Her Silent Guardian

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

In the darkened skies over the jungle world of Zhakul, the Umojan Vatican’s Holy Navy clashed with the Khalai’s Golden Armada as missiles and energy bolts lit up night sky over the planet below. As the battle raged on in the void of space, dozens of dropships were secretly deployed down to the planet below as they penetrated its atmosphere.

However, just as the pilots thought they were in the clear, the Khalai defenders on the surface spotted the incoming dropships. It wasn’t long before the skies were filled with bolts of energy, all of them aiming to shoot down the Umojan crafts.

The dropship pilots quickly maneuvered their ships out of the line of fire, but the relentless barrage shot a large number of them down as their destruction added to the ongoing ‘fireworks’, leaving only a handful of surviving ships.

Aboard one of the surviving dropships, a stallion in power armor was silently praying to Celestia that he would make it back to his home back on Umoja and be with his wife again. As he prayed, the stallion started to reminisce about his past.

Like many families of the New Canterlot Vatican, when he had come of age, his parents had sent him to one of the Holy Orders so their young foal could become a productive member of the Vatican when they grew up. But instead of going to the Order of the Coin, an order of merchants and traders, like his parents belonged to, he was sent to the Order of the Dawn, a military organization that trained the Crusaders who served the Vatican in their ongoing war against the Khalai.

One of the first things the Order taught him and his fellow squires was to hate the Khalai. One of the squires in his class, an earth pony from one of the outer colonies had once asked why they should hate the Khalai. The instructor had given the squire a severe beating as punishment for his ‘ignorance’ before he answered the beaten squire’s question.

The Khalai were the heretics who had betrayed Celestia’s trust and had taken her light from them when they destroyed their only link back to Equestria, their motherland. And it was the Order’s sacred duty to punish every one of these heretics for their transgression against Celestia.

He would never forget that lesson for the rest of his life, nor of the poor colt who had died from his injuries later that night.

Over the years, the Order had trained him in the art of hoof-to-hoof combat before they taught him how to use precision gloves and how to fight with them. It was difficult for him at first, learning how to use the robotic hands needed to wield the weapons the Crusaders used in battle but he eventually mastered the skill, which he would need when the Vatican called upon him to serve in their crusade against the Khalai.

He knew that the Vatican would call upon him to serve in their crusade against the Khalai one day and spend the rest of his life fighting in Celestia's name. He believe that he would most probably die on the battlefield long before he could retire. It was a bleak future to be sure but he had accepted his fate.

That is, until he met the love of his life.

Like the other citizens of the Vatican, the squires were devout worshipers of Celestia and as such, they would make the daily trek from their barracks to the local church to pray alongside other churchgoers. This also gave some of the squires the opportunity to see their families before they had to return to the compound for their training.

One morning, after they were finished with their prayers, he had bumped into somepony on his way out. It was a lay sister from the Order of Celestia’s Light, the religious order dedicated to the worship of Celestia and he had caused her to drop her books on the ground. Feeling responsible, he knelt down so he could help gather them up, but froze when the lay sister’s hood fell back, allowing him to see her face.

She was a unicorn with long blue and purple mane, complimenting her light blue coat, which grew a light shade of red when her violet eyes saw him staring at her so intensely. She muttered a quick apology to him before she picked up the fallen books with her magic and ran off. He stared at her retreating figure and smiled. He was smitten, completely and utterly smitten.

He later learned that her name was Orchid Dew, and that she was studying at the church so she could become a full-fledged priestess of Celestia’s Light. He would often greet her with a smile or wave whenever he saw her after morning prayers and she would sometimes wave back, which made him happy that she notice him. But he never had courage to go and talk to her for which he received endless teasing from his fellow squires.

He got his chance when he encountered her again after one of his morning prayers. The others were already done and had left ahead of him so he galloped out the door in order to catch up to them, but had bumped into somepony on his way out as both he and the pony he had knocked into, fell to the floor. As he rubbed his hoof over his head, he muttered angrily before he realized who he just ran into.

It was Orchid Dew, and just like before he had caused her to drop her books on the floor. However, all he managed to say was a quick apology before he knelt down to help her gather up her things. They gathered the fallen books in awkward silence until there was only one book left and since neither were paying attention, both of them reached for the book and their muzzles met in an accidental kiss.

It was his first kiss and judging by the many shades of red on Orchid's face, it was her first as well.

When he realized what he was doing, he pulled away from her in embarrassment and muttered a quick apology before turning around to leave. However he stopped when he felt her hoof on his own. He looked back at her and into her violet eyes as she asked him not to leave her.

And he didn’t.

After that, he looked forward to the morning prayers at the church even more as he would get to see and meet with Orchid Dew afterwards. They would spend time talking before he had to return to the compound. It wasn't much, but they were happy with what they had. He even got to meet Orchid's parents one morning while enjoying her company.

Just like their daughter, they were both unicorns and apparently were members of the Order of the Arcane, an order of mages and scholars. Orchid's mother was more than thrilled to finally meet the stallion that had swept her daughter off her hooves. Her father on the other hoof, wasn't as excited when he learned that his daughter's special somepony was from the Order of the Dawn but gave them his blessings when he saw how happy his daughter was with him.

He eventually attained his knighthood, which was a proud moment for him as only a hoofull of others had accomplished this so he invited Orchid Dew and her family to join him and his family for the knighting ceremony, which took place in the main hall of the Order's Academy.

The ceremony itself was a rather simple but somber affair as the Knight Commander made them swear their oaths to the Vatican before they were officially declared knights of the Vatican. During the celebration, he took Orchid aside, away from the rest of the partygoers and brought her to the Academy's courtyard where he presented a ring to her and asked her to marry him.

To his joy, she said yes.

A month later, they took their vows and were married in the very church where they had first met each other and moved into the modest homestead he had inherited with his knighthood. He thought that he would spend the rest of his life with his beloved Orchid, raise a family and grow old together.

Sadly however, all good things must come to an end.

He had been married for less than a year when the Grand Archmage and his Council declared that the Vatican Holy Navy was pushing into Khalai Space to retake the worlds they had lost in their ongoing war against the heretics and they were calling on all able-bodied ponies to join in their crusade.

His beloved Orchid begged him to stay with her, but he was a Knight from the Order of the Dawn, and he had sworn an oath to answer the call to arms no matter what. Unable to dissuade him from leaving, she asked him to spend his last night on Umoja with her and he did as they consummated their love for each other for what could be the very last time. It was truly a night he would never forget.

Despite her status as a priestess of Celestia's Light, he swore that his wife was secretly a succubus as she had left him completely and utterly drained at the end of their lovemaking. He had wondered if it was some convoluted ploy to make him unable to leave her side when the ships departed, which he didn't really object to.

Unfortunately, by the time he had to leave, he had recovered enough to do so as he picked up his belongings and left for the starport where a ship was waiting for him and the other enlistees. His wife had insisted that she accompanied him there, for which he was grateful for. There, they saw dozens of ponies, mares and stallions alike saying their goodbyes to their family and loved ones who had come to see them off.

He turned to his wife and said his own farewells before he turned around to leave, but he stopped when he felt her hoof on his own. He turned around and asked him what was wrong. She answered by pulling him into a tight embrace and asking him to promise her one last thing.

To come back to her, no matter-

He was interrupted from his trip down memory lane when he felt a sudden jolt on the ship. He thought that the ship had been hit until he opened his eyes and saw his fellow knights were readying their weapons as they prepared to disembark. They had made it to the surface. Following his comrades' example, he checked his weapons one last time before he and his fellow knights had to disembark. He had a fully loaded gauss rifle with four spare cartridges, and a single Rune Saber.

While the other factions had their High Frequency Blades and the heretic Khalai their Psi-Blades, the Umojan Vatican favored the enchanted steel of their Rune Sabers which could cut through almost anything thanks to the magic runes inscribed onto the blade. He attached the sword to the harness on his side before he heard the Knight Captain ordering everypony out of the ship.

