The strange girl holds a buzzsaw over Darius’s body. When his eyes opened he saw chunks of flesh pierced through hooked ends hanging over him. He tried to escape but noticed that his body was tied to a stretcher. He screams for help instead. The noise of his screaming along with the buzzing of the saw made for a grim atmosphere in the place. The girl soon turned off the machine and darted out of the room. “He’s awake!,” she called out.

She came back with two men. Darius recognized them if only faintly. His head was hurting and there was an ache in abdomen. He suddenly remembered he fell and punctured the lower end of it. He used his hand to feel the area only to notice that there was no hole. It was like it had completely healed leaving behind only a scar.

The three of them stared at him like he was a freak. The tallest one, he recognized, was the doctor. Half his face was hidden behind a leather muffler, the other half was covered in tattoos. The other one, he was short, with gray skin and purple tribal marks around his eyes. Darius had studied enough to recognize a native serv. The third was the woman who almost cut him open with the buzzsaw.

“See” she said. “He woke up! He woke up!”. They all looked like they saw a ghost. The tall one in the doctor's coat immediately started checking him over. On his chest, his head, inside his mouth, his legs, his eyes and so on. He remarked to Darius that his injuries, including the fatal one, had healed. Darius agreed, the gaping hole in his lower abdomen was no longer there. The girl too came to check him over but from the way she handled him it seemed like hers were just a curious perversion. Darius made sure to keep an eye on her.

The Serv watched with suspicion from a distance. Darius didn’t know what he was thinking, he didn’t know who any of these people were. One thing he did know was that he wanted to leave this room. He asked if he could go somewhere else and the doctor gladly obliged. He was taken to another room which was not so much better than the previous one but at least it did not have hanging corpses around. This one instead had rough but angular carvings intricately decorated with paintings and murals. He knew from his studies at the academy that they were at an ancient place. A den, it was called, where the Lions that ruled the lands walked on resided. Despite protests from the Serv the doctor gave me the gist of their story. They’re a member of a terrorist group called the star breakers who oppose all the celestial lords including my father. They got a dubious lead from a mysterious person who goes by the name Windwake, who told them that a codex bearing a Leviathan hid deep inside somewhere in the forest. They could only activate the codex if they gave it to a suitable host. None of them were suitable hosts since they were not celestial scions. But I was the son of a Lord so they or at least the doctor, theorized that It could work inside of me. The others protested, The Serv was particularly opposed to the idea. Sybil just wanted to cut his body up into pieces for fun.

Many millenia ago before the humans ruled. Beasts did. There were beasts of Land, Air and Water. The land beasts were the great lions, the air beasts were the great Wyverns and the Sea beasts were the Serpents. 

The sea-serpent king who was known as the Leviathan saw an opportunity in the humans and granted them domain in his kingdom. So much happens after that but that is the start of their history. What shook Darius was that each of these beasts had a ruler, for the lions it was Herashoth. For the Wyverns, their ruler was Gorehsaxx, and of course Leviathan for the Sea-serpents, each one of them owned a codex. The codex let them have direct control on the fundamental basics of reality itself. It was said that the only way to defeat a codex user was with another codex. They were that powerful. Of course, humans are cunning and soon all the beast kings were defeated. In an event that would soon go down as the heavenly rebellion the humans conquered the other civilizations and ten heroes specifically would claim their codexes and attain godhood. Darius’s father being one of them.

The fact that Darius had a codex with a sealed fragment of the Leviathan inside of him terrified him. At first he told them that he didn’t want it, something so dangerous would never give him peace he told them. The Serv was mad at him;

“You spoiled brat, you were given the power to defeat the gods and you’re complaining? You ought to be grateful” said the Serv

“If you want it so much, why don’t you take it” I said back to him, “It’s not like I asked to have it put inside of me”

“Oh I’ll gladly take it back” said the Serv with a wicked smile on his face, “Sybil fetch the saws!”

Sybil; “okay!”

