The new King Herez sat before the justicars. 

“Have you no mercy?” the prisoner asked—Herez’s mortal enemy. A pitiful shadow of a man. 

The King replied, “Even the gods’ mercy is finite. Only the mercy of fools is limitless. I strive for divinity. The penalty is death!”

If you like the vibe of these stories, you might like the ongoing short story collection “Tales from Another World.” You can find the Amazon series page here.