Ch. 1 The Unfulfilled Wish

Ch. 1:  The Unfulfilled Wish

Our story begins inside of a room, well lit by the lanterns and torches that line the wall. In the center of this room stands a brown haired man; the white shirt that he’s wearing is stained red with blood. Suddenly the twin iron doors to the room burst open, the culprit leisurely strolling into the room, dusting off his blue armor in the process. As the brown-haired man turns to confront this new figure, his eyes shine with a look of pure anger and hatred, giving him a cold, demonic look.

“Have…you found him yet, Dekareno?” said the brown haired man
“There’s still no sign of him. Don’t worry though..he’ll po….”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses Dekareno.” he says as he slaps Dekareno in the face “Find that fool and bring him to me, do you understand?!”
“Yes..yes sir.” stuttered Dekareno





λтℓαηтιѕ





Two Nights Later



Unusually, tonight there is no moon, no wind, and no sounds whatsoever. Ominous was the word most people used for nights like these. Even the only light visible, the two small fires burning in the watchtowers that guard the Gates of Atlantis, didn’t help light up the night any better. Despite all this, there seem to be two individuals frantically braving the darkness. The man, who’s taller than the woman hidden beneath her hooded robe, has his long silver hair tied at the top of his head. His black and silver armor is barely visible in the darkness. As they enter a cluster of trees the man begins to speak.

“That light, it has to be the watchtowers. Good, that means we’re close Sakuya.”
“You can see that far Arieos, how?”
“Because I’m a very powerful man.”
“This is no time to joke! Why did we have to leave, on such a night?”
“Because, we stand a better chance of escaping this way.”
“But why now Arieos?”
“Because….I’ve made a terrible mistake….” Arieos said grimly

The sound of a whimpering baby can be heard coming from underneath Sakuya’s robe. They both stop, as she opens up her robe revealing the baby. When the baby gets exposed to the cold night air it begins to cry.

“Oh….did we wake you Aterin? It’s alright…” said Sakuya in a motherly voice
“Haha….don’t worry little one, our journey will soon be over.” Arieos said as he rubs the baby’s head

The sound of a snapping branch is heard directly overhead, bringing them back to reality. Before either one of them had time to react, a shadowed figure appears.

“Found ya.” the figure coldly said



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Impatiently pacing the floor in a dimly lit room is a man with long, whitish silver hair, dressed in blue pants with a blue shirt to match, all under a white robe with a dark blue “λ” sewed on the back. The golden sash on his waist and the shoulder plate on his left shoulder are gleaming as he passes the candle light. The other man, wearing dark blue armor, is positioned by the window. The wind occasionally ruffles his jet black hair. The pacing man walks over to the window.

“They should have been here by now…Are you sure there’s no word from the guards yet?” said Mazaku
"No sir, still no sign of them." said Neako
“Damn, we can’t wait any longer. Neako, go find them and bring them the rest of the way here. Make sure that no one sees you leave…if the people found out what we’re doing it’ll just cause more trouble.”
“Yes sir.”

With that Neako runs out of the room, Mazaku then walks over to the window.

“I hope nothing went wrong.” Mazaku thought as he watches Neako leave

Back at the forest, the figure identifies himself to be an assassin, dressed in black armor with a large, black-bladed sword on his back.

“So, I’ve been found huh? Why don’t you run along junior…before you get hurt.” said Arieos smugly
“Surely you know that he’s got basically everyone combing Makai territory for you? I won’t be the only one for long.” said the assassin
“Just one assassin will not be enough to kill me.”
“I’m not here to kill you Arieos, for some reason he wants you alive.”
“So you’re here to take me back huh? Well I’m not going back to him.” Arieos turns his head toward Sakuya “Do not stray from me.”
“Still hell bent on resisting eh??” said the assassin

Arieos unsheathes his white-handled sword as the assassin grabs his black sword. They charge each other, their swords locking. Arieos dodges behind a tree, attempting an attack from the other side, but it’s blocked. The assassin again charges Arieos, but Arieos blocks the attack. They appear to be evenly matched.

“I don’t have time for this foolish little game of swords…I’m ending this!!” shouted Arieos

Arieos, bracing himself, swings his sword behind him. As he does, his eyes turn a blood red color.

“Die!!!”

Without warning, Arieos falls to the ground, clutching his chest. He seems to be in a massive amount of pain.

