Chapter 2: Chapter 1 – Unfair Fate

Chapter 1 - Unfair Fate

Below the horizon where the sun greets us with a faint blush of the dawn, it wakes the realm from its slumberous night. 

Journeying across the world for the chance to seek greater opportunities, the merchants who had set their destination for the majestic empire of Olympus, were quickly shot down by their own speechlessness.

Roads made with fine craftsmanship have blessed the merchants with something that they've never laid their eyes upon.

One by one with each of their steps trampling on the paths that are flat yet sometimes rough, the foreign merchants rest their fascinated gazes onto the people who have lived their lives within this capital.

Walking on the archaic roads built in ancient times where the dawn of civilization is only fading memories, the people held their pride in the great empire inside their hearts.

The sound of joy as the liveliness of the people resounded throughout the imperial capital; the scent of delicious food lingering under their noses; the refreshing beverages soothing their thirst; and most of all, the children running and playing around without a hint of dissatisfaction.

Left behind by the eons, buildings of ancient origin bless their residents with extravagances, whereas the passageways lead those who seek their entertainment.

Restaurants, striving with the Empire's cultural cuisine, enrich an appetizing taste for one's tongue. Thus, it is served drawn in picturesque art as the sight leaves one thirsting for a bite.

None like no other, it is regarded as the most prosperous of all while the uncountable wealth flows toward the historical location, the Great Olympus Empire.

After earning the name of ‘Olympus’ from a distant past, the long years became an erosion to the true meaning of ‘Olympus’, leaving behind the empire's residents to figure out their great nation's history.

Yet, even so, the people of today believed the title to be of godhood, a divine place for the blessed royalty. And it is no wonder that the people place their safety upon an empire of great history.

As such, where boundless curiosities unfold while the sceneries fold together to form a memorable recollection within one's heart and mind, it is an empire worthy of its title.

—-------

Outside the empire, the magnificent walls spanning far and wide to ease the people of their anxiety have met its first breeze of the day.

The trees flutter in response to the breeze, scattering their leaves to travel with the wind. 

On top of the roof of a historical tower, below the stall of a well-known seller, in front of the gate of the imperial capital, behind the distinguished institution of all teachings,

and so forth. Ceaselessly, the leaves went to and fro; they all landed somewhere farther than the trees they rested upon. 

In contrast to the bright sunlight cast above the leaves, a single leaf had fallen behind when it had lowered itself into the far dark corners of alleyways.

As the leaf was minding its way to lay rest upon the floor, gleeful merchants who were admiring the empire, trampled on the leaf without a minor consideration to the poor leaf that had lost its beauty.

"Leaf.."

Within the dark corner of the narrow passage, a certain figure in rugged clothing appeared out of nowhere. As her hands full of bruises were reaching out of the alleyway's shadow, the sunlight greeted her hands with warmth and picked up the leaf that her gaze was drawn into.

"Warm.."

Her two hands were showered by the warm embrace of the sun which lowered her grasp of the leaf little by little. 

After pulling the leaf toward her where the shadow of the alleyway cast over to the leaf, an unexpectedly strong gust of wind stole the leaf away from her, fluttering about as she glanced with a dazed expression.

Was she fazed by the wind? No, it was something else, and it was the reason why her expression was visible below the shadow.

"What is..?"

Her emerald eyes once devoid of life were illuminated and widened by the realization that she had reclaimed a lifetime's worth of memories from the past, memories that were foreign to the world she now inhabits.

"Hey! What are you standing there for?! Get back in line right now!"

—Slash!

Out of the blue, the voice of a raging man accompanied by the noise of a whip reverberated altogether after shattering the wonderful atmosphere with ease. As the young child was startled by the suddenness, she began to tremble from the whip's wrath.

The bruises were as visible as daylight, but once another whip painted a scar on her body, the young child let out tears in her eyes.

A glimpse of a man with a whip traumatized the poor child, quivering in fear of a bigger build than hers. 

With no words to say and no way to take back her freedom, the child walked over to the line of slaves in front of her after walking past the one who scarred her.

‘Why..’

Inside the gloomy alleyway, she and the rest were guided by the slave traders toward a dreary door.