He and the other knights disembarked and saw the surface of Zhakul for the first time. Unlike the tranquil forested plains of Umoja, Zhakul’s jungle environment was uncomfortably hot and humid, even with the cooling unit inside his power armor he could feel himself sweating under it.

The Knight Captain ordered him to scout ahead while he and others secured the landing zone. He obeyed and walked cautiously into the jungle foliage, checking the area for any enemy scouts in the area before moving on. He eventually caught something glinting in the distance. He crouched down and slowly made his way towards the source of the glinting until he found himself just outside an open clearing. He gasped at what he saw in the clearing.

Bodies, dozens upon dozens of dead bodies lay on the ground before him; many of them belonging to Khalai Templars while the rest were those of Vatican Crusaders. However when he knelt down to pay his respects to the fallen crusaders, he noticed that all of the crusader's bodies' were merely empty suits of power armor. He then realized that he was staring at the empty shells of a Shade Knight.

He had learned about them during his days in the Academy. Shade Knights belonged to a special military branch known as the Eternal Legion. The Legion was typically the first to enter battle against the heretics and always fought to the last, but every time a Shade Knight fell in battle, they would always return from the dead to fight another battle. The reason the Legion was able to accomplish this is because they were already dead to begin with.

When a pony enlists into the Vatican Army, they also sign a binding contract that obligated them to serve the Vatican for a set number of years. However, should they fall in battle before their contract is completed, their souls are taken and bound to empty suits of enchanted power armor to serve the in the Legion until their contract expires, only then, would their souls be released into the afterlife.

He himself had signed such a contract when he attained his knighthood. While he was honor bound to serve the Vatican, he couldn't help but dread the thought of him dying and coming back as an undying soldier. He turned around when he heard the Knight Captain arriving with the rest of the squad.

The Captain looked at the empty power armors with a sad look in his eyes as he muttered a prayer before he ordered everyone to keep moving through the jungle and towards where the Khalai had set up their Anti-Orbital Artillery Cannons. Their goal was to destroy the artillery emplacements and to eliminate any heretics nearby so that their fleet fighting in orbit over Zhakul could send down reinforcements to the surface without worrying about it being shot down.

As they moved through the dense jungle growth, he could sense that they were being watched by something in the shadows and voiced his concern to the Knight Captain. The captain merely scoffed at him and told him that it was just his nerves playing tricks on him and told him to move on.

This was proven wrong when a bolt of energy suddenly came from the shadows and struck one of the knights in his helmet, the glass dome shattered before the knight fell to the ground, dead. His death was immediately followed by the war cries of the Khalai Templars bursting from their hiding place as they fired their Psi-Casters on the group. It was an ambush!

Panic set into his mind as he tried to figure out what to do. The Order had trained him to handle these kinds of situations, but no amount of training could have prepared him for all this chaos. Just as he was about to run, he heard the knight captain ordering everypony to fight back before he fired his gauss rifle at the heretics, killing two of them in quick succession, which boosted everypony’s morale. With their morale restored, he and the other knights let their training kick in and started fighting back.

As the battle raged on, he noticed one of the templars had suddenly stopped firing as he shouted out another of their strange battle cries as blades of psionic energy extended from his Psi-Casters and ran towards him. He opened fire on the charging templar but the nimble stallion somehow evaded all of his shots as he quickly closed the distance between them within seconds.

He stepped back when the Templar swung one of his Psi-Blades at him. He blocked the blow with his rifle but his opponent used his second Psi-Blade to cut his weapon in two, rendering it useless as one half of the gauss rifle fell to the ground while he held the other. He threw the ruined rifle away before he brought out his Rune Saber and swung it at the Templar, but the Templar dodged the attack and jumped back.

Not wanting to be outdone by a heretic, he let out his own battle cry before he charged at the Templar with his sword held high. Once he got within range, he swung his sword in a downward arc, but the blow was deflected to the side by the Templar's first Psi-Blades, before he cut into his armor’s chestplate with the second one.

The thickness of his chestplate protected him from the energy blade but the force of the blow caused him to stumble back. The Templar took the opportunity and charged at him, ready to deal the final blow and finish him off. However, he quickly regained his footing and swung his Rune Saber out in a horizontal slash just as the Templar was inches away from stabbing him in the head.

As the Rune Saber hit the Templar, the magic inside the blade was activated as it was bathed in the golden glow of the Sun's Wrath, which cut clean through the Templar's armor and his torso, killing the stallion as the two halves of his body fell to the ground in a bloody heap.

He then heard cheers coming from behind him and turned around. He saw his comrades cheering as they had managed to win their first ever battle. He turned back to the heretic he just killed and felt a sense of accomplishment wash over him as he raised his sword into the air and joined in the cheering.

Unfortunately, their victory was cut short when he suddenly felt something burning him inside his chest before he fell to his knees, which he couldn't feel anymore. He looked down and saw a smoking hole in his chestplate as well as the scent of charred flesh wafting into his nostrils. He looked back up and saw another Khalai Templar, pointing a strange golden rifle at him.

He tried to use his Rune Saber as a crutch and get back up on his feet so he could fight, but his body refused to obey as he grew weak with every passing second. He soon lost his hold on his sword as he swayed a little before he fell forward and hit the blood soaked earth with a wet splotch.

He could hear the battle between his comrades and Khalai resuming as he saw a heretic running past him, firing his Psi-Casters at the Vatican Knights but the sounds of battle grew faint as he slowly felt his life ebbing away. As he laid there dying, all he could think about was his wife and how sorry he was that he couldn't keep his promise to her.

With his dying breath, he called out for his wife’s name one last time before everything faded into oblivion.

Author's Note

This is a side story based on an unwritten plotline to UnholyHeaven's idea on the Shade Knights in the Vatican's Eternal Legion, which made its appearance in the main story recently.

This story is going to be a pure narrative so as to fit in with the theme, so that means that there will be no dialogue whatsoever. Which is a first for me and I hope that you'll give me an honest but brutal opinion on it. Just try to make it a constructive one, kay :raritywink:

Since I'll be working primarily on the main story with the others, any updates to this story will be erratic and possibly slow. So for those that might like this, all I ask is for you to be patient.

Chapter 2

Darkness. All he could see around him was complete and utter darkness and nothing or nopony else as far as he could tell, which wasn’t very far since he couldn’t even see his hoof in front of him in this darkness.

When he woke up, he found himself floating aimlessly in this dark void. He didn’t know where he was, how he got here or how long he’s been there. All he could remember was that he was fighting the Khalai heretics on Zhakul but he couldn’t recall how the battle ended. The only other thing he could remember was that he needed to return to Umoja and back to Orchid Dew’s side no matter what.

Unfortunately, since he couldn’t remember how he got here in the first place he didn’t know how to leave this place either. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop him from trying as he started looking around for a way out of the void. But after what felt like several hours, which was hard to tell due to the darkness, he wasn’t any closer to leaving this Celestia-damned void than he did when he started!

Frustrated and disheartened by his fruitless endeavor, he was about to give up on seeing his beloved wife ever again when a light suddenly appeared in the distance. Having been in the darkness for an extended amount of time, he was blinded by the sudden brightness as he instinctively closed his eyes and turned away.

He eventually adjusted to the brightness and slowly opened his eyes to get a better look at this mysterious light. It was of a brilliant golden hue, reminiscent of the many beautiful sunrises he witnessed growing up on Umoja. The light pulsed in a rhythmic fashion similar to that of a beating heart, which put him at ease as he felt the feelings of doubt and despair plaguing him being washed away.

Thinking that the light could be a way out of this darkness, he started, for the lack of a better word to describe it, swimming towards the light. As he headed for the light, he thought about Orchid Dew who was probably waiting for him back at their homestead on Umoja but as he got closer to the light, he started having second thoughts.

He believed that the light was his best and only chance at escaping this darkness but part of him told him that it won’t lead him to his wife. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, he turned away from the light and started moving away. However he didn’t get very far when he felt something stopping him dead in his tracks.

