False Perfection, Truth in Weakness: Chapter 2 – Resisting as Fighting

Chapter 2 – Resisting as Fighting

More days pass, and nothing changes. I keep praying and struggling with my desire to do something. I go out for food and water and feel more overwhelmed by temptations every time. Caiaphas keeps giving me the same advice, and I can feel myself growing spiritually and physically weaker as time goes on. I find myself praying for strength, patience, and wisdom more than the world and others. I’ve lived as a penitential nomad more than in relaxation and luxury in my hundreds of years of living, and yet, this current saga of my life is more testing than any other.

I feel a bit of comfort, and thinking it’s God, I let my guard down and thank God for it. Then, I feel and see warm arms of light wrap around me, and my head begins to feel numb. Looking behind me, I see one of the residents of Lux Mane phasing through the wall like a ghost. Her appearance is like the rest of the people from Lux Mane, as her body is made of a dull but bright golden light, dressed in golden robes, has finger-like wings, and has her eyes closed with a permanent smile on her face.

“Uriel!” Caiaphas says as I’m whisked away through the ground by the woman and into the sky.

Forced to look into the sky for a moment, I see hundreds, if not thousands, of eyes looking at me and the same number of fingers reaching out from the light that touch my head and body and soul, making it more numb. I try to get out of the woman’s grasp, but my strength leaves me, and her firm grasp on my weak body makes it impossible for me to slip out.

“Relax,” she loudly whispers in my ear, her voice gripping my mind as if it were a hand. “You’ll be free and happy soon.”

The grip on my mind makes me faint. Everything around me seems to spiral inward until my vision clears and I see that I’m flying over one of the cities controlled by Lux Mane, its tall buildings all white, like the buildings on their planet are said to be, reflecting the light of the shining planet. The woman carrying me sets me down on a roof where a party is underway. Everyone stops drinking and partying to look at me. The woman bows before a man in white and gold robes and announces who I am and where she found me.

“Heh, looks like you didn’t need to restrain him because he’s done that to himself in more ways than one,” the man in white and gold says. “So, you’re Uriel, the last descendant of the honored Emundatio family? What’s a man like you hiding in a dark hole? You deserve to be in one of the luxurious penthouses, enjoying all the pleasures of life.”

“I don’t need it…I don’t need it…” I say, wanting to say I only want to serve God, but find myself unable to because a large majority of myself is pulling me to want relaxation and pleasures.

“I know what you want. Don’t worry, you’ll get it, my friend. We from and of the Lux Mane don’t punish our enemies. Instead, by the power of the god of Light, we give them what they want.”

“Stop…I’d rather die…”

“No, you wouldn’t. Don’t lie to yourself. It’s a sin, isn’t it?”

With the remainder of my strength, I get up, punch the man in the face, and throw myself over the edge of the building, only to be caught and have my vision blurred and everything become spirals again. Once my vision settles, I see that I’m in some kind of luxurious apartment room with a kitchen, bedroom, couch, TV, computer, and many little decorations. At the entrance of this room is the man in white and gold robes that I punched and three robed women behind him.

“Where am I? I don’t want this,” I say as I get up, still weak, and feeling the effects of the cursed light.

“This is your temporary apartment. We’ll find or build you a proper place to live. A man like you deserves it, so we’ll have it for you soon. Until then, please enjoy it as best you can and enjoy the company,” the man says before backing away and allowing the women to enter.

One woman has a face similar to my mother, another has a face that looks like a woman from hundreds of years ago, and the third looks like another family member. I turn my head as they take off their clothes and approach me.

“Get away from me! This isn’t what I want,” I say.

“Yes, it is,” the man says. “Our god has told us of your tastes. Your temptations gave you a liking to your mother, a young relative, and a nun. Your mother was perverted for allowing her stress to get to her and give in to her rapists; thus, you were also given a similar burden to hers.”

As the women touch me and try to drag me to the bed, the man’s words and what’s suggested make me lose my patience and throw a punch at the face of the woman who looks like my mother, caving her skull in, and killing her in an instant.

“Don’t talk about my mother like that!” I yell.

The man and the two women laugh, and the woman, whom I thought I killed, has her face restored by the light from the outside, comes back to life, and laughs with them.

“Oh, and yes, you have an itch for violence too,” one of the women says. “Your tastes involve sex and violence, the two things all men and women crave the most.”

“Don’t act like you need to prove your strength to anyone. We know you’re better than most men,” the other woman says.

“Yes, most men just give in when given the comfort you have now. Yes, you prove it with your continued struggling against us. That means we should give you something as a reward right now. Come on, let’s go find it for you,” the man says.

An intense light shines from the outside, turning everything I see into spirals yet again. No matter how much I try to pray and fight against it, I can’t help but allow myself to be taken and go along with whatever is happening. My vision settles, and I see that I’m in some beachfront mansion with a nudist beach in front of me. Turning away from the sight, I look at the house, which is also blinding to look at because of how it reflects the light from Lux Mane.

“What do you think, Uriel?” the man in white and gold robes asks. “It’s one of the best in the area. Come on, girls. Help him in. He can’t enjoy the best parts of it outside.”

Three floating women grab my arms and legs, and carry me through the house as the man explains each room and all the decorations. It all looks too familiar.

The man says, “It does look familiar, doesn’t it? We’ve modeled it off your original home and the many other homes you’ve been in and admired. Look, it’s your original room with all your favorite statues and superhero figures, including your mother, father, their mentor, and others. We’ve even filled it with all kinds of familiar faces.”

I shake off the women who are carrying me, and say, “I don’t care what they look like or even if they look like people I’ve loved. Those people are in Heaven. You people are from Hell.”

“How could we be from Hell when we give so much to those who are needy and in need of comfort in their suffering, such as you?”

