Chapter 1 - STATERA

CHAPTER 1 - Balance

Date: June 15– Time: 08:45 Location: Oslo, Norway – Europa

“Come on sis, we’re going to be late again.” Small footsteps ran across the living room to the small corridor of the house. A cute, little girl at the age of six stared at her big brother with a small lunchbox with cartoon figures drawn on top in her hands. “We almost forgot my food!” she told him as she tried pushing her lunchbox into her school bag. He went outside while waiting for his sister to put on her shoes. They lived alone in a small and pleasant neighbourhood. Their parents had died in an unexplainable car crash when they were younger. The big brother had taken the father and mother role for her, dedicating his life just to raise her happy. He suddenly felt poking on his butt and looked down to see his sister watching him. “Helloooo mister slowpoke! What are you looking at?” He smiled at her and grabbed her nose. She pushed his hands away and grunted. “Ok, let’s go. Gimme your hand.” And so they started walking down to the bus station. The weather was warm and sunny. His sister Zara was screaming with excitement the moment she woke up. She just had to wear a skirt today and put on her heart shaped sun glasses. She was smiling so much her little teeth were showing. He laughed just looking at her and checked his watch to see the time then shook his wrist to hide it under his sleeve. He tried to see if the school bus was coming or not but it was nowhere to be seen. They arrived at the station and Zara immediately ran to greet one of her friends from school. They started giggling right away. He waved at the kid’s mother without making too much eye contact. They always asked the same boring questions. Nothing was ever new in the department of conversations with strangers. The bus finally arrived as it took a turn around a house a few blocks away and slowed down in front of them. Some of the children waiting at the station quickly ran into the bus while others had their parents help lift them in and seat them. Zara helped herself and took a seat next to the window and began hitting the glass to get her brother’s attention. “Yeah yeah, I see you.” he said to himself. She smiled and then mouthed watch this as she put her mouth against the window and started blowing. “No no no! There are germs! I’ve told you about this!” As the bus started to drive she waved goodbye and left her brother hanging with his head tilted. “Kids... Take care Zeph.” said the mother to Zara’s friend as she went her own way. Yeah, kids, he thought to himself. He began walking back towards his car, parked outside the house, to do some grocery shopping. Zephnox was free from work and planned to do the grocery today. He got inside his car, buckled up and turned slowly turned the ignition on. The car was a small, red hatchback with two doors. He didn’t quite like the red but it was so that Zara could identify the car easily in a populated area if she ever needed to. He was very careful with his sister and took every kind of precaution he could. Looking down the road to see if any cars were coming, he drove the car out of the parking spot and headed to the store.  

It took him an hour to do the groceries and come back. Everyone had rushed to do their grocery at the same time. He parked the car back into his spot and quickly took the groceries into the house. With four heavy bags to carry to the door, two in each hand, he realized he didn’t take his keys out of his pocket as he walked to the door. While trying to cheat and get the keys out of his pocket without letting go of the bags he fumbled and dropped the keys on the ground. Silently swearing at himself he let go of two of the bags and reached down to grab the keys. As he opened the door he tossed the keys on the floor and brought all the grocery bags inside while kicking the door shut behind him. The bags got piled on the kitchen table and each one sorted out. Zephnox took the bag of chips he had bought along with soda and took them to the living room to start watching a movie. He took his socks off and tossed them on the floor. The movie started and he grabbed his bag of chips and started munching loudly. Most places were either closed or were closing early today which meant Zara had a short day at school. The movie was intended to make the time go faster. The opening credits started to show and a slow orchestral piece started to play. It was a brand new action movie with one of his favourite actors starring in the lead role. It had been released a month ago but Zephnox never had the time to watch it until now. It was a Friday and next week was completely off due to a religious holiday. He was never a religious man himself but always liked the idea of time off. After losing both of his parents and having to do full time parenting for Zara during his own teenage years, Zephnox hated the idea that a supernatural entity might have to do his fate, therefore hating everything about religion. He believed himself to be a believer of science and facts. Whenever he heard of people who pray for someone’s well-being during a time of illness, he would always smirk. Asking an all powerful entity to heal the sick, what a load of bullshit, he always thought. Zephnox leaned forward towards the coffee table and took the remote control to increase the volume of the movie. He checked his watch just to make sure the movie would finish before having to pick up Zara. Everything was under control.

Everything was not under control as Zephnox got a call from the bus driver. He quickly realized that the movie he had rented was the extended version which was twenty minutes longer than the original two hours he had calculated with. He quickly got up to answer the phone while searching for his socks. The bus drivers voice began with an angry tone. “Where the hell are you?” he said. “Sorry, sorry. I was caught up with something and it took me longer than I thought.” He replied sincerely. “Well start running. I’ve already been waiting for 10 minutes with your little girl but I’ve got my own schedule to keep up with!” “I’ll be right there, I live two minutes away from the stop.” “Be here in one.” The driver ended the call and Zephnox immediately started putting on his shoes before his pants were even completely up. Once he was ready he bolted out of the house without locking the front door and ran towards the station. He saw her outline immediately. Short girl in a cute skirt and soon enough he could see her little face behind her heart shaped sun glasses. The driver saw him and gave a thumbs-up and drove away. Zara started walking towards him as he slowed down and came to a halt as they met. “Why are you late?” she immediately asked with a confused expression. “Did you sleep? Were you outside? Were you working? Were you eating?” she continued in quick procession. “Calm down you little midget, I’m only human. Even brothers make mistakes, ok?” he assured her. She made her evil face as she lowered her eyebrows as much as possible and puckered her lips. “You know you only look cuter when you do that. I have no idea why you think that’s your evil face.” he jested, expecting a small jab from her. She huffed and started marching towards the house after handing her school-bag to her brother. “Lead the way ma’am.” He slightly bowed to his little sister and walked behind her, knowing she was a little irritated and that she would punch his leg if he started walking beside her. “So how was school today? Did you have fun?” he asked, hoping he could get her to think of something else. She turned to look at him with her evil face and then looked away. “It was ok.” she answered simply. “Just ok?” “Yes, just ok” “Did your friends and teachers like your glasses?” he asked politely. She glanced before replying. “They laughed. They said my glasses looked funny and that I looked like a funny little girl.” Zara always took things the wrong way and got irritated at random things but never too seriously. “Oh come on, they were just jealous. Plus they probably meant everything they said in a good way.” “I don’t look funny. I saw a funny man once. He was funny because he had a big nose and a big moustache and big ears. He was funny.” she stated with a matter-of-fact tone. “You don’t need to have a funny face. You could have funny clothes too to make you look funny.” “Are you saying my glasses look funny too?” “I’m saying your glasses look adorable.”

