《Thieves Of Saturnalia》


 Prologue

    Olympia


    Center Of The Tricentauri Galaxy


    ¡°What is power?¡±


    The hall was silent, the man who sat on the throne was enveloped in the shadows that rendered the man¡¯s face to be a mere silhouette. The voice echoed loud and clear in the room. Yet, the man remained silent.


    ¡°What is a God to a non-believer?¡±


    The voice grew demonic, louder and louder the echoes rebounded against the walls of the room. Yet, the man remained silent.


    ¡°What is a King to a God?¡±


    This time the man stood from his throne and walked down the steps of his towering seat. The shadows gave way to his face. He was extremely well built and handsome, and he was black. Blacker than midnight, his skin was the night itself and his cloak matched his skin. The man stepped towards the voice with extreme elegance, so that it looked like he was gliding. The hall had a carpeted walkway and the man reached its end, where the door was located.


    A tall and slender figure stepped onto the carpet, his face hidden under a tattered brown hood. At once, a loud metallic click resonated around the room as soldiers emerged from the shadows, their spears drawn and cackling with energy.


    ¡°Ah, The Midnight King himself,¡± the figure spread his arms and announced. ¡°Tell me, my King, what is a King to a God?¡± the figure drew closer towards the Midnight King as he hissed into the man¡¯s ear. The guards¡¯ spear were glowing dangerously bright, their tip warning the figure to step back.


    The Midnight King held his hand high and the guards obeyed instantly as a dozen spears withdrew, the bolts of energy went out as the room was once again, plunged into darkness, dimly lit by the stars revolving around Olympia.


    Most would have bowed and cower below The Midnight King¡¯s aura, but the figure stood as tall as the king, they faced each other for a few seconds before the Midnight King gently held the figure¡¯s shoulders and leaned in.


    ¡°What is a king to a God?¡± his voice was hauntingly beautiful, despite it being a whisper, the entire hall heard the king.


    ¡°Look upon me and ask yourself.¡± The Midnight King whispered, he snapped his fingers as the figure levitated a few inches above the carpet before slamming into the marble pillar near the door. The hood fell and revealed a jackal-like creature, his fangs bared a sinister smile as he looked at the towering king. His blood-red eyes shone with excitement as he stood up, unfazed by the blow. He pat his cloak as dust flew everywhere, the jackal straightened his arm and closed a clawed fist. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°The Tricentauri Galaxy speaks highly of your powers, I see you as a degenerate, such modifications could already grant you the Nexon Throne?¡± the jackal snarled as he drew a scythe from beneath his cloak.


    The Midnight King said nothing as the scythe sliced at him, the halls were filled with the snarls of the jackal and the air being slashed by the scythe. The Midnight King parried with his fists, as blows after blow rebounded off his obsidian-black skin.


    The jackal sliced again, this time the tip of the scythe hooked onto the king¡¯s neck as he was sent flying into another pillar. The jackal dodged the flying king with calculated momentum as he back flipped and landed with grace. A blur of shadows caught the jackal by surprise as The Midnight King¡¯s fist connected with his jaw.


    The jackal, however, had calculated this yet again as he plunged the handle of the scythe deep into the Midnight King¡¯s chest just as the fist sent him flying yet again. It was a simple trick using pressure and it worked. The Midnight King stumbled before collapsing on his knees. Black liquid darker than his skin flowed from his wound, the jackal smirked, or what looked like one as his jaw was punched out of shape.


    The guards emerged from the shadows once again, noticing a dire situation, their spears lit up the hall yet again. They moved without noise, scaling the perimeter and surrounding the jackal.


    ¡°Stand still.¡±


    ¡°Stand still.¡± the jackal demanded, a strange aura overcame the guards as they stopped advancing inches apart. The guards stood still as the jackal shoved two of them to the ground as he walked toward the kneeling Midnight King.


    ¡°Justicus Vandal, I should know,¡± The Midnight King whispered hoarsely, he had pulled the scythe from his chest and the black liquid was erupting from his wound. The jackal bared his teeth and bent down, staring straight into the king¡¯s obsidian pupils.


    ¡° Augments against Augments, let us fight like real men,¡± Justicus outstretched his arms and the scythe flew into it. The Midnight King stood with grace, as if the injury had unfazed him, he snapped his fingers and Justicus was sent crashing into the wall of immobile guards.


    ¡°This is not you, my king. The power of the Nexon throne is not you. Show me your namesake,¡± Justicus screamed, his eyes mad with demonic rage, the same aura that rendered the guards immobile overcame The Midnight King. He could not stop the intense urge to do what he had commanded, to show his true augmentations. Yet, it was through pure willpower had the Midnight King deflected such thought, yet the remnants of the command had already been implanted in his brains. The hall shook as the king¡¯s fists connected with Justicus ¡¯chest and stomach, sending shockwaves that could be heard throughout Olympia. The blows implanted a black imprint similar to the king¡¯s skin, Justicus had no time to retaliate as the Midnight King delivered blow after blow.


