On the middle of a highway,

“I dare say, I am but a man of honour”, Lucas kneeled, caressing her head. The woman bled on the ground—her stomach was pierced by a bullet.

“If only, you did not try and play spy, then I might have not killed you” With his fingers, he closed her eyes and stood up.

Click!

On the back of his head, he felt the metallic sensation of a gun.

“My, my how many years had it been since someone pointed a gun at me in such a way,” He said, his frame still like an unwavering sea.

From the corner of his ear, he could hear few more footsteps

Click!Click!Click!Click

“Raise your hand and turn back!,” A voice shouted

Even though he realized he was surrounded, he did not tremble. Raising his hands, he turned around.

Ten men held gun’s pointed at him from afar. One man held a gun up close.

Behind those men rested a car. From the car, stepped out an older man.

His body flinched as he saw the older man.

“Why,” Lucas asked.

The older man lit up his cigar and moved few steps closer. “You were but a lowly assassin I took in. And now you turned into a threat.” The older man’s face redded. “A threat! A bloody threat! To my position!” He puffed out the smoke, “A dog, must always remember its place. Should it forget? Then, the responsibilities lie on its master to make sure that the dog realizes its bloody place,” The man declared

Lucas smiled, “Ahh. I always knew your nature. Just never thought you would abandon me,” He looked above, “I blindly admired you like a father but now, I realize you were only a scum.”

“You learn too quickly Lucas. If I spare you now, you won’t even hesitate to kill me later.”

“Oh, I won’t,” Lucas had a sinister smile on his face, “Better not miss any bullets, Old man. After all, in case, I should survive. You would witness brutality beyond your imagination.”

“We are the same, you and I. In all this a but a business, don’t take it personally” The older man waved his hand and signaled the soldiers

Bang!Bang!Bang!Bang!Bang!

“Ahh Lucus, your tales were famous, you know. We, gods, betted that you would be the one to finally kill that old man.”

Lucas found himself chained in a place similar to a prison. His arms were chained to the ground. Looking down, he saw a metallic rod emerge out of his chest. Considering how metal rods were embedded inside his body, he was surprised that he felt no pain.

Lucas struggled to break the chains but to no avail.

“I who betted against the god. Earned quite a profit. I knew that old man was too sly. He wouldn’t let a talent like you nurture.”

Lucas glared at the man who spoke. The man looked similar to a prison warden. He wore a blue overcoat and had dazzling blue eyes along with azure hair.

“Oh my. Don’t look at me with such scary eyes. I am quite shy,” The warden had a smug smile on his face.

Lucas remained silent. He understood silence would be the best answer in his current scenario. The man in front looked loquacious. Therefore Lucas realized he would get answers even without asking questions.

“I see you’re able to hold back your urge to ask anything. I’m impressed. You see, I am but a gambler who likes to bet. You failed on Earth but there are still more places you could succeed on.”

Lucas’s eyes narrowed, he decided to go with the ploy. “And how does that concern you?” He asked in a skeptical voice.

“As I said, I like to bet. Once every 1000 years. A majestic game is held. And with games comes the betting. Some betted that the son birthed from the union of a God and a Human would win. Some betted the daughter of the Sun Dragon, would win. But, I placed my bets on you, Lucas.”

If it had not been for the fact that Lucas remembered getting killed and the fact that he was alive despite having heavy chains embedded within him, he would have shrugged off the man’s words as the ramblings of a fool.

“And what perquisites would I get?,” Lucas asked

“Right to the point, aren’t you.” He continued, “You must realize you’re dead. But I can change that. You can get your life back, you can have your revenge. On top of that, I will even grant 3 of your wishes. You see, when I betted on anyone other than the children of other gods or divine beings, everyone laughed.” His blue eyes turned red, “They had the audacity to laugh at me” So did his blue hair. Two black horns grew out of his forehead, “Now, all I want to do is laugh back at their face, and make them realize just how lowly, pathetic, and mindless they are. You understand, right?”

Lucas remained silent. He was but a human. The warden’s words made him realize he would get involved in things beyond his understandings, but Lucas was not the kind to back down. He was also not the kind to trust anyone, especially after getting killed by the hands of his father.

“Now, would you rather rot in a cell forever, or help me laugh back at the Gods?”

“Sure” A wide grin grew on Lucas’s face. “Anything’s better than a life in solitude, right?”

“Marvellous. I shall lend you one of my little angels, to fill the void in your knowledge about other realms” He took a pause, “But of course, as a human, you would unquestionably fail.” A sinister smile brewed on his face, “So, be sure to embrace your new personification.”

“Wha..” Lucas’s vision faded. The chains fell from his body. His frame blackened and turned into smoke.

The dusty black smoke gathered and swirled around the warden’s palm. Soon, the smoke turned into a shell. The shell formed an egg. The egg itself was black in colour and was embroidered with red stripes.

‘We are the same, you and I’ Even in the darkness, these words resonated around his consciousness. ‘huh. where’ He struggled to open his eyes. It was dark. Dark but warm. Strangely he felt light and cozy like he was swimming in warm water.

Bang!

The sight of getting shot flashed in his mind.

Crack!

The feeling of getting betrayed became more vivid.

Crack!

Twitch!

He could not see but felt one of his limbs twitch. But it felt different but not strange.

Crack!

That’s not how he usually felt when he moved his limbs,

Crack! Crack!

The eggshell cracked open. From inside, a small black arm with three claws revealed itself.

.