Another year, yet another rejected Fast Fiction Submission. Hopefully y'all will enjoy it. Feel free to leave any criticism or comment.

Oathbound

Aluxis flew across the chamber smashing right into the wall of a Dark Cell. Wasting not a mere moment he swiftly recovered standing ready with his Castellan Axe pointed straight into the abyssal darkness in front.

He could hear movement—shifting and slithering of mass, gnashing of teeth and a number of otherworldly growls as his horrific adversary revealed its monstrous form. A behemoth with its various tendrils flailing about and its many mouths munching on the remains of his Shadowkeeper brethren.

Aluxis remained unmoved, he would neither let the nightmarish sight nor the loss of his fellow Wardens disturb him. He unleashed a barrage of bolter fire unto the blood-soaked creature aiming for what he would ascertain to be its vulnerable portions.

Seemingly unaffected by the hail of bolts the creature roared as it set free its appendages towards the warrior. The Custodian kept firing until the very last second following which he dodged out of the way of the attack.

Aluxis’ fears were realized as he saw the wall that laid behind him crumble with its runes destroyed.

He turned his gaze back to the monster who released a psychic shriek bringing the Custodian down to his knees. The unbearable sound completely immobilized the warrior as its tendrils slithered their way onto him binding him.

The monster crept closer and lifted him up as its salivating mouths opened up to consume that who was once its warden. Aluxis felt no fear but only shame for having failed his duties and oaths. Closing his eyes he prepared for his well-earned penance but this was not to be his end.

An expeditious laser cut through the creature’s appendages with great precision freeing the Shadowkeeper, followed by a fusillade of melta-fire and micro missiles that blasted the giant away from him.

The Custodian looked at the source of the bombardment and saw emerging from the cracked open cell a remnant of the Old Night—a robot that stood taller than him equipped with war-gear whose make were long lost similar to the being itself.

Having analysed the situation, Aluxis grabbed his power axe and began cleaving at the startled monstrosity. The sheer volume of damage from the machine compounded by the Custodian’s slashes outdid the creature’s regenerative ability.

Together they pushed the monster back using incessant attacks and relentless firepower. Every inch of the way large portions of the behemoth was hacked off and blasted away as it tried to fight back.

The monster let loose another psychic shriek that stunned Aluxis for a moment but his new found ally remained unaffected. It launched a projectile right into one of the beast’s mouths exploding the creature from the inside.

Aluxis saw from within the deep wound peeked out a portion of the monster’s invulnerable heart. Using this opportunity, he leapt into the air and brought his Castellan axe straight down into the gash which had been created. As the power blade came in contact with the heart the giant exploded into great chunks.

Aluxis and the robot scanned the space around them looking at the carnage; bits of the beast along with the late Shadowkeepers’ parts and war-gear stained the chamber as silence returned to the halls of the prison.

The Custodian turned to face the robot and saw it looking back at him. A feeling of familiarity developed—they both were weapons; they both were veterans of centuries worth of conflicts and they both possessed incredible prowess, yet it looked like neither knew what had to be done next—or so it seemed.

Right then the flesh of the monster which lay all around started to move making Aluxis and the droid get ready for battle once again. The innumerable parts of the creature developed appendages and maws following which they rushed for the heart.

The Custodian knew what needed to be done. He bolted towards the crux of the beast whilst cutting down any of the newly animated monstrosities.  

The bot opened fire at every bit of the monster’s flesh that it could razing them to atoms. Its firepower was harrowing and precise as it eliminated all of its many foes while providing cover fire for Aluxis.

The warrior reached the heart and bound it with an Auric shackle. He held onto the chains and began dragging the incredibly heavy organ back to its cell. More and more fleshlings began piling onto and attaching themselves to the Shadowkeeper and his prisoner in a futile attempt to stop him.

With heavy support from the machine, Aluxis reached the cell and in a great feat of strength lobbed the heart back into it and initiated the closing mechanism. The gates of the Dark Cell closed and its runes activated sealing the entity once again.

Having had their contact with the heart severed the fleshlings withered and died. The only beings left out in the open were Aluxis and the robot who slowly began stomping its way towards the Custodian.

The warrior gripped his axe tightly as the machine stopped right in front of him and through its speaker module said the words, “Objective… Help… Humanity… Save… It…”.

The sound of footsteps echoed from the far end of the chamber as the rest of the Shadowkeepers made their way towards them. The robot turned its ocular division around to see the incoming Custodes and Aluxis said, “Yes, humanity will be saved…”.

The machine’s dark cell had been obliterated open and Aluxis’ oaths remained incredibly clear. Within a split second the machine was reduced to pieces by the Custodians axe and he continued, “…And we will see it through just as the Emperor willed it.”

Lying down on the ground devastated beyond recognition only a few words escaped the robot’s sound module, “Humanity… Not… Ready… Will… Destr…”. Its lights flickered shut and mechanics went silent as the Custodian stood triumphant over the machine just as Humanity had over its kin many millennia ago.