rogue_4

Beneath the Holy City of Kazdel.

This natural landscape lies concealed beneath several mobile plates, with ancient digging equipment now shrouded by intricate structures. With the sanctification of the final plate and the completion of Kazdel the Holy City, only a few remember how to enter this hidden place.

Kal'tsit is one of those few. She leads the guerillas through barricades that block out the sun, shaking off the massive automated drones. They arrive at the long-forgotten excavation site and enter a tunnel that leads deeper underground. At the end of the tunnel is a black gate embedded in the rocks, like a solemn tombstone that has not been visited for millennia.

'We are at the gate of salvation.'

The holy gun-knight raises his halberd.

'Buldrokkas'tee, will you continue this foolishness, even after hearing the revelation, even though the destiny of Kazdel is manifest?' The pope's expression remains one of rapture.

'I have heard no revelation, only a madness that does not belong to these halls!'

The fanatical preaching is interrupted by Buldrokkas'tee's angry roar. He lunges forward on the marble floor, thrusting his massive halberd towards the pope's chest, but it is as though he has hit a boulder, making a deafening sound.

With her back to the guerillas, Kal'tsit reaches out to feel the gate and soon finds the familiar pattern. She instinctively reaches for the mechanism, but her arm stops mid-air as if she has heard something.

'What is it, Kal'tsit?' asks Yelena.

Kal'tsit taps the gate with her finger. The silent tombstone begins to come loose, sending dust falling. As the gate slowly parts, dark red light spills forth, casting a glow on her face. Nymph sees Kal'tsit looking back at her, a fleeting worry flickering in her eyes.

'Remember our plan. When we open this... sarcophagus, you must tell the one within where you come from and what you have experienced, truthfully.'

If the directive remains unchanged, I am certain the sleeper will choose to save this land—but I'm afraid changes have already occurred...

'I only hope we're in time.' Kal'tsit does not voice her concern.

The gate is fully open. She gestures for the others to follow her through.

The Kazdelian Pope's palms are wide open. The holy gun-knight's weapon should have pierced his torso, but Buldrokkas'tee's attack, which could have easily pierced boulders, is frozen mid-thrust.

Buldrokkas'tee looks at the scene before him in bewilderment. Originium casts a shadow over Kazdel's holy see. The pope had long since mutated.

'Originium has granted me immortality in order to perform my duty. Your immobility is proof of my enlightenment. You have witnessed a miracle.

'Now repent, Buldrokkas'tee, before you make an irreparable mistake, before you fall beyond the reach of salvation.'

A deafening boom echoes outside the building. Originium formations once again climb Kazdel's outer plates, bringing the weight-bearing structure down. The sky is illuminated by fire, which shines on the Originium shard like a spear piercing the earth.

'If this is a mistake, then let me err! If I am to fall, then let me fall!

'If this is the price for stopping your madness, then so, be it!'

The last holy gun-knight raises his halberd again and charges.

The astray step through the gate, entering underground facilities awash in ominous red warning lights. A deathly silence blocks out the chaos outside, as though this place is separated from time and space, with only a massive sarcophagus standing alone.

'Looks like the Originium has not reached here. It's not too late.'

They approach the sarcophagus. It opens up to reveal no one, except a few black, broken pieces of eggshell.

'...How? What was supposed to be in there?'

'I see.' Kal'tsit sighs. 'Your coming, Nymph, the meeting between us, between you and the Kazdelian Pope and Buldrokkas'tee, are all signs that the directive has long since been changed.'

The halberd finally pierces the pope's chest.

'It seems you have fallen, Buldrokkas'tee.'

'It seems I have killed your enlightenment. Kazdel has not completely fallen.'

Buldrokkas'tee grips his halberd tightly, as though it is not the pope's frail frame being impaled upon the holy see of Kazdel, but he himself.

Grrovae'zeeal, I have...

Buldrokkas'tee casts his gaze towards the other end of the halberd. Tiny crystals gush out from the wound on the pope's chest, expanding like a veil that covers the marble halls.

'No...'

'What do you mean... did I do something wrong?' Nymph feels the crushing weight of fate upon her shoulders.

'No, these encounters are not the result of any errors you have made. They have occurred because of a deviation in the directive. Salvation has arrived early,' says Kal'tsit.

'No... why?!' The roar echoes through the halls.

'Buldrokkas'tee, the last holy gun-knight.' A gentle voice speaks from behind the veil of Originium covering the see.

'I have heard your roar across millions of directives.'

Buldrokkas'tee looks for the source of the voice, only to find a warm hand pressed gently against his forehead.

He looks up to see an unfamiliar figure wearing a black veil, a black crown floating atop her head.

He hears his own voice, its raspy roar echoing through the halls—

I see cities, devastated.

I see Originium, blanketing the land.

I see you, black crown on your head, melting millions of lives, into nothing but memories.

I see the, King of Sarkaz, enslaving all peoples, everywhere.

'...No... No!'

'You have killed enlightenment, Buldrokkas'tee. You have made an irreparable mistake.

'But you need not feel remorse, nor pain.

'For I am here, and I forgive all.'

Buldrokkas'tee tries to roar one last time, but the rage is frozen in his throat. He stretches his claws towards the black-crowned figure, but they, too, freeze in mid-air.

Salvation has come.