The Ghost King's KeeperCh66 - Learning to Love 

Regular Wednesday Update

~ jVwuyX

Ruzen looked on at the expanse of the city, which was dotted with lanterns that glowed in the dark. He could tell that something had happened, but he did not ask the King, the crowd of people on the platform in the central courtyard had flashed in his eyes when the King took him away, so he was aware that things were not normal. Because the rooms allotted to the competitors were sound proof, he hadn’t been aware of the crowd below. 

“What do you see Ruzen?” The King asked him in a hushed whisper, “We want to know.” 

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

From the roof of the tall building they were currently standing on, Ruzen saw a huge city, spreading so far and wide, even his eyes couldn’t calculate the extent. 

“This is Our Domain.”  3da5lu

Ruzen nodded, he knew it was the King’s domain, who didn’t? But the King was being mysterious, so Ruzen would wait for the end result. 

“We have responsibility to these people, they are protected and cared for under Our protection.” 

Again, Ruzen knew about that. He already felt tired thinking about all the responsibilities. 

“And after your ascension, it will be your duty to…” 

Ruzen felt uncomfortable with where his thoughts were leading him, “…duty to protect them?” 

The King surprisingly did not agree, instead, he patted Ruzen’s head with a careful consideration, “It will be your duty to take care of the one who protects them.” 

The one who protects them… 

Take care of the one who protects them…  CFLfSO

Ruzen felt a complex set of emotion erupting within him, was he going to ascend the ranks to take care of a king? It seemed very noble but also very scary. 

“And before Ruzen asks, We will take the initiative to speak.” The Ghost King was very serious as he looked on with his glowing eyes, “Ruzen might be Our keeper in name, but he is Our significant other. He answers to no one but Us, Ruzen is Our equal, but Ruzen still hasn’t reconciled with this fact.” 

“B-But why me?” his soft question lacked excitement, but Ruzen was distinctly gentle. 

“This empire, do you wish to know its history?”  7virPc

Ruzen blinked, knowing that the subject was changed, but he nodded, he wanted to know what the King wanted to share. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“Long time back when We weren’t ruling this land, it was manifested with evil and power thirsty lords. They destroyed the natural order, punished ghosts, defiled gods and humans, burned cursed ones, enslaved the 3rd world creatures and stole treasured ores. They were devious, defied the world rulers and rebelled against them.” 

“When We came into awareness, We travelled the world, We learned from others, and tried to find Our duty, Our fate…” 

“When We came to Manjo, We couldn’t help but try to understand what caused such mayhem, why there was such devastation and destruction, what caused it. The answer We got was ‘hurt pride’. Such a simple but complex emotion… The evils we met had been part of the world rulers before, but they were exiled, and thus their hatred led to such darkness.”  9wBDhQ

“We did not want any part of it, We understood that it wasn’t Our right to save the misfortunate, and neither was it Our goal. We were a lingering consciousness, just a being who tried to understand this world.” 

The King paused, and Ruzen curiously encouraged, “Then what did his majesty do?” 

Chrysanthemum Garden.

“We left.” 

Ruzen felt it was surprising, but considering the King’s origin, the answer wasn’t that shocking.  c1y6Nm

“We left, but We came back again after a few years.” 

“Why?” 

The King did not answer, but he pointed a lean finger at the central complex, which was where most of the crowd was gathered. “A ghost is an entity whom even the world rulers ignore, and nobody expects much out of our race. Gods are looked up to for their resources and heritage, they can grow things and nature itself worships their kind… We wanted to… defy Our fate, the common line of thinking. So we helped, it was unexpected to others.” 

Ruzen blinked, “Was it that simple?”  i xDeh

“Yes,” a soft chuckle was heard. 

This King… he wanted to defy his own race and fate, so he protected the land and developed his own system. So flippant, yet so powerful. Certainly, Ruzen did not expect it. 

“And now, this system is breaking, chipping. We want your help in restoring it. Your existence to Us is like a soothing balm. Ghosts are mocked for being unfeeling, unfilial, but We want to show others, that even We can have someone by Our side who is loyal. We defy the fate itself, Our instinct, Our nature. And you Ruzen, will be the first cursed one to have a Ghost as your significant other, one who is filial and devoted. Wouldn’t it be a very… unorthodox relationship?” 

A lengthy silence ensued, which finally broke under Ruzen’s laugh.  Tu 6Kf

He couldn’t help himself, he tried to stop it but it was already late. He felt he kind of understood where it all came from. The king was not someone who had benevolent goals, he was just someone who was more curious… defiant… and a bit… interesting. 

“Your majesty is like a naughty child…” Ruzen wasn’t scared of voicing his opinion now, really. To this King, Ruzen was just a medium of reaching his goals, but it was still unexpectant. And honestly, Ruzen appreciated the King’s sincerity towards him. 

“Ruzen seems to… understand?” a sparkle was there in the King’s eyes, as if he was sharing something private and secretive with Ruzen. 

Ruzen smiled goofily, “Then if your majesty wants to defy his nature, and explore his own boundaries, will he be comfortable with learning how to… love?”  IwKuYd

“…love? Us?” 

