A Timely Knight

A Noble Sacrifice

If 1979 had been life itself, then 2079 was nothing short of death brought to life.

The first thing Eldon felt as they left the portal behind was dread. A merciless, unforgiving, dominating sense of dismay took over him as he walked this deserted land. Nowhere in sight were the stone and metal forests he had seen in 1979. There were no constructions, no structures that stretched as if trying to reach the skies; there were no grey rivers upon which the marvellous carts could flow.

Above all, most horrifyingly, there was no spirit in these lands. There was no activity, no vivacity, not on the trees, or the earth, or the air or the sky. There was simply no life. A no man's land through and through, this world was beyond gone. This was no hell, for not even flames dared burn on this wasteland. It was worse; it was nothing.

Quietly, Eldon and Tim walked atop the rubble. The air felt strange going into their bodies. Heavier, more noticeable. They could actually see it floating around them. Small particles of something hovering over them, remnants of a war that, by this time, had already brought about the ending of so many things.

Eldon had studied the Final War extensively during his Mastery, yet nothing about what he read could've prepared him for the sight that was now broadening ahead.

"I guess Gunner's weapons really were as devastating as they said," Timmy said as he knelt, his fingers going through the dry ground.

"Either that or they did a shitty job at taking care of this place," Eldon shot back, his eyes now lingering on the cloudless, green sky above them.

"God, the smell," Tim added, wrinkling his nose as if noticing the stench for the first time.

Indeed, Eldon too had been shocked enough about the sight of this ruin to fully register the unmistakable smell of rotting corpses that plagued the air. He looked around, trying to find the source, but his eyes met nothing.

No piled bodies left to spoil, no mass grave for the discarded dead. Nothing surrounded them but dry earth and forgotten whispers. The bleak realization then came, and his stomach turned as he slowly realized this was just how the air smelled.

Whether it was this sudden understanding, or the fact that air that smelled and felt like this couldn't possibly be of good quality, breathing became harder for Eldon. His chest grew heavy and his head began to feel lighter, as if it was somehow being clumsily balanced by the neck. He tried taking deep, controlled breaths but that only made the situation worse.

"Come on," he said, panting as he pointed forward. "We better keep moving."

Tim frowned, doubtful. "And go where? You propose we just walk about aimlessly, trying to find something? Weren't we supposed to appear in the right place? Perhaps we should wait a little."

"Anything's better than just standing here. Tell me you haven't noticed the air's getting thinner."

"And walking is going to help with that? It'll only weaken us faster."

"Well, could be but we are completely exposed standing here, someone could find us."

Tim's words made Eldon's entire weight drop to his feet. "Something already has."

The silver-haired man was now pointing up, towards the green sky. So caught up in their discussion had they been, that they had failed to notice the intruder in their scene. The small machine hovering above them had made no sound either, so its presence came as a true shock. It wasn't like any machine Eldon had ever seen, though what else was new by this point.