    ¡°You want to see it? I will show you,¡± The Midnight King could not resist Justicus¡¯ commands, not even the mightiest king could, he slammed the jackal into the ground as he cackled with delight. The Midnight King¡¯s veins crackled with electrons as his eyes lit up, it was what made the Midnight King the most destructive augmentations to have ever existed. The release of a miniature black hole was not enough to destroy a quadrant, but this had occured in the centre of Olympus, near the foot of the Nexon throne, the center of the Tricentauri Galaxy. Olympus was disintegrated in seconds, there was no screams, the planet had turned to dust in seconds while The Midnight King imploded.


    He had released a wave of organic energy, the fusion of every augmentation known to the Tricentauri Galaxy contained in the Nexon Throne was released in a ripple of power that decimated an entire galaxy in seconds, the waves of annihilation had wiped out all life known to Tricentauri. These orbs of energy found themselves in a new vessel of power as stars and planets emerged from the void of space, announcing to the Universe of a greater story than its predecessor.

 1. Ludus

    Ludus ¡°Sea Of The Outlaws¡±


    Third Quadrant


    Threat Levels: Extreme


    Biome: Mass Radiated Sea and Aquamarine Life


    Ludus was a peaceful aqua biome with the occasional tropical islands, the locals resided on floats and boats, mainly living on a lifetime supply of marine life along with a diverse and wonderful ecosystem. There were tribal chiefs but no major forms of leadership to communicate with the rest of the quadrant, life was extremely care-free and easy.


    There were three bright suns in which Ludus orbited around, it was an entire year of summer for the miniature planet that merely contained a few million fishermen. Albus Of The Reefs, a deep sea diver had just came from a 30 minute diving session, he hooked the plankton net he held onto the wooden ladder of his tiny two-men wooden raft. The old diver''s head had emerged from the sea, he expected the warm tropical breeze of Ludus, he expected the red hot sun rays that had tanned him to the last layer of his skin. What Albus saw, well, he died.


    Two Suns had turned black, or something was blocking the Suns. Well, the locals in the North of Ludus hadn''t had time to find out what that was, like our poor Albus. Ludus had turned a shade of grey, the last Sun could barely beam a fraction of its sunrays down to Ludus. Next came a billion tonnes of chemical waste, trash and pollution from the black shape in the sky. The miniature trash and objects were melted to its core when they reached the stratosphere of Ludus but the toxic waste and gas seeped through the damaged skies of Ludus. The sky bled acid and the cries of the locals were unheard of as explosions of radiation formed in the skies, raining down chemical waste that burned the locals to crisp. Poor Albus attempted to dive back into the sea before a blackened, deformed fridge door found itself embedded into the diver''s skull.


    Radiation and every forms of toxin melted and laid waste to Ludus, those lucky enough to escape the rain succumbed to a slow, painful death from diseases and extremely strange growths and tumors. The shape that blocked the Suns, as the dying locals called it was a Atlas Disposer-35 from Imperium Ortex, one of the most powerful empires in the neighbouring quadrant. Imperium Ortex was heavily polluted and they came up with a brilliant idea, to lay waste to the cleanest planet in the galaxy. It was so brilliant that the Imperium Ortex were expelled from the GCC (the Galactic Civillizations Circle) under the vote of 142 against the 58 empires the Imperium attempted to bribe for attempts of rackteering and unecessary destruction of the galaxy''s ecosystem.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    This angered the Imperium thus, being the proud militarist nation they were, launched a full scale invasion on Galan, one of the most powerful planets with the highest influence in the GCC which had decided for the Imperium to. Ludus had triggered a short intergalactic war that lasted merely a year. The Imperium Ortex were decimated by the entire GCC and signed a treaty to cleanse Ludus to the best they can. Several vacuum chambers were set up to rid of the severely toxic air, much of the waste that littered the sea were also swept away, back in the Atlas Disposer-35. The sea, however,could not go back to what it was, it was an ocean of acid. The tropical islands were unrestorable so the Imperium decided to construct large prisons and rafts that housed thousands of the galaxy''s most notorious thieves and criminals.


    It was particularly impossible to escape Ludus due to a sea in which you could not swim in it without growing an extra head and the marine life were an abomination ruined by the radiation. Of course no one would attempt to escape, it was yet again, a brilliant idea.