Nodding, Ruzen moved closer, “I will teach the King, is the King willing to learn. It is not something regular Ghosts can do… it is exciting, or so I have heard.” Ruzen could feel the heat from the King’s body, how his eyes sparkled as they looked at him. Curious and eager.  

It was uncharacteristic, but Ruzen felt like he had finally entered the King’s shell. It was both exciting and thrilling to have someone so powerful and rational give in to his will. 

He just knew, that nobody else knew what the King felt and why the King did what he did. It was nothing noble, or grand, it was just self-interest, which was executed with such perfection, one would never know the truth.  xhZwsr

Ruzen no longer felt that distance he had before, now he could see what the King saw, and he could really play along. It seemed fun, exciting and adventurous. 

The Ghost King nodded in regards to the question, titling Ruzen’s face up, “Show Us how you are going to teach Us, this is the first time someone willingly reached out to Us. But We are not sure We will be able to Understand this emotion of… ‘Love’.” 

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Ruzen blushed, his arms wrapping around the King’s neck, bringing him closer, until the King was leaning into him, “First learn to Kiss. Your majesty needs to take initiative on his own.” 

The King seemed amused, “But how do We know when to take the initiative?”  F50Ghl

A tough question, but Ruzen had an answer for it anyway, “When we greet each other, when I ask you to, When you see me staring at you… Your majesty can do whatever he wants to, whenever he wants to.” 

“Is that your will?” 

Ruzen did not get to reply, as a soft kiss landed on his lips, light and warm, tingling his nerves. And when he tried to speak again, another kiss landed. And another… another… another… until Ruzen forgot about everything and let go. 

~  5MZLc

When the King dropped Ruzen off, he told him in parting, “Your significance is not merely our aid Ruzen, your nature naturally defies this world, and when We saw you, We knew We would miss out on an opportunity if We let you go. That… is the first time we pursued Our own desire so selfishly. So your significance cannot be worded, but you are someone who is valuable to Us.” Then the King left a butterfly kiss on Ruzen’s lips, lingering as Ruzen almost forgot breathing. 

Thinking about it, Ruzen seemed not to care anymore, what excited him now was how to make the King ‘love’ him. It felt exceptionally thrilling. 

~ 

While Ruzen was thinking of love, the Second misty shadow of the King caught up with the first one who had just left Ruzen at his door. The night was starting to part with red and violet as the two shadows merged together. The form swished past empty stalls, and lingered in a dark alleyway at the backside of the bathhouse.  a9IHZ6

Soon the space around the alley distorted, until another physical form collected right in front of the King’s shadow. It was Hordor Na’Ris. 

“Your majesty, I was notified of the recent happenings just outside of Manjo, seems like several hidden enemies are trying to revolt. They are not locals, I have looked into their background, they were brought in by Zi Blood Hound’s request, what steps should be taken now that we have Rooted them out?” 

The hooded Ghost King’s figure only took half a form, as the alley became unnaturally dark in his presence. “They are not hiding anymore, finally it is time to face them head on. We have no devised plans in Our favor, We understand that capturing them and throwing them out will not be the correct way of handling the issue.” 

“Then if your majesty prefers, I will go and destroy them, all I need is a blessed weapon.”  8kAPa

“There will be backlash you would not be able to handle,” the ghost King reminded sharply, “Perhaps We can tame them.” 

“They are already under contract, if your majesty destroys their contract willingly, there would be backlash on your majesty instead.” 

“We can handle it.” 

“B-But your majesty…!” Hordor Na’Ris turned quiet when she saw the King’s glower.  3LFJoK

“Just collect them, and bring them to Us, We cannot let them leave.” 

Hordor Na’Ris knew she should just let it go, but their majesty was important, his life wasn’t infinite and his powers could only handle a certain degree of deviation. “Y-Your majesty can choose Ru’Zen to do it, I believe a cursed one can bestow punishment without harsh backlash, their presence itself defies the world rulers.” 

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At this, the Ghost King turned to look at her with a cold face, but even if Hordor Na’Ris quivered, she was adamant in reaching out to the King. She knew that the King’s health wasn’t well, and day by day things weren’t looking bright. She was one of the insiders who knew about Ru’Zen, so she believed he could be of use to them this way. 

“No, he won’t participate in this until his ascension, and We can’t let his curse spread.”  XxmpGT

“There is a way to cure the curse as well your majesty.” 

“The process will hurt.” 

Hordor Na’Ris was bothered by the King’s biasness, Ru’Zen was strong, stronger than many others, then why wasn’t the King letting him help? “Ru’Zen is strong your majesty, he can undo his curse if he wants to, and after all your majesty did for him, it is his duty to help.” 

The Ghost King started to shift his form again, planning to leave the conversation cold.  rSDnv1

Hordor Na’Ris frowned, “Your majesty-” 

“Silence!” The King’s voice dropped, and Hordro Na’Ris shivered, her enersym becoming smaller and shrinking in fright. She just couldn’t understand why the King was so protective over Ru’Zen, exactly what kind of trophy was this child? 

She felt the alley lighting up as the King left, in the end not even caring to heed her words, not that she expected him to. Sighing, she teleported back to the castle.