My Throne of Light (Seven Knights Fanfiction)

Chapter 63: Damnation of Kris pt 5

The other knights were making their way towards him like crouching tigers, and the shields would not come as he called. Rudy froze.

"Hmph, so this is the end for you, Rudy?" the inner voice suddenly whispered like a demon tempting him. "Your death will at the hands of those who swore to serve the Light. Aren't you supposed to be one of them?" It laughed. "You are such a failure, Rudy. Years of hard work and training, you never thought you'd fail anyone ever again.

"You really are weaker than Kris."

"Kris," Rudy whispered. He remembered why he was persevering through the Celestial Tower. He was supposed to be competing with Kris, and he was supposed to be living his life to protect the people of Asgar. The Ultimate Guardian. The Throne of Light.

'You are a Knight of Light, Kris. You might have darkness in your heart, but it will never be enough to hold you down. Believe in yourself. You're stronger than all of its words; the Goddess' Light embraces you. You will never fail. We are made to be incorruptible by darkness.'

He ground his teeth and hung his head in shame. "With all the big talk about overcoming Darkness." The brunet chuckled. "It's ridiculous that I fell first. How can Kris put his trust on me when I'm like this? Perhaps I did underestimate what he was fighting..." He lifted his head and took a deep breath.

'I now see what will happen to Kris when his Darkness gets the better of him. Not just these Knights of Light. All of Ladenland will turn against him.' He glared at the attacking Knights. 'I have to make it. I will not let Kris do this on his own!'

"Shields of Light!" The brunet cried in hopes to call them forth. However, their absence left him open to the others' attacks. Rudy ended up rolling out of the way, bruising his body more on top of his newly-inflicted wounds. He ran to gain distance from them, giving him enough time to experiment once more. However, the shields did not bother to come out.

"The Light will never help you, abomination!"

Rudy stared at them before glancing at his shield. He knew he had no chances of winning against all of these warriors. Surrender was not an option either. As long as he was shrouded in Darkness, he would never endow himself with the powers of Light. He raised his sword to his face to see his reflection again; the grinning face nowhere to be seen. It was now just his glare and the blackening fumes.

'Goddess Elena, I have made a mistake.' The knight closed his eyes. 'The Darkness inside me had run free, and I cannot contain it anymore. My fear of losing my friend gave way for the Darkness to rule over me.' He paused. 'The scorch had numb me, and I lost the feeling of your embrace. I wish to continue serving you and your cause. Guide me back to the path bringing me to you, Your Eminence.'

"Look deep inside your heart, Rudy. The Light has never abandoned you."

The Knights' footsteps echoed in the hall as they ran towards the deranged brunet as Rudy listened through the loudest complaints of the other voice. He slowly opened his eyes and watched the time slow down along with the actions of his examiners. Rudy quickly entered stance: pushing his shield forward with his sword swinging behind him.

"Shields of Light!" The brunet Knight of Light yelled once more. Black shields appeared from thin air and spun around him, effectively blasting the other Knights away. However, black fumes started seeping away from the shield; the color paling and turning into white. The same thing was happening to Rudy's body. He freed himself from the bounds of his darkness.

Aside from the shield, his sword had become massive through the overlay of light. His wounds began to heal slowly as the light concentrated behind him. They had formed a pair of wings which continuously flapped as he healed.

He brought his shield down, but he kept his guard up. He stared at the knights who were struggling to get up. "You will let me pass through whether you like it or not!"

Alice smiled widely again after silently watching Rudy face his adversity. She held her hands to her chest in glee, only to notice a weird noise behind her. She flung her head behind her; to her surprise, a ghoul jumped at her. She screamed in terror as she kept herself from being bitten.

"Alice!? Alice!" Rudy called out before rushing towards the door where Alice was; fortunately, the one almost next to him. He quickly swung his sword to cut the ghoul in half, ridding it for Alice. He helped the bunny woman up and led her deeper into the hall as the undead oozed from the stairs. Rudy kept her away from the crowd of enemies. "Stay behind me."

"I need to warn the Goddess! Those are not part of her creations!" Alice cried before she called forth her multidimensional door. She left Rudy without a word.

The other knights went to Rudy's side and readied to wipe out the real enemy. Their Imperator spoke, dagger eyes towards Rudy, "They are the spawns of our enemy."

"They came to attack now of all times?" Rudy ground his teeth and sized the multitude-

Only to be interrupted by the tremor that took everyone down.