It was a white and cold day, snow fell over Kenta as he rushed to combat, his eyes were soulless, almost like he was programmed to do his task. Six rebels ran away from Kenta and his comrades, Unni, Felix and Elias, though the rebels' mouths kept shut behind their masks, their fear could be sensed by their widened eyes and the way they ran, almost like they were trying to save themselves from an inevitable fate.
While the other three fought on pair with the rebels, though the rebels had a noticeable disadvantage on artillery, Kenta took them down with more ease.
The snow on the floor slowly melted as the fire being shot by the guns of both sides took over the place. The rebels kept resisting, using the device on their wrist to teleport to different sides and have the surprise factor over Kenta's squad.
However their efforts weren't enough, one...two...three...four rebels were taken down within the first minutes of combat, two of them by Kenta's own hands. One of them ran to a side while the other ran to the opposite. Kenta chased the one who was offering the biggest challenge while the rest of the team ran after the other survivor.
It was a paired fight, something Kenta was not used to, every single movement Kenta made was predicted by his opponent. The rebel, using the device on his wrist, gets the first hit, his blade slicing through Kenta's shoulder and leaving him injured. He stepped back, blood seeping through his uniform, but his grip on his weapon only tightened. Something inside Kenta reawakened, the adrenaline of battle that Kenta hadn't felt in years took over his body and he kept attacking, now faster and with more precision than before, but still, the fight continued.
On the other side, the three soldiers were successful, killing the penultimate rebel, Unni tried to get where Kenta was as fast as she could, almost slipping because of the snow. As Unni arrives, the combat turns unbalanced, the rebel keeps up the fight with the two but he gets tired and slower, at one point, as he defends himself from one of Unni's shots from afar, Kenta surprises him. As he raises his blade, the rebel's eyes were widened looking behind Kenta but then they meet.
Everything goes silent as the sound of Kenta's blade stabbing the rebel echoes. Kenta sighs but not from the relief of winning, this time it was different. The rebel slowly falls on the ground, the snow beneath him turning red. His eyes were still open, looking at Kenta that felt chills all over his body and looked at the man with widened eyes, breathing very fast. Then, the other soldiers arrive.
"This time it was Unni arriving on a white horse to save you for a change."
Says Felix as he readjusts his black uniform. His expression is clearly the happiest out of all soldiers.
"These Lytherian parasites get harder to kill everyday. Even he struggled today."
Says Elias, his face slightly annoyed as he clenched his teeth and looked away.
Unni takes out a device, a machine with a touch screen, the date 14th of November 2237 appearing in white quickly changes to a purple 2nd of August 2287 when Unni presses the buttons on the side of the device.
As the noise of the machine starting gets louder and everyone is waiting, Kenta is still looking down at the dead man on the floor, his expression still the same as before.
"His eyes are still open, staring through me."
Kenta thought to himself.
"How many more can I kill until there's nothing left of me? How many lives can I steal? How many children can I turn into orphans, how many wives into widows..."
The machine brings them back to the present, where the four stand now in the middle of a wide laboratory with people who start cheering them as they arrive. The soldiers thank everyone as they walk towards the exit door but Kenta couldn't even force a smile, he was in the middle looking down, his thoughts still eating him from inside.
"I used to believe this Empire fought for a reason..."
He thinks as he glances at Solaris banners, its golden sun and dark sword reflecting in his bright eyes. Once that symbol filled him with pride, now he felt empty looking at it.
"But today when I killed that man something felt different, like I was staring into my own eyes."
Kenta’s legs get heavier every step, he leaves through the door now looking at a blank space, his vision turning a bit blurry and the noises around him fading.
"If I'm fighting for peace, why does this feel like a war against my own soul?"
Kenta's thoughts are a mess all day, later he's laying down on his bed, his bedroom was dark and cold and he looked at the ceiling, his mind going through every place imaginable but his face just emotionless. The device on the wall next to the door suddenly rings, he looks at the doors direction and a robotic voice starts talking.
"Good afternoon, Kenta. Prince Leorion has sent you a voice message"
He sighs and puts his hand on his face because he knew what it was about, he waited for the message to play. The device makes a noise that signals it's about to start.
"I can already see the look of annoyance in your face, Ken."
