Chapter Thirty-Three: Awakening
Zealot Fenix awoke and found himself lying on a medical bed. Looking up, he saw a monstrous creature surging toward him. It was half his size, perhaps five feet tall, and was roughly humanoid. Yet it had claws and yellow eyes that glowed with the energy of hell itself.
As it surged toward him, Fenix raised a hand and caught it between four fingers. With a movement, he crushed its skull, before throwing the body away. Rising up, he realized he'd broken shackles of steel as he did so.
Then he turned to see more of the creatures summoning spheres of fire.
So, it would appear Aldaris had come too late.
Rolling aside, the flames scorched past him. He surged forward and punched one of the beasts against a wall. In moments it was reduced to a bloody smear as he smashed another in half with one backhand. Turning around, he saw more coming and leaped into the hair, crushing one into the ground. Gripping two more by the throat, he snapped their necks and let them fall limply to the ground.
Looking around, he saw his psi blades resting on the counter.
Moving over to it, the young and inexperienced zealot slipped them on. Raising his hands, he summoned two blades of the purest white. A sense of satisfaction and mirth filled him as he looked at his old friends. Instead, he merely turned to a screen above.
"Hello?" said Doctor Naja above. "Can you hear me?"
Fenix felt a surge of displeasure. She had been warned of the consequences of her actions... how long ago had it been? Shortly after Washu had departed, certainly. Judicator Aldaris had been disappointed, "Dr. Naja, you yet live. I see that what the Conclave predicted has come to pass."
"No, it hasn't," said Naja. "The situation can still be contained. Our security measures are operational. Also, the staff is safe in the containment fields. Some are wounded, but there have been no fatalities.
"We were more than prepared for this eventuality.
"So long as we can restore the power, this can be stopped.
"I need you to find the security systems and restore them."
Fenix walked to the nearby door and pressed a button. It began to slide open slowly. Losing patience, Fenix blew it open with a surge of psychic power. The pieces flew through the air and crushed several demons to death as he marched in. "There is no need. I shall slay all the demons myself. None shall escape my wrath or the wrath of Aiur."
"What are you talking about?" asked Naja. "There are thousands of these things in this facility! More are pouring through every moment! Even if you could kill every creature in this place, more would come through the portal."
"Then I shall close the portal and bring glory to Aiur!" said Fenix, seeing dozens warping into place. Rushing forward, he cleaved through three in a flurry of blows. Plunging his psi blade through the chest of a larger one, its chest exploded.
More came, and these too were crushed downward.
"You're not even on Aiur!" said Naja.
"I was speaking in metaphor," said Fenix, turning a corner and scaling a set of stairs. Finding a locked door, he melted it with one slash and started killing everything within the room. It would be best to eradicate the enemy piecemeal.
Even Fenix might experience some moderate difficulty facing the assembled hosts of hell.
By now, larger demons were coming at him. These were as tall as him, with black skin and faced like skulls. They were savage but without skill. He cut off an arm, then cut off the head. Ducking under a punch, he cut the creature in half.
Then one of them punched him.
It slammed him away to crash into a metal wall. It bent beneath the force of his collision, as panels broke from the walls. The entire room shook as Fenix landed on one knee, and wiped away a drop of blood. Then he glared at the demons who had assembled before him by the hundreds.
They were trembling.
They were wise to do so.
Fenix surged forward, channeling his rage as Aldaris had taught him. When anger controlled you, it consumed you. But when you controlled it, you were unstoppable. He fell on them, slashing, stabbing, and smashing them all around. Some creatures scrambled away in terror, others rushed at him with savagery.
All of them died.
Fight it.
Run from it.
The Khala drew all to it for judgment.
After the last of the corpses had faded into nothingness, Naja spoke again. "...Alright, fine, kill them all. But while you're killing all of these things, maybe you could help us on the way? To make sure nobody gets killed?"
That seemed worth considering. Even battle could become old if there was no greater context for it. "What would you ask of me?"
