I moved like a ghost inside the Sororitas monastery.

Even with my shroud, at first I was still apprehensive whenever I encountered random groups of sisters. But soon it was clear that no one so much as threw me a glance, I was practically invisible to the human eyes. I proceeded with my walk and felt like a lost tourist visiting a holy site, marvelling at the impressive interior of the place. All around me every inch of the floors, walls and ceilings were covered with patterns, carvings and reliefs of religious and imperial motifs in the signature dark gothic theme of the Imperium.

Another surprising fact was that while the place was huge, there was little to no electronic security surveillance presence in most areas. I was paying extra attention to lookout for security cameras for I highly suspected this shroud of mine could not fool machines, as this should be equal to or the same legendary ability utilised by the stealthy Raven Guard space marines.

By now the ruse was up, I could feel the increased vox traffic in the air and an obvious increase in the number of battle sisters marching around with sterner than usual expressions. Curious about what they were talking about on the vox, I dove into the network for a peek and almost instantly regretted it. It sounded like the whole monastery was freaking out, they were screaming mobilisation orders and putting all available sisters into a search.

Maybe this accidental stunt of mine went a bit too far. The idea of looking for Alicya or Diadinah did cross my mind but I had no idea where to even begin. I walked aimlessly, wondering what to do next, but seemed to be drawn towards a particular direction. There was something in the air, a residue of something powerful calling out to me like the faintest whisper in a dream.

I soon found myself inside a huge service hall of sorts with an eye-catching life-sized statue in the centre of it. It was of a lady clad in a standard suit of Sororitas power armour. She wore a fierce expression, standing heroically on top of a high marble slab with an iron halo behind her head, holding a huge shield on her left hand while a blade was raised on the other. The plaque on the marble read: “Katherine Elysius, Patron Saint of the Order of Our Martyred Lady”, the original Order Militant Majoris which this tiny Order splintered from.

There was a tall banner and a table in front of the statue. On the table was an incense dispenser and a forest of burning candles, with a collection of religious trinkets commonly carried by the sisters of battle. I noticed some of these trinkets were damaged or broken in places. The banner behind the table had lines upon lines of words written on it. On the very top of the banner written in huge lettering was a single word: Martyris. As for those lines of words, they were all names.

Adelyra Geneviel

Lucya Docimusa

Juliana Nihenta

Sabina Luceia

Veridica Agathira

Eleana Dissarah

Brigania Decimagora

Adelinna Karamaina

Eleaniael Jenith

….

On and on the names went, I felt the hair on my arm rising upon realising these were all the recently martyred sisters. Did they lose their life before I arrived or in the recent battle under my command? I was not sure, but regardless it made my spine crawl.

This was the grim darkness of the far future after all, war was eternal and the Imperium itself was built on countless martyrs. I knew. I knew that but still, the transition from hobby memes to reality had an indescribably surreal quality to it.

I held my palms together for a silent prayer then left the hall, letting my feet carry me forward to no particular place. Damn, I can use some fresh air. I walked and walked, with my shroud I passed more security checkpoints, avoided random Mechanius personnel, dodged security cameras, and walked past more groups of sisters until I was finally out of the monastery wall and got onto a parapet.

The cool air outside pleased me, it was refreshing to finally stop breathing air heavily laced with incense. Outside I came upon a starless dark sky with random aircraft lights floating around. I turned around and saw the exterior of the Sororita monastery for the first time. It was a gigantic structure in the shape of a comically huge gothic church with its main cathedral piercing up into the sky, around it were multiple lesser towers with many guns protruding from strategic locations. The place was more of a fortress than a monastery.

Looking down, I saw a strange sight. Beyond the furthest perimeter wall were what appeared to be a large crowd, there must have been thousands of people near the main gate. With my inhuman eyesight I was picking details like looking through binoculars. In the centre of the crowd was a huge figure which appeared to be a statue.

Wait, is that what I think it is?

I had to get a closer look! The fastest way to get down from here would be… it was only then that I realised my body was in mid air, and I was looking down at a straight down drop of at least three storeys in height. In my eagerness to move forward and without realising my own actions, I climbed over the parapet. Time slowed down, the human side of me screamed internally while the other unfamiliar side was indifferent about the fall. Then visions of Syrine’s daredevil stunts beneath the imperial palace flashed before my mind and the internal conflict was resolved.

