Delian marched swiftly across the city, his head bowed down and hands deep in his pockets. Tons of pedestrians passed him by, hurrying to cheap entertainment venues to begin their boozy celebration of the two-day long break from work. Tropical trees and blooming shrubs grew along both sides of the Government Mansion Street, and flocks of colourful birds flapped their wings across the sky. Tiny animals made high-pitched screeching sounds which drowned out the noise of conversing people, whirring quadrotors and buzzing vehicles. Streamlined land machines moved at a steady pace, when suddenly one of them halted.


    Hearing the alarm, Delian stopped and turned his head in that direction to observe the further course of events. He did not have to go near the place of the incident. Celestians had excellent vision and could distinguish the slightest details from a distance.


    Not a single minute had passed before the other vehicles blocked up the street. A low, deafening alarm resounded throughout the area as an armoured vehicle with government logos backed out from behind the skyscraper. Near the chock-shaped machine, several members of the local militia were retreating in a tight group. Their helmets and vests were smeared with paint, grease and kerosene stains. When they got to the middle of the crossroad, a group of underground factory workers armed with metal bars and tools stormed out of the corner. With an unmatched fury on their faces, they hurled everything within reach at the law enforcement officers. Torn from the ground and smashed into pieces were concrete flowerpots, old tools, debris and everyday items that flew over the heads of the Union officers.


    “Move back, everyone!” roared the distorted voice from the speaker of the vehicle, “this is the last warning.”


    A Nelphian with smooth, pale celadon green skin darted in front of the bunch of crowded rioters. He was slim but over two metres tall. The spots on his voluminous, elliptical head changed their colour from fluorescent yellow to gaudy red, showing his rage. He closed his third, transparent eyelid to protect his huge black eyes with speckled, white pupils.


    He trotted with a characteristic light gait, rocking back and forth like a flightless bird. He covered the distance between him and the Unions, who fell back a bit too slowly. He leaped high above the ground and, while landing, kicked his opponent in the stomach with all his might. Pushed away, the officer stumbled and collapsed on the ground.


    The Nelphian was about to run back to the rioters’ group, but the Union officers fired at him. Their bullets struck him between his ribs and in the stomach. Holding his shot flank and growling in pain, he collapsed. He coughed, spitting out a blue oozy slime, then raising his head with his dying strength, he gazed hostilely at the Unions. Another bang echoed when one of the masked shooters finished him off with a bullet in the middle of his forehead.


    Delian and the rest of the pedestrians froze at this sight, their voices dampened, then became silent. They directed their wide-open eyes upon the two fighting groups. Standing near Delian, a Celestian woman crouched before her child. Whispering into his ear, she snuggled him to her chest and turned away from this view.


    Without the slightest regard for the armed opponents, the group of rioters charged forwards in a tight throng, passing the Nelphian, dead in the blue pool of his own blood. Their roars blended with the thunderous gunshots of the Unions, who began to fire at another row of the wild mob. Echoes of screams and flying bullets filled the street. When the rioters approached the policemen, shovels, knives, saws and anything that could kill started doing its job. A deluge of blood and fuel flooded the road.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Two feelings fought in Delian’s mind at the scene that was unfolding in front of him. One was the primal fear, telling him to flee right away but the other, a morbid curiosity which did not allow him to do it.


    An orange blaze flared amongst the group of the raging workers, the Unions, and the slaughtered corpses lying on the ground when someone threw cans filled with kerosene. Clothes caught fire, people from both sides were entrapped in the melee. Those standing close to the blaze stepped back, then circled the screaming, squirming and sizzling live torches, carrying on the combat.


    The spillage of the burning kerosene down the street was the final signal for Delian to get out of there. Unfortunately for him, the rest of the pedestrians thought the same. Like a sudden avalanche, they ran for their lives. The strongest of them forced their way, pushing others with elbows and fists. Sounds of gunshots behind their backs hastened them and drowned out their cries.


    Making use of his knowledge of the basic survival techniques, Delian left the road and headed closer to the skyscraper wall. Panic and mindless rush became his greatest enemies. To defeat them, he started counting his every swift step and heavy breath. He seemed not to notice the screams, the rumbles of engines or the persistently brighter, orange afterglow. Survival was the only thing he cared about.


    After less than a hundred metres, Delian swerved into a narrow side street. Gasping the humid air, he turned his head for a few seconds to evaluate the situation.


    Two armoured vehicles, in blue and grey colours, were making their way down the street which was overrun by the hysterical crowd of people. Most had escaped the path of the Union, but some could not push through the tight mob. The vehicles, gaining speed, hit a blue-skinned Kehrian and dragged him several metres away. The impaled creature tried to tear himself loose but slid on the road and disappeared in the throng.


    Two pedestrians, too weak to get to the safe area, found themselves directly in front of the vehicle. One of them, the tall Ifrit, jumped on the young Celestian who was running next to him. The reptile grabbed the man’s neck with his elbow, knocked him down and shoved the others to escape the approaching Unions. Lying on the ground, unable to move his body, the Celestian lifted his bleeding head. He saw the wide tread of the oncoming vehicle and attempted to crawl away, but his body could move only a few paces. The machine was faster; tons of metal smashed over his body. And when the Unions drove away, the only thing remaining was the spreading red mush with pieces of bones and clothes sticking out.


    Delian could feel the bile rise in his throat, the acid taste of it burned his insides. His stomach contents threatened to make its way up, but he controlled it. The sight was too much for him, even though he had witnessed a massacre before. Wiping the sweat from his face, he stepped back and hid behind a container to settle his pulse and cool off. When a logical voice started screaming inside his head, he turned around and scurried down the side street towards the stop for the commuter vehicles.


    He got off in front of the gate which was the entrance to a vast square and passed through the triumphal arch. The eternally burning pedestal fire illuminated the majestic building. Bas-reliefs on its pillars depicted scenes from one of the greatest battles in history, and although the passage of time had weathered them, they still awed the visitors.


    Delian paced the almost empty square, and despite being late, he halted under the thirty-metres high monument. His breaths were shallow, and he felt a disturbing tension in his whole body as if he was preparing to flee again. He raised his head to observe the sculpture of the most recognisable hero of the Union, Aurelion Ilios, also called The Golden Sun, in all its splendour. The Celestian was clothed in pristine white armour with golden ornaments. A halo which resembled the beams of the rising sun crowned his helmet. In one hand, the figure held a gilded dual-handed sword with the blade forged in the shape of a flame, and the other pointed East.


    Sic Semper Tyrannis, read the inscription on the pedestal of the monument.


    Aurelion Ilios was the one who rose against the ancient overlord and razed his entire empire to the ground. His successors, inspired by the words of their saviour, released the Ilionian Doctrine that remained in force to this day. The Doctrine forbade considering any individuals as gods, experimenting with intelligent creatures or modifying their bodies. At least, the official censored version of history said that.