Chapter 3

Tensions were on the rise as food stopped being delivered once the new group of prisoners arrived. For Gunai it was unclear to her if it was they didn’t have enough to give or if it was a sign of things changing. Perhaps the Greeks just planned to starve them all now as the method of execution. After a day without any food people were getting anxious and nervous. Another day and the grim fate that they faced started to affect everyone.

Cries and shouts became more common as others attempted in failure to finish things themselves. Already frail to begin with, Gunai didn’t handle the lack of food well with her quickly deteriorating health.

Korina stayed at her side the whole time having naturally joined the duo through talking her way into their spot. “Come on, Gunai. Think of a mountain of steak with wine and bread!”

“I think that would kill me,” she mustered for Korina.

“Damn them…” growled Aniketos, feeling his uselessness acutely.

“We’ve got to escape!” shouted a voice from towards the center of the pit, where most had gathered with the hope of some sort of food being dropped. The bit of light bleeding in from above showed them to a bearded young man still clinging on to a sliver of hope.

Murmurs through the prisoners ranged in their support of him.

“We’re locked up! How the hell do you expect to escape?”

“We should dig a tunnel!”

“When the Greeks come we should attack!”

“We’ll be too weak when they do.”

“They’re just going to kill us!”

With any sort of consensus scattered on different voices, it seemed like nothing was going to happen. However, the bearded man that spoke up before stood up in the center. He grabbed everyone’s attention quickly with his voice. “Listen to me! We can escape and I’ll show you how!” A ripple came out from his feet unnoticed by everyone as a metal spear appeared in the man’s hand. “You all know what this means! Follow me and we’ll be safe!”

However, suddenly from behind the man a shadow emerged with a short sword piercing him through the heart spraying blood in front of the horrified prisoners. The bearded man coughed as blood came out of his mouth. Shock painted over his eyes as he looked back to see another prisoner having killed him. “I thought…waited long…enough.”

The unknown prisoner then removed the sword and swung it in an arc to behead the man. Catching the rolling head at his bare foot to stop it, he ran the sword through the ear into the skull completing the kill and ensuring the death. He whistled a specific tune that seemed to call the guards over to the pit. While they worked to open the pit for the man, he addressed the prisoners. “There is no escape. Death is the only thing you’ve been granted. Tomorrow shall be your reward.” Departing from those words, the Greek soldier poured despair into the pit.

A deeper darkness fell over everyone as a brave fool’s corpse lay at the center as if a reminder of everyone’s fate come tomorrow. Even through it all no one screamed, stepped in or made a sound. Shock and fear filled them until their vessels burst leaving nothing behind but shattered containers.

Aniketos held Gunai's head in his chest trying to protect her fragile existence, as though it would be enough. He could feel the shaking of her body and pounding of her heart through him. Only pain carved at him being unable to do anything to change the scenario. All his words meant nothing. “…Gunai…”

The day faded away into the next, introducing them to their final day upon the Earth. Greek soldiers came down into the pit fully armed pushing the starved Atlanteans to the rope ladder. Anyone resisting was killed on the spot. Given that it was a prison and not a grave, it was something that they preferred not to do, but when making a point they did what was necessary.

Korina held her hand while they waited for their turn to go up. Being forced to climb to their own deaths, nothing about what the Greeks did to them seemed to have any concern for them. The last Greek before had been the first time that she had seen one, rough as it was. And now again, the face of the ones that hated them. It seemed difficult to even call them an enemy since that would imply that there was a side and fighting. There were no sides, only Greeks and the right that they gave themselves. Resistance wasn’t possible, fighting a fool’s dream.

They were the darkness and fear of humanity.

Standing in front of her, Aniketos tried his best to be the shield for her, but hiding the scene didn’t mute the sound. Protection meant very little for Gunai as he realized. Suffering possibly worse than the others in solitary, something like this might not even affected her in her mental state. His body reacted regardless of any logic.

Needing help up the ladder, Aniketos escorted her up into fresh air. It actually made her cough having not smelled such things in so long that she thought she had forgotten. Braced against Aniketos’ back she tried to breathe the new world, even if it might be her last.

“…Gunai?”

“I’m fine…I can keep going…” She looked up at him with her eyes unable to see him clearly. The light hurt and she had to keep them closed almost all the time. Her hand clutched at his forearm needing support with even her legs not completely working. But she was determined to walk on her, even if that meant going to her death.

