Episode 41: Dreams of the Knight Part 2

The atmosphere inside the command center was tense. Until that moment everyone's attention had been fixed upon the political implications of Der Gralsbund's announcement and what happened with their attempts at fighting the Worzol Dimension, but Lena's casual admission seemed to redirect the conversation somewhere none of them had expected. The memory of the previous night still lingered behind tired eyes and distracted expressions, and as soon as she mentioned her dream, several members of the team looked up with the same uneasy realization.

Lena leaned against the edge of the tactical table, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Lena Solis: It wasn't even the details I remember. It was the feeling afterward. I woke up convinced I'd lost something important, but I couldn't remember what it was. The whole thing just...stayed with me.

Trace exchanged a quick glance with Ashlyn.

She noticed.

He noticed that she noticed.

Neither spoke.

Roland quietly cleared his throat.

Roland Vander: I thought it was just me.

Everyone looked toward him.

Roland rarely volunteered anything personal without being asked.

Roland Vander: Mine was different...but it ended the same way. Someone important was taken from me. I couldn't stop it no matter what I did.

He frowned, trying to remember.

Roland Vander: The details disappear the harder I try to think about them.

Ray slowly folded his arms.

His expression had become unusually thoughtful.

Ray Matthews: ...I dreamed about Der Gralsbund.

That immediately caught Ashlyn's attention.

Ashlyn Westbrook: What happened?

Ray shook his head.

Ray Matthews: I don't know anymore. I only remember Father Lughbow standing somewhere I couldn't reach him. I kept trying to warn him about something, but every time I got close...he'd drift farther away.

He looked down at the floor.

Ray Matthews: I woke up feeling like I'd failed him all over again.

Silence settled over the room.

Ashlyn finally spoke.

She had avoided looking at Trace ever since arriving.

Now she kept her eyes firmly on the holographic table.

Ashlyn Westbrook: ...I had one too.

Nobody joked.

Nobody interrupted.

Her voice had become noticeably quieter.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I lost someone I...

She hesitated.

The words came out more softly than she'd intended.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Something took them away from me, and I couldn't reach them.

Her fingers unconsciously tightened around one another.

Trace slowly looked toward her.

Hearing those words made his chest tighten.

After a long pause he finally spoke himself.

Trace Mercer: Mine was similar.

Everyone turned.

Trace Mercer: I don't remember everything either. I only remember trying to hold onto...onto you Ashlyn...and losing you anyway.

He frowned.

Trace Mercer: It felt real.

The room grew uncomfortably quiet.

Five people.

Five nightmares.

Five identical emotions.

Dorian Vale slowly crossed his arms.

Dorian Vale: Shared dream phenomena have been documented during periods of unusually high Ehrvolt resonance, but never across this many individuals simultaneously.

Miles, who had remained unusually quiet throughout the discussion, finally raised one hand.

Miles Rowan: ...Actually...

Everyone looked toward him.

Miles Rowan: I didn't have one.

Lena blinked.

Lena Solis: You didn't?

Miles shrugged.

Miles Rowan: Well...I sort of started to...

He scratched the back of his neck.

Miles Rowan: ...But then my dream friend interrupted it.

The room collectively stared.

Lena tilted her head.

A smile slowly spread across her face.

Lena Solis: Your dream friend?

Miles nodded matter of factly.

Miles Rowan: Yeah. The one I keep trying to tell you all about.

Lena couldn't help herself.

She laughed.

Lena Solis: Miles...are we really calling imaginary people 'dream friends' now?

Miles looked mildly offended.

Miles Rowan: He's not imaginary.

That only made her laugh harder.

Lena Solis: Oh?

She folded her arms.

Lena Solis: Does your dream friend have a name?

Miles answered immediately.

Miles Rowan: Of course he does.

He smiled.

Miles Rowan: His name's Nachy.

Lena covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

Lena Solis: Nachy?

Miles Rowan: Well...

He shrugged.

Miles Rowan: His real name's Nacht, but Nachy's easier to say.

A chair scraped violently across the floor.

Everyone jumped.

Asher had shot to his feet so quickly he'd nearly knocked the chair over behind him.

His eyes were wide.

Genuinely wide.

Trace stared.

He had known Asher for years.

He had never seen that expression.

Asher: ...Say that name again.

Miles blinked.

Miles Rowan: Nacht.

Asher took a step forward.

Asher: Again.

Miles Rowan: Nacht.

For several long seconds Asher simply stood there.

To everyone's complete astonishment...he laughed.

A full laugh of utter disbelief.

Asher: He's alive...

Nobody understood.

Asher looked almost giddy.

Asher: He's actually alive!

Trace frowned.

Trace Mercer: Asher...?

The older Rider looked toward the team, still smiling.

Asher: I thought he died.

The room remained utterly confused.

Miles Rowan: You know him?

Asher: Know him?

Asher laughed again.

Asher: Nacht fought beside me.

Now everyone stared.

Asher: During the Somnus Dusk Incident.

The unfamiliar name hung in the air.

Roland looked toward Trace.

Trace simply shrugged.

He had never heard of it either.

Lena frowned.

Lena Solis: ...What's the Somnus Dusk Incident?

Asher's smile faded into something more thoughtful.

He looked away for a moment, remembering.

Asher: One of many world ending events that have been thwarted in the past couple of years.

He spoke quietly.

Asher: One nobody remembers because almost everyone involved...was asleep.

The room became even quieter.

Asher: I watched Nacht sacrifice himself to save us.

He looked directly at Miles.

Asher: You're absolutely certain that's the name he gave you?

Miles nodded.

Miles Rowan: One hundred percent.

Asher didn't hesitate.

Asher: Then go back to sleep.

Miles blinked.

Miles Rowan: ...Right now?

Asher: Right now.

Miles looked around the brightly lit command center.

The tactical displays.

The alarms.

The dozens of people working around them.

Miles Rowan: ...You know this isn't exactly the sleepiest environment imaginable.

Asher pointed toward the couch in the lounge.

Asher: Lie down.

Miles sighed dramatically.

Miles Rowan: This is going to be weird, isn't it?

Asher: Extremely.

With no better ideas available, Miles shuffled over to the couch and flopped onto it.

Immediately...the team followed him and leaned in.

Ray back and smiled at the situation.

Miles slowly opened one eye.

Everyone was staring.



Miles Rowan: ...Could one of you maybe not hover over me like I'm an exhibit?

Nobody moved.

Miles sighed.

Miles Rowan: This is incredibly distracting...

He closed his eyes.

Opened one.

Everyone was still there.

Miles Rowan: Seriously?

Lena smiled innocently.

Lena Solis: Ignore us.

Miles Rowan: That's easy for you to say.

He shut his eyes again.

Nothing.

Director Vale glanced at his datapad.

Completely oblivious to the awkwardness unfolding before him, he began speaking in the same calm, instructional tone he used for every briefing.

Dorian Vale: While we are waiting, this presents an excellent opportunity to review revised emergency deployment procedures. Section one concerns updates to post-engagement maintenance documentation. Following yesterday's battle, all pilots will now be required to complete—

Miles was asleep before Vale reached the word "documentation."

Everyone stared.

Vale lowered the datapad.

Dorian Vale: ...Was it something I said?

Miles didn't answer.

His consciousness had already begun falling once again into the world between dreams.

Darkness surrounded him for only an instant before tiny points of silver light began appearing beneath his feet, forming a winding path that stretched endlessly across an impossibly vast night sky.

Unlike his previous dreams, nothing here resembled Avalon City.

There was no horizon.

No moon.

Only countless stars suspended in every direction and a pathway of glowing stone floating through the darkness as though someone had built a road across the heavens themselves. Wisps of pale blue mist drifted lazily around him, occasionally taking the shape of sleeping animals or distant memories before dissolving once again into vapor.

Miles looked around cautiously.

Miles Rowan: ...Nachy?

A familiar sigh answered him.

Nacht: You know...I have a perfectly respectable name.

Miles turned.

Nacht was sitting casually on the stone railing beside the path, one leg dangling over the endless void while lazily tossing a silver coin into the air. He caught it without looking and smiled.

Nacht: Although...I suppose I've been called worse.

Miles grinned despite himself.

Miles Rowan: You're real.

Nacht: I try not to let too many people know that.

He hopped down from the railing and stretched.

Nacht: Thanks for remembering my name, by the way. That makes this considerably easier.

Miles frowned.

Miles Rowan: Easier than what?

Nacht's expression became noticeably more serious.

He walked toward the edge of the floating pathway and looked down into the endless darkness below.

Nacht: Dreams connect people more than they realize.

He folded his arms.

Nacht: Every sleeping mind touches this place, even if only for an instant. Most people drift through without ever becoming aware of it. They dream, they wake up, and the memories fade before breakfast.

Miles joined him.

Miles Rowan: But something changed.

Nacht nodded.

Nacht: Last night wasn't natural. The last few nights haven't been natural, not in Avalon City.

He pointed toward the stars.

One by one, dozens of them flickered.

Several suddenly went dark.

Nacht: Somebody reached into the Dream Realm from the waking world.

Miles followed his gaze.

The stars weren't actually disappearing.

They were being covered.

Black tendrils slowly spread across the sky like ink bleeding through paper, swallowing constellations one after another.

Miles Rowan: ...That's not good, is it?

Nacht: I would personally classify it as very bad.

He sighed.

Nacht: Dreams aren't just imagination. They're where hopes live...fears...memories...possibilities. If someone learns to manipulate them, they don't simply frighten people.

His eyes narrowed.

Nacht: They change people.

A chill ran through Miles.

Miles Rowan: That's what happened to the others. They were shaken by their experience, to their very core. I think what happened to them was going to happen to me, but I bumped into you again.

Nacht: Exactly.

Nacht looked genuinely troubled now.

Nacht: Whoever's responsible wasn't trying to kill them.

He looked toward the spreading darkness.

Nacht: They were wearing them down.

Miles' stomach tightened.

Nacht: Their greatest fears. Their deepest attachments. The things they'd sacrifice everything to protect.

The realization hit Miles immediately.

Miles Rowan: That's why everyone dreamed about losing someone...

Nacht: Fear leaves the deepest impression inside a sleeping mind.

He clenched one fist.

Nacht: Someone is mapping your friends from the inside out.

Before Miles could respond...

A bell rang.

Not a pleasant bell.

A deep cathedral bell that reverberated across the Dream Realm itself.

Nacht froze.

His eyes widened.

Nacht: ...No.

The bell rang again.

This time the floating pathway beneath them cracked.

Silver light burst upward through widening fractures.

Miles stumbled backward.

Miles Rowan: What's happening?!

Nacht looked toward the darkness swallowing the stars.

Nacht: It's here earlier than I expected.

The shadows twisted together.

A massive shape slowly emerged from them.



It resembled a cloaked monk over three stories tall, though its robes were stitched together from torn blankets, shredded pillows, and ribbons of black mist that never stopped moving. Hanging from its sleeves were dozens of tarnished brass dreamcatchers, each containing a human eye instead of woven thread. Around its head floated broken alarm clocks whose hands spun wildly in every direction, while its face remained hidden beneath an enormous porcelain sleeping mask cracked neatly down the middle.

Every step it took caused another section of the Dream Realm to decay into darkness.

It stopped.

Slowly tilted its head.

Then every dreamcatcher opened at once.

The whisper that followed seemed to come from thousands of sleeping people simultaneously.

Miles instinctively stepped backward.

Miles Rowan: ...Is that...?

Nacht nodded grimly.

Nacht: The Zauberer Witch Malvora's latest creation.

Nacht's expression hardened.

Nacht: The Dream Worzol Beast...Somnivore.

The monster raised one impossibly long arm.

Darkness gathered around its fingertips before erupting outward in hundreds of black ribbons that raced across the floating pathways toward them.

Nacht sighed.

Nacht: Well...introductions are officially over.

He reached to the Driver at his waist.

The clock at its center rotated with a satisfying metallic click.

Silver constellations began spinning around it.

Nacht: Miles...stay close.

The dream ribbons closed in.

Nacht: It's been far too long...

His voice carried both excitement and determination.

Dream Driver: NACHT INTO DREAM.

The Driver chimed.

Silver energy erupted skyward.

Nacht: HENSHIN!

Miles shielded his eyes as the entire Dream Realm lit up around them.




There was none of the explosive force of Gauge's transformations or the knightly majesty of the Kishirangers' Oathlinks. Instead, it possessed an almost dreamlike elegance, as though reality itself were gently rewriting its own story. Midnight-blue armor flowed across Nacht's body like liquid moonlight before solidifying into sleek plates accented with polished silver. A long scarf woven from shimmering mist settled across his shoulders, and a helmet formed around his face, its emerald compound eyes framed beneath a silver crescent crest that swept gracefully backward like the arc of a waxing moon.

The final click of the Driver echoed softly through the Dream Realm.

Nacht: Sleep peacefully...for I walk where nightmares cannot.

Miles couldn't help grinning.

Miles Rowan: That was...ridiculously cool.

The Rider tilted his helmet toward him.

Nacht: I've had a long time to practice the entrance.

Their moment of levity vanished as Somnivore raised both elongated arms.

The dozens of dreamcatchers hanging from its sleeves began spinning violently. Instead of feathers, streams of black smoke poured from them, each carrying fragments of someone else's nightmare. Miles watched in horror as distorted images flickered within the smoke. He saw Ashlyn reaching desperately toward Trace as darkness pulled him away. He caught a glimpse of Roland standing alone in the ruins of Vander Industries while everything around him burned. Lena appeared for only a heartbeat, kneeling beside an unseen figure with tears streaming down her face. Even Ray's memories surfaced, showing the cathedral halls of Der Gralsbund collapsing into darkness while Father Lughbow disappeared behind closing doors.

Miles Rowan: Those are everyone's dreams...

Kamen Rider Dream nodded grimly.

Nacht: That's how Somnivore feeds. Fear leaves echoes inside every sleeping mind. It gathers those echoes until they become strong enough to invade the waking world.

The monster slowly turned its porcelain mask toward Miles.

Every crack across the mask widened.

A chorus of whispers poured from within.

The floating pathways around them changed.

The silver stones darkened into cracked pavement.

Buildings rose around them.

Avalon City.

Only this version of the city was empty.

The sky hung unnaturally low, painted a sickly green streaked with crimson lightning that reminded Miles uncomfortably of the Worzol Dimension.

He recognized the intersection almost immediately.

It was where he and Lena often stopped for coffee.

Lena stood there now.

She smiled exactly as she always did.

Lena Solis: You finally caught up.

Miles instinctively took a step toward her.

Something about her voice sounded...off.

Miles Rowan: Lena...?

She smiled wider.

Too wide.



