Prologue Chapter 2: Tingull Djall

The bishop began by flying high in the air, distancing himself from the skeleton while his blades charged it. They were ready to tear him apart, but the skeleton raised his arm, and the blades clashed against a barrier of green energy.

The bishop frowned upon the skeleton, raising his long and index finger and drawing a circle in the air. The blades now started to circle the skeleton, engulfing him in his blades of fire.

After he was fully enveloped, he threw his gesturing hand in the air. The circle now rapidly formed into a violent twister, reaching high up into the air. The silver of the blades resonated well with the fire that added to the brutality of this scenery.

The bishop smiled while he watched this display of violence. But his smile didn't hold long as the blades were suddenly pushed away by the green energy barrier that expanded around the skeleton.

As the blades lost their destructive symphony, the bishop made another gesture with his middle- and index finger, ordering the blades to form into a giant hulk and crashing down on the barrier.

The blades smashed relentlessly against the green shield of energy. But trying to penetrate it with sheer force didn't help much. The bishop ordered the blades to retreat to his position, surrounding himself again.

"Miserable coward! Hiding all day!" mocked the bishop the skeleton, but it didn't have an effect. Now the bishop was angry! He raised Iudex and charged at the skeleton, planning to penetrate the barrier himself.

As the tip of his sword touched the green wall, a green pulse waved across the barrier. The pulsating got faster and more violent, but the skeleton remained the same. Unfazed.

"Don't underestimate me you garbage!" Golden energy originated in the bishops palms, covering Iudex in a golden aura. The pulsating got faster and faster until it was nearly impossible to follow.

Then suddenly, a crack appeared on the barrier. It got bigger and bigger. The skeleton, still, seemed unimpressed.

But the bishop was now in maximum overdrive, increasing the amount of golden energy until Iudex was just a golden glow, completely unrecognizable.

It sounded like shattering glass. The barrier was broken! Now the bishop had to react fast! He twirled around, trying to strike the skeleton with Iudex, but the skeleton, with tremendous speed, evaded the attack by shifting its position right next to the bishop.

The bishop had a surprised look on his face. He couldn't see the skeleton anymore. But he was painfully reminded by its location as he was hit in the sides by a metallic fist.

Due to the force behind the hit, the bishop flew and was carved into a giant boulder, but he quickly recovered and tried to get out of it. His arms and legs popping out of the rock made a crumbling sound as little stone fragments came falling out of the stone.

While the bishop was freeing himself, a sword teleported into the hands of the skeleton. It had the longness of a nodachi and the broadness of a cleaver. A handle was attached at the beginning of the scabbard so that he could hold the sword like a suitcase. The skeleton pulled the sword out of the sheath, revealing the green energy that resided within the cutting edge of the sword.

He let the sword calmly rest on his shoulder while attaching the scabbard to his armored hip. Meanwhile, the bishop managed to escape the boulder's grasp. Dust from the smashed stone has gathered on his white skin and suit, painting it Grey, but this did not bother the bishop in the slightest. He picked Iudex up from the ground, hasting in the direction of the skeleton with fiery steps. "The coward has picked up a sword! I can finally have some fucking fun!" The skeleton pointed his sword at the bishop, taunting him with his posture. It seemed amused. "Oh, don't look down on me you little shit!" The bishop dashed in the direction of the skeleton, using the hovering blades as a shield. A spinning shield that surrounded him. But the skeleton just bashed through the barrier of blades, unharmed, wacking the bishop with his metallic hand. He dropped to the ground. He was surprised. Just a slap from this creature had so much strength in it. It was surprising, to say the least. It took some time until the bishop regained his posture, and all this time the skeleton just stood there, silently demanding the thing which he desires. The bishop just looked at him with disbelief, his big, tetrahedron head twitching with rage.

