David's broken and battered body stood over the young kid as he lay trapped under the now dead possessed. David stared down into the lifeless eyes of the deceased boy. Panic and fear covered the boys face. his eyes held despair and sorrow.
'I couldn't save him. I couldn't save them. I failed.'
David let out a scream of pain and sorrow as tears mixed with blood and dirt, before slowly trailing down his ruined face. His senses went numb. the pain disappeared, the feeling of dirt, blood and gore on his body seemed to vanish. The sticky, slimy and itchy feelings over his body became numb. His vision clouded and became tunneled. He no longer registered his surroundings or his body's condition.
In the distance a young woman, in tattered robes desperately tried to defend herself and three young children from multiple possessed. David was so focused on mourning the dead boy, her screams and cries of agony did not even register in his mind. Her body collapsed as she died in a pool of her own blood. Her lifeless eyes stared at the three children as they were killed.
The possessed had small pieces of the four's flesh stuck to their skin and their blood coated their mutated limbs. David stayed locked in his grief, not even bothering to look up as the possessed finished hunting the few remaining survivors before all turning and making their way towards him.
'I failed. They are dead because I wasn't fast enough. If I just wasn't injured maybe I could save them. Yes, that's it I just need to die and start over again. But this boy, will he still be dead when I restart? Will he still remember the pain of his death. I can't do that to this young boy. It would be like torturing him just for my own satisfaction.'
While David was having an internal battle in his mind the possessed where not sitting still. They had all gathered and made their way towards David's broken and bleeding body. They had fully encircled him.
David stared up at the storm cloud filled sky as he watched the lightning illuminate the clouds and thunder boom in the distance. A soft breeze flowed over his skin as he lowered himself into a relaxed sitting position. For the first time in months, he finally had more than a few seconds to relax and calm his mind. He let a soft sigh escape his lips as the growls, screeches, and other monstrous sounds of the encircling possessed grew louder. He took a deep breath and prepared himself to wake up once more in the center of the field of dead grass.
David's internal war still waged inside his mind as he stared up at the sky. A look of determination flashed across his face as he promised himself, he would save the fleeing civilians if he had the chance in his next try.
David closed his eyes as he relaxed his mind. Multiple large glowing red boxes appeared in the inky blackness.
"You have two unseen notifications that have exceeded duration. Due to length of multiple months between notification and review, the notifications have been put into an archive for later review."
"You have killed 2000 possessed humans. You have been rewarded two additional point in all stats."
"You have killed 5000 possessed humans. You have been rewarded four additional points in all stats."
"You have killed 25 Warp spawn. You have been awarded 5 new summon keys and 15 summons. You have additionally been awarded one point to all stats"
"You have received summon keys. Please review information to learn about summon keys."
"You have gained enough stats to gain a new skill or increase proficiency in acquired skills.
David's mind whirled, he had not paid attention to the chime sounds, and he had barely any time to close his eyes and focus on the system. As he read over the notifications, his physical improvements started to make more sense to him. He had gone from easily being overpowered by a possessed human and struggling to run from them, to being able fight off one while injured.
David did not bother to open the info screens to see what summon keys were. He felt the pain as he was killed once more by possessed humans.
He raised himself from the dirt once more, back in the same location he had woke up hundreds of times before. But he was different this time. He no longer moved like he was doing a chore but as if he was completely an extremely important mission.
He moved with deadly precision as he wove his way through the fight like a dancer. He had repeated this opening stage so many times by now he had started to name the possessed humans. Jerry and Creeps were the two crawling abominations that jumped from the grass. Slimy was the possessed human that had his lower half fused into a long slithering tail and his arms had elongated. Gregory was the screeching possessed that would charge him like a mad man only to trip and fall after he shot Creeps.
'I am losing my mind. I must be crazy. If anyone back home saw me naming possessed abominations, they would lock me in a padded room.'
'Now let's face Jock. After I kill him all that is left is those three annoying douches.'
David spun to face the lone growing portal with a smile on his face. "Jock, good morning, did you brush your teeth?" David laughed to himself as he fired a hell gun shot into the large possessed's face. Jock's mangled and rotting teeth splintered and turned into shrapnel as the laser shot tore through its face.
After twelve more shots to various part of the body the large possessed finally crumpled to the ground and died. Wiping the sweat from his brow David prepared to once more fight the three biggest nuisances he had to deal with.
"This time let's try not to get our arm ripped off, what do you say huh?"
'Who am I even talking to? I really need to get out of this place.' David thought as he shook his head.
******
David continuously slammed the buttstock of his hell gun into the head of the last living possessed. Its vile screeches finally died as its head caved in a spray of blood. Around him a dozen possessed humans lay dead along with all the fleeing humans. He had failed again to save them. This had been the tenth time. He had died seven more times before finally figuring out how to kill the trio without suffering extreme injuries.