He looked back and gasped when he saw the light turning into an ominous green hue as the pulsing became fast and erratic, which filled him with a feeling of fear and dread. He tried to escape but the same force that held him in place was now pulling him towards the light. He struggled as hard as he could against the invisible force though it did nothing more than tire himself out, as he was steadily dragged closer and closer to the light.

As he was pulled closer towards the light, the pulsing grew even more erratic as the light became even brighter than before. His eyes watered from the stinging brightness and screwed his eyes shut but the light easily penetrated through his eyelids, causing him to cry out as he was blinded. He covered his face with his forelegs to shield it from the light but it merely grew brighter in response. And it kept growing brighter and brighter until he couldn’t take it anymore…

…and screamed.

He stopped screaming when he opened his eyes and found himself no longer being pulled towards a light but inside a large glass capsule. After he calmed himself down, he looked around the inside of the capsule, which had many magic markings that glowed dimly around him. He wasn’t a unicorn so he couldn’t understand what they do.

However, the capsule itself reminded him of the healing pods the Order of the Dawn used to heal Crusaders who were injured in combat so he assumed that he must have been injured during the battle on Zhakul and was recovering inside one. Though the capsule was filled with a strange swirling mist that clung to his body was new to him.

Putting the mystery of the mist aside, he wiped the fog off the glass and looked through it. His eyes widened when he saw several rows of more glass capsules lining the walls of a massive chamber. Each one exactly the same as the one he was in. Some of them were filled with the same strange mist inside his own capsule but they held nopony inside them

His ears twitched when he heard the sound of hoof steps in the distance and turned to see a yellow unicorn mare wandering through the chamber. Judging from the emblem of the Stars and Moon on the robes she wore, he knew that she was a mage from the Order of the Arcane and was probably the best pony to get some answers from so he started tapping on the glass to get her attention.

The tapping worked as the mage turned around and let out a frightened shriek when she saw him inside the capsule. He was confused by the mare’s reaction but guessed that he would be startled too if he had turned around and saw a random pony staring right at him. He opened his mouth to apologize to her for scaring her and ask why he was inside the capsule.

However, he was surprised to find that no sound came from his mouth. At first, he thought that his throat was just dry and tried to say the same thing again but realized something was wrong when he couldn’t hear any sound from his mouth, not even a cough. He knew he wasn’t deaf since he definitely heard the sound he made when he tapped on the glass so he touched his throat to see his something was wrong with it.

The mage, who had been watching his actions so far, realized that he was trying to speak so she approached the capsule and fired up her magic as she did something to the capsule that caused the runes inside of it to glow brightly. He winced at the brightness as it reminded him of the light from his dream and asked the mage to stop before he realized that he just said something.

With the ability to speak again, he first apologized to the mage for startling her before he asked where they were and how long it would be before he would be well enough to be released from the healing pod. The mage became confused by his question and asked what made him believe that he was inside a healing pod.

He told her that he was injured while fighting the Khalai on Zhakul and blacked out shortly afterwards before waking up in the capsule, which resembled healing pods used by his Order so he logically assumed it was one. The mage then shook her head before she hesitantly informed him that the capsule wasn’t a healing pod at all. It was actually a containment capsule for the souls of fallen Crusaders and that he was dead.

At first, he thought it was some kind of dark humor on her part and laughed a little before insisting that she tell him the truth but the mage told him that she wasn’t joking. Tired of the charade, he demanded that she drop the act and answer his questions from before but the mage insisted that she was telling the truth. He became angry at the mage’s lies and swung his hoof at the glass, but when he struck the glass, his hoof dispersed into a cloud of mist just like the one in the capsule.

He let out a terrified scream before he pulled what was left of his leg away from the glass and stared at what remained of his leg. Mist was flowing around the stump where his hoof had been but was surprised when the mist started gathering around it. He watched in horror and disbelief as the mist flowed into the stump and formed into his hoof. He flexed the regrown limb and felt exactly the same as his old hoof.

He then gasped out in pain and clutched his head between his hooves as his memories of the battle on Zhakul flooded back into his mind. He remembered the heretics ambushing his squad and of the Templar he had slain with his Rune Saber and the Templar who shot him. He moved a hoof to his chest as he recalled the searing heat he felt when he was shot and was left to die in the mud.

The mage lowered her head and said how sorry she was for his demise but he didn’t hear the rest of her words as he fell to his haunches as he came to terms with his ‘conscription’ into the Eternal Legion. He thought he would be more distraught over this but he knew that this would happen when he became a knight though he never expected to die in his very first battle.

Now, he was fated to fight and most probably die repeatedly in the Vatican’s crusade against the Khalai until the day his contract expires. Unfortunately, since he died so early on in his military career, it would be many years before he would be allowed to pass on into the afterlife. It was a truly bleak future for him.

His thoughts then turned to Orchid Dew when he remembered how he had called out to her in his final moments. He was saddened when he realized that he had left her a widow at such a young age. The only comfort he had was that in exchange for his indentured service to the Eternal Legion, the Vatican would provide Orchid Dew with a stipend to live off of so in a way, he could still provide for her.

The mage pulled him out of his thoughts when she asked him if there was anything that she could do to help him cope with his recent death, but he turned his head and said that he just wanted to be left alone with his thoughts. The mage obliged his request and turned around to leave but just as she was about to leave, he called out to her and said there was something she could do. The mage smiled and asked what his request was.

He told her that he wanted to see his wife again.

However, the mage shook her head and explained to him that a soul must serve in the Eternal Legion for a year before they were allowed the privilege to have visitors. The rule was put in place to ensure that newly conscripted souls wouldn’t be tempted to desert the Legion to be with their loved ones. This also gave them an incentive to fight harder for the Vatican’s cause.

He asked if she could make an exception for him but the mage shook her head again. She informed him that only an elder had the authority to make such exceptions and she was a mere acolyte so she couldn’t fulfill his request even if she wanted to. He then asked if she could at the very least, help him write a letter and deliver it to Orchid Dew for him.

To his relief, the mage said that it could be arranged as she conjured up a pen and blank piece of paper with her magic. Putting the pen to the paper, she asked him to say what he wanted to say to his wife and she’ll write them down for him.

He closed his eyes and imagined himself standing before his beloved Orchid Dew, who was crying her eyes over the news of his demise, which caused his heart to ache even more. He first greeted Orchid with his pet name for her, his ‘Precious Flower’, so that she would know that the words in the letter were truly his. He then told her how sorry he was for not keeping his promise to her. He wished things could have turned out differently as he wanted nothing more than to hold her close and never let go. He knew how much she wanted to have a family together and watch their foals grow up, find love and have foals of their own. He was sorry he couldn’t make that dream come true and hoped that she would find it in her heart to forgive him for breaking his promise to her and that-

He paused when he heard the sound of sniffling and opened his eyes to see the mage trying to choke back her tears and failing miserably at it as her tears dripped to the floor. She dropped the pen and paper in embarrassment when she realized he was looking at her. The mage apologized for her behavior as she wiped the tears off her muzzle with the sleeves of her robes.

He smiled at the mage and assured her that there was nothing to apologize for. He admitted that he actually felt touched that she would shed her tears for a complete stranger like him and for that, he was truly grateful. He then bowed his head to the mage in gratitude, leaving her flustered at the gesture.

After she regained her composure, the mage thanked him for his kind words before she retrieved the fallen letter and pen off the floor and asked if he wished to continue where he left off. He nodded but said that the only thing left he wished to add was that Orchid Dew would keep him in her prayers. The mage nodded wrote down his words before she put the letter away and assured him that she’ll send the letter out as soon as possible.

The mage then told him that she had to go soon and asked him that if there was anything else that she could do for him. He shook his head and said that as long as the letter reached Orchid’s hooves, he would be happy. Satisfied with his response, the mage turned around to leave but before she could take a step forward, she heard him calling out to her. She turned around and asked if he had another request.