"The Juraian fleet is en route with the Emperor," said Naja. "Once he gets here, he'll be able to handle this. Just reactivate the defense system, and the problem will be contained.
"Then you can go back to brutally slaughtering demons."
"It shall be done!" said Fenix,
Then he turned and strode toward a set of massive, double doors before him. As he did, he examined his surroundings. This was the room where Fenix and his brethren had dined before the accident. They'd been assigned as the honor guard of Aldaris, with Fenix having been added in at the last minute.
Fenix had not fit in well with them. He was half of the worker caste in blood, and so he had been met with some scorn. But Aldaris had spoken fairly to all.
A door opened to one side. "Just follow the corridors along this way," said Naja. "It should lead around the bulk of the-"
Fenix plunged his hands into the steel. Straining against it, he let out a psionic roar, before ripping open the sealed the doors. As he did, sparks flew, and Fenix saw, coursing into another great hall, even more demons than before. There must have been at least a thousand.
Fortunately, they were physical manifestations of sin. And so it was in their nature to be destroyed. Even if he was outnumbered massively, Fenix was a servant of the light and so shielded. His death would be but the beginning of greater life, and his deeds would be known to all within the Khala.
All that remained to him was to ensure that those deeds were worthy.
"...Nice knowing you," said Naja after a moment.
Fenix did not reply. As his enemies rushed at him and he began to hack and slash, he moved in a blur. His blades cleaved through them constantly. Oceans of blood spilled out onto the floor. It reached up to his ankles and soaked him. Demonic energy filled the air as one enemy after another was exterminated.
Yet the darkness closed around him, tearing at him.
Small scratches began to affect his body, wounding him more and more. For though his blades ended one enemy after another, there were always more. Knowing that he might well die here, Fenix continued to hack down the enemy. And as he did, he recited the creed by which he lived:
"I fear no enemy," said Felix, tearing down a whole line of the black beasts his size. "For the Khala is our strength." Charging forward, he unleashed his powers to consume a vast line of the lesser ones. He scattered them away from him. Yet still more of them came, assembling in greater and greater numbers.
Yet their fear outweighed their hatred. Alone they were paralyzed. Instead, they were gathering in greater and greater numbers all around him. Fenix stood as a single pillar of order, and where his light touched, the demons dared not tread. Yet in the darkness, they were gathering in ever greater numbers.
Alone they could not triumph.
But like a great mass of hatred and spoiled instinct, they hoped to wash over and destroy him. When they struck, he could not face them.
"I fear not death," said Felix. "For our strength is eternal!"
The demons came in great waves from all directions. Their light blocked out all light save his own and their eyes of hatred. On they came toward Fenix, who stood where he was, channeling his power for one final strike. Clustered as they were, he could kill many of them, but not enough.
Fenix would surely die.
Yet if he would die, then it would be giving up all that he was for good. And so he finished his creed. "My life for Aiur."
The last part of the creed was what was remembered. It was quoted by every zealot. And yet it was merely the end. And the end's meaning was determined by what came before. And Fenix would see to it that his end was glorious.
Light emanated from him, light greater than any he had yet faced. Before it, the demons could not stand. All their amassed numbers were for naught as light burst forward. It consumed all and pressing soon. Soon all the world was made white as their tortured souls screamed in final agony. Then they were purified, sent back diminished.
Thousands dead for a few nicks. So he would live. Then he would live as gloriously as he would die.
"And so I have brought swift death to the enemies of Aiur," said Fenix. "Direct me to the security station."
"...Hold, please," said Naja.
Fenix was not complaining. Sitting down, he began to meditate. How was it that these demons had been so easily beaten? He had expected more from so primal an evil. Yet perhaps there was a lesson there. The negative plane was where the souls of the wicked descended after death. The good and selfless were made more themselves in the service of others. But the evil spent their selves on lusts and selfish desires.