“You use comfort as a way to manipulate people to fall into sin. Your gifts are tainted with poison, and I will not accept them,” I say while tearing down everything in the house, especially the awards with my name on them and statues of myself.

The three women push me through the ground with the man flying behind them.

“If violence is what you want, then you’ll get more than your fill of it,” the man says.

With a snap of his finger, I’m blinded by a flash of light. A second after, I see myself in some kind of underground fight club and bar where, after the victors win, they have their way with those that they defeated in front of the crowds, take them kicking and screaming away, or let the crowds do what they want with them. Everyone is in their own cage, and in mine, there are many men and women with similar faces to those of people I’ve disliked, to say the least, such as family members who were oppressing the people of Aushalten and got what they deserved.

“Fight and kill them all. After you can do whatever you like to them, or if you don’t, they’ll do whatever they want to you,” the man in white and gold robes says from over my shoulder before disappearing in a flash of light.

Before I can see what’s going on, I’m punched in the face by the brawl that’s been started by everyone.

“Come on, weakling. Can you fight? You can’t do anything but pray and be on your knees all day, can you?” the woman in front of me says as she attacks me.

She throws punch after punch at me that I dodge, losing my temper with each passing second I’m in here.

“Everyone, stop fighting! This is what they want us to do! This is what these sick freaks get off to,” I say.

No one listens to me as they keep fighting. Some of them even say they’re the same sick freaks and want this wholeheartedly. I try running to the sides of the cage, but can’t find a door or break it open, so with no other choice, I defend myself. I kill the woman who’s going after me by clapping my hands around her head, crushing her skull. Picking up her dead body, I use it as a weapon against the others, a tactic I picked up from St. John Elio and his sister saint, killing a few of the others in the process. Five of the fighters in the cage gang up on me all at once, and I counter their attack by allowing the horns on my body to jut out, stabbing them through their arms, legs, and heads.

The crowd is going wild since I’ve so quickly and ruthlessly killed every combatant in the cage. Three robed women present to me a trophy and themselves as the reward.

When I say, “Let the glory be God’s, not mine.” The crowd goes completely quiet.

They seem disgusted by me now. The women try pushing themselves and the trophy on me, saying that they are mine, and God had nothing to do with my victory, but I push them away and crush the trophy into pieces by stepping on it. Angry that I won’t accept them, the women fly at me and threaten to rape me, but I use my extending horns again to kill them before they can touch me.

“Come on. Stop playing hard to get,” the man in white and gold robes says as he descends from the ceiling lights. “This is what you want. We both know it. I can read your mind, heart, and feelings. I know your deepest sins and brightest virtues. You, Uriel, are a violent and lustful man, repressed from getting what you wanted for years, and with the opportunity to finally embrace it, why won’t you take it?”

The people that I killed are touched by the man’s light and brought back to life.

“What you’re sensing is what the weak part of me wants. I refuse to embrace that part of me. Instead, I’ll only embrace the true part of me that God only knows,” I say.

I extend my horns to pierce the man several times in the face, body, legs, and arms. My horns go back into stubs as the crowd gasps and watches the man try to continue flying and keep his smile on his face, even as it wavers.

“If that’s how it’s going to be, then let me introduce you to a happiness beyond comprehension,” the man says before grabbing me and flying me into the light.

“Uriel!” I hear Caiaphas say.

Below, I see Caiaphas tearing through the crowds with barbed wire that comes out of his empty face, his back, and his arms. Usually, he fights people within a half-second, where he also tests them. I’m not sure if he’s doing that or is simply tearing through them as I’m seeing. I try to break out of the man’s grasp, but since we’re going through the ground and are back outside, I feel weakened by the cursed light.

“You’ll thank me for this, Uriel,” the man says. “Prepare yourself to get exactly what you’ve always wanted.”

I no longer feel the strength to do anything with my body as the man takes me into the sky and toward the shining planet of Lux Mane. Looking up at it as I fall unconscious, I see the thousands of eyes in the sky looking at me as their many hands reach for me.

“This is it. The end,” is the last thing I hear a voice say as unconsciousness takes me.

False Perfection, Truth in Weakness: Chapter 1 – A Life of Ever-Revolving Problems

Chapter 1 – A Life of Ever-Revolving Problems

Life is an ongoing penance. Since the moment we’re born, there’s sin on our souls that needs to be washed away, and I’m thankful that I was born in a family that knew how to correctly raise their children by having us baptized soon after we were born and raising us in the Catholic faith. It’s been hundreds of years since then, and somehow, I’m the only one who’s outlived my parents, siblings, the children of my siblings, their children, and so on. I was the first child my parents had and the one who was cursed at birth with horns.

My mother was raped by a demonically possessed man of a long-forgotten cursed family, and even though she was pregnant and knew I would be cursed, she still had me, and my father still married and had other children with her. My horns have had to be cut since I was a child, so that I wouldn’t be more inclined to sin, and I have to take special care to pray and be more aware than most people of my thoughts and actions. The spiritual advisors I’ve talked to say that the demons taunt me more than others because of the resistance I put up to them, and I’m much closer to God than I think. I hope that’s true.

“Uriel. Are you praying or losing your concentration?” my mentor, Caiaphas, asks.

“I was losing my concentration again,” I plainly admit. “My past was coming back to me. Even though it was hundreds of years ago, when it gets brought back up, it feels like it was yesterday.”

“I completely understand that. Nevertheless, you must focus on the task at hand, friend. Humanity’s future depends on it.”

