The Legend of Samuel Mason

Premature, the quelling shall place,
The final stand, of the mortal race.

Subjects of Quinta, one will unite,
Hands of purity, stained with night.

Fall of the gods, the world will sleep,
Child of War who's soul be reaped.

- Rolah's prophecy on Blackflame's fate

"The Legend of Samuel Mason" serves as a direct sequel to The Chronicles of Croft and focuses on humanity's final stand against The Aspects, who have decided to reign judgement in full force following the defeat of Mogul, the Aspect of Sin.

The series centres on the perspective of Samuel "The Blackflame" Mason, as he fights alongside his friends and family against an impossible genocidal threat known as The Cleansing that sent the future of Junon's son into apocalypse.

After fully regaining the memories of his past life as Decen, the Paladin of War, Sam discovers that the actions of Adam Gareth has caused the invasion to happen prematurely. This also implies that Adam's actions have caused a ripple effect, which may lead to a possibly different future. However, despite the shred of hope, Sam is haunted by the chilling prophecy that was given to him by Rolah, The Paladin of Hope, that foresees his inevitable demise in the final battle.

Chapter 1

"Sam! Sam Sam Sam Sam Sam!" Bridget grabbed my sleeve as we walked down the District. Bridget wanted me to buy her a new bear, ever since the last one went up in flames (long story). "I want that one!"

We went up to a counter, with Bridget holding my hand. It felt pretty awkward, but definitely not as awkward from when I still looked like my old self, my caucasian self before I merged with Decen. At least now it didn't look like she was my little sister/daughter anymore.

You guys probably have a lot of questions, like who the hell is this guy? Who's Decen? Why do you have a little 8 year old girl clinging onto you getting you to buy her stuffed animals?

My name is Samuel Mason, and I am a reincarnation of a powerful warrior race known as the Paladins. Who I was in the past was a Paladin named Decen, who represented War. As a reincarnation, I'm capable of something called a soul link, which links my soul with other beings, allowing me to draw their power. I'm currently soul linked with Bridget, who is a ghost (I'm not kidding), and Connor Shel, who served Decen as his "Sentry". I use Sentry's powers in the form of "Darkfire", which are the flames of the underworld. Ooooh! Scary huh? It's okay, I'm a really friendly person once you get to know me!

We continued walking, as Bridget dissipated into my consciousness along with Sentry. Sentry's voice boomed in the corner of my mind.

"We need to find intel on the Subjects of Quinta."

I knew that. It was part of the prophecy, the one that I still hadn't told anyone yet. What was I even supposed to say to them? That I was going to die? I couldn't burden them with that knowledge. Everybody was training so hard to prepare for the Aspects. Calliope made a really inspiring speech to everybody, but even she knew our chances were grim as it was.

Telling them I would never make it would squish whatever hopes they had left.

I looked up at the night sky, which was decorated with the lights of a newly restored District. Calliope had really outdone herself, giving the slums a complete makeover. Ever since she was free from the Corruption, she had decided to use whatever political power she had left to restore Croft and return to the Age of Light. While many people understood what she had gone through, there were still a lot of people who couldn't forgive her for what she had done, even if the person who was acting in her place was Mogul all along.

I sighed. "I got no clue where they are, Connor. Even Merrow doesn't know. And Decen doesn't have a recollection of these guys either."

Sentry grunted. "Perhaps Amana Cross may have an idea. She may not know where they are, but she might be able to come up with a plan."

He was right. Amana was the smartest person I knew. With Jason and Amana by my side, we would be able to find these Subjects in no time. But if they were really subjects of Quinta... they would have to be even stronger than the conduits who used her realms. I fought Aaron, and he pretty much gave me a run for my money as Form 4. If these guys were even stronger than Aaron...

"I'm hungry..." Bridget groaned.
"You just ate!"
"Saaaaaam can we go home?"

I guess we were heading back to Corinth. Even though it was Bridget's idea of coming here in the first place. Sentry manifested himself from my consciousness, in all his samurai badassery.

"I still haven't really figured it out completely... but Lady Rivenlight has given me a few pointers."

Sentry slashed in the air with one of his katanas, creating a portal. I didn't like our chances of survival, but it was okay. If I got severed in two, I could just regenerate. Hopefully...

I was just about to step into the portal when suddenly, something caught me in the corner of my eye. I turned around. I was just about to make the appearance of a young man, probably 18 years of age, who had slipped back into the shadows. But he was watching me. I didn't know who he was, but I felt uncomfortable. Everything in my body told me to pursue him, and that he was dangerous.