The corners of her mouth stretched impossibly far as black cracks spread across her face like broken porcelain.

Lena Solis: Aren't you going to save me?

Her body shattered into hundreds of glass fragments.

Every shard became another Lena.

Soon dozens of identical copies surrounded Miles.

Each wore the same smile.

Each reached toward him.

Lena Solis: You couldn't protect me.

Lena Solis: You weren't fast enough.

Lena Solis: You let me die.

Miles stumbled backward, shaking his head.

Miles Rowan: You're not real!

The copies only laughed.

Behind them, the ground split apart.

An enormous hand reached upward from the darkness exactly as it had in his interrupted dream.

This time it caught every copy of Lena simultaneously.

Dozens of identical screams echoed through the city.

Miles broke into a run.

He knew it wasn't real.

He knew.

His heart refused to listen.

The giant hand dragged every copy beneath the earth.

One by one they disappeared.

The final Lena looked back toward him.

She smiled sadly.

Lena Solis: You were too late.

Miles stopped running.

His shoulders trembled.

Somnivore's laughter rolled across the dreamscape like distant thunder.

Black vines erupted from beneath Miles' feet, wrapping around his legs before climbing toward his chest. Every vine whispered another fear into his mind.

Miles struggled against them, but every movement only caused them to tighten further.

Miles Rowan: Get...off!

A silver blur shot past him.




Kamen Rider Dream's blade carved cleanly through the vines before he landed between Miles and the monster.

Nacht: Rookie mistake.

Miles looked up.

Miles Rowan: What?

The Rider pointed his blade toward Somnivore.

Nacht: Never argue with a nightmare.

He settled into a fighting stance.

Nacht: It isn't trying to convince your mind...

His eyes narrowed behind the visor.

Nacht: It's trying to convince your heart.

Somnivore answered with a deafening shriek.

Every dreamcatcher burst open simultaneously.

The nightmare had finished studying Miles.

Now it intended to consume him.

Kamen Rider Dream sprang forward first.

His movements were almost impossible to follow, less like conventional speed and more like someone skipping through moments. Each step left behind a fading afterimage composed of silver stardust as he closed the distance between himself and Somnivore.

The nightmare met him head on.

Its sleeves erupted into thousands of black ribbons that lashed outward like striking serpents. Each ribbon carried another stolen nightmare, and wherever they passed, reality shifted. The floating pathways beneath Dream's feet dissolved into oceans, burning cities, frozen wastelands, and endless chasms before returning to solid ground only after he'd already moved on.

Dream's crescent blade flashed.

One ribbon fell.

Then another.

He spun gracefully through the storm, cutting them apart faster than Somnivore could regenerate them.

Kamen Rider Dream: Miles!

Miles finally tore his eyes away from the illusion of Lena disappearing beneath the earth.

Miles Rowan: I'm here!

Kamen Rider Dream: Stop looking at what it wants you to see!

Dream parried another strike before vaulting over Somnivore's shoulder.

Kamen Rider Dream: Look at what you know is true!

The words struck Miles harder than any attack.

He closed his eyes.

He remembered Lena laughing at him only that morning.

Teasing him about his imaginary dream friend.

Smiling.

Alive.

Waiting back at KED.

His breathing steadied.

Miles Rowan: ...She's waiting for me. He hasn't taken....my Lena.

The nightmare flickered.

One of its countless eyes burst apart.

Dream smiled beneath his helmet.

Kamen Rider Dream: There you go.

Miles planted his feet.

Miles Rowan: You're not Lena.

The copies surrounding him hesitated.

Miles Rowan: She'd never try to make me give up.

Every illusion shattered into silver dust.

Somnivore shrieked.

Its enormous body lurched backward as if Miles' conviction had physically wounded it.

Dream pointed toward the monster.

Kamen Rider Dream: Fear gives it form! Certainty tears it apart!

Miles nodded.

For the first time since entering the Dream Realm...

He wasn't afraid.

He charged.

Miles Rowan: You'll never hurt...MY LENA!

Dream met him halfway.

The Rider's Driver chimed brightly.

A silver card materialized between his fingers.

He pressed it into Miles' hand.

It wasn't solid.

It felt like moonlight.

Kamen Rider Dream: You can't transform here...conventionally.

He smiled.

Kamen Rider Dream: ...But in dreams, you can do just about anything.

The silver light spread from Miles' hand.

Into Gungnir.

The spear materialized exactly as he imagined it, gleaming brighter than it ever had in reality.

Miles couldn't help grinning.

Miles Rowan: That's more like it!

Together they charged.

Dream slashed high.

Miles thrust low.

Somnivore blocked one attack and failed to stop the other.

Gungnir pierced straight through the cracked porcelain mask covering its face.

The monster screamed.

Dream vaulted high overhead with his sword.

His Driver began rotating rapidly and he swung the sword in a circle above his head, summoning an incredible ball of energy.

Constellations exploded into existence around him.

Kamen Rider Dream: NIGHTMARE SMASHER!

He descended in a brilliant silver arc, and brought the ball down onto Somnivore like a nuke.

The entire Dream Realm shook.

Cracks raced across the nightmare's body.

Black mist poured from every wound.

The monster staggered.

Dream landed beside Miles.

Kamen Rider Dream: Now! Push it out!

Miles lowered his shoulder.

With one final roar he drove Gungnir completely through the creature's chest.

The nightmare exploded.

The black mist was violently expelled upward like water forced through a broken dam.

Dream watched it disappear.

His expression darkened.

Kamen Rider Dream: That's not good.

Miles looked over.

Miles Rowan: Didn't we beat it?

Dream slowly nodded.

Kamen Rider Dream: In here.

He looked toward the sky.

Kamen Rider Dream: Which means...

His voice became noticeably more urgent.

Kamen Rider Dream: ...It just woke up out there! Miles...WAKE UP!

Miles' body suddenly arched upward on the couch.

Everyone in the KED lounge jumped.

His eyes remained closed.

Every screen in the room exploded inward.

Black smoke burst from Miles' mouth before swirling up and out of the command center.

The nightmare he had just defeated inside the Dream Realm now escaped into the waking world. The team followed Miles as he ran out to confront it on the street outside of the KED Building.

Its porcelain mask was cracked exactly where Gungnir had pierced it.

Malvora stepped through a violet portal behind it, clapping enthusiastically.

Malvora: Wonderful!

She looked positively delighted.

Malvora: I wasn't sure anyone would figure out how to drag Somnivore out of the Dream Realm so quickly. The Nightmelion must have meddled.

Trace immediately stepped in front of the unconscious Miles.

Trace Mercer: Everyone transform!

Five Oathlinks ignited.

Silver light erupted beside them as Ray drew the Der Gralsbund Oathlink.

All six transformed.

The streets became the battlefield.

Kishi Red led the charge with Kishi Black beside him while Kishi Blue and the Silver Templar flanked either side.

Kishi Yellow immediately took command of crowd evacuation as Kishi Green remained close to her.

Somnivore shrieked.

Dark mist flooded the streets.

For an instant every Ranger saw another nightmare.

Trace saw Ashlyn disappear.

Ashlyn saw Trace consumed by darkness.

Ray watched Father Lughbow turn away from him.

Roland stood alone amid the ruins of Vander Industries.

Each vision lasted only a heartbeat.

Then they pushed through.

Miles Rowan: Don't look at it! Fight through it! The nightmares are not real!

The team moved together instinctively.

Kishi Black and the Silver Templar drove Somnivore backward while Kishi Blue intercepted its nightmare tendrils with Shield Vanguard.

Kishi Yellow split apart its dreamcatchers one by one with precise axe strikes.

Finally, Kishi Red angrily drove Kingslight into the creature's chest.

Trace Mercer: Don't you EVER show me those horrible visions again.

Golden light erupted.

Somnivore staggered.

Trace Mercer: Everybody! Formation!

Within seconds the Kishi Lion Cannon assembled.

Kishi Red stood at its center.

Trace Mercer: Fire!

All Five: KISHI LION CANNON!

The Lion Cannon roared.

A massive multi-colored beam engulfed Somnivore completely.

The nightmare dissolved beneath the combined Ehrvolt blast.

Malvora applauded politely.

Malvora: Beautiful teamwork as always, but you know what happens next.

She snapped her fingers.

The remaining black mist immediately rushed skyward.

It condensed once again.

Until a giant Somnivore towered over Avalon City.

Malvora: I have such fun finding new ways to get into your heads, but this time you prevailed.

She smiled.

Malvora: Congratulations. Now let's continue properly!

Ray Matthews: Trace, we've got this one!

Trace Mercer: ...Right. Let's give them a taste of Lion Kaiser!

Lion Kaiser launched into battle minutes later.

Within the cockpit, Trace Mercer rested one hand on the controls while Ray Matthews occupied the secondary console beside him.

Trace Mercer: Ready?

Ray glanced toward him before allowing himself a faint smile.

Ray Matthews: Let's save our home.

The core in Lion Kaiser's chest ignited.

Golden engines roared.

The machine burst forward.

The Somnivore did not move.

Instead, every clock floating around its head began spinning faster until time itself seemed to stutter. The air fractured into shimmering waves, and the giant monk simply disappeared. Lion Kaiser suddenly found itself removed from the street as well, not inside of a quarry outside of the city.

Trace Mercer: It moved us?! It also vanished!

Ray Matthews: Above!

The warning came a heartbeat too late.

The monster descended from directly overhead with impossible silence, bringing both oversized sleeves crashing downward. Lion Kaiser crossed Kingslight overhead just in time.

The impact detonated across the quarry.

Stone exploded outward in every direction.

Lion Kaiser's knees buckled beneath the force as the ground split beneath its heels.

The Somnivore leaned closer.

The porcelain mask tilted.

The crack running through it widened.

A chorus of whispering voices spilled from inside.

Within the cockpit, both Trace and Ray winced as memories flooded their minds.

Trace saw Ashlyn disappearing beneath black armor.

Ray saw Father Lughbow turning away from him.

The giant's arms trembled.

Ray Matthews: It's attacking our minds again!

Trace Mercer: DAMMIT! I don't want to see this anymore! Don't listen!

With a roar, Lion Kaiser shoved upward.

The monster drifted backward, robes untouched despite Kingslight passing directly through them.

Trace Mercer: It phased!

Ray Matthews: I'm not so sure.

The Somnivore extended one impossibly long finger.

Every eye inside its dreamcatchers snapped open.

Silver beams erupted across the battlefield.

Lion Kaiser rolled aside, one blast vaporizing an entire rock formation behind it. Another carved a molten trench through the quarry floor. The third struck Lion Kaiser's shoulder, sending sparks bursting from damaged armor.

Warning lights illuminated the cockpit.

Trace Mercer: It's way too strong. I feel like...we...we're dreaming right now.

Ray Matthews: I was thinking the same thing. We need to force it into reality somehow!

The Somnivore floated higher.

Its enormous sleeves spread outward.

The dreamcatchers began swinging violently..

This time Trace refused to give the creature distance.

The giant lunged.

Kingslight carved upward in a blazing diagonal slash.

The Somnivore split neatly in half.

Its body dissolved into ribbons of mist.

Trace Mercer: Got it!

Ray Matthews: Behind us!

The mist reformed instantly.

One enormous sleeve wrapped around Lion Kaiser's waist before Trace could react.

Another caught its sword arm.

The monster lifted the machine completely off the ground.

It swung Lion Kaiser overhead like a flail before smashing it through three towering quarry walls in rapid succession.

Each impact shook the countryside.

Cockpit alarms screamed.

The final collision buried Lion Kaiser beneath hundreds of tons of rock.

Dust swallowed everything.

The Somnivore hovered silently above the debris.

Deep beneath the collapsed stone, Lion Kaiser's fingers twitched.

Trace Mercer: Systems?

Ray Matthews: Running...barely. We've lost a lot of mobility.

Trace wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

Trace Mercer: If this is a dream. We can make this work. We just have to believe we're fine. We're fine.

A voice interrupted on the com in the cockpit.

Nacht: That's the spirit!

Ray Matthews: Who is that?

Trace Mercer: The "Nightmelion" is my guess. Miles' "dream friend".

The entire mountainside exploded apart.

Lion Kaiser burst upward through the collapsing rock with both engines blazing, driving shoulder first into the Somnivore. The impact finally forced the creature backward.

Ray Matthews: There! It's solid!

Trace Mercer: Again!

Lion Kaiser unleashed a relentless assault.

One punch. Two. Five. Ten.

Every strike drove the nightmare farther across the quarry.

The Somnivore answered by catching Lion Kaiser's fist.

The porcelain mask slowly turned toward the giant.

The crack widened again.

This time, an endless black void opened beneath the mask.

From within emerged dozens of shadowy arms.

They seized Lion Kaiser's wrists.

Ray Matthews: We're being pulled inside it!

The cockpit windows darkened.

Instead of the quarry, Trace suddenly found himself standing in the ruined Great War.

Ashlyn lay motionless at his feet.

Roland.

Miles.

Lena.

Every one of them.

Gone.

He dropped to one knee.

Trace Mercer: No...

Then another voice broke through.

Ray Matthews: Trace! Stay with me!

Trace blinked.

The illusion shattered.

He looked over.

Ray was reaching toward him.

Not as his rival.

As his teammate.

Trace smiled.

Trace Mercer: Thanks.

Ray smirked.

Ray Matthews: I owe you!

Together they shoved the controls forward.

Lion Kaiser's core erupted with red and silver light simultaneously.

Every shadow arm gripping the machine disintegrated.

The giant broke free.

The Somnivore staggered for the first time.

Ray Matthews: Now! Lion Breaker!

The sword came down in one massive stroke, cutting straight through the Somnivore’s chest sigil, splitting it from shoulder to hip. Red and silver light erupted from the wound.

The porcelain mask cracked further.

A shriek unlike anything human echoed across the night.

The Somnivore reeled backward.

Before Lion Kaiser could finish the battle, they snapped back to reality, where the Omnivore was staggering back. They looked at each other and immediately reapeated what they had just done in the dream.

Trace and Ray: LION BREAKER!

The finishing attack split the monster from shoulder to waist.

It exploded high above the city.

Malvora watched from afar.

Her smile never faded.

Malvora: Interesting...

She disappeared into violet smoke.

Later that evening...Miles slowly opened his eyes inside the KED infirmary.

The first thing he saw was Lena sitting beside the bed.

She smiled. Relieved.

Lena Solis: Welcome back, sleepyhead. After the fight you fell back asleep almost instantly.

Miles blinked.

Miles Rowan: I had someone I needed to thank.

Lena Solis: Right. Your "dream friend". I have no choice but to believe he's real now. Trace and Ray were vouching for you.

She crossed her arms.