He said that he would like to know her name so he could thank her properly for helping him. The mage said that caring for souls like him was simply part of her duties as an acolyte and required no thanks in return. However, he insisted that she tell him as it would make him feel more at ease if he knew her name. The mage smiled wearily as she obliged his request and told him her name.

Crystal Clear.

He smiled and told Crystal that it was a beautiful name and thanked her. He could rest easy knowing that he had such a kind pony as his caretaker. Crystal blushed at the compliment and said that she was glad to be of help before she bid him farewell and walked away down the row of capsules.

His smile waned as he watched Crystal walk out of sight but he was glad that he had met such a gentle soul in this darkness. He then let out a yawn, mildly surprised that he could still feel tired as a spirit but didn’t have the energy or the desire to question it as he laid himself down onto the mist-covered floor of the capsule.

After he made himself comfortable, he rested his head over his forelegs and closed his eyes, hoping that he would dream of happier times with his ‘Precious Flower’.

Author's Note

Had this sitting in my hard drive for ages so I thought I might as well upload this just to keep myself going.

Chapter 3

Days had passed since he first awakened and in that time, he had been receiving counseling every day. Crystal told him that these sessions were to help ease him into his new role in the Eternal Legion while also serving as a way to evaluate his mental and emotional health. Crystal further explained that the evaluations were there to single out shades that were mentally unsound due to an incident recorded over a century ago.

According to the archives, several shade knights suddenly went mad on the battlefield and went on a psychotic rampage. In their maddened state, the shade knights no longer differentiated between friend or foe as they killed both templar and crusaders alike, sowing chaos amongst the crusaders. By the time the crazed knights were finally put down, the Holy Navy was forced to retreat as a result of the losses they suffered. This defeat cost the Vatican control over that world.

Upon receiving news of the incident, the heads of the Five Orders were outraged and promptly launched an investigation to discover who or what caused the shades to rampage in the first place. When the investigation ended and the report was given to the heads of the Orders to review.

During the investigation, a senior mage and their apprentices were detained when it was discovered that they had been subjecting the shades under the apprentice’ care to inequine experiments to further their research. Unfortunately, the investigators couldn’t get personal testimonies from the victimized shades as they were among the ones that had gone mad. What was worse was any pleas from the shades for help were scoffed at by the other mages, dismissing it as a poor attempt to besmirch their reputation.

Suffice to say, the council members were shocked and disgusted by this act of cruelty

Isolation, neglect and experimentation were among many other injustices the shades had suffered at their supposed caretakers’ hooves. Despite all the service and sacrifice the shades had made to the Vatican, they were treated no better than tools that were to be used and discarded afterwards. Given what they went through, it was no wonder the shades went mad. Despite this, the shades still fought for the Vatican and only because of their loyalty to their goddess though even that couldn’t withstand the torture they suffered.

The thought of anypony, let alone a shade being treated like that made him angry. He already felt less of a pony as he was but he couldn’t imagine how he could endure even half of what his predecessors had and still remain sane. He was so angry at the time that he remembered his body trembling. Thankfully Crystal was there to calm him down before telling him what happened next.

In the aftermath of the investigation, the mage responsible for the experiments that caused the shades to go mad was tried and executed while her apprentices were excommunicated. Not many survived for very long outside the safety of Vatican space. As for the other mages, while they didn’t have a hoof in the incident, they still allowed this to happen on their watch so they were publicly reprimanded for their neglect.

He thought the other mages got off easy with such a light punishment though Crystal assured him that it carried more weight than he thought within the mages’ Order.

Afterwards, the Eternal Legion initiated a series of reforms to repair the damage caused by the mages. The first act of the reform was to remove the mages from their roles as caretaker and pass the duty onto the acolytes with the mages acting as overseers. It was believed that the acolytes would make better caretakers as they had more to gain from the shade’s proper care than the mages did. To better equip the acolytes for their new duties, they were given access to knowledge and magic formerly reserved for mages.

Shades who had been veteran Knights or Crusaders in life were given some authority within the Eternal Legion so they could monitor the mages and acolytes to ensure the fair treatment of their fellow shades. Other changes from the reform included visitations from a shade’s loved ones, which made their unlife more bearable. Consequently, the shade’s combat performance rose significantly following the reform, prompting more changes.

However, while the reform improved the Eternal Legion overall, the heads of the Five Orders were still wary of another incident as not all of the shades that went mad were subjected to experimentation. As a precaution, they implemented mandatory counseling to verify a shade’s mental stability. Out of curiousity, he asked Crystal what happened to those who were deemed unstable but Crystal told him that she didn’t know.

While acolytes like her had access to the archives, only high-ranking members of the Order were privy to such matters. All she knew that any shades deemed unstable were taken away to an undisclosed location. As for what they did to the souls there, she could only speculate. This worried him but Crystal assured him that there was nothing to worry about.

The last known case of a shade going mad happened over half a century ago and thanks to the efforts of her predecessors, there hasn’t been one ever since. Due to the lack of an incident in recent times, the counseling sessions, while still mandatory, were now seen more as a formality than a necessity. The only reason the practice is still maintained was to placate the Five Order’s fears.

Regardless of the purpose behind the sessions, he enjoyed the time he spent with Crystal. He had sessions with some of the other acolytes before and while most of them were pleasant enough, some of them were rather conceited, a trait that was not uncommon among those with ‘lineage’ within the Order of the Arcane. The manner in which they spoke to him, regardless of what they said, just rubbed him the wrong way.

Thankfully, he rarely had sessions with these acolytes and couldn’t care less about them as he preferred Crystal for company. Unlike the former, Crystal and other like-minded acolytes genuinely cared about his wellbeing and that of the other shades. Thanks to them, he was slowly coming to terms with his new lot in life, or unlife as the case may be. However, despite how much he enjoyed speaking with Crystal, she still had other obligations as did the other acolytes.

While the capsule ensured his comfort and safety, there was nothing inside to occupy his time with between counseling sessions. As he laid there on the capsule floor, he looked around for something to occupy his time. In the time since he awakened, the nearby capsules had filled with the same ethereal mist that his body was composed off, indicating that more crusaders have fallen in battle.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t speak to them as none of them have awakened from their ‘coma’ yet. He thought about shouting to the other awakened shades in the capsules further away from his. Then he remembered how Crystal admonished him for disturbing the others so he went back to looking for something else to occupy himself. As he looked at the capsules, he idly wondered if some of his former squad mates were among the new arrivals.

It would be interesting to know what had happened on Zhakul after he was killed, and learn if the Vatican have claimed the world by now or if it was still in the hooves of the heretics. He shook his head vigorously in dismissal at the rather thought. While he was curious about the events on the frontlines, he didn’t want them to be dead just so he could satisfy his curiosity. He wished he could talk to Crystal right now, or anypony for that matter, so he could alleviate him of the crushing boredom.

With nothing else to do, he wondered if he should just lay down his head and go to sleep, though according to Crystal Clear, it wasn’t technically sleeping. During one of their earlier sessions, he asked Crystal why he still needed to sleep even though he was a ghost now. The mare happily obliged him as she gave him what she considered a simple answer to his question.

Unfortunately, the initial explanation she gave him completely went over his head due to his lack of an education in the field of magic when he was alive. Crystal was in the middle of a lecture on the various complex enchantments and alchemical compounds that went into the capsules’ construction before she finally noticed the blank look on his face. He chuckled as he recalled the expression on Crystal’s face as she apologized to him for her inconsideration.

After a quick apology, she gave him a far more simplified explanation but even then he had trouble wrapping his mind around it. From what he understood, what he referred to as sleep was a state of dormancy.

In this state, he would passively gather ambient magic from his surroundings to help maintain his form. Apparently, the spell that brings the shades back drains them of most of their energy to the point that they forcefully enter the dormant state to stay stable, hence why they’re comatose upon being brought back.

