text: They walked cautiously toward the door. Upon reaching it, they stood still for a moment, thinking it through one last time before making the decision to bravely open it. They did not do so gently, or with any caution of which they had just been exhibiting. Instead, they took a deep breath, and through open the door, for they knew that was the only way they were ever going to be able to do it. Truthfully, they were scared of what awaited them on the other side. The door flew open, and what awaited them on the other side was no monster, but a man. He was kneeling on one knee in the middle of the room, one of his arms was dropped to the floor, the other propped atop his knee. His face was buried into the one arm he had propped on his knee. His crown caught the light that now shined into the room, allowing it to glow, illuminating the beautiful gems encrusted into its golden frame. There was also just enough light to show off a deep, blood red cape that draped from his shoulders and fell down along the back of his body. He raised his head just enough so that his eyes had room to peer over the ridge of his arm, shooting a menacing glare at the intruder that faced him. He made no advances, no movement. He made no attempt to deter the intruder from him. He let out a sigh before pushing himself to his feet. For a moment he stood still, his eyes concentrated on the ground. “It’s a funny thing really... I’ve been driven insane by ideas. My *good* ideas.” the man said, speaking low at first, as if talking to only himself. He chuckled, “Who knew that *good* ideas could fuck you up?”. He paused, finally looking up from the ground and locking eyes with the intruder. He scoffed before continuing, “I feel I’m on the brink of exploding!”. He had almost shouted his last sentence, as he broke out into a fit of insane laughter. He reached up his right hand and cupped the side of his face with it. The laughter died down and his eyes drifted down to the floor once more, his face becoming straight, and almost grim looking, for a moment. He suddenly broke the silence as he began cackling, his laughter seeming to fill the entirety of the room. But this was not laughter of amusement, but hysteria. His red cape flew violently out in the air behind him as his head shot back, and he raised his arms, clutching at his hair. The harsh jerking motion sent his crown flying off of his head and falling toward the floor. The crown smashed on the ground, cracking the golden frame. He had crazed, bloodshot eyes, the pupils shrunken. He had a maniacal grin spread widely across his face for a moment before began speaking. “I see MILLIONS of empires rise and fall every second! I see the creation of worlds, and I see their cataclysmic destructions! I see every king, every tyrant, every conqueror. I see all of their people- the rich, the poor, the sickly, the strong and the weak! I feel their suffering, their happiness, their fear, their rage. I see the cowards, the ones too scared, too weak to fight back, the ones who side with suffering over freedom. I see the brave heroes, the ones who’ve had enough, the ones ready to take a stand and fight back. I see all the good that people do, I see all the atrocities they commit. I see everything, and I sit here and I dream. I dream about what I could do, what I could create, the things I could become. It inspires me, and yet it destroys me. Every second I feel myself falling in love with it, having my heart broken, but then falling in love with it all over again. It’s nonstop! There’s no end, there is only madness! And I- and I...” he shouted. He felt a strange feeling of defeat wash over him. His eyes became normal once more and he looked down at the ground. His body quickly followed his eyes, as he suddenly dropped to his knees, arms hanging at his sides. He sat there in silence for a moment, his eyes glued to the floor. He said softly, “And sometimes... I just get so tired of fighting it.” The ‘intruder’ who had initially entered the room stood still for a moment, a look of surprise and concern on their face. They finally walked forwards, stopping in front of the man. They extended their arm, placing their hand on the man’s shoulder, a look of sadness now on their face. The man made no acknowledgement of the intruder’s gesture, his eyes still unmoving from their spot on the floor. The man suddenly stood up, without words, and pushed the intruder’s arm away. He looked once more at the intruder, gazing at him with sad, cold, sunken eyes that reeked of pain. He turned away from them, walking over to where his now cracked crown lay on the floor. He bent down, picking up the crown, and held it in his hands. He stared down at it, examining the newly acquired crack from the tumble it had taken. “But despite that, I keep going. I keep fighting it. I am determined to reach where I want to go, and I refuse to let anything dictate that for me.” The man said solemnly. He put the crown pack on his head and, without another word, walked out of the room.