Onilin

  Lux was currently sleeping on Ikol while using him like a pillow and his tails wrapped around her. Her loyal musclehead seems ecstatic that Lux is resting like that. Ikol was alert as he looked around like a sentry for her because Lux was clearly recovering from something. What did she do to wear herself out so much? Lux already completed her trial, so why was she pushing herself that hard? She looked so forling comfortable as she just slept there on the mountainside. What motivated her to this point? Lux had a psychotic level of drive to get stronger that was honestly a bit frightening. She mentioned her friend is in a death match with some monster. Did that seriously motivate her to this degree? I dreaded to see what Lux crafted that made her tired enough to use Ikol as her protection pillow.

  Zagzin and I were struggling with our trial of carrying these blasted boulders as we flew across the strong winds of the Kniclad Mountains. Lux, how did you complee your trial so easily? How did she already complete her trial? The rest of us were absolutely struggling with our trials and she simply waltzed across the completion of her trial. I wanted to try and close the gap with Lux, but she just kept increasing the gap so casually. How? How did she keep doing it? I felt this odd seething sensation in my stomach as I attempted my trial yet again, but I had to set down the boulder fairly quickly so I could calm down and focus on the task at hand. As I went to start roaring in frustration, King Ilrymax landed next to the two of us with his normal polite expression.

  “Onilin, Zagzin.” King Ilrymax stated politely as he landed there.

  “King Ilrymax.” My brother and I replied in unison with a polite bow.

  “You two need to calm down before attempting to practice for your trial.” King Ilrymax explained gently to us. How is he so observant? How did he notice from wherever he was?

  “I’m not that annoyed.” Zagzin told him as he cocked his head in confusion.

  “You may not be, but your sister is seething.” King Ilrymax sighed as he shook his head a little. I appreciated King Ilrymax tried covering for me a little bit, even if it was not successful.

  “I do not understand Lux.” I admitted bitterly. Where did she even come from?

  “You are jealous that she completed her trial so quickly and the fact her strength just keeps leaping.” King Ilrymax pointed out. Was it that obvious?

  “Maybe.” I deflected in annoyance.

  “I guess young always struggle not to measure themselves against their peers.” King Ilrymax chuckled which hit a nerve.

  “It is not that amusing, King Ilrymax.” I said while trying to contain my irritation.

  “Things are always more amusing in retrospect. One day you will look back or have a moment of reflection that will indeed be amusing to you. I was once in your shoes, believe it or not.” King Ilrymax assured us. What made that funny?

  “When?” Zagzin asked, not grasping how a King would feel that.

  “When I was on my , I was in the same

  with King Miril and Izol, as well as King Duck.” King Ilrymax answered. I knew King Miril, King Ilrymax, and King Duck were all similar in age, but I had no idea they once were all in the same

  .

  “I never knew you three were all in the same

  .” I confessed, wondering how they all reached the position of King. All out of one

  ? That's kind of impressive.

  “Want to know the story?” King Ilrymax probed with a self-assured expression.

  “Yes.” Zagzin confirmed while shaking his head enthusiastically yes.

  “I would be curious to learn.” I added on as we both took our seats and sat in front of him.

  “So, a long while ago, I was a young , thinking I was a lot stronger than I actually was. I got the rudest wakeup call in the world when I met Izol, who is so similar to Ikol that I have to catch myself from calling him by his father’s name. It is amusing how history tends to repeat itself, as Miril and Izol have somehow become Lux and Ikol. Not the point, but the similarities are hilarious. King Miril has always been a talented, self-centered, and arrogant being, but was much worse when she was younger. Oh how she loved to lord her power over all of us, acting like the tyrant she was, enjoying bossing around her eventual partner, and no matter how hard most of us in that tried could not close the gap in power she created.” King Ilrymax began in this reminiscing tone, which despite his words he seemed fond of.

  “I always imagined I was one of the stronger beings, but I couldn’t even defeat Izol and overcome the sheer force and power he was capable of. Imagine my surprise when I then I met King Duck, who I also couldn’t beat. My pride took a serious beating when I was the weakest out of the four of us originally, and I let my jealousy consume me alive as I was trying to measure myself by what they were capable of, not what I could do. I am not sure any of you are going to grasp what it is like to try and measure your strength against King Duck, being honest.” King Ilrymax chuckled as he shook his head at his past self.

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  “I am not that familiar with King Duck.” Zagzin informed King Ilrymax while I sat there, processing his story a bit.

  “Who do you think is physically stronger between Sovereign Hoggdin and King Duck?” King Ilrymax checked with a knowing smile.

  “King Duck?” I guessed as I thought the answer should be Sovereign Hoggdin, but the fact he asked let me know the answer wasn’t the obvious one.

  “Yes. I was stuck with the musclehead duo and King Miril, who was the ever so gracious being. Let me tell you, that was a humbling experience because I most certainly was not faster than King Miril, stronger than King Duck who possesses limitless strength, nor a more capable fighter than Izol. I always fixated on what they were capable of rather than what I could do, nor how I could improve.” King Ilrymax continued as he remembered the days of his .