Becoming one with the good was to gain your true identity. While falling into wickedness was eternal separation. And so the negative plane was a realm of hatred, wrangling with one another, unable to create anything. Nameless ghosts wrangled with one another as much as the universe beyond. They were united only by hatred and envy for the living. Their pride demanded they tear down those greater than them, and they were all equal in their misery.
Perhaps that was why the Breathe of Creation had so much power behind it. Hate could drive you. If channeled, it could be a source of great good. But, with the Dark Templar and others like them, it drove them to commit atrocities for hate's sake alone.
And so these demons had come about.
They were soulless and yet had a will behind them. Their bodies were a twisted mockery of life. They possessed cruelty without kindness. Like animals, yet fallen beyond comprehension. Against the wicked, they might achieve great feats, but against the righteous?
They were nothing.
"Okay, I've just brought up the schematics for that part of the installation," said Naja. "...Follow the green lights."
Fenix saw the green light and followed them. His cuts hurt a bit, but he felt more at ease now. There was nothing like a bit of philosophy after destroying the legions of evil. You could also be as violent and brutal as you want with a clear conscience. "Where is Judicator Aldaris?"
"He is..." Naja paused. "When you were put in the medical bay, he went to meet with Lady Seto. He wanted to convince Jurai to cut my funding. That's when it happened.
"We've had no contact with them for hours."
"As was predicted," noted Fenix. "No matter.
"The portal shall be closed before it may spread further." The light would guide him.
At last, Fenix came to a door with green lights above it. Pressing the button, he saw a console within. A cup of coffee had been spilled across the rug as someone left in a hurry. So Fenix made his way, ducking under the door frame as he did. He wished they made these rooms for protoss.
There was also a series of windows in the security station. However, they were shut by panels.
"Ah, here is the security station," said Fenix, typing as he remembered the technician had taught him. "What occurred here to cause this kind of problem?"
"It was..." Naja shifted. "Everything was under control. Then a group of Tal'Darim launched an attack on the station. They were stopped and captured, but it must have been a distraction. Someone rerouted the energies from our generators to pierce the veil between worlds.
"It shouldn't have been possible!
"The kind of sophisticated approached necessary for such a thing. It would require decades of research. And the Tal'Darim doesn't have any technology on that level."
"So you believe," noted Fenix. He remembered that the Tal'Darim had thrashed the Juraians quite spectacularly once. This egotistical approach seemed ill-founded. "Jurai has believed many things. Most of them wrong." Checking things, he pressed a button and smiled. "Doctor, the security system is back online."
"Thank you," said Naja, sounding relieved he had not smashed it. The lights then went on. "Alright, the shields are going back now. The power is being redirected, and our communication systems are back on. If you look out the window, you'll be able to see the main city."
Fenix did see the main city. As the panels slid away, he as the city of the Tal'Darim writhed in smoke. Flaming cars could be seen, and demons were prowling the streets. Juraian warriors were fighting them at every corner. Their swords and staves glowed with the power of Tsunami.
The Juraians were fighting very well, each one slaying dozens. But more demons were surging out to face them. They had locked the place down, but some of them might die in this "...Adun, protect them."
"Tsunami above!" said Naja.
What was she upset about. It must have been something serious. "What is it?"
"The... the demons have pierced the inner sanctum," said Naja. "They've gained access to the central generator. Even now, they are trying to turn it into another portal.
"But... if they turn that into a portal, it'll be enough for entire legions to emerge from in a mere moment.
"We can't wait for the Emperor."
Fenix let out a psionic sigh. "Jurai was warned, Doctor.
"The Conclave will not be pleased."
Fenix remembered a saying among the zealots that you didn't qualify as one of them until the first time you saw battle. If so, this was proving to be an eventful first day on the job.
Author's Note:
So, on a separate note, I had planned to continue Washu and Mikamo's adventures on earth. However, I realized that the ideas I had didn't really fit with my portrayal of Earth as a death world. And Washu observing events would largely be without interacting since Washu is specifically trying not to interfere.
Thus we cut over to something actually relevant.
Fenix being awesome.