He had enough! In total fury, the bishop tried to stab his opponent, but the skeleton parried. He took multiple swings which were all blocked by the skeleton, aiming at the legs, guts, head, arms, stomach, and chest. His speed was incredible, but the skeleton didn't even need to two hand his sword to block those strikes. All of them were anticipated, but the bishop didn't give up. His last swing ended in a blade lock. Now both fighters stood eye to eye with their blades, staring each other in the eyes. While the eyes of the bishop were full of emotion, the skeleton's eyes were calm and composed. "You know..." The bishop began to speak. He had an amusing sound accompanying his voice. "There are many ways to destroy something. But there is one way, I prefer above all other means of destruction." The skeleton now looked confused but was still holding his ground with ease. The bishop kept speaking. "Should I tell you what I prefer? Or should I show you?" Suddenly the skeleton understood. He pushed Kraus away from him as fast as he could, but it was too late. Surrounded by constantly spinning blades he didn't notice that three of them had carved three runes into his armor. The constant attacks were nothing more than a distraction because the bishop knew, he couldn't match his opponent with just his prowess. His only chance was a bit of trickery. The bishop flicked his fingers. The runes flashed in bright light and then exploded, damaging the skeleton and breaking his balance. Now there was an opening! The bishop rushed in, grasping the chance in defeating his opponent. He gathered all his strength, every ounce of power he possessed, and put it into Iudex tip, covering the blade in a golden rush. The skeleton vanished in an ocean of golden fire as the bishop released the energy concentrated on the tip at the same time as his blade touched the armor of the skeleton. But the energy the bishop gathered was too much to handle for him. He tried to direct the burst only at the skeleton, but he couldn't handle his power. '"Shit, I didn't expect this!" The bishop could only manage to shield himself from his blast whilst it claimed the heaven turning it golden, and the earth turning it to dust.

The bishop looked up from his holy shield, witnessing the desolation he has caused. He already has reverted to his original, human, form, for he has exerted his might and his power. Now, he was just standing there, shaking, barely standing on his feet, supporting himself on Iudex. His gaze was nervously striving over the landscape, searching for the only living, or dead thing that could harm him right now. His eyes then finally met with those of the beast. He could not believe it. The skeleton, it survived. Not only that, but it was also practically unharmed. He protected himself from the blast by forcing the damage into his armored bracer on his arm. The bracer was broken, but his bony arm was in excellent condition. What's more, is, he not only protected himself but Kraus too. Kraus, seemingly unconscious, was fine too. The blast did nothing but destroy the peace and nature of this place. Now, the skeleton was angry, its eyes flashing in its sockets. The bishop was walking backward while the skeleton was slowly approaching him. But he could not keep up. He stumbled and fell to the ground, leaving himself to the skeleton's mercy. It was now standing directly in front of him, looking down on the bishop, who was just sitting there, patiently, but painfully waiting for the final blow. But then, something unexpected happened. The skeleton began to speak. His deep voice was grinding through the bishop's spine.

"You have sworn by the way of white, chaplain," The skeleton looked down on the bishop. "but you use the powers of the black branch." The bishop's eyes narrowed. "Who do you serve, monster?" He asked with a demanding tone. "I serve the one who lies asleep. The one you stole from us on my eternal guard." He lifted his sword, putting the tip against the bishop's chest. "Now tell me, chaplain, where is my worth?" The bishop said nothing. He just silently looked at Kraus's body lying just a few meters away. The skeleton understood and made it's way to Kraus, who was, just a husk? As soon as the skeleton touched the surface of the armor, Kraus vanished into thin air. The skeleton, at first, was confused, then the realization hit like a truck. "Damned trickster..." whispered the forgotten foe whilst readying his fist. A faint, green glow shone through the cracks of his fingers. It got stronger and stronger, until he opened his palm, releasing green energy into the atmosphere. He turned to the bishop. "Do not follow me. If I see you again, you'll die!" He then dashed off. Not turning back, leaving the broken bishop behind.

