Chapter 7: Going Under
The winds howled harder and harder those next few days since Talim and I left. They were telling us to go back… to stay back… They knew we are endangering our lives far more than a group of assassins could. We passed through the first surrounding towns at night, our faces were known at those towns. After that, we began our trek towards Altair, where news of a Paladin killing a group of innocents had leaked. A Paladin, no matter how much afflicted, would not have done that without influence. We believed the holy man had the Soul Edge influencing him.
Meanwhile, Talim had accepted the fact that it was too late to return. We had to finish what we started. She had also gotten more skilled in her technique. We sometimes trained on the way to each town, and to the surprise of many passersby, ended up wounding each other. I grew closer to her each passing day. I began to almost depend on her… her smile, the way she laughed at her coming victory against me. It kept me going, gave me a reason to go with her, to protect her…
We reached the dead city of Nashira. I could feel the terror in the region of Aldebaran. The castle was overtaken by a band of berserkers. The townsfolk had orders to kill anyone who attempted to enter, but most were plagued by an illness. Some were even dead on the streets. I looked at Talim.
"What do we do now?" I asked her with intent to agree upon her plan of action, if she had one.
"What do you mean 'what do we do'? We need to help these people! Besides, I've sensed a powerful energy in the winds."
"Is it Soul Edge?"
"No, but it's evil nonetheless. Come on, to the castle!" And with that, we ran to the castle.
Berserkers guarded the gate. We swiftly took them out with speed and precision that we honed on the way to the region of Aldebaran. We tried forcing the gate open, but our weapons did nothing but deflect off of it. I quick-wittedly picked up one of the berserker axes and struck the gate a few times with it. After I made a hole through it, we made our way through it. I liked the feel of the large axe, it kind of suit me. But I was hardly fit to fight with heavy weaponry, so I decided to stick with my twin daggers for now. We entered the castle clueless of our next move.
I made my way through rooms, eventually reaching the final room. It was in this room I witnessed horror for the first time. I saw three men in black robes, and I saw a paladin kneeling on the ground before them. I hid behind a wall and listened to there conversation.
"…. This is an odd request, O Hallowed Edge, but it is possible that we can grant it. It isn't very hard to remove one of their holy stature, as we have done so before in our last raid, hehe…"
"I care not how you do it, just make me a Death Knight." I gasped at this sentence. There is a Paladin requesting to be a Death Knight? I looked around again and I saw the man in the throne get up.
"Are you sure? It will be impossible to revert back into the light. Make sure you are certain of your choice."
"I am, just perform the ceremony already." I looked around once more and saw a spell pentagon under the anti-Paladin. I assumed this was the Paladin in Altair who massacred a few homes. I need to stop this union of evil.
Without thinking, I ran inside the room with justice in mind. If I knew what would happen today, I wouldn't have done so….
"Stop, you anarchic soldier! You must understand this isn't what needs to be done!" Everyone looked at me. After what seemed like minutes, the man in the throne stood up and began laughing.
"So tell me, young warrior. What needs to be done? How else can he repent for his sins? The only way is to become a sin, or take death."
"I can't allow the first option!" With that, I ran and swung one of my blades at the Paladin, and suddenly, I felt an intense pain.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I slumped to the ground in pain, and cursed myself for being so helpless.
"Being the light in a room of dark isn't such a good choice anymore, is it?"
"I… can't…. allow….. you to…… ugh……." Eyes get heavy. Can't think straight. Hope Talim OK. Black out.
