Chapter 800 The King's Test
King Solomon turned to ask him, "Do you know why I was called a wise man?"
Lenny shook his head. Although he did remember the biblical story.
After all, he was a knowledgeable person. However, even Lenny could tell that a story was on the horizon.
The king smiled as he raised his sceptre and then the leaves of the trees that looked like green pretty ancient runes rushed over as if having a life of their own, they danced ethereally in the air as they moulded together to form images as if showing the physical form of the king's story.
King Solomon began his story, "Thousands of years before your time, I was a son, a child amongst many of my father's children. I was not his first, nor second, nor third. But I was chosen to be king.
If any other was chosen for such a 'task', they would be happy, and proud. But I knew better.
This was no blessing. The throne was a curse on my life.
All eyes were suddenly on me. And many of my siblings attempting to take the throne made countless attempts on my life."
As he spoke, the images changed showing different times he was either walking in an alley and he was stabbed or eating food and he was poisoned.
As the ethereal leaves swirled and danced, crafting vivid images in the air, King Solomon's tale unfolded, each word weaving a tapestry of his early life and the trials that tempered him into the beacon of wisdom he was renowned to be.
Lenny watched, mesmerized by the visual storytelling that brought Solomon's history to life, the ancient runes painting scenes of intrigue and survival that seemed almost too fantastical to be true.
"Do you see, Lenny?" Solomon continued, his gaze fixed on the living mural before them. "The path to wisdom was not laid with gold but with the sharp stones of adversity. Each attempt on my life, each betrayal I faced, was a lesson. It was not the crown that made me wise; it was the journey to keep it upon my head."
The images shifted with Solomon's narrative, illustrating not just attempts against his life but also his responses to such treacheries.
There were moments of narrow escapes, of Solomon outwitting his adversaries, of silent reflections in the wake of close encounters with death.
Each scene was a chapter of his growth, not just as a ruler but as a man who sought to understand the heart of wisdom.
"And then came my encounter with the 'One Above All'.
For you see, his visit to me was plainly out of curiosity.
I had enemies both within and outside my father's bloodline, and yet I had not raised my hand on them.
It was only later on that I discovered that it was just another one of the One Above All's machinations.
A trial of sorts. And then he asked me to make a wish for anything and he would grant it unto me.
And so I prayed for wisdom," Solomon's voice softened, echoing a humility that belied his kingly stature. "Not for wealth, nor the death of my enemies, but for an understanding heart to discern between good and evil. It was this request that granted me not only the wisdom I sought but also the wealth and peace my kingdom enjoyed."
As the leaves settled back onto their branches, the garden returned to its tranquil state, the story lingering in the air like a sacred whisper.
Lenny, deeply moved by Solomon's recount, found a new perspective dawning within him. The betrayal he had suffered, the pain that had led him to guard his heart—perhaps these, too, were the stones upon which his path to wisdom was being laid.
"Your wisdom, then, was a gift born of trials," Lenny finally spoke, his voice a mix of wonder and reflection. "A testament that true wisdom comes not from the absence of struggle but from the very heart of it."
King Solomon nodded, "You are almost there."
And in Lenny's eyes, he could see that his words had sunk deep. However, Lenny suddenly chuckled as he bowed his head.
And then lenny raised his eyes to meet that of the king's.
"Oh Wise king, I don't know the trials of the pain that you had to suffer, and i wont claim to understand the weight of the crown on your head.
But please do not also try to understand my pain.
The excuse that my battle is with demons, devils, angels, and the abominations of existence is nothing.
Especially not before one such as yourself.
So I'll say this instead. You are a far better man than myself.
Because for me..." Lenny's tone suddenly took a dark dive, and the aura that came from his body was that of intense murderous intent.
Before the king's wise eyes, it was like a black miasma that formed the ethers of space.
It even made the trees sway slightly. And they shy away from him.
"...I'll kill them all."
Lenny's words were a strong declaration of hid intent.
And the king paused a bit as he looked at him.
"Is that your final answer?" The king asked Lenny.
Without missing a beat, Lenny nodded.
"I know. I have disappointed you. But at the end of the day, I am my own man. I would rather walk my own path. If you do not wish to aid me, then send me back. I'll grind through the pain and get my revenge by myself."
There was a sudden pause between the two men, and time seemed to come to a stand still.
The king had a stiffness on his face, and in his eyes was a look that stated that he was assessing lenny properly.
All of a sudden, his lips parted into a nice smile as he pulled Lenny closer and patted his back aggressively.
"Good! Very good!! That there is an indomitable will."
The King gave. Loud wild laughter that echoed in the garden.
But most of all, left lenny speechless.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆webnovel