ă€ŠDespotsă€‹


 Here I Am

    ˇşWhat do you see...? Death.... or maybe Freedom...? Noo... What you see is revenge, what you want is revenge but... you...Youu refuse it, refuse the one thing that drives you... Why?ˇ»

    It seems to be a day like any other, people going to work, kids going home from school, a man stealing from the poor... another man is shot, drug dealers waiting aroundevery corner, shady business inside large companies... harpies standing on rooftops... soldiers coming back from a war they had nothing to do with and of course the First Despot finally back.

    |9:30 AM | Tufts University | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    The class was about to start, everyone was pretty happy, it was the first day inside a university, all the studying and all the efforts were not in vain, right in front of the class was Akari, everyone knows her, the daughter of the biggest Mafia leaders around.

    On the other side of the room was Max he came from a rich family, whether he entered or not he still had a safe future.

    In the back were Adrian, Paul and Michael they are childhood friends and worked very hard to be able to reach here.

    The noise in the class and the happiness of the students were beautiful things to see, there are many kinds of people, those who hate learning and prefer to leave it as it is, and those who work hard and are happy to push their limits.

    "Alright everyone, please calm down, I know it''s the first day and I can see everyone is happy, but let''s try to be calm for the moment. From what you know this university is special in its own ways, we accept students with uh... complicated situations."

    The teacher was staring right at Akari for a bit.

    "In any case, later today there will be the opening ceremony where the Rektor will keep a speech for all of you, until then please take a look around and check all the facilities.... Oh yes before I go, I have to check if everyone is here, the attendance is not obligatory but if you wish to pass to the next years you have to be here at least sometimes, he he."

    As the teacher was checking the list of students the door opens, a tall man around 2 meters, quite muscular with spiky long hair and mutton chops came in.

    "Here I am, uh... why is everyone staring at me..?"

    "Isn''t this class S-6?"

    "Yes this is it, and you are.... oh here the only one missing, your name is Lyall right?"

    "Yep, the one and only."

    "Alright then take a seat somewhere until we finish with the attendance."

    "Okay!"

    Lyall starts to walk towards Akari as everyone kept staring at him like he was some kind of monster. After he reaches Akari he takes the seat right next to her and keeps quiet. As soon as the teacher finishes with the attendance he opens his eyes and looks at the girl.

    "You..."

    Akari starts to look at him with a flustered look, wondering what is he about to say, everyone was listening, for some reason they all were curious. As everyone was just staring at this moment, Akari started to talk.

    "What is it?"

    "You look cute."

    Everyone seemed surprised and disappointed at the same time, they all began to think that he will beat her or insult her, none of them, not for a single moment believed he was going to tell her she was cute, but Akari seems pleased with that affirmation, then again after she realized what were the circumstances the only thing she could say was not as pleasant.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "What is with the random compliment, do you expect gaining something from being friendly with the daughter of The Black Alligators leader?"

    "Who...?"

    Akari seemed to believe him for a second, but she was not sure if that was the truth.

    "You mean you never heard of the Black Alligators... yeah right."

    "As much as you ask me, i have no idea who they are but then again if it''s just a small group of some sort I don''t really care."

    "Why you..."

    "Back to what I was saying, you are cute, can''t change my mind, you also have a nice bosom."

    "What the actual... are you literary out of your mind?"

    "Nope... I''m perfectly sane, just telling the truth here."

    "Ah leave me be you jackass!"

    Akari then leaves fast as Lyall was watching without understanding the reason she was mad.Everyone in the class was looking at him, and they were all nearly going to explode in laughter after that show, but they took a quick look at him and prrefered not to, it would have been quite a big mistake then again that was what they thought, Lyall wouldn''t understand why everyone laughed and would simply be there wondering why everyone is laughing.

    The only one that wasn''t laughing was Max which walked to him to chat.

    "So you like Akari?"

    "How did you know?"

    "Uh... you made it pretty obvious when you told her she is cute."

    "Really?... Damn I thought I made it pretty subtle..."

    Max realized then that Lyall wasn''t the smartest man, either that or he was playing dumb but the truth was that she was indeed a beautiful girl.

    Akari is the youngest member of the Black Alligators, she looks like a fragile girl with white long hair, but everyone got their own demons, she won''t trust people easily because they usually seek something.

    "My name is Max, nice to meet you."

    "Heh I like ya mate, you seemed a bit cocky to be honest but it seems you are a nice guy."

    Max was a bit angry at his remark and asked him why is that.

    "So tell me what made you think that I''m so cocky?"

    "Eh no hard feelings but most of the rich people I know are cocky bastards, I misjudged you."

    Max felt good when he heard that, it was like Lyall was the first person to apologize for real, not because he was threatened or forced by other circumstances, it was a pure apology from a dumb man.

    "It''s alright, I don''t mind but let me tell you, that approach is not so good with Akari she is the daughter of a local mafia leader, usually when someone approaches her is because they want something."

    "Oh but I simply wanted to say she is cute, even her soul is so... bright."

    "What do you mean her soul?"

    "Uh... don''t mind that I was just mumbling to myself."

    Max was a bit intrigued about that remark, but he decided it was not worth the effort, he might have just said something to look cool.

    "Well whatever, let''s go and check out what they have around, I heard they have pretty interesting technology here, there is a facility that trains you in building robots, isn''t that awesome?"

    "Sure..."

    Max saw that Lyall wasn''t paying attention, who knows what was he thinking.

    "Hey Max go ahead i gotta do something."

    There was a serious look in his eyes.

    "Suit yourself then."

    And so Lyall left the class and started wandering.

    "Finnaly... a normal life, welp time to get to work, normalityain''t my thinganyway."

 The Husk

    |11:43 AM | Plaza | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    The smell of food was in the air, the Plaza sells quite a variety of foods due to the despots importing a lot of different things, from food and water to guns and explosives... even people. This place is a big round platform where merchants come and try to make money trough a lot of different methods this includes gambling, selling beverages and fruits, trading or trough mercenary work,

    One of the main persons around this place is Randy, he has a grip over the Plaza and a few other places and is considered the one in control of the city. Not even the despots made it to him, that was because he was very sly and had a lot of information, the only one he couldn''t always avoid was the first despot, but who could, in terms of manpower and sheer force he was the one that was standing above everyone, only if Randy knew who he was, so he could avoid him better and who knows, maybe even kill him.

    In the south part of the Plaza four persons were escorting Akari. They were strong people, tall, dressed in black suits, the ones you would want to avoid. She seemed pretty calm at that moment, but she knew that they did something to her so there was no fighting, her eyes were sad, if she was looking before like a fragile girl now she seemed to be the weakest person in the world.

    "So where are you taking me, can you at least tell me that much?"

    There was no response from the people that took her.

    "As I thought..."

    They walked to the north of the Plaza which took quite a bit as the platform has a diameter of around two kilometers. Akari was still wondering where are they going to take her, but there was no way to get an answer from these guys, so she kept walking in silence.

    |2:48 PM | Old Factory | Gaia City | Supervised by the 9th Despot |

    After the long walk they arrived at an old factory, this place used to be the factory where experimental weapons were produced for the 9th despot, but now it was all rundown the glass windows were dusty, the walls were rusted and everything seemed to be close to falling apart.

    The front gates were guarded by other people in the same suits, only they had bigger weapons and seemed more powerful. Akari is led inside by the four there are footstep noises inside. On a platform is Randy, he had quite an annoying figure with a round head and a bushy mustache, the fat man was going left and right as he was waiting for the girl. Finally he saw her and started to grin.

    "Ah.. You must be Akari, let me introduce myself. I am Randy, you see I run this town and the people here obey my rules but there were quite a few problems lately, do you know WHAT problems?"

    "I suppose my father made a move on your turf, so yeah I guess I know what problem you mean."

    "Oh but I wouldn''t let my anger take over just for a small turf war, he put his people to stole something, something very important, data about the first despot."

    Akari didn''t really understand the situation, she came inside the city just a few months ago and didn''t really know so much about these despots everyone was so afraid.

    "So this data is pretty important right?"

    Rand was angry, he usually is quite a reasonable man, but now he just stopped thinking rationally. He took the stairs from his right and walked down to take a closer look at the girl.

    "So weak."

    As he said those words he slapped Akari.

    "I will get back the data even if i have to cut a few fingers and send them to your dad, maybe I will gauge out those pretty eyes as well."

    For the first time Akari was scared, for the first time she couldn''t use her powers, she had no weapon, and nobody was there with her, nobody just Randy and his people. Then a strong bashing sound came from outside, blood started to come from under the factory door.

    "Hmmm... What is the meaning of this?"

    After he said that the door opened and Lyall came trough it. There was something different though, he wasn''t smiling and the eyes seemed blank. He started to walk toward Randy... slowly.

    At that moment two masked women came from his sides and stabbed him.

    "Mhm... you are the assassins I suppose."

    The two females were masked, but Lyall could see their faces, they were scared, they stabbed him in the hearth and liver, he should be dead and so the two looked at the knifes, the blades were broken, what does this mean they asked themselves, but it did not matter. Before they could say something the heads fell, the floor began to be filled with blood.

    A trully horrifying sight, the heads simply dissapeared and the blood kept flowing and flowing. He didn''t show any kind of emotion even at this point... true he was strong, but others might thing that there had to be at least some sympathy... There wasn''t.

    Lyall kept walking until he reached Randy, the tension in the air was unebearable, when he started to look closer at the man before him it was like looking at a titan, something that was defying even the laws of this world, sure there were powers, he even accepted the existence of magic... What he saw was something he could never accept, even so he was frozen in fear.

    "You. Stole. Akari. Didn''t. You?"

    "I...I-...uh..."

    "You want information about the first despot, you want it so bad that you were ready to hurt this girl, this pure soul. I shall show you what it is like to wish to be dead..."

    As he said that he gripped Randy by the neck, and with the other hand killed the four remaining people he had surrounding Akari. He slowly started to remove the fingers, one by one, then he gouged the eyes, then the tongue, and he kept removing everything till Randy was nothing but a pile of flesh. Akari stopped looking after he started to remove the fingers.

    "Are you alright?"

    After he heard that voice, Lyall seemed to return to his normal self.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    "I.. uh.. yeah I''m fine, sorry you had to see that, but if i have to say all the horrible things this man did you would have wished to do that yourself. Also he stole you, which i will not allow, not now, not ever."

    Akari blushed for a second, but that blush was gone in a second after she saw everyone dead.

    "Why did you come for me?"

    Akari was a bit scared after she saw what he did to those people, it was the thought of her becoming like Randy.

    "Get your jacket and your shirt down."

    "W-..What?"

    "Uh... just do as I say."

    "Why would I remove my jacket, I mean, you don''t just want to see me naked right?"

    Lyall went silent for a few seconds and realized what he heard. And so he rushed to explain why she had to remove the jacket and the shirt.

    "They used on you a prototype device to stop your powers, I really don''t want to do anything to you, I swear!"

    "Alright then, but can''t I remove it."