    The Imperium Ortex had obviously not considered housing the criminal masterminds of the galaxy behind more secure bars. Two weeks after the mass movement of prisoners from several prisons in the Fourth Quadrant, Ludus had overran the guards from the Imperium. Soon, Ludus was a planet of outlaws. Leading the 2 minute prison break was Ed Gorran, the greatest thief to ever exist in the galaxy, he had united an entire prison before overthrowing the Imperium guards themselves. The major criminals agreed to rule an area of the acidic ocean and an empire of outlaws was established.


    The outlaws adapted well, making use of the mass availability of rafts and boats from the Imperium, Ludus was overran with bandits onboats.


    Pirates.


    Upon observing that little to no criminals were leaving Ludus, the GCC and the Imperium left Ludus undefended, a lawless acidic aqua biome for a haven of crime. This attracted many outlaws from every direction of the galaxy to Ludus, the lawless sea was a bounty hunter''s dream as many bounties fled to Ludus for so called safety. Black markets, tech implant auctions were the prime economic sectors of Ludus. Pirates operated on boats, taking turfs for themselves while securing riches. Ludus was ruled by bandits, uncountable areas of the acidic sea were under control by warlords, the only individuals that kept Ludus from self-destructing.


    Twenty four years after the prison outbreak, Ludus had gained galactic fame for inspiring an iconic lullaby for terrifying misbehaving children:


    Im gonna drop you headfirst into Ludus.


    Into the sizzling acid pot that it is,


    Where you will grow an extra head,


    an extra limb,


    an extra brain


    If you ever survive the lawless waste


    Don''t dream about augmentations or implantations,


    for you will emerge an abomination..

 2. The Fleet

    Ludus ¡°Sea Of The Outlaws¡±


    Third Quadrant


    Threat Levels: Extreme


    Biome: Severely Contaminated Sea And Aquamarine Life


    The Cherry''s Bottom, a threateningly enormous ship housing a crew of seventy with a twenty tonne vault crate carrying enough currency to purchase three other Cherry''s Bottoms.


    Jax was part of the seventy pirates that were unimaginably drunk below the decks, their screams and laughter, along with the obnoxious music found its way onto the upper deck. Jax hung from the masthead of the ship, his hands clutching the metallic chain that held the Cherry''s Bottom''s flag high in the air, a pink skull with several obscene symbols and sentences written on it. The radioactive breeze of Ludus sent Jax''s black heap of hair flying in the wind, making it messier than it already was.


    Jax was a child of Ludus, born and abandoned in the ports of Ludus, which were once tropical islands that knew no such thing as pollution. The ports served as the central locations for the black market and every other kinds of illegal business. He had been found by an organs dealer in the gutters near the dealer''s den, Jax was naked and exposed to the toxic air of Ludus. It was a miracle that he even made it alive without developing a tumor in his lungs. The organs dealer, being the kind man that he was, provided Jax a proper breathing kit to prevent damage from the polluted air, food and water--- and then he tried to cut Jax''s limbs.


    Jax ran. Once again he was abandoned, he had no name nor currency. The next ten years of his life, he spent as a thief, an outlaw of the outlaws. Ludus had barely any forms of clean water, only the rich could aquire them via travelling to the outside. Clean water was scarce but water was not. Well, most could afford a purifying system that took painful hours of waiting to attempt to cleanse the acidic ocean or the liquid that contained a mixture of urine, faeces, blood and water found in the sewers. The water that came out from the machinery was barely clean and you could see specks of dirt here and there.


    However, this was a historic achievement for the seven year old Jax who had acquired a system from a pawnshop that was parked near Radon, the busiest port in Ludus. Jax had scavenged and stole for this first ten years of his life, developing a talent that was envied by many in Ludus-- pickpocketing. The boy was a natural and Jax took whatever he could, crime had granted Jax''s survival but that was the way of life in Ludus, the residents lived on crime. Thus he gave himself a name: Jax, which meant the Witching Hour in Hasseltongue, the language spoken by some Ludus warlords.


    His next two focused on his physical body, it was pain beyond his imagination, Jax increased his body strength via a punching bag he purchased with whatever credits he had. This went from a bag to mutated rats that patrolled the sewers of Radon, they were the size of a five-year old child. Jax pushed his physical limits and found himself in barfights, in which he had always won.