"I am truly sorry I couldn't get here in time. Can you forgive me?" He said as he looked down at the shredded corpse of a young woman in her mid-twenties. He had watched her die ten times by now, but he still felt guilty every time. He had gotten close this time, but she had bled out before he had reached her.
'Next time. Next Time I will save at least one.' He told himself as he pulled the buttstock from the ruined remains of the possessed human. He stood in the field of grass surrounded by death. Bodies littered the ground around him as blood pooled. He closed his eyes and felt the wind hit his bloodied body. His carapace armor had been ruined and many parts of his body were exposed to the environment. He pulled his helmet from his head, as rain began to slowly fall. He let the rain wash the sweat and blood from his matted brown hair and off his broken armor. He let a few tears roll down his cheeks as he stood silently in the rain.
'Finally peace.' He thought to himself as he cherished the quiet and tranquility. He let his mind relax for a few minutes before turning his attention back to the work that still needed to be done. He had never made it this far. This was the first time he had managed to kill the three and the remaining possessed without being mortally injured.
David closed his eyes and focused on the notification he had not read.
"You have two archived messages; would you like to review them?"
'Yes, I want to review them.'
"You have picked up the skull of a human. Would you like to review the history and memories of the dead. The deceased's soul can be saved. The deceased's soul has been consumed."
'Yes, I want to review the history'
A stream of memories and details flooded David's mind as he watched the major events of the dead's life. The skull belonged to a middle-aged man that had fled into the cave system to avoid being executed. He had assassinated multiple people before finally being discovered. His final moments were his screaming that he was the protagonist and that he couldn't be killed by some random beast.
'Yup, idiotic anime fan who thinks he is in an Isekai. Bro no one in Warhammer is a protagonist, they are just the named character for that book. All named characters eventually die so a new named character can take their place. It would have been really helpful if your memories at least showed me how you got into the cavern complex. I could have used that knowledge to escape. I died like an idiot just like you. I should have read your notification instead of just proceeding blindly into that hellhole. At least you died fighting and didn't have to suffer and be eaten from the inside out.'
David let out a frustrated sigh as he looked back on his past actions with pain and regret.
'Alright lets see what the next notification is'
"You have officially summoned your first animated object. This summon will move and act according to its prescribed actions, programing and personality. This summon will have a minor will of its own. By summoning this, you have gained XP in your skill and increased your understanding."
'Oh, that is great, but it can't really help me in this place, I can't summon anything.'
"Correction you can summon items and equipment in this place; you just don't have the XP to summon anything."
'Seriously system, do you have to act like this?'
"Multiple unread notification, please review."
'Well I guess that is your answer. Alright lets take a look.' David began navigating the system. His body remained standing in the bloody field as he worked on the system.
'Lets take a look at my stats.'
"Health: 58/165"
"Stamina: 87/182"
"Strength: 14"
"Endurance: 18"
"Food: 62/70"
"Water: 51/70"
"Fortitude: 24"
"Mental Power: 4"
"Blessings: 1"
"Skills: Creation's Touch, Keeper Gates"
"Keeper Gates: 0"
"Summon Keys: 5"
"Summons: 0"
"Saved Souls: 0"
"Summoned souls: 0"
'Whoa, this is insane. I knew my stats increased since I first started but this is crazy. My strength stat has more than doubled. New stats too, maybe dying was the best thing to happen to me so far. What are these new things though?'
"You have unlocked new tracked items and statistics. Please review the information panels for each new item."
'Thank you, system,' David thought as he selected the first of the new information panels.
"Mental power is the stat used to control summons, keeper gates, item implementation, your designated portion of the soul keep, and ability to successfully guide souls."
'Ok that is a big one, I definitely need to get that stat as high as possible. alright next.'
"You have received one blessing. The blessing of the Patronus Animarum has been gifted to you. This blessing allows you to purify and guide souls into the soul keep. Successfully guided and saved souls will give stat increases and can be summoned without need for XP or Summon slots."
"Warning additional information."
"Due to the low level of mental power, chances of successfully guiding souls is extremely low. Additionally, some saved souls or created souls can be extremely powerful or steadfast. These specific souls require the use of Summon keys. A total of 7 created souls are currently available but none can be summoned at this time."
'What? There are seven named souls available? Well, who are they? Are they my custom space marines? Please tell me they are my custom space marines, that would be amazing. Oh, shit this is awesome.' David's mind turned into that of a child seeing presents on Christmas. His mind filled with joy until he saw the details of the seven and realized how far from being able to summon them, he was.
