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Last Embryo Volume 6 Prologue Part 1

Prologue

This year, the Island of Crete has been blessed with a particularly good harvest, which was something of a rare occurrence, considering how relatively poor the harvests have been in recent years.

Even after such a long time has passed, I could still recall the fragrant scent of olives as they were being harvested from the trees and placed in baskets by the farmers and the servants working in olive orchards as if it happened yesterday. The same could be said about the sight of the people who were dancing around the bonfires while wearing the cow head masks on the day of the festival that was organized so that they could thank the Gods for another year of the bountiful harvests, and for keeping the cows and other livestock, the cornerstone of survival for the islanders, in good health as well.

Since they were considered sacred and a kind of a national treasure, all of the citizens of the kingdom of Crete were always making sure to be treating them with the respect that they deserved and that they would never take their lives if it was not absolutely necessary. The only exception to that strictly enforced rule was during the harvest festival, where they were offering the life of the strongest and the most beautiful of the bulls to the Gods to show them the extent of their thankfulness and appreciation. When I was looking at the people who were dancing happily and were indulging in merry celebrations, I always made sure to etch each and every one of the sights before me directly into my heart and soul, because that was my duty as the member of the Crete’s royal family. As someone who would one day become the island’s next king, it was my job to observe and learn how to manage and conduct the entire festival, so that I could one day impart the same knowledge and traditions to my children, just as my father was doing now, and how his father has done for him before.

Also, that night, I was supposed to travel with my father to a place that has been regarded as the most sacred one on the entire island. It was a place that all of the ordinary citizens have been forbidden from entering; a cave so deep and dark that you would not even be able to see your own feet without bringing a torch or some other source of light with you. The wind was howling wildly all across the massive cavernous chambers, making me feel as if I was a dwarf making my way into the gaping maw of a giant monster.

As I was trying to do my best to fight off the fear that was slowly creeping up my entire body, I felt my father grasping my hand firmly in his own.

「Do not be afraid, my son. This is the most sacred place in all of Greece. No evil spirit shall ever be permitted to enter here.」

That was the first time when I heard my father speak is such a soft voice. Usually, whether it was during official royal duties or in private, I never heard him being this calm while speaking to anyone, so it made my eyes go all round with a mixture of shock and surprise.

When I witnessed him speaking like that, it made me realize why my father, King Minos of Crete, has been regarded by the rulers of all the other city-states of Greece as a sage and a truly wise man. Being someone who was responsible for ushering in the golden age of the Minoan civilization as a maritime-focused nation bordering both Greece and Egypt, the two colossi of the ancient world, my Lord Father was both idolized by the common populace for his wisdom in guiding the nation towards the peaks of prosperity. . . . . . . but at the same time, the people were afraid of him due to how rigorously strict he was with upholding the laws that he has established.

. . . . . And right now, the hand of such a man was grasping his son’s trembling one gently yet decisively to encourage him to continue to go forward and brave the surrounding darkness. And all this time, he continued to walk beside me, a coward who was getting scared of every little thing that was happening around me suddenly and without any prior warning. I do not remember how much time has passed since we have entered the cave and began our descent through its dark corridors, but I was sure that a lot of it must have passed. I knew that Crete was a pretty big island country, but even so, this cave was going way deeper underground than I have expected. At one point we had to cross a small waterfall that was flowing down from the ceiling, and behind the curtain of water there was a hidden passage so old and unattended to what it was filled with spiderwebs and various kinds of microorganisms that must have thrived in such a dark, damp environment. That was enough of a proof to me that very little people knew about this place and that is why it looked as if it has been abandoned for a very long time, but then I began to wonder what might actually be on the other side of this mysterious passage.

I have heard stories about it that said that it is a place that only the priests and the members of the royal family could enter, and supposedly it was a site meant for religious purposes rather than the political ones, so I thought that maybe father took me here so that we could thank the Gods for the good harvest that has been granted to our island, but then. . . .  all of a sudden father began to talk to me slowly as we continued to walk forward.

「Tell me, my son. Do you love the land of Crete?」

「Y-Yes, of course I do!」

「I see. . . . but is your love for it strong enough that you would be ready to give up your own life for it?」

「Yes.」

To be honest, even I was surprised at how easily such a grand declaration came out of my mouth. Moreover, while I was making that declaration I made sure to look my Lord Father in the eyes without breaking eye contact the entire time, and it caused him to become greatly surprised.

「. . .Fuuh, well, you are certainly different from me. You are actually more like my father-in-law than I am.」

「More like the esteemed grandfather?」

「Yes, exactly. My father-in law’s name was Asterios. King Asterios of Crete. Even though we were not related to him by blood, he still took me and my brother in and raised us like his own kin. . . . . truly, there was no kinder man in the world than him.」

As my father looked towards some unspecified point in the distance, a scene from his childhood days played out in his mind, but at that point I was still an immature child that was too young to understand that my father was not born the way he looked now, and that he also must have had his own childhood. If only I was born a little bit earlier and had a chance to stop being a kid and grow up into being a proper man, then maybe, but just maybe. . . . . maybe I would have understood the anguish that my father was feeling at that time, if only for just a little bit.

「Now, my son, I want you to listen to me very carefully. There are not that many people who know about this, but deep beneath the surface of our island of Crete, a tremendous monster is sleeping.」

「A tremendous. . . .  monster?」

「Yes. A horrible, tremendous monster unlike anything we have ever seen before. Nobody knows when exactly is that monster going to wake up from its slumber, but when that day comes, the citizens of Crete must face it together, united as one if we ever hope do defeat it and bring peace back to our kingdom.」