Caiaphas is an ancient man with gray hair and a void for a face that he covers with a mask with a single mouth and four eyes on it. He wears a gray suit, red tie, white dress shirt, gray pants, red dress shoes, and white gloves. In my teenage years, he appeared to me and began mentoring me, since we both focus on evangelization and saving souls. My father and mother’s mentor, St. Timeo Severe, knew of him and received advice from him as well. Caiaphas was one of the priests who got our Lord, Jesus Christ, crucified and has been trying to save souls ever since. He goes where God leads him, mostly trying to get sinners to repent of their sins, and other times trying to give repentant sinners his wisdom so they can better do God’s will.

Currently, we are both praying in a dark room for the sake of the world. Earth has been invaded multiple times, one time justly so, but this time is completely different. No weapon can defeat this newest foe because they attack people’s minds and souls over their bodies. A planet of light appeared out of a portal and started shining its light down on Earth, trapping it in an Eternal Morning. The people from the planet say they are the Lux Mane, and seemed to be good and virtuous at first, worshipping the same God and sharing their seemingly boundless resources with us.

After a while, they started showing their true colors by teaching opposing truths to the Catholic faith, such as: the honor of false gods, that there is no Hell, all demons are now in Heaven, no sin will be punished, there are no sexual sins, and so on. Despite there being some resistance to the Lux Mane, the light emanating from their planet makes men’s minds and hearts faint and simple to manipulate. Not even the self-sacrificing people of Aushalten can hold up long to the light of the Lux Mane and have gone off with their people to infect the planet of Aushalten with their falsehoods. The only people able to resist these temptations are men like me, Caiaphas, and other penitents who are hiding in dark places untouched by the blinding light. Others have tried fighting with force or convincing our foe with words, but they’ve all either fallen under the spell of our foes, been destroyed with overwhelming force, or taken to the planet of light and never heard from again.

“If only this were as easy as destroying that planet controlled by an AI,” I unintentionally say aloud.

“It could be worse. That grotesque planet that my friend, Lavinia, had a hand in creating was far more deadly since they relentlessly attacked both body and mind,” Caiaphas says.

“Have you heard from her, or do you think she died when that planet was destroyed? She was supposed to be undying and indestructible like you, right?”

“Right, but that doesn’t mean that God won’t let her die. I hadn’t heard from her in a while before the planet’s arrival, so it’s possible she was assimilated into the planet like its other inhabitants and destroyed with them.”

“Makes sense. I’m still proud of my niece, Griselda, and miss her, even though I know she’s in Heaven.”

“She gave her all to protect this world, along with the other soldiers. The only possible way I see humanity getting out of this situation with force is if Aushalten sends its forces to invade Lux Mane like how they did with Earth. They keep sending people there, which must mean they’re putting up resistance against them.”

“Well, they must have an easier time doing so. They don’t have a planet shining down on them like the sun on them day in and out. That and they’re so headstrong about self-sacrifice and sticking to the truth that it’d be easier for our enemies to move a mountain with their hands than to get them to budge.”

“Still, many of their people on Earth have fallen to them.”

Continuing to pray, I switch to reading and then cleaning the bare, dark underground house we are in. There are no tables, decorations, sinks, or bathrooms in this place. There’s only a bed of straw and a shelf with Bibles, stories of the saints, history of the Church, and spiritually enriching fiction. There are no electronics here since the Lux Mane can teleport through electronics and places where there’s light. We do have an ice box, specifically for me, as Caiaphas doesn’t really need to eat or drink. I may be superhuman, and fasting is important for our task, but I can still die if I don’t get any.

Speaking about nourishment, I ask Caiaphas if I can get some fruit and drink from the nearby river, and he allows it and reminds me to be careful. Going outside through the trap door, I move aside the branches and leaves over our hideout and quickly make my way to the nearby abandoned farm, grab some apples, grapes, and peaches. I unintentionally eat the grapes that I have with me when I mean to eat them when I get back. The light that I’m in feels relaxing and makes my head feel light. It makes me want to stay out here, never go back to Caiaphas, and forget all that he has taught me, but I resist by offering up my holding off on eating the fruit in my hand. My left arm is tied to my back with a long rosary rope so it can constantly pray, and part of me is restrained from acting on emotion.

Quickly heading over to the river, I put my fruit into its bag, use the river water to refill my bottle, and run back to the hideout. I’m about to start eating and drinking, but stop before my lips touch the fruit. Putting it down, I say my prayers of thanks, take a breath, and then start eating and drinking.

“Good work, Uriel,” Caiaphas says.

As I finish eating, I say, “What’s so good about it? It’s just surviving.”

“You survived the temptations of the enemy. Not many can say that, and it’s the task that God has for us.”

“I still struggle with accepting that’s true. I feel like there’s something more I can do, and yet, I also feel that this is the end for humanity and God’s second coming is imminent.”

“Whatever happens, happens according to the will of God. We can only do what we know to be right, and go from there. Be calm, and continue praying, Uriel.”

I sit down and do as Caiaphas asks. As I pray, I feel the residual touches of light from Lux Mane be peeled away and calm return to my heart, body, and mind. Every day is the same day in and out, and yet, I must endure. If this is what God wants from us, then I have no choice but to accept it. Lord God, give me the strength and wisdom to accept Your will with all my heart, and come soon to save humanity. I’m not sure how much longer we can go on without a miracle to save us.

My latest short story is done and out today!

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The history of the planet Aushalten is written in blood and sacrifice. When the people of Earth came to Aushalten for assistance, Aushalten was more than willing to help, but after being taken advantage of and oppressed by those they sought to aid, the people of Aushalten decided that enough was enough. Following the brothers Shaeffer and Adalwolf, the ever-sacrificing people of Aushalten will reclaim their planet and take the fight to Earth for the sake of their people and divine justice.