    "I am going to use my power to get it out, this device is an old prototype, it''s put on your nape and enters trough the skin, I have something that is going to remove it but it will be painful,"

    "I guess if I want my powers back there is no other option right?"

    "There might be, but this one is the safest."

    "Just do it as fast as you can please."

    "Understood."

    Lyall started to remove the device, it looked like a mechanical parasite and it left her with quite a scar. It did not really mater because the worst part was done. After he removed it Lyall waited for Akari to get dressed.

    "Are you done?"

    "Yeah."

    After that he turned back to her and took her up in his arms. She started to look at him a bit befuddled, then snapped out of it and started to talk with Lyall.

    "What are you doing?"

    "After removing that thing you won''t have enough strength to walk, so i am carrying you home."

    "Oh..."

    She didn''t really understand, there was a strange feeling about Lyall, it was not love, she didn''t even know him so well, but there was a strange feeling about this guy, the way he kills, the way he knows about stuff not even she knew and the way he is just pretending to be normal. "Who is Lyall?" she wondered, but could not ask him.

    |6:23 PM | Sector H | Gaia City | Supervised by the 4th Despot |

    "You can leave me here/"

    "Are you sure, you didn''t recover yet."

    "It''s fine, I can walk at least."

    "If you say so."

    Lyall left Akari in front of a big house and started to walk away. Akari looked after him a bit, and then she entered the house. It was a pleasant feeling, everything seemed like a bad dream at this moment, but she knew it wasn''t, what she had to do now is look on the info her father got from Randy. What she found was simply a file with a few individuals and nothing else, everything on the file was blank except some photos and the names of the people.

    Gondo, a big man, bald with green eyes.

    Kim, a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes.

    Now here was an odd one, the next was Jack, he is wearing a gas mask in the photo so there were not many things to recognize him by.

    Luke, a big man with short hair and green eyes, he seemed like a good guy.

    Dorothy, a small girl with twin tails, red eyes and a big smile, she didn''t look like a good person.

    "So in the end Randy would have gotten nothing, but even so if I find one of these people I might get a clue about what is happening around this city. Oh it''s gotten so late, better going to sleep."

    |10:15 PM | Plaza | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    The merchants started to pack everything up, the ones that remain are those who sell slaves, the gamblers and the weapon traders. At a time like this there are of course only bad people roaming around, from the usual punks to despot soldiers. Even so it was a pleasant night, the plaza is especially beautiful at night when the lights are on and the people seem cheerful despite what they were doing.

    The atmosphere changed once everyone saw the shock troops, these are considered elite soldiers among all of the other despot soldiers, they are some of the elite units of the Primordial Army meaning they belong to the first despot. Usually they don''t come in the city so that means there is something happening, what is happening nobody knows, but one thing is clear those guys are cold-blooded.

    The Shock Troops are wearing black helmets with gas masks and trench coats, their boots have spikes on boots, so they won''t glide on ice or other surfaces, they have light machine guns and a set of grenades. They seem pretty intimidating, but there are sill people who like to get into trouble...

    "So this are the shock troops"

    "Yeah they look pretty scary."

    "Can''t wait to see the fool who will try to piss them off."

    "I know, everyone wants to see how those guys fight."

    As some despot soldiers were talking, a guy with his gang thought about showing the soldiers they are nothing in this city despite their reputation or the way everyone started to talk about them. He was a tall man, with medium long hair and a leather jacket, he wanted some fun...

    "So you are the soldiers everyone is talking about, don''t look so tough to me little guys."

    Indeed, the man was taller than the soldiers, but it was a wrong move to start and annoy them.

    "Why don''t you answer me. Hey I''m talking with you!" As he went to grip the soldier something went wrong.

    The man was put down and the soldier looked at him, he didn''t understand what happened and then the soldier started to stomp on his face, again... and again... and again... and again... until he was dead, and returned to the business they had.

    After that display the gang members simply ran away and everyone looked at them like monsters, but even monsters seemed better than them at this moment, after seeing something like that, at least a harpy would kill you in self defense, but they took pleasure in killing.

    "Well now I saw that let''s get back to work."

    "Aye..."

    |12:23 AM | Sector Y | Gaia City | Supervised by the 1st Despot |

    "Lyall, every time, I see you, I see your sadness, I see your dark energy, but I can''t see your motives. Why do you mock me, why do you always come and annoy me with your presence."

    "Come on is just a game of cards."

    "DAMN YOU LYALL!"

    Lyall puts down five of a kind.

    "I won, again."

    The one he was playing with was not a human, or so it looked like, it was a being with very skinny hands and the face was covered by rags, it called himself a pilgrim.

    "Well I am going for a stroll, wanna come with me?"

    "I shall find your dark secrets."

    "Sure..."

    The two of them began to walk around the sector, this one in particular was a special sector, here are residing only non-humans.

    The harpy, they look like beautiful women but they had claws instead of feet. wings and beaks even so if they wanted they could change the wings into hands and the beaks to a normal face, but the color was the same, they all had a deep blue color, they were such amazing creatures.

    Medusa, they were pretty rare and they were very beautiful even if they had the skin of a snake.

    There were also orcs, goblins, nagas, and many other but among them the harpies and the medusa were rarely found. Medusa could even fight one of the despots which nobody dared to cross so they were strong, but they also prefer peace and quiet, in this city they can live a simple life, in other sectors they are persecuted so here is like a paradise to them. Not even the despot soldiers were coming here.

    "Oy Lyall! Oooooy!"

    One of the harpies started to fly towards Lyall from a high building. As she reaches him she get''s closer and kisses him on the forehead.

    "I missed you Lyall!"

    "Ah Jester... quite some time since i saw you."

    "It was wasn''t it, since you saved me from those guys and brought me here you didn''t show yourself even once."

    "Eh he he... I was quite busy."

    She looks at him with a big smile.

    "I''m happy you are alright."

    "That shouldn''t be a concern, you know how strong i am."

    "Yeah, yeah you can boast as much as you want i know you can defeat weak humans, but how about medusa can you fight someone like her."

    "I don''t think I''m a match for her, heh..."

    "Is it something wrong?"

    Lyall was pale, he began to hear a voice inside his head and so he decided to leave.

    "Leaving already?"

    He didn''t respond and vanished trough the people.

    "What happened to him?"

    The pilgrim looked at her, he was sad, but he couldn''t let her like this.

    "Lyall, he has a dark past, the shadows still hunt him, they left a mark on him, one that won''t heal so fast. He needs time and a friend, someone he can rely on, someone that can understand and accept him."

    "I can accept him!" She yelled at the pilgrim.

    "Can you do it even if you know the horrors of his past?"

    She didn''t know what to say, he was her saviour, but if he didn''t tell her it meant she wasn''t the one that could meet the expectations.

    "I understand..."

    "For now... he is empty, he just looks happy, in reality he doesn''t even know what he is doing...A husk, that should have died long ago." He seemed sad for a moment, then... "Let''s eat something, all this cryptical nonsense is making me hungry,"

 Preparations

    |8:00 AM | Sector Y | Gaia City | Supervised by the 1st Despot |

    Once upon a time, there were beings of great power, they called themselves gods. Of course not all of them were self- proclaimed, there were those who helped humans. Why would they help them? Was it out of pity? Or did they simply want to help? A thing was certain... after such powers are seen they would only look up to them, they begin to venerate them, and in the end, the gods are still the evil ones.

    There are only a few remaining, the despots took care of many so called gods, only the strong and wise remain and the ones that knew they were not. The Egyptian gods, Ra, Geb and Nut, Osiris, Anubis and many others, only two remain, the others were too fond of their own powers and met a horrible end. Only Anubis and Amun were still alive...

    The Greek gods are all good and well, they are very arrogant and usually they don''t underestimate the enemy, yet one of them made the biggest mistake a long time ago, the one that is not among them anymore, Kronos, he betrayed Fane and killed him... This act led to his demise.

    The Norse gods, they are just the same, some were killed some alive, and yet they drink and feast and live as happy as they can. That is until Odin gives them a task.

    Sector Y, here are all the non-humans gathered, here they live happy or at least happier than they would outside this specific sector. Here could be seen every kind of monster, ghost, or mythical creature, but even here there were rarities. Usually those rarities were Nagas or sometime a Medusa, yet today some unusual ones were present, they were fully covered in black rags, and they were very tall even compared to an orc.

    "So many years, why are we still wandering these lands, why don''t we go home..."

    "..."

    "Yeah... this is our home isn''t it?"

    The one that was silent stopped and started to look at his partner.

    "Do we really have a home?"

    He looked at him, then he put his arms on his shoulders.

    "Our home is where our kin is, where the sun keeps rising, where the circle of life continues."

    "Our people are dead... I made sure their spirits will go safe... or, so I hope."

    "This is not a matter to discuss here, let''s meet with the pilgrim, he knows where our poeple might be."

    "We shall see this pilgrim, but the only one that might still be alive is Sobek, he was always a slippery one."

    "I can''t deny this one."

    After their short discussion they started searching for the pilgrim.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    |9:30 AM | Tufts University | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    A new day, the other one sure was quite a mess, but Akari was ready for her search, she had a plan. After she found Lyall, she is going to follow him and see if there is anything strange, if not then the only thing she could do would be searching for clues in the Plaza.

    While going to class she passed the nurse''s office, she stopped and started to listen because something strange was happening. Inside was Lyall talking with the nurse Siv, nothing strange, but there were two shock troopers standing at attention.

    "Siv, why did you bring them here?"

    "Ah, it seems you didn''t receive the news. There was a particular thing that happened."

    "Thing? Come one Siv you gotta be more specific, do you think someone is listening, even if they would that wouldn''t really be a problem!"

    "Alright, it seems the Exodus made a move around the city, there are some bad rumors as well, they say that some gods came in the city and also the 8th despot and 6th search for information about the first."

    "That is quite a lot that happens at the same time don''t you think?"

    "It is indeed, there might be a connection, even so I wasn''t the one who called the troopers, there are about twenty units deployed at the orders of the councilor."

    "So Jack sent in twenty units? Is that guy mad?"

    "That was my reaction as well, but if we fight two despots and there are some gods present as well then he is right to send in this many."

    "You do understand that ONE UNIT is enough to take over a city right? We have ten squads, eight heavy armored vehicles and two titans MK-2, this is just one unit and is the most basic, who knows what that crazy bastard actually sent."

    "Well..."

    "Don''t tell me!"

    "Yeah he sent in three valkyrie squads as well."

    Lyall puffed very hard and then he stood up.

    "I am going to talk with Jack, we sent too many troops, I will have him remove fourteen units and have them near the base ready to go in case there is actually something happening."

    "And what about the valkyrie squads?"

    "The only ones that can find them are the harpies or if they are dumb and reveal themselves which I don''t really think theywill."

    "As you say... Oh come here and give me a hug before you go!"

    Lyall goes to Siv and hugs her, then he leaves and prepares to depart. Akari managed to use one of her skills before they could see her [Light Pact] which allows her to turn invisible and stop the sounds she made while standing still.

