Forged Legacy

Chapter 123 - The Faithful

“Left you for dead? Why?” Harvey asked, stopping in the middle of the street.

“Because they’re cowards. The entire point of our trip was helping the faithful hunt up a few more levels, but they ran the second shots were fired,” Cash seethed.

“Seriously?”

“We angels outnumbered those demons two to one, and the sinners' guns wouldn’t do much against our strong bodies. If the Templars and Sentinel had stayed, those faithful wouldn’t be in a slipsack right now,” Cash swore.

Harvey could see the hatred in the angel’s eyes as his muscles tensed, his normally graceful steps turning stilted. Comparing the bodies in the street to the shooters Harvey killed, it sounded like their hunting party could’ve easily survived the ambush, even with a few losses.

[Despicable. I can’t even imagine doing that,] Julius scoffed.

Harvey instinctively nodded, but part of him felt strange. Their trial had plenty of people who weren’t willing to fight, but the angels were different. They hadn’t been thrown into the deep-end a few months ago when the System arrived. If their creator really was an S-Grade being, then Harvey couldn’t imagine how long their society had lived under the Tapestry. They chose to come here. To try and seize Earth for themselves, yet they could run and leave the people counting on them to die? That didn’t paint a rosy picture in his mind.

“I’m sorry they did that to you,” Harvey said. “And thank you... for doing your best to save Earth’s people.”

“How could I not? I’m one of their shepherds,” Cash sighed.

“I know I’m asking a lot of questions, but you keep saying things I don’t understand. I’m guessing I know what you meant by Sentinel, but Templars? Shepherds?” Harvey asked.

“Most angels follow one of a few paths. The Templars are the Father’s holy warriors, smiting evil with sword, shield, and faith. Sentinels defend the flock, while shepherds heal their body and soul.”

“So you’re a healer? Is that why you use a gun even if you said they aren’t the strongest weapons?” Harvey asked.

“Yes, first and foremost, I am a healer, but we try to make our early skills more well-rounded before choosing a path,” Cash began.

That made sense. The golden wings he’d used as a shield and conjured lion weren’t exactly healing anyone, but they kept him alive long enough to do his job in a fight. Amara, the doctor from Mozambique who’d been Veils End’s strongest healer, had used every skill creation she got for some form of healing. That would be great if she had an office to work out of, seeing patients one at a time, but injuries happened on the battlefield, and it’s not like they had ambulances to bring the dying to her.

“And I didn’t say guns were bad. I said the weapon could only be as strong as the wielder. For someone like me, they’re the best option for easy firepower. If you can stomach the cost of the bullets.”

“Are they expensive?” Harvey asked.

“If you want them to actually kill something, yeah, and it only gets worse the stronger you get. Mortal lead would explode if you infused it with enough essence and velocity to poke a hole in an E Grade warrior,” Cash explained.

Harvey hadn’t considered the bullets. Ammunition was an interesting problem now that the System arrived. Hannah’s starting gear had included a quiver that could be infused with essence to create new arrows, but they’d started falling behind just like the rest of their infantry gear as they got stronger. She’d managed to loot an improved bow made of bone and sinew from the Ossari, but their arrows appeared to be conjured with skills instead of an inscribed quiver. Luckily, her skills vastly increased the lethality of her simple ammunition, but eventually she’d either need to use a skill slot to conjure her arrows or find someone skilled enough to make a quiver that could summon better ones.

There had to be magazines with inscriptions that could do the same, right?

“Don’t you guys have mags that can conjure bullets for you?” Harvey asked.

“Yeah, but they’re expensive and hard to make. Considering you’d need a new one every 20 levels or so and they can usually only conjure one specific type of bullet, they don’t really solve the problem,” Cash replied.

[Oh, keep those gears turning, Harvey. I like what I’m seeing.]

Having the cognition matrix reacting live to his thoughts was a little jarring, but he could feel the device helping him think through his burgeoning plans faster. Cash was clearly trying to steer Harvey away from hot weaponry, but did the problems he mentioned even apply to him? With Echo Forge, Harvey wouldn’t need to worry about using expensive materials, inks, and arrays for his bullets since he could just conjure more with raw essence. He could even craft specific ammo for every situation. Forget armor-piercing and hollow-point rounds, Harvey could turn thanefire dragon bones into life-sucking rounds or shoot someone full of resonance crystals. For anyone else, bullets like that would be way too expensive, but for him, the only limit was actually being able to craft the things a single time.