Oppression from the Oppressed: Chapter 4 – Finalizing Justice

Chapter 4 – Finalizing Justice

This is it. After three days of fighting on Earth, the end of the war is in sight. Once our enemies saw our strength, zeal, willingness to give our lives for our freedom, and the cowardice of their leaders, many quickly folded and surrendered, giving us immediate control of their territories and resources without a fight. The groups on Earth that are on our side have joined up with us in many of our fights and have been given better weapons and armor so they can fight better with us. Now, all that remains is one last place to conquer, a town controlled by the remnants of our enemy’s forces, held together by the Compassionate and members of the Emundatio family.

The Emundatio family says they want to end the war and to instill a lasting peace for the peoples of both planets. Wary of their claims, our leaders task my brother, Shaeffer, to talk to them and negotiate the terms of peace. Knowing that my brother’s voice and efforts have surpassed every other officer and leader, they say that he’s the one they trust the most to carry this out. Shaeffer looks to me, as if looking for permission or assurance that he can do this, and I nod.

“I’ll do it, but I’ll need my brother by my side,” Shaeffer says.

“Do whatever you think is necessary,” one of our generals says.

“Could we also have a backup of forces on standby just in case these talks are a farce? I have a feeling they may be.”

“Yes. Forces will be on standby to extract you and your brother if the talks fail.”

“If the talks go sour or are a farce, then don’t worry about me. If God wants us to escape, my brother and I can make it out ourselves. Otherwise, we get what we deserve.”

Smirking, another general says, “This is why you’re so well liked by everyone, Shaeffer.”

Shaeffer finalizes his plans with the generals, and we head off. A ship takes us to the capital town of the Compassionate, a town with green fields of grass and every kind of flower in the area. There’s something weirdly nostalgic and dreamlike about this place, even though I’ve never seen anything like it outside of the bombed-out fields I’ve trampled over. As we land on the landing platform, we’re met with crowds of people cheering, throwing petals into the air, and a path for us to walk down that’s guarded so we can walk down it.

“Thank you!” I hear the crowd say.

“Welcome, heroes of Aushalten!”

“God bless you!”

“You’re living saints!”

Leaning over to Shaeffer, I say, “This is too strange for me.”

“I know. Simply wave, smile, and be on your guard, Adalwolf,” he says.

I do as my brother says, and he does the same. We both have our weapons sheathed and ready to be taken out at a moment’s notice, and I can already feel my hand tingling to grab it to feel safer. Down the path, Shaeffer and I walk into some illustrious restaurant decorated with flowers and statues of saints. It has many stained glass windows and plain windows that let a lot of the outside light and fresh air in. In the center of the restaurant are the negotiators, the children of Emundatio. They smile and offer to shake our hands, to which Shaeffer does, and I do the same.

As we sit down, the doors behind us close, muffling the sounds of the crowd outside. We are offered many kinds of Earth-made desserts and drinks, many of which are a bit too sweet for my liking. Shaeffer seems to stomach it, if nothing more than to be courteous to our hosts, who are also eating and drinking and exchanging pleasantries with Shaeffer, such as sharing names, talking about what they like at this restaurant, and telling us random life stories that they laugh about. Shaeffer reciprocates their pleasantries with simple stories of his own, to which they all share a laugh.

“Excuse me, what’s your name, soldier? You can share it and tell us stories of your own, if you’d like. You’re our honored guest here,” a daughter of Emundatio says.

I’m too focused on trying to taste any poison in the drinks and food to even begin where to speak, so I simply say, “My name is Adalwolf. I’m my brother’s keeper. There’s not much for me to share that wouldn’t dampen the mood.”

“My brother is a soldier of Aushalten through and through that throws himself into danger for the sake of others without a second thought for better or worse,” Shaeffer says. “He’s pretty much been my side for my entire life and supportive through it all. He’s like my mother, while I’m like my father.”

“I see. So, he’s basically glued to your side. Do you two double date all the time then?”

“No, we don’t have any girlfriends yet, but I’m sure that’s what we’re going to do. We’ll probably also share the same house, as is common in Aushalten.”

“Really? I can’t imagine that, given we all have separate houses, and many more houses for vacations in different areas of Earth.”

“Mmm. It’s a nice luxury.”

“Now that the mood is sufficiently lightened, may we begin the peace talks?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I will be talking for my brothers, sisters, and all under us, since we are all in agreement. Let us talk about the most pressing matters first, that being the cost of the war. We’d like it to be split sixty, forty, with Aushalten paying the majority of it in all aspects.”

I ought to shoot them all for this suggestion. Shaeffer looks to me, as if sharing my sentiment before speaking, “For what reason does Aushalten have to pay for most of the damages?”

“I think the reason should be obvious. You started the war, did the most damage, and killed the most people during it. You’ve even killed civilians and surrendering leaders and soldiers.”

“The war was waged because we were wronged to begin with and negotiations for better conditions got us nowhere. As for the unfortunate casualties, we had given all areas we invaded sufficient notice to escape. We have also faced resistance from civilians and vigilantes whom we were forced to defend ourselves from. Additionally, we killed surrendering combatants because they either faked surrender or deserved execution for their actions. Your offer should be flipped and altered. Earth pays and does seventy percent of the repairs, while Aushalten does thirty.”

“We are severely weakened by you scorching the Earth and destroying our cities and towns. It’ll take years to get back to the way life was before.”

“So be it then. You have it better here than we do back on Aushalten. We are more than willing to lighten and share your burden if you show yourselves truly repentant to make it sixty, forty, but you have to prove that over the course of years of sweat and penance.”

“The people of Earth aren’t like those of Aushalten. We can’t endure, as you people can.”

“We are all human. You’ll find a way, and we’ll help you where needed. What are your other terms of peace?”

