Dog Days

Chapter 0 - King of the Jungle

It was hot. The sun was starting to rise over a thick jungle that was collapsing under its heat. Painted in the blood of it's victims, the jungle was dotted with corpses that were stacked high on top of each other in the aftermath of a furious battle. A massive battlefield took place here as the two sides clashed in a devastating melee. Countless bodies were dwelling in the heat of the jungle and as their stench started to rise... so did Kodjo.

He found himself opening his eyes as the smell of rotting corpses began to assault his nostrils- he rose only to push off one of his fallen comrades. His eyes darted around as he looked at the battlefield. It looked like a soon to be graveyard, there wasn't a living thing in sight. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of insects feasting on the fallen or the wind carrying small items and objects.

As he looked around he could see his fallen comrades dug in deep into the jungle's muddy embrace. Their armors and clothes tethered and battered across- their remnants like ashes of a bombed city. Their young faces were equally as beaten, mutilated or frozen stiff with the shock of failure. Kodjo felt himself overcome with grief, his troops had put their faith into him to help bring them to victory. Instead, defeat was their reward for valiant service and admiration.

He should've died here. He wished for death. But now wasn't the time for regrets. He had to push on.

Kodjo finally rose to his feet as his armor shifted. Once Kodjo reached his feet, his hands instantly reached for his blade... it wasn't there. His eyes widened in surprise, "Shit...!" this was bad. A terror without his blade was a dead man in any setting and this sword was a special one. He remembered his master's words as he presented it to him to lead the army to victory, "Death before dishonor." Without that blade- he was nothing. He needed to find it.

Kodjo's feet began to hurry as he stumbled around the dead battlefield with purpose. His hands moved as if they were looking for the blade as well. As he hurried, he tried to remember what happened- what got him to this point. His mind kept coming up with blanks, how did he get here? But suddenly, his ears heard the sounds of a man shouting. It was as if a mother was shouting for their lost child.

"Boys!? Where are you? Boys!?!" The voice trembled with every word, he sounded lost and without purpose.

Kodjo began to move towards the voice cautiously before crouching next to a thick bush surrounded by more dense and lush vegetation. His eyes investigated as he saw the man shouting, pacing back and forth as he looked for his "boss." Kodjo watched the man for a moment, he looked familiar. And then it hit him.

The lone man was apart of the Gojira gang, a vicious band of bandits, cutthroats, and killers that had been raping, pillaging, and looting the South side of this sector. The Gojira clan's numbers eventually rose to the hundreds of thousands as they raged on the city of Zassa, looting the merchant city for all it was worth and kidnapping hundreds of women and children.

Two years passed since that awful day and justice wasn't being delivered until Kodjo and his troops stepped up. Now, in the heat of the jungle and just a mile away was the encampment holding the captives. Kodjo was tasked by the city's council to go and save them and as his men marched to do battle... they did. It was a bloodbath.

The man was adorned in an assortment of chains. Some were gold, some were silver, some contained diamonds. And then there was his arm, it was a cyber-enhanced prosthetic that oozed ancient technology. It looked like steel replaced his bones and was left bare for all to see as a flex on his enemies. This man wore no real armor outside of two rectangular shoulder guards made from a dark leather. What was more surprising was the fact that this man had no pants as well, just underwear and his body was covered in painted words that read, "Kill!" and "Doom" on repeat. His hair was wild and untamed, only kept together by a headband that held the symbol of the Gojira gang- a bee.