"Herion: Captain of the 5th. A breacher with a fiery temper and no-nonsense attitude. He expects excellence and nothing less. Always leads from the front and does everything in his power to reduce casualties while still achieving high risk objectives."
"Cost: 126,000 XP, 400 Summon slots, 25 Summon Keys. Warning level 6 Keeper Gate required."
"Arellious: Captain of the 9th. A sniper and scout with a cold and detached personality. If he is not training, he is teaching. He refuses to let anyone under his command become complacent or lazy. He prefers to personally train the newest members of his company. Is known to hunt and harvest edible food for his men to enjoy during periods between missions."
"Cost: 127,000 XP, 460 Summon slots, 25 Summon Keys. Warning level 6 Keeper Gate required."
"Typhos Cryptseeker: Captain of the 1st. One of the oldest members of the second legion. He is extremely knowledgeable and understanding. Often acts as a mediator and voice of reason between the captains and leadership of the legion. Acts as the second in command of the legion and personal confidant of Odessian. His mastery over the soul keep can only be outdone by Odessian, Hydratius, and his fallen Primarch. His leadership of the 1st has made it into the most distinguished and skilled company in the legion. Each member of his company must first achieve acknowledgement in each of the other companies before even thinking about attempting to join the 1st."
"Cost: 160,000 Xp, 800 Summon slots, 40 Summon Keys. Warning level 8 Keeper Gate required."
"Odessian: Lord Commander of the 2nd legion. Personally chosen by his Primarch before he died. He gained recognition for Hydratius, Typhos, Arellious, Herion and all other captains and members of the legion before attempting the trials to become lord commander. He is extremely powerful in both his mastery over souls and martial combat. His tactical genius was personally praised by multiple Primarchs. Was known to train with multiple custodes. Formed friendships with many key members of the imperium before the Rangdan Xenocides. Was the apprentice of Hydratius and equerry to his Primarch. Has both an extremely pragmatic and curious temperament. Often clashes with Typhos on ways of doing things but highly values the opinions of every member of the legion. Has been known to personally train initiates, neophytes, and battle brothers. Ensures he gets to know every member of the legion including serfs and initiates on a personal level. Will often disguise himself to prevent his men from acting different around him. He prefers to just be treated as a standard battle brother instead of as the lord commander. He has a hidden fury that very few know of."
"Cost: 260,000 XP, 1,300 Summon slots, 95 Summon Keys. Warning level 13 Keeper Gate required."
"Ancient Hydratius: The Keeper of the Gate of Styx. The first and oldest member of the legion. He was the original leader of the legion. He refused to hand over command of the legion until his Primarch proved himself to every member of the legion. Would often challenge and question his Primarch to ensure the decision always had the best interest of the people of the imperium and the legion. Was known to get into arguments with custodes, Malcador, and at one point even yelled at the Emperor, before telling him he needed to treat the Primarchs less like tools and more like living beings. He often fought alongside the emperor and custodes. Would speak his mind and always offer up alternative to try and help benefit both the people and imperium. Preferred diplomacy to violence but would never hesitate if in meant protecting his legion or the imperium. He became a council to Malcador and the two would often have many long discussions. When he was severely injured during the Rangdan Xenocide, the Emperor personally crafted him a custom dreadnought. He is the Second most powerful member of the legion in terms of control over souls. He stands eternal vigil over both the Gate of Styx and the tomb of the fallen Primarch. His council is valued extremely highly to anyone in the legion. Will often have long discussions with both Odessian and Typhos. He often takes on promising battle brothers and neophytes to become his apprentices. He can often be heard yelling and cursing at the imperium for what it did to the Emperor's dream and the future of humanity. Blames the Emperor's hubris and overconfidence for the destruction and decay of the imperium."
"Cost: 300,000 XP, 1,500 Summon slots, 130 Summon Keys, Shard of the Soul Keep. Warning level 15 Keeper Gate and mastery over the Soul Keep required."
Davids eyes bulged and widened at the extreme cost of summoning his custom named space marines.
'Hey system are you a loan shark or something what is with these insane prices!'
"Negative, the prices are based off the summon's skills, abilities, and characteristics."
'Please tell me there are cheaper summons. And also, you only listed 5 of the 7 created souls. Please tell me the other two aren't even more insane.'
"The remaining two are named but their souls did not receive much detail in their creation. You are currently incapable of summoning any of your named souls. They were not displayed to the user due to the scarce detail."
"Xerxes: A steadfast sergeant in the 5th company. He lost his arm leading a boarding action on an enemy flagship."
"Cost: 58,000 XP, 185 summon slots, 8 summon keys. Warning level 4 keeper gate required."