Says Leorion in a playing tone, Kenta tries to avoid a smile but he chuckles a bit at Leorion's words.
"Today's a big day, friend. I know dealing with the crowd is not quite...your biggest strength but...I hope you have your speech well-trained and if you do well, I'll finally read that stupid book you've been annoying me about. So, come on here to my room, dress something nice."
The voice message ends. Kenta is smiling a bit but at the same time he can't help but be nervous. He gets dressed, he was wearing a dark blazer with a silver trim around the collars and cuffs, paired with a white shirt and dark tailored trousers that covered the top of his polished leather boots. He holds a pendant, a rusty but shiny raven with the wings a bit smashed. His eyes lock in the pendant for a few seconds before he looks at the picture above his dresser. There, his mother stood next to his father, she had green eyes which she shared with her son, brown light hair and a soft innocent face that contrasted his father's masculine face and dark features that were a part of Kenta's appearance too. In the middle of both there was Kenta, giving a naive smile to the camera. He looks at the picture with a bit of sorrow and then puts the pendant on his neck. He looks in the mirror, takes a deep breath and finally leaves the room.
His steps were calm and slow like his eyes that looked around the huge halls and rooms that were filled with paintings and statues of the last emperors of Solaris and their achievements. His heart weighed with a heavy grief as he looked at the painting next to him, which had the words "The Midnight Slaughter, 2256" written on a gold plate. In the painting, Emperor Drakiel stood above everyone as Solaris soldiers shot civilians in the middle of a town while Lytherian flags burned in the ground.
Kenta zoons out for a few seconds before coming back to reality. He walks a few more steps towards Leorion's room but sees Unni, who had Felix and Elias behind her.
"All dressed up huh? First shower in what? Four months?"
Unni says in a playing tone while smiling.
"I don't want the boss to complain that I'm too unsophisticated for an event again."
Kenta responds, trying to share the same energy. Elias who listened from behind speaks up, his voice slightly ignorant and his face expressing a bit of jealousy.
"I guess some people just aren't made for things like that."
Felix hits the back of Elias' head, making Kenta and Unni laugh.
"Well, duty calls me, I'll see y'all later."
Says Kenta as he continues to walk. He finally reaches Leorion's door, he knocks it but no one answers, he knocks again and no one answers again, as he's about to knock for the third time, he feels a grip on his shoulder, followed by Leorion's voice.
"Didn't I tell you to wear something nice?"
Kenta turns around and looks at Leorion.
"Is this not?"
Leorion's scratched his head, a small frown tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Well, if you were to have lunch with me at a cheap restaurant, perhaps this could fit but...I don't think my dad would love to see you give a speech for the Empire's 200th Anniversary in this outfit."
"The Emperor can barely see anymore, I doubt he would complain about a blur in my body"
Leorion rolls his eyes and puts his hand on Kenta's back while turning to the opposite side.
"You're so pessimistic, follow me."
Kenta purses his lips and gives an annoyed sigh but still follows Leorion.
They enter a wide room with clothes on all sides, Leorion's mouth is shut as he looks for something among the enormous amount of pieces there. Kenta sits unamused while waiting for Leorion to arrive and when he finally does, Kenta stands up.
"This one would suit you."
In Leorion's hand there was a dark green tunic with a high collar embroidered with silver around the edges, featuring patterns of vines and thorns and delicate silver buttons down the front. The trousers were black and made of silk, they had the same patterns of the tunic however it had silver thread woven into them. The boots were made of leather, they were black with silver buckles that featured Solaris' sun engraved in it. Above the tunic, there was a dark blue cloak, longer than Kenta's size, made from thick fabric with silver lining, it also had an ornate silver clasp in the shape of a crescent moon.
Kenta carefully analyzed it but his face showed an overwhelming feeling, like it was too much for him.
"Not quite my style."
He said. Leorion ignored Kenta's words and just started to take measures with his eyes looking at Kenta's body.
"That's the point, now hurry and dress it"
Kenta sighs and shakes his head as he takes the clothes from Leorion's hand and goes to dress it. A few minutes later, Kenta comes back dressed, Leorion who was sitting, stands up with a smile and rubs his hands. Before he could say anything, Kenta speaks up, clearly uncomfortable.
