We are just ants

The miners were going in every direction with newfound vigour: the only thought was getting as far away as possible from Lucio.

*pant*

*pant*

A man was running with all his might toward the unknown: in front of him, only sand, everywhere. Dunes as high as five-story buildings stood in front of him, on his sides, and behind. He was opening and closing his eyes over and over, hoping to wake up in his home, in his bed, embraced by the arms of his wife, and that this was only a nightmare. Yet, the landscape never changed. It was always sand, no matter how much he prayed or wished to change it.

' You know right that I would still love you, regardless of the job you make. Be it a Miner or a garbage man. '

' Lucia, we need money. This is only a one-time trip, and the salary is top-notch. You don't have to worry, I just need to be careful when going through the Gate. There are no dangers inside. '

'You must be careful. Promise me that you'll come back. '

'Lucia, it's just an expedition. '

' Promise me! '

' Ok, I get it. I will come back to you regardless of what happens: I'll climb mountains, and I'll cross rivers for you, just to see you smile again.'

In his mind was replaying the conversation he had that morning with her, his world.

" Lucia, I'm sorry... I think I'll not be able to keep our promise."

And at that moment a voice spread in the surroundings.

" ~ Divinity of Peitho ~ [ Prohibere ] "

The man froze.

Only his eyes were moving, and tears were coming down. He knew he HAD to move if he wanted to survive, but his body wasn't answering.

Again, that voice, that fucking voice:

" [ Return ] "

Bit by bit, he started rotating his torso: he was moving like a robot, mechanically.

' Why Am I moving against my will?!'

Step by step, he was returning where everything started, using even the same path he took to flee, and on the soil, his fresh footprints were still visible.

From his contorted face you were able to understand that the man was struggling with everything he had.

"Don't you understand? It's useless. No matter how hard you try or what you do. In front of absolute power, you are just pigs waiting to be slaughtered."

Now, in front of him, stood once more Lucio. Behind him all those miners that tried to escape beforehand, motionless like mannequins, in lines. Only the young man was still moving, yet he wasn't trying to flee, maybe because he knew it was all pointless.

" You were able to catch all of us in less than five minutes. You are too strong to be an Exalted Human. What are you? " the young man spoke.

"You sure like to make questions. Well, I don't really care about. When they'll arrive here, you'll not be my problem anymore. Yes, I am not an Exalted Human, I am a realm higher. Exalted Humans are only capable of influencing themselves and, sometimes, little of what happens around them. I, instead, am capable of influencing... mmm... we can say an entire village and the people inside. You can call me an Adept."

"Adept?"

"Yes, and those stronger than me are called Apostles. They can level an entire city alone. Pretty scary right? When I met one of them, the pressure he was giving off was so overwhelming that I thought I was going to die."

"A person like you, scared?"

The young man looked around and saw his fellow workers being absolutely still.

' A man who was able to dominate us this easily, was overwhelmed by fear in the presence of Apostles? What kind of monsters are they?' He thought.

"Stop watching around. I am just executing the orders: if you have to blame someone, blame who wield the sword, not the sword itself."

" Easy if you say things like that. The reality is that you are just a murderer. You are no better than those criminals who are in jail."

"I had no choice then. The mission must go forward. Even if I had to die, "It" must be brought back."

" It? "

"Yes, now shut up. They have arrived. "

--------------------

BOOOM

A deafening sound exploded in the air!

The ground started to tremor and shake wildly, the sea, from being peaceful and calm, became tempestuous and menacing!

Waves and whirlpools began to appear repeatedly: it was as if Poseidon himself brought his wrath upon puny humans.

Black clouds gathered in the sky and bolts of lightning and torrential rains poured into the ocean.

" What the fuck is happening! " the angry voice of Admiral Maynard thundered inside the control room of the Vinson.

"W- we don't know, sir! Everything was normal moments ago, and, all of sudden, the climate turned upside down!"

"Contact the Murphy, ask them what the hell did they do! Communicate with the Roosevelt and tell the other ships to spread: these waves are so powerful that we might crash if we stay too close."

"Yes, Sir!"

It was then, in the distance.

A wave fifty meters high formed and was about to crash into the Murphy from its side.

"My goodness. Quickly, contact them!" screamed the Commander.

"Sir, it's... it's too late..." answered one of the operators.

The wave smashed against the destroyer.

The impact was so strong that the vessel started tilting on one side: people were swept along due to the water and fell, never to re-emerge again.

The ship, in the end, capsized and with it thousands of crew members.

Admiral Maynard was petrified: never in his career has ever seen a single wave capable of overturning so effortlessly a modern destroyer. Never he lost so many brave soldiers during a patrol routine. His heart was aching from sadness.

He sighed and uttered:

"Send one destroyer to save those men at sea, and inform the High Command of what has happened here, and ask for orders. I will go in my personal chamber right- "

"SIR!" Another operator yelled in fright.

"What is it now?"

"The island, Sir... is rising..."

"What?"

Maynard exited out of the central room to see it for himself: outside was still raining and pouring, the visibility was awful, but he didn't care. His only thought was to get to the bottom of this situation that cost him human lives.

What was in front of him was something he will remember for his all life.

Trough the rain and the fog, Maynard was able to see the hugest monster that ever swam in the sea and considered a myth in the nordic mythology: the Kraken.

The " island " was just part of the submerged head: the volcano was the tip. He had a flat body, which tended to emerge from the water in humps like small islands, and dozens of long, flexible tentacles, which he was lifting out of the water to the height of a hundred meters. Giant circular waves and swarms of frightened fish were swimming in front of him.

Its red eyes were illuminating the sea like a candle shine during the night, and his mouth was so large that was probably capable of swallowing the entire super aircraft carrier without a problem.

It was like witnessing the birth of a sovereign: Maynard never felt so little in his entire life, not even when he was just a graduate from the Naval School. He was used to seeing this mystical monster only in books, or films but now One stood before him and was threatening to destroy and swallow everything in his path, be it humans or animals.

The Kraken was hungry and Maynard could feel his stare upon him. He even had the impression that the octopus was even mocking them and enjoying the despairing faces of the ants in front of him.

' Yes, to him, we are just ants. But I'll tell you, even ants can kill an elephant. '

Maynard was gnashing his teeth hard, almost as if wanting to break them.

' And you are just a bigger target! '

After organizing his thoughts, he picked up the radio and with a decisive tone ordered:

" Let's fill with bombs this motherfucker."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~