Festus stopped Sybil, The Serv and Darius bickered for a while. Darius noticed that the Serv was upset and it pissed him off. The fact he wanted so badly to force him into something without his consent bothered him greatly. But he expected that. These people were terrorists, they killed innocent people as a way of rebuking the celestial empire. They conducted mass looting, pillaging and would burn everything to the ground when they were done. They upheld slave trades and other nasty stuff. They were nasty people and let them know it. Even Sybil now wanted to cut him up. 

Festus discharged the atmosphere as he sent the other two out of the room. He demanded to speak with Darius alone.

“Now that it's just you and me” Festus said as he watched the two leave the room, “how about we have an actual, frank conversation”

“There’s nothing to converse about,” Darius said, “I'm leaving. Take this thing from me and do what you want with it but leave me out of it”

“You know the codex we gave and the Leviathans vitality is the only reason you’re alive right” said Festus, “don’t you think you at least owe us some gratitude for that”

“I didn’t ask to be revived. I didn’t ask for the codex and whatever monster is inside of it”

“Okay then are you willing to die again for us to retrieve it from you?” Festus asked Darius and Darius was silent.

“So you do want to be alive,” said Festus. “It’s funny you reject our blessing yet want to keep its gifts. You curse us out but the only reason you do so with confidence is because of the monster inside of you. A sensible person would be trembling with fear at the sound of the word Star Breaker. But not you. Why? The Leviathan of course. It gives you courage and you use it freely . You reject our blessing and yet you keep its gifts”. Darius remained silent. He knew there was truth to what Festus had said. He could feel a strange power rising inside of him that gave him an unfound sense of courage and he happily used it to lash out at the three of them.

“However it would be completely difficult for us to kill you” Festus continued with a defeated smile, “you’re nearly indestructible, but not to him” Festus pointed to the right corner of the room. There a man, clean shaven and oddly wearing business attire sat on a stone foundation. He felt no power emanate from the man yet pure terror flooded his body. He knew him. He knew him from afar because he read about him in history books, and was taught about him in lessons from his days as a lancer and as a student of the academy. That man was Sirius Solere. A celestial scion like him and one of the elders of the Star-Breakers.

Whatever gruesome reputation that organization had , he is responsible for at least half of it. A blood trail so large follows Sirius. He is ancient to this system and incredibly powerful but If you looked at his face you would not have noticed. Darius wondered what someone like him was doing here. Sirius stood from where he was sitting and asked Festus if there was a problem, Festus denied, saying only that they were having a conversation, Sirius left after hearing that.

“Now that you have enough fear inside of you to be a bit humble” said Festus, “how about we start this again. This time more politely, My name is Festus Given, I was a veterinarian that specializes in ancient beasts. Ask me anything Darius, son of Sagittarius".

“How do you know my name?” Darius asked him.

He answered, “Your purple hair first gave you away but you’re also famous since you used to be a lancer” .

Darius cut straight to the point, “how did you get a codex, much less the Leviathan sealed inside. This thing could have made you guys the most powerful being in all the solar systems” I asked.

“I wish I could answer all of that but it would be impossible. What I can say is a strange man visited us some time ago. He wore a strange mask that covered most of his face. He singled me and the other two and told us that there was something that could conclusively end the era of the ten lords. Something that could kill a god. We didn’t believe him at first so he tried to convince us by telling us spectacular fantasies that he called history and swore that it was real. If we didn’t think he was crazy before, then we were convinced. He sort of just kept rambling about these insane stories and we were so annoyed by him that we ended up just saying, okay we will go and find this treasure.

“We came to a deep, dense place on this planet where the gravity was cruel. The map he gave us said that it was at the center of the gravitational vortex. But none of us could enter. Then we saw Sirius. At first we thought he got word of what we were doing and came to kill us but it turns out he too was convinced by the strange man to help us. He entered the vortex and took us with him protecting us with his shield, and we found it here. In this den”

“I know that this is the middle of a gravitational vortex but still it sounds too easy,” Darius said.

“We think so too” replied Festus, “It was like it was just waiting for us. Like someone had put it there for us to find”.