"I look like one of your dad's royal advisors thriving too hard for approval"
"If you said this 100 years ago to a prince, you would have your head on a stick, you're lucky I'm your friend. You look good, don't think too hard about it."
Leorion starts adjusting Kenta's clothes, Kenta looks up showing uncomfortable body movements and facial expressions again. Then, Leorion starts speaking in a more serious tone.
"This is an important event, Ken, your speech too, my dad is... not in the best condition to lead a country right now and I could have to step-up anytime. I have to make a good impression, you know?"
Kenta looks down.
"Yeah, I know. But what does my speech have to do with that?"
"The biggest problem of the last leaders of Solaris was that they surrounded themselves with cowards who didn't dare to challenge their rule, only idiot high-borns who get down and suck the emperor's cock every time he says something. It is no coincidence that my grandfather and uncle were murdered...or my older brother...But you...you are one of those willing to confront someone like me, to put some sense in our heads so...I'm gonna need you, the country is gonna need you, Ken."
Kenta looks directly at Leorion's eyes with a surprised facial expression, Leorion takes his hands off Kenta's tunic and waits for him to speak.
"I...I'm glad that you think so highly of me but...I'm a soldier, my job is to fight not to rule."
"Exactly, you know how things are out there, in the real world, not like the men my dad has by his side. I'm not asking you this as the heir to Solaris throne, I'm asking you this as your best friend."
Kenta looks down again, thinking.
"You don't need to answer right now, just go out there and please the crowd, okay?"
Says Leorion. Kenta looks at Leorion again and puts his hand on his own neck, rubbing it.
"I'm not sure if I'm able to do that."
Leorion speaks now in a more relaxed and playful tone to make Kenta cheer up and gain confidence.
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"It's easy, if your speech glorifies the Empire and demonizes Lytheria, it is already enough, the rest is confidence."
"Yeah I...didn't quite demonize Lytheria."
Leorion sighs and compresses his lips, he knew Kenta had too much empathy within his heart.
"You are too sympathetic with the enemy."
Kenta shakes his head and gives a smile of indignation.
"Didn't you want to be different? A better leader than the ones before you? I'm not gonna say that we should put them on a pedestal, I'm just gonna undo the dehumanization that the government does to them, at least I can try"
"If I wanna be different, first I have to get the people's love, I'm not gonna be able to do that if the first thing I do is to oppose everything we stand for."
"Okay, I understand but-"
Leorion puts his finger up to interrupt Kenta and then speaks.
"No more buts, just do this one thing for me please."
Kenta looks disappointed but approves with his head.
"Good, now put a smile on that face, they want someone charismatic not depressed."
Leorion says as he leaves the room, leaving Kenta alone with his thoughts. He never wanted to get into the politics world, to decide people's fate with words instead of actions, but now he was left with almost no choice. He sat there with his head now, waiting for the ceremony to start.
A period of time passes by, the ceremony has started, the crowd is screaming and cheering while waiting for the emperor to arrive. There's banners everywhere, the symbol of the Sun of Solaris on every single corner and the crowd full of posters demonizing Lytheria and praising the Emperor. Kenta, and a few more important people are standing in the corner of the stage, guards and soldiers everywhere to assure safety. Finally, the emperor comes in and the crowd goes wild. Walking slowly and with Leorion's help, the emperor arrives at the microphone, Leorion kisses his father's head and goes to stand where Kenta and the others are. A bell rings, signaling that the crowd had to quiet down, they wait for the emperor to speak. Finally, in an old, fragmented and shaky voice with a lot of stutters, he starts speaking.
"Two hundred years...seven emperors and so many achievements...as Emperor of Solaris and as a human, I've gone through a lot of difficulties and hard moments but I...We never perished! I..."
The emperor puts his hand on his face looking down, conflicted about something. Everyone looks at him worried, Leorion even almost steps up but the emperor starts talking again.
"Because of my love for this country...I am now a husband to a murdered wife and a father to a murdered son...My father was assassinated when I was only 10 years old, and a lot of the people you see right behind me, tried to steal the throne from me when that happened."
The advisors and members of the council on the back of the stage get offended and gasp, Kenta is a bit confused but can't help but be amused by their indignity. The crowd is silent, waiting to hear the rest.
