1 The loony gift and the shiny orb

"The foolish apes learn quickly. The food they bring me is no longer 'that' inedible. Soon, I will regain my strength. When I return, they will tremble beneath my feat. Those ungrateful mongrels all deserve to die. No, that would be too good an end. I shall extract their nerves and grind them for a thousand years. After that, they may seek redemption through death."

A group of burly men wearing loincloths looked at the sorry excuse for a living being with pity in their eyes as they left the gloomy cave.

The youngest of the group questioned,

"He really the gift from Ouranus?"

Another timidly answered,

"That's what the head priestess said."

"But don't you think he seems a bit loony?"

The remaining man who seemed rather mature cautioned,

"Hush! We mustn't question the words of the head priestess.Do you want to end up like Sig?"

Hearing the familiar name the timid looking man flinched.

But the youngest continued,

"But, doesn't it seem like this being is a bit weird in the head? I mean he threw away the meat and fruits we gave him..."

Noticing an approaching entourage, from behind the young man the others made various gestures for him to stop. But, the man foolishly continued paying them no heed.

"Instead, when I brought a piece of bark as a prank and told him to eat, the crazy man snatched it from my hands and began munching..."

The alarm in the eyes of the two men grew as they saw the other group stop behind the young man with the young woman staring at him with cold eyes. They no longer made gestures for the young man to stop and instead giving up looked down quietly instead.

The oblivious youth continued,"Now look at him, he's laughing like a mad man while muttering gibberish. I wonder how tough his teeth are. Maybe next time ill get him an iron ingot" Finally the youth caught up with the dead eyed helpless looks his companions had been giving him.

"Oi, whats wrong guys?"

The 'guys' remained mum as the youth suddenly felt the pair of eyes burning through his skull as he glanced back and yelped.

This was accompanied by an exaggerated back jump that caused him to tumble and crash into his two companions, felling them with the momentum.

The young lady in white robes looked at the farce coldly while her entourage of four similarly beautiful women wearing animal skins showed no emotion.

"Come." commanded the young lady with a soft but firm voice and walked back to the direction from which she came.

Her attendants followed suite as the three men scrambled to pick themselves as they struggled to follow her steps.

"I assume you know your wronging, Arya?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Good, see yourself to Risq and tell him to give you five."

The young man calmly accepted as the other two flinched, "Yes, my lady."

The young man named Arya left the stone chamber decorated with ornate paintings embedded with topaz.

"Now, you two."

"Yes, milady" the two other burly men replied instantly as they stood as straight as a rod.

"What are you called?"

The elder who had a leaders air about him said,

"I am known as Inca."

The timid man stammered, "Sss-ssim"

The young head priestess sighed out and her eyes slowly gained a gentle look.

"So, Inca and Sim, I hope Arya didn't cause you too much trouble."

"No, not at all, milady."

"Please drop the formalities. Call me Mika."

At this, Mika's four guards tensed ever so slightly before relaxing.

***

Arya walked jovially across the paved roads to his destination, a Colosseum like structure. The large open amphitheater was the center of public entertainment in the city. Though not as big as the one at the capital, the venue was quite substantial. The entertainment here refers to brawls, executions,massacres,beast battles and other forms of violence both authorized and not.

Of course, this is also the place where criminals are tried and punished. In Arya's case, this building could almost be a second home. Due to his callous attitude as well as his radical way of working combined with his adrenaline addict mentality, he can almost always be found here when he is not on duty.

"Hey Risq! Mika told me to tell you to give me five!" The youth yelled the moment he entered the building.

The venue was almost deserted at this time of day. Especially since there wasn't any fight scheduled. But, a reply to Arya was heard soon from high above the stands. From an elevated platform within the thick walls of the Colosseum, an old and irritable voice grumbled,

"Whadja do this time? Wait don't wanna know. Come on over. We'll get this over quickly."

Arya ran up and jumped onto the stage and stretched his shoulders.

An very large old man with thick buffed muscles leaped down in front of Arya from within the walls of the Colosseum.

Arya sighed lightly as the old man grinned,

"Now, lets get started."

***

In the sky above, a dark skinned man with powerful looking toned muscles looked at the city of Haka stretching across the land as peaceful as peace can be. Stepping off the cloud and carried by the wind, the man wearing a black vest and shorts with countless while dots floated over the city searching for something.

Noticing something, a grim look spread across his face as he muttered lightly,

"They were too late...it has already appeared."

***

"Now, lets get started."