They would remain in this state until they gathered enough to stabilize themselves and awake. However, they would be incredibly weak so they needed to enter this dormant state frequently until their strength fully returned. While the sensations experienced while he was in this state were similar to sleep, there were some notable differences.

The first was the ability to sense their surroundings even when they were in their dormant state though he wasn’t capable of that yet. Another difference was that shades could store the excess magic they gathered, which allows them to stay active for up to several days without needing to enter their dormant state. Due to these traits and others like it, the Order of the Arcane considered it to be something different from sleep.

He told Crystal of the dreams he had while he had been dormant and asked if what he experienced wasn’t sleeping, then how he was able to dream. Crystal said that she was aware of the dreams as there were reports of other shades dreaming in the archives though she was unable to answer him since there was no answer. Many scholars within the Order have tried to research the matter over the course of many years but all their results were inconclusive.

Not satisfied with the answer, he asked Crystal to forget the reports and to give him her views on the matter. He was amused when Crystal looked around the chamber, wary that somepony else might be hiding nearby before she cleared her throat and said that she’d tell him only if he promised not to laugh. He swore on his honor before she answered him.

Crystal told him that she believed the dreams to be a gift, a gift from their goddess to be exact. She had grown up on her grandmare’s stories of how Celestia often bestowed gifts to those who serve her so it wasn’t impossible that the dreams were her way of showing the shades her gratitude for their service and sacrifice. To his shame, he broke his promised and laughed, not because he found it funny but rather that he was skeptical of it.

The idea that their goddess would even deign to grant a soldier with an abysmally short-lived military career such a gift, was laughable. Still, being able to see his ‘Precious Flower’ whenever he closed his eyes certainly felt like a gift, one he would eternally be grateful for. Of course he didn’t tell Crystal that after he apologized for breaking his promise.

With nothing else to do, he decided that he might was well go to ‘sleep’ and see his beloved again. After all, who was he to decline a gift from their goddess?

Just as he was about to close his eyes and drift off to the land of dreams, he heard the doors to the chamber creaking open, followed by the sound multiple hooves stepping inside. Thinking it might be some of the acolytes doing routine checkups, he opened his eyes but was surprised to see dozens of acolytes entering the chamber, more than he ever saw in the chamber before. Whatever was happening seemed important since he saw a number of adept mages, as signified by the silver trims of their robes, among the acolytes.

The mages gave out instructions to the acolytes, telling them to be quick about it and he saw the acolytes rushing about the chamber. He spotted Crystal Clear heading towards him and asked her what was going on. She was about to tell him when the mages called out that it was almost time for the transfer, making him wonder what they meant by that, before they told the acolytes to leave.

With little time to explain, all Crystal could tell him was that no matter what happens later, he should stay calm and everything will be fine. He was confused by her words but nodded his head anyway. Crystal assured him that they’ll see each other after this before she and the other acolytes cleared out the chamber, leaving them alone with the mages. He watched the mages spread out across the edges of the chamber and just stand there. That is until he noticed the faint glow of magic underneath their hoods.

The runes within his capsule as well as the other capsules suddenly lit up all at once, bathing the entire floor of the chamber in a bright light. After his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he looked around and saw that the chamber floor was covered in glowing runes as well. This made him feel uneasy for some reason and he wasn’t alone as more than a few of the shades were just as uneasy at this as well.

He then recalled Crystal’s advice so he closed his eyes and calmed himself down. Despite the initial unease, he soon grew… tolerant of the glowing at least though he wished he knew what the mages were doing. Since he didn’t know much about magic, he decided to just wait and let the mages cast their magic in peace.

Suddenly, he was startled by a scream nearby but it was silenced just as soon as he heard it. He looked at the other shades and they were just as disturbed by the scream as he was though he noticed that the mages remained where they were, still casting their magic as if nothing was wrong. He wondered if it was nothing to worry about until he heard more screaming, which were silenced just as quickly as the first.

He looked around for the source of the screams but found nothing except for the shades and some empty capsules. He was going to keep looking until he realized something was off and stared at the empty capsules. He knew for a fact that they were supposed to be occupied and yet there was no sign of the shades inside the capsules whatsoever. It was as if they had just vanished into thin air.

Thinking the mages might know what happened, he called out to them but became confused when found that he was unable to speak as sound came out his mouth, just like when he first woke up. His confusion soon turn into anger when he realized that they had taken his voice away. However, his anger soon gave way to dread when he felt an eerily familiar sensation pulling at him.

He turned his head and his pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks when he saw his tail was gone as the last of it dissipated into mist, which vanished into the glowing runes. All the fear he felt back in the void flooded back as he broke down into a panic. He started pounding away at the glass and, despite the loss of his voice, called out for help.

In the midst of his panic, he saw the other shades were suffering the same as parts of their bodies dissipated. Some of them had already lost bits of themselves like a hoof or an ear while others were missing far more than that. One poor soul lost his head, literally, while what was left of his body kept moving on its own for a few more seconds before it completely dissipated.

Despite his, admittedly futile efforts, most of his body was gone by now with the only parts of him left were the wispy stump of his left foreleg and the rapidly fading parts of his chest and head. He wanted to scream but even if his voice hadn’t been robbed from him, his muzzle was long gone by now, as was the majority of his head. The only thing he could do was helplessly watch what was left of himself fade right before his eye, which he screwed shut before everything went dark.

His eyes shot wide open and gasped as he jolted upright and was immediately relieved and yet confused to find himself still in one piece, tail and all. Though that wasn’t the only surprise he saw nothing but empty darkness all around him before he realized that he was back in the void once more. He looked around to see if he could find something, anything that could tell him why he was back here again. He soon received his answer when he heard screaming

He turned to where the screams were coming from and froze at what he saw. In the far distance, he saw a sphere of light, pulsing ever so slightly in the darkness. It reminded him of the light he first encountered in the void though it didn’t bother to hide its sinister nature as it glowed while tendrils seemingly made of light writhed around it in a disturbing manner.

Then he heard another scream and turned his attention towards some ponies near the light. He recognized them as the same shades that had vanished from the chamber. He was relieved that he wasn’t alone in the void but that changed when he saw that they were doing whatever they could to get away from the tendrils.

His attention was drawn to one of the shades, a pegasus mare, who was pumping her wings furiously as she bobbed and weaved between the tendrils, narrowly avoiding the tendrils’ grasp more than once. The pegasus’ aerial acrobatics helped her put a fair bit of distance between her and the tendrils. Just as it seemed she would escape, another shade suddenly crossed her path and the two collided into each other. The tendrils quickly moved in and wrapped themselves around the dazed shades. The mare recovered just in time to scream as the tendrils reeled her in towards the light.

He watched on in morbid curiosity as the mare screamed and cried for help but no one came. The pegasus and the other shade soon reached the light where, to his horror, they were pulled into the light, as if they were sinking into it. The pegasus screamed hysterically as the tendrils pulled her in while the other barely had time to register what was happening before they were vanished into the light without a trace.

Witnessing such a scene had left him shaking with fear as he floated there in the void while trying to comprehend what he just saw. Unfortunately, he had neither the time nor the luxury to dwell on it for long when he saw some tendrils spiraling towards him. Knowing what would happen to him if the tendrils caught him, he quickly turned around and fled.

However, since his only means to move in the void was ‘swimming’, he didn’t get very far when the first tendril caught him as it coiled itself tightly around one of his hind legs. Even though the tendrils looked to be on fire, they didn’t burn him as he thought they would. The tendrils felt more akin to the grip from a unicorn’s telekinesis. Regardless of which, his body from the neck down was soon bound tight in tendrils.

He twisted and turned his body in every imaginable way to free himself but the tendrils tightened their hold on him response, restricting his movements even further. He was somewhat thankful that he wasn’t alive as he was more than certain that he would have been crushed to death by now if he was still alive. He kept fighting against the tendrils as he pushed and pulled at them, even biting them in a desperate bid for freedom.