Lena Solis: You were talking in your sleep.

Miles froze.

Miles Rowan: ...Was I?

She nodded with entirely too much amusement.

Lena Solis: Earlier...before the nightmare monster popped out of your mouth. You kept mumbling something about protecting me...

She leaned closer.

Lena Solis: ...you said "My Lena".

Miles' face immediately turned bright red.

Miles Rowan: I... did?

Lena laughed.

Across the room, everyone else was pretending not to listen.

They were failing miserably.

Miles buried his face beneath the blanket.

Ashlyn giggled.

Even Roland smiled.

Trace walked over to where Ray stood quietly looking out the infirmary window.

The city lights reflected in the glass.

Trace Mercer: You know...

Ray looked over.

Trace Mercer: We make a pretty good team.

A genuine smile crossed Ray's face.

Ray Matthews: I'd forgotten what that felt like.

Trace rested a hand on his shoulder.

Trace Mercer: It's good to have you home.

Ray looked back toward Avalon City.

His smile slowly faded.

Ray Matthews: Thank you...

He folded his arms.

Ray Matthews: But none of us are going to be safe until Der Gralsbund is stopped.

Outside...

High above the KED building...

Three Gralsbund Stahlritter stood silently atop neighboring rooftops.

Beside them...Marrionetter watched the headquarters below without moving.

They tracked the action to that street. They had to be close. The enemy was close.
 
To Be Continued...
 

Episode 43: Belly of the Beast Part 2

Professor Halden stood at the center of the circular chamber with his arms open, as though he had invited the Kishirangers there to witness a successful experiment. Behind him, hundreds of candles floated above the polished floor, their flames reflected in the dark stone beneath his feet. The unfinished Stahlritter lining the walls remained still, but their lowered heads and incomplete armor made them look less like machines under construction and more like an audience waiting for permission to move.



The six heroes had left their Stahlritter outside the chamber before entering the facility. They now stood together in their Kishiranger armor, with Silver Templar beside them and their weapons ready. Nobody attacked. Halden’s body was still human, and Lena had recognized the darkness inside him.

The blackness filling Halden’s eyes settled on her.

Chemosh: You may call me Chemosh, God of War and Destruction. The first of the Void Gods to walk freely in this age.

Kishi Green tightened his grip on Gungnir.

Miles Rowan: He really committed to the title.

Roland Vander: This is not the time.

Miles Rowan: I disagree. This is exactly when someone needs to stop him from enjoying himself.

Chemosh looked toward Kishi Green.

Chemosh: The comedian. I see you shaking. Go on. Tell another joke. Say something funny.

Miles Rowan: It's not shaking, it's speed, and I know I just got under your skin.

Kishi Red raised Kingslight slightly, keeping the point away from Halden while making it clear that Chemosh would not be allowed to approach.

Trace Mercer: You used Halden to reach Der Gralsbund. You got inside Father Lughbow’s head, turned the Order against us, and built all of this while Avalon was still recovering from Worzol attacks.

Chemosh: What a guy, am I right?

Silver Templar's helmet shifted toward Chemosh.

Ray Matthews: So you admit that you're controlling Father Lughbow?

Chemosh: He believed power belonged in the hands of men disciplined enough to control it. He believed mercy encouraged disorder. He believed the Kishirangers were dangerous because you inspired loyalty without requiring obedience. I merely assured him that these beliefs were correct.

Ray’s hand closed around Absolver. 

Sister Rosine’s voice came over Ray’s private channel.

Sister Rosine: Do not give him the reaction he wants.

Silver Templar took a slow breath.

Ray Matthews: I hear you.

Chemosh looked back toward Lena.

Chemosh: Your silence disappoints me. We have shared fifteen centuries of history.

Kishi Yellow stepped forward.

Lena Solis: I destroyed the shell that imprisoned you. I didn’t know what was inside it.

Chemosh: You're looking at it. Oh how I've waited to reveal myself to you, so that you would know that you were responsible for all of this.

Lena Solis: I did what I had to do. Victim of causality. Everything after that is on you.

A faint change passed across Halden’s face. His left cheek tightened for less than a second, and Lena recognized the expression from class. Halden had made the same face whenever a student challenged him with an answer he respected.

The chamber doors slammed shut behind the team.

Every floating candle went out together.

The unfinished Stahlritter raised their heads.

Their eye slits ignited with black light as locking restraints snapped open along the walls. Several machines stepped down from their maintenance platforms, dragging cables and incomplete armor with them. One lacked its left arm, while another had no finished head and carried a glowing core inside an exposed cage. They should not have been capable of independent movement, yet they advanced with weapons lifted and feet striking the floor in perfect rhythm.

Roland Vander: Those machines do not have active pilot systems.

Chemosh: They have something more dependable. Yours truly.

Kishi Blue lifted Shield Vanguard as the first unfinished Stahlritter attacked.

The machine brought down a broad industrial blade, and the impact drove Kishi Blue backward across the floor. Kishi Black moved around his shield, jumped onto the weapon, and ran up its length. Gravebrand flashed across the machine’s wrist assembly, severing control cables and releasing the sword from its hand.

Kishi Red met the second machine head on. Kingslight struck its unfinished axe, and golden energy exploded through the chamber. The machine was larger than any Ranger by several stories, but Voll Kaiser wasn't in the room right now. 

Kishi Red ducked beneath the next attack and drove Kingslight through the exposed joint behind its knee. The machine dropped low enough for Kishi Yellow to charge from the side. Aymr struck the same leg with enough force to split the metal housing and send the giant crashing through a row of candle stands.

Trace Mercer: One down.

The fallen Stahlritter caught itself on both hands and began rising.

Lena Solis: It doesn’t count if it gets back up.

Trace Mercer: Yeah, I guess not.

Across the chamber, Kishi Green moved between two machines before either could lock onto him. Gungnir struck one ankle, one shoulder, and the back of a knee in less than a second. Miles ran along the wall when the larger machine tried to trap him, pushed off a stone column, and landed on its back.

The second unfinished Stahlritter aimed a cannon at him.

Miles Rowan: That seems excessive.

The cannon fired.

Kishi Green jumped before the blast struck, allowing the machine to shoot its own ally through the shoulder. He fell toward the floor, rotated once, and drove Gungnir into the damaged cannon barrel on his way down. The weapon tore free and hit the ground beside him.

Miles Rowan: I’m counting that one.

Silver Templar fought near the central platform, keeping Chemosh in view while deflecting attacks from a narrow Stahlritter armed with twin swords. Absolver moved with deliberate force, catching one blade near the guard before Ray twisted and drove the machine’s weapon into the floor. He cut through the other sword at the midpoint and stepped toward Halden.

Chemosh did not retreat.

Darkness gathered around Halden’s fingers and lashed across the chamber. Silver Templar crossed Absolver in front of himself as the energy struck. The blade held, but the force lifted Silver Templar from his feet and hurled him into a stone wall.

Sister Rosine: Ray!

Silver Templar slid to the floor and pushed himself upright.

Ray Matthews: I’m fine.

Sister Rosine: You left a big Ray sized crater in the wall.

Ray Matthews: It's not the first time.

Sister Rosine: It'd be nice if you could make it the last.

Kishi Red moved between Chemosh and Silver Templar.

Trace Mercer: You still good?

Ray Matthews: Good enough.

Trace Mercer: All things considered?

Ray Matthews: All things considered.

An unfinished Stahlritter swung from behind them.

Kishi Red and Silver Templar separated in opposite directions, allowing the weapon to strike the floor between them. Kingslight and Absolver came down from either side and cut through the machine’s arms simultaneously.

Ray Matthews: Teamwork makes the dream work.

Trace Mercer: What?

Ray Matthews: It's a tagline you put on a mug.

Trace Mercer: A what? Now's not the time to confuse me, Ray.

Kishi Black heard the exchange through the communications channel while she fought beside Kishi Blue. Even now she fought to suppress a little smile. She had seen the two friends join forces once again, like her dream to rally everyone against Worzol, but this Chemosh threw the next part of her plan into complete disarray. 

Chemosh raised both hands.

The black light inside the unfinished Stahlritter brightened. Their damaged limbs pulled themselves back into place as dark energy filled severed joints and formed replacement structures. The machine Miles had stripped of its cannon grew a new weapon from tangled cables and hardened shadow. The Stahlritter Trace and Ray had disarmed created blades directly from their forearms.

Roland watched the machines repair themselves.

Roland Vander: Damaging the external frames is not enough. The darkness is rebuilding anything connected to the cores.

Lena Solis: Then we remove the cores.

Roland Vander: The cores are unstable.

Miles Rowan: How unstable?

Roland Vander: Big boom, Miles. Big boom.

Miles Rowan: Good clarification.

The machines attacked together.

Kishi Blue blocked the first strike, but a second Stahlritter caught Shield Vanguard from the side and tore it from his hands. Roland rolled beneath a downward blade, recovered his shield, and drove its edge into the machine’s ankle. Kishi Black ran over the lowered shield and launched herself toward the exposed chest.

Gravebrand pierced the outer armor beside the core without touching it.

Suddenly, Ashlyn felt something answer from inside her own suit.

The darkness around the Stahlritter’s core spread up Gravebrand and crossed into her gauntlet before she could release the weapon. Black lines raced over Kishi Black’s forearm, slipping beneath the armor plates and reaching toward her elbow.

Chemosh turned his head.

Chemosh: There you are.

Ashlyn froze.

The voice did not come from the chamber. It came from inside her helmet.

The black lines reached her shoulder, and Kishi Black’s armor tightened around her body. Her visor filled with images of dead roses, Trace disappearing into darkness, and the corrupted armor closing over her face during the earlier battle. 

Kishi Black tore Gravebrand free and staggered backward.

Kishi Blue caught the Stahlritter’s next strike before it reached her.

Roland Vander: Ashlyn, respond.

She forced her arm behind her cape so he would not see the spreading marks.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I’m fine. The weapon caught.

Roland Vander: Are you sure?

Ashlyn Westbrook: I said I’m fine.

Her tone ended the question for now. Roland did not believe her, but another unfinished machine crashed through the wall beside them and left him no time to press.

Trace saw Kishi Black step away from the fight and started toward her.

Chemosh attacked him from across the chamber.

A black wave struck Kingslight and drove Kishi Red back several yards. The energy clung to the golden blade, searching for a way through. Kishi Red tightened both hands around Kingslight and pushed the energy away.

Trace Mercer: Get out of my sword.

Chemosh: It is not the sword I want.

Chemosh closed his hand.

Darkness erupted beneath Kishi Red’s feet.

Trace jumped, but black chains caught his legs and pulled him down. The floor split beneath him as Chemosh tried to drag him into the machinery below the chamber.

Kishi Black moved before anyone else.

Ashlyn ignored the pain spreading through her arm, ran across a fallen Stahlritter, and jumped from its shoulder. Gravebrand cut through the first chain. She landed beside Trace and severed the second, pulling him free before the floor closed.

Trace Mercer: Thanks.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You’d do the same.

Trace Mercer: Is your arm hurt?

Ashlyn turned away before he could examine it.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Later.

The darkness beneath her armor pulsed in response to Trace’s concern. She felt it tighten protectively.

Chemosh smiled.

Lena saw the reaction and realized he was dividing his attention. He was controlling the Stahlritter, pressing against Ray’s anger, trying to kill Trace, and testing Ashlyn’s patience. Even for a Void God, that had to require concentration.

She faced Halden directly.

Lena Solis: Professor Halden, you used to say people made mistakes when they tried to solve too many problems at once.

Chemosh’s smile faded.

Chemosh: He cannot hear you.

Lena Solis: You keep answering for him.

Halden’s left hand twitched.

Three fingers tapped against his leg.

Lena remembered that habit from the classroom. He did it whenever someone was close to getting the answer and needed one final push.

Lena Solis: You stayed after class when I couldn’t understand things. You pretended you were reorganizing the laboratory because you knew I didn’t want anyone to see me asking for help.

The unfinished Stahlritter slowed.

Chemosh forced Halden’s hand into a fist.

Chemosh: Your teacher is dead.

Lena Solis: He hated that word.

Chemosh: What word?

Lena Solis: Teacher. He said professor sounded better. He'd said he earned Professor.

Miles laughed while driving Gungnir through an attacking machine’s shoulder.

Miles Rowan: That does sound like him.

Halden’s right eye cleared for a fraction of a second.

Chemosh’s body jerked as though someone had pulled him backward from within. The black light inside the unfinished Stahlritter flickered, and several dropped to one knee.

Professor Halden: Rail yard.

The voice was weak but unmistakably human.

Lena stepped closer.

Lena Solis: Professor?

Professor Halden: East freight line. Go.

Chemosh seized control again with a roar that shook the chamber. Darkness burst from Halden’s body and struck every wall at once. Stone split, suspended candles shattered, and the unfinished Stahlritter rose with more violent movements than before.

The chamber began closing around the team. Black crystal grew over the doors, while sections of the floor folded upward to block the corridors.

Trace made the decision immediately.

Trace Mercer: We’re leaving. East corridor, now.

Lena Solis: We can’t leave him.

Trace Mercer: He just gave us a way out because he wants us alive. We honor that by using it.

Lena Solis: But-

Trace Mercer: This isn't a battle we can win, Lena! Move now!

Lena looked at Halden one more time. His left hand remained clenched, but one finger moved against his palm in the same three tap rhythm.

She nodded.

The team turned toward the eastern wall.

Kishi Blue recovered Shield Vanguard and took the front. Kishi Yellow and Kishi Black moved beside him, attacking the crystal spreading across the corridor entrance. Aymr broke the outer layer, Gravebrand cut through the support lines, and Shield Vanguard drove the entire section inward.

A narrow maintenance passage opened beyond it.

Roland Vander: Route confirmed.

Miles Rowan: Please, after me.

Kishi Green entered first and swept Gungnir through three black creatures forming from the walls. They fell apart into liquid shadow before reforming behind him.

Miles Rowan: The walls are alive. No big deal. Hehe. MOVE!

Lena Solis: Go! Go! Go!

The Rangers ran.

Silver Templar remained with Kishi Red at the rear. Chemosh’s unfinished Stahlritter crowded toward the opening, forcing their large frames through the damaged wall one at a time.

Kishi Red and Silver Templar crossed their swords.

Kingslight burned gold.

Absolver answered with silver fire.

Trace Mercer: Same idea?

Ray Matthews: This time stay on your side.

Trace Mercer: Heh.

They swung together.

The gold and silver wave filled the corridor entrance, striking the leading Stahlritter and forcing it backward into the machines behind it. The impact collapsed the damaged wall, burying the opening beneath stone, steel, and black crystal.

Trace and Ray turned and caught up with the others.

