Where was he? Had he died?

Those were the immediate thoughts that rushed to his head as he found himself awake. He found himself lying down on the ground, his vision still shrouded by darkness. For some reason, his body felt heavier than normal and he could feel something off with his whole being.

He looked around. He couldn’t find any landmarks or any details that could give him an inkling of where he was. All that he knew was that he was stuck in the eternal darkness, the cursed black that kept on swallowing him whole.

He didn’t understand what was going on. Was this hell? Was this limbo? Why would he, a pious man, be stuck in such a horrendous place like this? He did everything according to the Bible and the bishops that preached everyday for Mass. Why was he in such a place like this? Wait…

…that person he saw at his last moments. That voice that entered his head… Could it be?!

Had he fallen into temptation with Satan on his deathbed? Was this retribution for his actions, his failure to endure and maintain God’s will?

As if to answer that question, something seemed to find purchase on his body. He could feel himself sinking down, being pulled deeper and deeper into the abyss. He was starting to drown, something dark and thick beginning to overtake his being. He was being dragged away somewhere that certainly would result in something evil and cruel.

He should have accepted this. After all, he had failed in the ultimate trial that God had levied him. He deserved to be delivered unto evil for such a heinous sin, to doubt his place in life and to try to fight against his fate.

But… but… but!

He refused! He refused to let himself go to the devil willingly, to be cast away into hell without a chance to save Jerusalem! Even if his hands were tainted with sin, he refused to go into the dark without having a chance to fight for the right thing!

He roared. He yanked his whole body forward despite how strong the demons tried to pull him away. He wrestled with the darkness, fighting for every single bit of ground. He started to get away from this encroaching evil, breaking free from the muck that threatened to swallow him whole.

But the fight was not going on his side. He was being dragged away despite all his strength, despite all his power. His chest began to burst with pain and he could feel his body weakening, his struggling slowly getting weaker and weaker.

He felt like giving up. He felt at that moment, there was no point in fighting back anymore.

And then he saw it. A miracle, a gift from God.

A lone star shining in the distance. A light in the dark. Merciful salvation.

He was not going to let this chance go to waste. With all his remaining might and a roar at the top of his lungs, he ripped through the darkness that was taking hold of him. He rushed and dashed away from the flooding murk, running with all his might towards salvation. His lungs burned, his legs ached, but he never stopped.

He reached the light that came from beyond the darkness. He touched the brightness and–

Light enveloped him whole.

His lungs stopped hurting. All the pain in his body disappeared. He could feel his body flying. He felt himself changing, something shining within his soul as he kept ascending.

Then he blinked and found himself dressed in armor. A majestic, steel armor that shone majestically with clear strength within the walls. Several holy symbols adorned the shoulders with a long beautiful white cape right behind him. A beautiful sheen fought back the dark as he found himself setting down, the sheer angelic beauty of his true self bringing joy to him.

He could see the darkness trying to take shape now, in fear of him. Why wouldn’t it? After all, he had achieved his true form, the status of a protector of all things holy and sacred.

Instinct ran through him as the darkness rushed towards him. He moved his hand towards his hip and found purchase on the hilt of a sword he was not aware he had. He yanked the blade free from its scabbard and slashed right at the impending doom.

The sword was long, excessively so. This was longer than the sword that he had commissioned from the local smith some time ago. In fact, he would dare believe the weapon could possibly be even taller than him.

But despite all this, the weapon felt easy to use. The single swipe was more than enough to cast the darkness away, cleaving it into two and forcing the entire world to light up in an instant.

He found himself in a world so beautiful he couldn’t help but be mesmerized. A gorgeous white marble structure that seemed so far up in the sky that he could see the white clouds floating past him. A lively garden filled with flowers and plants of all shapes and colors that he couldn’t possibly believe such beauty could be found back in the mortal world.

He found himself taking several steps towards the flowers, until he found himself right in front of the mini garden. He crouched down and took the time to enjoy the small sight.

All of them were remarkably beautiful. While he wasn’t familiar with these types of flowers, they certainly seemed out of this world. Some of them were glowing, some were of ridiculous colors, and some had shapes that made his head hurt. However, what he could easily tell with his life as a farmer was that these plants were well taken care of, with each effort put in to make sure they all grew as well as possible.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?”

He flinched and swiftly turned around, the sword still in his hand. He put himself into a stance, the same one he recalled training for years and years on end. However, what he came face to face with was not some dark monster or being, but another human that stood there with a grin.

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The first thought he had upon seeing this other person was how old and feeble they looked. They were nothing but skin and bones, with heavy wrinkles all over their body. His only other recognizable feature was his giant white beard that seemed to go all the way down to his feet, full of messy hair that seemed to spring random ends here and there.

He faltered for a brief moment, staring at this elder. Where did this man come from? Did he own this place? Was he evil?

With that thought, he swung his sword up once more, ready to thrust his weapon if needed. The old man simply chuckled as he shook his head, before taking a step forward.

“Ah, calm yourself, young man.”

He paused. That voice… That was the same one that had talked to him before. Had he brought him to this place?

“I have indeed.” He flinched and stepped backwards, the sword still up and ready to strike if needed.

“Why? What purpose do you have for bringing me here?!”