His efforts were seemingly rewarded when he freed one of his forelegs but his victory was short lived when he realized that he was mere inches away from the light. Spurred on by fear, he immediately redoubled his efforts to free himself. However, his efforts were made in vain as he felt his hind leg touch the surface of the light; It felt cold and unnatural, which gave him even more reason to get away from it.

Unfortunately, he was already sinking into the light and all his struggling only seemed to delay the inevitable. Realizing he couldn’t escape on his own, he looked at the remaining shades in the distance and cried out to them desperately for help. None of them showed any sign of hearing him so he kept calling out to them as he was pulled further into the light.

As the light reached his shoulders, he lifted his foreleg up in the small hope that somepony would come and save him. Sadly, he’d never find out if anypony came for him or not as his head sank beneath the light and everything around him faded into white.

Author's Note

More background on the Umojan Vatican as well as the Eternal Legion. Apologies if this chapter feels like an infodump.

Chapter 4

He gasped as his eyes shot wide open before shutting them back up almost immediately after when he was blinded by a bright light overhead. He was going to move his hoof over it when the light darkened on its own. He opened his eyes, squinting them, to see what turned down the light and became confused when he found himself looking through the polarized visor of a power armor’s helmet.

He lifted his head inside the helmet and looked through the visor to see the rest of the suit, which was lying down inside a metal container of some kind. Wondering what was going on, he tried accessing the suit’s systems and was both surprised and relieved when the HUD lit up, displaying the suit’s readouts. He then realized that he was inside a shade knight’s armor, he was an actual shade knight now.

Since he could access the HUD, he wondered if he could control the suit as well. He first tried to lift his arms, only to find that they wouldn’t respond, much to his disappointment. He checked the HUD and saw that the suit’s motor functions were disabled for some reason. He tried to reboot the system but the suit refused to accept the command as it beeped and flashed red in response.

Thinking that he might have inputted the commands incorrectly, he tried again but received the same beep and red flash on the HUD. Not one to be deterred that easily, he tried other commands he could think of but the suit would just beep and the display would just turn red. He grew increasingly frustrated with the uncooperative until he just swore out loud in frustration.

Then he heard a voice calling out his name and turned to see Crystal Clear standing next to the metal container with a worried look on her face. She asked him what was wrong and if there was something she could do to help.

Seeing Crystal’s face made him remember what happened to him within the void and coupled with his frustration at the suit’s unresponsiveness, he snarled at her in anger. Crystal backed away in fear as he raged against the confines of the power armor. He angrily demanded to know why she put him through such a harrowing experience in the void without any warning besides the worthless advice because everything was certainly not alright.

However, his anger faded when he saw Crystal whimpering with tears in her eyes and ears splayed back as she apologized to him profusely. He became ashamed of himself and assured Crystal that there was nothing to be sorry about. He said that he was the one that needed to apologize as he shouldn’t have lost his temper like that and took his anger out on her.

While wiping the tears out of her eyes, Crystal said that it was understandable why he acted the way he did. She had read reports about how shades would be in a volatile state of mind when they awaken, often times lashing out at ponies they would consider friends. Though she had sorely underestimated how violent his reaction had been. She was just happy that there were no bad feelings between them.

He looked away ashamedly as he nodded, clearly not comfortable with talking about his outburst. Crystal clearly saw this and asked if there was anything she could do to help him. Wanting to put what happened behind him, he asked her if she could something to do about the armor’s lockdown. Crystal said that only somepony higher ranked than her could authorize his release.

He was disappointed at this but was confused when Crystal ducked down and reached for something on the side of the container. He wondered what she was doing before a notification appeared on his HUD, informing him that the suit’s motor functions had been restored. Crystal then came back up with a sly smile on her face and said that what the higher ups didn’t know won’t hurt them. She then asked him to try move his body and get a feel for them

He nodded in understanding as he lifted his arms up to his face and moved the large metal fingers one at a time. As he reacquainted himself with the movement, he discovered that he could somehow feel the hands’ movements as though they were part of him. Crystal told him that the power armors used by the Eternal Legion were modified so that shades could sense what the armor touched, to a degree. This was done to help shades operate their suits as naturally as possible.

Even though he should be happy about this, his feelings towards it were rather ambivalent. While he was able to feel and touch the outside world again, it was only through a machine and not his own four hooves. Not to mention that controlling the suit without a physical body was a little disconcerting but as strange as it may feel, being inside the power armor was comforting.

After he felt he had enough practice with the arms, he wondered if he could move the legs just as smoothly. He asked Crystal if he could get up and move around a little. Crystal nodded and pressed another button that made the container shift into a vertical position, allowing him to step out of it. Eager to walk on his own hooves again, metaphorically speaking, he lifted one leg up and stepped out. Due to how heavy the leg was, the movement was slow and awkward but the foot reached the floor without incident.

At Crystal’s encouragement, he lifted the other leg and stepped out of the container. He then took another step forward and stumbled but managed to stop himself before he fell. Undeterred, he tried again as he moved his feet as steadily as he could and soon managed a decent forward motion. Crystal asked him not to move too far away since she didn’t want to risk him falling down.

He grumbled a little as Crystal was talking to him as if he was a foal. He knew she meant well so he turned around and headed back but took it slower as he wanted to take in his surroundings. The room he was in seemed to be just as large as the chamber with the capsules, if not bigger but in place of the capsules were more of the containers, which disturbingly resembled open caskets, each containing suits of power armor.

Some of them were occupied as he could see mist swirling behind the visors though they haven’t awakened yet. He saw the same acolytes from the chamber moving about. He caught a few of them giving him and Crystal strange looks though they didn’t do much else as they carried on their business so he put them out of mind as he explored the chamber. His eyes soon rested on the center of the chamber where he saw a large green crystal hovering over a stone dais that seemed to have bits of machinery embedded in it.

He quickly turned away from it as the sight of the crystal made him feel uncomfortable as the glow reminded him of the light in the void. He thought it might be a coincidence but asked Crystal what it was to hopefully ease his worries. Crystal explained that it was the Soul Conduit, a critical component of the Phoenix Forge. Once again, he found himself confused by Crystal’s answer. Thankfully, the mare realized that he didn’t understand so she gave him an explanation but phrased it so he could understand it better.

The first thing Crystal told him about was the Phoenix Forge, a device that was created during the early days of the Great Crusade. The Phoenix Forge was instrumental in the creation of the shade knights and the Eternal Legion. The Phoenix Forge allowed the Vatican to bind the shades to enchanted gems called the Soul Gems, which was currently the only thing anchoring him to the power armor.

Crystal stopped mid-explanation to warn him to not be too reckless with his actions on the battlefield as dying again would be just as traumatic as the first time. He nodded slowly and promised to take care on the battlefield. Satisfied with his promise, Crystal continued with her explanation.

Normally, the spell required to bind the souls was extremely complex and would take many powerful unicorns to cast it successfully and even then, the spell could only bind one soul at a time. However, with the Phoenix Forge, the process was streamlined and allowed multiple souls to be bound at the same time with fewer mages required to cast it, explaining the mages’ presence back at the chamber.

Crystal then pointed at the Soul Conduit and said that it was one of the many nodes connected to the Phoenix Forge and its purpose was to divert shades into the soul gems inside power armor to create the shade knights for the Eternal Legion. Now more curious than wary, he asked Crystal if the Soul Conduit might have been the light he saw in the void.

Crystal said there were several first hoof reports of shades seeing the same thing so it was very likely. She assured him that the light, despite what he believed, wasn’t malevolent in any way so he had nothing to fear from it. Regardless, she still apologized for what he went through and for failing to warn him about it back in the chamber.

He told Crystal that it wasn’t her fault to begin with but he was still grateful to her for trying to help. He knelt down so he would be closer to Crystal’s height and extended an open hand out to her. He said that he would like to shake her hoof and thank her properly for going out of her way to help him and for putting up with him. Crystal turned away bashfully and said that she was just doing her duty but gave in to his request as she placed her hoof in the palm of his larger hand.