The maintenance corridor descended through the facility in a series of narrow industrial passages. Emergency lights flashed red overhead, and alarms repeated evacuation orders that no human employees remained to obey. Chemosh’s corruption traveled through the walls around them, forming hands from bundled cables and faces from blackened control screens.

Kishi Black stayed near the back.

The corruption beneath Ashlyn’s armor continued moving. It had reached her shoulder and upper chest, pressing against the suit from within. She forced Gravebrand’s energy through the armor, slowing it without removing it. Every time Trace looked back, she straightened and kept her damaged side turned away.

The first blast door began closing ahead.

Kishi Green accelerated.

Miles reached it before the gap narrowed, slid beneath the descending metal, and planted Gungnir horizontally across the frame. The spear held the door several feet above the floor.

Miles Rowan: This is the part where everyone moves faster.

Kishi Blue and Kishi Yellow passed first. Kishi Black followed with Trace beside her, while Silver Templar ducked beneath the blade last.

Miles released Gungnir and rolled through as the blast door slammed shut behind him.

Lena Solis: That was almost responsible.

Miles Rowan: I’m growing as a person.

The door bulged inward.

Something enormous struck from the opposite side.

Miles Rowan: We should continue growing somewhere else. I personally don't want to know what that was.

Roland Vander: Hardly in a position to disagree.

They ran deeper into the facility until the corridor opened onto an indoor freight station. A line of armored transport cars waited on tracks running toward the eastern rail yard. Most were loaded with unfinished Stahlritter parts, ammunition containers, and Bastion equipment.

Dorian’s voice returned through the communications channel.

Dorian Vale: We have restored contact. Your signals disappeared for eleven minutes.

Trace Mercer: Chemosh has Halden. He’s controlling the facility and the unfinished Stahlritter. We’re heading for the east rail yard.

Dorian Vale: The KED truck cannot reach that side without crossing the main security line.

Rosine interrupted.

Sister Rosine: We have another option.

Ray recognized the sound beneath her voice before she explained. A deep mechanical rhythm echoed through the channel, followed by the unmistakable scream of steel wheels building speed.

Ray Matthews: The Gral Liner.

Sister Rosine: I found it in the lower deployment tunnel. Lughbow transferred control to the Bastion network, but the original covenant system still recognizes my seal.

Ray Matthews: Rosine, I l- truly appreciate you.

Dorian spoke with complete seriousness, breaking the awkward moment.

Dorian Vale: The controls are intuitive.

A violent crash sounded over the channel.

Sister Rosine: He drove through a security gate.

Dorian Vale: We must hurry to save my Kishirangers.

Miles Rowan: "MY" Kishirangers? Nicest thing he's ever said to us.

The wall behind the Rangers exploded.

An unfinished Stahlritter tore through the concrete and dropped into the freight station. Two more followed, their armor covered in black crystal and their weapon systems rebuilt into heavier forms. Chemosh was no longer testing them. He was trying to prevent them from reaching the rail yard.

Kishi Red looked at the transport cars.

Trace Mercer: We take the train.

Kishi Yellow drove Aymr through the locking chain on the nearest car. The side doors opened, revealing a shipment of shoulder armor and missile pods.

Lena Solis: Clear it.

Kishi Green and Kishi Black threw the equipment from the car while Kishi Blue held back the advancing Stahlritter. Silver Templar reached the engine controls.

Ray Matthews: All aboard!

The Rangers boarded.

Trace took the front controls while Ray worked the secondary systems. The engine started moving as the unfinished Stahlritter reached the platform.

One machine grabbed the final freight car.

The train stopped hard enough to throw everyone forward.

Miles Rowan: We have a passenger.

Kishi Green opened the rear door and ran across the tops of the moving cars. He jumped onto the arm holding the train, drove Gungnir through the wrist assembly, and ran back as the machine’s hand tore free.

The train surged forward.

Miles nearly missed the last car.

Kishi Yellow leaned through the doorway and caught his wrist.

Lena Solis: Again?

Miles Rowan: I knew you were there.

Lena Solis: I'll always be here.

Miles Rowan: Y-yeah?

She pulled him inside.

The freight train crashed through the station doors and entered the eastern industrial line. The tracks ran through assembly tunnels filled with scaffolding and inactive machinery. Behind them, three unfinished Stahlritter broke through the station wall and pursued on foot, while two more dropped onto parallel tracks from launch cradles above.

Trace pushed the throttle forward.

Trace Mercer: How fast does this thing go?

Ray checked the display.

Ray Matthews: Faster.

Trace Mercer: I'll take it.

The first Stahlritter reached the train and swung a sword through the roof of the rear car.

Kishi Black and Kishi Blue jumped to opposite sides as the blade cut between them. Ashlyn ran along the flat of the weapon, reached the machine’s forearm, and struck the elbow with Gravebrand. Roland followed from the next car, throwing Shield Vanguard into the same joint.

The arm failed.

The machine stumbled into a support column, bringing down half the tunnel behind it.

Kishi Black landed hard on the train roof.

The black corruption inside her armor surged from the impact. It spread across her ribs and tightened around her spine. 

Ashlyn forced it down.

Trace saw her drop to one knee.

Trace Mercer: Ashlyn?

She stood quickly.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Track debris. Keep driving.

Trace Mercer: You fell before the debris hit.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Trace, keep driving.

The urgency in her voice convinced him to focus on the tunnel, but his expression changed. Ashlyn knew he would ask again once they were safe.

The eastern exit appeared ahead.

The freight train burst from the facility into the open rail yard beneath the night sky. Dozens of tracks spread between warehouses, maintenance towers, and rows of unfinished combat machines. The city skyline stood in the distance, separated from the facility by miles of industrial land.

The six Kishiranger Stahlritter were waiting on a parallel siding, summoned through their Oathlinks and delivered by KED’s remote transport system.

The freight train slowed just enough for the team to jump.

Kishi Red landed in True Krieger’s open cockpit. Kishi Black, Blue, Green, and Yellow reached their machines seconds later, while Silver Templar entered Silberritter as the freight engine continued down the track without them.

The pursuing Stahlritter emerged from the facility.

There were nine now.

Chemosh had completed their missing limbs with solid darkness and wrapped their damaged frames in black armor. They did not share one design. Some carried swords and shields, while others had cannons, hooks, or long mechanical spears. None contained pilots, and their cores burned with a deep violet light.

Silver Templar looked across the enemy line.

Ray Matthews: Those were prototypes. He’s turned them into combat units in less than ten minutes.

Roland Vander: He is using the unfinished construction systems to alter them as they fight.

Miles Rowan: So we need to break them faster than he can redesign them.

Lena Solis: Break them so he's got nothing left to work with.

The nine Stahlritter charged.

The Kishiranger machines met them in the center of the rail yard.

Hector blocked the first wave with Shield Vanguard, holding against three simultaneous strikes while Kishi Black launched over him. Drakken cut through a cannon mount and followed with a kick that drove the enemy unit into a row of parked freight cars.

Spiegel fought one of the largest prototypes beside Kestrel. Lena caught its hammer with Aymr while Miles accelerated around its legs, striking each knee joint before climbing the rail yard’s signal tower. Kestrel jumped from the top and drove Gungnir through the enemy’s shoulder.

The machine collapsed.

Darkness immediately began rebuilding it.

Miles Rowan: Fight faster!

Kishi Yellow brought Aymr down on the exposed core housing.

Lena Solis: Move.

Miles jumped free.

Aymr tore the core completely from the body. Lena caught it with the axe blade and threw it into an empty section of the rail yard, where it exploded without triggering the other machines.

Miles Rowan: Now THAT counts!

True Krieger and Silberritter fought side by side against four enemy units. Trace used Kingslight to force one back while Ray covered the opening with Absolver. The sword’s silver energy interfered with Chemosh’s darkness, slowing the regeneration wherever it struck.

Ray Matthews: Absolver can separate his influence from the machinery.

Trace Mercer: Can it do that nine times?

A spear struck Silberritter in the shoulder and nearly tore off the arm.

True Krieger intercepted the next attack.

Ray Matthews: We should combine!

Trace Mercer: Absolutely!

The enemy Stahlritter regrouped around them.

Trace opened the team channel.

Trace Mercer: Voll Kaiser formation!

The six Stahlritter broke away from the enemy line and launched into the sky. Red, black, blue, green, yellow, and silver energy connected them as their frames transformed and locked together. Armor shifted across the central body, Shield Vanguard became the left-side defense, Silberritter reinforced the right arm, and a six-color core formed beneath the lion crest.

Voll Kaiser landed across three rail lines, as it's red mane blasted off from the back.

The impact shook the yard.

The nine corrupted Stahlritter attacked together.

Voll Kaiser blocked the first three with Shield Vanguard, cut through the fourth with its combined sword, and drove a shoulder into the fifth. The machine’s increased strength allowed it to dominate the opening exchange, but Chemosh adapted immediately.

The enemy Stahlritter fired cables into Voll Kaiser’s arms and legs. Hooks locked around the combined armor while the remaining machines pulled in opposite directions. Voll Kaiser’s joints strained under the pressure.

Two artillery units climbed onto freight platforms and opened fire.

Explosions struck the combined machine from both sides.

Inside the shared cockpit, alarms filled every station.

Roland Vander: They are targeting the combination locks.

Ashlyn Westbrook: He wants to break us apart again.

Miles Rowan: I hate an attentive villain.

Voll Kaiser cut through the first set of cables, but new ones replaced them. The corrupted Stahlritter had become a coordinated restraint system built specifically to dismantle the combination.

Chemosh’s voice came through every communications channel in the rail yard.

Chemosh: You escaped one cage and rebuilt it around yourselves.

The enemy machines pulled harder.

One of Voll Kaiser’s shoulder plates tore free.

Ray searched through the Gral Liner’s approaching signal.

Ray Matthews: Rosine, where are you?

Sister Rosine: Approaching from the south line.

Ray Matthews: We need the Gral Liner’s weapons.

Sister Rosine: I am attempting to access them. The current command authority still belongs to Father Lughbow.

Dorian Vale: There is a secondary protocol.

Ray Matthews: How did you find that?

Dorian Vale: It appeared when the train detected the combinations of Silberritter and True Kriger.

A message opened across Ray’s control display.

FIRST COVENANT RECOGNIZED.

SILVER TEMPLAR AUTHORITY INCOMPLETE.

SECOND WITNESS REQUIRED.

Rosine saw the same message inside the Gral Liner.

Sister Rosine: It needs both of us.

Ray understood. The Gral Liner had been built long before Lughbow turned Der Gralsbund into a centralized military authority. Its oldest systems did not answer to one commander. They required a knight and a sworn witness, ensuring that no single person could use the Order’s greatest weapon without another accepting responsibility.

Ray Matthews: Place your seal on the covenant panel.

Rosine pressed her palm against the illuminated crest beside the controls.

Ray raised Absolver within the cockpit.

The blade touched the matching symbol on his console.

Ray Matthews: As Second Dominion of Der Gralsbund, I invoke the First Covenant. Power exists to defend the innocent, and authority exists to answer for its use.

Rosine smiled faintly.

Sister Rosine: I stand as witness. If he misuses it, I reserve the right to make his life extremely unpleasant.

The system paused.

Ray Matthews: Was that necessary?

Sister Rosine: It accepted it.

The Gral Liner’s entire body lit with white and gold energy.

The armored train entered the rail yard at full speed, breaking through the corrupted barricades Chemosh had raised across the southern line. 

The enemy Stahlritter turned their weapons toward it.

Gral Liner’s forward cannons opened fire.

Silver rounds tore through the restraint cables around Voll Kaiser and drove the corrupted machines away.

Inside the shared cockpit, Ray’s display filled with new combination data.

Ray Matthews: Trace, the Gral Liner can combine with Voll Kaiser.

Trace looked at the design.

Trace Mercer: You're joking!

Ray Matthews: One of the benefits of planning to capture all your tech, was making Gral Liner compatible.

Miles Rowan: Glad that actually worked out for us and not as intended.

Trace looked around the shared cockpit.

Trace Mercer: We need everyone in agreement.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Do it.

She answered quickly enough that Trace glanced toward her, but the battlefield gave him no time to question it.

Trace Mercer: Gral Liner, full combination!

The armored train accelerated around Voll Kaiser in a wide circle. It opened up a compartment that Voll Kaiser could land in. The combined machine jumped into place, and immediately regained energy, getting super charged by the experimental train. Suddenly, Gral Liner was no longer on its tracks, creating tracks from ehrvolt, as it hurtled towards the enemy. 

All Six: Ultra Voll Kaiser!




The corrupted Stahlritter attacked.

Ultra Voll Kaiser moved before they reached it.



The rail systems allowed Ultra Voll Kaiser to go wherever it pleased, launching the massive machine across the yard with speed that should have been impossible for its size. It struck the first Stahlritter with Shield Vanguard and carried the machine through three parked freight cars. The Gral Liner absorbed the impact without slowing.

A second enemy fired its cannon.

Ultra Voll Kaiser raised one hand.

The Gral Liner batteries intercepted the blast with concentrated silver fire, destroying the projectile before it reached the shield. The right rail cannon rotated and answered with a shot that removed the enemy’s weapon arm.

Miles stared at the performance data.

Miles Rowan: We have a giant armored robot riding a train!

Roland Vander: Even I'll admit, this is impressive.

Three Stahlritter attacked from different directions.

It passed between the three attackers and struck each one before landing.

The first lost both legs.

The second was thrown into an empty warehouse.

The third turned just in time to see the Kingslight sword.

Ultra Voll Kaiser swung.

Enemy cannons continued to fire. Voll Kaiser raised Shield Vanguard while the train’s forward armor closed beneath it, creating a continuous wall of blue, white, and gold. The first barrage struck the shield and scattered across the train’s plating. Explosions rolled along the sides of the Gral Liner, but it continued forward without leaving the tracks.

The shoulder cannons answered.

Silver shells struck the enemy formation at carefully spaced points, breaking the front line apart without hitting the unstable cores. The corrupted Stahlritter moved to close the gaps, but the train was already upon them.

Voll Kaiser swung its sword.

The blade passed across the front of the moving train in a wide horizontal arc. Six-colored energy extended from the edge and struck three Stahlritter at once. Their weapons and outer armor split apart, while Absolver’s silver power separated Chemosh’s darkness from the machinery beneath it.

The emptied machines collapsed beside the tracks.

The Gral Liner roared between them.

A larger Stahlritter stepped directly onto the rails and planted both feet, driving a tower shield into the ground. Two more machines braced behind it.

Roland Vander: Heavy obstruction ahead.

Miles Rowan: We have a train, baby!

Dorian adjusted the engine controls.

Dorian Vale: I would still advise you hang on.

