INVICTA: Hell's Last Gate

But then he frowned and examined him with concern.

"Gosh! You look pale and sweaty!" He exclaimed, placing a palm on his forehead.

"You should take care of your health Kotys, the medicine in this era is nothing to write home about!"

Kotys, astounded that he had been so lost in his head as to not realize he almost walked into Rainer, he took a step back and shook his head.

"I am well, Rainer. Do not bother with me."

"Mm-Mmm." Rainer hummed with a doubtful look in his eyes.

To change the topic Kotys pointed at the head-sized stones arranged in a straight line.

"What were you doing?"

At this, Rainer grinned and turned away.

"Zig-zag sprints, ever heard of football? Meh, you haven't." He waved dismissively. "I was familiarizing myself with this body. It's just so nice to finally move like a normal human being!"

Kotys seemed curious.

"What did you look like before coming here?"

Rainer glanced back with a mysterious light in his eyes.

"Fire."

But then his stomach growled so loudly the soldiers at the camp gate heard it.

"..."

Kotys' expression became ugly, already sensing the gazes on his back. He knew what was coming.

"Do you have food to offer him, Kotys?!"

"Why did you think he was sent, Sinatus?!"

"Oh no! It can't be true, can it, Arminius?"

"Bahahaha!"

Kotys' eyes twitched and he ignored them.

He handed him the sack, and Rainer all but snatched it from his hand.

"What's this? Bread? Oh! There are olives too. Nice!"

Kotys reached for his waist and unhooked the wineskin.

Rainer's eyes brightened.

"Water?! Wonderful! I'm so thirsty!"

Kotys reached for a waterskin behind his waist and brought it out as well.

"That's wine. I had it stored away after the last skirmish with rebel tribes. It was my loot. Though I never liked wine. If you need water you can have mine too."

Rainer froze and turned slowly to look at him with adoration.

Kotys frowned slightly at his weird expression and took a step back.

However, Rainer didn't say anything. He merely looked away and nodded to himself with a pleased smile. He then opened the wineskin and swung it up, taking several big gulps.

"Bah!" He gasped. "This good stuff!"

Kotys eased up, seeing that he liked it.

Rainer chuckled to himself.

"Thanks for this! Didn't know you were quite the charmer."

Smiling, he kept away the food and reached for the spear.

"Are you allowed to give me that now?"

Kotys sighed and handed Rainer the spear.

"I have been given permission, but I will hold onto my shield."

Rainer tilted his head slightly but nodded.

"Fair enough."

Rainer took the spear and turned away, his attention fully taken by the weapon.

He placed a palm on the shaft and slowly brushed it across the surface. Kotys bent to the side with a curious gaze, trying to see what Rainer was doing.

He discovered that there was something—intimate about the manner he handled the weapon. The way he held it within his hand and how the blade caught the moonlight, gleaming a soft blue as if in response to his touch.

Kotys immediately felt an odd pang of envy and this startled him.

"W-what are you doing? Blessing my spear?"

"Hm?" Rainer glanced back at him like he was crazy. "What? No! Blessings are for gods, and that, I am not."

Kotys let out an exhausted breath.

"Right, you are an Ergon..." He sagely nodded to Rainer's discontent at his mispronunciation. But then his expression morphed to confusion.

"Does that mean you are not the son of Mars, then?"

Rainer paused at the question, and he looked down with a thoughtful, distant expression, a sad light hidden within his eyes.

"My first father as a human was called Mars, Mars Manslayer. He was the best father I ever had... He taught me to be good, but it was not my nature. In the end, he called me his wayward son. But I knew he still loved me."

He looked up at Kotys with a soft smile.

"He named me, Rainer. It was my first ever name, and I decided to keep it."

Kotys remained silent but thoughtful.

Sighing, Rainer turned around and raised the spear to the sky. It's tip glinting like a beacon against the night.

"What do you think is the greatest weapon, Kotys? The sword or the spear?"

Koty's eyes searched as he puzzled over the question. Finally, he decided.

"The mind." He answered and Rainer looked back at him with a strange glint in his eyes. "No matter what weapon you wield, it requires a keen mind to utilize it in a manner that triumphs over your opponent."