Sentry probably read my mind. "Pursuing him is unwise. We should return to Corinth."

I shook my head. "No, this guy is bad news. I don't like it. What if he harms the people here? I have to give the chase man."

"I don't recommend it, but as you wish."

The portal closed, as Sentry returned to my consciousness. I put on Wheeler's goggles, and activated Hunter's Eye. Everything around me became darker but sharper, like the contrast setting on a display being dialed to max. I could make the outline of the man as he zipped around the buildings with incredible agility. He was definitely not a human or a mage.

I ran into the alley and gave chase.

Chapter 2

The kid was incredibly agile. He bounded building after building with flawless dexterity, each foot planted strategically so as to allow leverage to the next foothold. I was not going to be able to keep up using Sentry's agility.

I concentrated, Darkfire surging through my body as I assumed Form 1. Black and blue flaming jets erupted from the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet as I blasted forward.

The kid bounded through building after building on the rooftops while I soared above. Despite having the aerial advantage, the kid was outpacing me. I concentrated more of my flame for propulsion.

Something about this guy made me uncomfortable. But I had to find out why he was spying on me. Maybe he was working for some kind of hidden organization? Maybe he just had a weird fetish for me? Regardless, I had to pursue this guy before he got away.

Suddenly, the guy disappeared into an abandoned building. It looked like some kind of abandoned shop. I shot into the building and landed. Hunter's eye couldn't make out the silhouette anymore, meaning he must have found a way to mask his presence from even Sentry's sight. This was... not possible.

"Sentry, you seeing this? He disappeared."
"Tread carefully, Mason. The fact that he has escaped my eye means he might have other tricks up his sleeve."

Right on queue, a knife appeared from the shadows. I dodged, spinning the blade along the palm of my hand and redirecting it back to the attacker. Doma Martial Arts boys. The art of elegance, efficiency, and deadliness.

If the place was abandoned, it meant I was free to use my powers a bit more liberally. I opened my hand, and blasted a wide burst of flame at the source of the knife throw. The darkness lit up with blue as I saw the brief outline of the kid as he slipped past the blast, throwing more knives at my direction.

I raised my arm, which manifested Sentry's samurai armour, blocking the knives. Now was my chance. I leapt forward, grabbing the kid by the collar and slamming him to the ground. But the kid suddenly dissipated into smoke. The smoke circled me as it continued to fire blades in my direction. So this guy wasn't throwing knives at me. It was... part of him? Gross...

I knelt down, and spun in a circle, firing flames from my palms to create a wide mini-tornado of Darkfire. The heat of the flame damaged the smoke cloud, and the kid re materialized, hitting the ground.

I had to keep him from going up in smoke again.

"Sentry, keep him from smoking up!"

Suddenly, Sentry materialized, slamming the kid into the ground once more, his katanas to his throat. A bit too much, but okay.

"Try to dissipate. The next time you materialize, you won't have your head." Sentry hissed from behind his mask.

I knelt down in front of the kid. He looked young, with blonde curly hair, but his face... it was covered in scars. It was kind of nerve wrecking.

"Who are you? Why are you spying on me?"

The kid looked at me with a crazed smile.

"Blackflame, the child of war. You strive to become great, like your past self, but you will never become strong enough. Your kind shall perish, and soon, our true lords shall regain their rightful place in the cosmos."

I felt uneasy. "You didn't answer my question, pal. Who the hell are you?"

Sentry tightened the blades around his neck, but instead of being scared, the kid's crazy smile only intensified.

The next thing that kid said. It chilled me straight to the bone.

"I am Nezar, Apostle of Deimos.

"The Prime Aspect of Fate."

The Cleansing was beginning.

Chapter 3

"So the Cleansing has begun." Lazarus muttered. All of us were grouped together in the planning room. Darkstar and Kyrael alongside her advisors.

Kyrael crossed her arms. "This doesn't look too good. We need to figure out how to get the Warpgate finished soon. I thought the Cleansing wouldn't happen until years later?"

Adam clenched his fists and struck the table. "Damn it! I must have interfered with the timeline too much. I ended up causing the Cleansing to happen earlier. I came back to prevent it! How could I let this happen!"

Junon put her arm around his shoulders. None of us said anything. The kid had it real rough. Never knew his mom, abused by his dad, lost his uncle and his sister, to go out of his way to travel back in time just to make it worse.

But at the same time, I knew exactly why it had changed. I looked at Amana, who gave me a look of caution. She knew too.