It looked like he’d need to spend some time building himself a gun.

The sky kept growing brighter as they walked, and the neighborhoods around them were starting to look less destroyed. Far ahead, he saw a large stone wall with silver gates flanked by sandbag redoubts and cannons. Angels roamed the battlements, and he could barely make out the glint of a scope reflecting the light back at him.

“Things will get busy once we’re back,” Cash said. “There are schools with angels much smarter than me teaching the Faithful all about the System and the trial, but do you have any other burning questions I can try to answer? I owe you that much after you saved me.”

There were dozens, but Harvey guessed most were better saved for a real instructor. Cash shouldn’t have any problems addressing his main concerns, though.

“You’ve mentioned sinners and the faithful a few times now. Is that just what you call the humans?”

“It’s what they will become depending on who succeeds in this trial. If we fail, those siding with the devil will become sinners just like you became gilded. When we win, the faithful will do the same,” Cash smiled.

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[I like how this guy thinks.]

“How do you win? Our trial had two portals, each deep in the heart of opposing territory. Is this the same?”

“Check your quest screen, you should’ve gotten it by now,” Cash answered.

Harvey hadn’t even thought to check. He’d been too distracted dealing with the Cognition Matrix when he arrived, but the System had told him joining a second trial would award another quest.

Quest - Crusade of Dusk and Dawn - Integration TrialWar rages between the Angels and Demons, with fragments of humanity fighting on either side. You have joined the trial as a third-party allowing you to join either side of the conflict. Beware, you must choose a side within 3 days of entering the trial, and your ability to return to Earth is contingent upon your chosen faction’s success.

Current Affiliation: None

Goal: Kill the Commander and Lieutenants of the opposing faction to open a portal home

Angelic Commanders Killed: 0/1

Angelic Lieutenants Killed: 2/5

Demonic Commanders Killed: 0/1

Demonic Lieutenants Killed: 1/5

Reward: Variable depending on performance.

It looked like the angels really were losing, having only killed a single demon lieutenant while losing two of their own.

[That’s not a great sign]

Yeah, but my family is somewhere inside that camp. If the goal was just to get back home, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.

“Cassian! Is that you?” An angel clad in silver armor with a sword strapped to his belt shouted while rushing out to meet them.

“Surprised to see me, Silas?” Cash asked.

“The others said your party was overrun?”

“Did they now?” Cash laughed. “No. You want to know the truth? Dante, like the true Sentinel he claims to be, ran away screaming the second a shot hit his pretty little feathers.”

“He wouldn’t!” Silas gasped.

“He did, and the Templars weren’t far behind.”

“The faithful? Are they…”

“Dead. All of them. I tried to cover our retreat, but the sinners picked them off one by one. I’d be dead too if Harvey hadn’t shown up,” Cash explained, turning to face him. He had to admit, two 8-foot-tall angels staring down at him was pretty intense. He wasn’t sure if he should kneel or offer a handshake.

“A gilded?” Silas asked.

“Sent by the System, not God,” Harvey said, his voice coming out rough until he cleared his throat. “I’d barely arrived after succeeding in my own trial when I heard fighting a few blocks over.”

“It is not for you to decide the machinations of our Father,” Silas chastised.

“Where’s Captain Celeste? I demand a quorum be called to discuss the actions of my brethren,” Cash said.

“Is that really necessary? The important thing is you’re alive,” Silas entreated.

“Is it necessary? Of course it is! 8 of the faithful are dead because we, the higher beings sent here to protect them until the path to heaven is opened, were too cowardly to save them!” Cash shouted.

“More lost blood of the faithful is regrettable, but at least no angels were lost,” Silas continued.

“Excuse me?” Harvey hissed, his blood running cold as his aura devoured the angels. Instead of fighting back as the demon had, Silas let his legacy hide deep in his weave. His wings twitched as he staggered backward, shock evident on his face.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Cash condemned. “But we angels are losing this war. If things continue as they are, there won’t be any angel blood left. Our only hope is to train the faithful to fight!”

Had that not been the plan from the beginning? Were the humans in this trial just waiting around, hoping the angels would solve all of their problems for them? He’d been surprised by how weak the shooters he killed were, but it made sense if they were content playing second fiddle to the demons. Part of him was happy to think his family hadn’t been thrust into a life-or-death struggle, but he also knew that they’d all be subject to the whims of others who didn’t always have their best interests at heart if they didn’t seize power for themselves.