The Gral Liner struck the shield wall.

Voll Kaiser leaned forward inside the compartment and drove Shield Vanguard into the enemy’s shield at the same moment. The double impact folded the corrupted defense inward. The lead Stahlritter was lifted from the tracks and carried ahead of the train while the two machines behind it lost their footing.

Trace pulled the sword above Voll Kaiser’s shoulder.

Trace Mercer: Lena!

Lena Solis: Powering the right arm!

Yellow energy entered the blade.

Voll Kaiser brought the sword down on the machine being pushed ahead of the train. The strike split its shield, severed the black control energy, and threw the empty Stahlritter off the tracks before the Gral Liner passed through its position.

The two support machines attacked from either side.

One jumped onto the train’s left car. The other landed on the right and began tearing at the armor surrounding Voll Kaiser’s compartment.

Ashlyn felt Chemosh’s darkness again. The corruption beneath her suit surged when the enemy came close, but she forced it down and pushed Kishi Black’s power into the sword instead.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Right side is mine.

Voll Kaiser reversed its grip and drove the sword backward without turning the train. Gravebrand’s dark crimson energy shaped the strike, allowing the blade to catch the machine clinging to the left side and pull it across the roof.

On the left, Roland rotated Shield Vanguard outward.

The shield struck the second machine and scraped it along a row of signal towers before knocking it into the gravel beside the tracks.

Miles watched the first attacker slide toward Voll Kaiser’s compartment.

Miles Rowan: Incoming.

Green power entered Voll Kaiser’s right arm.

The sword blurred.

Trace delivered three strikes while the train moved beneath them. The first removed the enemy’s weapon. The second cut through the corrupted armor. The third separated the darkness from its core and sent the disabled frame tumbling harmlessly from the rear car.

Miles Rowan: That was fast!

Trace Mercer: We need to end this now!

Trace took hold of the central controls.

Voll Kaiser raised its sword behind its right shoulder.

The blade extended with red, black, blue, green, yellow, and silver light.

Trace Mercer: Hold the line.

Chemosh ordered every Stahlritter to fire.

The rail yard disappeared behind a wall of black energy.

Ultra Voll Kaiser entered it at full speed.

Shield Vanguard expanded over the front of the Gral Liner. The train shook under the barrage, but its wheels remained locked to the shining tracks. Silver rounds fired from each car, destroying the cables forming the lower part of the net. The remaining strands struck Voll Kaiser’s shield and wrapped around the compartment.

The enemy machines pulled.

The Gral Liner did not slow.

Its engine dragged them forward instead.

One Stahlritter lost its footing and collided with another. The defensive line began collapsing into itself, but the central executioner unit remained in place with its blade raised.

Voll Kaiser began the swing.

The Gral Liner’s entire power system discharged through the compartment rails. Every car illuminated, transforming the train into a line of white and gold energy beneath the combined machine.

Trace Mercer: Ultra Grand Cross Express!

Voll Kaiser’s sword swept forward as the train passed through the enemy formation.

The six-colored arc crossed every corrupted Stahlritter in one continuous strike. 

The Gral Liner emerged from the far side of the formation without leaving the tracks.

Voll Kaiser remained seated within the armored compartment, sword extended at the end of the swing.

Behind it, the corrupted Stahlritter stood motionless.

Black energy peeled away from their bodies and burned out beneath the silver light. Their cores separated cleanly from the damaged frames, rising briefly before powering down and falling into the rail yard.

The empty machines collapsed one after another.

The last was the executioner unit.

Its black blade broke first.

A glowing line appeared across its chest.

The Stahlritter split apart and fell to either side of the tracks as Gral Liner continued into the night.

Inside the command car, Rosine looked back at the destroyed formation.

Sister Rosine: That was amazing!

Dorian reduced the throttle for the first time since entering the facility.

Dorian Vale: It was sufficient.

Rosine smiled.

Sister Rosine: I knew there was a reason I liked you.

Ultra Voll Kaiser slowed near the northern end of the rail yard. The Gral Liner’s compartment released the combined machine, allowing Voll Kaiser to stand from its seated position while still riding atop the moving train. Its sword remained ready, and its shield covered the damaged cars beneath it.

The team turned toward the distant facility.

Chemosh’s darkness covered the upper towers, but no further attack came.

Lena felt his voice reach her through the fading connection.

Chemosh: Return, and Halden will suffer.

Lena stared at the cathedral shaped structure disappearing behind them.

Lena Solis: He’ll know we didn’t forget him. He'll know that we're going to save him eventually. Loosen your grip on Avalon City, or we'll be back.

The connection broke.

Voll Kaiser lowered itself back into the Gral Liner’s armored compartment as the train carried the team away from Metro City. The formation did not resemble a larger humanoid machine wearing pieces of a train. It was a mobile fortress carrying the strongest knight the Kishirangers had ever assembled, allowing Voll Kaiser to fight from a protected battle seat while Gral Liner supplied speed, weapons, armor, and the power of the First Covenant.

The return to Avalon took most of the night.

The KED command center was quieter than usual when the team gathered around the central table. Damage reports appeared across the screens, along with the recovered data from the rail yard and the Gral Liner’s First Covenant files.

Roland stood at the main console, reviewing the Ultra Voll Kaiser performance figures.

Miles Rowan: The professional conclusion here is that Ultra Voll Kaiser is incredible.

Roland Vander: The professional conclusion is that we should not use it again until the damage has been assessed. That was a huge risk.

Miles Rowan: Huge risk, huge reward.

Lena Solis: We're going to have to use it again. Worzol and now Chemosh? This isn't getting any easier.

Dorian entered from the lift with Rosine beside him. His coat remained neat, but he seemed more charged than usual.

Rosine smiled.

Sister Rosine: He enjoyed the train.

Dorian Vale: The Gral Liner handled well.

Ray Matthews: You drove it through a war.

Dorian Vale: And it held up sufficiently.

Sister Rosine: You see why I like working with him?

The humor faded when Dorian brought up the footage from the cathedral chamber.

Halden’s brief return appeared on the central display.

His eye cleared.

His hand pointed toward the east corridor.

His voice warned them to reach the rail yard.

Lena stood nearest the screen.

Lena Solis: He fought Chemosh long enough to stop the Stahlritter and open the route. That means Chemosh’s control isn't absolute.

Trace Mercer: Halden is a weakness, but we can't attack that weakness without putting him in more danger.

Ray placed Absolver on the table.

The sword’s surface reflected the footage of Halden.

Ray Matthews: Chemosh needs people to believe they are still following the men they trusted.

Rosine activated the oldest section of the Gral Liner files.

A document appeared beneath the title THE FIRST COVENANT.

Sister Rosine: The Gral Liner carried more than a combination protocol. It has records from before Der Gralsbund became a military branch of the Church. The Order’s leaders were never supposed to hold absolute authority.

Roland read through the document.

Roland Vander: A knight and a witness had to approve the use of every major weapon. Commands involving civilians required a third approval from someone outside the armed Order.

Miles Rowan: That sounds much harder to turn into martial law.

Ray Matthews: That was the idea.

Ray brought up a map of the Gralsbund cathedral in Avalon.

The public chapel stood at street level, while training halls, command rooms, and weapon vaults extended beneath it. A smaller chamber lay below everything else, connected to the cathedral by one narrow passage.

Ray Matthews: The Chapel of First Mercy. Every Grand Master enters it before taking command. They are required to spend one night alone, without weapons or advisors, before swearing the final oath.

Lena Solis: Why does that help us now?

Ray Matthews: The chapel was built to block outside influence. No communication systems, no weapon relays, and no Ehrvolt connection to the rest of the cathedral. The walls contain old sealing material from ancient times.

Trace understood the plan.

Trace Mercer: We get Lughbow inside and cut Chemosh off from him.

Ray Matthews: If Chemosh has been influencing him, the chapel may weaken the connection enough for Lughbow to think clearly.

Ashlyn Westbrook: And if he still chooses Chemosh after that?

Ray’s expression became harder.

Ray Matthews: Then we stop pretending he is only a victim.

Nobody argued.

Rosine enlarged the lower cathedral map.

Sister Rosine: Reaching the chapel is difficult. Lughbow sealed the old route after your mission to rescue Trace, and the Worzol Incursion. The current entrance passes through the Judgment Hall, the reliquary guard station, and the private command wing.

Miles Rowan: So the back down is out, and the front door is out.

Sister Rosine: The front door is heavily armed, closely watched, and filled with people who know Ray’s face.

Miles Rowan: Definitely out.

Roland examined the foundation plans.

Roland Vander: We will find a way.

Lena Solis: As of right now, Halden is safe. Nothing has changed, except we know Der Gralsbund is under the control of the Voidsent Infernal Chemosh. Important information, but let's not forget about the Worzol Dimension either. We're very lucky they didn't choose this night to strike.

Ashlyn suddenly felt a tinge of pain as she listened to Lena. She had hoped the pain would go away after getting out of Metro City and powering down, but it was still these. She quietly excused herself. 

Trace noticed her leaving.

Trace Mercer: Ashlyn?

She stopped near the corridor.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I’m tired. I’m going to clean up before heading back to the dorm. A new dorm apparently? Can't go back to my old one since Der Gralsbund is looking for us there.

Trace Mercer: You seem troubled.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I’m fine.

The words came out too sharply.

Ashlyn softened her tone.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I took a hard hit on the train. I need some time without people checking whether I'm alright.

Trace studied her posture. She kept one arm tight against her side.

Trace Mercer: Please, let me come with you.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Finish the plan. I’ll be back.

She left before he could argue.

Trace watched the empty doorway.

Lena noticed.

Lena Solis: Go after her.

Trace Mercer: She asked me not to.

Lena Solis: Since when has that stopped you?

Miles Rowan: She has a point.

Trace looked toward Dorian.

Dorian Vale: We have enough information to continue without you.

He followed Ashlyn into the corridor.

She had already reached the private locker room beside the medical wing. The door closed before Trace turned the corner.

Inside, Ashlyn locked it and leaned against the metal.

Ashlyn gripped the edge of the sink.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Let go.

The dark feeling tightened.

A voice moved through the back of her mind. It sounded like Chemosh.

Chemosh: He will die because you were not strong enough to save him.

Ashlyn squeezed her eyes shut.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You’re not here.

The corrupted darkness spread another inch across her collarbone.

Someone knocked on the door.

Trace Mercer: Ashlyn?

Ashlyn Westbrook: I said I need a minute.

Trace remained outside.

Trace Mercer: You also said you were fine in the facility, and I watched you fall off a train roof.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I slipped.

Trace Mercer: You don’t slip.

She looked at her reflection.

Black lines had reached the base of her neck. 



Ashlyn Westbrook: I’m tired, Trace. Please don’t turn this into something tonight.

Silence followed.

When Trace answered, his voice was quieter.

Trace Mercer: All right. I’ll be outside if you need me.

His footsteps moved away, though not far enough for Ashlyn to believe he had truly left. She had never talked to him that way before. She immediately regretted it. Her knight in red shining armor, and she yelled at him for caring. Why? Even she didn't know. Her head was a mess. She couldn't make complete sense of her actions. 

Ashlyn stared at the door, hating the relief she felt when he gave her space and hating herself more for lying to him. Chemosh had done something to her. His presence had accelerated the corruption of the Black Armor, the same corruption that turned Mordred into a monster once upon a time. 

If Trace learned the suit was changing again, he would divide his attention between the mission and protecting her.

Ashlyn had no intention of becoming another person they needed to rescue.

Outside the locker room, Trace waited against the opposite wall.

When Ashlyn eventually emerged, she had changed and pulled a black jacket over her shirt despite the warm building. She smiled at him, and the expression was almost convincing.

Trace held out a bottle of water.

Trace Mercer: Ten minutes.

She accepted it.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I told you I’d be back.

Trace Mercer: You did.

He did not ask what she had hidden beneath the jacket.

They returned to the command center together, where the others were finalizing the route into the Chapel of First Mercy.

Far beneath Avalon City, inside the private chamber of Der Gralsbund, Father Lughbow knelt before an old silver cross. His hands trembled around a string of prayer beads while Chemosh’s voice pressed against the edges of his thoughts.

For one brief second, the influence weakened.

Lughbow lifted his head and saw what Der Gralsbund had become. Armed patrols filled the cathedral. Bastion soldiers searched student residences. Ray and Rosine had been declared enemies while the forces of Worzol remained free to attack.

Shame reached him before Chemosh could stop it.

Father Lughbow: What have I done?

The chapel door opened behind him.

Professor Halden entered, his eyes appearing normal in the low light.

Lughbow turned toward him with desperate relief.

Father Lughbow: Professor, something is wrong.

Halden placed one hand on his shoulder.

The darkness returned to his eyes.

Chemosh: Yes. You are beginning to doubt.

Father Lughbow’s expression emptied as the pressure returned.

Above them, the forgotten Chapel of First Mercy remained sealed, waiting for the knight who had broken his oath to bring the man who raised him back inside.

To Be Continued...

Episode 45: Violet Oath

The footage opened with a Bastion Defense Solutions emblem rotating over dramatic music before cutting to Avalon City’s western financial district. Smoke covered the intersection below the old courthouse, while police barricades kept civilians several blocks away. A Worzol shaped creature stumbled between two office towers, its broad body covered in rust-colored plates and pipes that vented green fire whenever it moved.

Five silver and charcoal Stahlritter surrounded it.

The machines operated with military precision. Two held the creature in place with electrified cables while a third struck its legs from behind. The remaining pair raised heavy rifles and fired into the same section of armor until the monster’s chest split open. Its core remained exposed for several seconds, giving the lead Stahlritter time to draw a long silver blade and drive it directly through the opening.



The monster exploded without damaging the nearby buildings.

A reporter stood several streets away, speaking over footage of Bastion crews arriving before the smoke had cleared.

The lower caption read: BASTION DEFENSE SOLUTIONS DEFEATS LATEST WORZOL THREAT — MAYOR PRAISES NEW CITY DEFENDERS.

Ray Matthews watched the report from the KED command center with his arms folded across his chest. Sister Rosine stood beside him in her ordinary habit rather than the Rikka Spiral disguise, although several hairpins and a folded purple jacket remained on the console behind her. Dorian Vale occupied the central station, reviewing the footage frame by frame while the broadcast continued praising the city’s new security arrangement.

The monster raised its right arm.

Dorian paused the image.

Dorian Vale: It exposed the damaged section before the Stahlritter moved into position.

Ray stepped closer to the display.

Ray Matthews: It also ignored the machine holding the cable around its throat. Any real Worzol Beast would have torn that one apart first.