"Doesn't that show us how much this country has been corrupted? And we all know why that is...Lytheria, my family...my first born son and rightful heir is dead because of those filthy people..."
Kenta's amusement quickly fades as he hears the emperor's words, he looks at Leorion and sees him trying to fix his composure. Leorion was hurt when the emperor called his dead older brother "the rightful heir", even though he tried to hide it, Kenta notices it, however he doesn't say anything.
"Since we conquered Lytheria 200 years ago, we've had control over them...but the rebels have been acting out more and more each day, there is an order to things, and we need to keep it! Like 200 years ago, we need to remind them of their place!"
The crowd starts cheering and applauding, in the back of it, a mysterious shadow appears, unnoticed by everyone. The emperor starts coughing a lot before continuing.
"My...condition...is making death closer to me everyday, so I leave this quest for my son and heir, Prince Leorion Jahanvard."
The crowd applauds and Leorion and walks up to the front, he pats his father's back and stands, waiting for the crowd to quiet.
"Thank you... What makes Solaris, Solaris? Some might say it's the symbols, some might say it's the government, the conquests, the treasures or the culture. And even though none of these are wrong, there is one thing above all…the people..."
They all look up at Leorion, who the population trusted more due to his charismatic personality and young passion. Among the crowd, a group of masked and armed people walk through it while Leorion speaks.
"Me, those standing behind me, you there in the crowd and you there watching this on your TV. And our biggest objective is to protect the people and give them what they need. However as my father said, we've lost our focus, corruption has taken loyalty's place, war has taken peace's and hate has taken love's. Lytheria has been rebelling, attacking us more and more each day. Some of these attacks are unheard of in the news, that's because it doesn't happen right here, right now, it happens in the past and we must control it. That's why C.L.O.C.K., Chronological Line Optimization & Correction Kommand exists, to go back and stop rebels and thieves from making this country stop being what it is. Right now I could call Martin Venner, the CEO of the corporation here but, I don't want people that sit behind a desk, ruling those stronger than them to give a formal speech and follow the rules."
Martin gets offended and Kenta gives a little smirk that quickly fades because he knew what was about to come.
"I need a fighter, someone that does anything to protect this country, that is why I call here, not only C.L.O.C.K.'s best agent but also Solaris' greatest soldier, Kenta Bellmor!"
He points back at Kenta and the crowd applauds. Kenta takes a deep breath and starts walking towards the front, when he reaches Leorion, he stops and the prince whispers.
"You got this, Ken."
They go opposite ways and Kenta finally arrives at the destination. He takes another deep breath and closes his eyes while waiting to speak, his hands shaky.
"Thank you, Prince Leorion and Emperor Drakiel for this opportunity and to everyone here today...I...I'm not very good with speeches, my whole life my biggest flaw was communicating, so that is why my way of helping the Empire is to fight. While I may not have the widest vocabulary or all your fancy words, what I do have is honesty."
Kenta feels something weird behind the crowds' excitement and curiosity. The sharp scent of metal and clicks of shifting equipment went unnoticed by most, drowned by the applause. His words flowed smoothly, but he couldn't help but sense an uneasy feeling in his chest, a disturbance in the atmosphere, like the quiet before a storm. However, he keeps speaking.
"And I honestly feel like this country's fate is to perish. But I do work with fixing anomalies in the timeline, so one thing I know is that fate is something you can change and we have to fight to change it."
He looks down again, his mind racing, conflicted about whether or not he should say the next part of his speech.
"Our conflicts with Lytheria in the past are growing and one day they'll explode over our heads and while we do have to stop the rebels...we must remember that we are all humans and our lives have the same value..."
Kenta feels Leorion's gaze on him and stops for a brief moment. In the distance, behind all the crown, there was a white haired woman, she had a black mask that covered all of her face except the eye area and a hood over her head. She looked directly at the stage where Kenta stood, her curiosity picked.
Continuing the speech, Kenta tried to look confident even though his cracking voice slightly gave away his insecurity.
"To avoid war we must also care about the Lytherians well-being..."
He stops again, his heart pounded on his chest as he struggles to continue the speech. He was there to inspire Solaris but his conscience urged him to speak truths that challenged the Empire's beliefs. The woman in the crowd could see right through Kenta's insecurity. Each word felt like a choice, each pause like a battle between what he knew was right and the consequences of speaking it in front of the whole country.
