''It is the dawn of the second century, the year 200.
200 years since humanity almost faced extinction... 200 years since Olympia and the holy walls were built in order to protect what was left of our race.
The ancient scriptures recount of a previous world, an endless world, where billions of people lived freely and peacefully, a world vast and rich, where survival was a given thing for almost everyone: living to see another day was not just a miracle, it was an unquestionable human right.
In the previous world, humans were at the peak of the food chain, their weapons, and machinery capable of bending even the environment at their own will…
Humans had defeated nature.
However… A warrior cannot live in a garden forever, and humans were just that: natural born warriors stuck in a bloody crusade against nature. Every land conquered, every beast tamed, every disease cured… The only thing capable of being the downfall of humanity was...
Humanity itself.
The food chain became a social chain. Wealthier men were by all means superior to the others, but the others were the reason for that smaller percentage's wealth and they were unhappy with the unfair distribution of resources. The wealthier men, unwilling to share their favored position in the social chain, shifted the blame onto other societies, twisting the people's views and ideas.
War was quick to follow.
There was no mankind anymore, people were either allies or foes, worshippers or heretics, black or white, good or evil…
The very same machinery, feared even from nature, became terrifying weapons of mass destruction. Enormous metallic birds flooded the sky, ships as big as cities infested the sea, buildings higher than the clouds turned to dust, eaten alive by flying weapons whose name had been lost in history. Piece by piece, everything mankind had achieved was blown away by its own greed and foolishness, but that had been just the start.
Nature existed and flourished for millions and millions of year before man came along, and it was surely not willing to bend under the virus humanity had become, so it waited… Wisely waited for humanity to reach its lowest point before striking, looking for revenge.
The ancient scriptures preach about a thin veil that used to exist between our world and an unknown dimension, where creatures from long forgotten myths and fantasies flourished undisturbed. This veil, The Mist, had protected man since its early days, but tired and disgusted at how humanity had become, one day, it decided…
To disappear.
Creatures and beasts from the deepest pits of hell flooded the earth in enormous numbers, erasing day by day what was left of the weakened human civilization.
On the verge of extinction, the heavens took pity on the last stronghold humanity had left. A nameless city, only known as N.Y. in the ancient scriptures, destined to fall under the devilish paws of nature retribution, was saved by the appearance of seven deities, whose power far exceed the limit of the human body. Seven warriors from heaven, whose unspeakable prowess was enough to push back the seemingly endless horde of monstrosities that surrounded the city.
However, the Seven Elder Gods knew the monsters were not defeated, and that they would eventually come back to finish what they started.
Therefore, they sacrificed their being in order to create a perfect oasis for the people's survival.
From the ruins of the forgotten city, the Grand Palace was raised from the ground, its white shiny peaks cutting the clouds above;
The bloodstained river that used to cut the city in half closed itself around the enormous Palace, its sacred waters creating the inner line of defense for the core of humanity resilience: the First District of Olympia.
From the prayers of the people, the First Wall rose tall and proud, the pure color of the marble shined bright with the hope of the people it swore to defend. Later in History, the Districts of Gemini, Conquista, and Valedictoria were built along the course of the holy wall, their beauty a solid testament of humanity's will to survive.
From the very bodies of the Seven Deities, the Second Wall was born from the ashes of the burned ground; the ultimate sacrifice of the Elder Gods. An enormous resourceful area, where human labor had a chance to prosper undisturbed. Along with this almost endless wall, the Districts of Province, Primavera and Umbrea were built, strong and unforgiving, the first line of defense humanity had provided for itself against the horrors of the outside world.
Even today, the descendants of our beloved Elder Gods lead humanity against…''
Her father had scoffed from beside her, prying her attention away from the preaching man
His jaw was clenched and his eyes aflame, a hate too deep for her to even understand yet.
He had looked at her. The eyes of a madman.
And a madman he was. Always talking nonsense against the Elders and their families, even blaming them, the very saviors of humanity, to have killed her beloved wife.
Madness.
''Hate is a bullet, my dear Zoe, and it always ricochets. I won't let them take you.''
He said.
She never understood what he meant by that, but she had believed him. How couldn't she? Her dad was respected, strong, invincible… The people's general! Her…
General.
He was captured and sentenced to death the day after.
A traitor, a threat to Olympia, the District and to humanity itself!
Nobody asked questions.
Neither did she.
''Hellooo? Artemis to Zoe here, are you already that drunk?''
