Chapter 2: Rebels Fate

"What the...."

A surprised but hoarse voice spoke out.

"That old geezer actually went through with it?"

A Man so thin, that almost the entire outline of his skeleton could be seen, thought out loud.

The man hung high up in the air, bound by massive chains coiled around his arm.

The chains appeared blood-red and had a matt look to them, yet they also seemed to give off extreme heat, especially in places that were close to the man.

The man that looked like a starving beggar, had long red hair and golden eyes.

His skin was as white as snow but it seemed extremely rough. There were open wounds in some areas that were still bleeding.

Two particular gruesome wounds were located around his shoulder blades, as some chains that were wrapped around two objects penetrated them.

His face was dirtied and bloody while his eyes were sunken in.

From the first look, he appeared like he hadn't slept or eaten even once in his entire life and that death was already putting his cold hands around his neck and just waiting for him to suffocate in order to reap his precious soul.

He was the only person in the rather spacious Hall, inside which no decorations, sources of light or furniture were to be seen.

No windows or doors were available either.

The only things inside this hall were a few pillars that supported it and a few enormous chains along with some runes, which were rapidly blinking in red color.

While the runes slowly started fading away and the chains started melting, The man who had been bound by the very same chains for thousands of years roared out in maniacal laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! I don't dare to believe it! That madman, he did it, he actually did it!"

The melting chains that flowed onto the man's body didn't seem to disturb him at all.

On the opposite, these chains seemed to heat up even more and started melting faster whenever they touched the man.

After the man laughed for a while longer, he started to calm down.

"Good, very good. I won't forget this, Mortis. Or should I start calling you father again after all these years? In the end, you acted like a father for once. At least one of you still had a conscience left..."

The man started a monologue as a lonely tear kept falling down his face.

"I know that my words are still able to reach you when I say your name, Mortis... father.

I will not forgive you. Nor will I forgive the others. But I am grateful to you.

My hatred towards you and everything you represented, consider it gone.

But I want you to know, that I will use this second chance you gave me the way I want to.

And what I want the most... Is vengeance. Don't worry, you won't be alone for long. I will send Vita and Deus your way soon."

The man said with a passionate look on his face as flames burned away the tear that had been dripping down his face.

As he slowly descended from the middle of the room, flames bathed his body, ridding him of the dried blood and dirt as his wounds started healing at a rapid pace.

His eyes seemed to be renewed with vigor, even though he still looked thin, he didn't seem as lifeless anymore.

"The death of Chronos shall be avenged."

- BOOOM -

A massive explosion followed his last words.

The entire hall was obliterated in a split second while the nameless man floated in the middle of it without blinking or moving one bit.

As the hall and who knows what else got utterly obliterated, the outside world could finally be seen.

However, the outside world looked very desolate.

The sky was colored in a dark shade of gray while the ground was black as far as the eyes could see. No vegetation or wildlife, only molten rocks, and metals.

As he saw the outside world, the man left out a soft chuckle.

"Eden changed a lot in the last few millennia... was that my doing? Oh well..., not that I would care, I never liked the taste of the apples here, to begin with. "

While he seemed to enjoy the view, it was apparent that the man had started a habit of talking to himself after being imprisoned for so long.

While the expressions on the man's face went from a frown to a grin, something moved behind his back - or rather - ON his back.

After healing for a couple of minutes, the two wounds on his back had turned into two beautiful black wings.

However, the man didn't seem to be happy about this.

"sigh. Only two. How long will it take until I'm whole again?"

While caressing his wings like a cat licking its wounds, he started to move forward.

"Its time. With father gone, the realms will be void of death. Wouldn't that make everything I fought for, everything I sacrificed, for nothing? To bring the privilege of death to the earthen realms, I went as far as seeking the help of Chronos to reason with the Progenitors.

And how did that end up? Why did I end up in this situation in the first place?"

While seemingly arguing with himself, he let go of his two wings and soared through the desolate sky towards an indefinite goal.

"Death... I shall bring it back!"

-

In a different place, at a different time

"He yet Lives!"

A man wearing sparse armor made of leather shouted while watching over another man who was lying on the ground.

