Chapter Text
Phainon’s heart raced, his hands gripping his sword so tightly it made them ache. He saw the Kremnoan army in the distance, stretching out across the grassy fields, an impossible enemy, yet an enemy he needed to fight nonetheless.
Behind him stood the army of Aedes Elysiae, small yet mighty. His sister, Cyrene, led the archers from the rear, just as he led the warriors from the front. He wished he could see her, so she could give him one of her warm, reassuring smiles. Maybe, just maybe, he could believe anything but Death awaited them all.
The Kremnoan army drew nearer and nearer, slow yet as inevitable as Thanatos themself. The cold air was still, not even a gust of wind, perhaps Aquila was watching. But no, in the grand scheme of things, none of this mattered. It was just another nation for the Kremnoans to conquer. That didn’t mean Phainon would let it go easily.
The army was here.
“Prince of Aedes Elysiae!” King Mydeimos’s voice was deep as thunder. He looked like a king, dressed in a set of armor with a red cape attached, the hints of gold glittering in the air, an intricate crown of red crystal sat on his head. The riches on his body were greater than anything Aedes Elysiae had. “Do you surrender?”
“Never,” Phainon pointed his sword at the king, “Aedes Elysiae will stand strong, even in the face of Strife!”
The king only laughed, “you speak with so much confidence, yet the only thing you will find is Death!” With a wave of his hand, the Kremnoan army descended upon Aedes Elysiae.
Phainon ran towards the king, his attention focused solely on him. The king smiled, raising his own blade. Soon enough, their blades met. The king was strong, meeting him with a force Phainon wasn’t used to. That didn’t mean Phainon couldn’t fight back. He was the best warrior in Aedes Elysiae, after all.
The battle raged around them, yet they never broke off from each other. It felt like a dance, the way they moved around each other, both trying to get dominance but neither of them succeeding. If Phainon could give the king credit for anything, he fought with honor.
Their dance continued. Phainon swung at Mydeimos, but the king blocked him, forcing Phainon to take a step back. If this wasn’t a battle, Phainon would’ve called it fun.
Something shifted in the king’s eyes, as if he noticed something Phainon didn’t. And then Phainon realized it too. Aedes Elysiae was failing, its army being drawn back, faltering. Death lingered in the air, the death of his people.
Phainon swung harder, faster, desperately trying to kill the king. He was caught off guard for a moment, stepping back, and Phainon used that to his advantage, making strike after strike to try and take the man’s head off.
It almost worked. If Mydeimos hadn’t kicked his foot at the exact right moment, he would have killed him. Instead, he fell, the wind rushing from his lungs as he hit the grassy floor. His sword fell to the ground, then was pushed away by the king.
Phainon tried to get up, but Mydeimos’s foot pinned him down, then kicked him onto his back. The king knelt over him with a satisfied smile, raising his sword to his neck. Phainon struggled to breath with his knee on his chest.
A drop of red blood leaked from his neck, but Phainon didn’t take his eyes away from Mydeimos’s. He wouldn’t beg, he wouldn’t squirm, he would take his Death with dignity as a crown prince and a warrior should.
“Do you see your fallen nation, prince?” Mydeimos asked, “this is what happens when you fight Strife.” Phainon glared at him. What point was the king trying to make, dragging this out?
“So many have tried to fight us, yet so many have failed. Hmm, maybe they need an example,” Phainon tensed. A public execution then, something painful and slow enough to make others afraid of meeting the same fate as him. He heard tales of the old Kremnoan king locking his enemies inside a bronze bull, lighting the bottom on fire and watching as they slowly burned to death.
Phainon had been willing to take his death with honor, but he could not accept torture. His struggle began anew, desperately trying to get out of Mydeimos’s grasp. One of his hands pushed against the king’s chest, while the other tried to grab onto his blade.
“Shh, don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you,” Phainon’s stomach dropped. If that was true, he did not want to see what else was in store for him. Mydeimos’s free hand gripped onto his armor, pulling off pieces and tossing them aside. It was far easier to take a prisoner without armor on.
