Broken World: Law Breakers

POV - ARES MANGAL GRAH

Ares slipped in and out of consciousness, caught in a cycle of sleep and wakefulness that brought no peace. His dreams were a torrent of nightmares, each more terrifying than the last.

He saw his mother, Elysia, her once vibrant eyes now dull with despair, chained in a dungeon where the walls wept with the moisture of centuries. Her hair was matted, her clothes tattered, yet her gaze burned with defiance.

Jove, his youngest brother, was in the arms of a stranger, a woman with cold, unloving eyes, raising him as her own.

Athena, his sister, was transformed into a figure of terror, her eyes wild with the thrill of the kill, her hands stained with blood. And Romulus and Juno, his twins, were lost, adrift in an endless sea of bloodthirsty monsters, their cries for help swallowed by the chaos.

"Noooooooooo!" Ares awakened with a scream that tore through the silence, his voice raw with the terror of the visions that refused to leave him, even in waking.

The girl named Kirin burst into the room, her entrance marked by the loud kick of the door, swinging it wide open with her foot. In her hand, she gripped a long, slender blade, its curved edge gleaming with an edge so sharp it seemed to slice through the very air. She moved with the blade at the ready, her body poised for action.

Her eyes darted across the room, taking in every detail with the precision of a seasoned warrior as Faraday stumbled in, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste.

Faraday's face erupted into a wide, joyous smile the moment he spotted Ares, who was now sitting up, drenched in sweat, his chest heaving from the intensity of his nightmares.

Faraday dashed over to Ares, his eyes glittering with a mix of wonder and scientific curiosity as he scanned Ares's face and body, looking for signs of recovery or perhaps something more mysterious.

Without a moment's hesitation, Faraday rushed to Ares's side, his eyes sparkling with a mix of awe and analytical zeal. He examined Ares's face and body, his hands hovering just above, as if he could almost see the mysteries unfolding beneath the skin.

Faraday unleashed a torrent of questions, each one coming faster than the last. "Where were you from? How did it look? How advanced was your civilization? Where were you on the Kardashev scale? How strong were you? What types of powers did you wield?"

Ares, his jaw still sore but manageable, slowly opened his mouth, the room silent but for the hum of anticipation from Faraday, who was practically vibrating with excitement, his eyes as wide as saucers, waiting for the revelations.

Then, after a pause that stretched into an eternity of silence, Ares, with a voice slightly hoarse, uttered the single word, "Food."

Faraday looked bewildered, "You were from... food?"

Kirin, who had stilled upon seeing no immediate threat, rolled her eyes and clarified, "He's asking for food, dumbass."

Faraday blinked, the realization slow to dawn, "Oh..." It took a few more moments for the penny to drop, "Ohh!" His disappointment was evident as he sighed, flicking his wrist dismissively at Kirin, "Go bring some food."

After a moment, he looked back to find her still standing there, eyebrow arched.

Faraday, confused, started, "Why, what did I even..."

He caught on to his mistake, rephrasing his command into a request, "Kirin, will you please bring food for X?"

Kirin smirked, "No." And with that, she turned and left the room.

Ares and Faraday watched her depart. Faraday turned to Ares, seeking solidarity, "Girls, am I right?"

Ares merely shrugged, noncommittal.

Faraday clicked his tongue, muttering, "No fun," before he too exited, saying as he left, "I'll go get you something to eat."

Faraday returned after a brief absence, carrying with him a small, compact package of food that Ares had never seen before.

It was a dense rectangle, the color of ash, its surface smooth yet uninviting, like a brick of compressed nutrients rather than something meant to be enjoyed.

"It's not much," Faraday said as he handed it over, "but it will sustain you," he paused, his eyes scanning Ares critically, then added, "for a short while."

Ares took a cautious bite, and immediately his taste buds were met with a wave of blandness. It was like chewing on compressed sawdust, with an aftertaste of soil, devoid of any zest or flavor. The texture demanded thorough chewing, each bite a labor without the reward of taste, the food neither moist nor dry, just a dense, unyielding mass that fulfilled its promise of nutrition without any pleasure.

Ares kept his thoughts to himself, managing a polite, "Thank you for the food."

Faraday, his face set in an unexpectedly serious expression, probed, "Was it good? Be honest."

Ares hesitated, contemplating his response. Honesty might offend, but he recoiled at the thought of lying. Yet, after a moment, he chose diplomacy, saying, "It's good."

Faraday's serious look morphed into a knowing grin, "Liar. I know it tasted like paper."

Ares chuckled, "Well, it... did its job?"

Faraday said, "Exactly, it did the job. Don't expect gourmet, but at least you won't starve!"

Ares attempted to flex them, his face contorting with the effort, a groan escaping his lips, "Sensation was weak, but I could feel control returning."

Faraday hummed thoughtfully, "Hmmm, you were already recovering at an inhuman pace. A few more days, weeks maybe, and you'd be just fine. Problem was, we didn't have that time. Kirin left tomorrow."

Ares's expression darkened, "It's fine. If I couldn't recover in time, you could leave me here. Our paths were probably different anyway."

Faraday furrowed his brow, lost in deep thought, then, as if reaching a decision, he stood abruptly, extending an arm to Ares.

Ares eyed the outstretched arm with caution. Faraday, impatient, rolled his eyes, "Come on, man, I haven't got all day."

Ares took the arm, attempting to rise. However, his legs gave out, unable to support him, and Faraday, not expecting the full weight, stumbled. They both tumbled to the ground in an ungainly heap.

Faraday grumbled as they lay on the floor, "Damn, what were you, a mountain? How much did you weigh?"

With a Herculean effort, they finally managed to get to their feet, but it was more like a dance of the drunk, with Faraday nearly being dragged down by Ares's every step, his arms windmilling for balance, nearly sending them both back to the floor.

As they hobbled out, Faraday, through gritted teeth from the effort of supporting Ares, asked, "Oh, what was your name?"

Ares, straining to keep upright, replied, "Ares, Ares Mangal-Grah."

Faraday, teetering under the load, squinted, "Mangal what now?"

Ares, with a grunt from the effort of staying vertical, clarified, "Grah."

As they finally made it out of the room, Faraday, still struggling under Ares's weight, muttered, "Yeah, I'm not calling you that. I'll stick with X."PostAres's nightmaresElysia's backstorymore dramatic