The Last Martyrs

-Preface-

The silence hovered throughout the atmosphere as time itself froze. The land had plunged into the complete darkness of night. What remained of the moon meekly casted its illumination unto the glistening waters in the distance.
We stood at the shoreline. Each of us held a sword in our right hand. Our swords pierced the darkness with such a brilliance, yet with a simultaneous humbleness. Although they glowed brighter than the stars they were crafted of, we reminded ourselves of who we were.
My heart turned to ice inside my chest. Prior to this very moment in time, I would have never imagined this existence. It was far beyond my feeble comprehension, but that no longer mattered at this point. Regardless of the horrible fear I was feeling, I knew I must be courageous.
I suddenly closed my eyes tightly as I tried to refocus my mind. My vision drifted to somewhere brighter--somewhere perfect. The child sat atop the large chair, gazing inquisitively back into my eyes. A smile spread across her innocent and flawless face. She flipped through the golden pages of the book, and her expression abruptly fell. As she peered up from the book and looked into my eyes once again, I felt such a hopelessness.
I tried to maintain the vision, but it slowly began to fade. The child's mother stood atop the high staircase, motioning for her to come to her. I could not make out what happened afterwards, and I opened my eyes to return to reality. Instantly as I did so, my face turned to stone.
The terrible crimson eyes cut through the pitch black sky over the distant sea. Those eyes were full of envy, hatred, sickness, anger, and an inexplicable vileness. They were gradually drawing closer and closer by the second.
A burst of an authoritative feeling coursed through my entire body. It was then that I knew I was meant to do this. As the eyes were nearly directly before us, I hoisted my sword into the air. My partners did the same as we marched into the waters. The all of us let out cries of war and darted forward.