“Not….now..” Arieos feebly stutters
“Ah…I see, so the seal strips you of the ability to use your powers, doesn’t it? Interesting, I wonder, does the seal wear off over time or is it a permanent one? Nonetheless, taking you back to Makai won’t be such a hassle now. But before that….” he turns toward Sakuya “I have to tie up some loose ends!”

The assassin charges toward Sakuya. Arieos, still struggling with the pain, attempts to move.

“Help!! Arieos!” she screams as she starts to run
“She…will…not…DIE!!!”
“No use in running woman!!” the assassin says with an evil laugh

As the assassin swings his sword, Arieos appears in front of Sakuya, blocking the near fatal blow.

“Change of plans, you have to go on without me. Don’t worry, I’ll be right behind you.” Arieos says as he grabs the assassin by the neck “.…...Hey, what are you gawking at!? Do what I say! TAKE ATERIN AND RUN!!”

“Ok….” Sakuya said as she runs away
“Don’t think it’s going to be that easy Arieos!” shouts the assassin

The assassin frees himself from Arieos’ grip, hitting him over the head with the sword handle in the process. With Arieos flat on the ground, the assassin freely chases after Sakuya, taking her head off when he catches her. The impact of the sword caused Sakuya to sling Aterin from her arms onto the mossy forest floor.

“A baby?? Well, my orders are to bring Arieos back to Makai…..just Arieos, anyone else is to die.”

The assassin walks over to Aterin and raises his sword to deliver a finishing blow, but the attack is stopped by another sword. You can hear the vibration of the two swords echo throughout the forest. This other sword belongs to Neako.

“That was a bold move.” said the assassin coldy

Neako looks around and sees Sakuya’s body on the forest floor.

“I assume this is your doing?” asked Neako
“I acted on orders. Now step aside Atlantean.”
“You’ll pay for this.” Neako said, eyes filling with rage
“Stupid little Atlantean…”

Neako and the assassin attack each other. Neako parries an attack from the left, and makes an attempt to cut the assassin’s arm off. But the assassin, seeing it at the last minute, lunges back. Then, he swings his black-bladed sword down, shattering Neako’s attempt at a parry, and his sword.

“Haha….Whatcha going to do now Atlantean?? Huh?! I guess this will teach you to mess...”

Out of the middle of the assassin’s chest appears Arieos’s sword. The assassin pushes at the sword tip, but Arieos stabs the sword into the ground. After some squirming and cussing, the assassin’s body falls motionlessly to the ground. Arieos pulls his sword out.

The night is lit up by a bolt of lightning, followed by the sound of thunder, and then the rain begins to fall.

“Arieos!?” said a stunned Neako
“Dammit…” Arieos stuttered as a mixture of blood and water pours down his armor “Neako….the boy’s name…...is Aterin.”

Arieos falls to the ground, dead.

“So I was too late after all.” Neako thought to himself as he checked Arieos’ vitals

The sound of the baby Aterin can now be heard. Neako runs over and picks him up, wrapping him with the sash that was around his waist. He turns back towards Atlantis.

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“How?! How could this have happened?!!” shouted Mazaku as he sits down “So…they got to him before we could huh?? I should have known something like this would happen..”
“Please don’t blame yourself sir.” responded Neako
“On top of that, we have to figure out what to do with...this…” he said as he holds Aterin out
“If I may, didn’t Sakuya have a sister here in Atlantis?”
“Yanagi was her name wasn’t it?”
“We could leave Aterin in Miss Yanagi’s hands. After all she’s the only family he has now.” said Neako
“Yeah…wait…why did you just call him Aterin??”
“Arieos told me that that was to be the boy’s name.....before he died.”
“I see…...” Mazaku said as he began to rub his eyes “We will leave Aterin with Yanagi. That’s all we can do for him now.”
“Understood.”
“Now go and get some rest Neako; meet me here in the morning.”
“Yes sir.” said Neako, as he left

“What a horrible night this turned out to be” Mazaku says to himself as he walks over to the window “Arieos, my old friend, I'm sorry I couldn't save you and Sakuya…But I can promise you this, as long as I'm alive Aterin will be safe. That, afterall, is the least I can do.”

And so our story begins. It's about a boy named Aterin, and all his adventures during the rise and fall of the greatest civilization of the Ancient World, Atlantis.