    There were no forms of education in Ludus, the children of this planet were left to survive and scavenge on their own, a feat in which Jax was proud to have. Jax did find someone to teach him arithmetics and other simple forms of academic subjects needed for him to get the hell out of Ludus and to the Outside. Crystalsmiths were the most intellectually talented individuals in the galaxy, their jobs required a vast amount of knowledge to crystallise relics and sell them. Jax had encountered Vorick, who was an augmentee that made his job easier than ever, a photographic brain and memory. Vorick sailed the dived in the abyss of Ludus, in search of sunken relics and treasures. Jax did the physical work in exchange for knowledge of the Outside, the vast galaxy he wanted to explore so much. While Vorick crystallised and took apart these relics, in search for the essence of an augmentation,Jax continued training his body to its limits. While the three suns of Ludus set and their subvessel emerged from the waves, Vorick tutored Jax on everything his brain knew.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Ludus had millions of relics in the deep sea, while there were merely three known relics identified by a long destroyed geiger map to have traces of augmentation essences. This did not mean business was failing for the Crystalsmith, Vorick, a child of Ludus was no stranger to crime. He had scammed the gullible ones of Ludus into the middle class by selling falsely crystallised relics uncovered by Jax, who snatched any objects he believed were worthy to be "relics". Jax did attempt to search for the lost relics of Ludus to no avail, there were thousands of hunters that come from all directions of the galaxy to uncover them but none has ever found any of the three on their geigers.


    The crystalsmith and the hunter had made enough credits for Jax to purchase his own raft. A 14 year old boy who could afford a raft, that was royal status. Of course, such dreams were crushed when theCherry''s Bottom stopped in front of Vorick''s subvessel. The towering ship blocked the the twin Moons of Ludus as a rowdy crew of fifty pirates glared at them. Their captain, a bulky giant of a man belched his belly filled with alcohol and bellowed a fantastic deal:


    "JOIN OR DIE."


    Without much choice, Jax and Vorick were forced onto the crew of theCherry''s Bottom. And so, the crew only grew larger, their augmentee captain, Shotgun Shell, threatened the seas of Ludus. They merely knew his nickname that stuck due to his augmentation, though loud and arrogant, the man was an enigmatic force of terror in Ludus. Shotgun Shell too searched for the three relics for an extra augmentation, gathering a crew that were a jack of all trades. Unless you had enough Augment Bonds, most individuals would collapse under the force of two augmentations. Shotgun Shell was different, his body stored an endless pit of AB, it made him crave for more. Soon,theCherry''s Bottom would be near their goal.


    Today, Jax, an eighteen year old cabin boy who acted as a pathetic cabin boy and the sirens of theCherry''s Bottom, he could only watch from the mast for enemies in the day and dim the lights of the cabins in the night. It was an extremely tedious task, the many years of training both physically and intellectually were gone to waste. Jax was overshadowed by another skilful hunter and there was nothing to do about it. There was nowhere else to go anyways, Shotgun provided Jax with ample food and clean water.


    He glancing around, there was a bandit cruising nearby, eyeing the surroundings for potential victims to rob. The sea was bubbling as usual, it was oddly calm but the silence was eerie. Then, the roar came. It came as a slow rumble at first and Jax dismissed it for theCherry Bottom''s exhaust engines. But the roar grew louder, then, came the jeering and cheering. The bandit turned his speedboat in a circle and stared at the location of the roar. Jax followed suit, his mouth gave an audible gasp.


    There were thousands of speedboats, ships, cargocruisers, subvessels and rafts. There were literally thousands. The acidic waves swept up as the incoming fleet charged towards theCherry''s Bottom. The roar had now grown unbearable, there was a chant to be heard too. Voices from all directions joined and were screaming something Jax could not make out.


    "You seeing this too?" the bandit yelled at Jax who shrugged, it was a sight to behold.


    This was not a mirage, this was real. Leading the front of the entire fleet was a ball of light, it glowed dangerously purple and was heading straight towards Jax. He was frozen in place, Shotgun Shell was below the decks and so was Vorick. His two sources of protection were drunk and probably unconscious. Jax stared, his mouth agape at the ball of light which was speeding miles ahead of the fleet. He squinted for a clearer sight and what he saw jolted him back to life. That was no ball of light, it was a man, an augmentee. The augmentee''s eyes were glowing a shade of violet, his body was wrapped in some kind of purple aura which was erupting from all parts of the man''s body. His face was expressionless but he too, joined the chant. The chant made Jax reach for his siren, its ghostly wailing jolted the crew below awake. No matter how unconscious you were, the siren would wake you up. Jax''s heart was pounding, he swung off the mast and sprinted towards the trapdoor that led to the party below. Before he reached it, the door swung open as Vorick and Shotgun Shell climbed abroad, their faces trembling with annoyance.


    "What is it, boy?" Shotgun Shell growled, he glanced around for an enemy ship but there was none.


    "WOULD YOU SHUT THAT SHIT OFF?" he shouted at Jax who immediately punched the siren obediently.


    The wailing cut off and the chant resumed, this time, it was fully audible. Vorick''s eyes grew as they too knew what was happening.


    "The first relic has been found and we will not be the first to get it." Jax announced as he hastily added, "Sir."