Yeah, this is nothing.

I landed without a hitch and felt no more impact than jumping off a chair. The little landing noise I made attracted the attention of a battle sister from a patrolling squad, but she quickly lost interest seeing no one was around.

After my quick recovery from a brief moment of feeling stupor, I looked back at the multiple storeys high parapet and immediately gave up on the idea of going back the same way. What now? I teetered between the decisions of getting back inside the monastery or investigating what I saw on the other side of the fence. As I stood in the massive yard feeling totally lost, again my attention was attracted to a powerful yet abstruse force nearby, more intense this time and originated from beyond the fence.

This felt weird and eerie, is it a sign? I closed my eyes and tried to look inward for a quick answer. Syrine, is this your doing? No response. Well, that was worth a try.

My anxiety was starting to rise at this point, this walk had been going on for far too long. I tried looking for a way back into the monastery but instead felt a sense of suffocating oppression just by looking at the formidable structure. In stark contrast, the prospect of checking what was on the other side of the fence looked so tempting, there lies that mysterious thing I saw from the parapet, a fleeting moment of false freedom plus whatever that had attracted my attention.

Alright, I made up my mind and promised to myself: I will get back right after seeing what was on the other side of the fence. Using my shroud and darkness as cover, I continued my journey through a field and eventually reached the outermost perimeter. Through the fence I saw a huge crowd of pilgrims. The obvious way to get outside was through the main gatehouse guarded by a squad of sisters. I avoided that and checked on the perimeter fences.

Looking at the height of the fence, I had a hunch that this was probably not enough of an obstacle for me. But just in case, [Simulatio] Activated- In my mind’s eye I ran at the fence and jumped. Propelled by my superhuman limbs I easily leaped right over the fence, even doing a flip while mid air. I can do this. I exited the simulation and performed the exact feat, landed on the other side.

Keeping my shadow walk active, I moved into the crowd of pilgrims, finding myself having to constantly avoid the random people who would be walking straight into me due to my pseudo invisibility. The familiar scent of incense again filled the air but this time mixed with the musk of humanity, these people had been here for some time already.

I soon reached the centre of the crowd and my mouth dropped. No doubt about it, standing close to two metres tall with thousands of candles burning beneath it and lighting it up like a gigantic cake in predawn darkness was a statue of my likeness. I gulped while looking at the details. This statue, while slightly crude with hints of being a rushed job, matched my clothing and pose from when I did that cringy solo performance. The most noteworthy feature of it was the glowing halo behind the head which was made up of illuminating devices.

Around the statue were many erected banners, most had the typical message of “The Emperor protects” or “Faith is Our Shield” written on them, and the largest of them all read “Pray for Our Saint”.

How long was I out cold? When was I a saint?

I stood there, invisible to the crowd and having a hard time keeping my mouth closed while taking the ridiculous sight in. By then the sky was starting to brighten up. Dawn was coming. I let out a sigh and decided it was time to end the walk.

I turned and was about to go back when a disturbance caught my attention. A few people were arguing around the corner of the statue and their voices rose steadily. I walked over for a closer look, just in time to witness the start of a fight. A few guys were pummeling an old man while the crowd, including a man who looked like an officer in a carapace armour, simply stood by and watched.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Attacked by multiple people, the elder man was having a hard time defending himself from getting punched and kicked from all sides. The old man soon lost his footing and fell to the ground, his possessions scattered around. His assailants did not relent though and kept up their attack. I winced at the barbaric display and wondered why no one intervened.

Are the people here this cold? No matter, not my problem.

I turned and decided to return to the monastery, but found my steps heavy. Behind me the beating continued. Not my problem. The old man started begging for mercy. NOT MY - The begging continued, now with a blood gurgling voice. I quickly turned around, upon witnessing blood flowing down from the old man’s mouth, I snapped.

‘What are you people doing? STOP IT!’