            They arrived at the door but something was wrong, it was slightly open. He slowly pushed the door open while holding Zara back. “What’s wrong?” she asked suspiciously. “I didn’t lock the door when I went to get you... but I remember that I at least closed it.” He walked in slowly and looked around. “Hello?” He began to examine the short corridor leading up to the stairs and living room, meanwhile trying to hear if anyone was there. There was no sound besides Zara’s heavy breathing. “Maybe it was nothing.” he assured himself as he turned to Zara. “Come on, let’s take your shoes off.” Zephnox went down on one knee to take of Zara’s shoes. She rested her hands on his shoulders as he lifted one foot after another as her brother took off her shoes. Once he was finished he looked at his little sister and kissed her cheek. But there was still something wrong. She looked petrified and was looking directly past him. Neither of them moved. Zephnox could hear her heart beat faster and faster. It was obvious there was a stranger in their house. The doorway into the living room was close. Zephnox thought of a plan to get her out of harm’s way. He took a deep breath and set in motion, immediately grabbing Zara close to his chest and throwing himself on his back into the living room. “Go go go!” he insisted as she climbed off him and went straight into the kitchen. He stood up as the stranger, equipped with a black armoured uniform, a mask and a silenced gun, looked at him. His heart raced with adrenaline and fear. A shot was fired just as he started running into the kitchen. The man followed slowly as he aimed his weapon. Zara was hiding inside a small cupboard. Zephnox waited at the other side of a small table which was placed right next to the door. As soon as he saw the weapon he flipped the table. The time it took for Zephnox to react, the table hit the man’s arm, causing him to misfire at the wall. Zara screamed in terror as her brother launched himself at their assailant through the small gap between the table and the doorway into the kitchen. They toppled over back into the living room. The man was up before Zephnox and came at him with a punch, briefly dazing him as he fell to the floor. He had lost his gun after Zephnox had jumped on him but he didn’t require it to do his job. Walking up to the stunned brother, he grabbed hold of his neck and started adding pressure onto his throat. Zephnox was struggling for air as he could still hear the screams of his little sister. He tried to grab hold of the man, who seemed to be much stronger than he was, but his own strength was wailing. The man showed no mercy in his eyes as he attempted to strangle him. The screaming was fading on and off. His head was pounding from lack of oxygen. The screaming came back, suddenly increasing in volume. Zara had taken a knife from the kitchen and ran to her brother’s rescue. The man looked back and extended his arm out to Zara before she could reach him with the knife. He pushed her, causing her to fall on her back, but she wasn’t done. Out of rage, she threw the blade towards his back, luckily striking him a bit before the blade dropped on the ground with some blood on its tip. He flinched and angrily stood up to face the little girl. Zephnox’s lungs fought to gain back oxygen while he tried to grab hold of his attacker. Zara screamed again and fled into the kitchen. The man looked down at the knife and picked it up. Zephnox could hear that his sister had locked herself in a cupboard again. “Don’t. Please don’t hurt her.” He pleaded with exhaustion. “Don’t you fucking hurt her!” The man ignored him as he walked into the kitchen. Zephnox crawled after him as his head continued to ache and was still weak. He could hear banging on the cupboard door. Tears were running down his cheeks as he feared for the worst. He pushed himself up onto his feet by balancing himself towards the wall. The table was no longer blocking the doorway as it was pushed aside. He entered the kitchen where the man had just taken Zara out of her hiding place. “Let her go!” he roared. He stumbled towards the man ready to attack him but received a backhand fist to his nose. The pain in his head doubled as he collapsed onto the ground once again. Zara’s screams were ever louder as she became cornered. The pain and screaming was dazing him as he felt helpless. Blood was flowing down his nose. He heard some muttering from the man as he towered over Zara. He knelt down and held her against the corner with one arm as he held the knife in the other. The muttering continued. “Zephy!” she cried. “Help me! Zeph!” He looked and reached a hand but his vision had blurred. He saw a quick and small motion from the man. A last scream. A short cry. The muttering had stopped. Tears filled his eyes before dripping on the floor, making the only sound in the room. He tried to make sense of it all. “What did you do?” he asked. “What did you do?” The silence was unbearable. He could hear the man stand up and walk towards him. Zephnox wiped his eyes with his sleeves. He caught a glimpse of Zara in the corner. There was so much red. Her head was tilted, leaning towards the wall. The muttering started again. He didn’t understand the language. “Who are you? Why are you doing this?” Before his questions could be answered the man punched the blade into Zephnox’s heart. It was cold all of a sudden. The knife was pulled out fast but he could feel every inch of the blade as if it was still there. It left a stinging and burning sensation. His whole world had collapsed in a matter of seconds. It was quiet. His vision blurred again but it didn’t matter as his eyes began to close. It was too quiet, like no one had heard the commotion. Thoughts of images since the morning appeared inside his head, fast forwarding to this moment. Zara’s smile, her voice and her little fingers poking his thighs when she got irritated, were suddenly gone. Darkness clouded his sight as he finally let go, exhaling his last breath.

