The descendant of Apollo looked up towards the balcony that had burst into flames. The radiating light from the explosions of his men flickered in his eyes.
"Cunning little rats…" He mumbled to himself as he notched another arrow onto his bow.
Although this time, he did not aim towards Axus, but at the balcony that now swarmed with Roman soldiers. He carefully slid his fingers down the bowstring and gripped it with the tip of his index finger.
"Venus is sure gonna have a damn good laugh because of this bullshit…" He whispered before releasing the arrow.
The blazing arrow whistled through the air before impaling itself into one of the few remaining columns still supporting the balcony from below.
After a mere moment, the arrow exploded into a ball of flames. The column it was lodged into crumbled, causing the floor of the balcony to crack before giving out completely.
The sounds of victory from the balcony immediately were replaced by terrified shrieks. The half standing balcony came crashing down to leave nothing remaining above the throne.
Roman soldiers and pieces of what used to be the balcony floor slid down from their position, following the crumbling supports beneath them.
A large cloud of dust kicked up from the rubble that was mixed with the Roman soldiers.
Kellen fell down with the soldiers and felt his stomach rise up into his chest. He grabbed a sword that slid down the slanting floor towards him and impaled it into the stone. Sparks flicked up from the floor as he slid down its side towards the throne beneath him. His descent was slowed, but only momentarily, since the floor the sword was lodged into began to shift as well.
The piece of floor that he desperately clung onto began to fall from its perch. Kellen shouted as he was plunged into the rubble beneath him. The remaining base of a column below was hit by the falling slabs, causing them to shatter upon impact.
Kellen was flung from his shard of rubble and rolled across the throne room floor, before crashing through a few stone figures which decelerated his movement.
He spit out the mix of grit and blood in his mouth. Luckily, he was uninjured for the most part. Minus a few bruises, possibly a sprained ankle, and a dislocated left shoulder; he would survive. He clung his left shoulder in pain before slowly getting up from the cold rough floor.
"Tommy!" Yelled Kellen as he coughed.
Luckily, Kellen had landed by the rubble without being crushed. He checked his body carefully, but luckily did not find any major wounds. The same could not however, be said for the rest of their forces.
The roman soldiers were scattered amongst the rubble with only a few remaining on the staircases that led to the now nonexistent balcony. Axus rushed over through the cloud of dust while shouting for his son as well. Kellen hobbled over to the shouting, and located Axus who was urgently searching for his son.
The often cold and emotionless man was now displaying a strong sense of anxiousness that was written all over his dirty face. Kellen grasped the man's shoulder with his hand and shook him slightly.
"Axus, calm down! This won't help us find him!" Said Kellen, with emotions beginning to well up in his throat, causing his voice to quiver.
Axus stopped his frantic search and fell to his knees with a hollow expression on his face. The dust cloud swirled around the two of them and blinded their eyes. Kellen rubbed at his agitated eyes while prodding the legionnaire to get up from the floor. But Axus refused to budge.
A fit of coughing from behind brought Kellen to strain his eyes through the cloud of dust in an attempt to distinguish the culprit. He tightened his fists and reached for a half shattered blade that was lying on the ground. If it was the descendant then they would be finished in a matter of moments, but that did not mean Kellen would simply die without a struggle.
However, Strom's slumped figure slowly teetered through the dust towards them,releasing Kellen's nervous tension.
The injured captain fell to the floor beside them and shook his head in defeat.
"There's no sign of Tommy or that bastard anywhere…" He said while nursing his right leg that had a long gash running down it.
Kellen bit his cheek hard with lamentation. The bitter taste of blood began to enter his mouth again as he angrily threw the shattered sword in his hand at the floor. He raised his hand to his head and gripped his black hair tightly.
"What were the casualties?" Murmured Axus in a low and hollow voice that was barely audible.
Strom sighed while looking over towards Kellen.
"I don't know the exact number yet… But the majority of our forces I believe to be diminished."
Another figure that was rather large came slowly hobbling over to the group of three. Strom reached for a dagger buckled around the back of his waist, while Kellen and Axus remained in their current states.
But the large figure turned out to be Marcus and Ceric. Ceric hobbled forward to the group with wobbling legs as he supported the massive dark skinned warrior across his shoulders.