The man on the ground was bloodied, wounded and dirtied all over his body. He looked like he had been through a disastrous battle, one whose consequences he would most likely not survive.

Like the man that was sitting next to him, he was also wearing leather armor.

Both of them looked rugged, battle-hardened and had muscled builds.

However, while one of them was healthy, the other one was barely alive.

Their armors were not the same type, their armors made them look like a ragtag group of warriors.

There were other men in the area walking towards them, but all of them wore different kinds of armor. They were obviously not wearing a uniform armor even though they fought for the same cause. Some of them had barely covered chests, while others had one of their arms entirely protected by plated leather armor.

The man on the ground kept gulping and shaking while trying to force a smile.

A woman that was also sitting beside him was holding one of his hands and started speaking.

"We waited for you, as promised."

He tried his best to give her a reassuring smile while asking the man who had noticed that he had woken up.

"All safe?"

to which the man shook his head.

"We were ambushed by Pompeii. Many were lost."

Hearing this, it was obvious to all of the people who had surrounded him by now that this bit of news gave him quite the blow. He struggled to stay calm and barely managed to do so.

The same woman as before chimed towards the man who first spoke

"We must see him to Mountain path before we too are discovered."

Following this, another man nodded towards the first man, signaling him with his eyes that they should make it more comfortable for the man lying on the ground, before bringing him up for transportation.

But before they could move him even an inch, the man already groaned in pain.

"Stay your hand" he said. "I want to rest a while.." He continued while slowly closing his eyes.

The man who had nodded towards the first man before trying to move him tried to convince him otherwise.

" We cannot stay here!"

And he replied "You are right. You can not stay here. " and he continued after a short pause "Nor can I follow." As the man said that, he started to slowly close his eyes while he felt the grasp death held on him. He knew that he would die today.

As the woman who was sitting next to him noticed that, she started getting frantic and called out to him.

"Spartacus! Spartacus... Spartacus!" The woman started falling into despair, as she to, realized that he wouldn't be leaving this place alive.

As the dying man heard her call him Spartacus, he chuckled.

"Spartacus... " he mused, while he fought a fierce battle to stop tears from falling down the sides of his face, yet he chuckled at the same time. It was a sad Joke.

A joke so sad, that he literally didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"That is not my name..." He continued while still struggling against the pain.

His wounds were deep and he was already feverish, he had lost a lot of blood and he knew he was going to die soon.

"I shall finally hear it again... Given voice by loving wife.... in greeting longed for."

As he spoke, tears dwelled in the eyes of the woman beside him.

She was obviously not his wife, yet she loved him with all her heart.

They had found comfort and love in each other, yet it was clear that the man she loved could never move on, as he still grieved over the loss of his beloved wife and was happy that he would get to see her again soon.

The man that had been by his side from the very start was also fighting a losing battle against tears which started forming at the edges of his eyes.

He realized that he would lose another brother today.

Someone he looked up to more than anyone else in the world. Someone he respected more than anyone else, and someone who had saved his life a great many times, after changing it for the better.

As he saw this, the man named Spartacus put his hand on his friend's arm and spoke to him while looking him in the eyes with a bright smile on his face.

"Do not shed tear. There is no greater Victory...." he said with a peaceful smile on his face.

"...then to fall from this world..."

"...A free man."

Listening to this, the man could no longer keep his tears at bay.

A great man would be lost to the world today, a man that had tried to change the world for the better and had gotten too close to the sun in the process.

Soon after the grip on his arm seemed to loosen.

One look and he knew that he had left this world for good.

In this exact moment, the heavens seemed to welcome him. A ray of bright light shone upon his body for a short while before it disappeared.

As his grip loosened everyone had realized what was going on.

The man who had been next to him all the time closed Spartacus eyes' with his hands.

"One day... Rome shall fade and crumble!" He promised

"Yet you shall always be remembered, in the hearts of all those who yearn for freedom!"

He sent his brother off with a kiss on his forehead.

This would be the last time he would see his face.

This man, that had done so much for him and many others that were just like him, would be gone now.

However, he fell in battle.

Fighting for something he believed in with every fiber of his being and died with a smile on his face, surrounded by people he cared for and most importantly, he died as a free man.

From this day forth, this man would be but a memory treasured deep within their hearts.