    After she heard that conversation two things were clear, Lyall is more important that she first believed and something strange is happening in the city. She only got more questions than answers, but she was a bit excited as well, she didn''t have anything to do in quite some time and everything was boring, now she has a new hobby, searching for what happens in this city.

    |11:00 AM | Tufts University | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    The university was pretty calm, there were not many events and all those who learn here are nice people. Still everything is also boring and takes most of your energy. Max decided he will leave early and so left the university.

    "Ah I didn''t see Lyall today, I''m wondering what happened to him." That''s what he thought while wandering the hallway going to the exit.

    When he reached outside there was a big robot like thing, it was nearly as tall as two trucks and holding a weapon that looked like a minigun except it was much bigger. It had a skull with red glowing eyes on his chest and some oversized shoulder pads. It was rather strange, yet it didn''t seem to respond for a few seconds.

    The robot looked at Max.

    "Citizen. Return inside, the military forces are passing by. All acces is denied unless you have first grade authorization."

    Max didn''t really understand what was happening, yet he did what was asked of him, after he returned the robot turned his back to the university and supervised the military transports and soldiers.

    "I wonder what is happening outside?" He really wanted to look back, but looking at that thing again or annoying it wouldn''t be a good choice. "Guess I''ll go to the canteen."

 Awakening I

    For millennia, they were asleep, everyone forgets they even exist, but they are still there and when the moment comes it is too late.

    There are usually the questions such as Who made us? What is our purpose? What do we really want? And the answers are always the same, we always say the same things...

    "I want an easy life!"

    "I want money!"

    "I want power... fame... I want EVERYTHING!"

    Yes... everyone wants everything, yet there is a catch, you want things because you can achieve them, there are poor people that can''t and you start wondering... Why do I even want that? Why nobody wants the same thing?

    The easiest answer is that not even you know, you think you want those to satisfy yourself, in the end everyone is just an empty husk, you work and work and work and work and it all ends with your death... lie to yourself as much as you want, all you do is just to feel good and it is not for any kind of noble goals, have you ever asked yourself, when I give a coin to a beggar do I really want it or I do it to feel good.

    In the end what is right and what is wrong?

    |--:-- | ------- | ------- | -------------------------------------- |

    A white room, everything is very bright, nothing can really be seen inside just human shapes, talking......

    "Do we finally have the reports?"

    "We did our best, in the end the only survivor is the prototype, code name: War."

    "Any information about what happened thirteen years ago?"

    "Officially there was an accident and the facility exploded, no survivors."

    "Now tell me what really happened."

    The man took a short breath and continued to talk.

    "The Prototype N-05, it went berserk..."

    "Hmmmm... tell me how serious this is?"

    "I shall tell everything I know, but War might know better, should we bring her here?"

    "First tell me what your department found."

    "The Prototype N-05... it seems the experiment failed, the nano armor developed at the Z-7 facility failed to connect properly with the subject, it gave him a horrible pain to the point he went berserk and killed everyone."

    "Wasn''t he restrained?"

    There was a moment of silence, after a few seconds he resumed the report.

    "The nano armor went under his skin or better said it replaced the skin, there was an intact recording... it was quite gruesome, after that the subject gained the basic functions of the armor which made him stronger than everyone present at that moment inside the facility, they didn''t stand a chance..."

    "I see... bring War in."

    A wall opened and through it entered a girl with medium long hair, it was half red and half black, her eyes were as red as blood, but her figure wasn''t so terrifying, it was rather pleasant.

    "Tell me, hat happened thirteen years ago?"

    "Heh... Nothing."

    "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, for me it is all the same, still I doubt even the hard way will have any effects on you..."

    "If you truly want to know what happened then you will let me get that bastard."

    "You are an important asset for our little, company, but alright I shall grant your wish this time."Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    "Then I shall tell you, that subject N-05 he wasn''t normal even there, the kids brought in were all the same age as him , but for some reason he had no emotion, NOTHING, everyone would scream or cry or smile they found someone to stay with, yet he was there watching us, doing nothing but watching."

    "And nobody was doing anything to him?"

    "No... he was free there, he could go everywhere inside that facility, sometimes he even brought us sweets and nobody would dare question him, there were some times when they took him to a secluded zone, but i don''t know much about that."

    "What happened that day then?"

    "Everyone heard it, a strange voice started to scream, it sounded like a monster or a demon, I was on my way to get the daily drugs they were using on us for their shitty experiments, and then a loud noise, there was so much screaming, I saw that bastard simply tearing apart the children, ripping off their heads, the arms,the legs... whatever he could catch, it was just insane..."

    "Did he spare anyone?"

    "My sister, he looked at her for a bit, for a moment you could say he stopped, the face he had, he seemed to feel so guilty and in such pain, but that didn''t last long, he ripped my sisters arm and got outside through a wall a few seconds later."

    "Your sister is Peace right, she is the other survivor we keep secret even among most of our staff members."

    "Yeah..."

    "You two are lucky to have survived that, alright then go and search for our little berserker and please do bring him alive if you can or at least intact, we might resume the work on that nano armor."

    "I don''t promise anything."

    "Fine, I got no time to argue, whatever just go and find him."

    |13:00 PM | Plaza | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    The Plaza was empty, you could only see lots of different soldiers in formation waiting for their superiors.

    In the middle five generals met. They greet each other with some rather... fake smiles.

    The first general is Frederick, aged fifty-seven, his past is not-well known, but every soldier and general respects him... except Jack, Jack respects nobody but the first despot. Frederick works for the fifth despot.

    Age :57 / Hair: Medium, Blonde / Eyes: Blue / Weight: 108 Kg / Height: 195 cm / Powers: Overwhelming Presence, Sword of the Sun.

    The second general is Timothy, this man is known for his rather unstable personality, you never know when he is going to cut your fingers or buy you a candy. Timothy works for the tenth despot.

    Age: 31 / Hair: None / Eyes: Green / Weight: 86 Kg / Height: 165 cm / Powers: Duality, FlameTherapy, Water Therapy / Special Trait: Duality keeps affecting his personality which can drive him insane, but the more he uses it the stronger it gets.

    The third one is Jack, he is... ''special''. Jack works for the first despot.

    Age: Unknown / Hair: Gray / Eyes: Unknown / Weight: 56 Kg / Height: 150 cm / Powers: Unknown

    The other two generals are brothers, yet they also work for different despots, the taller one Samuel and the other Jester, among the soldiers they are seen as the strongest team. Samuel works for the sixth and Jester for the eighth despot.

    Age: S 29, J 27 / Hair: S medium black, J none / Eyes: S brown, J yellow / Height: S 200 cm, J 170 cm / Weight: S 120 Kg,J 110 Kg / Powers: Bond

    Frederick is the one who started to talk about the current situation.

    "It seems we are forced to come and see what happened with all the units you mobilized Jack." Frederick was not fond of Jack. he hates him for some reason.

    "Yeah, do you even understand what you did, everything is in chaos, we are forced to mobilize soldiers to calm down the residents."

    "It is indeed quite a problem, so much firepower, did something happen?"

    Jack was silent, he looked at them and started to think. As he was standing silent the others started to laugh... except Jester.

    "Just look at him, you wouldn''t even believe he is a general."

    "Just a waste of time, do you even know what I could have done with the time I lost today because of you?"

    As they mocked him Jack told them the reason.

    "Gods..."

    They looked at him and started to laugh even harder, the only one that you could even consider a general among all of these was Jester which was silent and was actually trying to listen to what Jack had to say.

    "Say Jack, what is about the gods?"

    "They returned, Jack knows, yes Jack knows they are back, the bird and the dog are here, but they are no threat, the lizard... he is around looking for prey to gain the strength he lost years ago."

    The others would simply laugh, but then...

    "SILENCE!"

    They stopped the irritating laughter and looked at Jester.

    "You can''t be serious, do you really believe this, this buffoon?"

    "Come on bro, you can''t be serious."

    Jester was as serious as he could be, if he wasn''t working for the eighth despot he might not have believed Jack, but the report he got a while back matches with the situation they are in.

    "Listen here, I would really love that this would be just a prank, but unfortunately it''s not, I have here a report... a few days ago there were about five thousand people missing and the numbers are growing, if what Jack says is true then we really have a big problem."

    "Yes... that woman gives the first trouble, but she has her uses, Jack appreciates, but Jack despises you all, if I were not under my lords command you all would be dead, yeeesss.... dead."

    They all were silent now, it seems that Jack had a good reason to mobilize so much troops, yet most of them were retreating, this was a rather strange thing after everything he said. They had more questions, but it wasn''t time for them.

    "Alright you little shit, we are going to bring in more troops and prepare to hunt that ''GOD'', is that good with you?"

    Jack was silent for a few seconds, he tilted his head and told them...

    "For what? They are already coming, everyone is going back."

    "What do you mean, speak like a normal being your little..."

    "The four despots, they come to end the lizard."

    They all looked at him with the eyes wide open.

    "Di-d-d-did you say the four despots?"

    "Yeeess...."

    ¦Ń?€??€¦Ř ?€?? ??€? ????? ??? ??ˇŃ¦Ř ??€ ¦ŃˇŃ¦Ř€? ˇŃ? ?ˇŃ?€?

 Intermission

    Power... The power to kill beings that seem like gods, they have it, but in the end that brings only pain and sorrow.

    In a way they are not humans anymore, but then again what do we call human, someone that can understand reason...? Ethics...? Moral values?

    What would a normal person do when they felt guilt?

    No... Not the kind of guilt we know, what would they feel when the guilt is so big that even if they tried for years it would be for naught... Sometimes the mind breaks, sometimes the heart... and sometimes... both.

    |8:00 AM | Sector Y | Gaia City | Supervised by the 1st Despot |

    "Hold on little one, will you go on a walk with me?"

    The little naga looked at the Pilgrim, and got closer.

    "What is it old one?"

    "OLD?!" He took a short break the continued. "Yeah, I might be a bit... old."

    "So do you need help?"

    "Indeed child, let''s say, today is going to be rather hard so will you keep me company?"

    "Ok..."

    "I will give you one of my secret sweets to make it worth it."

    "OK!!!!"

    The pilgrim smiled and started to walk along with the little serpent.

    "Tell me, have you ever seen the first despot little one?"

    "No, but I heard he is very strong and... well there are some nasty rumors about him..."

    He looked at the child and smiled.

    "Let me tell you about the time I saw him the first time."

    The child looked at the pilgrim very intense with large eyes and paid close attention.

    "It was on the field of battle five years ago, I was trying to tend a wounded orc and then there was a HUUUUGE explosion, after that the war ended."

    "What, but you said..."

    "Shush, let me finish. Ahem..." He cleared his troath and continued the story. "After that of course I went to see what happened, and there he was, for a human he was very big, well that wouldn''t apply for a naga, but for a man he was, now that I think about it-"

    "COME ON!"

    "Oh... right, right. I couldn''t really describe what was there, bodies everywhere, four despots died in that battle and on top of all the bodies was the first despot. He was wearing a full plated black armor with golden engravings all over i, and he had no head."

