Archimedes woke up gasping for his breath. He looked around and touched his bed , trying to grasp his own reality. Hera ! he gently called her name , so as to not cause her any worry. Hera , came in quickly, what is it ? she asked him. Seeing the panic on his face, she asked him whether anything was bothering him. No, I'm alright he said to her. Could you please get me some water , he asked her . Hera , says ok and pours a glass of water for her husband. She was now convinced that he has had a nightmare. And these nightmares were getting frequent these days too. She hands him over the glass of water. Thank you , replied Archimedes and gulped the glass of water down in a second. Julius? where is he ? he asked her as he put down the empty glass on the desk beside him. He is on his way to school now Archi, said Hera trying the best to comfort her husband. Ok, replied Archimedes and laid back on his bed.

Elsewhere , far away

Russia was a still a cold and tough place to live in . The nuclear power plant in Minsk still functioned as it should . Everything was almost the same in Minsk . Life went on as usual, the people were happy some days and sad the others . When the sun shone the children went to the playgrounds and stayed inside when it was freezing. The economy was looking at brighter days and the migrants still arrived in numbers to try and earn for a better living. Many young migrants from different parts of Europe such as Albania, Greece , Bosnia knocked on the doors of the Nuclear power plant asking for work. Many were turned away and the lucky few who had got the job in the plant were shifted around far tooo quickly. And they did not seem to care much as long as the money was coming in. One such day , the new Director looked down from his large window towards the entrance . There was nothing unusual that day. It was the same old morning with tens of people , children and adults alike trying to get a job at the nuclear power plant. The Director watched through his thick glasses as most of them were turned away by the guard at the entrance. A few however did make it inside and it was very doubtful that even they were going to eventually end up with a job at the plant. The Director adjusted his glasses , turned and walked towards his chair. He sat on his chair and reached for his desk. And from the drawer in his desk , he took out a large book which contained a lot of documents. He opened the document and went through the list . This was not the first time the Director was going through this particular document , in fact he has done it a hundred times. It was the directors morning ritual where he went through the list of names that was in the documents. The document contained the list of names of the travelers who have either been dead or presumed dead. The director went through all the names in the list , closed the document and put it back in the drawer . Took his glasses and placed it in on his desk. Reached for another drawer which was not locked . Took out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer . The Director then took out a loose cigarette from the packet that was half full and lit one.

Planet 111 of the Galaxy Archimedia

Guard!, shouted Plato . That was the hundredth time Plato had called out for a guard this afternoon.  Sit back down human, they are not going to hear your cries!, said a deep dark voice that sat was sat down. Plato heeded to his advice and sat himself back on the bench. Uncle Zeno, the situation we are presented is indeed frustrating and yet you remain so calm, said Plato. What do you suppose we do kid , asked the aged Marakese. It is only the two of us here in this godforsaken place. And I doubt that anyone else is aware that we are locked up in here. And this place is built like a fortress that it would be impossible for us to break out of, said Zeno. Guard!, shouted again in Plato. Shut up kid, said Zeno . What do you think you will happen if a guard comes over, are you under the illusion that he will magically hand over his keys seeing that you are human. No, replied Plato . I do not expect any special treatment because I'm  human. Then? asked Zeno. I plan to hold him hostage , replied Plato. Zeno left out a hearty laughter. You and Archimedes are the same, both brash and not thinking of the consequences. Plato too laughed . You are right uncle , said Plato. Zeno continued. "And" he continued, both brave enough to take down an army by himself, both strong enough to pierce a thousand enemies and still stand valiant!. Plato got up and held the bars with iron grip. "Guard" this time he roared which sent tremors across the hallway!.

Planet Androda

Darticus dragged Rylo atop the snow capped mountains . He was dragging the almost dead corpse by its hand to the highest summit of the mountains. Rylo did not make a sound, he was helpless as his brother dragged him atop. The long war had taken its toll on Rylo , but Darticus remained unscathed. Braving the snow storms they reach the summit. On top of the summit stood Arakur. Darticus flung the body of Rylo at the direction of where Arakur stood. Such was the might of the fling of Darticus that the big body of Rylo flew 20 meters and fell a feet before Arakur. Arakur laughed, this is the man that wanted our mountains for himself ,now look at him . Rylo looked up above at Arakur who could not control his vicious laughter. Rylo mustered all his energy and shouted as loud as he could "Laugh all you want mountain man , let us who is left laughing when the war ends". Still Arakur laughed and he replied " The war may have a long time for it to come to an end, but your life is about to now!". Rylo fell back to the ground , and Darticus was almost in a state of crying looking at the condition of his brother. Darticus! shouted Rylo , this time his voice was not very audible. You are a brute and a fool , said Rylo. You are always listening to the elders and doing things as per their wish. Arakur came forward and stamped on the broken shoulders of Rylo . Rylo left out such a loud scream , that even the mountains shivered in terror. That may be the case, that your brother listens to his elders , said Arakur. And he may be a fool for that, but it is he who stands might on top of the mountains and it is you that faces imminent death. Darticus could not bare the sight of his brother's suffering . he immediately came forward and pierced his sword through the heart. Rylo drew his last breadth , a few drop of tears fell on his body as Arakur removed his feet from the corpse of Rylo.

The dragon's fire blew across the mountains melting everything in its path. The people below gasped in horror as the sight of the dragon blowing fire again from its fiery mouth. The dragon circled the summit like an hawk would before going down and taking the prey from its mouth. Only this time the prey lay dead and the dragon did not quite like the taste of dead men. Atop the dragon was the queen Angela, she too was wounded but it was not lethal , like many others. After circling a few times and melting the snow , the queen and the dragon laid down their feet on the summit. Angela got down from the dragon and approached the two leaders. Seeing the body of Rylo, she commented "at last the dangerous one is dead"!.

