Talin moved through the dimly lit corridors of the temple, his mind a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. The Children of the Void, with their great promises of a new dawn, had seemed like a beacon of hope in the chaos of this planet. But the reality was far more sinister. The temple, once a place of supposed enlightenment, now felt like a prison. He wanted to be away from it all.
He entered the central chamber, where the cult leader, High Priestess Seraphina, held court. Her presence was imposing, her eyes burning with a fanatical light as she addressed her followers. Talin had admired her once, but now her words felt like chains binding him to a cause he no longer believed in.
"Do you know why we were gathered here?" He asked another cultist member who were standing beside him.
"I don't know actually. They said something about a purge."
Purge. He had heard the word spoken hundreds of time before. Ever since he was a teenager, the High Priestess had always wanted to cleanse a colony called Steelroot. She deemed that they were pagans and a danger to the cult and they were given the responsibility to purge them so the world would still be safe.
"My children," the High Priestess spoke. Everyone in the chamber went quiet immediately. "The time of cleansing is upon us," Seraphina intoned, her voice echoing through the chamber. "Steelroot and all who oppose us will be purged. The Children of the Void will rise victorious."
The assembled cultists shouted, their enthusiasm obvious. Talin forced himself to participate, disguising his genuine feelings. He had to be patient and find a way out of the madness. She held one hand out and everyone went quiet again.
"My children of the Void, today we stand on the start of a new dawn. The time of cleansing is upon us, and we are the chosen instruments of this divine destiny. The invaders who dare to desecrate our sacred land with their greed and arrogance must be purged, for they are the harbingers of destruction and corruption!"
"The pagans of Steelroot are but the first in a long line of enemies who seek to undermine our sacred mission. They come with their false promises of progress, but in their wake, they leave only devastation and ruin. We cannot, we must not, allow them to prevail!"
"Stand firm, my children! Let the darkness of the Void envelope your hearts, motivate our path forward. Together, we will bring forth a new era, an era where the Children of the Void reign supreme and our sacred land is restored to its former glory!!"
The chamber erupted in fervent cheers and chants of "For the Void!" Seraphina stood tall, her presence commanding, as she looked out over her devoted followers. The path to their divine mission was set.
...
After the meeting, Talin retreated to his quarters, a small, sparsely furnished room. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the wall. He wanted to escape from this madness of a cult, but he couldn't. It's not like he didn't want to. The perimeter of the temple is guarded by the cult's warriors. Any way of escaping would be a suicide mission. He didn't to imagine what would happen to him if he was caught.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He opened it to find Lyle, another cultist, standing there. Lyle was younger, his eyes filled with the same blind devotion Talin had once shared.
"Talin, High Priestess Seraphina wants to see you," Lyle said.
Talin nodded, feeling a knot tighten in his stomach. He followed Lyle back to the central chamber, where Seraphina awaited."
"Talin," she greeted him, her tone deceptively warm. "I trust the preparations to sabotage the pagans were successful?"
He hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, High Priestess. But I something may have happened to the person that was sent. He hasn't come back since yesterday."
Seraphina's eyes narrowed. "Do you think that the child was captured?"
"I fear it may even be worse than that, High Priestess."
Her expression hardened. She was quiet for a while, obviously thinking for solutions.
"Coexistence is not an option, Talin. We can't let the pagans from Steelroot live. Try and find another way to dwindle their numbers. Worst case scenario, we may have ti attack them ourselves."
Talin's heart sank. "High Priestess, perhaps there is another way. Maybe we can find common ground with the settlers, a way to coexist."
As he said that, he felt a great pressure on his body building up. Then he dropped on the floor, on his knees. It was as if the ground itself was trying to pull him under.
"Psychic powers", Talin thought in his mind, still trying to hold against the ominous pressure that is placed on him.
"I'm sorry, High Priestess!" He gathered all his strength to speak, hoping that Seraphina would go easy on him. After a few minutes of agonizing pain, the pressure was lifted and he could finally breathe easy.
"I apologize, High Priestess. It was not in my place to speak of such things. ."
Seraphina waved her hand slightly, and Talin immediately scurried away from the chambers. The doors closed by themselves after he left. What happened in there was actually Seraphina's doing. She was a Tier 3 Psychic. Seraphina had meditated under the anima tree ever since she was nine years old. Days and days of meditating and building the connection with the tree had resulted in her obtaining psychic powers that would crush even a normal human.
