Inferno Ascended

Lord Doros of Kirene, the Northern Paradise. A Kroton with a brilliant destiny. His family descended from the mighty Myrmidons. 

He saw the Lost Sea across the Atlantides. He fought in Oreum. He's been with Chriseis, and in every one of those places. 

Doros was the first one who trusted her. After the battle of Heramis where Chriseis' father lost his legs, they chased the centaurs who retreated back towards Victum, a stronghold of the Erimos. 

The centaurs were the best warriors among the sylvans, all-rounder, fast, brave. They were the stuff and heart of the enemies of humans. Their strategic capability and warlike spirit were the fuel and engine behind the Silvan invasions in the south.

It would be essential to defeat the centaurs before they regroup. 

So they followed them with about 300 Chriseis men and 100 Doros men. At an accelerated march, the Myrmidons followed behind the horsemen and in front of the best archers from Klasidos.

They had a confrontation on the first day, in the icy marshes past the battlefield. 

During the night they counted the dead, and it was more than he and she had imagined. The battle was not as quick and final as Chriseis imagined.

They held an assembly and came to the conclusion that it would be difficult to fight the closer they got to Leto. They didn't know the terrain. They were in Erimos, their teeth chattered from the cold. In their zeal to travel almost as fast as the centaurs, they came without extra supplies.

"WE ARE ECHELIANS!!!" Chriseis had yelled, furious at the idea of ​​giving up. "Where is your 'total commitment'?! Do you want to go back?! I WON'T COME BACK! MY MEN ARE NOT COMING BACK! Killing your mothers with daggers or out of shame of their weakling, trembling tiny cowardly offsprings IS THE FUCKING SAME THING!"

The men felt ashamed. Most of them were Furies, and Alectryons, and Myrmidons! Inflamed by the furious speech, they stayed, and in the first light of the morning it all started again.

Doros must have been suspicious. He saw her mumbling to herself that night. Maybe she was praying or talking to her Demon, he thought. 

Contrary to what they thought, the new strategy was not the best. They thought they were pushing the centaurs against Leto as they approached the famous Macaris Bridge, one of the great buildings of Ancient Hades that had stood on the Ascension. But that's not what happened. The centaurs made good use of the terrain, which looked like a gloomy labyrinth of boulders and toxic geysers.

The terrain was not good for centaurs, but it was even worse for humans, who had less physical strength. In the end, to avoid a total downfall, Chriseis tried to outflank part of the enemies and push them to the bridge, dividing the battle in two. The centaurs who stayed behind died, and most of the humans who fought on the bridge.

The remaining centaurs would be able to retreat across the Leto River, making the small victory and enormous loss of life among the Echelians bitter.

They had a third of the men, and Chriseis urged them to step forward and take revenge for the deaths of those who fell! She didn't accept defeat.

He should have stopped her. But he was blind. Blind with love until it's too late.

They followed the bridge. And that day, he didn't recognize her anymore. Everyone fought valiantly, but she seemed possessed by a strange spirit, a murderous trance. She didn't give orders anymore, she just destroyed what was in front of her.

Including the Echelians soldiers themselves. She was the real Fury.

When it was over, he looked around. All he saw was death.

And then he looked at Chriseis.

Again she was talking to herself, and in a fit of fury, she tried to tear off the bionic arm. But it was impossible.

It was at that moment that he understood that the Fist of Chriseis was a cursed object. 

Doros stopped her from getting hurt, but that only made her angry at him. 

Now, he was worried about her, and he tried to calm her down and help her, but that only infuriated her. Doros thought Erimos was doing her harm. He just knew they needed to get out of there as soon as possible. He needed to get her out of that place.

About forty of his men had survived in total.

But to her surprise, she said, pointing to the walls of Victum a few miles away.

"We are already here. Let's burn Victum. Let's finish them all."

That was unbelievable. The men revolted. She was a madman, a real Fury, and she was driving them to insanity and perdition!

