Eternal

Year 1132

“Is my wisdom downloaded in the device?” you ask.
“Yes, my Emperor, but I don’t understand this decision of yours. You could easily come with us! You don’t need to die here on this wretched planet!” Alexia remarks.
“No, of course I don’t need to, but let us just say I wish to.”

Alexia doesn’t understand, and it isn’t her fault because she couldn’t possibly begin to. Even if you explain, she still won’t, but you might as well try anyway…

“Alexia, I don’t know if you’ve ever researched ancient Empire history, but let me just say I’ve lived enough of that history to experience all I need to experience. I do not need to experience any more. In this form or any other. I could go on about the reasons, but basically, I’m tired. Never thought I’d feel that way, but after more than millennia of existence I believe it is time. It’s funny though, I thought I’d go mad in this form, but instead I’ve just grown bored.”
“But the Empire needs you! We need you! I…need you! Your guidance, your wisdom, your…”
“And that is why all of it has been downloaded to your little device. It never ceases to amaze me, how machines became more powerful as they got smaller. Did you know that when I was first brought into this form, the machine that sustained me was almost as big as this entire room? Well I suppose the current machine isn’t much smaller, but what was more due to all the information and networking I had to maintain. Of course that’s all fairly pointless now given the state the world is in now. Good thing we had colonies on that other planet. Not much point in reconquering the remains of what’s left here right? Ah, I remember when this world was so full of life and potential. Resources were plentiful, magic still existed and I was at my prime…”

You suddenly realize you’ve gotten off track and begun reminiscing about the past, but then you tend to do that nowadays and that’s partly why you don’t want to go on. You’ve increasingly been looking less to the future and more to the past. The good old days…

“Emperor, please I implore you. The Empire…”
“Alexia, whether the Empire continues on this new planet or not isn’t up to me any longer. It’s a new world, and you shall be its new leader. It’s time for me to step aside. Learn from the wisdom I have imparted on you. Follow it or find your own way, it doesn’t matter, but always do what you believe in. In the centuries I have lived, I have always chosen worthy protégées. You are no different Alexia. Go and make the Empire live on another world. This one has no more need of it.”

Alexia knows that she will not be able to talk you out of your decision. She’s attempted it for the past few days now. The only thing that remains for her to do is follow your final command and leave this wasteland of a planet now.

Before she leaves she turns around and salutes you one last time.

“It was an honor to serve you my Emperor.” She says and leaves.

Alone at last. Alone to enjoy your final days as “Emperor” of what’s left of this world.

You spend many days just enjoying certain past memories, mostly when you weren’t a brain in a jar. Your victories over the Felkan Kingdom, your destruction of the Children of Tor, eliminating the “immortal” sorcerer king, the subjugation of Nyttrus. True you had other victories, but those are the ones you feel a genuine sense of accomplishment because it was…just a different life.

Still, you did enjoy dropping annihilation bombs over the entire svelk continent of Dokkrus when the opportunity arose. You always wonder what ever happened to Semra though, you assume she must’ve died long before that time, but you can only assume she was indeed successful in uniting the svelk. She was definitely good on that promise.

You also never found the infamous Island of Mortos. Though you think as magic started to disappear from this world, you wonder if the ability to travel to it disappeared as well. Was it actually in another dimension? Did it sink? There were always theories, but ultimately it was resigned to myth by most, though you always knew the truth.

Wars came and went, as did rebellions, the Xi War was probably the last war that brought this world into the state it is now, a barren wasteland where survivors scurry for the basic necessities of life.

However even before that happened, when the Empire managed to make it to the stars themselves, you knew your time was coming to an end. Some might say you could’ve began your life anew by going to the new planet and conquering it, but as you told Alexia, you’ve done it already and you’ve seen it play out. You don’t need to do it again. This is your world, no matter what state it’s in.

And you will die here. Just like your Eternal siblings died here. Just like Decena died here. Just like Alison died here.

Alison. You haven’t thought about her in so long. While Decena was indeed a love of yours and it was a sad day for you when she passed on, Alison will always be your first…

You wonder when you pass on, if you’ll see any of them again. You wonder is there an after life?

In any event, the time is drawing to a close and you’re going to enjoy one last time on the surface of your world. You don’t care what it looks like now, in fact you’re a little curious especially since most lines of communication and civilization are gone. In fact it might even remind you of the old days again what with exploring the unknown.

A few whirls and clicks and a mechanical arm grabs your jar and places you inside the latest bipedal war machine chassis nearby. The battery power in it won’t sustain you indefinitely, but it should certainly be long enough for you to explore.

And if you’re lucky, you’ll even get into one last battle. As far as you’re concerned that would be perfect.

You leave your underground shelter and what ultimately happens to you remains unknown.

However the wisdom that you gave to Alexia does not remain unknown. She utilizes it and takes control of the Empire. In fact all your knowledge is uploaded into the great information center where all may access it.

The Empire continues to exist for quite a while on the new planet, but as with most things it eventually ends, but what does remain constant is you. Your knowledge becomes ingrained in the minds of the people and your history legendary.

Still, even with a hard record, larger than life individuals have a way of inspiring stories. Some of them are truth, others are outright lies, and some are a little bit of both. Some even say you’re not truly gone, but that you still exist within the machines. In time you’re sometimes even known as the Machine Emperor who lead them to the stars and saved them from a fiery death on the old world and continues to lead them just in a less direct way.

But no matter what the story, one fact is certain; you were and shall always be ETERNAL.