As Talin returned to his quarters, he overheard a conversation between two cultists in the hallway.
"Did you hear? The native camp has been wiped out," one of them said,
"Yeah, I heard about it too. Every single one of them was killed apparently. No one made it out alive. This must be because of the pagans from Steelroot. Maybe they were the ones who killed the natives."
Talin's blood ran cold. If the natives were easily destroyed, wouldn't the cult also be an easy target for Steelroot? Fortunately, the colony doesn't know the existence of the cult, and they have been watching the colony from the shadows all this time.
That night, Talin slipped out of his quarters and made his way to the edge of the cult's territory. He knew the risks, but he had no choice. He had planned it thoroughly for days. In the cult, Talin had a somewhat high authority, so he has a chance of making it through the guards. He could hold himself well in a fight, but he has no chance against a few trained guards.
As he neared the gates, he expected that he would be stopped by the guards, but then he was able to walk right in front of them and they didn't even do anything.
"That was unexpected. The guards aren't usually this loose."
He then made his way to the outskirts of the temple and trekked in the darkness towards the trees. Suddenly, he heard the alarm. The temple had sounded the alarm. Talin froze. Had somebody found out about his escape plan? Did the guards deliberately let him go so they would report him? Unbeknownst to him, it wasn't because of him.
"INTRUDER!!! WE HAVE AN INTRUDER!!!"
Talin finally realized what the alarm was meant for. It wasn't for him.
...
Somewhere in the edge of the temple, a rampage was occurring. To the cultists, they only saw a man furiously ripping the other cultists to shred using his own hands. He had no armor on, and he was only equipped with a knife.
It was Azrael.
He had found the temple after a few days of walking, and proceeded to start murdering the first colonist he sees. He didn't mind the alarm. It would be easier for him if they all came to him, instead of him chasing them. It saves him time. One by one, he murdered them all in one swift motion.
"Come to me." He muttered. It's as if Azrael was possessed and was not himself.
One female cultist came at him with a spear. She lunged forward to stab him, but he grabbed the spear and pulled her towards him. He broke the tip of her own spear and stabbed her with it on the neck.
[7 Cultists Killed, 33 Remaining]
[You are in the Bloodthirsty state. Your abilities are enhanced by 5%]
He repelled every attack that came at his way and murdered them all easily. One cultist had come at him and shot his gun at Azrael, but his armored body wasn't scratched in the slightest.
"H-how are you still standing!!" He yelled, before he started unloading shot after shot.
Azrael tanked the shots, walked right towards the cultist. They were now standing face to face.
Then, the cultist coughed blood. Azrael had stabbed him with his own hands. The sheer strength alone made it possible for his hands to penetrate a human's flesh. Azrael grabbed the man's heart and pulled it out from his body.
The man dropped dead.
[12 Cultists killed, 28 remaining]
By this time, it was all chaotic. Every cultist that was in the temple had come outside and started unloading their weapons on Azrael. They did not dare to attack him at close range in fear that Azrael may shred their bodies.
[Armor Durability: 100%]
He let the system take over, and it immediately calculated every single movement that is possible to murder everyone in one run.
[Simulation Completed. Executing]
With one swift motion, the system took over Azrael's droid body and did all the work for him. He dashed towards the shooters that were on the second floor of the temple.
"How did he get up here!?"
To the cultists, they saw a man jump from the ground to the second floor with ease. He immediately jumped through the windows and grabbed the nearest cultist's head, and smashed him into the wall. He was splattered all across the wall.
From below, the other cultists on heard agonizing screams and gunshots, before the amount of screams faded down and nothing could be heard from the second floor. Right now, the cultists were looking at each other, hearts pounding. They were scared of him. Scared of what he might do to them.
"Where is he?" One cultist whispered.
"Shut up!"
They waited for a while for Azrael to appear, but it didn't seem like he would come down. Or so they thought.
[18 Cultists Killed, 22 Remaining]
[Smoke Grenades deployed]
[Cloaking Mode activated. Chances of detection: 0%]
From his shoulders, white smoke was being released. It quickly spread around the courtyard of the temple and blinded the cultists. They couldn't even see where their friends were.
Azrael was now invisible. The cultists had no idea that he was already standing with them. Now, with the sudden smokescreen, they are starting to panic. Suddenly, sound of necks being snapped or ripped were echoing throughout the courtyard. Azrael were dispatching them one after another, with one quick snap of the neck. Not only that, he also used his fingers to stab their heads, and they would die instantly.
