Chapter 92: A little lesson

“Good morning, King Dhein,” Krushe greeted. There was less fear in her tone now compared to before.

“Good morning,” Dhein greeted back.

“We are just about to leave and go to the learning hall,” she said.

Dhein nodded.

He accompanied them on the way to the learning hall, passing by citizens hard at work. Some demons were business folks, they had their own trading stalls set up in front of their houses. Most of them decided to offer manual labor in exchange for valuable goods.

They now had better farms and more efficient work load distribution. With this, not a single soul in Sekhtar could be seen starving in the corner or freezing outside in the cold.

It wasn’t just their living conditions that had changed since the day Dhein became king. The faces of the demons were almost unrecognizable because of how happy and at peace they looked.

Soon, they reached the learning hall. Just a little under a hundred students, consisting of children of ages five to ten, had taken their seats and waited for Fiorelle and Kaylen to teach.

Dhein gave them all the learning books from the castle library for their perusal. He also had the soldiers help in setting the environment that encouraged learning for the children. Though it was a bit hilarious seeing terrifyingly muscular demons paint flowers and sunny gardens across the plank walls, Dhein was proud of the progress they had made.

Seeing as the two teachers might be running late, Dhein decided to leave a few words to the youth.

He used to do this for the Olcour academy too, together with his sister. As this memory crossed his mind, he suddenly missed Zarria and all the people back home.

Dhein took a deep breath and walked up to the podium.

Silence filled the air as he stood in front of all. Even the adults at the back eagerly awaited Dhein’s words.

He began to speak.

“What do you think happens after we die?”

That one question made the whole room ponder. It seemed like no one knew the answer as they only responded with silence.

“Do you think we go to heaven if we followed the will of the gods, or be cast to hell if we don’t? Or perhaps, do you think our soul will wander aimlessly in the vastness of the world? Or maybe, we just simply stop existing?”

He spread his gaze and he felt flattered seeing the children listening intently.

“Someone told me that life is meaningless. We will all die someday, and everything we have ever done will inevitably erode with the unstoppable marching of time. When we’re gone, even the people we cherish will die as well, and as time goes on, not a single person in the world will remember us. We will all be forgotten. Therefore, our existence is utterly pointless.”

“If that’s the case, then death is the only thing that holds inherent meaning. But what happens after you die?”

“Some make it their life’s purpose to follow the will of the gods, so that one day, they may share the glory of heavens. They believe that after they die, all of their hard work will finally pay off.”

“Others just don’t care at all. Whether they go to heaven or hell, or be left wandering the world as a ghost for eternity, they leave it all up to fate.”

“I’m not here to tell you which one of those paths you should take. After all, you can’t choose what you believe in.”

“So answer me, what do you think will happen after death?”

There was silence for a few seconds, then a child raised his hand.

Dhein nodded at him, and the boy spoke.

“Didn’t the gods already abandon demonkind?”

Dhein couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

The boy continued.

“Even if we do our best to follow their will, is there really a chance that they would accept us in heaven? My parents said that after we die, our souls will be thrown to hell.”

This was the seed of misconception that had been planted in the demonic continent for centuries. Angelus, an angel banished from heaven, would of course tarnish the reputation of the divine and spread lies like this.

Dhein responded.

“I am the mirror of heaven, Kori.”

The boy’s eyes widened when Dhein called him by his name.

“Look into my eyes. Have the heavens abandoned you?”

Kori didn’t respond.

“If I were to disapprove of you right now, what would you do?” he asked the child gently.

“I… I don’t know. But if I can convince the gods to accept me, then maybe my life would have meaning.”

The whole room seemed to feel the same way as Kori.

Taking a deep breath, Dhein continued to speak.

“Listen to me, everyone. No will of any gods can determine your fate.”

The scion of divinity’s words were full and heavy, every syllable was engraved into the listener’s mind.

“Neither the passing of time nor the futility of our actions can render our lives meaningless. We were born into this world at no one’s permission — not our own, not our parents’, not even the gods’. We will also die and be forgotten the same way. Yet we search for meaning.”

“The heavens have abandoned no one, for the heavens have also loved no one. But for some reason, people believe that if they act a certain way to please the gods, their lives would then be meaningful. Is that the way you want to live your life?”

“If there were no gods, and if it were true that when you die, all traces of you would simply vanish, would you then stop loving your friends? Would the food on your table be tasteless? Would your aspirations to follow your dreams die out? Would you stop going to this learning hall?”

“After you die, your soul may end up in heaven or in hell, and all your deeds will be erased by the years to come. But the only thing that matters, the only thing that gives your life meaning, do you know what that is?”

As expected, no one was able to answer.

But that was alright. Dhein wasn’t able to figure it out by himself as well.

The scion of divinity continued.

“The meaning in your life does not come from the gods, nor from any other people who will, or will not remember you after you’re gone.”

“The only one who needs to give meaning to your life is yourself. You may be forgotten in hundreds of years after your death, but what matters is you lived.”

“Just because you will eventually die and be forgotten doesn’t mean anything you do is pointless. It may be pointless from someone’s perspective centuries from now, but to you it was everything. And that’s all you have to see.”

“You have done what you love, and you followed your heart. You protected the people you care about, shared the meal with your friends, and did your best every day to be someone you can be proud of. Even if you go to heaven and be with the gods, or to hell and cease existing, there is no other meaning that matters more than choosing your own fate.”

“That is the only purpose that you need. Your life is yours to live.”

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