Behind her, she felt the hand of Korina giving her support as well even without words. Shouts from the soldiers ushered them forward. Without her eyes, she could only listen and guess at what was happening. Countless voices of men shouting obscenities at them filled most of the volume. However, she could pick out other sounds that seemed like they were animals, probably livestock for the army. They were in a prison pit of the Greek’s army and stationed in one of their fortifications. Amongst the noise, she could hear distinct and steady near rhythmic pounding of metal on metal. Everything mixed together into chaos that she could barely hold back within her mind.

Marched with a full Greek unit, the three dozen Atlanteans were kept under heavy guard even with their frail status, intentionally starved. They took no chances with their greatest enemy no matter how beaten they were. Every Greek soldier knew of the danger that even just one presented.

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In a corner of the fort away from the main camp of tents and permanent structures for command were the execution grounds. A block where the headsman worked with his axe had cuts and scrapes along with a few deeper cuts from swings. While maintained well, there were still blood stains that couldn’t be removed from the metal and leather wrapped cutter’s block. Dirt surrounded the whole grounds with heavy footprints marked from recent rains.

A line of the prisoners started at only five paces from the executor’s block. Waiting for them was a large man with a muscular build and countless scars from battles. He had an imposing presence by just stature with a heavy brow that cast shadows over his small needle pin eyes and robust golden beard. There was a feral appearance to him as though a lion had been transformed into a man.

Even without his weapon, he looked like he could kill any one of the Atlanteans barehanded with very little effort. Possibly even his stare could strip off the soul out of a few of the tinier ones. He made no motion towards any of them, maintaining his professionalism. There was no hate in his face or eyes, but just duty and fact. This was his job and it must be done. He knew the weight of his job and its importance for the State.

However, to the horror of everyone that could see, he didn’t bear an axe as expected, but rather a large hammer. A two handed war hammer with a large flat striking head. It had no elegance with only a leather wrap for grip on the entirety of the iron pole that mounted the head upon. The head was merely a hunk of metal in appearance as though the pole had just been jammed into raw ore and extracted with it being a coarse form. It clearly preferred utility over appearance or style and served as a single purpose, the execution weapon for any Atlantean.

Traditional tools for execution were deemed not safe enough by the Greek commanders and senate due to the overwhelming risk that any Atlantean with powers presented. As such, it was necessary to be certain of a complete kill with no chance of recovery. They had seen so many impossible and god-like acts from them that fears and superstitions ruled their actions.

A grim and cruel method of execution was all that awaited them. Only the single solace granted any would be that it was a quick and instant death. It was just not suited for an audience.

This wasn’t something that the prisoners understood immediately until the first execution lined up. A middle-aged woman with wrinkles showing was put before the executor. Knelt down and with her head on the block four soldiers stood arms length away with spears in hand. With zero announcement or flair the hammer came down over the woman’s head completely crushing it with a wet crunch of bone and gore.

A messy kill, but there was no chance.

Gasps of horror ran through the prisoners for those who didn’t immediately attempt to throw-up, even if all they could manage was a little stomach fluid from their empty bellies. Eyes turned away and whispers and screams mixed through.

“…bastards…”

“…evil…heartless…”

“…godless demons…”

Gunai immediately clenched tightly onto Aniketos' forearm unable to see what was happening. The sound created an unearthly noise for her that left her confused and frightened. It was hard to know which was worse at this point, seeing it or trying to imagine it. “What’s happening?” she asked partly rhetorically and partly out of fear.

Both comforted her as they stood in the line awaiting their end. They were in the front part of the line only five away from the executioner’s hammer. Aniketos stood first with Korina behind. Their shielding of Gunai would only last for so long and death’s hammer increased the heaviness in the air.

Crunch.

The loud bang of metal on metal echoed through the grounds signaling the end of another life. Gunai started to dig her fingers into his skin, rubbing it raw. “It’s horrible…”

“Think of the house you’ll build,” he offered as comfort to her struggling with his own emotions as well.

“I’m not going to be able to build it.”

“Yes you will. Just believe in the dream.”

“We’re going to die!”

“We won’t. That’s not what’s going to happen.”

Crunch.

“It will. Those bastards just want us all dead. They don’t care about us.”

“I know, but something will happen.”

“How can you keep saying that?”

“Because we can’t have been born simply to be killed. Our fates can be different!”

Crunch.

“No they can’t!”

Even Korina's glib nature seemed to have frozen before everything that they faced as she couldn’t say anything. All she provided for Gunai was a comforting hand to hold. Unlike Aniketos she seemed to have accepted something of her fate and faced it with whatever sort of bravery that she could manage.

