( Unknown )

  “Have you heard?” A sudden voice broke the solemn silence in the trench, causing me look up.

  I knew him. Private Ghatti, a handsome white skinned usually filled with ughter and cheer. Constantly trying to lift the always down morale. Yet now his face was grim and devoid of hope.

  “Another Outer World has just fallen, Jikkas this time. All two billion, dead."

  “Jikkas? Isn’t that just ten parsecs away from us? Will their Swarm meet up with the one here?”

  “Already? Didn’t they get attacked only two weeks ago? Will this be our fate too?”

  “I-I don’t want to die. I have so much to live for!”

  "Why?! Why does this have to happen?!"

  Terrified voices sounded out in the trench, each one worse than the st. Some even began crying their hearts out, tears and snot staining their faces.

  I leaned back against the wall and tried to calm my own shaky hands. Like them, I too was filled with fear. Such overwhelming fear it feels as though it might consume me at any time. We’ve only cshed with those horrifying monsters twice now, but…

  Scared. I-I am so scared. So scared I want to kneel down and cry, just like when I was a kid. Wail like a baby until I felt better. Every time I see them rip apart another soldier makes me realize... I might be next. Another meaningless number cut into pieces. And that terrifies me deeply. Yet we can’t retreat. Can’t fall back, no matter how much we want to.

  Behind our lines is where our families sleep in terror. Where our loved ones are, praying for us to return alive. If we fall, they are next. Forced to suffer such an agonizing death.

  Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a small photo. On it was a smiling woman, calming down my tensed nerves. My parents didn't like her or the thought of us being together because of traditional nonsense. About how the purple skinned are inferior and are ruining our nation. But I love her far too much to care what they think and we Bonded against their wishes.

  Right now I should be with her, in her loving arms as we cuddle and dream of the future. She is even carrying our beautiful child inside that stomach of hers.

  But I didn’t have a choice, which is the same for most of the others currently on the frontline. Who would want to die so young and early in life? To be torn limb from limb by terrible monsters from the deepest end of a nightmare?

  However, we had to come fight. It was either this, or execution. Even if you tried to take off your own hand to become disabled, they still sent you out anyway.

  Besides, it’s not like we could go anywhere to escape. The Varnid Swarm is not just attacking here, but the entire pnet as a whole. Nowhere was safe. No wonder Ghatti lost his usual cheer. There truly is no hope.

  Suddenly a siren began pying, making everyone’s face go pale. I’m sure I look the same due to it's meaning. Another attack has arrived.

  “A-Again?! It’s only been half a rotation!”

  “We have to fight them so soon?!"

  “I-I can’t do this!”

  We all stood up and came to the top of the trench, overlooking the entire bloody battlefield. But as soon as I did so, my blood ran cold. The entire horizon was filled with bck dots, soon revealing themselves to be rge, frightening insects of all shapes and sizes.

  Is this reality? Am I in a nightmare, soon to wake up in my bed? Spping my own face did no good but remind me of how fucked we were.

  “W-What the…”

  “This is the end, isn’t it?”

  "I never got to finish my collection..."

  My fellow brothers and sisters all had the same reaction as me. Denying the reality in front of us as nothing more than pure fiction. Even the older and more experienced ones were grim and slightly pale. The enemy easily numbered in the tens of millions, while we were merely 1% of that. A scourge across the nd, sea, and air, who blotted out the sun with the sheer amount of them.

  A loud sound drew my attention and I looked up, watching our fighter ships zoom by with high speeds. They went to meet the enemy’s air forces in battle. How? How could they go towards certain death without hesitation? Were they not afraid like the rest of us?

  “Quit your crying!” A harsh and great roar made us all look at the origin.

  A white skinned captain missing an arm, which was still bandaged and bloodied from when he lost it yesterday. He had a single ser pistol in hand as he growled at us.

  “Are you going to sit here like a baby?! Are you not men?! Look behind you!” He aimed his weapon behind us, causing us all to turn our heads.

  Off in the distance, one could faintly see the outline of a rge city. Hirosciu, where our loved ones are. Where my wife and unborn child are waiting for me to return.

  “They are why you fight! Why you continue to get up again and again despite pissing yourselves in fear!” His words echoed inside my mind, connecting with me.

  Suddenly, his whole tone calmed down as he looked at the growing Swarm.

  “Do you think I am not afraid? No, I am just as terrified as you of those overgrown insects. But-“ He grit his teeth and gripped his pistol tighter.

  “-I will fight to the st breath. I will not let these bastards sughter the innocents behind us. Even if we all die without putting a dent in them, I will bring as many as I can to the grave! What about you?! Will you simply roll over and accept your fate?! Or will you fight?!"

