LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 42: A knight Warden
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Throughout the eons, there have been many stories and myths about what it is like for a pilot to bind his or her soul to their chosen knight. Some say they must fight and overcome past heroes who once bound their souls to the machine!
While others fought the machine spirit itself before claiming ownership over it… and while many failed in this task and fell victim to madness or death, there was always one common feature to all the stories... the machine chooses its rider!
At least Layla believed that… for when pressed for a choice in a room, filled with pure whiteness… where a tiny flicker of an alien soul vanished… all that was left was an empty canvas… where the only feature was a machine spirit that could fit in the palms of Layla's hands!
Confusion racked her brain, when she heard Miss A speak, as a purple-blackish crack, oozed its way in, staining the purity of the room!
[silly child… your confusion is hilarious… do you still not get it… even when looking at me? Have you not wondered why all the machine spirits you've met until now; all look like children in your eyes?]]
Seeing Layla shaking her head in response, caused Miss A to sigh, before continuing
[It's your soul! Layla… It's bigger than you think! It's not that they are small… it's that yours is too big!]
With that revelation, Layla looked at the small knight in her hands, and compared it to the knee-sized child that was the base's machine spirit and then to that of the train, and finally understood why the machine spirit didn't put up any type of fight or challenge…
There was never any point to it… their souls were so fragile compared to Laylas that they simply acknowledged her! For in their eyes, she was a golden goddess! Who gave them warmth in an otherwise cold and empty space…
Sure, they could hear the prayers, and remember the small humans who tried to master them… but would you bind your soul with something you believe to be smaller than you… to be of lesser… unless proven otherwise who would? With a soul as grand as Layla's, they viewed her much as normal humans viewed the machine spirits!
[Yes... that's my girl… you're finally starting to get it…] whispered Miss A as the crack in the room reversed itself and faded into nothing, only leaving behind a dark stain.
Seeing Miss A leave, caused Layla to look at the palm-sized knight in her hand and raise him up to her eyes. With eyes connected, she felt the knight's honor, his purpose, and his wishes! Though young and inexperienced, he wished to prove himself worthy to carry her…
With incense burning, and the smell of the smoke filling the shadows, 43-sea locked in prayer hymns, Dylan bowed, as the knight warden's jet-packed wings roared their blue flames! With spinning red lights and statues of the skull-paying priest that guarded the door, shined into being by their candle fires, with each step Layla took, the echos that sounded, woke the machines in the room!
Computers turned on by themselves, the robotic guns turned on their own accord, and the light flickered as if dancing in rhythmic rhyme! A scene that sent a shiver down Dylan's back, but made 43-Sea stop in contemplation. It was then that Dylan turned to 43-sea and asked:
[is this not heresy? For the mechanicus to forge innovation… is that not heresy to your order?]
Hearing Dylan's inquiry, 43-sea smiled for a moment, before turning to face him and said:
[by the Omnissiah, you talk much like those in the council who berate my master… and I will tell you what 'he' has always told them… 'it is not innovation… we made nothing new… "we simply combined what is known to create that which was lost" in any case, guardsmen prepare the lanterns! We have a train to catch!]
As the crow fled the setting sun, the gate opened, splitting the mural of the emperor in two! To the symphony of alarms, and the sound of pressure smoke leaving the knight as it walked was beautiful, to Mary and other eyes! As the hound of Khorne, brother to Karanak the hound of vengeance! Stood over the hill with shivering anger and distaste!
When over Layla Vox picked up Mary's voice!
[Layla! That better be you in there!] she screamed while on the train roof waving her hands.
Hearing Mary's sweet worried voice, and seeing her on her monitor, caused Layla to slightly blush with joy, but it was joy that didn't last, as the hound of Khorne roared and spat venomous fire! And with vengeance as its goal, and well within sight, the hound races down the hill in euphoria!
Knowing the hound would only come after her, Layla quickly yelled over the vox, while letting loose a barrage of rockets from her shoulder holders!
{get moving! I will deal with the hound!}
Hearing Layla's voice, but having no time to enjoy it, she stared as the rockets fled their canisters! With closed eyes and a fist bleeding in a grip, she screamed to everyone on board the train:
[get moving!]
[BUT LASS ISN'T THAT…]
[shut it! Just get this thing moving! We don't have time…] replied Mary, as Molly watched shaking her head.
[you heard her! Get moving! Just leave the poche to our fellow sister… she's dumb but reliable she'll be fine!] replied Molly with a yell. But inside she felt just as powerless as Mary did.
And so, with the roar of a train, the wheels spun to life, and the turret turned its barrels in support. But as the train entered the intimidating gates, they met a tech priest and a noble guardsman waving their hands on board an empty platform! Seeing the platform Mary smiled! As she knew instinctual what the mechiancus priest intended to do with it.
