"anxiety."

anxiety?

Thales frowned, not knowing why:

"I……"

But the king continued speaking on his own, regardless of the young man's doubts:

"Anxiety, it's weird."

"It's neither panic nor panic - these feelings often arise when you are caught off guard, leaving you at a loss but unable to do anything."

The boy's breath hitched.

King Kessel’s voice echoed in the hall, feeling like it was coming from all directions without any gaps:

"For example, you are about to face a certain big test, accept a certain judgment, and do something big..."

"Another example is that you are about to become the heir of an ancient kingdom and bear a burden that is much heavier and more tiring than ever before."

The king snorted loudly, as if the whole hall was shaking:

"However, you know that you are not qualified at all, you know that you cannot bear it, and you know that you are destined to fail."

"At that moment, you are extremely afraid and don't want to face it. You just want to escape, desperate."

"This feeling is panic and panic."

Facing those eyes that seemed to see through something, Thales tried his best to maintain a decent expression and posture.

He felt that the movement of raising his head was getting more and more tiring.

But there seemed to be some force supporting him, not looking away or bowing his head.

King Kessel slowly exhaled:

"But once there is that moment..."

"Before the final moment, an opportunity, a method, and a turning point appeared."

"It makes you feel that there is still a glimmer of hope in the situation, that the consequences may come later, that the trial may be delayed for a moment."

"And you can delay it for a little longer without facing the ending that you fear the most."

King Kessel raised his chin from the back of his right hand, revealing the faint blue light of the Star Staff.

"For example, you can face the test a few days later, bear the consequences a few weeks later, and accept your inevitable... identity a few years later."

Thales stared at the king's calm face and listened to his profound words:

"At that moment, it was salvation."

"It's happiness, numbness, ecstasy and relief after surviving a catastrophe."

"It makes you feel like 'the end is far away' and 'I can still be saved'."

Hearing this, the young man couldn't help but tremble.

"But when all this passes, when the probation period given to you by God has expired," the king chuckled, his eyes deep, but still expressionless:

"These are the illusions that make you think you're relieved."

"They will... all disappear."

Thales listened blankly, his palms cold.

On the throne, the Supreme King slowly straightened up. Under the dim light, it seemed as if dark clouds were over his head:

"And those lucky moments that escaped disaster will be poured back into our eyes again, coupled with regret and uneasiness, self-blame and panic of 'I knew this'."

"In the end, it turned into something that was well understood but irresistible..."

"anxiety."

Thales and the king looked at each other, feeling an inexplicable emptiness in their hearts.

There is no way to fill it up.

Kessel, on the other hand, coldly stroked the scepter in his hand and stared at the strange blue light emitting from its top:

"It is this annoying anxiety that will make you understand, through the pain of scratching your head and being restless, that the escape, luck, procrastination, and illusion in the past six years are actually meaningless."

Six years.

Thales breathed in a daze and listened to the king's words:

"It's like a damned but useless whip, forcing you to face things that you know early on will eventually come, but in the end you can't do anything about..."

"destiny."
Chapter completed!