."
"On one certain night, after you did a certain 'activity' with the director, you took the keys of the entire building from his room and handed it to your siblings, with it they freed all of the children within the orphanage, while you locked up every single staff member and worker of that orphanage, and burned the whole building to the ground."
"Unfortunately for you, things didn't go all well; after burning the orphanage, you immediately went to the church with a kitchen knife in hand and stabbed the priest there to death while he was sleeping. As you finished that task, police officers arrived at the place and found you holding a bloody kitchen knife in your hand."
"What happened next was what you would expect; with this corrupt justice system and with the backing of certain politicians, the crimes, abuse, and suffering you and the other kids suffered were covered up; only the evidence of you burning down the orphanage and killing the priest was brought to light."
"For the sake of your brothers and sisters, you took the fall and admitted to being the sole perpetrator of the incident, and now here you are, hanging at death's door."
As Gladius closed the folder, his eyes turned towards Xein; the other's fists were clenched and ready to pounce at any moment, as anger and hatred burned in his eyes while he looked at Gladius.
"How the fuck do you know about those?!"
"Looking at the history of an individual is an easy feat for an administrator, Sir Xein."
At Xein's question, Gladius chuckled lightly and smiled, having finally caught the full attention of the other.
"Let me give you some hope, the children you saved alongside your siblings sticked together; they were somehow able to live day by day, albeit having to go to different jobs every day just to make ends meet, there has never been a moment where they don't miss you, yet every day they always smiled and encouraged one another that everything will be fine and you will return to them, until this day at least."
At Gladius's next words, Xein's anger simmered down a little, feeling relief for his siblings. At this reaction, Gladius's smile grew.
"But are you really satisfied with just that? Don't you want to see them again? Don't you want to save your life, get out of this hellhole, and return back to them? Do you want to pull this world down to its knees for the suffering you've felt? This corrupted world...won't you be its king and change it?"
"Hearing they are doing fine is already enough for me...however, I'd be lying if I said I don't have the desire to do all of the other things you said."
At Xein's response, Gladius smiled once again, seeing an ignited flame in the man's eyes.
"I do like that fire in your eyes~"
"I, Gladius of the Spade, Administrator of the 'World Ruler Selection,' invite you, Xein Johannes, as a participant in the competition for the power, crown, and authority to rule over this world as its own 'World Master.'"
Then, Gladius extended his hand towards Xein; here was finally a chance to turn things right, to take back his life, and to have a new future.
'For my siblings and myself...'
"Do you accept our invitation, Xein Johannes?"
The answer was obvious.
"I accept."
Xein took Gladius's hand, and with a smile on his face, Gladius took off his hat, bowed down towards Xein, and with a flick of his finger, a circle of light appeared around Xein's feet, enveloping him in a bright light.
As the light disappeared, Xein vanished as well; then, standing up straight, Gladius put his hat back on his head.
"Oh right, I forgot to tell him what his real name was, oh well~"
"May you be crowned as 'World Master', Sir Alfonso Delgado."