In his later years, as Akhenaten's life slowly drew to a close, he began to fear death. He dreaded feeling his body grow weaker by the day, sensing death constantly drawing nearer. Looking back on his glorious life, he couldn't bear the thought of it ending.
He thought back to his childhood, to the tall figure he had met then: the archangel Pharos, who had taken his hand and told him he was destined to become the Human King; the divine messenger who had bestowed upon him the Golden Blood and a divine sword; the man who had taught him the knowledge of the gods. He hoped he could see that man again. Even if he had to die, he hoped to go to the Divine Kingdom after death and become an immortal being like him!
Akhenaten began building temples to the Goddess of Light, Maria, on a grand scale. Like a devout believer, he knelt before the goddess's statue every day to pray.
In the last two years of his life, he gathered all the gold he had amassed and ordered his finest craftsmen to forge a solid-gold statue of the Goddess of Light. He marshaled the entire nation to build a temple more magnificent than his own palace, declared the Church of Light the state religion, and proclaimed himself a follower of the Goddess of Light.
Behind every statue of the Goddess of Light stood a divine messenger in a mask, holding a scepter. He was Pharos, the archangel at the Goddess of Light's side—the man who had given the Golden King Divine Revelation and divine blood!
The temple was filled with priests in white robes, as well as pure maidens who served the gods. For years, the Golden King Akhenaten prayed and tried everything he could, but he never saw a god—not until the night he died!
In the spacious palace, a roaring fire burned in the fireplace. A rug made from the tanned hide of a rare white bear covered the floor. Akhenaten sat in a reclining chair, wearing a gold crown set with jewels.
Akhenaten's hair was completely white, his face lined with wrinkles, and a cloudy film veiled his eyes. He gently polished the divine sword the messenger had given him long ago. The valiant lion who had once conquered the world no longer had the strength to wield a sword in battle.
Akhenaten sighed. Then, through the haze, he saw a shadow approaching. He immediately raised his head. Even a lion in his twilight years still possessed a king's majesty.
"Akhenaten, why did you want to see me?"
Akhenaten saw a figure in a white robe and mask standing before him. The white mask bore a sun pattern, and the familiar figure sent a jolt through his entire body.
"Is it you? Have you really come? Or am I seeing things?" Akhenaten's voice was hoarse, but he was overcome with excitement!
Lu Zhiyu stood before Akhenaten, his gaze tinged with emotion. The boy of years ago had grown old beyond recognition. Time's soft blade was the most terrifying of all. "Akhenaten, you've done very well. You're the first king of humanity, and your name will be recorded in the history books!"
Akhenaten cried out, "But this isn't what I wanted!"
Lu Zhiyu asked in confusion, "That's not what you said back then. This was the fate you chose for yourself. You became the ruler of humanity and gained power, status, fame, beautiful women, wealth, and everything else. What more could you want?"
Akhenaten looked at Lu Zhiyu and shakily rose to his feet. His eyes burned as he stared at Lu Zhiyu's youthful body and strong hands. After all these years, time had not left the slightest trace on him.
"But I'll still die. When I grew old, I finally understood that all of this was nothing but passing clouds. Only you—only the gods—are eternal! I want to be like you. I want eternal life!"
Lu Zhiyu laughed in disbelief and repeated the exact same words he had spoken all those years ago: "You humans are far too greedy!"
Akhenaten stepped toward Lu Zhiyu and said furiously, "No! I completed the mission you gave me. You should reward me!"
Lu Zhiyu shook his head. "We never gave you any mission. The choice of your fate was in your hands. You chose your own path. I once told you that the gods gave you life, wisdom, great abilities, fertile fields, and the whole world. Must we also satisfy every one of your desires and demands?"
Lu Zhiyu looked into Akhenaten's eyes. "The gods aren't your servants. We put the choice of your fate in your hands. If you're dissatisfied, find a way to change it yourself. Change your own fate instead of blaming everything on the gods."
Lu Zhiyu sighed. "You never did anything for us. Everything you did was for yourself. But greed made you discontent. What you can't have always seems best!"
Akhenaten immediately shouted, looking around wildly and gesticulating as madness crept into his eyes. "I can trade you something for it! Anything—money, power, beautiful women, anything at all! Just give me a young body!"
Lu Zhiyu chuckled. "Everything you have was given to you by us. You want to trade me the very things I gave you?"
Lu Zhiyu had no intention of continuing the conversation. He turned, and his body dissolved into ripples before vanishing. Seeing this, Akhenaten rushed after him. "No! You can't leave! I completed your mission! You can't do this to me! You owe me! You liars, you liars!"
Akhenaten screamed furiously through the palace, smashing everything he could see. At last, he collapsed to the floor like a child. "Don't go. Please, don't..."
Just then, the guards outside hurried in. They found Akhenaten lying on the floor, his eyes unfocused. He had died in his own palace, clutching the divine sword Lu Zhiyu had given him long ago. His gaze rested on a mural on the wall. It showed a man beneath the setting sun, giving a sack of grain seeds and a sword to a boy!
"His Majesty—His Majesty is dead!"
The guards ran out in a panic. News of the Golden King Akhenaten's death quickly spread throughout the Golden City. The transfer of power went on as before. Akhenaten's son succeeded him and continued the Golden Dynasty.
On a sudden whim, Lu Zhiyu had gone to visit the Akhenaten of old. He had to admit that decades brought enormous changes. The experience of standing outside the world was completely different from being within it.
The immortality Akhenaten had envied was merely an illusion caused by the difference between the flow of time where Lu Zhiyu lived and the flow of time where Akhenaten lived. Lu Zhiyu wasn't immortal in the way Akhenaten had imagined.
But seeing how fragile Akhenaten had been before the passage of time filled Lu Zhiyu with a profound fear of life and death. Can I really live forever?
Before you continue