"But right now we matter more than them, we have to protect our children from the demons that are trying to take our country from us!"
The crowd cheers and Kenta stops a bit to look at it. He feels like he just betrayed his beliefs but now he can't go back. Leorion relaxes and applauds while the woman behind the cheers sighs disappointed.
"So we must show them what we are, we must put them in their place like we did years ago. The Empire must stay strong and we are the key to its strength, so to all of you listening, keep fighting!"
The crowd goes insane, they scream Kenta's name and burn Lyhterian flags. Kenta starts breathing heavily and puts his hand on his chest, trying to keep his posture. Leorion is proud and applauds Kenta as he smiles. He notices Kenta is having a panic attack and walks towards him, while that happens, Kenta's vision turns blurry but from the distance he notices the white haired woman, he feels confused as he sees she has a device on her hand but doesn't give it too much significance. As Kenta's vision is blinded by the lights of the cameras taking pictures, the ticking noise gets louder and the air gets thicker with tension. Then, without a warning, a deafening roar went through the noise of the crowd and the ground shook violently beneath their feet.
Kenta's ears rang as the world seemed to shatter before him and the shockwave sent him flying through the stage. It looked like time froze in his mind as he watched the explosion burn the crowd. He fell, he still hadn't come to his senses but gets his gun while he tried to stand. As he stands, he sees the carnage before him, people screaming and melting as chaos and panic take over the place. Ambulances and rescue helicopters arrive quickly, Kenta goes to the middle of the chaos and tries to help civilians get out safely even though he's injured and drops of blood run through his face. The screams of the people almost deafened Kenta, he tried to focus on protecting the civilians, however his eyes couldn't stop turning back to the dead bodies on the floor. In that moment, all the hope, the euphoric feeling of conquer and dreams vanished all of a sudden, replaced by fear and panic.
While Kenta is helping, soldiers arrive to meet with the ones already at the place to try and find the ones who caused the disaster. Leorion is injured but trying to get his father out, he walked alongside with Unni who was armed, both carrying the emperor on each side while going through flames.
Kenta is helping a boy and his mother get in the helicopter when his eyes come across a masked tall man who ran in the emperor's direction. He leaves the two civilians and follows the man, in the path, he meets up with Felix who gives Kenta his blades to fight.
Kenta is running euphoric, thriving to protect the emperor when he is suddenly attacked from behind. The shockwave misses Kenta and he looks back to see another masked rebel, who seemed to be a male, with guns in hands. Kenta starts fighting the rebel, planning to finish this off quickly. The rebel didn't seem to have much experience and left many openings to Kenta, however, Kenta felt a bloodlust in the rebel's way of fighting, an uncontrollable rage that sought freedom. Kenta is almost winning the fight but he freezes as he finally notices the rebel's hair, white as snow, just like the woman he saw in the back of the crowd before chaos unleashed. The rebel takes the opportunity and attacks him when Kenta is distracted to finally get a hit. Kenta is now hurt in the arm, holding it further from the rebel, his mind still wondering.
Kenta looks back again and sees a dozen more rebels running to the emperor as the sounds of shots and blades hitting each other multiply when more of Solaris forces arrive to protect the old man. Kenta turns to the rebel again, determined to finish him off so he battles against the rebel, who is now more tired and injured. Kenta fights with precision and he finally gets a hit that makes the rebel fall. Kenta's blade cuts through the rebel's mask, not only taking it off but also leaving a huge cut from the left cheek that passed through the lips and landed just under the right eye. The rebel falls on his knees, his hand was full of blood as he touches his face, he looks up at Kenta in pain but his eyes full of hatred. Kenta's mouth opens in shock as he looks at the rebel now unmasked. He was nothing but a boy, he had a young face that didn't look older than fifteen but a hatred in his eyes that lasted for generations. Kenta feels like a monster, his heart aches for a bit however he can't do anything except for sparing the boy. He turns back, his face still in shock as he runs towards where the main fight was at.
