Templars came in all flavors. By now Richard Sonnac knew that, if the amount of colorful people that regularly arrived at his doorstep were any indication. Some more colorful than others… This most recent girl especially looked like she never quite left her teenage rebellious phase.

Sonnac was a proponent of letting employees have some freedom of expression in how they looked, but still… her hair was blue. Her enthusiasm was very charming, tough. Even if he felt he had to reign it in somewhat. Luckily, he was quite adept at wordplay and managed to get his point across with a single phrase: 'Halos are fading all over town'.

That said… it did bring about something… unexpected when he was finished.

"How 'bout you?" She asked. "What's the state of your halo?" He couldn't help but chuckle at that, before sighing deeply. "Sorry. Too personal?"

"A little. Maybe if we are acquainted better, but for now, it is something I'd like to keep to myself." Richard answered, with that he sat back down at his desk. Suki looked at him for a while. "Oh, right!" She said, before rushing off. Sonnac couldn't help but smile as he went back to work. However, her question stuck. As it always did when people asked about past sins. It took him back. Back to… that time.

The Academy where Richard went to was one of the most prestigious in the country, if not the world. And at this moment in time, he was one of their most prestigious students. Of course, coming from a family that made a name for themselves in the Templars starting well into the middle ages, it was expected. But then again, most students were of that ilk.

Most….

"Did you catch any of that?" Sasha Savinkov, a rather lanky young man asked as he filed out of the classroom with the others.

"I tried. Tough that was difficult with you asking me that same question over and over again DURING the lecture."

"Sorry… You know how I am with these older languages, Richard. They just… they don't make sense no matter how hard I try."

"Then ask for help AFTER the lessons." Richard said, rubbing his head. "Sometimes I wonder how you even got this far."

"Family ties. Just like you, really." This caused Richard to scoff. "Oh come on. Admit it. Even if you weren't this year's top student, you'd still be flying through this on the name 'Sonnac' alone."

"Don't remind me."
"I won't… If you promise to help me with this over the weekend."

"Just stay alert the next lesson…."

And so it usually went. Despite his lax attitude, Sasha DID try his hardest. It just didn't quite pan out for him. That said, those plans for the weekend were side-tracked almost immediately. As some other students decided it was the perfect time to disregard all the rules and try to summon an Ancient Demon during the same evening they wanted to study in the library. They were too late to witness it, but the aftermath told them enough.

"Christ, what is… what the fuck?!" Sasha started, eyes wide at the scene they walked into. Blood smearing the walls, floor and bookcases, body parts scattered around. A dark, smoking circle surrounded by ancient runes burned into the floor. Tough taken aback at first too, Richard swallowed his fear and knelt down at the circle, before grabbing a blood-soaked book that was laying near it, all evidence pointing at it being the book these people used for the ritual.

"They were trying to summon… something. It's not quite clear what. Looks like they've succeeded."
"How can you stay this fucking calm?!"
"Because I know panic won't help." Richard grabbed Sasha's shoulder. "Listen. We need to find out more. Whatever they summoned isn't friendly and might still be around. If we don't return it from where it came, there might be more victims." Sasha nodded, still afraid, but not in a panic anymore. "Things will be alright… We can do this."

And right there, the first mistake was made. They decided to not involve anyone else. Not the teachers, nor other authorities who might have helped. One could blame his youth, but Sonnac wasn't one to believe that. He was being foolish, stubborn and overestimating what he could do. All that went wrong after this moment was his responsibility.

It didn't take long for them to find the demon roaming the halls of the Academy's massive library. It looked human, but twisted and deformed, with teeth that rivaled a deep sea creature and claws that could probably cut through bone as easy as through flesh.

"Shit… that looks like a nasty piece of work…" Sasha whispered. "What are we going to do?"
"Put it back where it came from." Richard said, leafing through the book he found. "Even the most ill-advised tomes usually have a chapter dedicated to undoing your work…" He muttered, trying to find the answers.

"Finding anything?"

"Not yet… That monster breathing down our necks doesn't help." Sasha looked at him, before silently nodding.

"You keep searching. I'll go and try to slow it down." Before Richard could protest, Sasha was already gone. This only made searching for something to counter the situation MORE stressful, especially when he heard something crashing and the demonic creature screeching loudly. He rushed through the pages, mind frantically working to translate the ancient texts until…

"Eureka!" Richard couldn't help but cheer.