His fingers twitched first and then his eyes flickered. They slowly opened followed by a huge gasp of air as Zeph woke up. His head was in pain, as if someone had been hitting it for hours. He thought he was dead but his sight ruled it out. He was back in the kitchen and while looking around he caught sight of Zara’s body. His cheeks began to tremble uncontrollably and tears started rolling down them again. Crawling over to her body, Zephnox dragged himself to her, leaving a wide blood trail behind him. “Zara?” he whimpered as he got nearer. “Zara? Do you hear me? Zara?”  As he approached her body, he gently grabbed her foot, helplessly shaking it to wake her up. His tears didn’t want to end as they rolled evermore. He kissed her feet and managed to make himself sit beside her as he carefully worked his way next to her body. Her head rested on his lap now as he gently stroked her hair, her face lifeless and dry. It escaped every emotion that it would have been filled with at this hour. School was finished early so she could have been playing with her friends but instead her entire future was cancelled and he had no clue why. He randomly studied the blood trail he had made crawling to her. There was an eerie silence in the house. The last tear had now fallen as the rest had dried out. There was no focus in his eyes as he wondered off into his mind, entering an absolute nothingness. He didn’t know what to think of.

Time passed away ever so fast while blankly staring at the bloody kitchen tiles. For a moment his mind was so lost that he became unaware of where he was and what had happened. Unfortunately he snapped back to reality and met grief once more. The heaviness inside him ceased to burden him as his soul rejected any kind of emotion. He breathed slowly and deeply as he stared at Zara without any defining emotions. He mustered a part of his remaining energy for a few last words… “I love you Zara.” He lifted her body and walked into the living room. He headed to the couch and comfortably laid his sister for her to rest. It was not going to be her last resting place but for now it was better than the kitchen floor. What was next on the agenda was unknown as he aimlessly walked to the nearest drawer and searched for a hidden pack of cigarettes. He took one out and lit it as he stepped outside the house. The end lit up in a strong fiery orange. Smoke exited out his nose as he looked up and down the street. Life everywhere continued. Only his life had changed the last few minutes.

After a couple of long puffs the cigarette was finished and was thrown to the ground and stomped on. He buried his face into the palm of his hands and pushed hard and after a while later let them fall to his sides. “What the fuck!” he roared. A woman down the street walking the other way jumped, blankly stared at him then hurried off. “What do I do?” Before walking back inside he wanted one last cigarette. Realizing he had only taken one with him, after checking his pockets and finding nothing, he walked inside. The door to the living room was suspiciously closed. He didn’t remember closing it behind him. He hesitated before opening it. Grasping the handle, he opened the door as slow as he could but saw something out of the ordinary and immediately slammed the door open. What he saw was not only out of the ordinary but was also purely and completely out of this world. There was something standing next to Zara’s body. It was quite tall, wearing a cloak of darkness itself. Before Zephnox could do anything, it entered Zara’s body. He froze, not understanding what just went on. After a matter of seconds it came back out again like smoke, building itself to the tall figure it was. A light blue figure followed it. It was much smaller that the darker thing. After seeing the blue smoke build itself to a body, he realized he was looking at the soul of his sister. She smiled at him. “I love you too Zeph.” She said in a hallowed voice. His eyes began to water once more that day as he fell to his knees in disbelief and sorrow, but somewhere he felt happiness in him. The dark figure didn’t show its face to him. It almost even didn’t acknowledge him. As it laid its hand onto Zara’s shoulder she started to disappear but he wanted to talk to her. He quickly stood up and jogged the small space between them. As he reached out his hand the dark figure turned to face him with threatening speed, revealing his face but Zephnox didn’t have time to really look at it as a force pushed him off his feet and away. The wall in the hallway stopped Zephnox and his feet met the ground again but he collapsed completely to the floor as the air was pushed out of his lungs from the impact. Blood was coming out of his mouth and nose. He looked up at the dark figure. In the blink of an eye it was upon him, staring down with its indescribable visage. He tried to throw a punch but it passed through its body without causing any harm. “Don’t fight.” It said with what sounded like the voices of a million people echoing in its lungs. “You are awaited.” “What the fuck?” Zephnox confusedly replied. “The resurrection process has activated?” it asked itself. “Yes. Then it is done. You are the final one.” “What?” “Does not matter. You must die again. You are too weak. This body is still human. You must ascend.” The dark figure placed its palm on his head. A blast of darkness shot through his head. Zephnox collapsed one last time onto the floor, breathless, unmoving. The darkness slowly surrounded his body, and then the rooms inside the house. Soon it engulfed the entire house and in a matter of seconds the house crumbled to the ground leaving only dust in its surrounding.

