His feelings were palpable, and of the Resiliator had his way, they would be the last thing he felt - aside from a Psi Blade in his chest cavity. "Nothing I say will clear my name, Asalamir, nor will it excuse my actions. But hear my words regardless." The Savant was barely two-hundred cycles old, yet he felt as ancient as the Exarch whose forces now surrounded him. His thoughts congealed, and the Savant sought to defragment them. "It is my faith that has incurred your wrath. You have dealt with usurpers, uprisings, and rebellions before, but mine is different."
Asalamir's eyes burned white-blue with fury. "You are no different from the rest, Daesalos! You are a traitor, and a fiend. Your despicable nature does little to set you apart from those who preceded your dastardly occupation!" The Resiliator stepped closer. "Rastal had quelled life on six worlds before his life was claimed. Before him, the Temtalon faction destroyed an entire planet using an artificial singularity. The Moonrisers, the Tal-horus Collective, Ulrezaj, the events at Taltamör, even the ungodly joining of Executor Sri-Kahn and Cerebrate Urun. I have battled these foes. You are nothing compared to them. The only thing you shall share with them is their fate."
"I must speak first!" The Savant's thought was strong, despite the adversity he faced. "If you will not spare my life, a prospect you indeed have no business doing, at least hear my last words before you hear my death throes." The Resiliator's eyes burned hotter, but he made no motion to strike, and Daesalos began to speak once more. "You are correct, Asalamir. I am of little stature compared to the rebellions and insurgencies of those menaces who precede me. But I know why I fought." Daesalos stared into the white-blue eyes of Asalamir, no longer feeling the need to flee, no longer fearing for his life should it end. "I fought for a cause I truly believed in. I believed that our Conclave has failed us, and I sought to form a new enclave, to better serve our people. This is my cause." Daesalos stepped back slightly, standing as straight as his injuries would allow. "You have heard my thoughts. Now, strike me down. End my insurgency. Write it to the archives if you see fit to." His eyes grew colder. "My time has come."
The Resiliator's psi blade powered up, the ever-burning energy contrasting starkly with the quiet, rolling waves of the planet's dark ocean, and even more so with the soft rain that fell from the heavens. The only thing the burning energies didn't contrast with was Asalamir's visage. Truly, the psi weapon was as powerful and strong as the one who wielded it. "Your soul will depart now. Embrace the void as you should have your life, Daesalos." Asalamir's arm wound back slowly.
The Savant met his murderer's gaze without hesitation. "Adun be with you, Asalamir."
As the Resiliator's blade impacted with the Zealot cuirass, he felt a strange sensation wash over his body. Every muscle tensed in anticipation of a psionic attack, and his mind instantly fortified itself against mental barrages, but as his vision warped and transfigured it became obvious that what was happening had little to do with psionics. The Savant disintegrated into the white darkness, the emptiness that now surrounded him, and he felt a sense of cryosis as his form became despondent and his surroundings dissipated.
His blade found a foe and sank within its armour and tissue, and as Asalamir's vision returned to him, his senses screamed out in agony.
It was cold. And he had just killed a Terran.
The unfortunate victim of Asalamir's blade sank to the ground, his blood staining the snow-covered earth beneath him, as the other men steadied their rifles in confusion. "Protoss?! What the hell just happened?" One shouted and frantically looked about. Another snapped his visor down and took aim. "Man down! Open fire!"
The Zealots of his company made short work of the Terran squad, but both parties had been confused. As Asalamir, in a daze, stared up at the snow slowly falling from the cold heavens above, he couldn't help but wonder at his fate.
"Where... are we?"