All the commotion around her came back all at once, disorienting her for a second. There were people all around her, dancing and drinking and chatting, all of them covered in extravagant outfit all coming from the previous world. Loud music that she never heard before collected all the other noises in a very well organized mess. Artemis was in front of her, an expensive looking glass in her hand, while her silver orbs worriedly scanned her.
''No, I'm not. It's just… this! It is a little overwhelming for me…''
''It better be! We just became the two most important people in Gemini!''
Zoe smiled softly. Her friend had just become the regent of the Fourth District, and she had decided to make Zoe her second in command, making her one of the most influential women in the world.
''Yeah, you are right… I better start to get used to these sort of things, uh?''
She mouthed something akin to 'That's my girl', before disappearing once again inside the sea of people in front of her.
She needed some air.
Being raised by the army didn't let her develop any serious social skill, she felt really out of place in these situations.
She walked further into the enormous garden the party was being held in, one of the many beautiful gardens that characterized the city of Gemini.
She stopped upon a lonely looking marble bench, that was circled by a beautiful composition of colorful flowers.
She sat down.
It was quiet, simple and pretty. She liked it.
''Oh my, and here I thought I was the only one that knew about this place.''
She reluctantly raised her gaze from the flowers to address the male voice that had dared to ruin her moment, but her snappy remark died immediately in her throat.
He was tall, dressed in an extravagant outfit she had never seen before: a black, soft looking jacket was perfectly covering the man upper body, hiding the pure white shirt that could only be seen by the vertical line in the middle that the jacket left uncovered. Around the shirt neck, an odd piece of tissue was held in a pose that resembled a butterfly by a neat, barely visible knot.
The strangest thing was that it all looked impossibly new, a real rarity among the clothes that came from the previous world. She learned at a very young age that, in this ridiculous society, clothes are by all means a way to represent a person's well-being and importance.
And this man had to be very important.
''I'm really sorry sir, I didn't know it-''
He laughed.
A sincere and heartily laugh that really did surprise Zoe. Usually, the richer ones were also the most stuck up insufferable ones. Zoe noted that he sounded so young because he was, actually, that young, maybe a few years older than her.
''The man who owns this bench is currently drinking way more alcohol that is humanly possible, I highly doubt he would mind if two people use it… If you are okay with sharing it, of course…''
Zoe finally found the guts to look at the man in his face, pleasantly noting that he was indeed very handsome and friendly looking. He had this tiny unwavering smile that promised jokes and a relaxed atmosphere, followed by two bright green eyes, that too betrayed his uplifted personality.
She shifted slightly to her left, silently agreeing to the man intentions. It was very unlike her to second social intercourse such as this, especially with men, but she felt that this one could be trusted, for the time being.
He smiled brightly, filling rapidly the empty spot she had just made for him.
''My name is Perseus and yours?''
She laughed quietly. He sounded so much like a little kid.
''Nice to meet you Perseus, I'm Zoe.''
''Zoe! What a wonderful name! It is a really ancient name, it had a long history even in the previous world!''
He did get her attention with that. She knew that some historians had managed to find documents regarding some of the ancient words, but since it had been safely kept by the very head of the Church, only the higher-ups could get a hold of that information.
''Really? Do you actually know the meaning of my name?''
''Yes.''
She laughed again. Loudly this time.
''No you don't, you are just trying to impress me.''
He got up from his seated position, feigning an offended expression that resulted in another round of laughter from her.
''While I am indeed guilty of trying to impress you, I do actually know the meaning behind your name, Zooee…'''
''Tell me then, Mr. I happen to know stuff for every girl I randomly meet, what is the meaning behind my name?''
He lost his smile immediately, as he kneeled down on the soft grass in a quick fluid movement that almost startled her. He rested his hand on her legs as his face was burning with such intensity that she couldn't even react to what was happening.
''But my dear Zoe, what makes you think you are a girl I just randomly met… I've been looking fot you…''
His face was inching closer to hers. Her charcoal orbs were completely at the mercy of his predatory green ones. He was not the relaxed and childish man from before, he was dangerous, powerful, dark, chaotic, evil!... And sinfully hard to resist.
He could feel his lips touching hers ever so slightly, she was still, immobile, wide-eyed, confused…
''Hate is a bullet, my dear Zoe, and it always ricochets.''
And in a blink, he was gone.
The tickling, however…
Her lips didn't stop tickling.
.