Sol Liora was in the armory, testing her armor and the weapons. Her helmet hid her face, with a small slit to allow the armor to see better. The size of the armor increased her already imposing presence. The armory had several sets of armor. Each Dust Knight had their own set, and even though they had more armor, the knighting process halted since the Highpoint Disaster.
The armor of Sol Liora was designed for relentless attack and peak survival. Mei told her that she had the trifecta of movement. The suit was capable of generating magnetic fields, able to stick to metal surfaces with ease, while the gravitic manipulators made it possible to resist high falls. Finally, her legs had small propulsors. She was able to move fast on the battlefield and sort out every obstacle known.
On the other hand, the weapon system was one of the best of all the armors, comparable to Sir Tristan's ballistic capabilities or Sol Percival's destructive power in hand-to-hand combat. The magnetic fields and her railguns were on the forearm, while the propulsors in the palms of her hands allowed for an easy attack, melting any enemies near her or at medium range, or just helping in the propulsion.
Sol Aveline appeared with just his under armor. All of them had one, and they were easier to repair, maintain, or even add any kind of tools or weapons. It was usually a black carbon fiber textile, tougher than a kevlar. Mei told them that they were developed by reverse engineering the silk from mutated spiders. Tristan always told her that spiders never existed.
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Aveline raised his hand. Sol Liora's classic white and Hi-Tech armor gleamed under the artificial lighting, a stark contrast to the dark thoughts swirling in her mind.
"Are you alright?"
"I will be," she replied with a deep voice. "Let's focus on the mission."
Sol Aveline reached his armor, one of the oldest. It was weary, covered in scratches, marks, and even some melting defects. Most of the engineers gave up trying to repair it. But Mei was the only one trying to help the High Marshall with his armor.
The full suit rested in a stand, where a frame of steel and cables made it stand still. Aveline made sure it was fully charged with Blue Plasma. His hand touched the chestpiece. Blue gleamed from the recesses of the armor, identifying its owner.
He took the chest piece, revealing a small space where his torso was going to be. He attached the piece to the front of his chest. He grabbed the helmet, different from Sol Liora. It had a protective glass that made the wearer capable of looking even if the armor ran out of energy. He put the helmet on, turned around, and stepped back.
As his body approached the rest of the pieces, the full armor assembled itself around Sol Aveline's body, leaving no weak spots. The glass illuminated, until turning completely grey, covering the wearer's face. Aveline moved forward a couple of steps, making sure the armor was perfectly assembled. Inside, a voice from the armor spoke to him.
"Energy, one hundred percent. Structure integrity, ninety percent. All systems are connected and ready. Ex nihilo nihil fit, knight."
Mei told them that the sentence was from an old and forgotten language. The translation she gave them suggested that the sentence was "Nothing comes from nothing. Like, dust comes from dust"
"Ready?"
"Yes. Let's go. From dust to dust."
Liora sighed.
"From dust to dust, Marshall."