    "Ok... I understand that was a big battle and lots of people died, but... no head, really?"

    "It''s the truth boy, well he might have a head, but all I could see was a black mist surrounding the place where his head should have been, oh and the weapon... He was wielding a halberd, but something was strange about it. I can''t remember..."

    "It''s alright, thanks for the story just tell me if you see him around sometime."

    "Ah little rascal, whn I see him, you will be his meal."

    "NOOOO!!!!"

    "Hehehehe..." He laughed gently and continued to move on with the kid.

    ? ? ?

    A mound of bodies... Shock troopers, soldiers and mercenaries stopped the fight in the blink of an eye. Upon the mound was a dark specter wearing full plated armor, in his right hand a black halberd with strange inscriptions all over it... This monster killed three despots and now he is holding the last one by the neck.

    A low voice started echoing along the entire battlefield, it had a melancholic sound, even so the words were those of a ghost.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    "Why... Why do you... fight?"

    "Isn''t that clear, it''s survival of the fittest, if I die here another one will take my place and the last one shall be the first despot... You fiend, have no place here... You have no honor, no emotion, nothing..."

    From the mist two green eyes started to shine, and the specters grip grew even stronger.

    "So... No purpose... Then..."

    After he said those words he snapped the despots neck. Then the melancholic voice grew harsh and started speaking to everyone.

    "Why do you fight? Why do you kill? WHY? ISN''T THERE ENOUGH DEATH!" After he said those words everything seemed even quieter, not even the wind could be heard. The voice went back to it''s sad tone.

    "These four... were fools... they thought that with this, they will have power over all of you... Titles have no purpose... Power does...From now on... I shall be the first despot, now is there anyone willing to challenge me?"

    As he said those words nine others came closer to him.

    "We won''t let you get that title so easy, you failure!"

    When he heard those words he looked at the man and a sudden anger came to him.

    The specter held his halberd up and then smashed the mound with it, a shock wave send the nine challengers flying a few meters then he spoke again.

    "Then... the rest of you... you are the new despots... Those who can''t muster the courage to face me are weak, but you... you are strong. Now the shock troopers shall remain, I choose them as my comrades, the rest of you should choose as well...

    ???????????? ????????

    |10:00 AM | Sector F | Gaia City | Supervised by the 3rd despot|

    Gaia City is quite a big place and so here is the Drunkards Choir bar, it used to be full of people. Now only a few come over for a drink or to relax a bit. The owner is called Joker by most of the customers that still visit, but his real name is known by even less.

    As the door opens a big man enters the bar, Joker seemed relaxed as always and kept cleaning the glasses.

    "What should I bring you Lyall?"

    Lyall took went and took place at the bar. Then he pressed his palms and suddenly changed appearance. Now he had much less muscle than what he used to. Even after that display Joker was still calm.

    "Bring me some strong brandy. These days are so stupid mate I tell ya."

    As Lyall was talking the man took a bottle of brandy and gave it to him.

    "I think this won''t suffice, will it?

    "Lemme get a sip and then we talk."

    He opens the bottle and drinks a quarter of it then looks at the Joker with his dead eyes.

    "You know... I really hate myself, but I can''t do much about it."

    "We always have this discussion, It was never your fault, from my point of view you couldn''t do anything."

    "Yeah, but the guilt is still there you know..."

    "That means you truly regret. It is a good thing, you still have feelings after everything that happened."

    "I guess that''s the only good point."

    As they continued to chat the door opened and two other people entered. One of them was a very big man with much more muscle than Lyall had even in his buffed appearance the other one was a woman fully clothed in red robes and the face covered by white and red rags.

    "It''s rather odd to see all three of you here at the same time."

    "Oy guys did you finish that thing with the god or something something...?"

    They took place next to him. The girl gave him a friendly slap over the head and looked at him.

    "Did you doubt any of us?"

    "Hah, auch... Well I don''t really want to lose any other friends."

    The big man took Lyalls brandy and gulped it all in a few seconds.

    "Come on Lyall you know there aren''t people that can do much to us, unless we fight each other."

    "That is true... Well you didn''t fight another man so I have my right."

    "Yeah, yeah we fought that Sobek guy, that lizard was annoying, but Nimue here got annoyed and killed him in a few seconds."

    "Yeah I think we know better than annoying her."

    For a few seconds there was full silence then they both started to laugh as hard as they could.

    "HA, those were the good old days, hey Joker give us some more bottles and some tea for Nimue."

    "Sure."

    They were all happy, it was a cozy atmosphere, these are the moments that were so enjoyable for them.

    "Well I guess I have to go."

    "Come on Lyall we have only this many chances to get together like this."

    "Sorry, but I gotta send back the troops, that stupid Jack is doing whatever he wants."

    "Ah that little rascal, I remember him, well if you gotta go, don''t forget though the tournament is coming all the despots will gather."

    "What is that?"

    "Oh right the first never attended to it so neither did you, well it''s mostly to find new soldiers or captains, strong people that have potential to serve the despot."

    "Well now I''m curious."

    "It''s in a few weeks so there is no rush friend."

    "Well goodbye Nimue, Abaddon, Joker. I hope we gonna get a chance like this again."

    "Goodbye pal."

    |3:05 PM | Sector Y | Gaia City | Supervised by the 1st Despot |

    The pilgrim with the naga child were standing inside a cemetery, in front of them was Sobek lying dead on the ground and two tall individuals dressed in black robes and rags.

    "It seems he died by the seconds hand."

    The two tall man got closer to the pilgrim and uncovered their faces. One of them had the face of a black Jackal and the other one the face of an Owl.

    "Amun, Anubis I know you were looking for your kin, but what Sobek did is unforgiveable."

    Both of them were silent for a minute then Anubis looked at Sobek.

    "We came just to guide the souls, he might have been a monster in your eyes, but for us he was still a brother."

    The pilgrim turned his back and walked away with the naga.

    "You might find a place, in a few weeks there is a tournament and who knows one of your kind might show themselves."

    After the pilgrim left the naga seemed scared, but of course when you are in the presence of such beings who wouldn''t be.

    "Say old one, who were they?"

    He kept silence and then looked at the kid.

    "Let''s go and make some sweets."

    "Ok..."

 Awakening II

    "Oh sweet death, oh sweet, sweet death... For so long you avoided me. Why do you let me suffer? Why do you let me... alone... I cried and cried, yet you never came, I killed and killed, yet you were nowhere to be found. Champion? Immortal? Such a fool was ''blessed'' with this titles and all I got was SUFFERING! WHY! TELL ME WHY! Why did you took her and not me, please RELEASE ME!"

    ...

    "The eternal Varneth, it seems you cry again oh lord of war. You cry again, but death... will never find you, cursed to roam this universe for eternity, you shall do this until the horsemen are called. Now cry and cry and cry again for not a single person shall hear you... demon."

    ??????????,?????? ?????? ???????? ??????

    |7:00 AM | Sector F | Gaia City | Supervised by the 3rd despot|

    It''s a beautiful day outside, birds are singing... Ahem... People going to their jobs, kids to school and others should go to university...

    At the third floor inside an old building there is an apartment, pretty tidy, for one person, and someone is sleeping like an angel. He wakes up and pulls the curtains, in front of him was a girl hanging by a rope. He decides to cover the window again.

    She knocks in the window, yet he won''t even try to look.

    "Come on Lyall let me enter, it''s chilly here!"

    "WHY ARE YOU THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?"

    "Pretty please!"

    "Argh... Ok, come in."

    He pulls again the curtains and opens the windows to let Akari enter. Then he takes a seat on the bed.

    "So what were you doing?"

    "Uh... I was kinda... following you..."

    "You know what? For some reason I''m not even surprised. Say why do you follow me?"

    "Ok, but first what happened with you?"

    Lyall waits and thinks a bit, then he realizes how he looks. The moment he understood he presses his palms together and transforms back into his ''strong'' form.

    "Nothing, what do you mean?"

    "..."

    "I guess the bluff is over. Welp that much with scaring people."

    He does the same thing again and removes the illusion.

    "So that is bassicaly a illusion?"

    "Kinda, you can actually touch me and feel that I have muscles and other stuff like that, but I have the same strenght."

    "So you just deceive people?"

    "Yeah.... Wait don''t change the subject, why do you follow me?!"

    "I thought I will find something about the first despot, or at least something about what happens in this city."

    "Ah... I know some people that can explain that better, as you are new here I can understand the curiosity, now I''m going to eat, hope you won''t start looking around for stuff."

    Akari was already doing that, but after she heard him... She got a knock over her head.

    "Bad Akari. Bad!"

    "I''m not a dog!"

    "Then behave like a normal girl, you can do that..."

    The look she had on her face, it was sad, he said something he shouldn''t have. Was there are problem? Who knows?"

    "Do you want something to eat...? ''Gotta think, gotta think!'' "

    She was still sad, but noded in agreement."

    "I''m not so good at this, so I hope you like omelet."

    "Yeah..."

    While Lyall was cooking in front of Akari came a graysquirrel, for her it was a gray squirrel, but in fact that was a chinchilla, she did not know that, yet she thought it was a very cute pet and very fluffy.

    "Oh it seems you like Akasha."

    "That is her name? You really have no inspiration do you?"

    "Well, I can''t argue with that."

    She was laughing, indeed a pet can work miracles with ones mood.

    "So while I bring the food, mind telling me what got you so upset?"

    "Oh... well I usually got treated as an abnormal person, everyone asked why I can''t be normal. Hearing that from you it was quite a shock."

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation."HEY!"

    "I''m joking, well not really, you are different and I had my hope that you would accept me like this."

    "Oh come on I can change my shape and think you are abnormal, ha ha, now that is a good one. Still yeah I do accept you, I mean we weirdos need to stick together. Alright, coming!"

    As he was bringing the servings Akari was looking at him and gave him quite a stare.

    "Tell me Lyall... Are we friends?"

    "If we were not friends, I wouldn''t have cooked for ya, now eat, I have quite a long day."

    "Going to university?"

    "No, got some... other work to do."

    "Hmmm.... Now what could that be?"

    "Oh shut up and eat, maybe I will say later."

    Half a hour passed and they were just lying around.

    "I don''t want to do ANYTHING!"

    "Me neither, well I could go... but your squirrel is so fluffy."

    "That''s a chinchilla."

    "Oh... she is still very fluffy."

    "I''m going to open the window in the kitchen, it''s so hot here."

    "Ok."

    He opens the window and looks around. Everything was still peaceful despite what happened with Sobek. He looks down and there was something rather strange, a girl with black and red hair.

    "I see a girl down, there, pretty strange, black and red hair hmm... Reminds me of someone... Oh she looks at me... She is in front of me... WAIT WHAT?"

    Immediately after he said that he is punched in the face, he wasn''t really hurt by the punch, but was sent flying in the wall.

    "That is some gorilla force you got there."

    "Why aren''t you dead?"

    "I asked myself this everyday."

    "..."

    "What?"

    There was total silence in the kitchen, the girl was looking like him with eyes like daggers while Lyall was... well he was staring at her, but not at her face.