The assault abruptly stopped as I had hoped, but there was a new problem: everyone was looking at me. Oops, there goes my shadow walk. All around me people went quiet. My sudden appearance, together with my matching appearance with their fabled saint, must have bewildered them. There was no going back now, might as well do what I blew my cover for. I started walking towards the bullies while glaring at them. They got the message and stepped back from their victim.

I reached the wounded old man and squatted down to check on him. ‘Are you alright?’ I asked.

‘I…’ the old man started to answer weakly as he looked up. When he saw me his expression turned from despair to shock. ‘It is fine now,’ I assured him, surely the sister hospitallers back in the monastery can do something about his injuries.

The crowd around started murmuring and my transhuman hearing heard them all. ‘Is that…?’ ‘Where did she come from?’ ‘I swear no one was there just now…’ ‘No way…’ This could get messy, I needed to get back as soon as possible.

‘Can you stand? I can get you some help.’ I offered the old man my hand. Still shocked, he took it and stood back up shakily. Just as we were about to leave, our path was blocked by the man in carapace armour with his palm raised, signalling us to stop.

Being this close, I finally recognised his armour and half mask to be the standard issue wargear of the Adeptus Arbites, the imperial law enforcers of Imperium. While the Arbites were quite a major faction in the lore, they were more “brutal central bureau police force” than a military force, as a result they were never a complete playable army by themselves and I was not familiar with them.

The officer first looked me up and down, then talked into his comm, telling his unit he was investigating a possible case of “thrill seeker” before finally turning to me. With an authoritative voice he asked, ‘Mamzel, are you alone?’

Mamzel? Just as I was starting to get used to being called a lady he had to hit me with that cringe again, together with the man’s inaction when the assault happened right in front of him, I had a very low opinion of him at this point. Still, I had to answer to avoid further troubles, ‘yes.’

The man nodded before dropping his bombshell statement. ‘Do you have a written permission from any Ministorum representative to dress up like that? Impersonating a saint or a potential saint candidate without proper authorisation is a criminal offence under the local code of Lex Imperialis.’

Wait, what? Is he serious? The lore did mention about Arbites not caring much about petty crimes instead focusing on central imperial laws, kind of like how the FBI will not bat an eye if you litter in front of them. Even so, assault was considered a petty crime for them?

‘No, I do not have written permission.’ I answered truthfully.

‘Then I will have to arrest you. Show me your identity.’

Whoa? Experiencing the brunt imperial law for the first time, I was taken aback. Seeing that I did not respond, the officer drew his baton menacingly and barked his order, ‘mamzel, I am not going to repeat that order again.’

‘But I am not impersonating anyone.’ I said without thinking, which in hindsight, was obviously the wrong answer for him. The officer’s chin under the half mask visibly tensed up, I could even read what was on his mind: You little twat! I bet you usually have things your way with that pretty face.

Wait… I can read minds now?

‘Final warning. Give me your identity.’ He said with a voice so dangerous it snapped me back and made all the people around, including the wounded old man, step further back.

‘Like an ID card or something? I… I am sorry, I don’t have one.’ As soon as I uttered my answer, his thought came through again: That’s it. I will teach you a lesson.

Shockingly in the next instance he actually swung his baton at me, someone with the appearance of an unarmed girl. The crowd gasped at the sudden attack, but what was supposedly a very tense moment quickly became weird. I watched in disbelief as the weapon came at me at a snail’s pace and dodged it easily by stepping aside.

Surprised, the officer quickly collected himself and tried for the second time. Again the baton moved sluggishly through the air, this time I took a step back and observed the tip of the baton gliding right in front of me at a laughable speed.

Is he even trying? I risked a glance at my assailant, the man’s expression was far too serious to be fooling around. I even saw a cloud of angry emotions hanging over him, his intention to beat me up was real but he was just too slow.

Wait, is he slow or… am I fast?

The officer swung for the third time, again attacking with the same lethargic speed. I was no longer nervous and glanced around to confirm my hunch. To my amazement, from the crowd’s movement to the flowing of banners, everything seemed to be moving at less than half speed from my point of view. I was possibly in my peak form for the first time, the mere tightening of my focus seemed to make everything go slower, so there was no need to fire up thought acceleration.

The officer was not slow, I am way too fast for him.