“We must agree on Aushalten doing more to repair the damages of war first before going onto those.”

“We won’t get anywhere then. What happened to the Compassionate being the charitable arm of the Dominion?”

“Our offer is the most compassionate that we can come up with. We can only do so much.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. True compassion doesn’t know what ‘too much’ is. What happened to the legacy of your saints, St. Polina Emundatio the Ever-Sacrificing Mother, St. Raziel Emundatio of Holy Fire, and more recently, St. Griselda Emundatio the Loyal Daughter and Soldier? None of you know the true compassion and unlimited giving that your ancestors were glorified for.”

The room is silent for a few seconds.

“How about we increase our dues for the war by ten percent?” a son of Emundatio asks.

Shaeffer sighs and says, “This war didn’t start because my people hated yours. In fact, I’ve killed many of my traitorous own and found kinship with the men and women of Earth. Did you know the last martyr of Aushalten before the war started was a man from Earth? Even though he wasn’t one of us or anyone of importance with any kind of power, he threw himself in front of gunfire to save the people behind him, and with his dying breath, drew the martyr’s cross on the ground as a prayer for his enemies and friends. Such people go to Heaven to sit directly next to our Lord, and are holier than any of us will ever be. The martyrs are the ones who give the most to God and the Church. Suffering for another is the most valuable gift and most powerful sign of love.”

“So, what do you want us to do then? We’re not going to hurt ourselves in exchange for our percentage due,” a daughter of Emundatio says.

“No, you won’t. You won’t do anything for anyone if it seriously discomforts you. People like you don’t change in your final moments even when confronted with the blunt reality of your sins. That’s why people like you are shot on sight and given no fair trial. If actions, prayers from others, and words won’t change your mind, then even God can’t change you. That is why I say to my brother that I can inspire people as much as I can to fight, but it is the soldier who wins the war.”

Hearing the signal phrase, I get up, draw my rifle, and shoot the children of Emundatio, while Shaeffer draws his pistol and shoots the guards. Outside, explosions and sounds of fighting ring out as our soldiers blow up key areas of our enemies, fight, and kill all who oppose us. Shaeffer and I walk outside to see it all unfold, but don’t join in.

“Shaeffer? Is something the matter?” I ask.

“I didn’t want it to end this way, and yet, I had a premonition it would,” he says.

“Our enemies are unredeemable. It is a mercy that we ended their lives, so they could not continue their sinful ways and dig themselves deeper into Hell.”

“That’s true. Thank you for all your support, brother. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“We couldn’t have won the war without your inspirational words, brother. The credit should be all yours.”

“All glory should be given to God, the martyrs, and those in Heaven who prayed for us.”

“That’s even more true. I’m guessing that we won those negotiations and things will go our way?”

“Force is always the most powerful form of negotiation and law enforcement, so yes. When the dust settles, we will have the peace we’ve worked so hard for. Come. There is still much to be done to solidify it.”

Joining up with our forces, they cheer for the glory of God and my brother. Other pockets of enemy resistance may be out there, but they won’t last. The peace and harmony we’ve been fighting for is now ours and will be shared between the people of Earth and Aushalten. All glory and praise be to God and those who lived and died for love and truth. Amen.

 

The End

Oppression from the Oppressed: Chapter 3 – Day of Due Vengeance

Chapter 3 – Day of Due Vengeance

The ships of Aushalten slow down out of warp speed, stopping outside of a shielded Earth where its space military is waiting for us. I was chosen again by our leadership to rally the troops, talk down the people of Earth, and scare our foes, and not wanting to let them down, I accept, as always. Looking at Adalwolf, he nods at me like the supportive brother he is, who will always have my back, no matter what. I breathe in and out, and begin my speech.

“What a glorious day it is, men of Earth and Aushalten! Today, both peoples meet the truest versions of each other on this day of battle, when the masters of both worlds will be decided. It didn’t have to be like this. Honestly, we wanted to help you against foreign invaders. Still, after you took advantage of us in ways that we are all too familiar with and would not let us work in due harmony, you gave us no choice but to fight against you, so we could have our proper freedoms and prevent the worst of you from sinning against yourselves. Today is a day of justice, salvation for the innocent, glory for the martyrs, and the slaughter of the guilty.

Just as before, if you wish to be spared, lay down your arms and do not resist us. You will be an honored friend if you turn against those who have turned against us, such as the Dominion, who promised us brotherhood and fair treatment. The Castigators, who once punished corrupt leadership and acted outside the law when it no longer served God, will be put to the sword. The Compassionate, who once did everything to help the poor and oppressed, will be gunned down with the money and weapons they obtained off the backs of the people they were meant to protect. The Council of Punishment, who lost the grace of God and their guardian angels, will be burned in the fires of our wrath.”

Our defense breaker ships come in through warp speed, immediately ramming the ship at the front of the defense line and pushing their way through Earth’s meager space ships with our own backing them up. Our ships, who got here sooner than us, uncloak themselves, fly out of the oceans, and destroy the space stations that shield Earth. More ships of Aushalten arrive at Earth and descend at full speed toward Earth’s surface with us.

Continuing, I say, “Forward, men and friends of Aushalten! Bared your teeth, raise your weapons, and show our enemies our unrelenting strength! Show them the terrifying justice of the God they have forsaken! Kill all who stand in our way! Give nothing but justice and death to the scum that oppresses you; this is your mother’s prayer! This is the honorable task your father has given you! Do not waver! Do not retreat! Do not lose hope! Kill and be killed, and give all honor and glory to God!”

Our invasion ships are met with enemy fire from the Earth’s surface as they quickly mobilize more ships to meet us in the air and use their air defenses, which we gave them, to shoot our ships out of the sky. We do not break from formation even as we sustain heavy fire, and instead, sing and pray as we continue our descent. Leading the men in song, we sing a common patriotic song of Aushalten.