  I could feel my blood boil and though they did not vanish, my fears were greatly reduced. The others had simir looks to their faces as many stopped shaking and gripped their weapons tighter.

  “AH!”

  When the first roared out, raising his ser rifle to the sky, we all joined him in a powerful symphony. And to prove we were not alone in our endeavor, the other trenches fueled us on further with their own war cries. It felt as though we were all connected together as one, bound together to face the coming darkness.

  “Then open fire! Even if your aim sucks you can still hit something!” At his orders, we climbed to the top and pulled the trigger.

  Hundreds of thousands of bright ser bolts shot forwards into the massive Swarm. My aim was just as terrible as st time, but it did not matter. Like he said, we can still hit something. Not too far behind us, the Artillery Batteries fired as well, easily killing hundreds at a time.

  It was loud. So loud it felt as though my ears were about to burst. I could feel my heart rate speed up as everything faded out. Just keep pulling the trigger and ignore everything. That was the only thing on my mind. Over and over again without stopping.

  Only when my rifle ran out of ammo did I wake up. While reloading, I noticed how much closer they were now. How long was I in a daze for?

  The first ones were beginning to reach the foremost line and their corpses littered the battlefield. But this allowed me to finally witness them. And… my fear returned twice fold seeing these 'things' in action.

  Horrid nightmares which would haunt someone’s dreams for years to come. The soldiers called them Scythers, since their front legs were four curved bdes, sharp enough to slice through anything. A single swipe was all it took to sughter over eight men or shred a Gion Tank’s armor.

  Their bodies were torn clean in half, entrails and blood lining the ground. More and more climbed into the first line, causing death by the hundreds. Yet the men and women didn’t stop fighting. How could they? Running away wasn't an option since they would be hunted down.

  Even when they blew off most of the Scyther’s limbs, it still kept coming. It had such an insane motivation to kill us, to tear us to pieces. Only once the brain was gone did the nightmares stop.

  Was there no way to win this fight? All of us would die, and those behind us would too. I gnced up in the sky, watching our ships get torn apart by flying insects. They crashed into the ground in a fiery explosion, engulfed in fmes.

  I looked to my left and right. My fellow brothers and sisters in arms had pale faces and shrunken pupils. They were probably going through the same emotions as me, yet did not stop fighting. Turning tail and running meant leaving the innocent to die a horrible death.

  Finding a new sense of confidence, I raised my gun and was about to fire into the never ending Swarm-

  Suddenly, the ground started shaking. It was light, barely noticeable in the heat of battle. But I could feel the trembling beneath my feet. It grew with strength, finally alerting the others who looked down.

  “The ground is shaking?”

  “A Crackquake? Now?”

  “Look! Over there!”

  One of the grunts pointed a little ways off from our trench. A small crack appeared in the ground and rumbled greatly, growing in size. As if something was trying to come out. A soldier hopped out of the trench and stood over top it, pcing his hand on the ground.

  “I think I feel something mov-“ A giant worm with it’s mouth open emerged from the crack! The poor man was swallowed whole!

  We watched with wide eyes as it continued climbing up further and further into the air, roaring with a horrible screech. Only when it reached a significant height did it fall back to the ground, crashing down with a boom and sending any nearby flying.

  “Shoot the bastard!” The captain yelled out and immediately opened fire. We followed his orders, but found something wrong.

  Every one of our attacks did next to no damage, only barely burning the tough hide. In response to our actions, the giant worm opened it’s mouth and showed an empty, bottomless void. However, a sound could be heard from inside it’s body. A sort of… clicking?

  Suddenly, a loud high pitched screech entered our ears as Scyther ran out of the mouth! After a brief moment of shock, we all fired on it at once and swiftly ripped it apart. But it wasn’t alone. More and more of those terrifying insects emerged from the open mouth. Dozens of corpses started piling up, making things worse for us.

  These clever monsters used their own comrades dead bodies as shields, allowing them to reach us. And when the first arrived, panic spread through everyone. Casualties were already past thirty as more and more Scythers flooded in. We couldn’t stop them. Not even with all of us firing at them. Meanwhile, they only needed one swipe to kill multiple at a time.

  The ground rumbled once more and another worm burst out, sending the nearby soldiers flying away with shattered bodies. This time, the worm had just so happened to show up next to the Artillery Batteries. That… can’t be a coincidence. Is there an intelligent mind commanding them?