In a rush, Kenta finally arrives and immediately starts fighting rebels. There were no more than forty rebels who fought about a hundred soldiers. The same device on the wrists of the rebels this morning was worn by the rebels from now, one of them being that tall man that caught Kenta's attention a few minutes ago. Among all the chaos, screams and blood being spilled in battle, a masculine, old but steady voice spoke louder than the soldiers' bullets and blades.
"Run back, I'll handle it myself now!"
As the man speaks, all the rebels press their wrist and vanish, leaving the man alone. Everyone is confused but then all of Solaris' forces quickly turn to the man and Kenta goes up front with guns in hand.
"Take off your mask and drop your weapons! It's over!"
The man takes off his mask to reveal a grin behind it. The old man looks up at Kenta and then to the side that was empty and laughed, like he knew something they didn't. Kenta gets enraged and talks in an indignant voice, his grip still strong in the gun.
"What the fuck is so funny?"
The rebel looks back at Kenta with a sense of control.
"You didn't even make sure if all of us were gone."
As the man speaks, the white haired woman appears from the side, throwing herself and her blade to the emperor. A flash of silver cuts through the air. Before Kenta could even move, the emperor's head rolls across the field, a fountain of blood leaving through the neck as the body collapses on the ground. Leorion stands there, his brain still hadn't processed what just happened, his clothes were red and the hand that held his father's arm was empty now.
Kenta was still standing with his mouth open as the soldiers, even with their minds still not figuring out what just happened, quickly captured the woman and took the device off her wrist. Kenta looks back at where the old man stood, now it only had the flames on the ground, the man had vanished while everyone's eyes turned to the emperor. Leorion is on his knees next to his father's decapitated head, crying. Kenta looks around to see hundreds of corpses lying on the ground and fire taking over the place, he looks at Leorion, who spoke with pure hatred in his voice, still looking at his father's head.
"They'll pay for this...all of them!"
He looks back to see Kenta standing, the flames between them obfuscating him.
"Are you still sympathetic with these demons?"
Says Leorion with red eyes and tears and blood all over his face. Kenta couldn't even respond, he just looked at the prince in disbelief, his eyes a bit watery. Kenta couldn't feel his body, it felt like he was watching it from the outside, he felt powerless. He looked around and realized he had shed more tears for a single person than he had for the other hundreds already dead before the emperor. He felt guilty for not saving the emperor but also for giving him more importance than the other people there, even though both opposed each other. Suddenly, he gets surprised by Unni putting her hand on his back.
"It wasn't your fault, Ken."
She says trying to reassure Kenta that he couldn't do anything, but her words were in vain. Kenta doesn't say a word and just keeps looking at an empty space, consumed by his thoughts. The regret he felt sooner this day and the spark of hatred he felt now fought each other inside Kenta, leaving him numb.
Far away from the chaos, the old man walked down an empty hall with poor lighting, the walls were full of paint that drew symbols of rebellion. He gets close to a big, grey and metallic door, where the white haired boy stood with stitches on his face, waiting.
"Where's Lyra, Bunthar?"
Says the boy. The man looked down at him and felt the stitches on the boy's face with his fingers.
"Don't worry, Zaer. We'll take your sister back from those parasites."
They both open the door and enter a big room, where all the rebels recovered from the battle, some screams being heard from afar from the poor medical procedures that were made because of the lack of conditions. They all looked at the leader and the ones who could, stood and everyone applauded him. He looks around and speaks confidently.
"Today marks the day in which Lytheria is reborn again from the ashes!"
He says, everyone cheers.
"We may have lost many lives in this battle...but we must suffer losses if we seek victory, brothers. And many lives will yet be lost in the future, but think of how your children will be spared after we've reached our goal...after we've conquered freedom. So we must keep fighting!"
Everyone screams and cheers Bunthar, he looks at Zaer, puts his hand on the boy’s white hair and speaks up again.
"You see little Zaer's face? The person responsible for this is someone we all know..."
Zaer is a bit uncomfortable being treated as a child and keeps quiet. Bunthar looks down, his voice spiteful.
"Kenta Bellmor...that monster not only did this but he also has been stopping our attempts for independence for years. So if you want to be free, then he shall no longer live."
The rebels cheer Bunthar again. He looks around at everyone and feels a sense of power and hope, two of the things he had weakened for Solaris today, and which he planned to take away completely.