“God bless the hands that bleed, the man that dies for his family, the woman who suffers for her children, the servile child! For the way of love is suffering and death, and I will die that death today! Pray for me, mother. Help me, father. Stand by me, neighbor. Lift me higher, my angel. Look upon me, heavenly mother. Give me strength, foster father. All for God and Aushalten, I live and breathe, and all for everyone, I will suffer and bleed joyously!”

As our invasion ships crash into the ground, they split apart skyscrapers and flatten targeted buildings underneath them, all the while being unharmed and still functional enough to go back into space and to Aushalten. From here, we get on our infantry ships and deploy our mechanized armor upon the Earth. With Adalwolf and various soldiers on a ship with me, our ship flies out from the invasion ship and into the war-torn city.

“I’ve never breathed air in a place that didn’t require exertion from me before. Earth is truly a soft planet to live on,” Adalwolf notices as we fly through the city.

“It truly is humanity’s homeworld, and a place that can soften a man. It’s no wonder many of our own fell to its comforts when they were invited here, but don’t get too relaxed, brother. We have heads of armies to execute,” I say.

Our target is the leader of the Castigators, a member of the once-honored family of Mundr. The skies are choked with our ships ramming into their enemies and blowing them out of the sky, while the armed and armored forces relentlessly charge at and shoot all who get in their way, with little care for their own safety. The war that was Aushalten has been brought to Earth, and now, the men and women who took advantage of us are facing our wrath firsthand. Earth will never be the same again.

“Shaeffer,” Adalwolf says, “there it is, the white, red, and crimson house of Mundr. They have heavy air defense and superhuman and so-called hero guards around them.”

“How disgraceful. This is the most heavily defended area on Earth. Their heaviest defenses should first be around the civilians and families rather than their leaders. Nevertheless, it should soon fall,” I say as our ship lands a ways away from the Mundr house.

Adalwolf, our accompanying soldiers, and I follow a charge of armor and soldiers who have the same target as us. The armored soldiers have mechs made in the image of Aushalten knights with gas mask-styled faces, tanks, and spider mechs that were once used to mine on steep mountains and deep caverns, but are now used to scale buildings to give heavy sniper support. The soldiers with us are a mix of specialized soldiers such as heavies and snipers, normal soldiers who are dressed in armor like my brother’s, and civilians who volunteered, wear spare or handmade armor, and wield spare guns. Given the nature of Aushalten, its people know how to wield and make weapons and armor of war and give their lives for the sake of others. Our ships from above knock out ships from the sky and intentionally ram those ships toward our target, getting rid of some of the threats in our way before bombarding the house of Mundr’s air defenses.

Despite the crashing ships and falling buildings around us, we fight on, even going through the crashed enemy ships, executing survivors, and using the explosive weaponry that we gave them for our purposes. To our surprise, the enemy starts retreating back to the house of Mundr, rather than holding their ground. There are even some who run in the opposite direction of the house.

“It figures that the defenders of Earth were soft. Even their elite troops are retreating,” Adalwolf says.

“Yes, but be careful that this isn’t a trap of any kind. They may not be tough, but they could be crafty,” I say.

Our forces are now on the grounds of our target, with it in sight and a wreck of what it once was. The statues of its honored saints are shattered, like its defenders, and its automatic defenses and robotic servant soldiers are failing. Our armor support focuses on securing the area, and ships move onto our targets, while the infantry heads into the large house to face and execute the enemies within. Given the assault from outside that defaced the house with gunfire and explosives, the house’s defenders are further within, hiding behind makeshift cover like tables, chairs, bookshelves, and statues. They disgracefully hide behind statues of saints, our God, His Mother, and other blessed figures, but that doesn’t stop us from shooting them. Instead, we have to be more accurate so as not to incur sin upon our souls.

Through our zeal and love of God and those blessed by God, we become deadlier and more accurate with our attacks. Some with us even run at the enemy with steel swords, once used for cutting rock, so they don’t have to worry about shooting and hitting the blessed statues. With that disgusting obstacle out of the way, we head into the inner sanctum of the house, as our forces continue to cover every inch.

“I heard this place used to be a mall, some kind of Earth marketplace with an expansive number of shops,” Adalwolf says.

“I can see it, but the only thing sold here are the spoils of crime and the souls of men for sin,” I say.

“Nothing here sold was cheap or did not result in some good,” a woman’s voice says.

Appearing before us from the darkness are three boys and three girls, all of whom are descendants of Mundr, dressed in expensive suits and dresses, and wielding black pistols.

“The so-called good results are good results only for you,” I say.

“The people of Earth needed the weapons and resources of Aushalten to protect itself from threats from space. It was almost wiped out two times in a row. Something like that can not happen again,” the daughter of Mundr says.

“And yet, no real threats to you have appeared since our ancestors allied themselves with you.”

“That is until now.”

“This is due justice for the ill treatment of our people.”

“That’s not how we see it. Do you know what these are?”

The sons and daughters of Mundr hold up their black pistols.

“I know of your ancestor’s legendary power. St. Kane Mundr could read souls and see if God fated them to die or be spared. His ebony pistols would kill anything they shot, no matter how powerful they were, and his white revolvers rendered men unconscious.”

“We were blessed with similar powers to him, and we see you are deserving of death.”

“Given your history, I doubt your vision is clear.”

“If that’s so, then you’ll survive being shot by us. If you do, then we’ll willingly surrender, and tell our allies to as well. Isn’t that a good deal?”

The sons and daughters of Mundr start streaming what is happening through a floating news robot and let the public know what is happening.

