Spartacus, a man of legends and myth, a name that struck fear in the hearts of empires, a warrior who was respected by his followers, and a leader who stood up and defended the oppressed. In his last battle in 71 BC, he was presumably killed by the empire that he rebelled against. However, his body was never found…
“Spartacus! Spartacus!” A voice echoed in his head, “Your men need you!” Spartacus opens his eyes to see the sunlight’s warmth inviting him back into the living. “Where am I? The war! My brothers!” Spartacus lifted himself off the bed and looked around dazed in confusion. The door before him slightly opens and a woman dressed in a white dress enters.
“So, how are you feeling being back in the world of the living?” Spartacus gazed at the woman questioning him and laughs, “Ha! So, I died, this all makes sense. Let me ask you, did the rebels win the Third Servile War?” The woman made her way to the chair located near the bed and invites Spartacus to sit on the one beside.
“The rebels put up a great fight but they were crushed by the legions of Crassus, that’s all written down in history books I’ve been reading about you. Is it true that you were a freedom fighter? A boy who was once a slave and sold to be a gladiator?” The woman smiles and lets out a sigh, “Spartacus, I’m sorry if you were taken aback by this but right now, we need you, my lord needs you to fight for him.”
Spartacus rose up from his chair with disgust in his face, “I serve no one, I am my own man even if he brought me back to life. I’d rather much stay dead with my brothers… Besides that, who are you and where am I?” The woman gets back up and hints to Spartacus to follow her as the two exited the room, making their way down the hall.
“My name is Cleopatra, ruler of Egypt, well past ruler at least, you probably never heard of me, I was born after you died. Anyways, this is the Jade Palace and its owner and my lord, Siegfried the dragon-slayer. What a dumb name, whatever, that was your personal room just now and there you see that girl? LILY-CHAN!!!” Cleopatra jumps onto Lily and pinches her cheeks before fondling her breasts, Lily let out a tiny moan, “Cleo please…” Cleopatra lets go of her and helps her up before facing Spartacus, “This is our personal house maid, go on introduce yourselves, oh and only I can touch her if you ever lay a finger on her, I’ll make sure you end up being a left hander.”
Spartacus grunts in annoyance ignoring the two and continues making his way down the hall to the throne room. Entering the throne room, he sees Siegfried talking to a knight with red hair and blue armor. “Ah! Spartacus, you have awoken! Please join us.” The knight signals Spartacus to come over before he introduced himself. “I’m Reinhardt, master swordsman and this is our lord Siegfried. He’s a pretty cool guy as you can tell, I mean he slayed a dragon by himself, how cool is that?”
Siegfried burst into laughter as he pats Reinhardt on the back, “Thank you for the wonderful introduction, so, Spartacus are you keen on joining…” Spartacus slaps away the hand Siegfried offered him replying, “I don’t serve people like you, I kill people like you.” Siegfried nods and smiles, “I am not a tyrant or dictator, I am just another man fighting against the evil in this world, you are the great Spartacus, protector of the oppressed, one of the finest warriors in the history of the Earth.”
Spartacus turns around and made his way back to the door of the throne room, “Cut the crap, I’ll be leaving this place, thanks for…” Reacting quickly, Spartacus leans backwards, narrowly evading a strike from Reinhardt. “Ho, what speed!” Reinhardt cries in awe and he positions himself in an attacking stance. “Move aside fool!” Spartacus demands, clearly annoyed. “Enough the two of you, Spartacus, you may not trust in me now but I believe that you will eventually understand my motives and where my intentions lie, Reinhardt, let the man go.” Reinhardt nods his head and steps aside sheathing his blade. Spartacus nods at Siegfried before leaving the room.
“Sir, you really think he will come back?” Reinhardt questions unsurely, Siegfried smiles and looks up to the ceiling with a huge painting of angels fighting demons. “Well, only you truly know my real motives for all of you. If he doesn’t, we will just have to kill him and resurrect another warrior.” Reinhardt looks down of the floor and replies slightly in agreement before making his way out of the room.
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“I can sense your presence.” Cleopatra steps out from the pillar and winks at Spartacus. “So, where to big fella? Leaving so soon?” Spartacus nodded in response replying, “If you could, I request for a horse and some clothing, I can hunt for my own meals.” Cleopatra stares blankly at him before laughing at his ridiculous reply.