“Hey, you,” Mydeimos said to one of the soldiers. To Phainon’s dismay, they were all standing around them. The army of Aedes Elysiae was destroyed, their corpses lying on the ground like discarded toys. “Take my blade away and place it with my other gear.”
With his sword gone, Mydeimos focused on taking off all of Phainon’s armor. Phainon struggled as much as he could, he would not let himself be taken prisoner easily, would not let himself be subjected to Kremnoan torture.
Phainon felt like he was being skinned alive, each piece of armor stolen adding to his own vulnerability. A man without armor could not possibly hope to fight a man with armor, especially when that man was King Mydeimos, known throughout Amphoreus as the greatest warrior alive.
The king stripped Phainon of his undergarments, leaving him bare for the eyes of all those around him. His cheeks burned in humiliation. A prince, naked for the eyes of soldiers.
“You’re beautiful, Phainon,” he shivered at the sound of his name coming from Mydeimos’s mouth. It sounded so… wrong, coming from him. “I think I’ll keep you to myself.” Whispers grew among the Kremnoan soldiers. Was that supposed to mean something?
“You look so confused,” Mydeimos seemed amused, “did the royal family of Aedes Elysiae not have slaves?”
Slaves? Slaves?! Phainon growled at him, trying his hardest to kick him off, “bastard! I will never obey you, cruel king.” Slavery was illegal in Aedes Elysiae, being seen as one of the gravest crimes a human could commit. And now Mydeimos-
“Oh, but you will have no choice,” Mydeimos started taking off his own armor. Phainon didn’t bother to think why, using the opportunity to strike at Mydeimos’s head with his fist, it felt so satisfying to see the king surprised.
The king staggered. Phainon struggled to get out from beneath him. Once he had his freedom, he ran with everything he had. But Mydeimos recovered quickly, knocking Phainon onto his stomach. Phainon gasped from the force of it.
“Feisty!” Mydeimos laughed, “breaking you is going to be fun.”
Mydeimos continued undoing his armor. From his stomach, Phainon couldn’t hope to get away from him. Phainon forced his body to relax. Maybe, if Mydeimos thought he gave in, Phainon could find another opportunity to catch him off guard.
All of that was broken when he felt Mydeimos’s cock start to touch him. Phainon cried out. What the hell?! This wasn’t- none of this was honorable. None of this is how a king is supposed to treat a fallen foe!
“Get off of me!” Phainon shouted, feeling Mydeimos’s cock right on his hole, about to tear him apart. “You rat, get off!”
“I don’t think I will,” Mydeimos thrust inside of him, making Phainon scream louder than he ever had before. It was so painful, as if his body was being ripped in half. How could this be happening to him? He was the best fighter in Aedes Elysiae, its crown prince? Now, he was being fucked on the ground for all eyes to see. He felt those eyes burning into him.
Mydeimos gripped his hair, forcing his head to the side so Phainon had no choice but to look. Some of the Kremnoans were watching with interest, others had already began packing their things. The bodies of Aedes Elysiae soldiers were everywhere. He knew all of them.
“I hate you!” Phainon thrashed on the ground, not caring about the dirt covering his body, the grass making his skin itch “you pathetic excuse for a king!”
“Says the man who has nothing but dead soldiers,” Mydeimos’s thrusts were intense, shaking Phainon’s entire body, “every single man and women inside those walls will be taken as slaves, and the children will be raised by Kremnoan families to learn the right way of life.”
Tears ran down Phainon’s face, shame flooding through him. Rumors said Mydeimos was an honorable man, but this wasn’t honor. This was pure, unadulterated cruelty. How did the Kremnoans hold him in such high honor?
Phainon started silently praying. First to Phagousa, to send floods to Kremnoan territories. Then to Georius, to send earthquakes. Then to Zagreus, to send chaos and thievery. Then to Talanton, so that Mydeimos could face judgement. Then to Thanatos, so Mydeimos’s afterlife could find no peace. And finally, to Kephale, to protect those who faced the cruelty of the Mydeimos, both those conquered by Kremnos and the Kremnoans themselves.