Rosine reached past them and reversed the footage twelve seconds. She played it again at quarter speed. The creature charged one of the Stahlritter, but its claws passed several feet above the machine’s head. The Stahlritter fired, and the creature turned its damaged chest toward the attack.

Sister Rosine: The fix is in! This was staged!

Ray Matthews: Chemosh created it.

Dorian advanced to the aftermath. Bastion recovery teams surrounded the monster’s remains with opaque barriers, blocking every civilian camera. The body disappeared into armored transports less than six minutes after the explosion.

Dorian Vale: No samples were released. Bastion claimed the remains contained an unknown contaminant.

Sister Rosine: How very convenient.

The report cut to Mayor Elias Rennick standing beside the lead Bastion commander. The mayor thanked the company for proving Avalon no longer had to depend exclusively on the Kishirangers. Behind him, the five Stahlritter stood in formation while people gathered at the barricades and applauded.

Ray watched their reaction with a growing weight in his chest. Avalon City had endured months of attacks, evacuations, damaged neighborhoods, and battles that often ended with buildings collapsing around the people they were meant to protect. The public were not foolish or disloyal to welcome something that promised order.

That was why Chemosh’s plan worked.

Ray Matthews: He’s giving people the victory they want to see.

Sister Rosine: More importantly, he is giving them a victory without consequences. No damaged homes and no injured civilians.

Ray looked toward the lower cathedral schematics on another screen. Their planned route into Der Gralsbund remained highlighted beneath the city: the repaired storm tunnel, the abandoned western foundation, and the sealed passage leading toward the Chapel of First Mercy.

Ray Matthews: We cannot move against Lughbow while Bastion has the city cheering for them. One wrong step and Chemosh will present us as terrorists attacking Avalon’s new defenders.

Rosine leaned both hands against the console.

Sister Rosine: We need proof the monster was manufactured.

Ray Matthews: We also need Lughbow away from Chemosh long enough to hear it.

Sister Rosine: The Chapel of First Mercy can isolate him, but getting him there remains the problem. He is surrounded by guards, and he no longer enters any room unless three people have searched it first.

Ray Matthews: You sound offended.

Sister Rosine: I trained half the people searching the rooms.

Ray looked at her.

Ray Matthews: That was not the part I expected you to object to.

Sister Rosine: I contain multitudes, Raymond.

Dorian closed the news feed.

Dorian Vale: We continue gathering evidence. Ray and Rosine will prepare the infiltration route, but nobody enters the cathedral until we have a method of separating Chemosh’s influence from Father Lughbow.

Ray’s attention shifted toward the opposite side of the command center, where Trace Mercer and Ashlyn Westbrook stood beside Asher and Klara Morgenstern. A detailed map of the northern mountains filled the wall behind them.

At its center stood Mount Seraphine.

The summit was marked with an old silver emblem shaped like a sword beneath a star.

Asher enlarged the symbol.

Asher: Chemosh’s proximity accelerated the corruption inside Ashlyn’s armor. We can slow it here, but we cannot remove it with KED equipment. The Oathlink considers the corruption part of the suit now. Every attempt to cut it out causes the rest of the armor to protect it.

Ashlyn kept her arms folded so nobody would notice how tightly her left hand gripped her right elbow. She wore a black jacket despite the warmth of the command center, with the collar pulled high enough to conceal the dark mark beneath her neck.

Trace stood close without touching her. He had learned during the past week to watch over her without coddling her.

He still watched her constantly.

Klara changed the display to an image taken from an ancient manuscript. It showed a silver sword standing upright inside a mountain shrine while dark shapes recoiled from its blade.

Klara Morgenstern: The weapon is called Evensong. It was forged during the Great War to sever foreign influence without destroying the person attached to it. Jeanne Ark carried it into the Siege of Caldris, where she used it to free three knights from a Void infection.

Ashlyn stared at the image.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Jeanne used this sword?

Klara Morgenstern: Briefly. Evensong never belonged to her. After Caldris, Jeanne gave it the rightful owner, Mordred Vander, who used it until needing Gravebrand instead. It was returned to the shrine on Mount Seraphine.

Trace Mercer: Why didn’t we know it was there? I was leading this team, and I was never told about it.

Asher: Because Jeanne did not want anyone searching for it unless the need became serious. The mountain protects the weapon, and its guardians attack anything carrying Void energy.

Miles Rowan looked over from the blue couch.

Miles Rowan: That sounds like it may take issue with Ashlyn.

Asher: It absolutely will.

Ashlyn’s expression did not change.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Good. At least we understand each other.

Trace studied the map.

Roland Vander stood near the edge of the group, already prepared to volunteer.

Trace spoke first.

Trace Mercer: Ashlyn and I will go.

Roland’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Roland Vander: You made that decision quickly.

Trace Mercer: Kingslight can open the first seal, and my Oathlink has the strongest connection to hers. If the corruption reacts badly, I have the best chance of stabilizing it.

Roland Vander: I could remain outside the shrine and support you on the route.

Trace Mercer: We can't have too many of us gone, in case Vantrex decides it's a perfect time to attack. Please, let us handle this one.

Roland accepted the answer, but not comfortably. 

Ashlyn listened while Trace gathered the climbing equipment.

The idea of being alone with him for the journey should have made her happy. Under any other circumstances, she would have enjoyed the thought more than she intended to admit. Instead, she felt the black marks hidden beneath her clothes tighten in response to the shrine’s image.

Chemosh’s voice remained in the back of her mind.

Ashlyn pressed two fingers against the inside of her wrist until the pain brought her attention back to the room.

Nobody noticed.

At least, she hoped nobody noticed.



The KED truck dropped Trace and Ashlyn near the base of Mount Seraphine shortly before sunrise. The old road ended at a locked forestry gate that had not been opened in years, forcing them to continue on foot. Trace carried most of the climbing equipment in a large pack, while Ashlyn took the navigation gear, medical supplies, and the sealed case containing the fragments of Jeanne’s mountain map.

The air grew colder as they climbed. Thick pine trees covered the lower slope, blocking the summit from view and leaving the old trail buried beneath needles, roots, and loose stones. A silver marker appeared every few hundred yards, though most had fallen or become hidden beneath moss.

Trace stopped beside one and cleared the surface with his glove.

The symbol matched Evensong’s shrine.

Trace Mercer: We’re on the right path.

Ashlyn looked at the steep incline ahead.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I was hoping the right path would be less vertical.

Trace Mercer: Yeah, me too.

Ashlyn Westbrook: This could get really cold. We should have dressed for that.

Trace Mercer: Draw from the power of your Oathlink. The Ehrvolt will keep you warm enough.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Got to love these handy gadgets.

Trace smiled and adjusted the straps of his pack. Ashlyn caught herself watching the easy way he moved despite the weight. He never complained about carrying more than his share. He did not make a performance of it either. He simply saw something that needed doing and did it.

Trace could be so direct that it felt naïve

It was one of the things she loved most about him.

They continued upward until the trees opened around a narrow suspension bridge stretched across a deep ravine. The bridge had once been built from wood and rope, but silver reinforcement lines ran through the support cables. Several boards were missing, and the entire structure moved whenever the wind crossed the gap.



Trace tested the first plank with one boot.

Trace Mercer: It will hold.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You sounded more confident before you stepped on it.

Trace Mercer: It hopefully hold.

Ashlyn leaned over the edge and looked at the river far below.

Ashlyn Westbrook: That's a long way down. I know we're trying not to transform unless we have to, but it wouldn't hurt as much as the fall.

A board cracked beneath Trace’s foot.

He stepped back.

Trace Mercer: Maybe I've put on a little weight?

Ashlyn stared at him for a second before laughing. The sound came more easily than she expected. Trace looked pleased with himself having made her laugh. Something he enjoyed doing more than just about anything else.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Move before I change my mind.

They crossed one at a time, keeping their weight near the side cables. Ashlyn reached the middle when the corruption beneath her jacket reacted.

A sharp pulse spread from her ribs into her shoulder. Her right arm went numb, and the bridge tilted beneath her. She caught the cable before losing her footing, but the sudden movement sent a wave through the entire structure.

Trace turned from the far side.

Trace Mercer: Ashlyn?

Ashlyn Westbrook: It hit me.

She forced her arm to close around the cable.

Trace took one step back onto the bridge.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Stay there. I’m coming across.

Trace Mercer: Are you sure?

Ashlyn Westbrook: I'll will myself. I really don't want to fall. I don't know if you know this, but I have a thing about heights.

Trace Mercer: I can't say that I blame you. I wasn't so happy about the view myself.

She crossed the remaining distance quickly and stepped onto solid ground.

Trace waited beside her.

His eyes moved from her face to the hand she kept close to her side.

Trace Mercer: Show me.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Careful. It hurts.

Her fingers had regained their color. The black lines that had spread across her palm withdrew before Trace could see them.

She flexed her hand.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Guess I'm alright for now.

Trace looked unconvinced.

Trace Mercer: Please tell me if it happens again.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I will.

The lie came too easily. Why would it be a lie? She wanted to tell him. Wanted to pour out her heart and soul to him, and give him everything, so why would she lie? The corruption...the same thing that made Mordred kill his team. It inside of her.

That frightened her more than the pain.

A low growl moved through the trees behind them.

Trace turned immediately.

The forest had gone quiet. The birds had stopped, and the wind no longer moved the upper branches. Something large crossed between two trees, keeping its body low enough to remain hidden beneath the brush.

A second shape moved on the opposite side of the trail.

Ashlyn drew her Oathlink.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Something knows we’re here.

Trace Mercer: Then let’s introduce ourselves properly. Blazing Oath!

Ashlyn Westbrook: Darkness Conquered!

Trace and Ashlyn: Kishiranger, arise!

Their transformation calls activated together.

Red and black light cut through the morning mist as armor formed around them. Kishi Red drew Kingslight in his right hand, while Kishi Black summoned Gravebrand and stepped into position beside him.

Three Gloamhounds emerged from the trees.

The creatures resembled wolves built from stone, roots, and dark crystal. Each stood nearly as tall as a person at the shoulder. Silver markings covered their faces, but those symbols had been split by black energy crawling through the cracks in their bodies.



They were not servants of Chemosh.

They were mountain guardians infected by the corruption they had come to destroy.

The first Gloamhound charged Kishi Black.

She met it directly. Gravebrand cut across the creature’s jaw, deflecting its bite before her armored knee struck beneath its head. The Gloamhound rolled across the trail, tore into the ground with its claws, and came back faster.

Kishi Red intercepted the second creature with Kingslight. Its stone teeth closed around the blade, forcing Trace to brace both feet as the hound pushed him toward the ravine.

The third circled behind Ashlyn.

She saw the movement in the reflection of Gravebrand and turned before it attacked. Her blade struck its shoulder, but the creature twisted around the impact and drove its full weight into her chest.

Kishi Black crashed through a fallen tree.

The corruption beneath her armor surged.

The Gloamhound attacked again.

Kishi Black caught it by the throat.

The creature’s claws tore across her gauntlets, yet the corrupted armor refused to release it. Ashlyn lifted the Gloamhound and slammed it into the ground. Once was enough to stop it.

She struck it again.

The stone head cracked.

A third impact split the mountain symbol across its face.

Kishi Red threw his opponent into the remaining hound and looked toward her.

Trace Mercer: Ashlyn, it’s down.

Kishi Black raised Gravebrand over the damaged guardian.

The sword shook in her hand.

Trace approached slowly.

Trace Mercer: Ashlyn.

She looked toward him.

The black armor around her gauntlet had begun growing over Gravebrand’s guard.

Ashlyn forced her hand open.

The sword disappeared.

The extra plates withdrew a moment later, leaving the normal black and gold armor behind.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I know. I had it.

Trace studied her visor.

Trace Mercer: I know, my lady.

One of the Gloamhounds tried to rise.

Kishi Red placed Kingslight’s flat edge against the creature’s head. Golden energy moved through the cracked stone, burning away the black infection without damaging the silver markings beneath it.

The guardian collapsed, breathing slowly.

Ashlyn looked at the other hound she had struck. The mountain symbol across its face was broken, but the corruption had stopped moving. It was alive.

She felt sick with relief.

Trace Mercer: That wasn't easy for me. Not sure if you know this, but I love dogs.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Of course you do. You love all animals. You took in that stray dog almost immediately. I almost killed that one.

Trace Mercer: You stopped yourself.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Because you called my name.

Ashlyn dismissed her armor before he could examine it more closely. 

Trace remained transformed long enough to purify the final guardian with Kingslight. When he returned to civilian form, the Gloamhounds rose and moved back into the trees without attacking them.

The largest paused beside Ashlyn.

Its silver face turned toward the mark hidden beneath her jacket.

It gave a low warning growl before disappearing.

Ashlyn watched the trees close behind it.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I don't think they like me.

Trace secured Kingslight.

Trace Mercer: They’re just guarding it from the corruption.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Which means they’re guarding it from me.

Trace lifted the heavy pack again.

Trace Mercer: We gave them a reason to change their minds.

He started up the trail.

Ashlyn remained where she was for a moment.

Trace had seen her lose control. He had every reason to become cautious around her, to treat her like an unstable weapon that needed to be watched. Instead, he calmed her, supported her, and stood by her.

Ashlyn followed him, her feelings for him becoming harder to contain with every step.

Miles sat in the KED common area with three search windows open across his tablet and a fourth running on the large wall display. He was searching for the name Rowan. Anything that would lead him back to his apparent sister. Since hearing about having a sister still alive, he'd spent a lot of his free time searching for her.

Most searches returned nothing useful.

Lena sat on the the couch with her boots resting on the table. She had spent several minutes pretending not to pay attention.

Miles opened another archive page.

The site rejected his request.

Lena Solis: You spelled municipal wrong.

Miles looked at the search bar.

Miles Rowan: No, I didn’t.

Lena leaned over and pointed.

Lena Solis: You put the second i before the first one.

Miles Rowan: Very funny. I thought you weren’t helping.

Lena Solis: I never said I wasn't helping.

He gave her a look but continued searching.

Lena lowered her feet from the table and moved closer. Lena opened a separate search on her own tablet.

Lena Solis: What year would she have been separated from the rest of the family?

Miles Rowan: I don't know. She would be older than me, but how much older? I don't know if I ever met her. I don't remember her. I wish I did.

Lena found an archived newspaper clipping from eleven years ago, from Hanta City, with a festival celebrating Geist Corporation's plans for a new energy source. That day would turn out to be a disaster. One of the children interviewed was named Elise Rowan. 

Lena Solis: Look. There she is!

Miles leaned close enough that his shoulder pressed against hers.

They both reached toward the screen at the same time.

Miles’ hand landed over Lena’s.

Neither moved.



Lena looked down at their hands and then toward him. Miles suddenly became aware of how close their faces were. Her usual confidence had disappeared, replaced by the same uncertainty he felt.

