I explained it to him the first time around. He refused back then, he still refuses now. Yet no one else can sit on the Throne but him. At the age of sixteen, not long after my first manifestation, he gave a concert with his first band, which he named Killing Machine, after the Priest album. His father didn’t see the show; they were barely talking to each other by then. But I was there, and I shed bloody tears after each song. I was so proud of him, even though they mostly played covers. At their next show they played a song of their own, called ‘War in Hell’. I liked it, although I could also hear that it was a rehash of the main theme from an Accept song. The lyrics in particular appealed to me, and I was sure he would say yes sooner or later. He was still young, struggling with the idea of responsibility. I even supported his musical career in the beginning; I thought a couple of songs like ‘War in Hell’ would eventually lead him to accept his fate. Back then I thought we had all the time in the world. I was mistaken, of course.

He was nineteen when he recorded his first LP. By then, he had changed the name of the band to Steelbird. The record, called The First Battle, was a great success in Hungary. Songs like ‘The Child of Plague’ and ‘Satanic Pact’ are still often played in rock clubs. Their next record, Out of My Way! was successful too. They were at their peak playing as the supporting act for Judas Priest during the Hungarian stop on the Painkiller tour. Before the show I manifested again in the green room. This time I took the form of an attractive woman; my body was covered in tight leather clothes and tattoos, my face was based on models from German magazines. I adjusted the size of the breasts according to Csaba’s dreams. I made my offer again.

Once more he said no.

I was disappointed. In him, but mostly in myself. A year later he got married to one of his groupies. Her name was Szilvia. The relationship didn’t last a year; it turned out that Csaba was infertile. Szilvia wanted children.

This came as a surprise to them, but not to me. It was my doing, of course, in order to motivate Csaba, nudge him towards the Throne.

The divorce was the beginning of a downturn. I took care of the downward spiral. No major tragedy, just a series of unfortunate accidents, missed opportunities, broken promises.

Now he sits in his room at night and plays the guitar. I recognize the riff, it’s the penultimate song on Steelbird’s Night March album, called ‘Undefeated’. His phone rings and sadness grips my heart. I know who’s calling and why.