Location: Capitol, Empyrean

The fire blurred the transparent air. The hand, engulfed in flame was cupped with the other. He drew them closer to his unshaven face and placed them gently on his cheeks. Hair burned off in faded smoke while the skin stayed unharmed, but clean and smooth. His reflection off the mirror saddened him with the realization of his late wife's memorial day. He faced the kind sized bed, the head decorated with a stone platform engraved in gold decorations. The covers began to make themselves, tucking at the edges of the mattress, as he gave a wave with his hand. A speckle of light fought through the gaps of the curtains from the balcony opening. Another wave of the hand drew the curtains to the side and the sun revealed his figure in the warm sunlight. He walked out into the fresh air and took in a deep breath. Someone knocked on the door. ”Come in,” he said as he walked back inside but kept looking outside. A man entered but stayed near the entrance. ”Commander. the ceremony will start once you arrive,” he said. ”Cancel it,” he replied tiresomely. ”She's dead and I've had enough of these damned memorials.” ”You're sure?” the figure asked. He turned to face the man inside his bedroom. His face in shadow with the light behind him. He crossed his arms behind his back. He no longer felt sad. Instead he felt something different. Something he couldn't yet define. ”From this day forth, the ‘Day of Tasia’ will no longer be celebrated. Cease all events. I will not be reminded of failure and treachery for the rest of my life.” The person was startled at first but came to understanding. ”What of the others sir?” he asked curiously. ”What others?” ”Your children sir. Will they not oppose?” ”That is between me and them.” ”Of course sir. I only meant to help” ”Noted. You may leave.” The man nodded and exited the room. Arcadeus slowly walked out to his balcony, overlooking the entire city, and gazed upon the beautiful sunrise. From this day forth, things were going to change. Sorrow would be replaced by glory. A new war was to be prepared for.

”Gallus, father is waiting.” He walked into the library office where he found his younger brother. Gallus was reading a book among piled ancient books and journals all illuminated by a single candle light. He held up two fingers, asking for a moment longer. Marceus slowly walked over to his brother’s side and put a hand on his shoulder. They were both handsome men who were battle-born. Gallus had short blond hair that stood up in the middle that gave him a charismatic look. Marceus on the other hand had taken his fathers’ dark brown hair, which was slightly longer than Gallus’. He noticed the book Gallus was reading was a book about fire. “Are you studying?” Marceus asked calmly. Gallus looked at him and back at the page he was reading from. “Yeah, studying the element of fire. Father knows how to control it perfectly but he doesn’t have the time to teach it to me properly. “You know why.” he remarked. Gallus shrugged. “Of course. Our individual understanding is unique, with the methods in which we use them, which defines its strength and power.” He looked back at his older brother. “I know”. Marceus silently backed up to the door and placed his hand on the door knob. “Put that at rest for now. The council should be ready by now.” With the wave of a finger the candle fire went out and Gallus stood up. “After you.”

The red marble council hall was lit up by torches with a warm eternal fire. Eighteen men were sitting at a long rectangular table made of polished dark brown wood. Two seats were available, reserved for the Commander’s sons. The men were wearing black robes with leather shoulders and long, flat collars reaching the end of the neckline. Footsteps echoed the silent room as Marceus and Gallus walked in. No one acknowledged their entrance. As they took their seats at the end of the table, furthest away from the Commander who was sitting at the head of the table, the session had begun. “What is about to be said within these walls will not be made public for some time,” he began. “As you all know well, we have a population increase and many of us live for generations.” He took a few seconds to study his council members. The sound of the burning torches was peaceful and calming. Everyone eagerly waited for him to continue. “It is time we broadened our borders for our people, explored new lands… and old.” The men in the robes knew what this meant and were startled by the idea. Marceus smiled as he watched the council, murmuring to each other in silent whispers. “Are you sure about this Arcadeus?” asked a man with short brown hair that glistened from the torch fire. He had light brown eyes, surrounded by perfectly tanned skin, an elegant nose and thick lips. “I am quite sure Lucifer,” replied the Commander. “I have planned of this for years. Now is the time to do it.” Marceus couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “But expanding to the eastern continents leads to war. Last time we faced those people, they slaughtered us.” said Lucifer. “And we slaughtered them. What is your point?” “Do you really believe that we are we ready?” “Yes.” Lucifer had an unsure look. There was a slight pause. Marceus leaned slightly onto the table. “You think we aren’t ready dear Lucifer?” he asked across the hall. Lucifer turned his gaze upon Marceus. “That’s the question isn’t it Marceus. I know that the council members and those who work for the council are indeed ready. But the rest of the army? We still have people flying about like they’ve just gotten their powers. Are we sure we have the discipline to start a war with people who have experience with their own weapons?” “You are quite the pessimist Lucifer. We are Gods. We can handle them, especially after all these years.” said Marceus. “Demigods boy… You have no idea what an actual God is. And living an almost eternal lifestyle doesn’t mean you are immortal. We cannot have any mistakes.” Lucifer stared directly into Marceus’s eyes who stared back and yet another moment of silence came by. Gallus watched his brother and Lucifer slowly settle down. “I’m sure my father picked his timing perfectly for this matter.” He said. Everyone now turned to look at Gallus. “I’m sure he did, but we need reassurances of that.” Lucifer snapped. “And you will have those reassurances.” replied Arcadeus after being silent for some time. “But if you remember from the first war, we did beat the humans on multiple occasions when we didn’t even quite understand our powers. Even if some of us are still trying to master our gifts, we have an advantage over them.” “That’s if the humans haven’t developed much since we last saw them.” “That won’t be a problem.” “Let us hope not.” said Lucifer through clenched teeth. “No matter what kind of weapons they have since created, we are their superiors. I won’t even let you ponder the damage we could deal because there are facts at hand that need to be acknowledged. We have an army with tremendous power beyond their recognition and even while we are outnumbered we can still overwhelm our enemy. This war will be a simple walk in the park.” assured Arcadeus. “Nero and Otho have already been briefed before on this situation.” Two men sitting on his right nodded gracefully. “The rest of you will hear from me soon on your specific orders. Nero and Otho will command their battalions into certain cities to cause only havoc. They will be focusing on the German, Italian, French and Spanish regions of Europa. I will take my battalions and start in the Scandinavian regions, beginning with Denmark.” “What of us father?” asked Marceus. “You and Gallus will be my personal guards and will attend to orders I give you.” “We don’t have anyone at our disposal?” Marceus asked again but with an irritated tone. “You have an important duty to protect me so that I may command my army.” “But…” “I know of your hunger for power Marceus. I am very well aware of it. But I am sure that you will gladly receive the orders I give you.” Arcadeus continued calmly.  “What kind of orders?” Marceus continued to ask. “Orders.” Arcadeus said but with a firmer tone. Marceus backed off as he began to slouch on his chair. “Don’t go on to think they will be dull. This will be a war after all. Your hands will shed blood at some point.” Marceus began to laugh in a manic way but kept it short. “Yes father.” Arcadeus then looked at his younger son. “Same goes to you Gallus.” He said, nodding at him. “Yes father.” replied Gallus without questioning like his brother. Arcadeus stood up and the rest followed. “You will all hear from me soon. Dismissed.” The council members began to disperse through the giant door that led into a larger hallway where everyone went their own way.