"Any survivors near you guys?" Asked Strom as he offered a hand towards Ceric.
Ceric laid the slumped warrior down beside Strom with his help before replying, "I think I saw two that were trying to dig out some of our men but besides that… No."
"What about Tommy? He was with you guys, right?" Grunted Marcus while leaning his injured body against one of the fallen stone figures.
The group remained silent after being presented with the dreadful question. Although he was heavily injured, Marcus still pounded his fist down onto the head of the stone figure beside his arm. The stone cracked from the impact and caused more dust to stir up.
"How about the leader? Did we get the bastard?" Asked Ceric, who had been focused on the robed order at the balcony, and had been unable to witness the outcome of Axus's battle.
Axus merely shook his head in a slow, defeated manner.
"He probably slipped away in the confusion…" Mumbled the legionnaire.
The group remained in silence after Axus's words, waiting for the dust to settle around them. Their mission had ended in utter failure, leaving not only a feeling of bitterness but a sense of absolute loss. Kellen felt his rage beginning to boil up inside of him. He had not wished for such a thing to happen to Tommy, but in his quest for vengeance he had inevitably dragged him into it.
Kellen was angry, but not angry at the order or the Goddess that had forsaken him. No, he was frustrated with something much worse in his eyes. He was angry with himself. Tommy had been one of the only pure and untainted individuals he had met in his life. In fact, besides Strom, Tommy had been the only other light that had shed any hope into Kellen's precarious journey here in this world.
He thought of the uncanny similarities between Tommy and his old friend Thomas from Earth. Both hated the system they were born into and wanted a change for the better. They had wished for a peaceful life full of joy and happiness and yet were sentenced to miserable deaths. Kellen wondered whether he still deserved to be alive since both of them seem to have found an early and unforgiving grave.
He felt as if he had personally led Tommy into it, and felt the strength in his knees begin to give out. Like Axus, he knelt on the ground and felt a gnawing void beginning to emerge in his chest. He pounded the old cracked floor with his fist as tears streamed down the sides of his cheeks and fell to the ground.
Kellen wanted power. He wanted the strength to repay the wrongdoings that had been done against him. But now, he wanted the strength to protect those who were closest to him. To prevent the sense of loss within him from growing larger until there was nothing left but a void within him. But it was too late. He had already lost so much. He already lost many of the people dear to him. It was bitter irony, considering that he had begun this journey with mainly solitude in mind.
The demonic energy within him began to release into his blood making it boil. His body felt hot and continued to grow hotter until a hand was placed on his shoulder.
Kellen looked up from the ground and looked over his shoulder to find the short legionnaire shaking his head. The feelings of rage began to vanish inside of him as he stared into Axus's lightless eyes.
"It's over… We're finished here." Stated the legionnaire without any emotion.
Strom began to painfully stand up from his seated position to protest, but Axus turned his lifeless gaze towards the captain, halting the man's movement.
"Gather the remaining men and any of the deceased you can find. We're heading out." Commanded Axus before leaving from Kellen's side. He walked towards the half remaining throne now almost completely covered by the rubble from the balcony, and he stared at its pitiful remains.
He had not expected for this to happen. The mission was dangerous but it should not have presented a peril as grave as this. Not only had they failed… But he had lost his son. His previous treatment towards his own flesh and blood may have been strict or often seen as cold, but at the end of the day, Tommy was his one and only child.
The order was a poison that was spreading ever farther throughout the land. Axus himself saw the extreme danger they could pose, which was the entire reason why he had tasked himself with their downfall. Only, he did not anticipate this situation ever happening in his wildest dreams. Sure, there would be losses as there are in any war or battle, but Tommy… He was not supposed to die.
Axus angrily sliced through the throne with his spear. He had regained his composure earlier since that was what was expected of a legionnaire. But now he could not contain his anger.
The order and these void gates that could be located all over had finally revealed their threat to the empire. If they did not destroy them, then this war would not last very long or end well.
"And destroy that piece of shit gate!" Axus shouted in a cracking and strained voice that echoed in the silent throne room hall.
A gate leading directly into the empire was surely a disaster. One that they all wished they had never experienced.