Leaning over and whispering to me, Adalwolf says, “Do these people think we’re stupid? They just want to shoot us with our weapons down.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me if they do, but I see a great opportunity here,” I say. Turning back to the Mundr family, I say, “I will endure your bullets myself for all to see. If I die, I die, but if I don’t, you have to hold up to your end of the bargain.”

“Deal,” the daughter of Mundr says.

“But also, if you each continue to shoot me more than once, then I must be allowed to defend myself.”

“Sure. You people from Aushalten may be durable, but you won’t survive a single shot from us.”

“I will endure your assaults as well. I am his brother and am charged by God to suffer with him,” Adalwolf says.

“Okay. You people really are masochists for pain.”

Looking over to Adalwolf, I want to say something, but knowing that he won’t back down, I hold myself back. I see the ghost of our mother over him. She never hesitated to throw herself over people to cover them from being hurt, and he carries on her legacy, something I cannot deny him. Our people behind us back off, while Adalwolf and I hold out our arms like how our Lord was crucified, and prepare to endure pain as He did. The sons and daughters of Mundr aim their pistols at us, first starting to shoot us with a dishonest shot to the head, then hitting us in the body. I count a shot from each of them, and seeing that they’re shooting us more than once, instantly bring up my pistol and start shooting them back, along with Adalwolf, who does the same with me in unison, killing all of the Mundr siblings.

My brother and I check to see if we’re both okay or in need of medical attention, and are thankful to see that neither of us is. We embrace one another as our people cheer.

I go up to the robot that’s still streaming and say, “See, men and women of Earth and Aushalten? The leaders of Earth are dishonest, weak, and pitiful, whereas the men of Aushalten like my brother and I are self-sacrificing and can endure anything thrown at us. We are blessed by God, while our enemies are abandoned. To those who still fight us, you have only one course of action to save yourselves: beg for mercy from Him! Lay down your arms or face imminent annihilation and damnation!”

I then shoot the robot, ending the stream. My people continue to cheer before heading out to see if there are any more roaches to expunge from this overly large house, only to find soldiers and politicians who surrender. This was a great start to our invasion of Earth, but it’s not the end. The other territories of the Castigators must be conquered, and then we’ll move on to finish our war by punishing the so-called Compassionate, thereby satiating divine justice and securing peace for both the people of Earth and Aushalten.

Oppression from the Oppressed: Chapter 2 – Dealing with False Neighbors

Chapter 2 – Dealing with False Neighbors

The forces of Aushalten gather outside the last refuge of the allies of Earth, a shieled, walled city made in their image, unlike anything else on our planet and a testament to their vanity. It’s a colorful place that hides dark and perverted crimes beneath its surface, and its barriers will soon fall. My brother, Shaeffer, gets on the open radio so that our opposition and allies hear and focus on him, so our infiltrators can better do their work.

“Behold, men of Earth, traitors to the human race, the Holy Church, and our Lord in Heaven! We have taken back our world in a single day, and only you remain. The destruction of your chains over us, the deaths of your allies and co-conspirators, and the burning of all your ill-gotten possessions are the cost of your sins. Today is your final hour and the time of your judgment, you, whom God and many saints once blessed. Before, you had honor and faith.

You had many superhumans with many unique powers in your ranks, and now, you have few, and those who have powers are easily killed by our weapons. You have lost the grace of Heaven and exchanged it for being whores of Hell. Do not mistake my words for prideful boasting. These are all true and a warning, not just to you, but to your allies on humanity’s homeworld. We know that they will not listen to reason and, like a spoiled child, will lash out at others for being punished for their mistakes.

I also say it to those who are willing to repent. Stay in your shelters and lay down your weapons, or openly fight against the scum you call your neighbors. Otherwise, prepare for a just execution.”

Explosions suddenly appear in various sectors of the city, and its shields come down shortly after. Peering further down, I see our ground forces push their way through the doors of the wall that now open to them as they flood their way in. The Aushalten ships start to fly over the city and bombard areas where we know the worst of humanity is, unabated by the air defense turrets, which are powered down thanks to our infiltrators.

Shaeffer turns to me and rhetorically asks, “Well, Adalwolf. Shall we join them?”

“Yes, brother,” I answer.

For this final assault to fully take back Aushalten, we are pulling out all the stops, more than usual. Boarding the ship with Shaeffer and me are specialized units: an infiltrator, dressed in a knightly set of white armor with the martyr’s cross on his helmet, and dual machine pistols at his side; a sniper with a black cloak, crow’s helmet, and gray martyr’s cross on his chest; and a heavy soldier with a red cloak, red armor, armed with a laser minigun that can also fire rockets, and a helmet with four connected red eyes on it. With all of us armed and ready, our drop ship descends upon the city and heads for a white mansion that once acted as the seat of power for the Earth government of the Dominion, but will soon be nothing but fiery ash and dust. We pass by other drop ships, which spread out to different areas of the city and start blowing up monuments to the greed of our enemy. From a distance, this must appear to be a tide of black, white, and red, like a dark hand of God grasping and crushing the city.

Shaeffer, our support units, and I land some ways away from the white mansion due to the heavy fire and superhumans using their powers to prevent us from coming any closer. On the ground, my brother runs ahead. Following behind him, I can’t help but see our father in him and remember how our father died. Our parents were defending innocent people from law-enforcing men of Earth who were trying to steal from them. The argument got violent, and the law enforcers started shooting people. Our father charged the officers, taking several shots, but not going down, while our mother shielded us and got shot several times herself.

