Broken World: Law Breakers

POV - ARES MANGAL-GRAH

Ares frowned at Kirin's words, 'you shouldn't have come here,' echoing through his mind like a dark prophecy. His right hand clenched into a fist, muscles tensing as if fighting building rage, but then he forced himself to calm down, his fingers slowly uncurling.

He turned his gaze back to Kirin. "I'm not here by choice," he said, the words coming out more forcefully than intended, tinged with the bitterness of loss. "My home, Mars, was attacked by the World Enders. Staying there meant certain death. At least here on Earth, we had a fighting chance."

A fleeting look of remorse crossed Kirin's features, a crack in her otherwise impenetrable facade, but it vanished as swiftly as it appeared, replaced by her customary stoic expression. "Maybe death is mercy," she murmured, her voice low, almost as if she were speaking to herself.

Ares managed a smile, one that didn't quite reach his eyes. "And yet, your kind still fought so much to stay alive."

Kirin's response was a shrug, almost dismissive. "It's in our nature."

Their eyes locked, tension crackling in the air like static before a storm. Then, Kirin broke the eye contact, her gaze dropping to the map spread before them, but the tension lingered, a palpable force in the room.

Kirin's voice cut through the tension, "You might want to get some ink and paper now, if you want a copy of the map before we leave." Her tone suggested it was a dismissal as much as an offer.

Ares, leaning heavily on the table, his body still protesting every movement, looked up at her. "About that," he began, his voice steadier than his legs, "I'd like to accompany you on your journey."

Kirin's eyebrow arched. "Why?" she asked, her gaze scrutinizing. "You don't even know where we're going."

"That's true, I don't. But it's got to be a safer place than here, and where I can get answers," Ares replied.

Her response was immediate, delivered in a tone so chilling it could have frozen the blood in one's veins. "Nowhere's safe."

But then, without missing a beat, she continued, her tone leaving no room for argument, "Either way. I refuse your request."

"Why?" Ares pressed, his voice a low growl, frustration seeping through the cracks of his thinning patience.

Kirin met his gaze head-on, her eyes like flint. "Do I really need to say it?" 

Ares's jaw set, his expression unyielding.

She exhaled, the sound sharp, almost a hiss of annoyance. "Firstly, I don't know who you are. An alien from another planet," she spat the words out as if they were poison, "an unpredictable variable I can't afford to include in my already strenuous plans.

Secondly," she continued, her eyes scanning his still-healing frame with disdain, "you look half-dead. It's a miracle you're even breathing. You'll just slow us down. We can't afford that. And thirdly," her voice dropped, taking on a chilling edge, "I can't guarantee anyone's safety as is, and you, Ares, just makes it that much harder for me."

Ares felt the sting of her words, each one a jab at his already battered pride. He knew she was not wrong; he would cause problems for them. So, he nodded, his voice controlled, "I understand."

Kirin's response was curt, "Good."

Ares gave up on accompanying her, so he changed his approach, "Can you at least answer my questions?"

Kirin's shrug was dismissive, her voice cold, "I'll answer what I can. It's the least I can do."

Ares pondered his next move, weighing the value of asking for information about his family against learning about this alien planet he now found himself on. Curiosity about Earth won out. "What happened to Earth?" he inquired.

Kirin's frown deepened, a crease of irritation or perhaps frustration marking her brow. "I'm not the most knowledgeable about history," she admitted, her words measured. "But information about earlier times is shrouded in mystery for some reason, and I for one never particularly cared to find out why."

She paused, her gaze drifting off as if looking into the past. "I can only tell you a little of what I learned in childhood, though it's best to take it with a grain of salt."

Ares nodded, his interest piqued despite the warning. Then she began to speak, her voice taking on a distant, almost reluctant tone.

Kirin's voice softened, taking on a haunted quality as she continued, "There's a song my old friend taught me when I was a child. It was a forbidden song." Her words hung in the air, heavy with the weight of the past.

"So much so that when my father heard me sing it one time, he found out who taught it to me and he..." She paused, the memory of pain flashing across her features. "...he cut off her tongue and cast her out."

Ares watched Kirin as she continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "The poor woman didn't last long outside the gates." The sorrow in her gaze deepened. "I watched... as mere seconds after she stepped out, an iron wolf ripped her to shreds."

Kirin, with a visible effort, pulled herself back from the abyss of her memories, her features hardening once more into her stoic mask. "Anyway," she said, her voice steadier, "the song goes like this."

She began to sing, her voice melodic. It was a voice that carried layers - a deep, resonant tone that seemed to echo through the air, yet there was a haunting quality to it, as if each note was tinged with sorrow.

'The first men sought knowledge...' She sang, her voice smooth and flowing, like a gentle stream, "'...and knowledge they found. And the knowledge made them gods. And then they destroyed themselves.'"