Written By: Epicstu Wyyvernwriter

Alarms blared within the inter dimensional battle cruiser as it crashed down upon the World below. The only lights within still working were those flashing red with warning. Armed and ready, Searl’s men could see their own breath, “he is here,” a squad commander held his fist up in order to halt his men. They all aimed their rifles at the teal-hued snow as it flowed from nearly every vent into a whirlwind manifesting the Fennec Fox himself. “Wait for it,” the commander ordered. “Steady!” he waited until his enemy was fully formed. “Fire!” solid slugs within plasma bolts flew into Edward ricocheting off his armor. Of bright luminescent gold the plasma splashed and burned through his armor, but did not burn through his fur or flesh. One by one, emptying their clips, the knights of Searl dropped their rifles shaken by the look on Edward’s face. “Sabers at the ready!” the commander ordered and his men drew swords glowing with Searl’s light. “Atta!.. Agh!” The Blizzard rolled through them interrupting the commander’s order to charge in. “You.. you..” the commander coughed. “You will fall, Fox.” Edward had eliminated his fire team and left him with only a few breaths remaining. “Searl is on his way,” the commander coughed up blood laughing. “You will belong to him,” he said with his dying breath.

“About time,” Edward replied. “I was wondering when that coward God of yours would finally come and face me himself.” He turned to find a spear thrust through his gut by a frightened young woman. Unfazed he told the girl, “you have heart, kid.” Then, after breaking the spear and removing the piece from his gut he asked her, “what is your name?”

The girl dropped what was left of her spear and fell, her back to a wall, “Frea… Freahira…”

Edward smiled at her, “stand up, Freahira. You make a fine Knight,” then he left her there.

Slowly returning to her feet, Freahira still shook with fear and confusion. Fresh from the academy, this was her first day and she had been taught Edward was a merciless and cruel demon. If that were true, would she not be dead? Steadying herself she looted a rifle, a saber, and a sidearm from fallen knights and headed toward the closest airlock. Forcing her way through the inoperable blast doors and disarrayed corridors until she reached it, Freahira slammed her fist into the button opening the airlock. The sun was brighter than she had expected as she stumbled out into the rubble. Screams and cries for help filled her ears along side the shouted orders of her commanding officers. “You alright?” she looked at the commander who came to help her and saw the cruel mercilessness she had been taught Edward carried in the man’s eyes as he ordered her to, “come on! We must slaughter the atheist scum! For the glory of Searl! Deus! Vult!” Freahira’s eyes widened in realization of whose side she was on. 

She bore witness as the knights she had once idolized slaughtered men, women, and children in the name of a God she had believed to be merciful and just. “This is not what I signed up for. This is not what I believe in.”

“I said get out there and eradicate the non-bel…agh!” the commander fell to Freahira’s blade. “Trai…ter…”

Pulling her saber from the knight’s body Freahira sheathed it and drew her rifle unloading into a knight about to strike down a mother and her child. Helping them to their feet she looked around for a way out of the battle and found an alleyway leading out of the city, “this way! Hurry!” she laid down covering fire as she lead as many civilians through the alley as possible. Using the last of her clip she switched to her sidearm, but its ammunition soon ran dry as well. Kicking a knight down as she drew her saber she cut the entry panel off a nearby native vehicle to use as an improvised shield. “Searl!” she shouted into battle. “I will,” she fought her way through entire waves of her own God’s knights. “no longer,” adrenaline the only thing keeping her going as she felt Searl’s light leave her, “kill in your name!” She pushed back the onslaught as the natives of the World ran past her toward the promise of safety.

The knights of Searl, however, unrelentingly rushed her until one of them managed to pin her to the ground and kicked her weapons away from her, “cursed are those who defend the wicked.” The knight raised his saber to strike her down, “Deus Vul…” a shot through the back of his head interrupted him and he fell on top of her. She pushed the fallen knight off and looked to see knights of Searl fall to bullets fired with precision from a fire team of soldiers in tattered uniforms. Their flesh rotting, some didn’t even have legs. They just floated. She pulled her scanner down over her helmet’s visor. They were all dead. Soldiers from a war in this World’s past that had ended long ago defending their people once again. She flipped the scanner up, then down, then up, then down again. 

She could not believe her eyes or her scanner, suddenly she was aggressively thrust up against a wall by a soldier with a rotting face and a hole through his shoulder, “stop playing with your helmet!” the dead man ordered. “Take this weapon!” he handed her an M16 rifle with a satchel of ammunition, and then let her go. “Save my World,” with that he turned back to the battle, shouted “frag out!”, bit the pin off a grenade, and threw it into the waves of knights still pouring from the crashed ship. Freahira checked the weapon’s sights and ran out to battle as a large rescue chopper began to descend.

Soulomon stood holding himself up with the bars by the open door of the old military vehicle as he pointed to an open area for which to land and ordered his zombie soldiers to set up a perimeter around the area. Exiting the chopper with Leon and Anabell, Soulomon overlooked the current situation. “Until the Living are safe our priorities are evacuation and containment. General Hurtz,” he turned his attention to the resurrected war hero. “Keep the fighting here. Any of Searl’s men get more than three blocks out you turn them back or put them down.”

“On me men!” General Hurtz Ordered.

“Wait!” Freahira slid into the EDZ still firing at the on coming Knights. “There are civilians through that alleyway. It was the only safe place I could find to send them.”

Soulomon smiled at her and radioed, “Send rescue choppers to the farmlands just outside the city and set up fortifications,” then he turned to Freahira. “Good work, Knight of Edward. That location will make a fine strategic point as it is the only way in or out of this city. This is our Leon Aventis and our Soothslayer,” he introduced them to her. “Find as many Living as you can and bring them to the Dead for evacuation. We will keep Searl’s men busy.” 

“Necromancer,” Freahira interrupted. “You should know that Searl’s Leon Aventis is here. The crashed cruiser is his personal ship.”

“Duly noted,” Soulomon replied. “Now go.”

*          *

The ship’s alarms still blared as Edward made his way through its innermost bowels in search of his friends. He hadn’t seen any of Searl’s knights in a while, but he could hear the fighting outside the ship. He could see his newest Knight, Freahira, fight for those in need. She did not wholeheartedly believe as of yet, but he cared not for such a thing. She had a good heart and was willing to stand up for those who could not. That was more than enough for him. Suddenly his ear twitched as his senses focused in on a more immediate threat closing the distance to him. The enemy was subtle and skilled in the ways of stealth, “even with you heavy armor, you move silently as the shadows themselves, Leon Aventis of Searl,” Edward smiled. 

Removing himself from the shadows, Leon Aventis activated his shields, “your initiative must be high to have detected me so soon. Searl was wise to warn me not to underestimate you.”

“So are we gonna fight or just stand here complimenting each other?” Edward questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“My original orders were to kill you myself,” the Leon Aventis began. “After all the trouble you’ve caused, however, I’ve been ordered to wait. Searl has a special ceremony in store for you apparently. A shame, I was hoping to take you myself. Your legend is awe inspiring and you would have been quite the test of my skills. Tell me, you do not lie. Would I have defeated you?”

Edward thought for a moment, “I honestly do not know. When I have defeated your God, I will allow you to test yourself against me.”

“Getting me to route for you the promise of a good fight,” the Leon Aventis scoffed. “Clever.”

“Now what?” Edward questioned. Suddenly a beam of light struck him from above and he could hear his believers call out to him for help. Searl had found the Realm he had created for them. The oppressing light overwhelmed him until all was white and then there was darkness followed by silence.