“Why then did the strange man pick you four. Why not anybody else among the Star-breakers” I asked him.

“I ask myself that too. He never told us why he picked us but I suspect it's because we are tired of the way the Star breakers do things although the others won’t openly admit that. The Servekker who seems like he has a stick up his butt? His name is Jovenumere’Kamut but we call him Jove. He is a native of this planet and he’s watched his race of people be whittled down to nearly nothing as their sacred beasts are captured to be traded, treated like slaves or killed. He does not like humans, much less celestial scions.

“Sybil might seem like she’s insane…and she is but she actually used to be a war doctor. She spent her days cutting and putting together broken men and women in a dreary cycle of body parts and blood till something snapped. During the northern raids of Hepathon ten years ago she was stationed in a garrison that was increasingly becoming besieged. Instead of the soldiers to hold on to the very end they took out their frustration on the women and children they were supposed to protect. While butchering the injured men. She watched noblemen do debauched things to people they were sworn to protect and since then she swore to kill people like them.

“Naturally because of how crazy she was she fit right in the organization but even I think she has grown tired and just wants to treat people again. Although every time I ask her to help me treat you she refuses.

“Sirius is strong. One of the strongest men in the systems besides the Lords and he tries to fight with honor but the organization keeps smearing his legacy. No matter where he goes he is always treated as a butcher even when he acts more honorable than the ten families. He is never greeted as a liberator.

“And as for me well I know I said that I was a vet but really I was the assistant to one. A man from the MoonWhisper family. And we didn’t treat animals so much as experiment on them. He believed that he was above everyone and soon enough he experimented on humans” Festus removes the muffler from his mouth to reveal the lower half of his face. It was terrifyingly beastly, with furs and fangs that resembled a were-mutt and yet Darius did not retch in disgust nor was he spooked. He reached out his hand and felt it.

“I’m sorry” Darius said, “I’m sure that it hurt”. A tear escaped his left eye. Festus was shocked. He put back on the leather-tight muffler and continued, “I escaped the cage he kept me in. I joined the group not too long after but I didn't like them very much. I was never a violent person but they liked the way I looked. They liked that I appeared terrifying. I think each of us are tired of the way things are but we are also tired of this blood soaked path. The StarBreakers are content with being specters of fear. They don’t want to change the system. They just react to it and profit from it.

“And I know that you feel the same way. You were a Lancer, Darius. The son of a god. If things had gone well for you entire planets would have been competing to form a household with you and yet the moment you got a disease they abandoned you, selling you a small family. Darius when you were dead I inspected your body, lesions, signs of malnutrition, scars all over your head, this system breaks people. It broke us and it broke you. We want to change it, but with better means. The strange man told us that whoever wields the codex and the leviathan would usher in a new age. You are the Pathmaker. Who better than a son of Sagittarius".

Darius thought about what he said, every good thing and bad thing that had happened in his life was because of his name. It was like a leash. The only reason he was loved was because of lineage and it was also the only reason he was abused. Power, that was all anyone ever cared about in this system. Those with powers abused those without and the ones without power lash out at those too weak to defend themselves. Everyone bites each other. And they’re all miserable. He was miserable. In that moment he imagined leading the charge that burned the system down.

“I want to do it” he said lightly and Festus stood, “but I'm afraid. I don’t know the extent of what I want. There are people I hate who made my life hell. And the monster inside of me screams for revenge. I want to hurt them badly. But I know the system is what needs handling. Do i burn it all down or do I make a way forward” Darius said with tears in his face,

Festus was about to speak when a voice called out, “we’ll help you then”. It was Sirius. They were all listening the whole time. “We’ll help you get stronger and tame the Leviathan inside of you if you help us forge a way into another future. It won’t be easy though.” Darius turned to Festus and he nodded approvingly.

Darius thought that maybe he could do something after all. To change this crooked world in a way that would not create an endless blood trail. A peaceful path forged with power. He resolved himself to that new goal. All the while, he could feel the Leviathan inside of him. Except this time it wasn’t roaring.

It laughed.