Seeing the missile coming for it like buzzing flies, the champion of Khorne does nothing but allow them to detonate on his body! Causing huge wounds that spilled fire and poured blood! But with vengeance so close, the hound didn't feel the pain! He didn't care! And with a bite as large as a whale, he slammed his mouth closed as it tore through sand and barbed wires and left behind metals of war!
With a bite force so torrent, the winds screamed as they pushed Layla's thruster to the max, in a sidestep dodge! With the pressure force slamming her into her seat, Layla roared as she aimed her burst cannon!
With glorious heavy fire, she aims at its eye! But as the plasma rounds zipped to their target, the hound smirked as it spun to use its spiked tail! With scales of red, they absorb the weak plasma rounds, leaving only scorched marks on their surface, while the knights absorb the damage of the whipping tail! But not the force!
With a blue shield, that hummed to life by their generators, the riptide slammed through fortress walls! As the setting sun closed down the walls, Layla coughed out a mouthful of blood as the system injected a set of stims to null the pain, with determined eyes she stared at the monitor to see the hound go in for another bite!
{come on!} screamed Layla with bloody teeth as she willed the knight to jump out of the way!
In the air, she released her twin missile drones, leaving their control to the machine spirit! As she slammed back to the floor behind the hound, she fired everything she could! She emptied her missile, and ran her heavy canon to its limit… but in the end, there were but bug bites to the champion of Khorne!
In the smoke, and when all was quiet, she heard a strange noise… It sounded demonic and cruel… As the sun finally set, in the darkness were two twin eyes that glowed heavily in red, with bloody teeth it was laughing! As an umbrella of fins popped out from its neck!
But seeing the mocking creature didn't discourage Layla, as she knew from the start, that killing it alone was impossible! But though she couldn't kill it, she could at least buy time for the others… But as she thought that, the machine spirit inside looked at her in disappointment… seeing his face Layla, understood her mistake… Your right knight… we are one… not two!
Sensing a change from its prey, the hound took a deep breath. With this one breath the winds carried a scent he didn't like…he couldn't smell its prey fear! Like it did before…instead its smell changed! To that like his brothers…
Always the same smell… distaste and annoyance… its prey never looked at him like a predator or an equal… it smelled only as a bug in the way…. To smell this scent from his brother he understood, but to smell the same scent off his prey was nothing more than an insult to what he is! Unable to accept that fact, the hound charged from the smoke!
Seeing the jaws and the claws, Layla took a deep breath of her own, as her demeanor changed to a cold machine… she truly let her mind become one with the machine! Sensing a change but too late to stop, the hound bites down, only to feel a mouthful of sand and dirt!
Though the riptide knight couldn't fly, for it was never designed for such a thing, it was designed for quick jumps and evasions! For surprise attacks and to be a wall when needed… with light steps and twin engines, the knight danced in circles around the beast's claws, dodging and jumping past bites and blood! Between tails and quick turns!
With the occasional annoying pellets, the knights kept their steps just a few inches away per swipe and bite! Locked in an eternal battle where one missed step meant the end, the knight continued into the night by pyre fires… but as the night grew, the knight grew tired, to the point Miss A made a sigh!
With purple and pink, with black, the knight felt a change! When the colorful lighting sparked off its shell, it fired faster, moved faster, and jumped higher than before! Its shield was twice as strong but wore down the twin engines!
Able to absorb the damage and the force of a tail whip, the knight continued to fight a losing battle, when it heard the horn of a train! And a whisper from a spirit! Turning to look in their direction, she saw a vision of a platform to land on the train and a machine spirit that bowed!
Knowing what to do, Layla jumped through the base mural gate! As the hound smashed in the chase! Columns fell, and bugs screamed, as the fire spread and metals bent under the pressure! As rocks collapsed and murals fell, the blue reactor core shook violently under the machine spirit will! As uncontrolled sparks and horrid screeching noises filled the dark corridors of the base, the bugs dug deeper, as the machine spirit waved at Layla!
Though it waved she could only respond with a smile and a head nod, with a slight tear going down her sapphire eye. And when she landed in the safety of the train, the slower beast made his own leap forward! but where he thought to land on a safe surface, was in truth, buried beneath with supercharges! Fragile and weaken the metal bent under the hound weight!
And with a ticking sound that twitched his ear, the floor erupted in an explosion sending the beast down deeper into the pits of the base! Falling in free fall, the hound saw the core! With a big red eye, it stared at the light of the orb, as it shrunk inwards! With air disappearing and the scent of death approaching, the hound scuffed as it rolled into a ball!
For in its mind, if it were to die, it would be by honor duel and not by cheap tricks, for at the end of the day he is still a servant of Khorne! Such death would not be tolerated! So, with interlocking scales, the champion of Khorne hardened its blood and waited… as light swallowed him whole!