    "Wanna eat something?"

    "Hmm?"

    "Ok, I ask again. Do. You. Want. To. Eat?"

    "I understood, but do you have mental issues or something?"

    "Possibly."

    "I just punched you with the intent to kill and you ask me if I want to eat?"

    "Yes."

    "Uh... Sure I guess. Do you usually cook for people that want to kill you?"

    "You can go and wait in the other room."

    "You are a strange one you know that?"

    "Scio."

    "What?"

    "Nothing, wait in the other room until I make the omelet."

    |7:56 AM |

    "So, tell me what do you think it keeps him so much?"

    "I don''t know, let''s check on him."

    Akari and the girl went to see what was Lyall doing in the kitchen. The moment they reached there they saw him on the ground in a pool of blood, the frying pan there as well and the eggs spread on the floor.

    "WHAT HAPPENED HERE?"

    "Check if he is still alive."

    Akari went to check on him, he was till breathing, she was glad.

    "He is still alive."

    "..."

    "Lyall can you hear me? Say something, what happened?"

    "Mors vultus pro me... ego superesse."

    "What...? This can wait, let get you to a doctor, help me get him up Keira."

    "Sure..."

    |8:36| Sector H | Gaia City | Supervised by the 4th Despot |

    "Didn''t know you were a rich girl Akari."

    "Believe me, it''s not worth it."

    "Thought rich people are happy."

    "You know everyone has a problem or two..."

    "So why aren''t we going to a hospital?"

    "Well our family doctor is better than what we could find, also it was much closer."

    "Fair enough."

    As they get out from the car two people wearing black suits got Lyall and went fast to the doctor.

    "Until they see what is wrong with him, do you have anything to do or can you stay with me for a while?"

    "I''m not in any hurry so, yeah... Why do you want to stay with me though?"

    "I don''t have so many friends, Lyall might be the only one and you know..."

    "Ok, ok, sooo... Anything you want to do in particular?"

    "Not really, oh I got some things if you want to see them, also there is the garden or we can play with the dogs."

    "Well let''s see then."

    "Alright let''s go."

    While the two of them go and spend some time together, the doctor takes a look at Lyall to get a better understanding of what happened to him.

    "It looks like... Alright this makes no sense... After losing so much blood he shouldn''t be alive, gotta take a radiography."

    A few minutes pass and he looks to check what is wrong with his body.

    "This is plain impossible, five fractured vertebrae, a totally smashed femur, multiple skull fractures, he should be dead."

    As the doctor is looking amazed over the files, Lyall comes to him.

    "Doc. What you saw here, will stay between us. Tell the girls it was an internal hemorrhage."

    "I can''t do that, they are very worried about you and this is just amazing I can''t just keep this from them."

    Suddenly his voice became ghostly and harsh with a look that would make even the toughest man shiver.

    "NON VERBA!"

    The doctor was shocked for a moment after the sudden lash out, but he understood the message.

    "I will tell them it was just a internal hemorrhage."

    "Good we can see eye to eye."

    What Lyall didn''t know was that everything was recorded and so it happened that Akari and Keira saw what happened.

    "Who is exactly Lyall?"

    "He saved me once, the people that abducted me wanted a rather strange ransom and well... Lyall kinda brutally killed them."

    "So he is strong and mysterious, sure you won''t fall for him?"

    "What!? Oh the first time you make a joke and you make this one."

    Keira starts to laugh for a bit.

    "So you do like him!"

    "NO!"

    "Auch, well whatever, I wanna see who is this Lyall in the end."

    A sudden revelation came to her.

    "You know, the next week is the tournament, if he participates maybe we can get to see what can he do at least."

    "I don''t think he can do much in his condition, but is worth a shot."

    "Then we have a plan."

    Three days later...

    |10:00 AM | Sector F | Gaia City | Supervised by the 3rd despot|

    It was another peaceful day, or so Lyall was hoping. He oredered a Pizza to start the day happy. After a few minutes someone rang and he went to open the door.

    "YEAH, PIZZA TIME!"

    "Hey Lyall!"

    "Oh... it''s you."

    After that he closes the door.

    "Hey don''t leave us here! OPEN THE DOOR!"

    "Akari, keep your cool I got this."

    Immediatley after Keira said those things she punched the door to the ground.

    "See."

    "This is not what I had in mind..."

    "It''s alright."

    "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

    "Oh shut up, you closed the door in fron of us."

    "Here goes my happy day..."

    "We got some good news for you though."

    "Surprise me."

    Akari got from her pocket a piece of paper and gave it to Lyall. He took it and started to unfold the paper and read. The very next eleven seconds he sighted and looked at the girls.

    "Get out of my house."

    "Hey what do you mean, do you know how hard is it to get someone in there, especially when he is not even there to sign up!"

    "My point exactly!"

    "Well we did our part, if you want to go it''s alright if not that is alright as well, but me and Akari are going to participate."

    He was sad when she said that, but there wasn''t anything he could do.

    "I''m sorry, but you should leave for now."

    "Alright, but tell me before we go, thirteen years ago, there was an incident do you know something about it."

    For Keira this wasn''t news, she was in the city to gather information about that specific event, she did not expect to find any leads. At that moment Lyalls face went pale, you could see the guilt on his face, but he did not say a thing.

    "Please... leave now."

    "N-05?"

    "LEAVE... I know nothing, I am just a nobody, so just leave this piece of trash rot here and move on... just, move on..."

    "... We shall talk again..."

    After his harsh words Keira left and he went to take a nap, as for Akari, she didn''t know what to do now, she just wanted to get along with them and now things were like this.

    "Lyall...?"

    "Leave me be..."

    "Come on Lyall..."

    "I won''t come to the tournament."

    "At least can you watch me and Keira, I know you are mad now, but I think she would be glad to see you there too."

    "I... Maybe... Look, I will be there, even if you don''t see me, I will watch both of you."

    Akari smiled warmly.

    "Thanks."

 Awakening III

    "Such is the world that there are always those who believe they are above everyone, yet the ones that truly are above are always those who wish for normality. Strange beings believing they are gods... such fools... there are three true eternals, cursed to live forever and the one of them dead what would the other two believe, why was him and not them?"

    |5:59 AM | Tufts University | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    A large room,a table with ten seats, this is the place where the despots are going to meet to talk about the tournament, yet there wasn''t a time when all of them were present. Only six seats were occupied, by the same despots which always came.

    Abaddon, the third despot, he was seated next to Nimue, the second despot. These two share quite a history together, but that is a story for another time.

    The fourth despot, he was also called the Soulless one, a tall man, bald wearing gray shaolin clothing.

    The eighth despot, a woman with short pink hair wearing a white coat. She is the only despot besides the first which has acces to every place inside the city.

    The seventh, a man with long, red hair and pretty thin, he was not as strong as the eighth, but he was much more mischievous.

    The last one was the tenth despot, due to his rank everyone considers him the weakest of them all, but he is actually the one that can turn the tide of war when the time comes. Tactical support units, this are the troops he offers to the aid of any despot. These units can vary, from large robots to simple ground troops such as tanks, soldiers, drones and others.

    As the clock rang six o''clock the fourth started the usual discussion.

    "This is another great year where we can find new talents and strengthen our ranks. Unfortunately this year we only have one hundred twenty candidates, this is pretty bad with the strange activity of the gods. Please recruit every single one of them, the amount of troops is low and we need soldiers ."

    Nimue looked pretty shocked for a moment, but it wasn''t because of anything fourth said. The doors opened and from them a tall person emerged, it had around two meters and a half wearing full plated armor, the face couldn''t be seen trough the black mist pouring from the the armors head hole.

    "What is the problem Nimue?"

    "Behind you..."

    The fourth looked back and saw him, the first despot was here as well for the first time in years.

    "Oh, I can''t believe it, you honor us with your presence."

    The voice was a strange as ever, but the despots grew used with it.

    "It is my pleasure... to attend.... to the tournament..... now let''s begin... the preparations."

    "Understood sir."

    The room was silent, everyone was looking at him, the first one, the strongest... Nobody looked at him like that, he seemed weak, the big and bad despot was helped to move by a woman with long blonde hair wearing black armor.

    "It seems you aren''t as strong as you used to oh great one."

    The blonde woman stared back at the eighth despot.

    "It seems you are as annoying as ever."

    For a moment it was like a fight was going to start, but then the fourth put them in their places.

    "Do not forget that we are in his presence, also there are more important things to do, now that he is here as well there are some things we need to talk about... For example the northern front, we didn''t manage to do any advances, in the east the Exodus are starting to give everyone trouble. At this moment Gaia is protected, and we can have our ''fun'' , but we need to be careful."

    The room was silent, everyone knew the problems they had with the Exodus, but there was nothing they could do.

    "Let''s talk about war after we end the tournament. We need strong people, even the weak have their uses."

    "Yes, but don''t forget Abbadon, we can''t just use them as cannon fodder, they need training."

    "And that is what they will get."

    |8:30 AM | Tufts University | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    Akari and Keira were standing in a room along with a few other candidates for the great tournament, even so nobody seemed happy, the mood was rather gloomy.

    "So what should we do?"

    "I don''t know, Lyall seems to have lied you Akari, he lied to me as well, but that matters not, let''s do our best and see what this is about."

    "You know I''m not that strong... Please help me if you can!"

    "Ah... Don''t worry, we gonna see this through."

    A shock trooper entered the room. It was pretty unexpected for everyone, usually they use the staff from university or the local police as guards or announcers, seeing a shock trooper was quite a ''shock''.

    "Please everyone get ready. You are now entering the arena, also please do not kill any of your opponents, that is if you want to live. Now let''s go."

    They got into the arena through a large gate, it was extremely big and lots of people watching as well. There were ten boxes where the despots should be, only six of them could be seen. The strange thing was that for the first time the fourth wasn''t standing in the central box and that place was also occupied by other despot.

    A man entered the arena. He was big and strong and... had a ponytail. A mask was covering his face, the mask had sharp fangs and a beard. In his right hand he was holding a poleaxe.

    "Now ladies and gentlemen for the first time in many years the first despot shall attend to this tournament. This will also bring a new rule to the competition, if anyone is killed the treatment will be much more severe than before, but that is for later. Now everyone gather in the center and await your instructions."

    Everyone was gathering in the middle of the arena, the group Akari and Keira were in came from the south entrance, others were coming as well, there was a total of one hundred and twenty participants.

    "Now that everyone has gathered, the fourth despot has something to say, please do listen to him."

    As the big man finished the sentence he went in front of the main box and started waiting.

    "Thank you all for coming, every year is harder and harder to find good and strong people. This year is not different, only you are here, we used to have thousands and thousands coming to enroll. It is truly sad, but for the first time the first despot is here as well and he might come in the future as well so show him how strong you are."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Nobody knew how the first despot looked like, and they were all pretty curious, yet nobody asked to see him, still there was quite a shock when the curtains from the main box started to move.