“A horse? No. But clothing? Yes. Listen, if you escape or leave, Siegfried will send men after you. I know deep down inside he isn’t fighting for the weak or oppressed but he has his own reasons to avenge someone he lost, someone dear to him. That’s why I want to help him, we are all just spirits brought back to life by him, so the least we could do is help him achieve his goals.” Cleopatra smacks Spartacus on his back lightly, “So please stay. His intentions are good, trust me.”
Spartacus heaves a sigh as he nodded his head, “I heard rulers of Egypt treat their people with love and care, so I will follow you and if you think his actions are justifiable, then I shall ride along with you guys.” Cleopatra smiles and hugs Spartacus tightly, “Thank you so much! But I wouldn’t say I am a loving ruler. It is true that I love my citizens but I slaughtered many of those rebelling against me and I become blood thirsty. I regretted my life decisions so maybe this is a shot at redemption for me.”
“I see, to be honest with you, I wasn’t sad or disappointed that my men lost the battle against Crassus. I am just tired of all this fighting and all these lives that have been sacrifices in vain. Many of my brothers died with the belief of achieving freedom, but in the end only death awaits. If I had never created the rebellion, those men would never had died, the woman I loved too…” Spartacus opens the door to his room with Cleopatra standing behind the entrance.
“Well, that’s all part of history now and you can’t change it. However, right now you can still make a difference to defeat the Van Astrea. They are a family of tyrants who killed off lord Siegfried’s wife and most of the human population. Defeating them will usher in a new age of peace to the universe.”
Spartacus nods his hand understanding what Cleopatra just said, “I will fight If that really helps but after that I am done.” With that he closes the door as Cleopatra steps backwards before walking back into her own room. As the door shuts, flashbacks of past wars flooded his mind as though it was a curse etched in his head. Lying down on the bed, his mind blanked out…
Smoke filled the air as his village was set ablaze, Spartacus looked around him only to see a kid standing in the middle of the fire with his mother in her arms. “Honey, remember, no matter what happens, I will always be there for you. Keep running, don’t look back, mummy can’t stay with you anymore ok? Go, run now!” The kid refused to leave her arms as she forces him off herself, with tears in both their eyes, the woman turned around to face two Roman soldiers who were heavily armed with a gladius and a shield. The kid falls on his back in shock as his mother rushes towards the men. “NO!” Spartacus screamed as he raced after the woman but before he could reach her in time, the blade pierced through her body as her body fell limp and motionless.
Rage induced, Spartacus attempted to kick down the men but they soon vanish into smoke and behind him he felt a blade stabbing into his back. As he turned back, he saw the kid holding the same gladius he once had in his hands, driving the blade as deep as he could into Spartacus’ back. “Is that myself?” Spartacus stood there dazed before crashing down hard onto the floor. The kid walks up to him and points around, “Your village was burnt, your mother was killed by these men. You swore to avenge them, to stand up for the weak that were abused by the empire. You vowed to slay tyrants and overthrow empires, but now you are just a broken man with no purpose, no aim in life. You are lucky to live again, but you refuse to fight, Spartacus, you are the only one who can save the weak and protect us all, do you want to see senseless deaths again? Another child’s parents being slain in front of their eyes?” Soon the village and fire vanish into thin air as the kid steps backwards into the dark. Everything appeared black and white as Spartacus lay down on the cold black floor, in his mind was a confliction whether to raise his blade to fight for the weak and oppressed or to hide in the shadows as a shell of his former self.
“Hero!” “Leader!” “Thank you for saving us!” Visions of the past where Spartacus has saved slaves and young women and children flashed across his mind. The warm smiles on people’s faces, the innocent laughter of children and the peace he had found. “Yes, that is what I seek and desire. What am I even thinking… I am Spartacus! Leader of the rebellion! I want to see people smile again, no one should ever live in fear for their lives!”
Spartacus rose up from his bed with the scars all over his body glowing blood red, his vigor and willpower has returned, his purpose, his goals have been realized again. “It seems we now have Spartacus on our side, call down the execution squad, there is no need for killing today.” Siegfried gets off his seat in a room with multiple screens that displays the recordings of each camera hidden in each room.
[In the present]
“My path might have had challenges and doubts along the way, but one thing I am certain of, is that Siegfried and Tetsuya are evil and the kid, Souta, he is a true leader, one who gives hope and truly cares for his followers. Whatever is behind these doors, they will not stand in my way, I am Spartacus of the rebellion!”