The steady march did their fears and anxiety no favors. Nothing that Aniketos could say convinced Gunai anymore of a chance of escape or freedom. His fantasies were dead in her heart. The hammer crushed the last bits of hope that he managed to rebuild within her heart. Each slam pulverized them into a finer powder leaving nothing.

Crunch.

Korina’s hold suddenly tightened, almost putting her into pain. ‘What happening? It’s Aniketos isn’t? He’s going to be next!’ Panic spread through her body quickly as she fell to fear. Her mind constructed an image of the execution grounds with them. She couldn’t see Aniketos’ face; she had no idea what he looked like. The only faces she could see were the nameless Greek soldiers and the executor.

Yet they weren’t human but some sort of monster or creature. They were the things of nightmares and minions of Hades sent to capture their souls. Wreathed in a purple ice, the executor bore a resemblance of a minotaur standing more than three human heights taller than them and thick arms the size of tree trunks.

Aniketos wasn’t just going towards his death at the hands of heartless and merciless humans. Demons and monsters awaited him laughing and toying with him. They would tear off his skin, suck on his blood and consume his organs while doing everything to keep him alive for every moment of painful agony that they could manage. And once he was dead they would play with his corpse until he could no longer even be considered human or even a thing. They would have his soul, but only continue his suffering for eternity in the afterlife. He would never be allowed a moment of rest or freedom ever again.

Crunch.

Another hand suddenly rested on Gunai, breaking her out of vision. “It’ll be alright. You will live. Believe.” He released himself from her grip with her no longer about to see the haze of his form in front of her as she tried in failure to open her eyes again.

“No! Don’t leave me!” She grasped at the air with Korina holding her back already seeing the soldiers moving in close.

“Believe in yourself, Gunai,” he spoke softly to her as they escorted him over to the block.

“N-n-no!” Tears streamed down her face as the vague form of Aniketos stepped away. Shocking her a little, Korina wrapped her arms around her in a pleading hug, the warmth of her body wouldn’t be enough. She understood and dropped her arms in silence as her body began to run cold. ‘They’re taking him away from me… The Greeks are going to kill him… Aniketos is going to die…’

Gunai slowly lifted up her hands clutching onto Korina wanting to be free even knowing that she should not. As tears fell her eyes opened wide, unable to see, but no longer caring about the pain the light caused. Her pupils shrink as a dark glow came about them. ‘They’re without mercy or love. They only know how to hate and kill. They’re going to kill all of us and laugh about it.’ All the heat poured out of her body as her mind broiled in emotions becoming completely unfiltered. ‘Hatred! Death! Murderer! It’s all they know… Aniketos… They don’t deserve your kindness… Your hope…’

Glaring at the gray forms surrounded in light, Gunai leaned against Korina’s arms while staring towards Aniketos. ‘They only deserve to die! They only cause suffering in this world! The bastards don’t deserve to live! DIE!!’

Aniketos knelt down putting his head on the block. Even as he had accepted what would happen and found a little bit of peace, something within his heart burned hot. It was almost unbearable, the pain. The calm that he thought he had found started to crumble before the injustice and death. All of the laughing that he could hear in the distance that cheered on each slam of the hammer only hurt his heart more. It started to shatter in a way that he had not expected. ‘This isn’t right… It’s not right! This world is wrong!’

The executor raised his hammer ready for another swing.

Ripples burst out violently through the earth as the spearmen immediately stabbed their spears into Aniketos’ body, but it was already too late for them. Though they had pierced his flesh they hadn’t been fast enough. His powers released with a deep unearthly primal roar that didn’t give the Greeks even a moment to react.

Blood sprayed everywhere suddenly as the four guards were reduced to nothing but basic organic material covering Aniketos in a rain of blood as he stood up. The calm eyes of the man disappeared filled with an endless well of rage. He merely looked at the executor and dismembered him with invisible blades. All of the rest of the soldiers took a step back as their fear took over.

Seeing one such as him was a frighteningly common occurrence for them. However, they had never witnessed the full release of their power. None of these soldiers lived during the Greeko-Atlantean War. Only stories, ballads and legends educated them in what a true user could do. Stories meant to frighten them as children paled in the fear that they felt now at the complete one-sided annihilation that they saw.

There was a good reason the Greeks killed every Atlantean they found. They finally had a living example that would leave none of them alive to regret or pass it on.

Death descended that day and with capriciousness reaped the souls.

Only a lake of blood remained of the fort.

Thus begins the dark tale of the first King of New Atlantis.