Those Who Walk the Blessed Path... Halo X RWBY Fanfic

Chapter 5: Even in Death...

Thress POV:

Thress awoke to find himself in an unknown place, but he recognized the technology that surrounded him. It was Forerunner. As he held back a gasp of awe and wonder at the sights that surrounded him, a single thought entered his mind.

Lur' Thress: 'I-is this the path of the Great Journey, a-and if so where are my fallen brothers?' He thought as he looked around rapidly, as if expecting them to suddenly appear.

???: "They aren't here child of Sanghelios, it is just you and I..." a calming voice called out gently behind him.

When he turned to face the speaker, his eyes widened and he lost his voice.

There standing in front of him was the woman from before, except he could see her clearly for the first time. SHE was Forerunner.

He immediately fell to one knee and placed his clenched left fist on the ground, placed his right hand on his crouched right knee and bowed his head.

Lur' Thress: "Greetings, mighty Forerunner, how may I serve you?" he said in a shaky voice, keeping his head bowed before her, not daring to look at her, hoping to avoid enraging her.

The Forerunner simply gave a light chuckle before speaking.

???: "Rise child, there is no need for such formalities here." She said in a light voice.

Lur' Thress: "As you wish, Mistress" he said as he rose, not making eye contact with the Forerunner that stood before him.

???: "Tell me child, do you know why you are here?" she asked.

Lur' Thress: "Because I died in combat, knowing that it would allow me to proceed to salvation..." he started, but stopped when he saw the Forerunner in front of him smile and give a gentle laugh.

???: "No child, you are here to receive a gift." She said before turning away, beckoning the Elite to follow her.

Lur' Thress: "A gift... Mistress, I don't deserve it" he said remembering, his final fight, his last stand against an enemy horde "I failed in my duties as a Zealot, the Prophets..."

???: "These Prophets, have lied to you, to your entire race... why didn't they try to wipe out your people with the... what is the term you use? 'Brutes' is it?" she said in a gentle, but stern voice, like a mother telling her child to behave.

The truth hit him hard. He realised that the Forerunner spoke the truth, which meant that the Prophets had lied to him, to his people... for the second time since the glassing of Reach, he doubted the Prophets, he had lost faith in what the Prophets had told him once before, and it had cost him the lives of his Blood Brothers.

But here it was, the truth smashed into his skull, shattering years' worth of suffering and death. A rage filled him, a rage that only blood could cull, and that blood would be the blood of the Prophet of Faith, the one who had been on his ship at the time of his mission...aboard...

It clicked, it finally clicked, it was the PROPHET who had activated the Slip Space Cannon, it was the PROPHET who had requested that more Brutes be stationed on his ship. A sudden realisation hit him hard in the gut, his elites, men under his charge, had been murdered by the Prophet, and he had been cast adrift, like a worthless tool that had served its purpose.

Lur' Thress: (GROWLING) "Send me back mistress, I have unfinished business to deal with..." he near roared in rage, fists clenched and somehow not noticing the flames that were around his feet and hands.

???: "Not until you learn to control your gift." She said with a kind smile and gestured to his hands and feet with her left hand.

For the first time, the Zealot looked down at his hands to see them engulfed in crimson red flames, flickering hungrily at the air around them.

Lur' Thress: "W-what i-is this?" he gasped as the flames calmed and eventually coated his arms and legs like a second coat of armour.

???: "This child, is the power of the Cleansing Flames, powered by your rage and fury, your strength and speed are increased and you will be able to 'summon' weapons made out of the fire to help you in battle" she explained in her same gentle, yet stern voice.

???: "But you must be careful, the flames may cloud your mind if you don't learn to control your anger, and you may even lose the meanings of friend or foe." She warned, her voice dead serious.

Lur' Thress: "mistress, if I may..." he asked while waiting for a response, after she smiled and nodded for him to continue, he asked "Why me? You could have given this power to anyone, so why me? What makes me worthy of such power?" He questioned as he looked at his hands again, still covered in crimson flames.

The Forerunner simply smiled and stated.

???: "Because, child you are the only one who could possibly hope to control the flames..." her face suddenly grimaced and her eyes seemed to glass over "I have seen so many try to conquer the flames, only for them to be burnt. But you, you have been burnt before, and you survived, you didn't let the death of your brothers cloud your mind..."

Lur' Thress: "BUT I DID!!" he roared, catching the Forerunner off guard "I SLAUGHTERED INNOCET CIVILIANS, MY OWN PEOPLE WHO CLAIMED THE GREAT JOURNEY A LIE!!" He roared ad he fell to his knees and as soft as a whisper, as he stated "And all because some liar on a floating chair said otherwise..."

There was a silence that hung between the two, the only sound being the soft hum of machinery in the background.

???: "Why did you spare her?" the Forerunner suddenly said.

Lur' Thress: "Huh?" he replied, trying (and failing) to hold back tears of shame and anger.

???: "The lone Spartan on Reach, why did you spare her?" the Forerunner asked calmly.

Lur' Thress: "Because... because of the look in her eyes." The Forerunner tilted her head slightly, looked confused, the Zealot sighed and started his tale. "After the death of my brothers, I felt fear for the first time in my life, I felt shame, and I felt mercy, as my youngest brother, Gur' begged me to end it, to end his pain... and I did."

The quiet returned, but was quickly broken by the Zealot.

Lur' Thress: "The look of fear and defiance that she had in her eyes when I raised my Energy Dagger to end her life, was the same look my brother gave me... and so I let her go, gave her a Banshee and told her to 'run', and she did just that, but she gave me her dog tags as a 'souvenir' I believe her exact words were..." he said, a smirk appearing on his face, as he looked down at the burned pair of dog tags on his belt.

???: "That was your first step, one of many" the Forerunner stated, as the world began to grow bright.

Lur' Thress: "What! What do you mean 'one of many'? what else is required of me?"

???: "You wish for a purpose? You already have one..."

To protect the ones, you care about...

And to protect your new home...