His prayers to Janus and Cerces were selfish. He prayed for a passage of escape, and for Cerces to help him keep his mind. Mydeimos was saying something again, but Phainon couldn’t be bothered to listen. He could only hope that the gods chose to listen to him.
He sent no prayers to Nikador, for he knew better to pray to a god for the demise of their own people. Nor to Mnestia, for praying to them during a mockery of Romance felt far too cruel.
Phainon felt Mydeimos come inside him, the feeling strange and unfamiliar. He wondered if Mydeimos knew that he had taken Phainon’s virginity or not. Phainon felt a pang at that. He wanted his first time to be with someone he loved, not this.
Mydeimos pulled out, a mix of blood and cum pouring out of Phainon. He tried to push himself off the ground, but a surge of pain flowed through him. He fell back to the ground, wanting to scream at his uselessness.
“Tie him up, make sure he can’t escape, then we’ll go back to Kremnos,” Mydeimos looked down at Phainon, his eyes filled with a look of arrogance. Phainon spat at him. “Gag him as well.”
Phainon was too weak to get away from the soldiers when they obeyed Mydeimos, no matter how hard he tried to struggle. First his wrists were tied together, then his legs, then they were attached to each other so his body was forced to arch. It was so uncomfortable, making Phainon’s muscles burn. Just like Mydeimos ordered, he was gagged, but a blindfold was added as well. He hated that the most, he was trapped within his own body.
Mydeimos picked him up. He didn’t know how he could tell that it was Mydeimos, but he could. His body tensed so hard he felt like a statue. “I’ll be heading back to Kremnos with this one. Tell Krateros to take care of the cleanup here.”
Phainon hated how helpless he felt. Mydeimos was able to carry him around like he was nothing but a doll and there was nothing he could do about it. Just hours earlier, Phainon was commanding an army. What would they think now, if they could see Phainon like this? Would they pity him? Would they hate him for failing them?
The scent of Death lingered in the air like a disease. Aedes Elysiae was gone. Everything Phainon knew, everyone Phainon cared for was dead. Cyrene would’ve been killed, and his parents… his father was near death, he wouldn’t be able to fight the Kremnoan soldiers, and his mother would never leave his side.
Mydeimos carried him into what Phainon assumed was his carriage, sitting down and resting Phainon’s head in his lap. Phainon sobbed when it started to move, leaving his homeland behind to be ravaged by the Kremnoans. Oh how he would miss the fields of wheat, watching the children play in the streets, their parents having no fear for they knew nothing bad happened in Aedes Elysiae.
The king let out a satisfied sigh, his hand petting Phainon’s hair, making him feel like a dog. “I told them to gag you, but I think we should celebrate this victory together. Try to bite me and I will order a batch of your people killed.”
Mydeimos shuffled around a little bit before taking Phainon’s gag off. Phainon cursed at him, throwing insults like they would do anything. Mydeimos used the opportunity to force his cock down Phainon’s throat.
Phainon gagged, his mouth suddenly feeling so full. He instinctively wanted to bite down, but Mydeimos’s words stopped him. None of his people could die because of his own selfishness. He would take all the torture Mydeimos would give him if it meant protecting them.
Mydeimos continued to fuck his throat, not caring that Phainon could barely breath, and oh how his lungs burnt. He was forced to take all of him, and Mydeimos was big. Mydeimos’s hand rested on the back of his head, keeping him still.
The king sped up, starting to moan quietly. Phainon squeezed his eyes shut behind the blindfold, wanting so badly to get away from this. He imagined himself back at home, reading with Cyrene. She always made fun of him for how bad he was with history, but it was always light hearted.
“Swallow.” Mydeimos said as he came. Phainon had no choice but to obey, coughing as he swallowed. The taste made him want to throw up, yet he was unable to move as Mydeimos continued to hold his head against his cock, warming it with his mouth.
Mydeimos eventually let him get off. Phainon panted, trying to get his head as far away from the king as possible. “Rest,” Mydeimos commanded, “things will only get harder for you once we arrive in Kremnos.”