Thanks to the suit’s unique modifications, he could feel the warmth of Crystal’s legs and her fur brushing against the palm of his hand as he clasped it. He briefly imagined Orchid Dew standing in Crystal’s place, and how much he wanted to hold her in his arms and feel her warmth once more. He pushed the daydream aside and focused on Crystal as he shook her hoof and thanked her before the motion sensors on his HUD lit up like a tree on Hearth’s Warming Eve.

The caskets inside the chamber started moving as they all shifted themselves into a vertical position before releasing the awakened shade knights inside. Unlike him, they didn’t have the benefit of getting acquainted with their new bodies so they stumbled out of the caskets, completely disoriented. The acolytes quickly moved in to help the confused shades adjust to moving their bodies as best they could.

Crystal moved to help her fellow acolytes with the disoriented shade knights. He moved to help when he heard the sound of a door opening, followed by sunlight streaming into the room. He and everyone else in the room turned to the doorway where they saw the silhouette of a figure clad in power armor walking through the doorway.

The armor was similar to the ones the Knights wore into battle but it was more ornate as intricate patterns depicting the sun made of gold and silver inlays decorated the armor’s ivory white chest plate while the pauldrons were, oddly enough, draped by a long white cape. However, the most striking part of the armored figure’s appearance was the swirling mist behind the helmet’s visor, which formed itself into the stoic visage of a brown stallion with gray mane.

With the elaborate armor and light behind him, the shade knight exuded an aura of authority, which increased when Crystal Clear and the other acolytes in the chamber bowed before him. He dismissed them with a silent gesture from his hands. Crystal turned her head and gave him a reassuring look before she and the acolytes left the room through the same door the mysterious shade knight came through. Once the acolytes were gone, the earth stallion barked out an order for them to assemble before him immediately.

His training from the Academy kicked in as he and the others scrambled to line up in front of the earth stallion who eyed them critically as they gathered into formation. Even the shade knights who were still disoriented from the abrupt awakening, managed to assemble without much incident.

Once every shade had gathered before him, the earth stallion introduced himself as Sir Igneous Rock and announced that he would be their instructor until further notice. Not giving them any chance to speak, he then ordered them to follow him as he headed for the door the acolytes just left through. He and the other shades looked at each other and wondered if they should listen to Sir Igneous or not but with no other option, they obeyed and followed him through the door.

Going through the door, he saw a large arena beyond it enclosed within four stone walls that towered over them, which instantly reminded him of the training grounds used back at the Academy but on a much larger scale. He saw a wide track field that ran along the length of the walls, making him wonder what purpose it would serve as Crystal told him that shades couldn’t get tired.

Aside from the track, he also saw a shooting range on one end of the field, equipped with various guns ranging from the basic needler pistol to the heavy gauss rifle. On the other end, there was an area occupied by rows of training dummies shaped into crud likenesses of khalai templars with racks of both swords and bludgeoning implements of varying lengths and sizes nearby.

In the centre of the field was a large empty space marked off by four lines on the ground, forming a perfect square. Judging from the racks of weapons outside the marked space and blast marks on the ground, he guessed that it served as a space for sparring. Then the similarities ended as he saw the acolytes from before, including Crystal Clear, as well as the mages at the far side of the field.

They stood next to a machine that resembled a mobile repair station for power armor as evidenced by the multiple power armor harnessed to the machine. However, after his false assumptions with the capsules, the machine could be something else altogether.

He then looked up and saw four white spires set atop the corners of the walls of the enclosed field. He wondered what purpose they served until he noticed something shining at the top of the spires. Using the targeting system in his suit, he zoomed in on one of the spires where he saw a green crystal embedded at the top of the structure. He became unsettled as the glow from the crystal reminded him of the light in the void. Despite Crystal’s assurances, he still felt wary of it.

He didn’t dwell on it long when he saw the others gathering at the center of the field where Sir Igneous was waiting for them. He rushed over to join them lest he earned the ire of their new instructor. As he lined up with the others, Sir Igneous announced that they would begin their training by running two hundred laps on the track field; the first hundred will be in quadrapedal mode followed by the second half in bipedal mode. Sir Igneous explained that this would help them adjust to their new body so that they’d be ready for the next phase of the training.

One of the shade knights scoffed at Sir Igneous, before stating that he was an elite class crusader sergeant who had fought in many campaigns and that going through basic training again was a waste of time. Sir Igneous calmly said that the training was different from the ones employed by either the Crusaders or the Knights. The training would only benefit him as the sergeant was likely having trouble moving about let alone fight with his new body.

The sergeant scoffed as he started walking forward. The other shade knights stepped aside and watched as the sergeant approached one of the weapon racks and lifted up one of the heavy gauss rifles before aiming it at the training dummies and fired off a grenade. The grenade flew in a wide arc and landed in a cluster of dummies just as it detonated in a cloud of smoke of fire. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left of the dummies except for pieces of metal and a scorch mark on the ground.

Then sergeant slung the rifle over his shoulder as he turned to face Sir Igneous and said that his years of combat experience was worth more than anything the training could possibly offer him. If this were the Academy, the instructor would have probably started berating at the sergeant for his insubordination followed by some form of punishment. But Sir Igneous didn’t do anything of the sort.

Instead, the knight’s lips curled up in a barely noticeable smirk as he made the sergeant an offer; the two of them would have a duel right here on the field. This would demonstrate the differences in fighting styles and prove if going through the training would be worth it or not to the sergeant. If the sergeant won, he would be exempt from the training and allowed to leave for the battlefield on the next transport.

However, should he lose, he would participate in the training with the others and obey Sir Igneous’ every instruction to the letter without complaint. The crusader sergeant readily agreed to the challenge as he stated that he always wanted to fight a Knight. He then asked what weapon they would duel with.

Sir Igneous gestured to the weapon racks around the arena and said that they could use any of the weapons here in the duel and could use more than one, as he wanted to fight the sergeant at his best. That, and to ensure that the sergeant wouldn’t complain about unfair advantages should he lose the duel.

He and everyone else moved to the sides to make room for the duel. He wanted to go over to where Crystal and the acolytes were but couldn’t as he was jostled to the other side of the field. He turned his attention to Sir Igneous and watched their instructor pick up a rune saber, and a single needler pistol and nothing else.

While Sir Igneous’ choice of weapons was respectable, he felt that it was insufficient when he saw what the sergeant had selected for his own loadout. The sergeant opted to keep the heavy gauss rifle as he replaced the grenade he spent earlier before picking up a pair of rune daggers. The daggers were a compact variant of the rune saber that were issued to the Crusaders so it was no surprise the sergeant chose them as well as a couple of magazines for the gauss rifle.

Just looking at their loadouts, the outcome seemed decided already but Sir Igneous said nothing as he and the sergeant headed for the field. When they stepped inside the boundary, the mages spread around it and conjured a dome around it. One of the acolytes, who had been elected to preside over the duel, stepped forward and, with the aid of a voice amplification spell, announced that the barrier was to ensure that all damage would be contained within the dome. He then followed up with the rules for the duel.

The first rule was that both duelists were restricted to the weapons and ammunition they have on hand. Neither were allowed to obtain another weapon from the racks should they lose their current weapon or run out of munitions, after which they’d have to improvise.

The second rule was that due to their unique condition, they would be allowed to use live rounds in the duel against their opponent, including explosives. This piece of news made the sergeant chuckle deviously under his visor as he eyed his gauss rifle and the attached grenade launcher. However, they were told not to use explosives on the barrier as it could collapse from the blast.

Lastly, the barrier was enchanted to remain standing until the duel was over. This meant that it would only fall when one of the duelists had been defeated or conceded defeat. Due to their unique condition, defeating one’s opponent meant killing them or depriving them of the capability to carry on the fight. The two combatants nodded in agreement to the conditions before they readied themselves for the duel.

