3 The Arrival Mishap

Hesiod's Second Era: The Silver Age of Mankind (1684 BC – 1628 BC)

During the Golden Age, the Twelve Principal Guardians of Olympus have been established with the births of Apollo, Artemis, Athena and Hermes. The first giant rebellion happened and they were defeated.

Prior to this Silver Age, Apollo obtained Delphi. This was also the time when Prometheus, the wise Titan, was chained to the Rocks after stealing the sacred fire of the Gods and giving it to mankind.

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1664 BC

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"Where the hell am I?!" Kairo exclaimed in utter disbelief upon finding himself in such a strange place. He just woke up from the ground of an alley that was all-too unfamiliar to him. He frantically looked around everywhere and nothing – nothing at all, seems normal to him. "This place is bizarre." He said as he looked up to the sun and scanned his entire surroundings.

The buildings, if you can even call them buildings, looked very sturdy but deformed. The houses were lined by neutral-colored fabrics, which looked very uncomfortable for his taste. The houses themselves were nothing like the ones he saw in the slums. They look rock-hard, but very unsuitable for living. He heard some movement from behind him and when he turned, he met a stranger's dumbfounded pair of eyes.

"Hey, you, tell me, where am I?" Kairo pulled the man who was wearing nothing but a simple, draped, loose-fitting fabric. He remembered it from one his father's many lessons as the Ancient Greek clothing called 'chiton', or a form of loose tunic that fastens at the shoulder. How strange can the fashion of this place be?

The man didn't answer but eyed him instead from top to bottom, with a face that's growing more and more anxious as he looked at him for a longer period of time. Yes, he was wearing something weird, but that's because he didn't bother to change from his funeral clothing before he went to sleep. He was clad in his black trousers, black shoes and white long-sleeved shirt with a loose black tie. If someone was dressed weird, it's the old man in front of him who's wearing a 'chiton', definitely not him.

"Come on, old man, can you tell me where I am or not?" He asked the man once again. This time, the guy blinked twice and gave him a rather unexpected answer.

"Wha - what are you?" His accent was deep, and he sounded cautious as he gave him a question instead of an answer.

Kairo sighed in defeat, 'I can't talk to this old fart.' He let go of the man's clothes and walked away from him.

He tried to take in more of what he's seeing. He saw more of the town's expanse and the details were elaborate in replicating what they're trying to depict. The people around him are dressed similarly to that man in the alley. 'Did someone just bring me to a grand ancient cosplay venue? These participants are really quite into it.' He thought to himself.

As he walked around, he noticed that there was quite a festive vibe in the area. 'Yup, there's definitely a major cosplay event'. People looked excited about something. He also saw several stalls with various strange goods. As he continued his walk, he finally looked – really looked, at the people. 'Wait a minute….isn't that man already too old for cosplaying?' The people were also eyeing him curiously, some even outright staying away from him, like he's infected with a virus or something.

"Great! This is so amazing and exciting and exhilarating and INSANE!" He said out loud with utmost sarcasm. Again, the people only looked at him with their ever curious eyes. Then, he caught a glimpse of a stall with bread-looking displays, and his stomach grumbled. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. He's starving. He made his way to the said stall.

"How much for that one?" He pointed to the best-looking 'loaf' among the bread-looking displays. So far, it's the only one that looks edible. But the woman who was on the other end of the conversation, only gave him a questioning look. Kairo finally snapped. "Why the heck is everyone looking at me like that?!"

The woman took a step back, shocked by his sudden actions. "Are – are you divine?" She nervously asked.

What kind of question is that? How is he supposed to answer that?

He laughed at the silliness of it all. "I don't know about that, ma'am. But I very much like to know if you can sell me that bread because I'm really starving. Look, how much for that one?" He pointed to the loaf again.

"How… much?" The woman asked again.

"Seriously?!" This isn't funny anymore and Kairo was starting to get pissed. "Here, I think a quarter will suffice for that one, yeah?" He fished a quarter coin from his pocket and gave it to the woman. She looked at the coin in wonder, like it's her first time seeing one. Suddenly, she screamed in horror.

"AAAAHHHH! A MAN! A MAN'S HEAD IS TRAPPED INSIDE!" She threw back the quarter at Kairo, who was surprised as well with her over-reaction.

"Wait, wait a minute, what do you mean a man is trapped inside?!" He tried to hold her and stop her from screaming. "Dammit what's so scary about Washington's face?!"

The commotion that happened at the stall caught the attention of everyone within earshot. The woman was still struggling in his arms when he noticed the clothes she was wearing. It was a 'peplos' – or a long, tubular cloth with its top folded down about halfway, so the rest of the fabric draped below the waist, another ancient Greek clothing. 'So this cosplay event features Greek stuff?' He wondered.

After a few moments, several men who were dressed in chitons surrounded the area, and they looked at Kairo with a dark expression in their faces. "What are you doing?" The one who appeared to be their leader spoke menacingly towards him.

"I didn't do anything, promise! I was just trying to buy bread!" Kairo held up his arms in surrender.

"THERE WAS A MAN! A MAN'S HEAD THAT WAS TRAPPED BY THAT BOY INSIDE A SMALL SHINY ROCK!" the woman freed herself from his hold and told the men about her woes.

"Calm down, Dorcia, what are talking about? Explain properly." The man commanded.

"That boy, he severed a small man's head and put it in a shiny rock!! He angered the gods!" the woman exclaimed along with everybody else. The sound of their murmurs suddenly filled the air.

"Severed what?! Shiny rock?! What the hell?!" Kairo blurted out and everyone gasped from what he just said.

Just then, he noticed that the men who looked dark before even became more intimidating, and it seems like they are about to do something really nasty. He knew he'll be in more trouble if he won't run. "Uh-oh."

Kairo got to his feet and sprinted away from everyone in that area. The men soon went after him.

"HOLY CRAP! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! THAT WOMAN IS CRAZY!" He said as he continued his escape.

He ran but the guys behind him were already starting to catch up to him. He doesn't know anything about this place, and he doesn't know where to go to get away from this troublesome situation. "I WAS ONLY TRYING TO BUY BREAD, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?!"

Suddenly, an arrow swished near his ear and landed on the ground beside him. He stopped on his tracks and looked behind him. None of the men were carrying a weapon. He looked up and saw a figure taking aim at his direction. He squinted just to make sure, and the figure adjusted itself to a better position. It was clear, the target was him. He doesn't need anything more to convince himself that he's fucked. "No shiz." He sprinted once again just as the arrow flew from the archer's bow.