A Light Not Extinguished

Chapter 13: I laid out my sin for the world to see

"When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come." And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to unleash strife on all of existence, and that all life would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him."
-An excerpt taken from Revelations, 6:3, Catheric Bible, New Galactic Edition(24102)

M24, 247

Sol System, Terra

It was night on Terra.

One man slowly drifted across the streets of Eurasia, his body obscured by a cloak that rippled in shades of midnight. As he passed, the androids and humans passing by paid him no mind, his presence slipping from their minds like rain on smooth glass- exactly as he had intended.

Globes of ethereal fire drifted across the starry night sky, a veritable rainbow of colors. Sweet and savoury smells drifted across the pavements and buildings, STC nutrition suppliers churning out delectable foodstuffs without stopping. The air was filled with the sounds of chatter and happy laughter, humans and robots milling around on the streets. It was Thanksgiving after all, a festival whose origins stretched back all the way to the time when man had not even thought of spaceflight.

Even the dozing spirit of Gaea had responded to this celebration by briefly stirring. All manner of flowers bloomed in the forest sanctuaries of Terra, and flocks of fluorescent white doves flew across the sky. And yet, despite being surrounded by such beautiful sights, the stranger's heart was heavy, even more so when he looked at the smiling people around him.

He took a grav-lift, the tube levitating him up to his desired destination. The Catheric chapel was sparsely decorated, devoid of luxurious finery. Floating atop a grav-platform, the Church of the Holy Father was a simple wooden building, with a stark white cross on the rooftop. A psychic pulse revealed that the wood used in its construction was not derived from a STC fabricator; it had been harvested from grown trees and shaped by hand.

The stranger pushed open the doors to the chapel. A man clad in the robes of the priesthood was seated on one of the pews, slowly flipping through the pages of a Bible The air was faintly scented by the torches that burnt brightly on the walls, giving off the scent of woodsmoke.

"I was not expecting visitors tonight." The priest rose to face the stranger. "Should you not be joining the festivities, my son?"

The stranger stopped at the threshold of the door. "I would like to make a confession, Father." A hood shrouded his face in shadow, but from within one could see two pinpricks of yellow light.

"I see." The priest said. "Then, follow me." He gestured to the confessional booth, set at the left of the end of the hall.

Seated, the stranger sat in the booth, facing the red curtain which separated him and the priest. "Bless me, father, for I have sinned."

"Then speak, my son. Let the Holy Trinity and I be witness."

"I have done many things that I am not proud of." The stranger lowered his head. "But I have never lost sight of the greater good. But now, I find myself wondering if I have been wrong this entire time."

He continued to speak. "It was I who carved out the Hundred Year Empire. It was I who started the gene-pogroms of Eskari. I have murdered thousands, millions in my mission. I broke promises to those I loved and slaughtered people that called me friend. I destroyed alien empires by my own hand and raised armies of mindless soldiers that called me lord." As he spoke, his mind drifted to one of these occasions.

He had emerged from his long seclusion on Mars, only to find humanity's kingdom divided and stumbling in the darkness, after the cosmic hunger made flesh tore a path of destruction through their domain. And so, enraged, saddened, and burdened by duty, he took up the sword again once more, taking on the role of the Conqueror.