  I gnced down at the front and noticed that some of our Scythers were hitting them from behind. Then there was the massive Swarm up ahead which had already broke through three lines. Is this… truly the end? There’s no way to win? No way to get out of this? Hm? What’s that loud-

  A pained scream made me look back. Only a little bit away from me, Private Ghatti was in an Scyther's jaws. It moved him from side to side, sending blood everywhere as he wailed in agony. Then it cmped down and tore him in half. His guts and organs fell to the ground with a sickening squish.

  Such gore and brutality up close… From someone I knew... I couldn’t take it! I emptied my breakfast into the mud next to me and tried to move away. But that same Scyther heard my noises and looked towards me!

  It’s massive form rushed through the soldiers in front of it, ignoring all the damage it accumuted! It's rge body smmed into anyone in it's path and sent them flying!

  I raised my shaky hands and pulled the trigger! Again and again I fired at it’s disgusting form, watching it's flesh be blown off! But... it just wouldn’t die! Just as my life fshed before my eyes a rge armored hand grabbed the Scyther's head and forcibly raised it up.

  A sword made out of pure white light was rammed into it’s body, effortlessly going past it’s hard defenses. The insect screeched and wailed, struggling to escape. But the armored hand was an iron cmp as the sword ripped through it’s body, tearing it into pieces.

  I looked to my left and felt my heart jump out of it’s chest in excitement!

  “P-Padin!” Ever since I was a young boy, I dreamed of becoming… a Padin!

  Holy warriors who were chosen personally by His Majesty the Emperor to serve as his Soldiers and Weapons of War. They were the best of the best in every category imaginable, carrying the most advanced weaponry the Holy Empire had to offer.

  My eyes were glued to the 15ft man before me. He was covered head to toe in a suit of powerful armor, crafted to absolute perfection and beyond. His face was obscured by a veil of white light, but I could still see those icy and cold silver eyes behind it.

  In his right hand was a stunning and gorgeous sword made of light. Gave him a very Holy and righteous appearance. In his left hand was some sort of gun, far too big for me to carry. Out of nowhere, he jumped ahead and leaped nearly fifty meters.

  The Padin nded next to the worm and swung his sword, slicing through any insect close to him. He was so fast and strong, killing dozens in just a few moments. When arriving at the mouth he pulled out a small object and shoved it down the worm’s gullet.

  After five seconds, a massive explosion rang out as the worm screamed in pain. It coughed up chunks of organs and blood, filing around for a short period of time before dying.

  The sound of footsteps made me look behind me. Not only were there more Padins, but they were accompanied by millions of soldiers in beautiful armor. They were known as the as the Order of Justice, the main fighting force of the entire Empire. They attacked the other worms in the same manner as the first Padin, soon killing them off and giving us a moment to breath.

  Up above was a massive Cruiser Css ship, easily the size of a city and expined what I heard earlier. Numerous and uncountable fighters exited from it’s hangers and joined our nearly destroyed air forces.

  “Do not fear, denizens of Parsectulon-6! We have come to your aid! Now, send these Heretics back from whence they came!” The Padin who saved me fearlessly pointed his sword forwards at the tens of millions strong Swarm.

  “For the Emperor!” He shouted with a deep, booming voice which spread to all corners.

  The Order of Justice and other Padins all did the same, drowning out the noise of the battlefield. As if on cue, the massive ship above us fired a white beam into the middle of the Swarm and caused a rge explosion, killing an unknown number.

  His powerful yet short words invigorated me and all the others fighting. My blood boiled and any fear I still had vanished into nothingness. Together, we all raised our rifles and shouted until our throats threatened to tear.

  “For the Emperor!”

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  Deep into the heart of the Holy Empire was the Core Sector. This area housed the most poputed and well defended pnets. From the outside it seemed impenetrable with the billion strong Multi-Fleet constantly surrounding it. None could enter or leave without going through them.

  Technology here was more advanced than the rest of the Gaxy, sporting a wide array of futuristic inventions. The Core Sector was also the home of many Padin Chapters who were an icon of worship to all those living there.

  But there was one pnet which seemed different than others. It was the rgest, most heavily defended and poputed in the entire Gaxy. Ships constantly entered the atmosphere and nded in the massive cities who housed a vast number of subjects in the tens of billions. They were named, the Cities of Purity.

  Every building was pure white, giving off a sense of holiness and beauty. Each one was crafted beautifully, as if an architectural masterpiece. It seemed like all of them were connected to each other, forming one rge puzzle.

  Flying vehicles and ships in the sky whizzed around chaotically, but somehow had a sense of order and structure. Within each City of Purity was a gigantic statue of a saintly handsome man, cd in heavy set armor. He looked like no other alien found within the Gaxy, which made him appear mysterious and out of reach.