Minutes pass by, and the smoke finally cleared. What was left were bodies of cultists with their necks snapped, lying on the ground.
[You can now take control of the body]
[27 Cultists Killed, 13 Remaining]
The system gave Azrael the control of the body back. To him, it was like witnessing someone's point of view. He had no control of the droid body when he gave the system control. He saw no other cultists on the courtyard, so he used his sensors to find where the remaining cultists were located.
[13 Heat signatures detected underground]
The remaining cultists were detected in a room that seemed to be a basement, or a bunker. The door to the room was sealed shut, blocking Azrael from entering. He made his way down the temple, towards the underground floor and met with the door.
"System, is it possible to smash open this door?"
[The door is made out of regular steel. With your current strength, possibility of opening the door is 85%]
"I'll take that chance." He replied, then immediately created a fist.
With all his might, he punched the steel door, and it immediately created a dent. The loud noise, echoing and reverberating through the walls of the temple.
The cultists inside were starting to fear for their life, but they still had faith. Faith in the High Priestess Seraphina who was with them.
"Don't worry my children. If they come in here, I will protect you." She tried to ease the minds of the cultists. What she's actually doing is using her psychic abilities to manipulate their minds so they would calm down. This is one of her abilities called "Soothe".
Then, the door was dented again, and they covered their ears against the deafening sound it made. Outside, Azrael was gathering strength for one more punch.
"Hiiiiyargh!!!"
BANG!!!!!!!!
The door flew off its hinges and managed to hit a few cultists that were standing near. They instantly died from the impact.
[29 Cultists killed, 11 remaining]
From outside, came in a tall figure. To them, he looked like a normal man, but the intimidating aura that emanated from him was enough for them to feel fear. No man is able to do all of this, but Azrael was no man.
[Tier 3 Psychic User detected]
[Chance of winning: 70%]
"Psychic? I remember this in the game. You would need to meditate under the Anima tree to be able to have the power. I didn't expect to see one here." Azrael thought to himself. In the game, Psychic users are almost useless in combat, but in here, he assumed that they were a pain to deal with judging by how the chance of winning was 70%. He never had a percentage like this.
"I guess this is my chance to test my limits."
This time, he didn't want to rely on the system to take over, and wanted to do it all by himself. The cultists started shooting him with their firearms, and he used his stored energy to activate a surge.
[Energy Surge activated. Speed is increased by 30%]
With his current speed, he can dash to a place almost instantly, but with increased speed combined with his base stats, it would look like he had vanished from their sights. He dashed instantly towards the nearest cultist and cut off his head using a knife. Before the cultists' head even hit the ground, two more cultists were already killed by Azrael in the blink of an eye.
"High Priestess! Help m-"Before the last cultist could end his words, his head was already flying.
Seraphina stood still, with indifference in her face. She thought of herself as strong and was undefeatable. She would think no one on this planet can harm her, yet in front of her stood a person that defied odds and murdered every single cultist of hers in just less than an hour.
"You've got guts coming here and massacring my children. Who are you?" She spoke with ego in her voice.
Azrael raised his knife and pointed it towards Seraphina. "You threatened my people first. Your madness ends here, right now."
'His people? Is he….'
"You are from Steelroot?! You fucking pagan! I should've killed you all sooner!" She burst from anger, and the air started becoming heavy. A normal human would explode from the pressure, but Azrael wasn't affected in the slightest. For psychic powers to work, you would need a brain, and a droid doesn't have one
[Recalculating. . . . Chance of winning: 100%]
He stood up from where he was standing, unaffected. Seraphina was wide eyed, obviously not expecting for someone to withstand her powers, or not even affected by it.
"Just what the fuck are you?!!!" She yelled.
Azrael vanished from when he was standing and appeared in front of Seraphina immediately and grabbed her face.
"I'm Azrael. Make sure you remember it in the afterlife."
He started gripping her head tightly.
"NggggRAAAAHH FFFUCKK YOU!!!!!!" Seraphina yelled for the last time, just right before her head exploded and brain matter covered Azrael's hands.
[All 40 Cultists eliminated]
Azrael wiped the blood off his hands, and left the room.
Outside the temple, the shocked Talin had witnessed everything that just unfolded. Fearing he might be next, he made a run to the forest.