Gallus and Marceus walked ahead of the group and into the city streets. People were out enjoying the weather and others were making a living selling food and various trinkets. Marceus took a green apple from a counter and flicked a coin at the seller. The man looked at the coin and raised his eyebrows. “Keep the change.” said Marceus. “Thank you sir.” replied the man as the brothers continued down the street, which became narrow and dusty as Marceus picked an uncommon path into a darker side of town. Gallus started to wonder where they were headed. Stone buildings surrounded them, spider webs blocking smaller gaps between houses, and some doors were barred with planks. “Give us some light will you brother?” asked Marceus as he quickly headed deeper into the darkness. Gallus continued to look around as he summoned a little orb of light that hovered around him. The dust on some parts of the buildings was thick which irritated him. Checking to see if his brother was watching him, he cast a weak flame upon the dust, burning it and cleaning the area. He smiled at his own work and hurried behind his brother. They kept walking deeper and deeper until they saw red symbols on the walls. Gallus stopped because he had seen them before. “Why are we in vampire territory?” he questioned. Marceus stopped a few meters ahead of him. He only briefly turned to look at Gallus but waved his hand as he continued walking. Gallus carefully studied their surroundings as he checked his back and above them. He hated vampires but Marceus hated them more. He didn’t understand why he was taking them so deep into their territory. Marceus finally stopped in front of a door. He looked at Gallus and smiled. “We’ll be out of here before you know it. Just need to talk to a couple of people real fast.” He assured his younger brother. He turned the door handle and slowly pushed it open.

The room was dull and smelled of freshly opened wine but also with sudden stench of rotting corpses which Gallus immediately cloaked his face from. He summoned the orb of light back into his hand and extinguished it. The brothers became shadows in the dark room. Marceus walked into the first and biggest room which happened to be a dining room. There was a generic chandelier hanging above an oval dining table with four chairs. Blood spatters were everywhere and some there was a fresh pool coming from inside another room that had found its way under the door into the dining room. Gallus had just walked in and stood next to Marceus as they both looked around. “What are we…” began Gallus but he was shushed as Marceus gestured him to be silent. Something moved in the next room where the blood was coming from. Gallus began to take a step closer but Marceus pushed him back. He raised his left arm and opened his hand, aiming his palm at the door. Gallus took a step back as he knew what his brother was about to do. A small ball of fire shot from the palm of Marceus’s hands and went straight through the door. The ball of fire didn’t extinguish however as it hit a wall and bounced on the floor, still aflame. They heard a frightened voice scream in terror. Marceus still had his palm open but moved his arm towards where the voice originated from. The ball of fire rolled to where Marceus commanded it. When the screaming became louder, Marceus clenched his hand into a fist. His ball of fire had erupted into an explosion, setting everything briefly on fire before completely extinguishing. It was silent for a moment but after an awaited ‘thud’ the brothers walked into the room. A man wearing a brown cloak was unconscious on the floor. Marceus grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall, making him sit. He slapped the man’s face. Gallus leaned on a tall bookshelf that had greyed out from all the dust. He crossed his arms and lifted his foot to lean it back. He watched Marceus as his brother searched the vampire. He had nothing on him. Marceus brushed his hands on the man’s cloak to get the dirt off. “Ok seriously, what are we doing here?” asked Gallus, finally happy that he could ask without getting interrupted. “We are cleaning up.” Gallus huffed but immediately stayed quiet. They both felt a new presence in the area as Gallus put a finger to his lips to signal Marceus to be silent. A thick echoing voice filled the silence. ”Evening gentlemen.” The brothers looked into the dining room where three cloaked and hooded men stood. ”Evening.” replied Marceus happily. The one who spoke took a step forward in front of the other two. ”You didn't quite kill him, why?” he asked. Gallus looked at the half-dead vampire in the room and back at the others. Marceus smiled and took a step forward as well. ”I wanted to ask questions later but it seems that won't be necessary anymore seeing as you're here.” he smirked. The vampire's eyes darkened as he clenched his fists. ”What is it you want Marceus?” he blurted. ”A war is coming, to rid the minority off the skin of this world. You just happen to be a part of that group.” ”And tell me how vampires are inferior.” The vampires started to show hostility. ”You are enemies to all. You need blood to survive. I have blood as does my brother and pretty much every living being on this earth.” Marceus clearly stated. ”Tell me what I don't know.” barked the vampire. ”Well if we look at the food chain, yours in particular, I'm underneath you. You are my predator. That puts me at risk. Therefore, I will hunt all of you down, with a little side help.” He could feel their undead hearts beating faster. No one continued the conversation and there was a brief pause. Marceus glanced over at his brother and smiled.