  “So, what did you do?” I asked. Where was he going with this? He said it was a story, but there was more of talking about the

  he was in.

  “I kept trying to out speed King Miril, trying to become stronger than King Duck, and overcome the combat ability of Izol. Lords above Izol could fight. He still can, so I am unsure why I am using the past tense there. I pursued fruitless effort after fruitless effort, just relentlessly wanting to beat them at what made them what they were. That was the wrong way to think about it, the wrong approach. I, like many young , constantly measured myself by what the three of them were capable of. I was envious of the feats they could achieve rather than what I could achieve, what made me myself. I needed to reflect and learn that you should focus on yourself and your abilities; I will never beat a fish at swimming. You should not let your jealousy consume you; not measure yourself by the abilities of others. It will drive you insane.” King Ilrymax lectured us. His eyes were a bit intense while he kept talking.

  “So, what is the story?” Zagzin asked in a confused tone. King Ilrymax laughed at that as I glared at my brother.

  “I guess that was more of a recollection and a lecture; fair point Zagzin.” King Ilrymax admitted with a laugh.

  “Sorry.” Zagzin apologized sheepishly as I wanted to listen to King Ilrymax’s advice, but it was killing me.

  “It is no problem. Before I tell an actual story, Onilin, do not try to think you are catching up to Lux. To be blunt, you are not catching up to Lux in the span of a . As for the story, there was a Trial by King Cihlt which unlike the rest of the Kings, was fairly the same for everyone. Her trial was finding several targets that were hidden in her territory as fast as possible. We were tasked with prowling the woods, one at a time, to find each and every target. Do you know what happened?” King Ilrymax began, smiling as he remembered this trial.

  “King Miril won?” I guessed. King Ilrymax chuckled a bit as he had a satisfied smirk.

  “I did. The one and only time I outperformed the others during the was on this trial. Not by a little, but I managed to overcome the superior speed, maneuvering, and power of them on King Cihlt’s trial. One I had was which at the time I neglected, and I thought wasn’t as impressive or flashy as what the others could do. It was the one I could do well that the other three couldn’t, which was able to rapidly locate and find where the targets were from a distance. I didn’t need to scan around, nor did I have to spend a lot of time searching as I could find the targets without wasting time.” King Ilrymax explained with a happy expression.

  “But isn’t your best ? Dad always said it was one of your most fearsome abilities.” I inquired, boggled he ever thought it wasn’t impressive.

  “All does is extend strings of from the desired sensory body part after reinforcing it with some . It is fairly simple.” King Ilrymax told us casually. What? Did he just… tell us… his ? I felt my jaw drop which made King Ilrymax erupt in laughter.

  “I told Lux and I liked her innovation with it; one of you may be closer to my actual than she was. It is the duty of Kings to impart knowledge onto the next generation, so of course I do not mind telling you the . I always thought it was too simple, too minor, and not flashy enough to be something major until that trial. Nowadays I and quite a few others are fully aware of how useful the is; the important part of that small story is, sometimes you do not know what you have until you see it in a different light. Sometimes the best thing you have is something you already possess, you just don’t value it enough. I was so fixated on them until I was forced to use what I could do I didn’t flourish; I didn’t grow as much as I could’ve until I faced that reality. It is tough not to measure yourself by what you can see. I am aware it is challenging. When I was young, I was awful about it. Do not make my mistake, learn from it. Be better than I was. I am the first King you all have reached and encountered, you have time to reflect and focus on yourselves.” King Ilrymax lectured further. Are all Kings this wise?

  “Lux is obsessed with overcoming that Nil fellow.” I pointed out bitterly. What the forl is he like if Lux feels that inadequate in comparison?

  “You are not Lux. Neither of you are. As much as I’d like her to stop, I am not the one who will likely be able to teach her that lesson; I can teach it to you two because I once was in your spot. I want you two to learn from the mistakes of the previous generations.” King Ilrymax snapped back immediately.

  “Do you really think we could do anything that can compete with her?” Zagzin wondered. His pride has been shattered from the overwhelming force of Ikol and Lux.

  “I think so; you need to focus on yourself and you will grow. Don’t hate yourself for not being able to replicate the abilities of others. Work on your abilities, your , your . Who knows, you may eventually get a chance to grow even further in a place you couldn’t even dream of if you show you are willing to improve yourself.” King Ilrymax answered him sincerely.

  “I’ll try it.” Zagzin agreed, nodding affirmatively.

  “You are right.” I added on. Logically, I knew King Ilrymax was right, and his advice was accurate to what I needed to do.

  “I know I am right; it will take time for you to probably follow and believe the advice. Just, remember it no matter how annoying or irritating events may seem in the moment.” King Ilrymax told us sternly.

  “Yes sir.” My brother and I said in unison as he smiled before flying off. I let out a sigh, knowing I needed to take his advice to heart.