Emotions

*THUD*

What I can only describe as a loud silent noise came as I watched Laicard drop to the floor with an arrow in his chest. My blood is pumping again, I don't know if there are more arrows coming our way.

"SHIELDS" I screamed to the men resting in the area.

The men quickly picked up their shields and formed a dome around us, while the others protected themselves. I went to Laicard to check the arrow wound on his chest, from what I can see, it had not gotten into his heart, or wouldn't be breathing.

The arrow is a standard one used by the Athenians, the wound is not deep enough to kill, but Laicard is completely out. Some of the men rushed to the location of the archers, they had already gone back to their formation.

"These Athenians are not men, to launch a sneak attack now, they have no honor," roared one of the men

"We shall attack them now, and give them the fight of their lives," a sentiment he made echoing what everyone was thinking.

"No, we have chosen the battlefield, we will not give up on the advantage that we have."

Laicard's second in command came to calm the men down and organize us. I looked at him with great anger in my eyes, I can understand his logic though. Logic went out the window when Laicard someone I greatly respected was injured in this way. The only reason that I didn't burst out was that he is still alive.

"The commander is still alive, his wound needs to be treated," I said through the gap in my teeth

"He should be sent back to Sparta to be treated," I added.

"Very well, 2 men should be able to carry him back, will you go."

"I will stay sir, the battle is not over," I commented to the new commander.

The commander acted fast as he assigned 2 men to take Laicard back. He is trying to get the men back on track

"Commander, the Athenians are moving in on our position, they are coming in greater numbers." Reported a scout

"MEN FORMATIONS"

"These Athenians dare to show no quarter in this battle, we shall show them why we are feared." The commander said, clearly very angry.

Zopyros, Helios, and I are at the front formation this time, side-by-side. The flow of my blood is at its highest, my vision starts to turn gray and narrow. I know this is going to be a long battle and being in the front, means that I will need enough power to stop a charge of the Athenian's square shield.

Too focused to notice, my muscles start to adjust themselves, my lungs take in more air to store, and my heart is pumping at a strong and consistent pace. This was nothing like the first battle, my mind is clear of all thoughts except my kills.

The soldiers of Athens come in colliding with me, I adjust my stance with my left leg backward, leaning into the shield. We stop their charge when arrows start to cross over the barrier, I can hear the arrows and the Spartan men blocking them.

I hear the heartbeat of the soldier in front of me, he is breathing hard, and at an irregular rhythm

"PUSH"

I gave a command above my station, but I follow me. Because the soldiers in front of me are trying to rest as they are not well trained as us, we push them back giving ourselves an opening. I pierce with my spear, killing the person in front of me, drawing it back I bash the next person with my shield, giving an opening for the person behind to kill him as I move forward.

Everything in my view is gray, except humans. I stab the next person in the heart with my spear, forcing me to leave it there as it will be too slow to recover it. Hitting another with my shield again, I draw my sword in one swift motion, killing the next person.

I start to break the formation pushing forward, not hearing even a single shout from both Spartans and Athenians alike. I slice and cut with scary precision, killing more and more as I move forward. Bodies start to pile up in my wake, my body is moving better than it has ever been before, I feel like in this state I can kill all Athenian myself.

"Atredies, Atredies," I hear Helios calling for me.

Turning around to look at him, he reacts like he is facing off a beast. My eyes start to clear, color comes back into my view. He is staring at me with a different look in his eyes, I turn to look around me to see nothing but bodies non are standing.

"What happened, you broke the formation before it was time," he asked

"Nothing"

"You should get some rest, it would seem the Athenians will not be pushing forward again today," said Zopyros as he came from the side.

"I think I should do just that," I say as I leave, not wanting to explain what happened.

The remaining warriors of Sparta clear up the field. We have suffered more losses this time. With over 500 dead from our troops, it is a sad day for us. Although we had won the battles today, the 500 dead men cannot be replaced anytime soon.

I go to camp, my body releasing steam as if an engine coming to a stop. I start to analyze what just happened to me, only to be further confused. I decided to check my body as I meditate, only to find my body working on its own.

It created an even distribution of fast and slow-twitch muscle fibers. My stomach feels smaller than it's supposed to be, which in turn gave way to making my lungs, kidneys, and heart bigger. I didn't notice this before, but everything around me seems to have more color than before.

My body on the whole feels much more suited for weapons and long-term combat. I don't know what is going on, but for me, it can only be a plus. In this time of war, I can use any advantage I can get. I start testing everything out, reshaping my muscles and organs, only to find myself getting hungry.

'It would seem that without the abyss, I would have to rely on food to create more energy.'

"HAHA, HE IS FINALLY LEARNING SOMETHING," said a voice

"HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT WILL TAKE HIM TO GET HERE," asked another

"EVEN IF IT TAKES A MILLION YEARS, IT WILL STILL BE SHORT," it answered

"THEY MIGHT NOT LIKE HIM"

"WE SHALL SEE."