The moment the door opened, a glimpse of a cat who was on top of the table, grimaced with its arrogance, whereas those who set foot inside, perceived the harsh greetings of the place's scent and ambiance.

"Scram! Get your butt inside and eat your breakfast! We don't have all day waiting for you morons!"

As a slave trader and as the man who strikes terror into the young child's heart, his shout echoed loudly into the ears of the slaves, causing everyone's faces to pale up as white as snow.

With a slam, the door was closed shut and was locked by the slave traders to confine the slaves into one ghastly place, leaving two men behind with keys.

After the tense ambiance dissipated, the children walked up to the chairs and sat on their seats.

As their meals were already on the table, the slaves stared at them while their reluctance to eat grew stronger. 

In spite of it being called a soup, it looks too unappetizing to swallow whole and wasn't nutritional enough for the slaves at their young ages. On the other hand, the water was utterly cloudy and dirty showing how poorly the slaves had been treated.

Skinny bodies with many bruises, messy hair with bugs, rugged clothes filled with dust, including a gross and stinky smell oozing out of them, everyone was close to being corpses rather than healthy humans.

This.. was the unlawful slave industry under the Great empire's surface. And it is to those who are unfortunate enough to have their lives withered away by the tragedy of their fate.

Sooner or later, one of the slaves took the courage to eat their meal as it was the only source of food for them.

They have to eat to survive.

Whilst the young child watches how everybody was beginning to eat, she's the only one who hasn't taken a sip of the soup.

Distraught written all over her expression, the young child took a long look at the children who ate with their noses pinched and their eyes shut tightly.

‘What is this..?’ The young girl whispers to herself before her eyes finally see the mucky reflection of her.

‘..Mmm..’

‘Do I have to..?’

Upon picking up the spoon coated with dust, the young child slowly digs her spoon into the soup, preparing herself to taste a flavor that was out of this world.

Just when she was moments away from taking a sip, a strange unsettling atmosphere crept up behind her. As such, she turned around only to find the cat staring intensely at her.

As it happened, the eyes of a cat which was glancing at her without a flinch, locked eyes with the young child. One might think it's cute while another will think otherwise. 

She convinced herself that the weird sensation she felt was coming from this animal. And in a matter of moments, the cat quickly went as it prompted the young child to follow suit.

Making haste to chase after the cat, she suddenly found herself in front of two guards who were fast asleep. 

The sunlight that shimmers through the small opening of the door, gives off a feeling that is nearly indescribable to the child. It was as if the sunlight was guiding her to her rightful freedom.

To the young child's surprise, the cat nudged the door to open a space sizable enough for the animal to get through, and it left the young child with doubts.

"...?"

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When she was flooded with uncertainties, the cat had already taken a step outside of the gloomy settlement. It wasn't until then that the young child gulped down her anxiety and proceeded to head out.

Holding her dirty clothes firmly, the child runs along with the cat without a single glance behind her.

Despite feeling a sense of freedom from her first step out of slavery, the young child had doubts about the feline when she was following it. And thus, she didn't dare to chase after it for the rest of the journey out there.

Not only that, the child sensed the difference in her speed between the feline to be as vast as the mountain. 

Seemingly with each of its steps, the young child sees the difference clearly with her tired eyes as the cat is hundreds of meters ahead into the street filled with dozens of people roaming it.

"Slow.. down.."

With a halt to her cry, the cat turns around to find the human to be panting in exhaustion, even a cat can understand what that means when it sees an out-of-breath child.

And yet, the feline marches onward, leaving behind the tired child by herself. Upon realizing it, the child catches her breath and stands there dazed by the crowded street.

The street has everyone walking with a smile on their faces, even if it's a half smile or a blue frown, they appear to be people blessed with a good life from the child's point of view.

"..A good fate.." The child murmurs to herself.

Delicious food to satisfy themselves; water in its purest form; laughter and joy drawn in their faces, they were all expressing their fate of fairness.

But fairness without a flaw will forever remain non-existent words to every human, and the young child knows her fate truly well.

It is… An unfair fate that has stained her.

And none can be more unfair than the rest of the slaves she had lived with for her duration as a slave.

"…I can't." The young girl mumbled under her dry lips.

