((To put it all in one chapter would have been too long. Also, Kyrie needed time to figure out how to make the dangerous parts of her texts go kapoof if anyone else would try to read them. Maybe she's managed to. The story continues, and I know not if it is the end or merely a new beginning.
SPOILER and story overview - may be read later for explanation: The mad Inquisitor made the Warp connect with reality. The demons will probably make Kyrie wake up screaming for many years to come - if she does not fail her test to come, and has to die. When the battle was all but lost, they called upon the Grey Knights. The information needed from the mad Inquisitor was extracted - more or less - and the warriors killed the last of the demons. The Knights disappeared, Stell covered the others backs and they were flown away to relative safety and stasis-coffins, to sleep away a few years.))
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I decided to sleep tonight, not just write. We're one more day away from grandpa's place, but I am not quite done. Not with the writing, not with the praying.
As I said, we went in.
The place was not well lit, so it was thanks to my helmet that I was able to see. So was Imbra, Corax and Eli. Stell was quiet, and the priest was carried by Corax most of the time. Deeper down, deeper inside, we went. Finally we reached the center, a giant maze. In its middle an amphitheatre. And then there were guns blazing.
Lit up only by orange-glowing bulbs here and there, it was a light that made one very uncomfortable. Never enough to make the darkness go away, shadows playing on the walls - to be in a maze just made the whole situation seem even worse. We tried our best to avoid both the Sisters and those ordinary people who'd followed the mad Inquisitor. They busied themselves with eachother, while we happily tiptoed past. Stell split up and took another way to see if he could get to the Inquisitor leading the Sororitas - it was one he'd met before and did not like. At long last the rest of us came to the center. Imbra's sense of direction is extraordinary. In the middle, the mad lady and some servants. On the other end, twenty or so Sororitas. When the Sisters started slaughtering the lady's followers, she seemed delighted, and took off. Me and Corax would've dashed to catch her. But that was not to be.
I guess I forgot to mention the pentagram in the middle. You don't need much of an intelligence to see what was happening. And there was no way to stop that blood from getting there.
Reality suddenly felt less solid. Very soon the air started shimmering, strange visions appearing, and one could decide that going back was better than pursuing. That became Imbras job, to get the lady and to keep her alive. The Sisters, by the way, saw me and gesticulated to the helmet. They'd changed their channel a while ago so we could not hear them, therefore I gesticulated that my helmet was broke, and shot some rounds after the lady to prove I was one of them. Seemed to satisfy them, long enough to let me get out of there. Not that they had time worry too much, anyway. The things in the air became solid.
Huge. Towering. Made of muscles and strange bronze armour, they seemed to be pure anger and violence. And not all of them turned on the Sororitas.
I don't believe I have ever run that much. Sometimes I carried the priest, sometimes Corax. Once or twice, it is all just a nightmarish blend of memories, one or two caught up with us while we were dashing here and there in the maze. They didn't need to bother with walls. Eli had acquired a plasma gun from somewhere - probably when I was bleeding - and Emperors grace, that was needed. He used it as much as he dared, but those creatures - demons - were strange. Though once or twice when the plasma roared to life the demons got holes in their bodies large enough to make them fade, it did not happen every time. Hah. Sounds as if we met dozens of them and fought them down, don't it? We ran. They went down or faded or just stopped for a second, and we would run again. Also, Markus became angry, or something. Suddenly, it was all we could do to keep him from charging them. He shone with a light and preached the Emperors holy words, and the monsters did not dare to step closer. That gave Corax and Eli some more time to fire weapons, of course, but mostly we just ran. I will have nightmares about this for a long time. These demons are truly the worst horrors in existance, and I will gladly give my life to protect anyone else from having to experience what I have.
The God Emperor was with Markus, and us. I was praying continuously as I ran. Without Him, there is nothing.
Imbra told us by com-link that she followed our lady Inquisitor, and managed to catch up with her in a hall, where she sent her to sleep with a needle. Now, me and Imbra had noticed a shadow was following us in the spire. And earlier, in spire number one, Imbra was certain there was a shadow but we found no proof. That shadow was indeed the lady's personal assassin, who now stood face to face with Imbra. The lady did not seem to recognise it, her, whatever. But that's not really surprising, now, is it? Even though sometimes, the lady had been speaking as if sane, mostly she was raving mad in a very scary, controlled way.
In the maze we somehow met up with Stell and ran toward two groups of Sororitas. They did not have time to waste on us, but... ah. It was terrible, all of it. They, one of the Empires' best troups, I believe, slaughtered. Then Eli remembered what I had been carrying all this time in my backpack: the warp beacon. Trusting in the Emperor we activated it and tried to get away as fast as possible.
The air started to sparkle with static electricity, I dropped the bolter I'd borrowed from Corax - though I picked it up later, of course. And then I saw the most glorious sight of all my life. The air gathered and started to shine, and the light expanded. In its place then stood one giant man, surrounded by four huge men. Their armour was old, baroque, and so were their weapons. What caught one's eye, was the color.
Grey.
One of them turned and pointed straight at Stell, the others nodded and they set to work.
It was beautiful, glorious. But the tide of battle did not turn for long, the demons kept coming. Corax, beautiful, glorious, noble Corax, turned, threw his weapons and drew his sword. And for the first time, Stell hesitated. Then he ordered us to get what knowledge we could from the lady, deliver it to Aio, and turned also. We let Markus, still howling the Emperor's most holy words, go with him. He needed no crutch.
