| Fan Fiction |
by Aelk
“How cruel of fate is to make fun people, even us.”
Anu spoke at last after a long cold war with his lover. True enough, the deities hold power to create, destroy, and even turn Time around. But all these powers could not be applied on themselves.
Time is flowing for them too, and albeit being endless, they could no longer return to a previous hour should they did something regretful.
“We control Mesopia’s fate, but someone controlled ours,” Ishtar tried to explain her actions, but it was all too late ---
“The last gift had already been given out.”
”All because of your sympathy towards the Humans.”
“But…”
”Unforgivable…”
In the skies where the deities dwelt, perhaps turmoil will begin like that of what Mesopia will be.
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Anzu woke up from her sleep all of a sudden. A lot of voices and thoughts swarmed her mind, and she could tell they were not hers. She had been dreaming a disturbing dream about the gods’ quarrel, and she knew it was real.
Just then, she experienced a sharp ache on her neck which removed all her sleepiness away. She blinked for a bit, and felt that she was on a bed. The atmosphere around her was quite familiar too… but something was different.
The design of the hut she was in was the same as what was in her memories, but apparently it has been relocated to another place.
“You woke up finally huh? Thought I’ve hit you a little too hard.”
Shamash’s voice could be heard from the other side of the place. The lights from the fire in front of him revealed his face which was masked during the thieving at last.
“So you gave me a chop on my neck?”
She recalled the reason of her being here and not the palace, and felt a little reckless.
“You were screaming and shouting as if I wouldn’t get caught while escaping. But hey, I won’t apologize.”
Alright, he sounded a little angry with her… but that was understandable because she almost foiled his thievery plan.
“I’m not asking you to apologize…! Any normal human would scream when they were being carried and forced to jump from a three-storey high place…”
As if she was normal, Shamash thought with a sigh. The venison stew he was cooking at a corner reached its boiling point, and it was ready to be eaten. He prepared two bowls and filled them up with the stew’s contents, and then brought them over to where Anzu was.
“Here.”
As he gave the priestess a bowl of stew, he was staring at her with locked brows.
Obviously, he was still angry with her.
Well, maybe not really. Anzu felt much lighter on her shoulders as compared to when she was conducting the ceremony. Apparently, he has removed her heavy headdress before placing an unconscious her on the bed.
She felt a little guilty because of this thoughtfulness, but retreat was not an option. She put her bowl on a small table right beside her bed, and continued with her attacks.
“Where’s the machina?”
“You’re using it as a table.”
“?”
Shamash pointed at the cubic structure which now holds her stew on its surface. Anzu’s eyes followed his finger and jumped from her bed.
“Oh my!”
She quickly removed the stew from there and went on to sit on the wooden floorings like he did beside him. She could not believe she has just used the key to Humans’ future as a table for putting stews.
Gathering courage again, she inched towards the cube and felt its texture with her pale hands.
“It’s made of steel.”
“But it was light before you rode on it.”
His words carried a huge sarcasm. Really, she thought, when will this man simmer?
After that, both of them did not speak for a long, long time.
“Say…”
“Come with me when dawn arrives, I shall let you see the world of the Humans beyond the noisy bazaar you have been to.”
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“Now that the machina and the high priestess were stolen, what will become of us humans? We have nothing to be proud of against the supremacy of other races!”
A court official spoke to the Elder of the Humans, who preferred to class his rule as a monarchy, and was thus a King instead.
“We need a good explanation for the machina’s thievery!! To think that it was stolen even in such tight security!”
Another voiced his anger, but King Nannar merely grinned. The courtiers were confused by his mysterious behavior.
“People, fret not,” The plump king’s voice then ranged throughout the audience chamber, “We have but lost only one machina, rest assured that we have more than enough to show it to you.”
Two priests brought out another cube similar to the one stolen, causing a commotion among the aristocrats and officials.
“As long as we have the blueprint of the machinas, we can create an endless supply for them! Summon Marduk.”
Upon his orders, another man whose hair was strangely white despite his young age appeared from the double doors. The courtiers quickly recognized him to be a worker in the department of war sciences based on his uniform, a department kept in secret from the rest of the world.
“This is the man who invented the machinas together with his group of contemporaries,” Nannar introduced to the courtiers.
Marduk walked forward towards the cube slowly after bowing to the king, and worked his bony fingers on the machina. His ten fingers were tapping in a quick rhythm, but nobody understood what the eccentric was doing.
Then, several stripes of neon lights ran throughout the machina, as if it was being ignited by fire. Strange symbols glowed, and the steel coverings of it began to split into smaller pieces and disintegrate. A sinister black ‘object’ can be seen moving within it.
The steel pieces then was then remodeled themselves to become a suit of armor donned by the black creature whom then stood up from its crouching position.
Under the light, it was visible to the others that the creature was actually not a living thing --- its external covering was made of a soft metal to enable fluid movements, and was tougher than skin. In its hands held a short sword and shield. It had no features on its face, only a surface of the black covering like its body.
“M-monster!!!”
Several courtiers were too shocked by what they saw, and tried to escape. But as they ran towards the exit, the little person born out of the machina cube was already in front of them, halting at the exit.
“It awaits your orders, your majesty.”
Marduk bowed and said sinisterly, hiding the evil grin beneath his lowered head. Having witnessed the machina’s capabilities for the first time, King Nannar was deeply awed.
“What astounding speed!” The lord clapped in excitement, “Let me see more, Marduk.”
“As you wished.”
With a snap from his fingers, the machina got into an attacking stance. Pointing its short sword towards the escaping courtiers, it charged relentlessly at them in a split second.
Screams filled the entire chamber, and blood was inevitably spilled.
”From now on, we will mass produce these machinas!”
Nannar ordered Marduk with a point from his fat index finger, like a child who wants something from his parents.
Understanding the warning, everyone remained in silence and stayed on with their tyrant king.
”What… what about the stolen Cube and our priestess?”
A courtier asked with a trembling voice.
“Marduk and I will discuss this further.”
As the officials were released from their confinement, the creator of the Machinas then followed his king into another chamber beyond the hall, disappearing from the others’ sight.
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A/N
So sorry for the delay T^T
I havent abandon my story, really!!
I ... don't have the time to type it,
been ultra tied up for my internship =(
i'll try to update once a week, i'll try XD~