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Demise of the Gods
Chapter 8: Aftermath of an Invasion

Chapter 8: Aftermath of an Invasion

The metallic taste of blood in his mouth, his face covered in blood and his tunic blood soaked. He finally came to his senses and the spell which bound him was broken.

"What have I done................" he said with his voice trembling.

A surge of emotions began to run through the boy, his heart felt as if it had been shattered, and a deep feeling in his gut emerged with no intention of going away..........it was guilt.

His mind felt as if it was slowly falling apart, it was like a teacup as if it had fallen and hit the ground and one of the broken pieces was lost. A piece of his mind was gone and even if it was put back together it would never be the same again. 

He began to cover his face with both arms and began pulling his hair, and then he looked down at the body.

Tears fell from his eyes and he began to embrace the man's dead body with his tears hitting the lifeless body.

Soon after he began to cradle the body like that of a father holding his newborn child, he had no idea why he was doing it, but it felt right.

Thinking about what Rex had done, he had no idea why Rex did what he did, but all he knew was that the man had no intention of harming him, and felt no sense of hatred towards the man for his actions, just a deep sense of sadness.

It was the first time he had killed a human being and the worst part about it was the fact that he considered this man to be his best friend and brother.

No matter what he could do, Rex wasn't coming back, he was gone and the boy was the cause of that.

He sat there with the dead body staring at it for around 20 minutes and his eyes which were filled with grief turned lifeless, he was in a trance.

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"REX...................REX..............REX WHERE ARE YOU, SHOUT SO WE CAN FIND YOU" a woman shouted over and over, it could be heard by the boy.

He gave no response to the call and remained there embracing the body.

Tears began hitting the boy's head from above. Breaking his trance he looked up, he saw a woman standing there crying at the top of the well.

She had hazel hair tied in a ponytail reaching around shoulder length, eyes blue like the sky and a round face.Her body was covered partially with black leather and a dagger and sword could be seen strapped to her waist.

She noticed the boy's mouth drenched in blood and him embracing the man. and she had a look of shock on her face.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM" she shouted at the boy crying.

His mind was blank and even if he wished to respond he couldn't. His voice felt as if it was gone.

It took her awhile and then she gradually stopped crying.

"Wait you're........" she said but she couldn't bring herself to finish what she was attempting to say.

She began crying again.

After a bit, she regained her composure quicker than before and threw a rope down the well.

The boy just stared at the rope and then the woman began shouting.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, KÓLASI WILL BE GONE SOON AND IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THEY REACH HERE, WE HAVE TO GO NOW" she shouted

 Kólasi will be gone soon?................I deserve to die here, it doesn't matter.

"AS MUCH AS I HATE YOU FOR TAKING HIM AWAY ME, REX TOLD ME ABOUT YOU AND HOW YOU WERE TO BE HIS SUCCESSOR AND HOW HE REGARDED YOU AS FAMILY, WE HAVE TO LEAVE NOW AND ESCAPE TO SAFETY, YOU ARE HIS LEGACY" she shouted

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Family........................Ah, that's right, Jason.........I should go to him.

There was no say in the matter, he had to force himself to a degree of composure, slowly putting everything in his mind back together to reach his family. He had lost one member of his family, there was no way he was losing the rest of them. 

He grasped the rope and tied it to Rex's body and grasped it.

"HE'S READY, COME PULL HIM OUT" she shouted at some men.

Two men looking to be mercenaries came and hauled the rope up pulling both men out the well.

They were out of the well.

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He unfastened the rope around Rex's body and looked at his surroundings. The woman was there with around 20 men all sitting on top black horses. 

The sun was scorching hot and the city could be seen to the west with black smoke arising from it, the land around them was parched, multiple wells could be seen near the one he emerged from, no signs of life could be seen could be seen near them upon first glance, but looking further into the distance, tall trees could be seen, there were forests surrounding them in the far distance.

"It's time to leave, we have to get away now," she said to the boy.

There was no time to ask her name and he showed no signs of gratitude towards her.

