The Burning saint: Ascended

Templar.

"The day a portal opened on our world, it was our God that protected us. With his power, no evil was able to step foot on his land, but his power is not without limits, we had to prepare for when he could no longer defend us. As his chosen, it was our duty to protect his world from the forces of hell. Three hundred men stood at the gates, each blessed with a portion of his power, ready to fight as soon as God could do so no longer. Then, a moment of terror overcame me, when I saw a giant knight in black armor, carrying a massive sword in one hand, and in the other, a weapon never before seen on our world.

The first soldiers who raised their swords and confronted the terrifying monster, only served to demonstrate the power of otherworldly weapon. Before they even reached it, the knight fired its weapon. I remember the first thing was the sound, it was the loudest weapon I had ever heard in my life, it sounded like unavoidable doom. What followed was several of gods greatest warriors losing their lives before they could even fight. I know now that the weapon was slow, if we had acted fast enough, that demon would not have taken as many lives as it did. It was only after the second time it fired, that we started to act. As our swords lit up with gods' holy light, that demon, like many that followed, was brought down.

We had no way to close the portal. At the time we though that, the way to close it was on the other side. Despite our early losses, we felt confident, that with the power of God, we could take the fight to hell itself. After all, we still had over two hundred warriors left. God warned us that what was on the other side of that portal, would no doubt be far worse than anything that came out of it, he urged us not to risk it, but we were chosen by him to protect our world, and we believed this was the only way to stop their invasion. We acted against his wishes, in order to protect our world, our people, I wanted to protect my family, my wife and my children that I will never see again.

We fought them for what felt like days, maybe weeks, it was impossible to tell time when all we did every hour of every day was slaughter demons. Soon we found our numbers cut in half and ourselves lost in that damned world. Before we realized it, the battle lead us far away from the portal, it was then that we knew we will never go home, and with our numbers decreasing every week, our decision to fight them in their world felt more and more like a fatal mistake. After so much death and chaos, we still had no way of closing the portal.

Eventually, all my brothers in arms had fallen and only I was left standing. I was no longer fighting to save my world, I knew fully well that no matter how many demons I kill, it wouldn't make a difference. At that point I was only fighting to outlive all demons that wanted me dead. My body and mind had started to weaken, with every injury I suffered. Even with the power of God keeping me alive and standing despite having no air and food, if it kept going that way, I doubt I would've been alive for much longer.

I remember that I was standing in a pool of blood, with my legs on the brink of collapse, surrounded by countless demons. That was when I saw a blinding light in the red sky. The monsters surrounding me turned their attention to it, like moths to flame. It was as if they forgot I was even there. We all looked upon an angel, descending from the heaven to punish God's enemies with holy fire.

Or so I believed, but once all demons around me had been burned to ashes, and you raised your sword against me, it was clear you were just another demon for me to fight.

Well, maybe that would've been the case for an ordinary human, but for one blessed by god, when our swords collided and the light from my blade enveloped you, I felt your grip become weaker as the light of god was purifying your soul. That was how I knew you were not one of them, for any other demon would be burned by his light, but when it touched you, you began to turn away from your madness. When the dark sun was setting, the flames surrounding your body disappeared, you put your weapon aside and put your arms around me, with tears flowing from your eyes. That moment you displayed your own powers, as when you held your arms around me and became surrounded by holy light, my injuries were healing, I once again felt strong, and with the burning saint watching over me, I felt like I could fight any demon, in any number, for all eternity.

I don't know how long it has been since that day, it does feel like a lifetime ago. You helped me find the portal to my world. You then revealed that you have the power required to close portals to hell. I remember you asked me to go through before you close it, but I knew that without gods light, you would no doubt eventually succumb to the demonic corruption again and return to senseless slaughter. That would never prevent future invasions. As much pain as it caused me, I accepted I could never go home a long time before that day. So despite all your efforts to push me through the portal by force, I stood my ground and convinced you to let me help you, and when the portal was closed, our fight through hell had a goal. Find a way to end demonic invasions forever.

For years we fought demons and demon lords. Many fell before us on our quest, but our crusade through hell was eventually brought to its inevitable halt. I don't blame you for facing the king alone, we both knew he was far more powerful than any demon we had ever faced. You were willing to risk fighting him alone if it meant avoiding my death. I know you wanted to protect me, after all, you were created to protect the living from demons, and I was the only one around. It still didn't make it easy for me, to just stand behind the immovable castle door, and listen to you suffering as the entire mountain was shaking.

When the king finally opened the door, I was fully ready to fight and die, but that was not what happened. The king turned his back on me, even as I had my sword drawn. He did not want to fight me, he just sat down in his throne and watched. Maybe I should have fought him, but at the time, all I could think about was getting you out of there. I did not know if you were truly dead, I did not want to accept it. I carried what was left of your body down the mountain, the realization that all demons just stood and watched never even crossed my mind. Maybe through blind luck, or maybe it was fate, I found a portal out of the demon world and ended up on this world of red sand, with buildings never seen on my home world or its fiction.

As i walked through their streets, I witnessed technology that looked almost as advanced as the demon forge. Maybe I was delusional, but I believed that if there was a way to save you, these people would be able to find it. So I left you with them, before going back to the portal. Now as demons come through, they no longer intend to ignore me. For however long it takes, I must protect these people, and I must protect you. I once again invoke the will of God, and fight to protect the living just as you would!"