Chapter 1 - I. SHARDS

 𝕀. 𝕊ℍ𝔸ℝ𝔻𝕊

Location: Gaea, Eastern Front of Camerade.

Date: 3,005 AD.

2 months before the Visor's trial.

"The bombing's relentless, isn't it?" The man snickered in disbelief, yet his fatigued state could not hold it for long. "Damn Imperials, starving us of freedom on this wretched mother world, and now they choose to starve us?"

"There isn't much we can do, Lusen, except fight," another man across the room responded. The area was dark and damp, as they could hear the crash of bombs on the surface.

"Fight? In this state? We haven't slept in days. I've lost count of the number of Imperials I've killed, Rin."

"We're all tired, but you don't want to be held prisoner of war on Luna, do you?"

The bombs continued, rattling the pillars of the bunker they were in. Lusen's fingers clenched as he struggled to hold onto his improvised rifle.

The sounds of men hurdling towards fire in the name of freedom could be heard from outside the damp bunker. Lusen and his company sat fearfully in line, awaiting their turn to exchange their blood for the cause.

Their shaky breaths could be heard if focused on enough, as their gray, tattered uniforms were uncomfortably damp. None of them would recall the day they were conscripted, yet all could remember the day they took their first human life.

"Stand forth! Move down the line!" The bunker door split open as a Cameradean officer burst his head through, aiming his pistol at the company and commanding them to move down the battlefield.

In sudden terror, the bunker erupted with blood-curdling cries, as the men pushed forward, flushing out of the structure, and climbing the trench walls. Lusen holstered his rifle as his colleague Rin patted his back.

"I've been called to administration, hold out for me." Lusen could barely make sense of the words as the sounds of bloodshed overwhelmed his ear, but Rin had already taken off.

"What are you doing? Get up!" Lusen's ears were attacked before he could have the chance to process the scene, as the chief who had called them out earlier slammed him to the side of the trench, forcing him to climb its ladders to the surface.

Each step of the ladder was covered in mud and human fragments, as Lusen's trembling hands rose to the surface. The smell of smoke harassed his senses, as the singe of war could be felt through each corner of the area.

Lusen climbed high enough to snatch a peak of the charred battlefield. Companies of Cameradeans pushed forward, as bodies were seen tangled in glowing, electric wires. The cries of wounded soldiers shook him to his core, as the mechanical sounds of flying machinery deafened his right ear.

In the distance, the banner of the Enlightened shone with its fluorescent colors of white and green, piercing through the veils of smoke. The banner's star provoked all those who stared in judgment.

Alas, Lusen stepped foot on the surface, as one foot turned two, and one step turned five. Soon, he caught himself intoxicated with adrenaline, as his feet carried him forward. The whizzing of rounds set his nerves ablaze, as the sights of the bloodshed rattled his veins.

Despite the shellshock, he forced himself forward, reminding himself of his objective.

"Hold the Eastern Trenches, or the citadel will fall."

The flares of blinding rifles set the area ablaze, as Lusen sat in silence by a rundown chapel, tightening his grip on his rifle. He peered towards a shattered frame, where glistening images of the Emperor once stood, crafted in brightly stained glass, worshipped. Here, Lusen anchored the barrel of his rifle as his tired eyes scanned throughout the chaos. The brightly projected banner of the Enlightened continued to tirelessly blind those above, as Lusen closed all senses, scanning for signs of opposing forces.

There, brightly firing, 80 yards ahead of him, the bright muzzle flash of an Imperial gunner mowing Cameradeans, keeping their forces at bay. The man's face was hidden with a sharp-green helmet and a tinted visor, as Lusen could barely catch a peek at his head from the tight crack separating the man from his barrage gun. 

With a taste of ego left on his tongue, Lusen aimed down his sights, aligning his eye to the view of the gunner, before pulling the trigger.

The flash of lightning protruding from Lusen's rifle blinded him, as the bullet whizzed through the battlefield.

But it stopped at the sight of a pulsing energy barrier, sending minor tremors throughout the area.

"Damn it, shields, at this time already?" Lusen could feel the hope draining from his veins as the adrenaline began to seep out of his system.

"Get up, heathen." Lusen heard a sharp, authoritative voice from behind him.

The man's stature was large, as aiming down on him was a sleek, white pulse pistol. The man was clad in white and green carbon fiber, as he donned the star of the enlightened on his chest.

His face could not be seen under his helmet, coupled with the same tinted visor.

"You heretics choose to revolt against the words of the God Emperor, the Dominum. You choose to blaspheme under your own truths and fight in the sacred holy world of Gaea, the mother planet." The Enlightened man spoke in a dismissive tone before slamming the stock of his pistol straight on Lusen's left cheek.

"May the holy Crusade of the Enlightened flush the heretics off the surface of the holy world."

The man tightened the force on his trigger before being pushed back as a round ricocheted off his helmet.

To his left, Lusen could spot a tall, framed figure lurking in the dark mists of battle by the doorframe of the chapel. It glew from its head, as synths erupted from its position. A Mechanaia.

The imperial immediately opened fire at the figure, burning in its bolts on its chestplates, as it grew closer. Its frame was terrifying, holy, as it lifted its right arm, revealing a Cameradean barrage rifle.

"Go to hell, you foul beast!" The imperial demanded, firing at the mechanical figure.

The figure opened fire, blasting all its rounds at the armor of the enlightened. Though blessed and powerful, the balamar armor protecting the man could not withstand the fire, leaving him shredded under pressure.

Lusen stared in awe and shock as he caught a glimpse of the figure's chestplate, embroidered with the characters RK.

Rin Kakemash.