The opportunity was there and the vampires commenced the attack. The one in front punched Marceus which knocked him all the way to the wall. The other two ran towards Gallus but he acted quickly and punched the closest one out of his way and grabbed the other and kicked him towards the dining table. Marceus was being beaten down, taking heavy punches to the face. He was then grabbed by his ankles and with immense strength, thrown towards Gallus who had just taken a punch. The two collided but Gallus wasn't knocked off his feet. Marceus landed sideways on the floor. Gallus stepped over his brother and brought his arms up, blocking an incoming fist and sending one back. His opponent took the punch but retaliated immediately with two fast punches to the gut and head. The vampire that had been kicked towards the table had recovered onto his feet and was beating down Marceus. The leader took hold of Gallus's arms from behind and pulled them back allowing the other vampire to repeatedly throw jabs at Gallus.

Marceus blocked a kick directed at his head with his arm and rolled away to safety to stand up. His attacker followed up, grabbing Marceus by the shoulders before he could fully stand up, and lifted him. Marceus opened his hands and forced them onto the vampire’s chest. A fiery explosion erupted from his palms, pushing Marceus back on to the wall and the vampire shooting across the room. With a great thud he hit the opposite wall but once he landed he turned to bulky ash.

The two attacking Gallus stared in disbelief for their comrade's death. Gallus brought his foot up, hitting the groin of the vampire in front of him. Then with his head he struck the nose of the one behind him, freeing himself of the twisted grip and kicking him in the knee, temporarily crippling the vampire. Marceus grabbed him from the back and applied the same thing the vampire had done to his brother. Gallus walked up to him and with a powerful uppercut, he pushed his fist inside his abdomen and up into the rib-cage. He could feel the heart pumping fast as he grabbed onto it. He swiftly pulled it out and threw it on the floor as Marceus let go of his submission grip. The remaining vampire was kneeling on the floor, trying to recover from the low blow. ”This is your position in society!” Marceus announced with open arms. Gallus wiped off blood from his lip with the back of his hands. Marceus pulled the vampire's hair and forced him to look at his face. ”What do you want?” the vampire pleaded. ”I want to kill you,” Marceus replied. ”But by you I mean all of you. I want vampires gone. Forever. Starting with you lot.” He punched the vampire and let him fall to the ground. He rested his foot on the side of his head and began putting pressure on it. ”So who is he? Where is he?” he asked calmly. The vampire looked everywhere for help. ”WHERE IS HE!?” “Who?” The vampire started tearing up as he knew his life was coming to an end. “Your leader! Where is he!?” Gallus stood still, carefully watching the scene unfold into something terrible. “We have no leader!” “You lie!” “I swear!” “I have studied you for centuries! I know you come from somewhere. And I know you have a leader. So don’t give me that bullshit!” “Bullshit? You know what’s bullshit?” The vampire suddenly started to smile. “The fact that you think you can take us on. The two of you hardly survived the three of us. What makes you think you can take on every one of us?” “We are Demigods!” “You are, but that doesn’t change what happened here. One more of us and it would have been me with my foot on your face!” “This conversation is leading nowhere.” Marceus put more pressure onto the skull of the vampire. Gallus looked away as soon as he heard the crack, which was followed by an even more unpleasant sound. “If he doesn’t know the next bunch will. We're done here...” “I sure hope so Marceus. What the fuck.” Gallus followed his brother out of the place, stepping over old and new corpses, back into the common streets.