"Orion: A stubborn and headstrong breacher. He is a member of the 4th breacher squad of the 5th company. He is reckless and will often put himself in mortal danger to try and achieve the objective in the most efficient manner possible."
"Cost: 50,000 XP, 150 summon slots, 5 summon keys. Warning level 3 keeper gate required."
'System you call this cheap! I would need to endlessly kill cave glowers for half a year just to get enough XP!"
"You have unlocked a new skill. Keeper gates allow you to summon animated and alive summons into the physical universe. The level of the keeper gate determines how many souls or objects you can summon in a single instance. The level of the keeper gate also allows for stronger souls to be summoned once it has reached higher levels."
'Ok cool, I'm guessing I got this when I summoned the servo skull.'
"You have received summon keys. These keys can be used to upgrade your mental power, skills, enhance your summoned souls, assist in saving and guiding souls, or fortifying summoned objects."
"Warning! These keys are extremely important and are the only way to upgrade your skills."
"Summon keys can only be acquired by achieving additional objectives, completing goals, or accomplishing feats."
'Ok system, so they are important but why am I only finding out about them after I was killed in the cave system?'
"You had no purpose for that knowledge at that time."
'Thanks system, I can always count on you.'
'Alright what do I do now? I killed the possessed, its just a shame I couldn't save any of the civilians.'
"There are still 1783 hostile entities within a 10-mile radius. Additionally, there is a small town 6 miles to the northeast on the other side of a small forest."
'Well seems like I found what I need to do.'
David walked to each of the dead civilian and carefully closed their eyes. He muttered short apologies to each of them for not being able to save them, before standing and moving to the next one.
Once finished with the dead he collected himself and began his journey towards the wood line.
The sound of breaking branches, growls, and bone scraping against rock began to fill David's ears as he neared a small dirt trail into the woods. 3 possessed and mutated humans stalked their way from the vegetation towards David.
With a sigh he raised his hell gun and once more began fighting.
****
Time had passed and David had been able to fight his way 4 miles into the forest before he needed to rest. He found a small cave carved into a cliff face by a small stream. As he prepared to enter the cave a possessed charged from the woods to his east.
David raised his weapon and fired even as his eyes began to scan his surroundings prepared for more attackers. Just as he predicted two more possessed lunged at him from the trees.
He fired two shots into the first, sending it crashing to the ground from its loss in momentum. The second barreled into him. He was able to block most of the damage with his armor and shoulder guard, but large dents and nicks covered his armor.
With methodical precision he quickly dispatched all three possessed that had tried to ambush him, just as he had done dozens of times throughout his battle through the woods. He finally entered the cave with a sigh as he once more scanned the surrounding forest.
His eyes slowly adjusted but David's mind registered as if he was back in the underground cave labyrinth before he died. He began scanning the cave as if paranoid a cave glower, Shleemlow centipede, or a Gekkonidae Discerpere might burst from the rock and attack him.
The cave was large, mostly rock and stone with a big pool of water at the rear of the cave. Small clumps of plants grew in what must have been the shallows of the water. David continued to scan the cave as he began to move through the cave, slowly approaching the pool of water. His lips were parched, and he had not drunk anything in months. His body moved towards the pool even as his instincts screamed in alarm.
Trusting his instincts, David's paranoia kicked into overdrive. He began scanning the cave with an even greater fervor.
David's paranoia worked in his favor. The cave was home to a monstrous mutated crocodile like monster. Its elongated webbed legs pulled the beast from the large pool of water near the back of the cave. Its large bearlike claws carved small gouges into the rock as it lifted itself from the water. Its body was covered in grayish blue scale that made it look like it was still covered in water. Small patches of green fur grew in the scales. Its 5 reptilian blue eyes scanned the cave before locking onto David.
'You got to be kidding me. Seriously can I just get a break and sit down for a few minutes! I get this is a trial but what the fuck, this is insane! If I stay in the field for more than an hour, I get swarmed by hundreds of possessed, but if I go into the woods I just get endlessly ambushed and hunted the entire time!'
David fired shot after shot into the mutated crocodile's head, but it didn't even flinch. It was as if David wasn't even shooting at it. The patches of fur on the mutated crocodile began to change color as it moved forward to attack David.
Its scales flared a bright blue as each shot seemed to be absorbed. Then just as quickly the scales would return to their original grayish blue color.
David quickly began to back pedal, but the croc moved with impossible speed. In the blink of an eye its massive tail slammed David into the wall of the cave. David's armor splintered against the rock and crushed his body. He didn't even have time to react or feel the impact before he died. David once more woke up in the barren empty field, ready to try once more.
The question wasn't if David would make it out of the trial, it was how many deaths it would take and would he emerge as nothing more than a hollow shell or a tempered version of his original self.