"Take his body away and get it to safety....................I'm heading to the city.................it isn't my place to say this but I'm sorry....... but I have to get to my family right now, I can't lose anymore," he said staring at the ground. 

He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes.

"ARE YOU RETARDED, HE GAVE HIS LIFE TO YOU AND NOW YOU WANT TO THROW IT AWAY?" she shouted into his ears, it was deafening but he was unfazed by it.

"Just get the body away from here safely please............" he muttered under his breath as he began to attempt walking towards the city.

It was his first time walking properly in months, his body felt weak, it was like that of a newborn trying to walk.

Due to consuming flesh from Rex he had regained some energy and he wasn't as exhausted as he should've been.

He collapsed in his first attempt at walking but he was slowly getting reaccustomed to using his muscles and walking was becoming easier.

She stood there looking at him watching him with a look of disbelief.

"I swear to god people can be so fuckin dumb, take Rex's body to the Thirío association in the great city of Dikaiosyni, I'm going with dumbass over there to the city," she said angrily looking at her men.

"Also, you," she said pointing to a random man.

"Give me some of your blood so we can meet you after we're done using teleportation" she ordered the man

The man quickly pulled out a dagger from his waist and slit the palm of his right hand filling the blood into a small vial then giving her whilst nodding his head up and down.

"Madam, we can't allow you to go to the city alone, 10 of us will come with you and the other 10 will deliver Sir Rex's body to the association," a man said bowing before her like that of a peasant to a king.

"If you insist, come, we head to the city of Kolasi now!" she shouted at them mounting her horse.

"YOU, I WILL ESCORT YOU TO YOUR FAMILY, LET'S GO, GET ONTOP OF MY HORSE" she shouted to the boy who was walking in the distance.

He stopped in his tracks and didn't budge and inch, he waited for her to come to him.

The steeds were running towards him and before he knew it they were already in front of him.

He quickly mounted her horse and held on to her tightly.

The horses were fast, the feeling of the cool breeze hitting him was something he had not felt in a long time. If he were in a normal state, there was no doubt that he would have felt good, but for the time being, he was still sorting his emotions out.

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 As they entered the city, a scent permeated the air.

It was unique, like nothing he had ever smelt before. It was hard to describe the smell but if he were to attempt to describe it, the scent was nauseating and sweet, putrid and steaky, or something like leather being tanned over a flame accompanied by a coppery, metallic component and a sulfurous odor.

The smell was so thick and rich that it was almost a taste. It was the first time he had smelt something like this, it was the scent of burning people. This smell would never be forgotten by the boy.

"Where is your family located?!" she shouted asking the boy.

"Head through the market street and at the end there should be a steep hill, they're at the top of it," he said to her.

"MEN, PREPARE FOR A FIGHT" she shouted notifying them.

They were now entering the city from the eastern entrance and the once tall buildings lay in ruins, dead women could be seen on the ground with their clothes torn off exposing their breasts and genitals showing signs of that they had been defiled, men could be seen in piles on the ground being burnt and there were no signs of children whatsoever. 

It was the first time he had seen a sight so horrific, this was the aftermath of an invasion.

Shocking to everyone, there was no sign of the army which invaded the city, there was no trace of life in the city, the only sound which could be heard was the sound of fire, structures crumbling and the stallions as they moved through the city.

The once blue sky over Kólasi was slowly turning into a blood red color leaving a red glare upon the city.  

Although the city was burning somewhat, no heat could be felt, the air was getting chilly around them.

The pathway to the market street was a linear one around 2 miles in length with the pit standing near the center.

They moved with haste passing the Pit, the white marble stands which were made for seating were covered with blood from dead people who were slaughtered in the middle of watching a fight, with the blood giving a dripping sound as it fell from that height to the ground.

Entering the market street, it was around a half of a mile stretch.

The boy began to remember how lively it was, always hustling and bustling filled with life, but that was no more, it was like a ghost town now. The stands which would normally be filled with fruits and vegetables lay there broken on the ground with produce scattered on the ground, houses on the street were charred showing they had been burnt.

They were at the end of the stretch and the hill could be seen.