Miles Rowan: Sorry.

He started to pull away.

Lena turned her hand beneath his and caught two of his fingers before he could.

Lena Solis: You don’t have to apologize every time you touch me.

Miles stared at her.

Miles Rowan: I don’t?

Lena Solis: Not every time.

Miles Rowan: Is there a schedule?

The corner of her mouth lifted.

Lena Solis: I’ll let you know.

Their hands remained together.

Miles forgot the search results for several seconds.

Miles Rowan: Lena, I don’t really know how to say this without making everything weird, but you’ve been helping me through all of this, and I—

He suddenly stopped and zoomed in the photograph she was in. 

The photograph had been damaged during scanning, but it showed a little girl...his sister...Elise Rowan. Around her neck hung a metal pendant shaped like a narrow spearhead.

Miles reached into his shirt. He wore the matching pendant.

His humor disappeared.

Miles Rowan: That’s mine.

Lena looked at him.

Miles Rowan: I’ve had it as long as I can remember.

Lena tightened her hand around his.

Lena Solis: Then we keep looking.

Miles nodded, unable to take his eyes off the photograph.

The words he had almost said remained between them, unfinished but no longer invisible.

Bastion patrols moved through Avalon in groups of three.

Their armored vehicles stopped at major intersections while soldiers questioned pedestrians, scanned delivery trucks, and searched alleys that had once been under ordinary police jurisdiction. The mayor’s emergency order allowed them to request identification and detain anyone suspected of aiding the Kishirangers.

Ray and Rosine watched from the second floor of a closed restaurant across from the old tram station. Rosine wore the Rikka Spiral disguise, complete with lavender hair, thick glasses, and a loose university jacket. Ray had exchanged his usual clothes for a maintenance uniform and cap, though the outfit did little to make his height or posture less recognizable.

Below them, two Bastion soldiers stopped an elderly shop owner carrying boxes toward his car.

One opened the boxes and searched through the contents while the other questioned him.

Ray’s jaw tightened.

Sister Rosine: Do not go downstairs.

Ray Matthews: I didn’t move.

Sister Rosine: You want to.

Ray Matthews: How do you know?

Sister Rosine: I know you, Raymond.

The shop owner tried to retrieve one of the boxes. A soldier shoved him back.

Ray reached for the cap.

Rosine caught his wrist.

Sister Rosine: We are here to observe the patrol rotation.

Ray Matthews: We can observe it after I stop them.

Sister Rosine: Which alerts Bastion that you are working in this district and causes them to change every route we spent three days documenting.

Ray looked down again.

A young woman in a black coat approached the soldiers from the opposite sidewalk. She held up a phone, announced that she was streaming the search, and asked why Bastion needed to inspect an elderly man’s grocery shipment.

The soldiers looked toward the growing crowd.

One closed the box. The other returned the shop owner’s identification.

They walked away without apologizing.

Rosine released Ray’s wrist.

Sister Rosine: Sometimes the public can defend itself if someone has the nerve to make the abuse visible.

Ray Matthews: Let's hope soldiers don't come back after the cameras leave.

Sister Rosine: Which is why we need to remove Chemosh before Bastion decides it no longer needs to be performative.

She brought up the patrol map. Every route led back toward the Gralsbund cathedral at the end of each shift. The heaviest movements occurred shortly after midnight, when two Stahlritter units returned through an underground deployment tunnel beneath the eastern chapel.

Ray compared the timing with the Chapel of First Mercy route.

Ray Matthews: Lughbow receives the nightly reports at one. He dismisses most of the command staff before the final prayer service.

Sister Rosine: He will still have the Judgment Guard.

Ray Matthews: You trained them.

Sister Rosine: I trained them to kill people.

Ray Matthews: That feels relevant.

Sister Rosine: I am proud you noticed.

Rosine looked at him over the top of Rikka’s round glasses.

Sister Rosine: You still have not said what happens if Lughbow remains against us after the influence is gone.

Ray watched the Bastion soldiers disappear around the next corner.

Ray Matthews: Then I stop him.

Sister Rosine: Can you?

He did not answer immediately.

Lughbow had given Ray a home, trained him, guided his faith, and shaped nearly every standard by which Ray judged himself. Even after the betrayal, some part of him still wanted the man’s approval.

Ray Matthews: I can stop what he is doing. I don’t know what happens after that.

Rosine removed the glasses and let the Rikka persona slip from her posture.

Sister Rosine: That is honest enough for tonight.

She reached across the table and rested her hand over his.

Sister Rosine: We will bring him to the chapel. We will let him choose without Chemosh in his head. After that, he answers for the choice he makes.

Ray nodded.

Across the street, another Bastion convoy moved toward the cathedral.

Rosine replaced the glasses.

Sister Rosine: Also, this maintenance uniform is terrible on you.

Ray glanced down.

Ray Matthews: You chose it.

Sister Rosine: You're normally so much more handsome. This just isn't you.

Ray Matthews: We were having a serious conversation.

Sister Rosine: We finished it.

She returned to the patrol map before he could respond.

Ray shook his head, though the tension in his shoulders had eased.

Roland stood alone in his office near the top of Vander Tower, surrounded by evidence of how quickly a company could begin shrinking.

The main construction schedule for Avalon’s rebuilding project had been removed from the wall. Three folders on his desk contained reassignment requests from employees whose departments no longer had contracts. Another held proposals for layoffs Roland had refused to approve despite the board’s insistence that maintaining the workforce would become impossible within months.

The city contract had not merely taken away money. It had removed the purpose around which thousands of people had organized their work.

Roland had spent most of his life preparing to lead Vander Industries. He had believed that when the time came, he would know what to do.

Lately, every direction seemed to end with someone losing something.

A knock came from the outer door.

Roland looked toward the empty receptionist’s station.

Roland Vander: Enter.

The door opened, and Blake Faust walked into the office without waiting for another invitation.



Kamen Rider Faust need no introduction. He had made his identity public two years earlier after stopping an attack in Hanta City, though in reality, it was a lot more complex than that. Since then, Blake had become equally famous for fighting monsters, saving his company, and secretly financially assisting the Magnus Foundation, which also meant he was the secret owner of the Knight Express Delivery operation. 

Roland did not move from behind the desk.

Roland Vander: Security did not announce you.

Blake Faust: I didn't come from downstairs.

Roland Vander: Interesting way to use your abilities.

Blake Faust: It saves me a lot of time.

Blake placed a thin folder on the desk.

Roland did not touch it.

Roland Vander: You purchased components later found inside a Der Gralsbund facility.

Blake Faust: Through an intermediary who described them as containment research. When I learned what they were building, I terminated the contract.

Roland Vander: After they had already received the parts.

Blake Faust: Yes.

The direct answer took some of the momentum from Roland’s challenge.

Blake Faust: I am not here to pretend I never make bad decisions. I am on your side though. Once I had a grasp on the full picture, it's made things easier to discern. Right now, I want to help you with your business.

Roland’s gaze sharpened.

Roland Vander: You came to buy us out? 

Blake Faust: I'm not that cut throat. That was more of my Dad's kind of thing.

Roland Vander: So...you came to offer advice?

Blake Faust: I came to offer work.

He opened the folder.

A map of Hanta City appeared above the desk. Several districts were highlighted red, showing damaged transit lines, water systems, housing blocks, and public power stations.

Blake Faust: Geist Corporation spent the last five years moving all over the country. We design control systems, medical technology, and energy architecture all over. We no longer have the workforce in Hanta to rebuild half the city, and I have no interest in creating one when Vander Industries already employs the best people for the job.

Roland moved around the desk.

Roland Vander: You want us as a subcontractor.

Blake Faust: No. I want a joint division with equal authority. Geist handles the systems. Vander handles construction, labor, and urban planning. Your people remain employed, and Hanta City receives infrastructure designed for the kind of disasters both of us know will happen again. It's not like the Wraith or the Death Realm just stopped existing.

Roland studied the projections.

The initial project included a new underground power grid, reinforced emergency shelters, and a transit network. It was ambitious, expensive, and exactly the kind of work Vander Industries had been built to perform.

Roland Vander: Why approach me now?

Blake Faust: Because Bastion expects you to spend the next year begging Avalon City to return the contract. I would rather see you build somewhere that values you.

Roland Vander: That sounds personal.

Blake Faust: They're a fake organization that pulled the wool over my eyes a couple times. You're damn right it's personal.

Roland almost smiled.

Blake Faust: I also know what it is like to wonder whether people value the man or the armor.

Roland looked at him.

Blake’s public identity had made the Rider a company asset, a political symbol, and a target. He understood more than Roland had expected.

Roland Vander: Trace asked me not to follow him on a mission today.

Blake Faust: Was he right?

Roland Vander: Yes.

Blake Faust: Really inconvenient when we have to admit that, isn't it?

Roland Vander: Extremely.

Blake gestured toward the city map.

Blake Faust: You are not limited to the moments when Kishi Blue is needed. Vander Industries kept people working through major citywide attacks. You know how to rebuild. That is useful in Hanta City.

Roland studied the proposal again.

For the first time since the city contract had been taken away, the future in front of him did not look like a disaster for his company and its employees.

Roland Vander: My board will resist equal control.

Blake Faust: Mine already does.

Roland Vander: That does not concern you?

Blake Faust: It entertains me. I got my Mom and Victor on my side. We'll make it happen.

Roland finally opened the full document.

Roland Vander: Sit down. We have a great deal to discuss.

Blake took the chair opposite the desk.

Blake Faust: There he is.

Roland ignored the comment, but some of the weight had left his posture.

Mount Seraphine became steeper above the tree line.

Trace and Ashlyn followed the silver markers across bare rock as clouds moved over the summit. The old pilgrim path had collapsed in several places, forcing them to climb along narrow ledges or cross broken sections with rope.

They reached a stone arch shortly before sunset. Ancient figures had been carved into both supports: a knight holding a sword and another person standing behind her with one hand resting against the knight’s back.

The inscription beneath them had worn away.

Trace removed Jeanne’s map from the case.

Trace Mercer: This is the second seal.

Ashlyn examined the carvings.

Ashlyn Westbrook: The knight and the witness.

Trace Mercer: Klara said Kingslight should open it.

He drew the sword and placed its tip against the center of the arch.

Golden energy moved through the stone. The carvings lit one line at a time, but the opening remained sealed by a flat wall of silver light.

Ashlyn stepped beside him.

The light reacted to her presence and darkened around the edges.

Black shapes formed inside it.

Trace immediately removed Kingslight.

The barrier remained active.

Ashlyn watched a distorted version of herself appear within the silver surface. It wore Kishi Black’s armor, but the gold trim had been swallowed by veins of moving darkness. The reflection raised one hand and pressed it against the inside of the seal.

Ashlyn felt the corruption beneath her clothes answer.

Trace Mercer: Don’t touch it.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Definitely don't want to.

The reflection smiled.

Ashlyn did not.

A hand burst through the barrier.

Trace pulled her back as the corrupted reflection tore itself free. Its body collapsed into a mass of black armor before expanding into a headless knight carrying a copy of Gravebrand.

Three more figures emerged behind it.

Oath Wardens.

Their armor was made from the same pale stone as the arch, but corruption filled the spaces between their plates. Each turned toward Ashlyn rather than Trace.

Ashlyn Westbrook: They can sense it.

Trace Mercer: Stay beside me.

Ashlyn drew her Oathlink.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Always. Darkness Conquered!

Trace Mercer: Blazing Oath!

Ashlyn and Trace: Kishiranger, arise!

They transformed.

Kishi Red charged the first Warden before it could leave the arch. Kingslight struck the stone sword and forced the figure back into the barrier, but another Warden attacked from the side. Kishi Black caught the blade with Gravebrand and turned it away from her body.

The Warden did not follow the opening.

It reached for her chest.

Its fingers passed through the outer armor and closed around the corruption underneath.

Ashlyn screamed.

The Warden pulled.

Black energy stretched from her ribs toward its hand, but the suit clamped down around the infected section and refused to release it. Gravebrand changed shape in her grip, developing a hooked edge and thicker guard as the corruption tried to protect itself.

Kishi Black struck the Warden across the face.

The stone helmet split.

The creature kept pulling.

Kishi Red drove Kingslight through its shoulder and pinned it to the arch.

Trace Mercer: Ashlyn, move!

She tore herself free. A section of black energy remained in the Warden’s hand, where it twisted like something alive before crawling back toward her.

Kishi Red cut it apart.

The corruption burned away beneath Kingslight’s glow.

Two Wardens attacked together.

Trace blocked one, but the second drove him away from Ashlyn. The remaining figures closed around her, ignoring every opening he offered.

Trace Mercer: They only care about the corruption.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Then use that.

Kishi Black ran toward the ledge.

The Wardens followed.

Trace understood her plan and moved in the opposite direction. He climbed the outer arch, jumped from the upper ledge, and came down behind the pursuing figures. Kingslight swept through the backs of their knees.

Both Wardens collapsed.

Ashlyn turned before reaching the edge and drove Gravebrand between them. Dark energy burst from the sword, holding the creatures in place while Kishi Red landed beside her.

They crossed their blades.

Trace Mercer: Final Vow!

Ashlyn Westbrook: Twin Judgment!

Gold and crimson light exploded through the Wardens. The corruption burned out of their bodies, leaving the pale stone armor intact.

The figures stopped moving.

Kishi Black lowered Gravebrand.

The sword’s altered shape did not return to normal.

The hooked edge remained dark and heavy in her hand.

Trace noticed.

Trace Mercer: It changed Gravebrand.

Ashlyn dismissed the weapon.

Ashlyn Westbrook: It's changing my sword. It's changing my armor. It's changing me.

Trace stepped closer.

Trace Mercer: How far has it spread?

Ashlyn looked toward the sealed arch.

Ashlyn Westbrook: We should open the path before those things wake up again.

Trace Mercer: Ashlyn.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Not here.

Trace looked at the repaired Wardens around them. The corruption had been removed, but the mountain remained active, and night was approaching.

He dismissed his armor.

Trace Mercer: All right. Not here.

Ashlyn had expected him to argue.

His willingness to wait made the guilt worse.

They returned to the arch. This time Trace placed Kingslight against the knight carving while Ashlyn rested her hand against the witness figure. The silver barrier reacted to them together.

The arch opened.



Beyond it waited a sheltered valley high inside the mountain, protected from the wind by walls of dark stone. A small ruined lodge stood beside the path, while the summit shrine rose above them at the end of a staircase cut directly into the rock.

They would not reach it before dark.

Trace looked toward the lodge.

Trace Mercer: We stop here.

Ashlyn Westbrook: We’re close.