Darticus was still in a great deal of pain , seeing that Angela came close to him and she said to him "Do not weep for this man, even though he was your brother and a close friend. The soul in him has long left our mortal world. It has long belonged to the devil ".

I Know that , replied Darticus. But you do not understand , Queen Angela. That this man was my friend the minute I knew what friendship was. He was the only brother , I really had.  Are you really sure about that , she asked him . Sure about what ? Darticus questioned back. That he is the brother you ever had.  Look down, she said to him. Darticus looked down below at the plains on the either side of the mountains. There were thousands of men in great pain or were either dead. The machines who were near immortal at this point of time had waged a war on men that none of them could withstand. They went around scanning and killing the last of the men who still had their breath intact. There were scratches on the machines , but it did not bother them. Some of their parts were broken , yet they carried on as if it was all intact. They felt no pain, no terror nor fear. And amidst the machines strolling was the boss machine which was about as big as a fully grown dragon itself. It gave orders to the robots and commanded them simply wiht its hands. And inside that machine was a man who was controlling the big robot itself.  The man was not separate from the robot itself. His heart was replaced by steel and his mind was not part of a man with flowing blood anymore. His arteries and veins were now made of electric wires.

Then Darticus , Who is that ? is he not your brother ?asked Angela. He is not my brother, he is just a man path just keeps crossing with mine. Are you of not the same blood ? again Angela questioned him. The only thing I'm certain of is , when I'm done with him , there will be no blood left in his body to call it his own. Darticus put his sword back on his scabbard and got on his dragon. You Both stay here , he commanded the both of them.

Let us go , he now commanded the dragon. The dragon flew up high in to the sky and let out a fire so full of terror, a brewing ball of fire so big none of them had ever witnessed before.

Seronn had not slept for days , he wandered around his spaceship like a ghost at night. The thought of Archimedes shooting a bullet right through his skull has kept him awake all these nights. And if anyone asked him why he was so restless, he would simply respond with "The thought of my parents have been keeping me awake", which clearly was a lie and everyone knew it. Sifon the elder finally approached him " What is troubling you" he asked the commander of the spaceship. And Seronn knew that any lie of his would eventually be caught by the elder, so he was very careful with his answer. It is nothing Sifon, the thought of death of mine and the ones before me haunt me , and they keep me awake, Seronn confided with the elder. Seronn, only two people have truly been able defeat you . And they are the ones they can really scare the wits out of you , said Sifon with his pupils dilating. The devil himself , and Archimedes, said Sifon. This has nothing to do with the one who owns our soul,  replied Seronn. Then it has to be Archimedes, said Sifon. Have you heard from Horkin ? Sifon asked the Immortal commander. No , I have not heard from him in ages . He has hid himself , that foolish man . replied Seronn. What else choice does he have? most of his army has been turned into ash, said Sifon. And I have a big part in that , that makes me foolish as well , said Seronn. We do not have the luxury to be foolish or wise , we simply adhere to the commands of the dark lord himself.  Why does the dark lord not kill Archimedes Sifon , lamented Seronn. I do not know that son, that could be beyond his powers , replied Sifon . Beyond his powers? beyond the powers of the dark lord? Seronn scoffed. You know much Seronn, and there is much you do not know , replied Sifon. Is it why we are truly not able to capture Archimedes . That he is a powerful man himself , asked Seronn. Sifon grinned and left Seronn to himself. Seronn was quite irritated by the demeanor of Sifon. All you people ever do is give me more questions than I had originally had , shouted Seronn. The biggest mistake I had ever done is join you and the others. I should have stayed back at Xenon . Sifon did not bother to reply or even acknowledge the concerns of Seronn.

Sifon leaves the room.

Horkin

Horkin is hidden inside the caves , having not seen the sunlight for months. He sits in his thrones a broken man who has lost everything that he had valued in his life. He sat there all day in his cave chambers and had no time for no one. The only thing that he had in his mind was revenge. He wanted his revenge on the Marakese and more specifically he wanted the head of Archimedes. The young Marakese warrior who blazed the lands with his horse has remained elusive. No matter how many times Horkin had attempted to catch him , it always deemed to be impossible to do so. Now Horkin , the leader of the barbarians all he does is throws his hammer at the face of Archimedes, whose face is drawn in the cave chambers. The painting of Archimedes in the chambers of Horkin was full of wounds and scars, yet in real life Archimedes had not a single scratch on his body.

One day , when Horkin was throwing his axe at Archimedes, Durovin entered his chambers. What brings you here? asked Horkin as he threw the axe with all his might. I have some news for you , replied Durovin. And Durovin was one of the few people who got to speak to Horkin these days.

What news? bad or worse? asked Horkin. It is not all that bad? replied Durovin. Horkin had an evil laughter on him as he went and picked up the axe from the cave walls. Does his head roll? asked Horkin pointing at the mural of Archimedes. No sir , replied Durovin who was regretting his choice to come on speak to his leader. Then it is bad news, said Horkin.  But I have some news that may be of interest to you , said Durovin. What? asked Horkin . We know the location of Zeno, he is a prisoner now , said Durovin. Horkin was starting to show some interest in the conversation as he stopped throwing his axe around. He is a prisoner in the planet 111 , continued Durovin. He is a prisoner to the humans. And his cellmate is that fool Plato. Get the warriors ready Durovin, commanded Horkin. We fly there tomorrow. Very well ,  I will do the necessary preparations , said and took leave from his leader.