Confident in the difference of our physical capability, I reached out and grabbed hold of the baton mid-swing, easily yanking it off his hand like taking candy from a baby. Not realising he was disarmed, the man continued his clumsy strike and was fully exposed for counter attack. I felt a strange new sensation and in the blink of an eye, saw a myriad of ways to end his life.

A hand chop to the neck would fatally crush his throat. A direct elbow smash into the back of his head should result in a lethal concussion even with that helmet. A knee jab into his chest would break enough rib cage for the bones to puncture his own lungs, drowning him on land. A quick grab and twist would break his neck, and an extra twist could probably decapitate him with my strength. I had so many options to end him now.

He is so fragile.

Even wearing that full body armour, to me he looked no more than a defenceless sand castle on the beach. While I looked at him with a newfound perspective, the man finally regained his stance and our eyes met. I have no idea what he saw, but in the next instance he recoiled in horror and took multiple steps back.

The crowd around us was getting thicker at this point and I figured it would be better to deescalate the situation. ‘Please, stop.’ I said while flipping the baton and offered the handle to him. The man blinked at the baton, finally noticed his empty hand and looked totally dumbfounded. He panicked, took a few steps back, quickly called into his comms for backup. That done, he drew a pistol, pointed it at me while yelling in a shaky tone, ‘stop resisting!’

I was flabbergasted. Despite all my attempts to resolve this situation peacefully it still ended up like this. The human side of me flinched at the sight of a gun, but another part of me seemed to be nonchalant about it as it was merely an autopistol.

Merely a pistol?

Surprised by my own thoughts, I stood still just as two more individuals wearing the same uniform appeared from the crowd with their weapons pointing at me while shouting conflicting orders. One of them was asking me to raise my hands while another was telling me to get down on my knees; the first man was chiming in, asking me to drop the baton that I had offered to him.

Such a nuisance. This reminded me of all the horrible incidents made by the less than ideal law enforcement personnel back on my mundane earth. A wrong move here and a normal person would be dead. But I was anything but normal now.

A myriad of options flashed before my mind. First I could unleash my halo to intimidate them, but that might create a bigger scene with all the pilgrims around. Otherwise fleeing was also an option, with my speed I could get out of dodge easily but that would risk the life of bystanders should these guys simply start shooting indiscriminately.

Lastly there was the option of going fully on the offensive. If I activated thought acceleration and went all out, taking down all three of them within seconds before leaving the scene was a given. They were just humans after all.

“Just” humans?

Startled by my own unfamiliar chilling thoughts, I froze. Meanwhile, emboldened by my inaction and their numbers, with weapons in hand the three officers stepped closer while repeating their contradicting orders. Their aggressiveness vexed me greatly, a non-violent scenario seemed impossible at this point. My grip on the baton tightened, multiple solutions to incapacitate the three of them flashed before my mind. Alright, you guys asked for-

‘CEASE YOUR BLASPHEMY!’

Fortunately an amplified voice which I recognised stopped me from acting out my plan. The new development had the three officers turning their heads at the direction of a parting crowd. There a short distance away, graced by the lights of early sun, Sister Welminah in her usual dialogus attire stepped forth while brandishing a staff topped with a Sororitas icon. The built-in laud hailer on her robes was again blasting orders. ‘By the order of the Adepta Sororitas, stand down!’

Upon seeing the arrival of a furious sister, the three officers complied and lowered their weapons. After staring down the Arbites, Welminah turned to me. Not expecting to meet up with her under such circumstances, I dropped the baton, smiled to cover the awkwardness and said the only thing that came to my mind.

‘Good morning, Welminah.’

It was then I had a proper look at the scholar, she seemed to have exerted herself coming here, the sweat on her forehead shone like diamonds reflecting the early sunlight. Welminah struggled to control her ragged breathing, and she had a somewhat stupefied expression while staring straight at me, her lips trembling slightly. On one of her hands was a communication device with a voice calling out from it. ‘Sister Welminah? Say again, have you located the Holy Daughter?’

‘Affirmative, I found her.’ Welminah said, but in her haste to reply she had forgotten her laud hailer was still switched on, so that message was blasted all around us. We both winced at the accident, while she hurriedly turned off her laud hailer, a message appeared in my vision.

[Combat detected]