As the brothers stepped outside into the dusty streets, Gallus understood why they had marked this place as their territory. The buildings were close enough to each other that the sun couldn’t get through to the streets. The vampires were free to roam the area during the day without a problem. “Well, I’m heading home,” said Marceus. “Are you going to come with or do you have other plans?” “Leaving the hunt for another day already?” replied Gallus. “Look. You know why I do this. I don’t want to repeat it. Father has his war, I have my own. You and Alexis are the ones that have let go of the past.” “We didn’t let go of the past brother. We just aren’t living in it like you and father.” “That’s called letting go!” barked Marceus. Gallus wanted to reply calmly but the day’s events were affecting his nice side. “No it’s not!” Gallus’s voice boomed through the empty streets, leaving Marceus surprised. “I loved our little brother just as much as you. But to what end must I constantly grieve for him when I must continue with my own life? It has been years since the vampires killed him! Father already went on a murderous rampage but it doesn’t lead anywhere. Now we’re living in peace and busy ruling our empire. Why must I be forced to think back at those horrible times? So that I can constantly refuel my anger? So that when the time comes I can use that rage and pummel down our enemies? When the time does come, believe me brother, I will unleash hell upon our enemies. But until that time, do NOT haunt me with the past.” Marceus was at a loss for words. “I don’t need to be told to remember! What I am today is a result of the past, of what happened to us. I should have been an old man by now! My ordinary life stripped from me! I don’t even have my own family. No one I can love. No one I can protect.” A single tear ran from the edge of his eye but Gallus quickly brushed it away. “Gallus...” “If you need someone by your side to fight some filthy race, I will be by your side. But tell me your plans instead of pushing me right into the middle of them. I will die for you Marceus. But I will die by my will. Not yours.” Marceus felt a sense of respect grow inside of him for his brother. Gallus had the face of sadness and anger, each emotion fighting the other to show up as a physical expression. His brother patted him on the shoulder. “I was at fault to not say where we were going and what we were going to do. You had the right to know. I just thought that it would be a surprise.” said Marceus, relaxed but proud. “Surprise? Yeah it was a surprise Marceus. A fucking bad one. It’s not like it was a birthday party or something.” “Well no, but I thought that you wouldn’t mind killing a couple of vampires.” “I don’t. But I didn’t wake up today thinking to myself, ‘hey, I really want to kill some vampires today’.” “Would have been delightful if you did though!” replied Marceus in an amused way. Gallus brushed away his brothers’ hand from his shoulder. “Let’s go home. I need some fresh air.” “We’re already outside!” said Marceus after his brother who already started walking away. “Marceus, the air here stinks of fucking dead shit and living dead shit.” “I saw what you did there.”

The brothers walked up to the palace gate where two giants were holding guard. Bulgemir and Enceladus, both Demigod giants reaching a height of three meters, looked down upon them as they approached. They were both wearing palace armour, light to wear and incredibly difficult to cut through with dark grey playing with gold trimmed outlines. The armour covered most of the body except the arms, exposing their severely muscular biceps. The gates were closed but as Marceus gave the signal the giants pushed them open. They nodded gracefully as the brothers passed and closed the gates behind them. “I’ll head back to the library to study.” said Gallus as he quickly parted ways with Marceus, who didn’t say anything in reply. As he entered the palace he immediately embraced the slight coldness emitting from the stone walls and then someone standing halfway at the stairs caught his eye. “Marceus, where have you been?” asked Arcadeus with his powerful voice. “Here and there. Where have you been?” replied Marceus delightfully. “You reek of vampire. What have you done now?” “Not much. But we might need to update our population status.” “Amusing. But a reminder, that we don’t count the vampire population among ours.” “I know father. I was just trying to get you to smile. You need it sometimes. Even if it’s not real.” He smiled happily at Arcadeus who didn’t move a single facial muscle. “Quit worrying about me and start worrying about yourself. Tell me what you’ve done.” “Alright. We went down to the vampire sector. Thought maybe we could find a couple, which we did, and we tried to talk to them.” “And?” “And things didn’t go so well. One of them scared us so we killed him. Then three others came by and tried to threaten us but that didn’t go so well either.” “What was the point of all of this?” “I’m still trying to make sense of what kind of leader they have so I tried to ask them.” “Any updates on the matter then?” “Unfortunately not. However, I won’t stop until I do.” “Marceus, we’ve talked about this before and I hate to repeat myself, especially now. I have just declared war upon the east and here you are trying to give our neutral enemies a reason to become hostile once more.” stated Arcadeus. “You’ll thank me once I get rid of them.” “They are not a problem at this moment.” “They’ve always been a problem.” Marceus tensed up. “Not one that needs to be dealt at this very moment.” “What is it you are afraid of father? If I get the chance I could wipe out their race before you even start your war.” “Highly unlikely.” Arcadeus waved his hand as if he was physically ridding the idea. “Why so? They must have some kind of leadership. They couldn’t all be scavengers or whatever. What is their purpose?” “You’re asking a lot of questions Marceus and they’re all good questions but you’re asking them to the wrong person.” Arcadeus lightly grasped his son by the shoulders in a way of comfort. “Either end this quest of yours or tread lightly, very lightly. When I call upon you I need you to stand by my side.” “Of course.” Marceus simply replied. “Good. By the way, Lucifer seems to have recently come across some vital information. Speak with him and return to me.” Arcadeus began walking upstairs, leaving Marceus to his own freedom. He thought to himself for a moment before walking down the stairs and out the Palace gates. He headed towards Lucifer’s headquarters. His father had said that he was asking questions to the wrong person. Lucifer might be the right person if not a person who might have ties to the right people.

Lucifer’s headquarters had a simple yet stunning design of black and white buildings with a tower in the centre housing its master. The grass between the buildings was trimmed perfectly with white gravel paths. The place had a very strict feeling yet soothing as it was actually a hospital. Demigods with healing abilities spend their time in this area healing the wounded or sick. The Demigods may be immortal but sickness still gets into their systems. Marceus walked to the tower and pushed open its door. There was a small lobby on the first floor. Then there was a long staircase leading to the top where Lucifer was. There was no one behind the lobby desk but it didn’t matter for Marceus. He looked at the stairs and felt a huge weight pull him down. He couldn’t be bothered with stairs at this hour. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a while. He opened his hands and faced his palms towards the floor. His hands started warming up as they quickly conjured fire. The fire was small in its size but its power was enormous, enough to levitate Marceus a few inches off the ground. He smirked as his little experiment worked. He had been working on it for years, only recently getting the hand of it and controlling it. As he increased the power, he started his flight up the stairs. Normally taking a good minute or two walking up, Marceus used only a few seconds this time.