“Cassian?” Silas trembled.

“Get Celeste! Now!” Cash shouted, and the other angel bolted away

[There’s the angel I was expecting,] Julius scoffed.

“I hope he’s an outlier. We’re going to have a problem if all of you treat us humans like cannon fodder.” Harvey snapped.

“I wish I could say he was. We’re not all bad, but most angels think they’re above the faithful, let alone the humans yet to become one of the blessed races,” Cash sighed. “Celeste is one of the good ones.”

“I’m guessing a quorum is a disciplinary committee?” Harvey asked.

“It can be. Really, it’s a gathering with high enough authority to make decisions about the war. I can try to get you a seat if you want one,” Cash offered.

“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, so I’ll let you handle it. Really, I just want to see my family,” Harvey said.

“And you’re sure they are here? Not one of the other religions' trials?” Cash asked.

“Unless the System was lying to me,” Harvey shrugged.

“Then I’ll take you to one of the administrative buildings. They can help you find them,” Cash said.

Before long, they were walking through the ornate silver gates. Harvey could feel multiple auras probing his own, and Julius was monitoring them while he surveyed the area inside the walls. The golden contraption inside his head was starting to show its worth, almost giving him two minds where each could focus on separate things at once. Julius shared his senses and would warn Harvey if he noticed anything amiss. The cognition matrix couldn’t actually see like a second set of eyes in the back of his head, but his aura was strong enough to pick up subtle shifts in the flow of essence all around him.

They walked through a picture-perfect suburban town. Perfectly manicured lawns fronted cookie-cutter homes, with parks and playgrounds spaced in exact intervals. Rainbow light reflected off the stained glass windows of church buildings from every Judeo-Christian denomination he’d ever seen, along with a few he didn’t recognize. It appeared that all who worshipped the same God had appeared in the same trial, with those of other faiths fighting their own battles. In the distance, towering cathedrals stood side-by-side with ornate temples, showcasing the myriad ways humanity had worshipped over the last millennia.

“Impressive. How’d you get everyone to get along? People on Earth have gone to war over religion for thousands of years.” Harvey asked.

“That’s normal. Everyone interprets the Father’s legacy in their own way, but seeing his shared love for all of his faithful usually smooths things over pretty quickly.”

A dozen bell towers dotted the sky around them, each residing in a different neighborhood. Intricately carved stone gargoyles sat perched atop each one. A powerful chime echoed throughout the city as they rang in unison, chiming 10 times before the final note rang out. It should’ve been deafening with so many bells, but it managed to form a soothing melody. The empty streets were suddenly filled with people, like the chimes were the bell at a high school.

“What’s going on?” Harvey asked.

“The faithful are all on a tight schedule, moving back and forth from lessons and activities designed to introduce them to the multiverse.”

“You’re making grown adults go to class?”

“It’s not mandatory, but almost everybody goes. They’ve all got a lot of questions. Just like you.”

Within minutes, the streets were empty again, and they found themselves at the door to a simple white, wooden building. Inside, various paintings depicting scenes from the Bible adorned the walls of a foyer, with doors leading to chapels and classrooms. Cash led him to an office, where a stunning female angel with long blonde hair sat behind a heavy wooden desk.

“Cash,” she smiled. “What can I do for you?”

“Can you help my friend here find his family?”

“Of course. What’s your name?”

“Harvey Thorne.”

“Thorne. We’ve got a few families with that name,” she mused while typing into a computer.

[Angels have computers?]

I guess.

“My parents are Steve and Cassandra, and my siblings are Eleanor, Tyler, and Max,” he added.

“Ah! Found them. They’re in class at the moment, but I can give you their address and ping their instructors to let them know you’re here?” she offered.

“That’s perfect!” Harvey jumped.

“I’m sure I’ll see you around Harvey. I’d love to bring you along on the next hunt if you’re up for it,” Cash said.

“Of course! Thanks for your help!” he said, barely containing himself as he rushed out of the building. His heart felt like it would beat out of his chest as he followed the map to his parents' new home, cutting through the soft grass instead of sticking to the sidewalks. He never thought this day would come.

The day he finally reunited with his family.