    Nobody was moving, everyone was in a state of fear and joy. They could finally see the strongest person and the one which ruled the city. Akari was one of the most excited about it, she could see how he looked like, even if it was a small amount of information it was still something.

    Then the curtains fell, and everyone saw him, the joy and excitement vanished from their face when his face was revealed. The dark specter standing in front of everyone was not how anyone imagined him to be. For the first time, even Keira felt fear... it''s true meaning. What was standing in front of everyone was a being strong enough to kill even gods and it wasn''t a knight in shining armor, but more of a dark demon encased in sparkling obsidian ready to destroy a souls very existence.

    As everyone was staring at the first despot, he started to speak.

    "Please... don''t be afraid... I am here just to check... on the new... knights... who will fight... to defend you... You... The people of Gaia... My purpose is to guide them... and now... the fourth... Will explain the rest..."

    The voice was one of a ghost, even so it was gentle and the people understood his intentions. He was tall and imposing, but then a beautiful girl came and helped him walk back to his seat. It was like the first despot was on the verge of death, but nobody was paying attention to that as the fourth despot started to talk.

    "Now we will have four groups of thirty people, the main objective is to defeat the other group leader. The leaders will be selected by the second despot."

    After he finished speaking he made a cut on his arm and poured blood into a vessel, the same did all the other despots. Soon the vessels broke and the blood started to gather into an orb over the arena. The big ball of blood set itself on fire, a red-pinkish fire.

    "This orb will take care of anyone that will try to kill his opponents or disobey the rules, please do be careful we want all of you alive and in good shape, now return to the waiting quarters."

    After the instruction everyone started going back, but there was a strange look in their eyes. They were scared, some didn''t know if choosing to come was a good idea anymore and others were... happy?

    The first despot, a being of great power, a titan or a colossus, call it however you want, he was that imposing for everyone that didn''t know him and for those that do he is a friend and a gentle soul tormented by guilt and pain.

    These were the thoughts of the girl that stood beside him, she was known as Kim by every soldier serving the first, also the one closest to him. She was always by his side when he asked and never let him down once. Now as he stays in his throne, coughing now and then, and waiting silently she was wondering why did he decided to finally come.

    "May I ask a question?"

    "Of... course..."

    "Please tell me why did you decided to come. You are in no shape to wear your armor or to assist them with this. We already have enough troops, there is no need for more people especially back on the Plateau. Why do you force yourself?"

    "Ah... Help me... get up..."

    "Understood."

    She went to him and took a hold of his hand, the armor was cold, and he could barely get up even with her help, Kim simply couldn''t take it and stopped looking at him.

    As he got up, he turned to Kim and looked at her. He was still silent, but then he kneeled before the girl and took her hand.

    "I... am very... sorry... I am sorry, that... I make you feel sad... that I make your worry... that, I am useless... and I am sorry... that I can never... never thank you enough... for everything you do."

    She looked at him and started crying. She was sad, but strange enough, she felt happy at the same time, why would he even thank her she wondered, that was her duty, for everything he did for her.

    "Please... Don''t do this, this is my duty, I am very happy that you think I was worried, but rest assured everything is... fine..."

    He saw through her act. She thought of herself just as a mere soldier, but he never believed that, he saw each and every of his comrades as his family. It wasn''t much, but he was happy that he apologized at least.

    The first got back on his throne and went back to thinking about who knows what.

    |9:00 AM | Tufts University | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    The groups were set, everything was about to start. Before the second despot could say anything the sky became red and the orb hovering above the arena created a barrier around.

    "Now that we got the teams established, the first two groups please enter the arena."

    Group A and and group D entered the arena. The first group was leaded by a man in white armor wielding a claymore matching the armor. The second group was leaded by a rather small man, most of the people started to think he was a child, even so he was strong, wearing nothing distinctive and wielding claws hidden under his sleeves.

    The two of them met in the middle of the arena while the others waited behind.

    "Salute eachother and you have ten minutes to prepare a strategy to defeat your opponent."

    The atmosphere was tense, and the two of them shook hands.

    "I hope nothing happens to you midget."

    "Oh, you should worry about yourself."

    And so they returned to their groups and after the ten minutes it started.

    Both of the groups were using different tactics, group D leaded by the little man was all about ambush, pretty much guerrilla tactics, still the other group was keeping itself pretty well. While group A preffered head on combat they were still facing well against the ambushes and tricks the others came with.

    "Don''t let them use those tricks on you two times in a row!"

    Many responded back to their leader as they understood to keep a sharp eye on their opponents. On the other hand group D was all silent it was like the little guy disappeared and then suddenly...

    "WHAT!?!"

    The so called midget jumped from nowhere ambushing group A leader. This attack came much sooner than anticipated and the formation wasn''t ready to defend itself, so they took the advantage.

    Both of the leaders started to fight fiercely, The little one had a lot of speed and was pressing his slashing attacks, but the other one wasn''t falling behind and with the first occasion stroke him with the sword.

    Group D saw its leader flying over twenty meters.

    "FLY YOU DIRTY MONGREL!"

    "As if it would be that easy."

    He let his guard down and suddenly a strong slash pushed him from behind. The little guy had a cocky look on his face. Everything was complete chaos. The leaders couldn''t give orders anymore and the others were fighting like wild animals.

    "Alright, that is enough."

    As the second despot talked she clapped twice and the red orb started to shine. From withing the orb fiery bloody chains emerged and caught everyone inside the arena stopping them from fighting.

    "It is clear that none of you have the qualities of a leader. Everyone go back from where you came, a recruiter will tell you which faction you are going to get in."

    Some of the chains were released, but the leaders and a few others were still caught in them.

    "Alright now for those that I kept here. You are stronger and have more potential, so you have the option to choose which faction you may belong from the despots that chose you."

    Even as they were in chains they were happy. You could see that everything was a disaster, but they still were going to serve one of the despots not only that, but they could even choose among a few that wanted them.

    "First is Hagan. You leaded your forces head on without thinking much about the consequences or unforeseen events. Even so you showed great promise and have been chosen by the third and fourth despot. We await your decision."

    He didn''t know which one to choose. Hagan respected both of them and thought they were far superior to him, choosing one over the other might disrespect them and that wasn''t his wish. With that in mind he made his decision.

    "I will join the third if that is alright. It is not the fact I don''t believe the fourth is a strong and respectable despot, but the third suits my preferences better."

    "Then you shall join the third. You are free to go."

    The chain disappeared and Hagan was free to go. He got his sword and put it on his back. Before he got out of the arena he turned and kneeled.

    "I will do my best to prove that I am worthy!"

    And so he finally vanished. Most of the despots thought highly of what Hagan didn, yet others simply took it as flattery, even so the second continued.

    "Enki. You have been chosen by the eighth despot, but you can join me as well. Please make your choice."

    Everyone was looking at the little man, everyone believed he was going to choose the second, one that was supposed to be on par with the first despot, he didn''t hesitate. There was a fire in his eyes as he made his choice.

    "I am choosing the eighth despot."

    All the people looked at him shocked, why would he choose such a despot, but he must have a reason.

    "Very well, you are free to go. As for the remaining three I will have you join me. You have been chosen by the tenth, yet I see potential in you, return and await further instructions."

    So the first battle was ended. It wasn''t special, everyone was rather bored, but they missed the point. The tournament wasn''t made only for strong people, it was a large recruitment center where despots could check the new blood.

    "The next battle, between groups B and C shall start in a few hours."

    Akari and Keira were looking at the people who came back, they were pretty happy there weren''t any accidents it was a rather pleasant competition.

    "So it isn''t that bad?"

    "I believe they used these groups to finish with the weaklings... Look around Akari, everyone that didn''t fight is strong in a way, whether they have strong armors or abilities, humans or monsters they all have something. The other two groups used a few strong individuals and many normal people."

    "I see your point..."

    "We gonna have a much harder time. When it begins, stay close to me."

    "Understood ma''am!"

    "Hehe... DON''T."

    "Oke..."

 Awake

    "It seems there is nobody here anymore... Strange..."

    "The same happened in the north."

    "None of us have any memory..."

    "Ah shut it you old fools."

    All four of them were tall knights wearing black bluish armors, their necks and hands were long and the hands had sharp claws, they called themselves wardens, yet what prison they used to look after is long forgotten."

    "It seems the age begins to play with your memories."

    "It might be so indeed."

    "Yes... much likely."

    "Then why can you remember?"

    "I do not remember much either, but I do know that our prison is long gone, the inmates dead and everything that we were supposed to protect is never coming back."

    "So what will we do?"

    "Why do you ask me?"

    "Because you are the only one that can think straight at this very moment."

    "Hmm... Let''s find the wardens of the south, the northern ones aren''t in any better shape."

    "Do you think we might find answers?"

    "I hope brother, I hope."

    |11:00 AM | Tufts University | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    The room was silent, every despots was waiting for the first to talk. Beside him was a courier which brought important reports. It was a serious matter and everyone was waiting for some answers.

    After a couple of minutes Nimue begins to be pretty unsettled.

    "So what does the report say?"

    The first got up on his feet and walked to a window.He was looking outside and told them how beautiful the weather is.

    "I wish... things... could stay the same...."

    "Is it that bad that you won''t even tell us?"

    He makes a gesture with his right hand to Kim, and so she began explaining.

    "It seems the northern base fell and the Norwegians got a strong forward outpost, there are also some signs of strange movement inside the city, we believe they are part of the exodus and some of those mechanical abominations..."

    The fourth was intrigued by these affirmations and asked her about the situation in the city.

    "Tell me, what are these ''mechanical abominations'' you talk about, we faced many foes, but I never heard of these ones in particular, it is rather intriguing."

    "They are people in a way, but they give away parts of the body for mechanical ones. They don''t even try to mask it and most of the time, they work for exodus, they believe flesh is weak and the machine is stronger, pure stupidity."

    "What do you mean with most of the time?"

    "They are a mercenary group and work for many people, but they prefer the exodus as they can give them better... upgrades."

    "I see, tell me did any of us contact them at any given point in time?"

    "Only the seventh."

    Everyone started looking at him with disdain.

    "Say seventh, why did you contact them?"

    "Ah I finally get some attention, really now it started worrying me that you forgot I was here. Indeed I contacted them, I had some problems they could resolve, yet I never did meet them in person. Say do you think that I would do something to put any of us in peril?"

    The third looked at him and then at the fourth.

    "Stop this nonsense, remember we still have the tournament, we are going to talk about this after everything here is done. I believe we call a council meeting , the others will come as well if we do this."

    The first turned to them and looked at the seventh especially.

    "We shall talk... more... at the council... "

    The fourth nodded in agreement.

    "Then let''s get back to our places and see how the second round is going to proceed."

    |11:30AM | Tufts University | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    Everyone began going to their places. It was silent, yet you could hear someone speak here and there. It is a strange feeling, waiting for the second stage to begin and the despots simply standing and talking with whoever was beside them.

    Ten minutes passed and the contestants started entering the arena. Compared to the others you could see all kind of people this time, even non-humans. The first group where Akari and Keira were as well had mostly humans and a few harpies while in the other group were less humans and you could see a variety of non-humans.