Trace Mercer: We’re tired, and you said we would talk somewhere safer.

Ashlyn folded her arms.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I don’t remember saying that.

Trace Mercer: Maybe I made it up.

She gave him a tired look.

Ashlyn Westbrook: That is not how conversations work between us.

Trace Mercer: I'm playing the team leader card. How about that?

Ashlyn tried to remain annoyed, but failed.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Fine. We stop.

The lodge had lost part of its roof, but the stone fireplace remained intact. Trace cleared the old chimney while Ashlyn unpacked the blankets and portable heater. They ate from the supplies Dorian had prepared, though Ashlyn noticed the food had been arranged differently from the standard KED field packs.

She looked across the fire.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Did you pack this?

Trace glanced at the food in her hand.

Trace Mercer: Yeah.

Ashlyn Westbrook: This stuff normally isn't stocked in the building.

Trace Mercer: I stopped on the way to KED.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You woke up before five to buy and prepare me food for a mountain mission?

Trace Mercer: I was already awake.

Trace smiled at her.

Trace Mercer: Besides, I know You like them.

Ashlyn looked down at the package. The gesture was small enough that Trace clearly had not considered it romantic. That made it more effective than anything elaborate could have been.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You make it very difficult not to just fall into your arms and never come up for air.

Trace Mercer: Is that bad?

Ashlyn Westbrook: Not at all. It's just...this thing...I'm dealing with.

They sat in comfortable silence until the fire settled.

Trace eventually leaned forward with his forearms resting against his knees.

Trace Mercer: You don’t have to show me the marks if you’re not ready.

Ashlyn’s hand stopped around her drink.

Trace Mercer: But I need the truth about whether you can finish the climb.

She looked into the fire.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Chemosh has made it so much worse. The armor doesn’t just react when I’m afraid anymore. It reacts whenever it thinks something could hurt you. It wants to get stronger, but it mutates and I lose control faster.

Trace remained quiet.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Near the facility, it spread beneath the suit. I thought it stopped after we escaped. It didn’t. Every time I transform, it takes more space.

Trace Mercer: How much?

Ashlyn unzipped the jacket.

The fitted shirt beneath it covered most of her torso, but the dark mark had climbed above the collar. She pulled the fabric aside enough to reveal black lines spreading from her ribs toward her shoulder. 

Trace’s face changed.

Not fear of her.

Fear for her.

Ashlyn found that harder to endure.

Ashlyn Westbrook: This is why I didn’t tell you.

Trace Mercer: Because you thought I’d make you stop fighting?

Ashlyn Westbrook: Because you already carry everyone. I didn’t want to become another problem you had to solve. Another burden from your team. You've been through so much.

Trace moved to sit beside her.

Trace Mercer: And you haven't? My lady, you are not a problem. You are never a problem. The team and everything around it, are not a burden either. They are my team, and you are even more than that.

Ashlyn looked toward him.

Trace met her eyes without looking away from the mark.

Trace Mercer: I didn’t come because I think you need me to save you. I came because you shouldn’t have to face this alone. You and I, we don't have to face anything alone every again.

The words entered a place in Ashlyn that had been guarded for most of her life.

She had been admired for strength, feared for anger, and praised for surviving. Trace expected none of those things from her. He did not need her to be invulnerable.

Ashlyn moved close enough to rest her head against his shoulder.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I love you.

Trace went still.

She had said it before in moments of fear or relief, but this felt different. 

Trace turned toward her.

Trace Mercer: I love you too.

Ashlyn smiled against his shoulder.

Trace placed one arm around her, careful of the corrupted mark. They remained beside the fire until Ashlyn’s breathing slowed and the weight of the mountain no longer felt as heavy.

Ashlyn rested her head against Trace’s shoulder, her fingers idly tracing the edge of his linen shirt. The corruption had taken root days ago. It was subtle at first, but now physically it was showing. Something else was brewing though inside of her. A heat beneath her skin that now bloomed into something insistent, something hungry. It sharpened every brush of fabric, every shared breath, until modesty felt like chains.

Trace, ever the knight of older vows, held her gently. His touch was reverent. To him passion was more like a sacrament to be approached with solemn grace. But tonight the fire in her blood cared little for her usual modesty. She lifted her head, meeting his eyes in the firelight. 

Ashlyn Westbrook: Trace, I need you.

Before he could answer with his usual affection, she rose and straddled his lap, her hands pressing his shoulders back against the cushions. His breath caught, surprise and desire warring in his gaze, but she didn’t wait. The corruption sang through her, urging her on.

Ashlyn peeled away the last barriers between them with slow, deliberate movements, savoring the way his modest restraint frayed under her touch. She guided him, sinking down with a sigh that melted into something deeper, claiming him fully as the firelight danced across their skin. Her hips rolled in a steady rhythm, taking what she craved, her palms braced on his chest as she rode him with growing urgency. Trace’s hands found her waist, gripping with a knight’s strength now laced with surrender, his low murmurs of her name lost against her throat.

She leaned forward, lips brushing his ear, then shifted with wicked intent.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I want to feel you...everywhere tonight.

She was craving more. Angling their bodies so the heat built in new, forbidden ways. The corruption didn't plant these passions in her body. It gave her the excuse to unleash them. It urged her deeper, coaxing her to press back against him where the sensation turned darker, tighter, a slow and agonizingly passionate claiming that drew a broken sound from his throat. She moved with deliberate control, taking him there in the fire warmed shadows, every rock of her hips an unspoken demand for more.

Trace’s composure shattered beautifully beneath her. He arched, hands tightening, giving himself over as she rode him harder, lost in the blaze of her desire until the night itself seemed to burn with them.

They reached the summit shrine shortly after dawn.

The structure had been carved into the mountain itself. Silver doors stood open at the top of the final staircase, revealing a circular chamber exposed to the sky through a broken dome. Snow covered the outer stones but did not cross the threshold.

Evensong waited at the center.

The sword stood point down inside a round pedestal. Its blade was long and straight, forged from silver metal that reflected violet light from no visible source. The guard curved toward the wielder’s hand like folded wings, while a dark gem rested inside the pommel.

Ashlyn felt the corruption recoil.

Trace drew Kingslight but kept it lowered.

Trace Mercer: The shrine is clear.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Sure looks that way, but I wonder.

They entered together.

The silver doors closed behind them.

A line of text appeared around the pedestal.

THE BLADE CANNOT REMOVE WHAT THE HEART STILL CHOOSES TO KEEP.

Ashlyn read it twice.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Omnious.

Ashlyn looked at him.

Trace Mercer: We were not nearly as blunt as people are today. I'll admit it WAS very annoying.

Despite everything, she smiled.

Trace stopped several feet from the pedestal. The carving of the knight and witness appeared on the floor beneath them, marking where each person was meant to stand.

Ashlyn approached Evensong alone.

The black lines beneath her skin spread toward her hand.

Trace’s Oathlink began to glow.

Trace Mercer: I’m here.

Ashlyn wrapped her fingers around the hilt.

Pain tore through her body.

The shrine disappeared.

Ashlyn fell through darkness and struck a flat surface hard enough to lose her breath. Gravebrand lay several feet away, its blade covered in black growths. Her armor had formed automatically, but the gold trim was fading as darkness consumed each plate.

A figure stood across from her.

Kishi Black.



The second Ashlyn wore a larger, heavier version of the corrupted suit. Jagged armor covered her shoulders, ribs, and forearms. The visor glowed red beneath a crown of black thorns, and a twisted copy of Gravebrand rested in one hand.

Chemosh’s voice came from inside the helmet.

Chemosh: The sword cannot save someone who wants what the corruption offers.

Ashlyn forced herself upright.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I don’t want any part of you.

The dark Kishi Black raised its sword.

Chemosh: You want the strength. You want the certainty. You want every threat removed before it can take him from you.

Ashlyn grabbed Gravebrand.

The dark figure attacked.

Their blades struck with enough force to send black sparks across the empty space. Ashlyn turned the first blow aside, ducked beneath the second, and drove her shoulder into the other version of herself.

Dark Kishi Black barely moved.

Its armored fist struck Ashlyn across the face and sent her sliding away.

Ashlyn rose and attacked harder.

Gravebrand cut across the dark figure’s chest. The armor opened, but more corruption filled the gap and made the body larger.

Chemosh: Rage feeds it.

Ashlyn swung again.

Dark Kishi Black caught Gravebrand in one hand.

Chemosh: Fear protects it.

The corrupted sword struck Ashlyn’s ribs.

Pain spread through the entire suit. The black marks beneath her armor expanded and closed around her chest.

Chemosh: Conviction gave it purpose.

Ashlyn fell to one knee.

Images appeared around them.

Trace trapped beneath the cathedral floor.

Trace struck by Malachor’s axe.

Trace consumed by the same corruption covering her body.

Trace in the dream, being pulled away from the field of roses as they made love.

Each memory ended with Ashlyn arriving too late.

Chemosh: Every enemy now knows where to hurt you. Love is weakness.

Ashlyn roared and drove Gravebrand into the dark figure.

The blade pierced its chest.

Dark Kishi Black looked down at the weapon.

Its armor absorbed Gravebrand.

The sword vanished into its body.

Ashlyn’s hands were empty.

The corrupted figure grabbed her by the throat and lifted her.

Chemosh: You were strongest when you needed nobody.

The pressure around Ashlyn’s neck increased.

She reached for anger.

The dark armor grew.

She reached for the fear of losing Trace.

Its grip tightened.

Ashlyn looked past the figure and saw a small red light in the distance.

Trace’s Oathlink.

Trace stood inside the shrine with one hand wrapped around Ashlyn’s wrist.

She had not moved since touching Evensong, but black armor now covered both of her arms and most of her upper body. The corruption spread toward her face while the sword remained locked inside the pedestal.

Trace tried to pull her hand free.

The shrine rejected him.

A wave of violet energy threw him across the chamber.

Trace struck the floor, rolled, and regained his footing as shadow figures emerged from the walls. Each wore a broken version of Kishi Black’s armor.

He transformed before they reached him.

Kishi Red drew Kingslight and cut through the first shadow. It split into two smaller figures and attacked from opposite sides. He blocked one, kicked the other away, and drove Kingslight into the floor.

Golden light spread through the shrine.

The shadows recoiled.

Kishi Red moved toward Ashlyn again, but the dark armor around her body formed a barrier.

Trace Mercer: Ashlyn, I know you can hear me.

The shadows attacked from behind.

He turned and fought them without leaving her side.

Trace Mercer: You can do this. You're not alone! I'm fighting beside you!

His Oathlink flashed.

The red light crossed the chamber and entered Ashlyn’s hand.

Ashlyn saw him.

Not an image created by Chemosh.

Trace stood beyond the darkness, fighting every shadow that tried to reach her while refusing to let go of the bond between them.

Dark Kishi Black tightened its grip.

Chemosh: He makes you vulnerable.

Ashlyn stopped struggling.

The corrupted figure tilted its head.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Yes.

The answer changed the space around them.

Ashlyn Westbrook: But that vulnerability, is love. Love is my strength!

Dark Kishi Black drew back its sword.

The red light from Trace’s Oathlink reached her chest.

Ashlyn closed her hand around it.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Trace asked me to fight beside him, and I will stand by him forever!

The dark figure swung.

Ashlyn caught the blade between both palms.

Cracks spread through the corrupted sword.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I love him. That doesn’t make me weak. It's what keeps me from becoming you.

The sword shattered.

Dark Kishi Black released her.

Ashlyn dropped to the ground as Evensong appeared before her, point buried in the darkness. The silver blade reflected her face without the helmet.

She wrapped both hands around the hilt.

Violet light erupted beneath her feet.

The black armor covering her body split apart. Every plate cracked from the inside as silver energy traveled through the seams. The corruption tried to retreat, but Evensong drew it from her Oathlink and forced it into the open.

Dark Kishi Black screamed with Chemosh’s voice.

Its armor expanded, developing heavy wings and clawed hands as the remaining corruption gathered inside it.

Ashlyn pulled Evensong free.

New armor formed across her body.

The black base became deep violet, rich enough to appear nearly dark in the shadows but unmistakably colored beneath the light. Silver trim replaced the gold around her shoulders, chest, skirt armor, gauntlets, and boots. The old red jewel remained at the center of her helmet, surrounded by a sharper silver crown. Her cape opened behind her in violet and silver, clean and unmarked by corruption.

Ashlyn raised Evensong.



Ashlyn Westbrook: Knight of the Violet Oath. Kishi Violet.

The dark figure charged.

Kishi Violet met it halfway.

Evensong cut through the first claw. Violet energy severed the corruption. Kishi Violet turned beneath the second strike and drove the silver guard into the figure’s chest.

Dark Kishi Black staggered.

Kishi Violet pressed one hand against Trace’s red light.

Kingslight answered from beyond the mental battlefield.

Red energy entered Evensong, joining the violet glow along the blade.

Chemosh’s voice filled the darkness.

Chemosh: You cannot remove what you are.

Kishi Violet brought the sword into a two handed stance.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I choose what I am!

She charged.

Dark Kishi Black swung its remaining claw.

Kishi Violet passed beneath it and drove Evensong through the center of the corrupted armor.

Red, violet, and silver light burst from the wound.

Ashlyn Westbrook: Violet Absolution!

The dark figure split from crown to core.

The corruption burned away without smoke or residue. Chemosh’s voice cut off as the empty armor collapsed and dissolved beneath Kishi Violet’s feet.

The darkness around her disappeared.

The shrine returned.

Trace stood in front of the pedestal with Kingslight raised, surrounded by fading shadows. The barrier around Ashlyn broke apart, releasing a wave of violet light that spread through the chamber and opened the silver doors.

Ashlyn lifted Evensong from the pedestal.

Her new armor shone beneath the morning sun.

Trace lowered Kingslight.

For once, he had no immediate response.

Ashlyn looked down at herself and then toward him.

Ashlyn Westbrook: You can say something.

Trace dismissed his helmet.

Trace Mercer: You’re beautiful.

Ashlyn’s posture softened.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I meant the armor.

Trace Mercer: I didn’t.

Her new visor opened.

The corruption was gone from her skin. No black lines remained beneath her neck, and the pressure that had followed her since the encounter with Chemosh had disappeared completely.

Ashlyn walked toward him.

Trace placed one hand against the side of her new helmet.

Trace Mercer: Let's never feel like we have to handle our burdens alone. Alright?

Ashlyn removed her helmet and met his eyes.

Ashlyn Westbrook: I can absolutely do that.

She kissed him before he could say anything else.

Trace caught her around the waist, and the violet cape closed around them as the first sunlight crossed the shrine floor. 



To Be Continued...

Last edited by Machismo (Yesterday 4:02 pm)