Pretty soon we found Imbra and the lady, with company. But trying to prevent the lady from going back to, as she said, "finishing her business" only made the assassin woman threateningly draw her swords. Exasperated, I finally pleaded with her that whatever orders her mistress had given her that last time before she went mad - because Imbra told us the lady had ordered her something before she saw them leave the library on Cadia - we were only trying to help further. I finally lifted the mad lady up, and the assassin accepted it! We carried her to Markus, who turned his attention to her a short while, and she regained her sanity long enough to speak. It was completely unintelligible, but she spoke. I can only hope I can further it so that Stell understands. Eli meanwhile, met with a man who uttered the words: "Ah, one of the witches I was looking for...". To which Eli replied: "Have you looked yourself in a mirror lately?" which was quite correct, the Inquisitor was himself a psycher. There was a great flash of light as silver arrow met plasma, and both remained unhurt. The Inquisitors' look of surprise died quickly as Eli had immediately thrown away his 'plasma and drawn his knife. Desperation, it must have been! I know not how proficient Eli really is with the knife, but he claims to have taken down also this Inquisitor. Probably the man was already hurt, and most probably also somewhat blinded. I do not claim to know, but he died at Eli's hands. With a smile, I wonder if Eli thought it a waste of so great a man?
Alas, it was no great victory. Just beside us, the remaining Sororitas - so few! - held fast. Corax had lost an arm and almost a leg, but was still defending the greatest of the grey, who could not even move. There was two remaining of the grey standing.
But in the end, they prevailed. What then happened took me by surprise and made me utterly sad.
I have seen the Grey Knights fight and lived to tell the tale. But I will not tell it, never speak of their existance. I believe I know what they are, I know I must never utter a word. I have seen the Grey Knights. And I am blessed.
Why we survived, I surmise was because they saw us with Stell. But the Sisters were shot down, to the last of them. And the two Knights who had remained standing, gathered the fallen and their limbs. I wanted to believe they were all still living, despite that sword through Corax's lungs. The standing Knights stood on two sides of the others, and the air started shimmering. In a glorious flash of light, they disappeared, taking with them Corax. I remained kneeling until they were gone. Then, we left our lady to her own, and following Stell's orders we put ourselves in relative safety. The last I saw of him, was how he naked stepped out into the amphitheatre, while the demons all flocked to the mad lady Inquisitor.
In my suit I was protected from the radiance, but Eli, Imbra and the priest - who had by been mercifully put to sleep for a while - might have been affected by it. I tried to shield them, though. Because someone, ordered by Stell, melted a giant hole all the way down the spire, and threw down a rope to us. Hailed by the com-link by Stell - I do not know what he did, I do not want to know - who was once again dressed, I ran to pick him up and we were then all winsched up to a waiting shuttle. Behind us as we sped away, bright rays came out of the sky and the place where we'd been seconds ago was glassed and sealed away forever. I didn't much care. When we arrived at spire number one again, gramps was waiting with Aio and some other people. They hurried us inside, and explained we were the most sought-after persons in this system. Quite simply, we had to stay in stasis-coffins for some time, for Stell and others to fake our deaths and give us new identities. I asked grandpa to please take good care of my armour and Corax's bolter. He promised he would. And then I entered a coffin and closed my eyes for some time. I opened them again, and before me stood both gramps and Stell, but they looked different, quite so. The others stepped out also, and we asked how things had gone. We got for an answer that, well, it was fixed now, though it had taken some time. Of course I asked how long that time had been. I got my answer.
Fourteen years. Emperors beard, fourteen years! A bit more than one or two, I must say. I am still surprised and have not quite grasped it yet. Though I guess, not much have happened. Grandpa is being carried, though, he can't walk anymore. And apparently Nibblit have been working, gramps sounded quite impressed as he told us the little thing seem to have it in its blood. So, here I am, and I know fully well I can now never go back. There was a slight chance, once. Not so anymore, there is not even a possibility to visit. Well, my brother was ever the clever one, I believe he will do very well in life, and my parents will be proud of him. They might never know what happened to me, but I think they will trust the Emperor that it was something good. I don't know if it's good or bad that Jak won't ever be able to bother me again. I hope he'll live a good life.
The second thing I said, the second question I asked, was whether Corax was alive or no. Stell answered that unfortunately the bastard had survived, and was taken care of by the Grey Knights. He had, after all, saved one of theirs. Apparently he's gone into hibernation, whatever that means in full, and I wonder if we will see him again. I do so hope I may meet him again in my lifetime!
Listen to me, there I go again. My admiration, almost worship, has not abated the least. Not that it should find any reason to do so. What remains now I do not know. As I said, I truly wish I could meet him again. The next thing we do know will happen, though, is a test, a test to see whether we have been corrupted or no. I pray fervently to the Emperor that it is not so, for any of us. I admire every single one of our group, I like them and I am honored to have fought beside them. I would not wish to see them put to death, but if the forces of all things evil have gotten into any of us - it must be so. Yes, by the Emperor, I am tired. I feel naked, and exhausted. We have fought long, and there is no turning back. This is my life and I will put every inch of will and wish to see it continue. It is more than a life debt to Stell, it is who I have become. Strange though it seems to me, I have transformed and come out another person. But my last word will still be a name.
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