    Akari and Keira were standing next to each other and were waiting for the instructions.

    There was tension in the air, but everything calmed down when the second despot started talking.

    "Due to the small number of contestants this year this is the last battle, it was a pleasure to meet you all, and we all look forward to working with you, that is as much as you show respect. Now the third will tell you the new rules for this battle."

    The tension returned, there was something that made everyone feel uncomfortable. So the third rose up and started to talk.

    "When you hear the ring, it''s free for all."

    Those words made everyone simply jump in all directions, everyone they saw was now an enemy, but the sound of a ring was nowhere to be heard.

    "Now, now, hold up and wait, you can fight as long as you want after we give the start."

    While the third was talking others began speaking about alliances so that they might have a chance, of course the two girls heard them and simply continued with the initial plan, to cover each other.

    And so the ring was heard and everyone started fighting. You could hear how they trample the earth under their feet. The sound of blades clashing, people being beaten, thrown away, smashed to the ground. Large spells which could shatter the earth, spears of lighting flying all over the battlefield and Akari with Keira trying to keep up with everything.

    There were few people who were standing out across this mess, one of them was Max, but nobody could recognize him as he was wearing a full plated armor with a helmet shaped as a dragon. With a great axe he was smashing everyone coming to close and then he saw the girls.

    "AKARI!"

    She was scared when he called her name.

    "It''s me Max!"

    When he came close enough Akari calmed down a bit, but Keira was still on her guard, they were hiding behind a large rock which was thrown there by some spell.

    "What are you doing here Akari? This is not for someone as frail as you!"

    "You know I wonder myself the same thing, but Keira is my friend and I wouldn''t really let her alone here!"

    "Are you a friend of hers Max?"

    "Yes, nice to meet you!"

    When they finished greeting another plated knight jumped on the boulder smashing it. He was much bigger than max and wielding two claymores. He startled them.

    "HAHAHA! PUNY MAGGOTS BE CRUSHED UNDER MY FEET!"

    Not a second after he spoke a spear flew in him and made the ''knight'' fly in the wall.

    "This is madness, Akari, Keira you need to find a hiding spot I can''t let two girls like you go through this."

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.After he said this he got a great shield from his back and started covering the girls.

    "It seems you can take care of things Max, take Akari to a safe place!"

    "You don''t seem in any shape to fight!"

    "Just do as I say moron!"

    While spells, arrows and spears were flying randomly across the battlefield many landed in the shield which Max was now holding.

    "Do you see what is in my shield? It''s too dangerous!"

    "GET OUT NOW!"

    As she yelled at him a black sword started to manifest in her right hand. The blade was separated in two and red energy surrounded it.

    "I AM WAR!"

    And so Keira jumped in the middle of the fight and started crushing away everyone who was unlucky to get in her way.

    "That girl is impressive."

    "Never knew she had such power... let''s go Max!"

    "Understood,but do you think it''s alright to let her behind?!"

    "I think she will be fine."

    After they run through quite a few opponents they nearly reached a safe spot, but then a golden mech jumped in front of them knocking Max back and Akari sideways. After that he got her with a hand and looked at her.

    "My , my, what do we have here, quite a doll aren''t you?"

    "Leave me alone!"

    Akari used a phase ability to get through the hand of the mech.

    "You are pretty slippery, I wonder how much can you keep up?!"

    He thrust in her and nearly smashes Akari in the wall with a hand, but then a strange thing happened, the time stopped. You could see everything in place, arrows stuck in the air and people mid-air.

    "What... Is... This...?"

    After the first uttered this words a giant translucid person appeard before him.

    "Who... Are... You...?"

    The ghost was wearing ragged clothes, the mask and hat of a Jester. He looked a the first and put a hand on his head.

    "Dear child, I don''t have much time left, It sure was a good time being an eternal, yet it has finally ended and now I have to tell you, to say who you truly are... Lyall..."

    "What... are... you...?"

    "Oh, come out from that relic you can barely speak."

    With the hand he put on his head, he pulled Lyall out of the armor.

    "Now listen to me little child, this is the tale of a father, a mother and a tale of incompetence..."

    "I don''t understand!"

    "Then listen... It was about five millennia ago that I came to be an eternal. I loved to mess around with my powers, I made people laugh, I did a lot of mischief and I went too far many, many times. Later I came to earth, it is a beautiful planet you know, it has truly beautiful flowers, especially Tacca chantrieri. When I arrived there were these beings which proclaimed themselves gods, and so I took the title as well and proclaimed myself the god of laughter."

    "What does this have to do with me, don''t tell me you are my father?"

    "It is correct, here I met your mother Tenechra, she came from quite a poor family and the gods messed with her, far worse than anything I ever did to someone... One day I went to look at her in these very clothes. The first thing she did wasn''t to laugh at my strange clothes, wasn''t a sigh, she didn''t ignore me either, she simply asked who I was and I introduced myself."

    "The god of laughter at your service!"

    " It is exactly as you say... She smiled a bit, and that was the sweetest smile I ever saw, I just wanted to see more of it and so I took her as my wife, oh I went through a lot to do that and I''m afraid I don''t have the time to say our entire story..."

    "Alright, I dig it, say what happened next?"

    "Five hundred years later, we decided to have a child, the other gods were against it and in the end betrayed us... They killed your mother and banished me, they made sure you had the worst things happen to you. I was always with you dear Lyall, I gave you all my power, I stood there incapable of doing anything and just looked how they tested you, how they made so many horrible things to you, but this, this is my ending, my final destination, if there is a god I hope he forgives me and that will let me meet Tenechra again, forgive me little one, that I wasn''t there, that I could only watch and please forgive me, the last bit of power I have, I will give it to that girl, may she guide you on the right path and release you from all the guilt and pain you keep inside and as a fare well, I will say the same words your mother said to me with her last breath... Mayst thou thy peace discov''r."

    There was a beacon of light, and the ghost began to fade away, Lyall was back in his armor thinking about the story and looked again at the ghost.

    "My boy, you can forget about me, but please, never forget your mother..."

    Suddenly memories began to flow into his brain, memories of the past and of a woman. She was sad and found happiness, she was poor and she became rich, she was never loved and she became loved by a man who was very gentle. This woman had green eyes and black hair, a long and beautiful long hair with bangs. Her name was Tenechra, she was a mother...she was his mother...

    Tears began to flow from his eyes.

    "Mother... Father... DON''T LEAVE ME PLEASE!"

    "Goodbye son, it is time you came to be awaken."

    The ghost started laughing and crying at the same time and tried to get back to Lyall, but it was too late, by the time his hand reached Lyall, he disappeared.

    The first was now on his knees looking at the sky, the time started to move again and then everyone could hear the scream, a ghostly scream, full of pain. Kim was looking at Lyall and kept asking what happened, but he was just standing there, crying and screaming.

    "What happened, answer me, please, Lyall answer me!"

    In the arena the man inside the mech stopped and started looking in the direction of that scream, he didn''t realize untill it was too late what happened with Akari.

    Her skin turned white, her eyes green and was surrounded by a white aura,she seemed to look as one of the ancient elves. In the right hand she was holding a scythe which seemed to be made of light, the blade was polished and engraved with many strange symbols, a polished and strong blade which could cut reality itself.

    With a swift strike she cut the mech in two, and started walking forward.

    Lyall saw what was happening, but he simply couldn''t get a hold of himself. He remembered, what his father gave to Akari, it was beautiful and it was a horror at the same time, the strength and the grace, a monster and a fairy.

    She wasn''t herself anymore, it was like the power started to control Akari, and so Lyall made an effort and jumped with the relic armor in the middle of the fight. He had a scythe as well, but the one he was holding was dark, it had a dull blade with holes through it, this was a hideous weapon if you would compare the two of them, yet it was much stronger for his scythe... it tasted more blood than any other weapon and not only by his hand, for this was a relic of old as well.

    He used the handle to strike the girl in the belly and then knocked her out before she lost control completely, then he got the girl up in his arms.

    Nobody understood anything anymore.

    The ghostly voice then shouted.

    "THIS TOURNAMENT IS OVER!"

    While he was walking to the exit with Akari on his shoulder, Keira and Max started running towards him.

    "Where are you taking her?"

    "Hey mate I can''t let you take a girl like that even if you are the first despot!"

    He looked back at them, they were on guard and ready to attack even him.

    "Come with me... and you will see... and you Keira... what do you choose... your new friends or your so called duty?"

    Keira dropped her guard and stopped her act. She looked at him and seemed rather happy.

    "It seems you knew, tell me is it alright if I join you...? As if I would say that, all I want is to kill you, for all you did, for what you did to my sister. This girl, she was just a means to an end... Who needs friends when you have revenge?"

    She was lying to herself, indeed they didn''t knew for a long time,yet there was some kind of atachment, even so she discareded all of it.

    "I see... Then begone... And forgive me, forgive me that I could only take care of you for so long..."

    "Take care of me? YOU KILLED EVERYONE AND WE WERE LUCKY TO SURVIVE! There was one person who took care of me after you destroyed the entire facility, at that time I thought my sister was dead, the only thing that brought me joy was that you were still alive, so I could repay you... in kind."

    "Keira... Ah, War is a good name they gave you... Leave and never show yourself or you will force my hand..."

    "I refuse, there won''t be any better time to do this."

    He saw that unless he fought her, this wasn''t going to end. He put Akari in Max'' arms and walked in front of Keira.

    "You won''t leave unless I do this..."

    He kicked Keira from the exit tunnel back to the arena. Then he walked inside as well. The other despots were preparing to leave when all of this happened, there were other people as well and contestants at the exits.

    "Alright, your ''majesty'' let''s see how strong you are!"

    "Hmmm... you can move, that is good..."

    Everyone was looking at the fight taking place, it was quite the a sight. The first despot in action.

    Keira summoned her sword and lunged at him, but the despot was standing still. A shockwave was produced by the impact, cracking the earth beneath his feet and the walls behind even through the barrier they used.

    "Quite... strong... Now is my turn..."

    He raised his left foot and slammed the ground then with the right hand punched Keira with little force. He wanted to scare her and do as less harm as he could.

    Keira flew again in the same wall. Then again, and again, and again... She didn''t stop, it was like she became stronger the more she fought.

    She lunged at him again, this time, the despot fell. Keira standing on him slashing with her sword. She slashed as much as she could, but the armor was too strong. She threw away the sword and started punching him. She punched him until her hands started to bleed...

    He was just standing there, accepting every hit.

    "Are you... done...?"

    "Why won''t you attack!?!?"

    "All I did my entire miserable life... was to destroy and take lives. When I was small... a priest took care of me, Nimue and Abaddon... he was kind...he gave his life, so we could live... he taught us the importance... of life... and as the fool I am... I ignored it..."

    "Should this story make me feel bad for you? You are a wretched fool..."

    "Before the priest took me in, I took care of a girl... she was scared... we were homeless... for two years... I stole food... I killed people... all to take care of her... and they took the girl from me... you were like a little sister... even if you wanted to kill me... what brother would truly... kill his sister...at a time like this...?"