"You found something?" Came from the side. Sasha. "Threw a bookcase on it. It's still moving but it might be stunned." He answered what Richard was about to ask. Nodding, Richard's eyes went to a rather nasty cut on Sasha's upper arm. "He got me… But I don't think it's that serious. Anyway… You got something?"

"I did. There's… there's an incantation here for sending it straight back to Hell. And the requirements are…" He kept reading, however, it got stuck in his throat. It required blood. And a sacrifice. A human sacrifice.

"Come on! What is it?" Sasha insisted, looking up as another screech filled the library. The creature got out from under the book case. And it was angry. Not thinking straight, Richard decided at that moment to make the worst decision of his life.

"It requires some blood." He told Sasha. "Human blood." And that was all he told him.

"What? Like… that's it?" Sasha asked, relief clearly washing over him. "How much?"
"Not… not that much. Perhaps a little under a spoonful. Just enough to draw this one rune and then…"
"Alright. No need to explain, let's just do it." Sasha said, patting Richard on the shoulder. "I got the blood. You start chanting." The two of them got up, taking place opposite each other. Sasha was smiling hopefully. "We can do this… I know we can. Things will be alright." Richard didn't dare look him in the eyes as two fingers went to Sasha's wound and he dipped them in, before using the blood to paint a rune on his companion's forehead, starting to mutter the incantation that would banish the creature back to where it came from. As he was almost finished, the creature burst in front of them, before halting. Richard halted as well. "Come on! Almost!" Sasha screamed, as Richard closed his eyes and said the final few syllables.

A silence.

A rumble.

Sasha started screaming. It was the most awful sound that would haunt him forever more as Richard's eyes snapped open and he could see Sasha's soul being ripped from his body by the Demon, who then tore open a hole in reality itself and vanished through it, taking Sasha. The last thing he saw was Sasha's eyes widening in surprise, terror and betrayal before the rift closed. As it did, Richard collapsed on his knees, trying to comprehend what just happened. What he just did. Tossing the book aside, he rushed over to Sasha's crumpled body. Hoping against hope that somehow… maybe it wasn't just an empty husk. That maybe he didn't just condemn a soul to hell… But the empty, glazed eyes betrayed that this wasn't the case. He didn't say anything. Couldn't as he held the body close to himself, clutching it for dear life as if that somehow made a difference. He might have cried. He didn't care.

The staff found him like that a few hours later.

Things went fast after that. Fortunately (Or unfortunately), this wasn't the first 'accident' of this calibre in the Academy, so precautions were taken quickly. Having told his story, the Headmistress decided not to punish Richard severely, seeing how he was affected by the ordeal and telling him that what he did was a necessary sacrifice to keep others safe. Like a true Templar. The dead students' bodies were identified and buried, while Sasha's…

It was odd to see Sasha, someone who used to be full of life, be like this. Empty eyes staring at nothing, body sitting limply in a wheelchair. Richard just looked at him, knowing that saying something would have no effect. This wasn't Sasha. This was just an empty husk that he left. People approached him from behind. One of them was his language teacher. The other two he didn't know, but the white coats betrayed they were some sort of orderly. He just looked up, questioning.

"Don't worry. We have special facilities to accommodate people like Sasha, who had their soul damaged or removed. He'll be okay." One of the teachers said, Richard's shoulder, who watched his despondent friend being wheeled away, a tremendous amount of guilt in his eyes. "You did the right thing." Richard simply closed his eyes. Only to be greeted by Sasha's, wide in sheer terror and heart-wrenching betrayal. That was never going to go away...

Back in the present, Sonnac opened his eyes again. Still hasn't gone anywhere. That image… that moment where his halo faded. He sighed. He never tried to linger on it. In fact, this was probably the reason he became even more duty bound and driven to succeed among the Templars. That, despite his lack of any real power or experience in the field, he managed to make a name for himself as one of the strongest members of the society. A real cornerstone. His involvement and decisions probably saved many lives.

Yet… as the mood struck him. Or if certain wide-eyed newcomers prodded at the right wound, the doubt, fear and guilt of that one moment all came rushing back and he had to really work not to let it overtake him.

"I did the right thing…" Richard Sonnac whispered. Maybe someday in the future he'd actually believe it.