“Ah. Have I not introduced myself?” The old man came closer, before raising his arms out. “I am the Holy Spirit. I am the one, the only. I am… God.”

God. He was right in front of him.

The old man shook his head, before grinning.

“Is this not the time to levy your thanks? To bring upon gratitude for saving you from your previous wrought flesh? To bring you upon the greater plane of existence, granting you the status of the heavenly crusader that you always desired?”

What? God had granted him the chance to ascend? He had let him become… a crusader?

“Indeed.” God nodded as he floated closer to him, causing the man to widen his eyes and his sword to lower, to the point where the tip touched the marble floor. “I have created you to be your true form. You were always meant to be a crusader, one to levy holy justice upon infidels.”

“The-then… that illness…”

“Yes.” God was now right behind him, placing his bone thin fingers onto his shoulders. “Sabotage. That was the work of evil, the sins of a monster. But fret not, for you have now been granted a chance to redeem yourself and your honor.”

“Redemption?” The Crusader couldn’t believe his ears. He… He had been attacked by the devil? That illness of his was done to prevent him from being able to achieve his destiny, to levy God’s will? This… this who he was all along?

He stared down at his armored hands, the reflection showing himself. A knight, a gallant noble paladin that was blessed by God to do great things.

He had been robbed. But… The fact that he was now able to do something now…

This… no. He… he was…

“You said I was meant to be a crusader.” He sheathed his sword, taking the moment to take a long breath. The air was crisp, fresh. He could feel his nerves calming down as he took in the soothing winds.

Then he blew it all out and he began to think.

“That means I was never able to achieve that goal in the end, right?”

“Indeed.” The Lord was now in front of him once more, with a sad smile on his face. “On the mortal plane, you would never have achieved your goal. The rot burrowed too deep into your body to recover, at that moment your destiny was made. You would leave your family in a miserable state, never able to change the flow of history. You would die without leaving a legacy, becoming nothing more than a burden on your family. All of which will disappear, fade away into the unknown. You would be forgotten forever.”

The Crusader took another deep breath. He closed his eyes for a while.

His family. They would suffer. They would be forgotten to the world, left to become nothing.

He couldn’t stand such an idea. His family was everything. For them to be abandoned and treated like trash… He couldn’t bear to imagine that.

“But you don’t need to.” God placed a hand on his shoulder. “For you see, I have a grand holy duty for you to carry out.”

“A… duty?”

“A crusade,” God smiled softly. “A call to arms.”

He couldn’t believe his ears. He couldn’t even imagine in his wildest dreams that this was where his destiny would lie.

He was being propositioned by the Lord himself, to help serve in a crusade personally. To bring upon His judgment and to do upon evil. To save those that were in need.

That was all he needed. That was the only necessary thought to do what he must.

He kneeled down in front of God, bowing his head in the process.

“Oh Lord, I thank you for your blessings. Please, tell this lowly believer what must be done in order for your will to be done.”

God smiled, before waving his hand. The Crusader looked up, only to see a massive white tower that seemed to go above the clouds, going all the way up to the heavens.

However, the tower exuded a disturbing feeling. A sense of horror and darkness was imbued within the whole building that nearly made him take a step back.

“An usurper is threatening my rule. He seeks to overthrow me, to rid me once and for all. He has been successful, as I am far weaker than I was before. I have spent so long trying to fight him, but I cannot do much anymore.”

Those words made the Crusader’s blood freeze. The Devil. He had come to take God’s place in heaven.

This… This could not stand. No, this will NOT stand. He will not allow God’s place to be usurped!

“I knew I could trust you.” God placed a hand on the Crusader’s head, before grinning.” I will send you to the usurper. I bless you with a small modicum of holy might. Go and smite this man down, bring justice upon him. Then, once you are done, take the seat on the throne.”

The Crusader nodded. Then, the final words of the Lord hit him.

“Wh-what?”

“Take your seat on the throne.” God turned away, staring up into the great unknown. “I am no longer able to maintain my form any longer. I will need you to help bring me back whole. Do you understand?”

“Yes! I understand!” The Crusader yelled, slamming a hand to his heart. “I will do everything in my power to return you to your former glory, Oh Lord!”

God smiled. He raised his hand to the Crusader and a light began to shine.

“Then go. With my blessing, expel the usurper. Crush all of his followers, destroy his ambitions, bring peace to the land.”

“And be wary of others in the land, for they seek to achieve cruel things.”

Then he blinked. He was no longer in that opulent marble room anymore. No, he seemed to have found himself in a dark forest, one full of giant intimidating trees that seemed to scale far beyond his view.

He stood up, placing his hand on his sword. He did not know where he was. However, that didn’t matter.

What did was the noise of barking and roaring. The weapon was drawn out. He held his blade in both hands, positioning himself to defend. And he was right to do so.

At that moment, a pair of creatures burst out from the bushes to corner him. However, they were not any kind of animal he had ever encountered before. No, these were some unholy combination of man and wolf, covered with flies that flew all around them. They growled and spat as their matted furred arms exposed arm long claws that threatened to rip him apart. They started to come closer, drool pouring down their mouths.

But he did not fear them. No, he felt only one thing.

Rage. Righteousness. Courage.

There was only one thing to do.

He charged.