Rainer brought the spear down and turned slightly.

"You and I are so—similar, but different. Then again, I guess a Roman soldier should think this way. That bare pragmatism, the adaptive vigor..."

Kotys scoffed to himself. "What do you know of Rome?"

Rainer then slowly began twirling the spear about with his hands as he walked backwards, a thoughtful look on his face.

"I have been transmigrated to the Roman civilization a few times before now..."

Kotys had a perplexed frown, finding it difficult to comprehend this. However, before he could ask a question. The spear fell from Rainer's hand, bouncing against the ground.

Rainer picked it up with a lethargic sigh.

"I'm out of my depth." He muttered and glanced at Kotys.

Recognizing what was troubling him, he decided to elaborate, resting on the spear.

"You see, up there in the dark night, there exist many worlds near-identical to this one, each varying slightly. Those worlds each had their own versions of the Roman civilization, and I have arrived at different eras in its history."

Kotys' mouth fell open, stupefied.

Rainer glanced at him and smirked.

"Remarkable, eh? Yeah, so it would seem... I have made many memories with Rome. But it was never worth it in the end—for you see, Rome was always fated to fall, despite my efforts."

Rainer suddenly shook his head, deciding to stop his sad rambling. Then he stood up straight.

"Your spear is too heavy and stiff for me. I need something lighter and flexible."

Kotys seemed confused about why he changed the topic, but he nodded and turned.

"Alright. I will be back."

Watching him go, Rainer suddenly yawned and laid down, resting his head on a nicely shaped rock.

His eyes wandered across the stars for a moment, and then he closed them.

Rainer felt himself falling, and falling into a thick dark miasma. Silence and calm cradled him all around, and then he heard it.

*Swuk!* *Swuk!* *Swuk!*

Arrows, cutting through the miasma from all around, and then the booming of a horn seemed to blast the darkness away, revealing him standing side by side with Roman legionaries in the rain.

Vast forests pressed tightly against the formation on both sides, and arrows upon arrows kept showering out of the trees.

"Form testudo!"

"We've been ambushed!"

"Centurion! What are your orders!?"

Rainer turned to the soldier and realized he was the one being addressed.

He looked ahead, down the long formation, and realized he couldn't see the end of it. It was no different when he turned back.

To the sides, out of the trees sprang hundreds of feral barbarians.

"Centurio Rainer!"

He looked back at his Optio, a friend, and he revealed a wry smile.

"Ah, it's this moment." He muttered sadly to himself.

He reached out and brought the Optio's head against his with a slight clank of helms.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, brother."

The Optio looked back at him, at first perplexed, and then he smiled.

"We had good times."

Rainer nodded.

"That we did."

Suddenly, there was a bright flash, and the next time he looked around, he was a bloody mess kneeling in the mud of gore and feces. Dead legionaries all around, pinned to trees and boulders with spears.

When he looked down, he saw in his hands the head of his Optio.

He didn't even acknowledge the barbarians standing silently around him, staring at him with a vengeful viciousness about their countenance.

He slowly closed his eyes, and he was gone.

Darkness and smoke... burning.

*Bam!*

Someone rammed into him, and he stumbled forward. He opened his eyes and looked back in annoyance at the grand building, between the great towering pillars with soldiers streaming out.

"To the western gates, the Visigoths are surging through!"

Legionaries rushed past him down the stairs, and when he looked ahead from his high perch out into the blazing city—he laughed, a hard, resentful laugh.

"What are these dreams? Why remind me? Why..."

*Bam!*

He was rammed again, and he stumbled, falling down the stairs. However, he found himself suddenly unable to breathe, and a cold chill bit through his armor.

He opened his eyes and saw that he was submerged in deep waters, around him barrels, soldiers, and broken ships sank down into the blue. In a panic, he swam upwards, and when he burst through the surface, there was a flash. Lightning struck the water close to him, momentarily blinding him. But he pushed through and looked around.

There was a great storm, one that made terrifyingly large waves smash great ships together without care for Roman or Carthaginian lives.

"Why?" He cried. "Why?!? Do you remind me? Era!"

Suddenly, a high wave filled with dangerous debris rose beside him and came down on him like a death sentence.

Darkness.