Rise of Ancients: The Sample

Chapter 3: Rebirth

Enthralled by the miniature reptile, the child spent every free moment he could in its company. After a tiring and lengthy race from the prior day, the lizard not only managed to keep up but also took the lead just as the child reached the finish line, earning it the esteemed name of Zip. Not feeling particularly ready to lose another race so soon, the child had a different idea of how they could play today.

Using sticks, leaves, and rocks, he created an obstacle course fit for the finest of competitors. Filled with harrowing leaps and swinging twigs of death, the child believed he surely had his friend beat. However, each challenge within his miniature course, no matter how daunting, Zip completed with ease.

In the distance, he could hear his mother calling out for him. Dinner was ready, and his hunger, previously tucked away in the back of his mind, suddenly matched the level of his excitement. He placed his new friend back on the root where it had been found. Using a finger, he gently petted the lizard and said goodbye.

Chapter 3: Rebirth

5 minutes after Regenifact

As the doors closed behind him, the music of screaming filled his ears. Too long had he been trapped in that tomb. For nearly two thousand years, he had been conscious and bound by living rigor mortis, with only the darkness and piercing silence as his companions. The moments before that suffocating darkness played endlessly through his head, taunting him with his failure. With his release, Hades' rage had been renewed.

He looked to his right and down a long hall lit with hanging balls of fireless light. This world had changed. He closed his eyes and searched through Melissa's hazy memories until he found what he needed. Etched into his mind, as if he had wandered these hallways countless times, was the layout of Regenifact. Following the memory, he made his way to the exit.

With each step, he noticed more and more the aches of his body and the wounds of his flesh. He pushed down the pain and replaced it with his hatred. He had two thousand years to rest; now was the time to move. Soon, the exit would be in his sight.

Emerging from the building, he was greeted by a breeze and the cool night air. Before him lay a river of black lined with more fireless lights held high on poles. Searching Melissa's memories, the things before him were given names. The black river was solid and called a street, while the light sources were contraptions of electricity, metal, and glass. He allowed her memories to fade into the back of his mind as he was brought up to date. How far this world had come.

A rustling noise to his left jolted his entire body into a defensive position. Leaves scraped along the ground and drifted past his feet. He slowly relaxed his arms. Farther down the street, he noticed a large man walking in his direction. The man would do nicely. He walked toward the man with a slight hobble.

Oblivious to the world, the man stared down at a flashing object, emotionlessly reading something off of it. Hades approached and drew his fist, punching the man's temple hard enough to cause him to drop his phone.

"What the—"was all the man muttered before he was pushed into a dark alley. When he looked over at his attacker, the man stumbled over his words: "W—whatever you want. It's y—yours." He removed his watch and shakily offered it.

Knocking the unwanted sacrifice from the man's hands, Hades looked him in the eyes. "I have no need for your wrist ornament, but you do have something I want." He grabbed the man's throat and held him against the brick. The man clawed at Hades' hand. He could feel it, hear it, pulsing through the man's veins: rich, delicious life. Within Hades, Essence, the energy that comprised the dark realm of the Void, flowed through him.