Adam went back in time and introduced himself to his mom and dad and all of us. He ended up skewing the timeline by interfering with the past. But at the same time, why wouldn't he? He had the chance of a lifetime that not many people had. He got to meet his parents, after years of living in torment. What kind of child would turn that down?

Junon looked her future kid in the eye. "Adam, nothing is set in stone. It just means we have to work that much harder. The chances of us surviving are only zero if we give up. I'm not going to leave you alone again, I promise."

Adam's panicked expression softened, but he still didn't look too convinced.

Junon turned to Lazarus. "We got you your item for the Warpgate, what else do you need?" Lazarus began to list off a bunch of things that he needed. Needless to say, they were all magical items that were heavily guarded, or from some kind of magical place. The Warpgate idea essentially planned to use some crazy spatial and reality magic to trap the Aspects into their own dimension. It was a far stretch, but since Lazarus, Paladin Hark, and Trill were working on it together, I had total faith in them.

Kyrael nodded. "Good, so Squad Junon, you know what you're expected to work on then?" Junon and Adam nodded. I was happy for her, honestly. She had her own squad and family to take care of. Back when she was in Darkstar (well she technically still is), she always struggled with trying to fit in with the rest of us, since she was unpowered. Even after receiving the Achilles Boost, she still felt more comfortable with Maven and the others. They really grew on her.

Kyrael then turned to Jason and Amana. "I take it training for you two have yielded results?" Jason grunted. "We went to the Underworld, and have managed to grow stronger, but I doubt it's enough. I'm planning on seeking council with the inhabitants there, hopefully we can add to our numbers."

Amana turned to me. "Speaking of results, I'm guessing Sam's got the most out of his little adventure."

Everybody turned to me. It felt pretty uncomfortable, but I could see why they would think that. I was literally a different person. Merged with Decen, my powers were increased drastically.

"Yeah. I'm planning on searching for a few people to aid in our cause, but I'll need help."

I explained my situation with locating the Subjects of Quinta, and what Rolah had told me. If we could unite the power of each Subject of Quinta, their power, combined with Darkstar, the Inquisition, Street Angels, and the Conduits of Quinta would be enough to pose a threat. The Subjects of Quinta themselves were powerful enough to surpass Quinta herself, so if we added them along with our ranks...

The meeting concluded as we left the planning room. I had told Amana I wanted to talk to her to discuss my plan to locate these Subjects. Well really, I just wanted to ask her to come up with one for me. I honestly had no idea where to start.

"Hey, you wanted to see me?" Amana was waiting in one of the castle conference rooms in the library. She sat down across from me. I couldn't help stare at her forearm, which was still deformed from taking the force of Corrupted Calliope's strike head on ages ago.

She caught me staring and I quickly looked away. Amana laughed. "You don't have to pretend you're not looking at my arm, Sam. I know it looks pretty gross but whatever. Serves me right for thinking I could take a hit like that head on."

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, well um. I wanted to see you because I was thinking you could help me come up with a place to start looking for these Subjects of Quinta."

Amana raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't even know where to start?" My face turned bright red. "Hey! Look the idea is great, I just don't know how to set it to motion. Once I get the start it will be so much easier."

Amana chuckled. "I'm messing with you Sam. I can definitely help you out. Jason's been pretty preoccupied with training in the Underworld. I never found myself being too productive down there anyway. If you want, I can come with you on your journey."

I stared at her. "Wait for real? You're going to come along? That's awesome!"

Amana picked up a book and began studying the cover. "Well, you were never trusted to go alone in a mission anyway. Merrow's busy training in the Formation isn't she?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Amana and I left the castle and walked across the Fortress, watching as everybody went about their tasks and training. I watched as Junon tried to show her boyfriend how to aim his repulser properly.

"Not too far out! The recoil will bust up your shoulder."
"Baby I know how to fire a repulser, I built this thing remember?"

CHOOM!

"Ow! Son of a-"
"Nice."

Amana smirked. "Those two are perfect for each other." I chuckled. "Yeah, well, Mavus is one of a kind for sure." We kept walking. Amana put her hand around her deformed forearm, massaging it.

"So... I was thinking."
"What's up?"

She looked hesitant for some reason. "Since Jason is your remnant, he must have a similar personality to you right?" I thought about it. What was Jason like? If I was to describe him in a sentence, I would probably say he was a lot like a burnt marshmallow. Hard on the outside, but soft and gooey on the inside. Me on the other hand, I was like a burnt marshmallow with the burnt part cut off. Soft on the outside, soft on the inside. I was a complete beta.

"I wouldn't go that far... Jason and I are pretty different."