  The statue was so rge it could even be seen from space as he raised his sword to the Heavens. Down below, many citizens worshiped and prayed to the man before going along with their day. Even with the troubling news of their old enemy the Varnids, they were calm and unbothered. They had faith in Him to bring them out of these dark days. To shine down the glorious light of hope.

  Then there was Archon, the rgest City of Purity with the highest amount of military presence. Here, a massive pace rger than a mountain could be seen in the direct middle. This was His home, the one who ruled the entire Holy Empire with an iron fist and unstoppable might. His Majesty, The Holy Emperor.

  Within the pace was a rge and grand throne room, made out of the most stunning and unbreakable materials. Hundreds of mechanical probes hung in the air and dispyed screens of numerous pnets locked in combat.

  “We’ve lost Gadoorin Nine. The Padins we sent have all been wiped out by a Primordial.”

  “Primordial? It’s no wonder they fell. Only a Crusader Knight could handle one of them."

  “At least we saved Parsectulon-6 from being destroyed. Though, the casualties were great. Who could've known they hid a Brain Bug in their midst? Ugly bastards are cunning."

  “Of course, but what Jikkas? We can't let them get a foothold. I propose sending a Purifier to wipe that pnet out."

  A great amount of alien beings were all conversing or even arguing with one another. Some gave reports of losses and wins, while others expined why they needed to fight harder before the Swarms grew rger. Just as it seemed as though it would never end, a deep and majestic voice echoed out.

  “Silence.” Instantly, everyone stopped and looked up ahead.

  Sitting in his white and gold throne hovering in mid air was a man in armor. His face could clearly be seen, which oddly resembled a human and was nearly identically besides a few features. There was a handsomeness to him which seemed… godly in a sense. As if he were not apart of this world.

  Flowing behind him was a lock of golden hair as his same colored eyes coldly looked down at his audience.

  “I have heard enough of your petty squabbling. Hear my decree.” They all silently waited for his orders, some more hopeful than others.

  “Send in the Armada of Light, along with the Purifiers. It is time to burn those corrupted worlds to ashes. Until nothing remains.”

  Whispering erupted amongst the crowd at his decision. The Armada of Light was the rgest, most powerful, and technologically advanced fleet they possessed. It was their greatest trump card, filled with over three hundred million ships, each one the best of the best. As for the Purifiers, they were world destroying weapons which burnt all organic matter to ash.

  “Also, release the Bloody Angels Chapter.” When those words were said, a commotion broke out.

  “Your Majesty! You cannot do that! The public still has not forgotten their transgressions!”

  “Exactly! How could they be released after insulting you?!”

  Many more voiced their concerns, for good reason. The Bloody Angels were one of the most dangerous Padin Chapters, filled with maniacs who craved for battle and death. The reason they had been locked away was two parts.

  One was sughtering an entire world’s popution in a fit of madness, bathing multiple cities in blood and tears. The casualties were in the hundreds of millions.

  The other, was for their btant disrespect of the Emperor. When they dared to disobey His order. So in one move, he locked them away for their crimes and sentenced them to life in prison. And the one who led the Bloody Angels, was the Emperor’s own son. One of the twelve extremely powerful Arch Saints, Fhorrus.

  Suddenly, the Emperor’s golden eyes fshed brilliantly and every single alien there was forced to their knees in fear.

  “I did not ask for your permission. See it done at once.” They all nodded at once as he continued.

  “This is their chance to redeem their past mistakes. I shall send them to the front line, to battle those Heretics. Only when they’ve saved a thousand times the lives they took, will they be allowed to return.”

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  Nearly forty thousand Light Years away from the Holy Empire was another Gaxy. But this one seemed dark. Almost lifeless in a strange way, despite the countless lifeforms all around. The pnets were dead and filled with corruption to their deepest foundations. All living life had vanished, consumed by... something.

  Deep inside one of these pnets and far underground was a strange looking being. They were a ball of flesh and meat, pulsing away occasionally like a heart. Every so often, a fsh of light traveled along one of it’s tentacles and shot off into the distance.

  Suddenly, it quivered slightly as a deep, dark voice echoed out.

  “The Swarm on Parsectulon-6 has been wiped out. Send another.” A fsh of light went off.

  "The Holy Empire is stronger than anticipated. But resistance is futile. The Swarms are endless." It went quiet for a moment, as if deciding the next course of action.

  “It is time to attack the others. To devour them all. To prepare for the next phase.”

  Up above on the surface of the pnet, the countless hordes of insects numbering in the quadrillions started screeching and moving at once. As if ordered to do so.

  Such a situation was happening all throughout the Gaxy, indicating a storm was about to arrive. One which would bring death and destruction to all on a gactic scale.