The group rebelled. Some simply deserted at that point. The ones that remained were not many or in the best of conditions, just consumed with hatred and fear for Chriseis.

They attacked her. They no longer cared about honor, about the Principles, about their survival. They just wanted revenge. Revenge against Chriseis!

And worst of all, many of them were his men! Myrmidons!

But he loved her, and he couldn't just leave her.

So he and she fought their own desperate men.

And the end, she turned to him and laughed wildly. He didn't recognize her voice when she said,

"You lost her here, mortal."

And she punched him in the face. The punch that blinded him. He could hardly believe he survived her.

But then he knew the Moiras wanted it that way. And Chriseis too.

Doros woke up with excruciating pain. He begged them to stop, but they had held him in handcuffs and shackles. Someone seemed to stir inside his head.

"Stay calm." He heard a voice that was, in turn, impatient. I'm taking a shrapnel out of your eye. I can get your sight back. Then you can come back for your revenge."

The Echelian who had survived hell and Chriseis gained the prosthesis and knowledge of the corruption that dominated the artifact in the general's arm.

Among other things, he had to destroy Chriseis. He knew that she, even dead, would rise. He should stop it.

::::::::::::::

"Who was he?" Glax asked, but was stopped by Alexander, who kicked Doros in the back angrily.

"ONLY LIES! YOU BASTARD! You and the 'Myrmidons' that you almost extinguished wanted to retreat in the middle of the battle near Macaris! This fragmented the group and left dozens of men trapped between River Leto and the centaurs! You were furious that she humiliated you in front of everyone for your cowardly attitude. You incited a revolt, which resulted in a fight between Echelians. YOU, YOU NASTY PIG, TRIED TO RAPE MY COUSIN when she was hurt. You tried to rip Chriseis' Fist off while she was alive. You almost made it!"

"She? A victim? Do you really see it that way?" Doros scoffed, trying to dodge more blows, even tied up.

Losing your eye was nothing!!! How do you DARE?!!!" The boy drew his sword, and Glax had to be quick to keep the young Echelian from slitting Doros' throat right then and there. 

He grabbed his pupil from behind and restrained him, causing him to drop his sword. Alexandre literally drooled with hate. "LET ME GO, MASTER! He only speaks lies! The only truth he spoke was about how he lost his eye!"

It was too fast for Glax to interfere, in the position behind Doros and with his hands and vision obstructed because of Alexander.

Doros broke free in the blink of an eye, and grabbed the sword in Rasmus' lap. And in the same movement, he lunged forward, thrusting the gladius with all his strength into the height of the Valosian's spleen.

Ras didn't react with his usual promptness, perhaps because he was hurt and tired. He grunted in surprise and pain and grabbed the hilt of his sword. Doros was rising at the same moment Glax released Alexandre.

"Motherfucker!" Alekos exclaimed as he bent down to grab his sword, and leapt over the fire to chase the fugitive.

"Alekos! No!! I NEED YOU!"

Glax had no choice. As he watched his friend bleeding profusely and lying down, he knew that without help, Ras would die there.

He tried to turn back time. Although with the clock weakened, he could only affect his own actions, with simple acts, and would have no control over the actions or events around him. And all he had done was listen to the story for several minutes, question, and be interrupted. Detain Alexandre… And if he didn't stop Alexandre, would the boy be the one to take the stab? Could he choose which one?

What if he walked in front of Rasmus, and took the knife in his place?

Or should he focus his power on accelerating Rasmus' healing as much as he could? Or regress the stab damage? Would he be able to do that? He had an idea how far his powers over time could go, having tested it at the Rusa Stronghold. When he focused his power on an object, or a living being, he transformed them with the power of time. He commanded their destinies. And he certainly knew his powers had increased. He figured they might be enough to save his friend, if done right. 

But if he was wrong, he wouldn't save Ras.

Her nervousness wasn't helping at all. If he took the stab, he wouldn't have another chance to rectify events. And while he was wasting time thinking about what to do, Doros was running away.

What was he supposed to do?

He had to decide now!