    "No.. YOU ARE NOT HIM!"

    After she yelled at him, the girl rose and started hitting him with her legs... Everyone was watching. She was nearly crying,but would never do something like that in front of an enemy.

    "Keira... Leave... our bond... seems to have faded... You are War now... the Exodus made sure of it..."

    She stepped down from him and turned her back. After that the girl vanished. He as well got back on his feet and returned to Max.

    "Lets... go..."

    "Uh, where exactly are we going?"

    "To the Plateau, it''s time to light the fires war."

    The armor started to be engulfed in black and white flames. His every step began shaking the ground.

    "It is time, to kill the gods, destroy the exodus and put an end to this stupid war with the world. It''s time to turn them all to ashes and bring a new era, an era of peace...through war."

    "I don''t really get it..."

    "You will."

    |5:00 PM |North Outpost |Gaia| Supervised by the Norwegian Armed Forces|

    The battle here was over after quite some time, it took months to be able to establish an outpost in the enemy territory, especially when it was protected by the first despot.

    For the time being the forces could rest. It was a long battle and everyone just wanted to eat, sleep and mourn their dead. Unfortunatley, the first despot wanted war and now he was out for blood.

    The guard tower was looking after the enemy and then.. they saw it. A massive force coming straight to them. They sounded the alarm and everyone was going to their posts. Artillery was ready to fire.

    In the horizon you started to see large figures and thousands of tank divisions. Only that they were the smalles problem. A large ship was hovering over them it was gigantic and they had no ideea what was going to happen. Soon they started to start embarking to ships and leave. It was clear that they weren''t ready to face them, but some remained to give enough time for the escape. The ones on the ship could only watch as the ship started to shoot at the small base and eradicate it with bombs.

    There was a faint hope that a shipl like that might be brought down and then, the hope died as many other ships started to be seen, some even larger. Something happened and there were no good news to bring home.

    So it begins... A war for freedom...? No... A war for peace...? No... it was a war against the gods... the first to fall will be Odin and his sons... then he shall go to the ones that made all of this happen... the gods of Olympus.

 Crumbling

    "Heimdall, what do you see?"

    "How much time passed since we became guardians?"

    "Answering a question with a question."

    "There is a problem, for what comes is driven by blood, indeed it might reach here, it might defeat us, but in the end they will be eaten from inside, betrayed and the mind will be shattered."

    "Is this foe really so strong old friend?"

    "He is something that shouldn''t exist, but they are not our enemy."

    "Why is that?"

    "For there are others much more terrifying."

    |--:-- | ------- | ------- | -------------------------------------- |

    "She arrived sir."

    "Send her in."

    It was the same bright room, and the same person standing in a chair, never showing his face.

    "War, it seems you failed to accomplish your task. Subject N-05 is still there, but I believe you have an explication for this don''t you?"

    "He was... too strong."

    "You tell me the mighty War found an opponent she couldn''t beat?"

    "Yes..."

    "Well no matter, you can return and see your sister, we have other things prepared for them."

    "What do you mean?"

    "It is not your concern, please leave for now, if there is a mission you will be announced."

    Keira left the room pretty angry, but she couldn''t say a thing back.

    "It''s time to put the acolytes to use."

    |1:00 PM | Sector Y | Gaia City | Supervised by the 1st Despot |

    "This is O52-T54X, squad beta is prepared."

    "This is O53-T29X, squad alpha is in position."

    "This is N87-K18, squad gamma, the zone is blocked, nobody gets in or out."

    "This is N66-K25, Sector Y is secured, we shall eliminate everyone when the orders arrive."

    A few hours pass...

    At a table the pilgrim was playing cards with an orc. He got up in the middle of the game and went closer to him.

    "Keep it quiet Kran, there is a big problem."

    "OH NO, I won''t fall for that trick again!"

    The pilgrim gripped Kran'' arm pretty hard.

    "This time, is serious, we need to gather all the kids and women and evacuate them from the sector."

    The orc tried to be as quiet as he could and not attract too much attention.

    "Are we under attack or something?"

    "Unfortunately, we won''t be able to save everyone, but do as I say, tell everyone and try to act as normal as possible."

    "Understood."

    | Olymp|

    "HAHA, it seems things are finally put in motion, only if Ares or my father would be allive to see it!"

    "What is it Zeus?"

    "Oh Athena, the is going to be so much fun, just watch that abomination they called a child, watch and see how he will fall."

    |1:30 PM | Plaza | Gaia City | Supervised by the 10 Despots |

    The seventh despot and the fifth were walking around the Plaza.

    "Tell me seven, why did you call me here?"You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    "Oh, nothing really, but tell me, if the first would be faced with a foe he couldn''t beat... Would you send reinforcements?"

    "Hmmm... I see. Well if you put it that way, I ''would even go myself'', isn''t the same for you?"

    "Ahahaha. Then we think the same and that is good, it means I won''t have to kill you."

    A group of heavy armored soldiers arrived before the two of them. General Frederick came in front and saluted the two of them.

    "The preparations are complete."

    "Very good, then it''s nearly the time we start."

    "Fifth, we shouldn''t rush. Let''s wait for him to leave, it will be quite a fun show when he will be away and won''t be able to do anything here, but he will hear, he will hear everyone screaming."

    "I''m glad we are allies..."

    "Hehehe..."

    |5:27 PM | Plateau | Gaia | Supervised by the Primordial Army |

    The Plateau, it is an underground hive city ruled by the first despot. Here the life is easy, or at least better than inside Gaia. The laws are strict, the people are cheerful and everyone works hard, all for one reason. The most basic rule is that nobody is too young to work, to be good at something or to help with anything.

    The first despots always brought in the poor, the homeless, abandoned children, monsters and any other kind of misfits. They were trained and taken care of. One who might have been dead, now is a worker, someone begging for food now has a home and one who was an orphan now has a family.

    The highest building of the Plateau is called Aminon'' Peak. Here the first despot watches over the city, here he sleeps and of course here he lives. Inside it can be seen, a throne, black made of polished stone. The room is dark, but green light enters through windows and illuminates it.

    "Uh... My head hurts... Wh-What?"

    Akari woke up in a beautiful room, on the nightstand was a vase with fresh flowers, these flowers were black, and she couldn''t recognize them.

    "This is so strange."

    She got up from bed and opened the curtains. There was no sun, all she could see was a big city, lights shining everywhere and building being constructed.

    After a closer look she could see in distance some giant robots and other troops patrolling the city.

    "Well, I guess it''s time to explore, or should I stay, this is rather annoying. In the end there is only one way to find out where I am."

    Akari entered the throne room. There was nobody here, but she could see an open door on the other side. She got inside and saw Lyall. He was in a truly sad state, but his face lightened up a bit when he saw her.

    "Oh, you woke up."

    "Yeah... Can you tell me where we are?"

    "This... This is the Plateau, my... home, yeah my home."

    There was a strange squeak and the chinchilla climbed on the bed, then on Lyall'' head.

    "I see you got her everywhere."

    "Sometimes, I began to believe that my lil fat squirrel over here was the only thing that kept me sane."

    The chinchilla seemed a bit annoyed when she heard fat.

    "Well I think a pet can always make somebody happy."

    "Yeah..."

    "So... can I go home?"

    Lyall'' expression went back to its sorry state.

    "I''m afraid there is a problem, but we should talk about it later."

    "What about Keira?"

    "That is another problem... There will be a meeting in a few hours, you are free to explore the city around, some troopers will escort you. Come back after you recover a bit and I... I will do the same."

    Akari left, but she didn''t exactly understood him. She had no memory of what happened after that mech nearly smashed her.

    "Miss Akari. We are pleased to meet you."

    Two tall knights were standing before her.

    "Who are you?"

    "We are the guards of this palace and leaving you to some troopers would be just bad manners. We know our lord trusts in everyone, but we prefer to do the things our way now and then."

    "Alright..."

    "Then, shall we go?"

    "A-Ah yeah, lead the way."

    "We shall give you a proper tour of the city. A true... beauty..."

    "Is something wrong?"

    "No, just... It is a shame, such a beautiful city, full of cadavers."

    "What do you mean?"

    "It is not important now. Let us move on and see the gardens."

    Through the main entrance down the stairs a beautiful garden full of all kinds of flowers could be seen. The shining obsidian walls were high and the city couldn''t be seen. Other knights were patrolling sometimes stopping to look at the flowers as though it remembered them of something.

    Akari along the other two walked around and checked the entire garden, yet there was a part of it that wasn''t shown to her.

    "Excuse me, but what is there?"

    "That is the lords personal garden, it is better to leave it at that. So what do you think about our little garden?"

    "Little...? It''s rather huge don''t you think?"

    "Mhm... a huge garden made to remember us, to make us remember that life is precious."

    "How so, I mean the flowers will wither eventually, so why does it make you understand that life is precious?"

    "It makes me remember that everyone is lucky with the fact they are alive, you know, enjoy this day for the future might be worse or you might not even have one."

    While the knights gave the tour to Akari, Lyall was beginning the meeting. Sitting on the throne, on his right was Kim and on his left Jack. Others were arriving as well. A strange being entered and it looked like a fiend made of water only that it wasn''t water, this being was made from wires and circuitry with no shape or whatsoever.

    From the shadows another came. He was covered in robes, yet his hands could be seen clearly, long, sharp, claws.

    "It seems we miss someone."

    "The high commander has some problems and can''t come at the moment."

    "Thanks Kim. Now there might be some problems. First of all, we have to give the retreat order to our forces, I have a bad feeling and I really don''t like when I get these. Also before any of you says anything, yes, it''s just a hunch as for the other-..."

    A projectile exploded near the palace. The alarms started sounding.

    Many explosions were heard outside, the sound of crumbling stone, screams of pain. A city in chaos.

    "Ah this is too soon!"

    "What is this my lord!?!"

    "This might be a huge problem, I need my armor. Jack prepare the troops, we don''t know what''s happening outside."

    "Understood my liege."

    "Hollow, go and check who is attacking."

    "Yes my liege."

    He disappeared just as he appeared, in the shadows.

    "While I''m getting myself ready, Kim, go and find Akari, get her to the hangars and send that girl back home, but not in Gaia."

    "What do you mean?"

    "Find Akari, if you can find the pilgrim and Jester as well take them with you. This is an order. Leave the island, I give you permission to take Crucesignatis."

    "What about you?"

    "I think, I will have to wait..."

    "Lyall?"

    "Go now."

    He got his halberd and dashed through a hole. What Lyall didn''t know is that he was betrayed, by fellow despots, and followers as well, people which he cherished on verge of death.

    He could see the enemy entering through portals, the Plateau was a place between dimensions. If the enemy made it here it was clear for Lyall he was betrayed, by whom he didn''t know.

    "W-Wh-WHAT!"

    A large man caught Lyall by the neck.

    "It seems I have the pleasure to end you. N-05, Lyall, first or however you wish to be addressed as, my name is Krane and I shall be the end of your pitiful existence.