Neither of our parents, the people they were protecting, nor neighbors of Aushalten gave up fighting against the false authorities, no matter how many times they were shot due to their natural resistance common to our people and the willingness to sacrifice ourselves and endure pain for others. When backup came, our mother told us to run, while she ran to help our father and neighbors. As the bullets and explosions rained down on us, Shaeffer fought me as I dragged him away from the fighting, and it was only after a stray shot went through his throat that he stopped. Thankfully, I was able to get him to a doctor, and they put a breathing apparatus in his neck to help him breathe and speak. Our kind on Aushalten are truly a resilient sort.

After that day, I decided to join Aushalten’s military, and Shaeffer joined the politicians. To this day, I relive that day in every battle, and I’m sure Shaeffer does, especially when he protects others as if envisioning them as our parents and neighbors. Just like him and my mother, I refuse to be found wanting when it comes to sacrificing myself for others and using my body as a shield. I throw myself in front of my brother and others to ensure their safety and to fulfill my mother’s final wish, all the while firing every shot I have from every ammunition type at my disposal. The infiltrator we are with has gone ahead of us to sneak up on the enemy and kill them from behind their own lines; the sniper jumps from one vantage point to another, acting more like a fast-moving berserker than anything, and our heavy soldier runs faster than all of us, letting his minigun fire without end and taking most of the enemy’s gunfire.

A shield forms around the white house as we get close to it, forcing us to take cover in nearby bombed-out buildings and holes formed by bombs, and call in for air support. Meanwhile, our enemy continues to fire and sends their best superhumans at us as they do their best to push us back, but we don’t give an inch; even many of our neighbors die around us, and we continue to get shot.

“Yes, danger close! When have we ever cared about danger close?” Shaeffer says over the radio.

Soon, our ships encircle the white house and unleash their payloads on it, destroying the shield.

Shaeffer is the first to exit cover and charge out from it. With one fist raised in the air and the other hand firing his pistol, he says, “Forward, martyrs!”

Our people cheer behind as they follow us.

“Defend your home and family!”

Another round of cheers.

“Death to the hypocrites and oppressors!”

Our people cheer even louder and run faster. We meet the enemy face to face and rush over them in a deadly tide that leaves none alive. They’re starting to falter as many try to run away or pitifully surrender, but are only met with a swift death. Now, at the front doors of the white house, our heavy soldier busts open the door. We flood into the den of sin and are met with an eerily quiet estate. Still, our people run in different directions to punish the last of our enemies, but my brother and I sense something is off.

“You feel that too, Adalwolf?” Shaeffer asks me.

“I do, brother. Something truly evil resides here,” I say.

Our accompanying heavy soldier looks like he’s about to say something, until his body suddenly falls to pieces. The entire house is enveloped in a dark shadow, leaving my brother and me by ourselves.

A dark voice says, “So, you’re the one whose annoying voice I hear prattle on the radio and internet. Do you have some kind of latent power that allows you to not be separate from your brother?”

“It is a bond that God has formed, and what God has created, none can break,” Shaeffer says.

“God has created the human body, and given it the capacity to mutate like yours, but that doesn’t mean I can’t break it in the ways I wish. Observe.”

Our sniper is taken out of the darkness, suspended in midair, and broken into pieces similar to our heavy.

“Your demonic power does not scare us,” I say.

“It is not demonic,” the dark voice says. “It was handed down to me by my saintly family. You, ignorant cretins, stand in the house of a Severe.”

“We killed a member of the Elio family yesterday. What makes you think a Severe won’t die the same way when we have God at our side? Your power means nothing to us,” Shaeffer says.

The infiltrator we were with bursts out of the darkness from the ground, screaming, until he is crushed by a dark hand. A figure cloaked in shadow with a large hat and scarf manifests itself.

“You will bow down before your master,” the dark figure says.

As an answer, Shaeffer and I shoot at the dark figure. It dodges around our shots, then creates copies of itself to confuse us, and then makes copies of us.

“You failed your parents,” the copies of ourselves say.

“You failed your people.”

“You put them on a doomed quest that will kill them all.”

“They will be punished severely for their foolishness.”

The more we dispel the copies, the more appear.

Getting an idea, I say, “We can’t fight this foe with conventional weaponry. We ought to let our fighting become a prayer, a supernatural weapon against another.”

“It’s the only other idea we have, so let’s do it,” Shaeffer agrees.

We do as I plan, even as the enemy starts to overwhelm us. Our copies all turn into copies of the dark figure who is now wielding a scythe. I shield Shaeffer from the incoming blows, and he cries out and shields me from them. I offer up the suffering as a prayer as blood begins to pour out of my body. This seems to be the end, until I see my body and brother’s blood form together and form into spears that impale the copies.

I hear the figure grunt in pain before saying, “How? You, people, have no power like mine!”

“You forget that God is the source of all power in the world, and even the simplest of men can access it when He wills it,” I say.

There’s only one copy of the dark figure left, so I pull up my rifle and shoot him, releasing my brother and me from the dark realm we were in. With our vision clear, we see our people around us, some dead, others thankful to finally be out of the same dark realm. One of the dead among the bodies is indeed a Severe, a member of one of the ruling families of the Dominion. He lies dead with a laser burn through his head, the one that I shot at him.

“I told you that if the soldier doesn’t win the battle, my words are for naught,” Shaeffer says as he pats my back.

“It was just a spur-of-the-moment idea I had. I didn’t really do anything. It was a miracle more than anything,” I admit.

“If anything, we know now more than ever that God is on our side and victory is assured.” Turning to everyone else in the room, Shaeffer says, “Victory is ours, people of Aushalten!”

Everyone cheers out with their hands in the air.

“Next, we conquer Earth! For the glory of God, for the glory of His Holy Church, and for the glory of Aushalten!”

People cheer out even louder, giving praise to God. With another battle passed and my brother and I alive, I once again fulfill my mother’s final wish and pray for my parents’ intercession to continue to do so until my dying day.