Thren's eyes slowly opened to darkness. He looked down at his chest, no spear, no injury, just his tattered worn out shirt.
So this is what death feels like huh.
He looked around, scanning the darkness for anything, a way out, a road.
He was in a temple or at least the ruins of one. There were eight white pillars surrounding him, with silver chains linking them forming a sort of cage.
In the middle was an altar, crafted out of some sort of white ceramic material with inscriptions along the edges in a language he couldn't quite make out. The entire place was partially submerged in water which reached the level of his ankle.
Where am I, is this hell?
The place was stale, no scent, not like he knew if he was still breathing. After all what would be the point of a dead man breathing.
"Threnos," A soft melodious voice rang out behind him.
Thren's breath hitched as he heard it, that name, Threnos. There was only one person who called him with his full name, and that person died a long time ago.
His eyes stung as tear beaded. He slowly turned around, his heart hammering with both anticipation and fear.
His throat tightened as he saw the figure, standing a few meters away, dressed in silky white gown, a white veil covering her hair, escaped strands of silver hair waving in front of her smooth oval, delicate looking face.
Her lips curved to form a small smile, she opened her arms, beckoning him to come.
Thren took a step, then another, turning to a run as he threw himself into her arms, burying his head in her bosom.
"Mum" The words escaped out of his mouth amidst the sobs.
She simply smiled and kissed his head, gently patting him as he fell to his knees.
The woman lowered to her knees, not caring about the water as she sat down, her back resting on the altar as she continued patting the sobbing boy.
She did not say anything and neither did he, they didn't need to. In that dark expanse a young boy who had never thought he'd cry anymore cried into his mother's bosom.
"Aurelio...I..." Thren's face contorted, tears streaming down as he tried to give words to his thoughts.
"I know." She silenced him, planting a kiss on his forehead.
"I... couldn't"
"Shhh..." she placed a finger on his lips.
"It's alright, I know you tried."
Thren hugged her tighter, "I missed you."
"I know," she gently patted his back, pulling him in.
For a few seconds, the two said nothing, the silence just lingered on.
"Do you remember Billy?" She spoke, still hugging Thren.
Thren simply nodded his head, of course he did. That was one of the things he could never forget even if he tried to.
"I was horrified when you came home with fists all bloodied, face covered in dirt, pulling Aurelio behind you." She chuckled, " It felt like my world had ended when I saw you. Ah what relief I felt when I saw you were not injured."
Thren didn't reply, he didn't need to.
"But your father was different.
Never use your strength for revenge, use it to protect." She spoke in a hoarse voice, clearly trying to imitate his father but failing miserably.
"Even though you were simply trying to do the right thing, you were punished, do you remember that?" She ran her hands through his hair.
Of course he did, that was one of the worst days of his life. When his father who was always smiling, who had never raised his voice finally did. He could vividly remember the whipping and spending days in the pantry.
But the worst of it all was his fathers face of disappointment.
"My sweet child, you were simply trying to teach them a lesson weren't you? But you had something to loose, to protect."
She paused, letting her words sink in.
"But what happens if you had nothing to protect, to loose?" The question hit Thren, his eyes opened as he tried to move back. But she pulled him in closer.
"It's not your time yet."
"No," Thren shook his head in defiance, his hands wrapped tightly around her petite body.
She smiled faintly and patted his head once more, "it's okay, I'll always be waiting for you...
But you have to go back and make them pay."
Thren shook his head, he couldn't go back to that hell, he wanted to stay here, with her, with his family.
His throat tightened as she gently pried him off.
"You are the last child of humanity," she smiled, a pained look flashing across her aged eyes.
"You, my sweet child has been chosen to bring retribution to Billy."
Thren continuously shook his head, desperately reaching towards her as a portal appeared behind him, the force pulling him back.
"You will show them the strength of the humanity they abandoned." Her fingers curled around his.
"No...mum," Thren cried out as his body floated, the force pulling him back like a vacuum cleaner sucking him up. The only connection left with her was the tip of her fingers.
She gently rubbed his chin and kissed his forehead, "Humanity will be with you."
Their fingers separated, the portal swallowing him up, the words "I will be with you," echoing in his head before everything turned black.
Thren found himself in a void, incandescent stars sprawled all around, it looked beautiful. Then a small red star appeared in the distance, slowly drawing closer, like a dust cloud it drifted straight into his forehead.
Then a voice rang out in his head along with a red screen appearing in front of his vision.
«HUMANITY'S WILL HAS RECOGNIZED YOU»
«AS THE LAST HUMAN YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AS A BEARER»
«EXTINCTION SYSTEM INITIALIZING »
«INITIALIZATION COMPLETE»
«OBJECTIVE ADDED»
«MAIN DIRECTIVE: ELIMINATE THE GODS»
«EXTINCTION SYSTEM SYNCHRONIZED»
«HELLO VENGEFUL BLADE»