As he entered Lucifer’s study he was greeted by the vast city from the large windows surrounding half the room. He slowly walked to one left corner of the window and gazed outside. Marceus turned around as soon as he heard footsteps drawing nearer and saw Lucifer. “Where were you?” he asked as Lucifer took his seat behind a beautiful white, marble desk, without greeting Marceus. “I was here.” he simply replied. Marceus raised a curious eyebrow. “I didn’t know there were other rooms in your office. “There aren’t.” “Well then. Father says you have something of importance. What is it?” “Ah, he couldn’t be bothered to explain it to you? Did he have more important matters at hand?” Lucifer crossed his hands together as he looked at Marceus. “The tone, Lucifer, watch it. Just tell me what it is.” “You make it sound like it’s a physical object. It’s just information.” “About what?” “About the Holy. The real ones at the other side.” “That’s never good. Although they haven’t really done much lately other than whisper, as you put it.” “Yes, the whispering. It has stopped.” “What’s stopped?” Marceus interrupted. “Let me finish. If you’re going to interrupt me after every sentence then this is going to be a long talk isn’t it?” Marceus sat down on a chair in front of him and raised an open hand pointing at Lucifer, gesturing that he can speak. “The Angels are not whispering anymore. They’re talking more openly now, with louder voices.” He waited for Marceus to say something but he just blankly looked at him. “They seem to think that it is time to be involved now, which is about damn time if you ask me. Those passive power mongrels don’t do anything but sit around. Although I don’t like that they are getting involved. Sure it’s a big change but it doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.” “So what are they saying?” Marceus asked as he rested one leg over the other. “Balance, is the key word that is being pushed around.” “Balance? Between what exactly?” “Well that’s the thing isn’t it? Demigods were never a part of the plan on this realm. It was always supposed to be generations of mortal animals just living their lives. But after that second big bang, as people call it, things changed and here we are.” “So they want us gone?” “Not necessarily.” “Ok…” “They realize that we cannot co-exist with the humans. One of us has to go.” “Well then they can just wait until the end of the war. Father would make sure that every human dies.” “And what about the ones that live among us? The ones who do all the petty work.” “They’ve been forgiven. You know this Lucifer, without them our entire system would collapse. Can you imagine telling a Demigod to clean the bathroom? That would not only be bizarre but a bit hilarious.” “And so we’ve enslaved them to do…” “Not enslaved.” Marceus cut it. “They live happy lives. We keep them safe. It’s not like we torture them or anything. They live peacefully among us. Plus, the human population is great enough for them to rise in ranks. Not every Demigod makes a good tactician or businessman. Having power isn’t enough. One must have the brains as well.” “That coming from you.” “Hey, easy there. I’ve accomplished a lot of things.” “And so you have. Now back to the matter at hand. They won’t be waiting for Arcadeus’ war to find out who will be the victor because they’re in favour of their own creations, the mortals.” “Oh that’s good. And what could the Angels do exactly to help out mankind?” “Well there are various things that could happen. We could be hit by never ending tsunami’s and hurricanes as well as other natural disasters. But that tends to change the earth’s nature. What they could also do is create a plague but that can leave a nasty residue.” “Are you sure they would care that much about the after-effects?” “Of course. This earth is destined to live on for another million years or more.” “Ok then, what do you assume it’ll be?” “I’m not certain. God sent three prophets once but they didn’t exactly have the necessary powers to stop entire armies. They were more like advisors. So I’m still in the dark.” Marceus slowly rose up from his seat. “Man, you have some unique God Particles in you, having ears in Heaven and shit... But alright, so beware the Holy then?” “We’re bound to know what it is soon. They didn’t seem like they were going to wait with whatever it was.” Marceus looked at Lucifer and beyond him towards the city. Lucifer studied him as neither of them said a word. “Lucifer...” said Marceus with a soft tone. “Yes?” “Whatever it is. We’ll survive it right?” he looked back at Lucifer and saw a man who seemed like he was afraid for the first time. Lucifer tried to hide his emotions and smirked. “We are Demigods. We’ll find a way of battling whatever they intend to throw at us.” Marceus nodded. “Good answer.” Marceus headed towards the doorway. Midway out the room he turned to say something but Lucifer wasn’t there. He quickly looked around the room but there was no sight of him. There were no other doors or entrances. He blankly stared at the chair Lucifer was sitting on. Not being able to do much about the matter, he continued out the room and down the stairs.

On the way down he saw a familiar face. A beautiful blond woman was walking up the stairs in a long white coat. “Hello brother. Didn’t expect to see you up here.” She said with a smile that showed her dimples. “Hey Alexis.” “What were you doing in Lucifer’s office?” she asked as she reached the top of the stairs and looked inside the doorway. “He’s not there.” “He’s not? Were you searching for him as well then?” “No, wasn’t searching. We just recently had a long talk and then he simply vanished. Can he teleport? Because I didn’t know he could.” “I don’t know if he can. I usually see him walk around quite often.” “Well maybe teleporters need to stretch their legs sometimes.” Alexis giggled at his comment. “Yeah maybe. Well I have some documents for him that I just need to put on his desk.” “Alright. I need to head down. Got some business of my own to attend to.” “Ok. Take care.” The siblings parted as they each went their own way. On his way down the stairs he overheard Lucifer’s voice greeting Alexis. “Ok Marceus, self note, that fucker can either turn invisible or he can teleport.” He said to himself. He imagined how awkward it would be if Lucifer did turn invisible just to fuck with him as he had looked around the room for him and chuckled at the thought. As he walked out into the gardens he began to think about what Lucifer said. He was beginning to feel afraid again. Afraid of the power the real Gods possessed.