Far off, a red glow danced in a zigzag through the air of this desolated landscape. He was flying just a few meters off the ground. It was Kraus, fleeing from the scene and leaving behind a trace of blood. His missing arm proved difficult in his current situation; nonetheless, he must flee, he must escape, whatever it may cost. After a while, flora and fauna began to start again. Kraus looked behind him. Still no sign of any pursuer. Suddenly, the glow of his aura became faint, and he started to collapse. The blood pouring out of Kraus's injury didn't stop flowing. He knew he would die if nothing would happen right now. So what did he do? He collected the last of his energy in the palm of his hand, creating a ball of heat. Kraus looked at the quivering inferno he summoned into his hand. He hesitated, but at last. He held his hand with the fiery orb at his injured side and pressed the inferno into his fatal wound. The heat sored painfully through his flesh, burning through his injury, sealing the blood away. He burns himself, creating a coat of flesh to stop the bleeding. But with heat comes pain. He screamed of pain, almost passing out from it. It was an excruciating experience. A pain as grand as one could imagine. All that to stay alive. All that to fulfill the purpose he was given by his masters. The flesh, burning together. Creating a layer of wrinkly, ugly skin. He was finished. He could only bear the sting of heat for a few seconds, but a few seconds were enough to fully stop the bleeding. Kraus began to gasp for air while he was recovering from the pain and the exhaustion, but he has to keep going. Kraus, the Tingull Djall. Suddenly, a horrible and morbid odor loafed around, corrupting the air in its entirety. Kraus gagged. He quickly pressed a button on the side of his helmet that revealed his face to the whole world. As the gap was opening, brown eyes and bushy brows came to light. His lips were dry, and his face as a whole was sweating buckets. He threw up as soon as the gap for his face has opened. He wore an expression of disgust and desperation while he looked around, searching for the origin of this horrible smell. "What do we have here?" A growling voice, accompanied by thousands of instances of dark chatter, began to speak. "A worthless dog, crawling his way through this beautiful land." Before he could even identify who was talking to him, Kraus was picked up. A large, metallic glove with thick iron fingers was crushing his skull with his helmet. What Kraus saw before him, made him gag even more. What picked him up was a big man, as large as two meters and as width as a grand cupboard. He wore black power armor colored with dry, red stains all over it. Small spikes with human skulls were lurking out of his back, resembling towers roaring in the sky. He resembled a factory with all this smoke coming out of different pipes located on his armor. It was thick, crude, colossal, and just brutal. But that was not the worst part. The worst part was his face. Burned and rotten skin, pressing against his bones, taking the shape of a skull. His smile was wide and horrid. Muscles barely holding together his facial features. But he seemed to not care. On the contrary. Kraus looked the monster straight in those dark, bloody eyes. "Brothers, sisters, look what I've found!" He held Kraus high in the air and hundreds of dark, wicked creatures, the same as him and different, began to hoot and howl of excitement. "This will mark the beginning brothers and sisters! Let them rot, let them suffer! The first sacrifice to our great master! Let us worship!" The large army of monstrous hooligans howled even louder than before. Kraus was getting sick from the smell and the noise. The fingers of this monstrous man were piercing deep into his helmet, his grip nearly crushing his skull. The monstrous man gripped tighter, and the bones began cracking. Kraus frantically tried to remove his massive hand from his cracking head. But it was all in vain. In a panic, he screamed. He was horrified, but the monstrous man only laughed, the cheering of his army filling the background. "Look at how he screams!" His grip tightened again, and the helmet dents furthered the crushing of Kraus's head. "Look at how he suffers!" The exhaustion kicked now in, rendering Kraus unable to do anything. The grip tightened even more. The monstrous man suddenly brought out a piercer-handgun and held it against Kraus's abdomen. "Look at how he dies..." The monstrous man pulled the trigger, and multiple gigantic cartridges were tearing through his guts, ripping him into two. The bottom half of his body fell to the ground. Blood and entrails followed, creating a puddle of blood and gore. The crowd cheered whilst the monstrous man threw the carcass of the man once named Kraus on the ground. "The time has come brothers and sisters! The time for slaughter has commenced! Let the worship begin" The monstrous man bathes in the mad cheering of his great army. The man once named Kraus was now dead. But the treasure was alive. The monstrous man lifted his gigantic foot. He wanted to crush Kraus's remains with his iron leg, but as soon as he came in contact with his torso, he was repelled by something, nearly losing his footing. The crowd didn't notice a thing. They were still cheering, celebrating the beginning of something they consider marvelous. But he, the monstrous man, noticed. He looked at the ripped carcass of the Tingull Djall, inspecting it carefully with his bloody eyes until he finally found it. A blue shimmering thing sticking out of the battle suit. He got on one knee. He needed to take a closer look. He needed to identify. So he grabbed it. It was just barely the size of his palm. A small transparent cube, shimmering in blue color. The monstrous man was quite baffled and surprised. He held the cube up in the light of the sun to take a better look at it. The sun made him quint his eyes. He could see it, but he could not understand it. "This little thing dares to defy me, but what is it?" He still held it against the sun, inspecting it, trying to identify it. He was so focused on the little thing, that he didn't notice the green comet in the distance, approaching him and his army.