Upon being reminded of the pitiful slaves' faces and their horrible treatment, she came to a decision and purposely returned to the place where one wouldn't dare go back to. 

Within a few minutes of running whilst her exhaustion was reaching its limit, the young child finally reached her destination, collapsing onto a nearby wall to hold her body high. 

The young child has gone beyond exhaustion, leading her body to shut down momentarily. 

"Ha.." The child pants heavily with her hands on the wall to support herself while the sweat on her cheeks dripped on the floor.

Since a slave was never exposed to excessive exercise, the child was poorly developed. Not just that, when she heard her heart beating for the first time in a while, she felt her whole self quaking from the overwork she did to herself.

The sound of her heartbeats may as well be the loudest she's ever heard, yet it couldn't defeat something like this. 

"AHHHH!!!!"

A man's scream. It was loud to the point where the young child could sense the ground rumbling from it.

In a blink of an eye, the young child lifts her head to uncover the origin of that scream, only to witness an older slave slamming down a wooden chair onto an unlucky guard.

It was one of the guards who has failed at doing their jobs properly, sleeping peacefully without the fright of the vengeful slaves they have captured.

The wooden chair broke until it was just a stick for the older slave to bash through the slave guard's head, expressing no mercy in the process.

"HELPPPP!!!"

The older slave wasn't at all benumbed by the sight of him murdering a human nor was he even horrified by the blood splashing onto his face.

 

He was livid! Utterly livid! No hesitation was seen except for his gaze which was emitting a murderous intent. 

"STOPP!!"

The victim shook and moved aside quite a lot, yet he was unable to push the slave away since he had his eyes mostly on the stick that was beating the dear life out of him.

"LET ME GO!"

While the guard was bleeding from his damaged face, blood splattered and dirtied the floor, the slave and the victim himself. 

Alongside the screams that echoed throughout the place, the amount of time the guard was being hit by the wooden stick was saturating the atmosphere to its intensity.

"PLEASE!!!"

It was a gruesome sight to see, not only did it appall the young child, the grisly scream woke up the second guard who was guarding the entrance.

"ACKKKKK!!!"

The shock rushes to the fazed guard while he watches the scene unfold with a pale face.

He trembles from his fellow friend's blood splattering onto his clothes as the older slave smashes open the unfortunate guard's head.

The moment the stunned guard gets his act together, he witnesses the death of his friend in front of him when the screams unexpectedly stop.

"WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!!"

Bewildered and fueled with nothing but rage, the guard yelled at the older slave who was tired after doing the kill.

Knocking the older slave off of the corpse, the guard checks his friend's breathing to confirm that it was just a false alarm, that his friend didn't die, and that his friend was just pulling a prank on him.

Nevertheless, a boy who is smaller in size manages to beat his friend, ending his life and leaving this world with a pathetic last moment. As though God was simply playing a horrible trick on this forlorn man, it led to him glaring daggers at the older slave, fuming with utter resentment at the loss of his friend.

"YOUUUUUU!!!!!!"

The guard quickly hurried at the older slave, taking out a whip from his waist and gripping it firmly.

"I'LL KILLLLL YOOOUUUU!!!"

Short yet impactful to this murderer of a slave's mind, he feels a rush of quivers from the memories of his time being left inside a confinement room with only an armed man. It was a traumatic experience of his arrival to this cruel slavery which is why the older slave's perspective is filled with the transparent fear of the whip.

The bloody wooden stick that once struck a man, was knocked away after an unexpected push from a guard's aggressiveness. Thus, in hopeless and powerless desperation, the poor slave takes a true look at his vulnerability.

And as a consequence of this slave's action, he was faced with nothing more than to defend himself from a whip's vengeance, forcing him to crawl up into a pitiful ball.

In that one moment, the boy gritted his ragged shirt to brace himself against the whip's wrath. 

When all of a sudden…

"WHAT THE—"

Innocent hands that have never touched blood nor laid a hand on a human's life, have finally taken a life. To shoulder this sin, it wasn't the responsibility of the guard and the older slave..

It was someone of a youthful age who bore witness to this scenery with her gaped eyes and chose a life-changing decision for her future path.

Yes, it's the young girl who shall carry on this dreadful responsibility throughout her entirety…

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