[Cafe] 121 – The Astral Knight

Artor Amhrad was a simple man. Since he became a Space Marine all those centuries ago, he believed in one thing: the glory of the God-Emperor of Mankind. 

For nearly a millennium, he has served as an Angel under the Emperor of Mankind and as the Chapter Master of the Astral Knights for centuries.

In his final moments, he ensured the destruction of the World Engine and the doom of his Chapter…The cost was worth the price of weakening the Necron Xenos and saving the lives of countless humans, and in his death, he found himself before his God, his golden aura embracing him in all of its power.

"My Son, I must thank you and your Brothers for your sacrifice against the Necron Menace and the destruction of the World Engine, but I am afraid your work has not yet been done. I've been made an...offer, a way to send one of mine back, back before Horus, back before the Men of Iron rebelled and Humanity regressed into a new Dark Age. You'll go back, back to when I was but a man that wandered the world, exploring all it had to offer. You have but one purpose: protect and prepare Humanity," The God-Emperor spoke, his voice firm and sounding hopeful, as he placed his giant hands on the pauldrons of Amhrad's Power Armor.

"But...my Emperor, surely there are more who are worthy of such a purpose?" Amhrad spoke up, his voice lacking confidence.

"You were chosen. You will go, not anyone else. Prepare Humanity and serve the Xenos, but beware. While it may wish to uplift humanity, I do not trust it." The God-Emperor spoke, his golden radiance flaring with his words, showing his distrust and hatred of those who were not of Humanity.

"Xenos...my lord?" Amhrad questioned, concerned.

"You will know it when you see it. It's on the Humanities side for now, but that could change. Keep an eye on it. Good luck, my son, you will need it," The God-Emperor warned the Space Marine Chaptermaster, before his aura suddenly flashed with blinding radiance that drowned the sea of souls around them in piercing gold.

...

Having passed the test, Amhrad found himself exiting the simulation alongside the burned Human, Joshua, whose name was. He was a man of God, but not of the God-Emperor. A part of Amhrad's mind screamed Heresy, and his fingers clenched. The need to cut the man down where he stood pulsated in his mind, but he relented, relaxing his hold on the Axe in his hand.

"You passed. Come, let's talk to Zerref," Joshua said, breaking the silence.

Following behind the Cultist, Amhrad stepped out from the Simulator, once again finding himself standing within a room with hundreds of Humans in strange clothing sitting before strange devices.

The second thing Amhrad noticed was the sheer number of Xenos Zerrefs; were they a species or one being? 

One of the Xenos stepped forward, its head tilting and looking between the two men.

"How'd he do?" the Zerref Xenos asked.

"He did well," Joshua answered, "He's a bit of a brute, but he'd make a good whetstone to sharpen the students into fine warriors."

"I have trained many initiates into Space Marines," Amhrad protested.

"Ah, yes. I bet you have. However, the students you and Joshua will be training are not allowed to die during their training, understood?" The Zerref Xenos seemed to threaten Amhrad. "This is not the Grim Dark future you are accustomed to. The Humans of Earth, Terra, are not as hardy or strong as the Humans you are accustomed to," Zerref explained.

The Zerref clone paused before speaking again: "Tell you what, Amhrad. I'm giving you a few days off. Feel free to explore the Home of your beloved Emperor before it was damaged. See the world as it is, before it gets worse." 

"Time...off?" Amhrad asked, confused.

"Take some time for yourself, adjust, and see what exactly you'll be fighting for and training the locals to protect," Zerref stated, gesturing towards the front door before continuing, "Experience what the world has to offer, see the hopes and dreams of Humanity before your time." 

Looking away from the towering giant in armor, Zerref swiveled his head to Joshua. "Would you mind accompanying him? Make sure he gets back here without accidentally killing a few people?"

Joshua merely raised a non-existent eyebrow beneath the bandages.

"You believe he'll actually kill someone?" Joshua asked, concerned.

"He lived in a Galaxy that knew nothing but unending war, conflict, carnage, and suffering. Death was common and acceptable in certain situations. Compassion was...a luxury, to the Imperium, to Humanity in a Dark Age of Technology, surrounding and filled with enemies both big and small, and facing threats that would make most flee in fear or denial," Zerref tried to explain.

"The world you knew would be comparable to a Kitten vs a Nuke..." Zerref tried to explain further.

"Really?" Joshua asked, looking at the Space Marine in a new light, getting a simple nod from Zerref.

"Have fun," Zerref waved the two out, as they stepped out of the Cafe and into a crowd of people forming a line to enter the Cafe in some kind of square.

"This is Metropolis, one of the cities based in the United States of America, one of the many countries of this world," Joshua began to explain what he learned so far, the Space Marine listening attentively as he learned about the situation of Ancient Terra.

The two attracted much attention, with many pulling out their phones to record them as they walked down the street. Their visible weapons made many back away or keep their distance, especially since Amhrad, in his armor, stood at eight feet tall with an axe as long as his body. They attracted so much attention that they caught the attention of multiple groups of people. These people had their goals and purposes, hiding and blending within the crowds, following the two as they headed deeper into the city.

Unfortunately, these groups of people didn't realize that the two they followed were far more dangerous than they had realized, and that they had already noticed them following behind.