1 Chapter 1 - Styxx

Chapter 1. Styxx

Around 600 years ago in Greece, Styxx was born in a barn, on his parent's farm, located in an unnamed small-town area. He had a head full of black hair and his black eyes shined with wonder, life and innocence. As you would expect by where he was born, his father was a farmer while his mother was a seamstress and a housewife. They made just enough food for everyone in the household with a bit leftover, it was a hard yet simple life.

As he grew up, Styxx never cried and had an unmatched curiosity towards the world, asking all sorts of questions about anything and everything to his parents, even when his parents couldn't answer them. His parents found that the young Styxx loved playing with the farm animals and helping his father around the farm.

Unfortunately, Styxx was born during a very trying time, the Ottomans ruled Greece, and whispers of war were spreading through the empire, but luckily their town was relatively peaceful, and kept to themselves. When Styxx turned four, tragedy struck the loving family of three. War had broken out and his family was forced to give almost all their cattle and wheat for the war effort. Styxx's father was not forced to join as he had once taken an arrow to the knee when he had served as a young man, hindering his ability to walk, and therefore fight.

His parents could hardly feed themselves much less a growing and healthy 4-year-old, but as they unconditionally loved Styxx they gave the little boy most of their share. This left, the husband and wife feeling weaker from malnutrition as time went by.

While Styxx and his father were out tending the fields, a snake crossed paths with the father and scared the ox that pulled the hoe causing it to escape from the grip of a weakened father. Styxx, who was playing in the fields, suddenly heard the warning screams of his father but when he turned to look, it was too late. Hearing the shouts of her husband, Styxx's mother feared the worst. She ran out only to find her husband kneeling on the ground lifelessly looking at the ground, while the ox ran away from the fields.

Nearing her husband, she screamed at her husband, questioning the whereabouts of Styxx as she couldn't see him anywhere. But when she saw what was in front of her husband, she fell into despair. She collapses next to her husband, who had yet to look away from that spot.

There in the dirt, her beautiful and darling son, was nothing but a lump of meat that was smashed and sliced. She kneeled next to her husband and wailed her heart out on her husband's chest. Hearing the cries of his wife, the husband had finally snapped out of his stupor and cried along with his wife. They cried and begged on their knees hoping it wasn't true, that this was all just a horrible dream, that their darling son had not just been taken away from them. Their heads were buried in the dirt, praying to the gods, any god, for a miracle.

"Mommy? Daddy? Why are you crying?" a childish voice asked,

The voice of their child was suddenly heard, and all the crying stopped, despair quickly turned into unimaginable happiness and relief. Styxx's mother threw herself at her baby boy before showering him with kisses. The father had a smile on his face, tears still falling from his eyes, but his heart was full of worry as he looked at his son and then where his son's dead body was supposed to be. The bloody scene was gone and only patches of dead crops were left around the area. His son's black irises had turned into a swirling silver with pupils so dark, it resembled abysses. His hair now had strands of platinum, almost a shiny silver color.

The husband and wife quickly took their son inside, not knowing that a neighbor that had witnessed the whole event was running away, his eyes filled with fear.

….

Months passed; strange things started to happen to Styxx. He stopped eating and hardly slept but he seemed fine and looked even healthier than before. Every time he got hurt, the scratches and cuts were gone in seconds. The other parents banned their kids from playing with Styxx, his eyes creeped them out and their kids seemed to get weaker the longer they stay around him, while Styxx never seemed to tire.

Now that Styxx never had to eat or drink, his parents seemed healthier since they ate the share that belonged to Styxx, but their worry couldn't help but deepen over time. It was only a matter of time before news of what is happening to their son reaches the ears of some official or even worse, the Church.

They feared some official will come and take him away, make him some kind of soldier for the war effort. While, the Church would incarcerate their boy, maybe even kill him on the spot, if that was even possible. The ruthlessness of the church against all those that they deemed heretics or unholy, met the worst of fates.

A week later, their worst fears came to pass. Their farm was surrounded by a troop of soldiers that belonged to the empire. With one of the officials, their next-door neighbor could be seeing kissing their ass while pointing towards their farm; clearly, he had betrayed the small family. But, just as he was going to get paid, a soldier walked from behind him and drove a sword through his chest. The neighbor died not knowing what had happened.

Styxx's parents watched in horror as the soldiers then burst into their farm and snatched Styxx from his parent's arms before slaughtering them in front of the 4-year-old boy. He was then tossed into the back of a carriage and was forced to watch as his home, along with the rest of the town, was burnt into cinders. Styxx was the only survivor from his town, none other survived the onslaught.

As he watched his old life burn away into the distance, for the first time in his short life, Styxx cried. His tears then quickly turned to hatred as he looked and remembered those that were around him. The kind of hatred that burns like a thousand suns.

They chained him and forced him to train to become a killer. An undying killer like him would be priceless for the Ottoman Empire. For 5 years, all Styxx knew was fighting and killing, he was nothing but a killing machine. The now 9-year-old had a higher body count than any soldier the empire had ever produced.

All of Styxx's emotions were buried deep inside, all except the hatred he had for those that took everything from him. All the brainwashing they tried on him didn't work on him, Styxx just pretended to be loyal to the empire waiting for an opportunity to enact his revenge.

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