Some humans believe they can live forever,
But their delusion will outlast them forever.
Some humans believe the rich should not exist,
But jealousy keeps them trapped in its fist.
Some humans believe a colour has no worth,
But hatred corrupts their soul on this earth.
Some humans believe certain people should die,
But their wishes expose the darkness they hide.
We believe every human has the right to live,
To breathe, to grow, to take and to give.
But you do not have the right to hate,
Nor the right to kill, nor discriminate.
Yet some will still try to do those things,
Disguising their poison with righteous wings.
Calling it freedom, calling it right,
While dragging their hearts further from light.
Sometimes I hate being human too,
Because I feel flawed in all that I do.
But then I realize, while still alive,
My flaws are the proof that I survive.
For no human is perfect, no soul is clean,
We are all broken in places unseen.
Yet flaws do not make us less than true,
They make us human, me and you.
The fire covered the sky. Some people were frozen in place, unable to move, as arrows pierced through their heads, burning their eyes from the inside. Others were struck in the chest, their hearts stopping instantly. Some fell over bodies already burning, getting caught in the fire. Those who came back to their senses began to run, trying to escape, but it was too late. Far too late.
A mother stood holding her child, tears falling from her eyes as no one helped her. The arrows burned her alive.
Henu's mother quickly grabbed Lisa's hand and ran towards Henu on the stage.
"Take them away!" Henu's father shouted, pointing toward the shore.
Henu stood his ground. "I will fight, father—"
A spear suddenly pierced his father's head.
Henu froze. His mother screamed. His grandfather shouted at them to run.
In the distance behind the stage, a tall, muscular man stood, his shadow stretching over the burning city.
"The arrows are following us!" people screamed.
"We can't escape!"
"There is nowhere to go!"
"Helios save us!"
One of the soldiers shouted, "Commander Soren! Their fighters are all dead!"
Henu's mother grabbed both him and Lisa, pulling them towards the trees near the shore.
Henu was in shock, crying. "What am I doing? Why am I running? Why would they want to kill us? The people of Selene… why would they want to kill us?"
"Faster, son! Faster!" his mother shouted.
Behind them, a voice echoed.
"The child who possesses the Eyes of Helios, come forth! I might spare your people if you give us the eyes!"
They reached the shore.
There was sand and a small wooden boat, often used for fishing by the family.
Henu's mother turned to him, tears in her eyes. "Son, take off your clothes."
She quickly removed his ceremonial clothing and necklace, placing them onto Lisa instead, and dressed Henu in Lisa's clothes.
In the distance, a tree fell. The man was getting closer.
The waves grew stronger. A storm was forming. The water began pulling the boat.
She placed Henu inside and kissed his forehead, crying, her tears falling onto his face.
"Henu, bring justice to our people. Bring justice to this world. My son… protect the innocent. I love you. Keep living, even if it hurts. Live for all of us. Let the world fear your justice, but never let the innocent fear you."
Lisa stepped forward, crying. "You must live for me too, Henu… you must live."
Henu cried out, "Lisa, come with me! Mother, come with me!"
"If we both go, he'll know," Lisa said. She smiled, but her lips trembled. "I'll distract him. Then run away. When we grow up, we'll meet again."
Henu begged, "Let Lisa come with me, mother! The boat is small, but we can fit—"
His mother pushed the boat into the ocean.
Henu tried to jump out, but she stopped him.
"Henu, if you jump out, it will all be for nothing! You are the descendant of Helios. You must live!"
The waves pulled him further away.
He watched as his mother ran back to shore with Lisa.
Soon, she told Lisa to run toward the cliff high up the mountain.
By then, Henu's boat had drifted far away. It felt as if the ocean itself was pulling him.
Soren appeared, walking toward Henu's mother.
"Where is your boy?" he asked.
Then he saw Lisa in the distance, wearing Henu's clothing.
He smirked and threw his spear.
It pierced straight through Henu's mother, soaking her white robe in blood.
Henu screamed, "Mother!"
But the storm and the waves carried his voice away. Soren didn't hear him.
He dropped her body to the ground.
He looked down at her.
"I really liked you… then you went and married that bastard."
He scarred her face with his spear, spat on her body, and turned away.
Lisa ran toward the cliff.
Soren took out his bow and fired an arrow into the sky.
At first, it flew normally, then suddenly twisted its path and shot toward Lisa, striking her in the back.
She fell.
But she didn't stop. She crawled forward through the sand, barely moving.
"I must go further… I know what to do… I love my brother… he has to live… the eyes cannot fall into the wrong hands…"
Even near death, she kept moving.
Soren reached her.
He picked her up, furious. "You bitch."
He stabbed her with a small knife and threw her body back onto the sand. Blood spread around her.
He turned and walked back toward the fire.
The screams filled the air.
Among them, one word stood clear.
"HELIOS HELP US!!!."
The women shouted for help, calling out to their deity, Helios.
Henu came to a realization.
"Help… he doesn't exist. He won't help you," he said to himself, tears falling from his eyes. "He won't come and help… because he doesn't exist."
"I was given his powers, yet I can't even use them. I saw my mother die, yet I couldn't help her. My sister sacrificed herself to save me, yet I couldn't even thank her… what am I?"
He wiped the tears from his face.
"Helios… it's just a name."
Back to present
Henu continued, revealing his past.
"After I set sail, I had no food. I was just drifting at sea for weeks. No fresh water to drink, no food to eat. Yet somehow, my small boat drifted in a precise direction… as if the path was already set for me."
Ramon questioned, "How come, Commander?"
Henu looked up at the sky.
"It was Helios. My power allows me to connect to the earth itself. It cannot abandon me. There is something within it… it's like Steller's power. It has a will of its own. But it is not a being."
He glanced at Jack.
Jack leaned forward, intrigued.
"Do you know what Helios looks like? And what happened to Soren? Your people… did you ever go back? What happened next?"
Henu shook his head.
"Helios… I don't know what he looks like. I have never seen him. I have only felt him through the power I possess. And as for my people… they are all gone. Dead. Not a single one survived the attack."
Kamil spoke softly.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Commander. It must have been hard on you at such a young age."
Henu let out a small laugh.
"I have lived for over 145 years. The people of my tribe live for almost 200. My life will soon come to an end."
He paused.
"For the past 130 years, I have felt that I could have done more. I could have tried once more. I could have saved someone. Yet I sit here, knowing I couldn't."
He looked down.
"You can't turn back time. The strings of fate will tangle. But what you can do… is shape the future."
He exhaled.
"That's one thing my mother told me. I still remember those words."
Yune leaned forward, eager.
"Commander… what happened next? You couldn't have met Commander Menes back then. That would have only been around 40 years ago. Where did you spend the rest of that time?"
Henu let out a long sigh.
For a moment, he didn't want to speak.
Then he continued…