The old man grinned as he clapped his hands twice. A hole opened up on the floor of the Colosseum as a rack of weapons rose from within. From the rack, the old man took a metal handle. The rack descended once again leaving the arena floor curiously unblemished. He fondled with the handle with a lecherous smile before turning to Arya who had a wierd exression on his face.

"No matter how many times i see you like this, I will never get used to it."

The lecherous smile faded from the old mans face as he turned to Arya who turned his back to him before asking,

"Ready?"

"As always."

The man raised his arms holding the handle and pointed at Arya before violently waving at him in a slashing motion.

Immediately sizzling sounds were heard as burning whip marks appeared on Aryas smooth back. At the same time Arya gritted his teeth and withstood the pain.

"One"

Saying so, Risq continued to whip him with the unseen whip.

"Two"

Arya flinched again with gritted teeth.

"Three"

He writhed slightly. His eyes red.

"Four"

Arya's back started to feel numb.

"Five"

With the final stroke, Arya felt a slight stinging sensation creep in through the numbness before exploding into a violent sensation akin to lava flowing over his skin.

His back had five clear whip marks. Strikes which seemed deep enough to reach the bone. Slowly but visibly, the red gashes seeped into his back and left no scar behind. But, the lingering pain was all too real.

Arya huffed and took long breaths as Risq started laughing loudly.

"How'd ya even deal with tha pain? Each strike'll hurt more than the last. The Ultor is a weapon given by Ouranus to deal punishments. The pain'll stay with ya for eternity despite leaving no marks, if its the intention of the wielder, that is. Anyone else who got whipped, still dreads it. Anyone else but 'you' that is. This is the what, sixth time i saw ya this month? Why ya so eager to annoy tha lass?"

"Hahaha, Mika is cute. She acts all cold and then suddenly switches to friendly all of a sudden with no warning."

The old man stared blankly not understanding the young mans though process.

"Anyway, see you Risq"

Arya ran out without waiting for the old man.

"*sigh* what a pity."

***

Arya roamed the streets of Haka looking at all the people going about their business. He reached a stall with a little girl selling hot-dogs.

"Heyo big bro! You want the usual?"

"Yup!give it here."

The girl skillfully prepared a hot dog and its bun adding various assortments to it that is not usually found in a hot dog.

"Here you go! One hot dog with everything on top."

"You got the mozzarella?"

The girl looked offended

"I take my work seriously. That was only one time. One time only. Also who else puts mozzarella on their hot dogs? Actually, who puts cheese on their hot dog. Also peanut butter, maple syrup and honey are not things you put in a hot dog. I bet no one else would even be able to fit so many things in a hot dog. Most of the things in my stall, i keep only because of you! Now you doubt me!? I never make the same mista..."

As she was speaking, Arya bit into the hot dog and promptly said,

"You forgot the mustard"

The girl turned beet red. As she opened and closed her mouth rapidly,

"Also the beet root juice"

The girl remained frozen as Arya left a red stone on her counter.

***

In the temple of Ouranus, Mika plumped onto her seat as Inca, Sim and her four guards finally left.

She no longer needed to keep up her pretense. She reached behind her chair and pulled out an orb.

The transparent bluish orb had a dim glow that made it seem ethereal.

"Greetings, master. I have fulfilled your bidding. The fallen one is in possession. All the elements required for your ascension plan have been gathered. I can begin execution at any time."

"You have done well. Proceed as planned."

"Yes, my master."

Mika's fervent reply was met by silence from the enchanting voice from the orb.

Mika sat up full of energy once again. She pressed a gem on her seat handle and a rough map of the planet appeared in front of her in holographic form.

The outlines of five continents could be seen on the globe. Five green dots and five red dots join together to make a pentagram that connects all the continents. The center of the pentagram is represented by a blue dot in the same location as Haka is supposed to be.

The girl taps on the ten dots and says "Tartarus has spoken. Begin the operation."

She stands up and snaps her finger to which her four guards appear by her side instantly.

"Lets go."

***

At the cave outside the city limits where the loony man lay, two shadows sneak under moonlit night.

"You sure this is the right thing to do?"

"Sure, I'm sure. It's what the head priestess told us to do. Also, Arya said that the man is crazy and eats tree bark, so no harm."

"But, this is wrong. It could even be said to be evil. Don't you know what will happen when he drinks this?"

"What could happen? The worst would be some diarrhoea or food poisoning."

"But, but...ok fine! But make sure no one discovers us."