The sergeant disengaged the safety on his gauss rifle while Sir Igneous lifted his sword up in a ready stance. Both the combatants and the audience waited in anticipation for the signal to begin the duel. Seconds passed before the acolyte launched a bolt of magic into the air, which soon exploded midair with a loud crack.

The sergeant immediately brought his gauss rifle to bear and fired off several rounds. Sir Igneous stood his ground as he used his sword in tandem with his pauldrons to block the projectiles. The bullets instantly tore part of the knight’s cape apart though the pauldron underneath withstood the assault as did the rune saber.

The sergeant’s rifle soon clicked on empty as he had spent all the ammunition in the magazine but he wasn’t done yet as he launched a grenade straight at his opponent. His opponent barely had time register the grenade flying towards him before it hit him and exploded, shrouding him in a cloud of smoke and fire.

On the sidelines, the shade knights lost sight of Sir Igneous in the smoke but from the way the sergeant lowered his rifle, he was clearly confident that he already won the duel. The shade knights thought the same as nothing could have survived that onslaught. That is until the smoke and dust settled, revealing Sir Igneous still standing.

Scorch marks from the explosion marred the armor’s formerly pristine surface though it remained intact. As he stepped forward, his cape, which had been burned and shredded in the attack, fell away, revealing the full extent of the damage to his armor. The shoulder guard that he had used to defend against the sergeant’s assault was all but gone as the mechanisms underneath were exposed while the rest of his body was peppered with dents and bullet holes.

His limbs, especially his legs, were worse off as they were riddled with so many holes that the other shades wondered how he was even standing on them. Despite the damage to his legs, Sir Igneous started running towards the sergeant who hastily slammed the second magazine into his rifle and resumed firing. The knight blocked some of the shots with his sword though many still tore into his armor, damaging it even further.

Smoke started rising from the knight’s armor and yet he didn’t slow down for even a second as he kept running, quickly closing the distance between him and the sergeant. The sergeant growled in frustration before he aimed his rifle at Sir Igneous’ feet to disable him but when he pulled the trigger his gun clicked hollowly as the munitions counter flashed zero. He ejected the spent magazine and reached for another but before he could get it, his opponent was already in front of him.

With little time to lose, the sergeant swung his rifle like a club but Sir Igneous sliced the weapon in half with a single stroke before using the momentum for a second one. The sound of metal striking metal rang through the air when the knight’s rune saber struck the sergeant’s two rune daggers. The runes on the blades glowed as the enchantments within them tried to overpower the other.

The runes on the daggers soon started to dim, indicating that it wouldn’t be long before its larger counterpart cut through them, and their wielder. Either through sheer determination or simple desperation, the sergeant pushed Sir Igneous back, causing the knight to stagger and giving him an opening.

The sergeant quickly lunged forward with his daggers but Sir Igneous saw the attack coming and used his left arm to take the blow as the daggers pierced it up to the hilt. He then quickly pulled the arm away with one of the daggers still stuck in it before swinging his sword.

The sergeant parried the sword with his remaining dagger before throwing a desperate punch at Sir Igneous with his other hand. His fist connected with the helmet’s visor, leaving a significant crack though it barely affected the knight who retaliated with a downward swing of his sword. The sergeant barely reacted in time and sidestepped the blade before he tackled Sir Igneous to the ground.

Sir Igneous tried to swing his sword at the sergeant but the sergeant knocked the blade back and pinned his arm to the ground. The sergeant then raised his dagger and plunged it straight into the knight’s visor. The enchanted blade easily pierced the hardened glass, shattering it as mist billowed from the opening. Sir Igneous suddenly seized up as mist poured out through the shattered visor moments before he became still.

The sergeant let go of the dagger, leaving it embedded in the helmet, before he pumped his fist into the air and cried out in victory. Some of the shade knights cheered with him. As for the others, they were shocked by the outcome as they didn’t expect the sergeant to win against Sir Igneous. However, the celebration proved to be premature when everyone realized that they had missed one important detail.

The barrier was still standing.

The sergeant had no time to react when Sir Igneous thrust his sword into his chest and out his back. The sight of the sword buried in his chest instantly caused the sergeant to scream in pain as he grabbed hold of the hilt to pull the sword out. Hydraulic fluid spurted out of his suit as he pulled; giving the impression that he was bleeding. However, while he was preoccupied with pulling the sword out of his chest, he didn’t pay any attention to Sir Igneous who pulled the daggers stuck to him out as he slowly approached the sergeant.

Some of the shade knights tried to warn him but the sergeant couldn’t hear them over his own cries of agony as he pulled the sword out little by little. By the time he pulled the blade out, Sir Igneous was looming over the sergeant with a dagger raised in the air. The sergeant tried to raise the rune saber to defend himself but Sir Igneous didn’t give him the chance as he stabbed one of the daggers into the sergeant’s wrist, and with a quick twist, severed the connection from the hand to the rest of the suit.

As the hand holding the rune saber went slack, Sir Igneous dropped the dagger and grabbed hold of the sword’s hilt midfall. He then swung the sword around and cut off the sergeant’s other arm at the elbow in a single stroke before he landed a kick in his midsection, sending him reeling back from the blow.

Now unarmed, both literally and figuratively, the sergeant was unable to defend himself as Sir Igneous approached him. Out of either desperation or sheer foolishness, the sergeant ran at Sir Igneous in an effort to tackle him.

The knight simply stepped out of the way and tripped him with the tip of his sword, causing him to fall facedown into the ground with a heavy thud. The sergeant rolled himself over until he was face up and got up to his knees only to see his opponent standing over him with his needler pistol aimed at him.

Sir Igneous praised the sergeant for his skill and determination but said that the duel was over and asked if the sergeant would surrender. The sergeant glared at Sir Igneous and said that he would rather face defeat than surrender. Sir Igneous said that it was a good answer before he pulled the trigger and sent a bullet into the sergeant’s chest.

The hole left from the shot was miniscule compared to the many that riddled Sir Igneous’ body but the effect was immediate as the sergeant instantly dropped to the ground like a puppet that just had its strings cut. The barrier then fell, signifying the duel’s end.

However, just as the barrier vanished, the crystals atop the spires started flashing brightly, causing a feeling of unease to spread among the shade knights though this was forgotten when they saw a light coming from the sergeant’s body.

A tiny light, so small that it barely visible on their HUD, emerged from the hole in the sergeant’s chest. It hovered in the air for a few seconds before it quickly flew off towards the nearest spire where it was seemingly absorbed into the crystal. Then the spire sent a beam of light down to an antenna attached to the machine next to the acolytes, which suddenly came to life as the acolytes gathered around it.

Moments passed before the machine let out a loud hiss before it released one of the suits as it fell forward but instead of hitting the ground, it dropped to its knees. One of the acolytes approached the suit and spoke to it soothingly, asking if he needed any help. The shade knights were surprised when the tinted visor depolarized and revealed the crusader sergeant’s face behind it.

The shades looked back and forth at the sergeant and the empty suit at Sir Igneous’ feet, clearly confused by what had just happened. A few started murmuring amongst each other but their speculation was cut short when Sir Igneous turned around to face them. He pointed to the empty husk that was the sergeant’s body and told them that this was what it meant to serve in the Eternal Legion.

They were the undying soldiers who fight until they fall only to rise up to fight over and over again for they could never rest until every last heretic lay dead at their hooves for their crimes against their goddess. Sir Igneous then gestured to the sergeant who had recovered from his recent ‘resurrection’ and praised him for his bravery and his refusal to surrender as those were the qualities best suited for the Legion’s ranks.

Despite Sir Igneous monotonous tone, it didn’t lessen the weight of his words as the shade knights cheered and applauded the sergeant. However, the cheering came to an end when Sir Igneous told them that they had to start their training now if they wanted to make up for lost time. None of the shade knights argued as they shifted their suits to its four-legged configuration before they started running.

Author's Note

A little more action oriented to break up the monotony of the exposition in the previous chapter.