Path of Honor: The Unending War.

Disclaimer: I do not own Warframe or any other references made in this story.

Hello readers. Primedblade141 here with the latest chapter. I'm really sorry about the very long delay. I had a bit of a writer's block and got quite lazy while halfway through writing this chapter. But I haven't lost any interest in writing this fic.

Also, I'm thinking about rewriting and changing some stuff in the previous chapter. I feel it was a bit rushed up and some of things could use some changes since I kinda changed the initial idea of Ken's backstory before Path of Honor. I might even start that story later when I feel like it.

On a side note, how are you all enjoying Nightwave? To me, this feels like quite a good addition by DE as it gives you some incentive to play every day thanks to the rewards. Gotta be honest, before this update came, only thing I did was just log in for the daily rewards and sometimes maybe do some trades or alerts before going back to play FGO (It's really grindy but doesn't matter if you manage to beat Kirei and get your waifu/bro) or do other stuff. But now Nightwave provides some worthwhile rewards for playing along with some lore as an added bonus. Although some of the challenges that require friends or clanmates can be annoying as I mostly prefer solo playing thanks to my crappy ISP.

But the thing I'm really hyped about is melee 2.9 and the stuff it's gonna bring. No doubt I'll be putting priority in getting the stance for the two-handed Katana and the weapon itself.

Anyway, here's the new chapter. Enjoy.

Warning: This chapter contain some spoilers regarding the Second Dream, Apostasy Prologue and The Sacrifice.

Chapter 3: The Knights of Pendragon.

"...So shame on you! You Orokin, so perfect on the outside but you're rotted through and through!"

-Archimedian Margulis.

Orokin Era

Unknown year after the Old War.

Location: Unknown.

Wealth. Power. Dominance.

If one ever asks what makes an empire strong, then these three words would be what most people would have in mind.

Wealth of vast amount to last longer than others.

Power to crush all those that stand in the way.

Dominance over as many as possible.

And if we judge the Orokin using these three factors, there would be no doubt about the might of the huge empire they had created.

The vast wealth that the Orokin possessed was unlike any other. No empire in the history of mankind was blessed with even a small fraction of the wealth that the Orokin Empire had at their disposal. The entire Origin System, as they named it, belonged solely to them as entire planets were terraformed by them to suit their needs. Furthermore, being obsessed with luxury and beauty everything they had was adorned with gold from simple clothing to infantry weapons and even the massive constructs they created all across the system. Not only that, their technological advancement was unmatched in every sector whether medical science or weaponry. In short, they had everything that can be considered wealth and more.

As for power, the military might of the Orokin Empire had no equal. Their technological achievements meant that they were easily capable of producing advanced weapons that would easily give them an edge in any form of conflict. They had a vast army of genetically engineered slaves at their disposal, to be used for overwhelming whatever enemies they faced without any fear of loss since they were mere tools. They also had the Dax, elite soldiers who were technologically enhanced to have superior combat prowess and unconditionally loyal to their masters.

Nonetheless, their supremacy was challenged during the Old War by the Sentients, a race of machines that were created by the Orokin as terraforming drones but went to war after achieving sentience due to the exposure of the Void. Due to the Sentients adaptability and resilience, the Orokin empire was on the verge of defeat. Their weapons and technology were useless against the sentients as the machines could easily take control of them.

Their defeat would have been certain if it wasn't for the Tenno. The once hated and feared void demons had became their instrument of victory. Trained in the old ways while being given biomechanical husks as conduits to channel their Void energy and charge into battle in, the Tenno were able to defeat the Sentients and thus the survival of the empire was ensured.

And so, it was now certain that no one had the strength to stand against the dominance of the Orokin empire. Everything in the Origin System, whether planet, resource or even people belonged to them. They could take whatever they want to feed their twisted need for excess luxury and riches. As far as people were concerned, they were nothing but tools to be used by them for whatever purpose they saw fit. Furthermore, even death would not put a stop to them as they have the means to prolong their lives through Continuity, a process through which they would transfer their consciousness to another body and fill the hosts mind with torment and despair until there was nothing left, letting them fully take control of the body.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that as far as the Orokin were concerned, they considered themselves gods. Gods in human flesh, clad in gold and the finest silk with immense power and wealth in their hands. They were superior to all in every aspect and even death itself was no threat to them.

And yet, was this truly something to be consider perfection, being free of any flaws?

But to a man like Ballas, it mattered very little.

It was he, Executor Ballas who swore an oath of absolute loyalty and servitude to the Orokin. It was Ballas who was responsible for the creation of the Tenno, the instrument that brought salvation for the Orokin. It was Ballas who proved his loyalty to the Honored Seven by sacrificing his love Margulis.

Margulis. That woman was a fool. While most Orokin feared and hated those demons of the void, she took the children as her own and even helped them control their powers. And like any caring mother, she sought to protect those devils to the very end, even going as far as disobeying the orders of her superiors.

Fool or not, he still loved her.

Ballas had tried his best to reason with her in order to stop her from traversing that path because he knew where she will end up if she didn't stop. But it proved to be useless. Her love for those devils was too strong.

And so it was, she had to be put to death for her defiance to the Orokin empire. Ballas himself had to preside over the sentencing of the one he loved. The memory of that moment still haunts the executor to this very day. All he could do was watch as seven hands were raised in favour of executing the brilliant Archimedian. He watched as the Jade light took away her life right before her and he was unable to do anything.

As he walked through the gold adorned halls, the only thing that the executor felt was hatred. It did not matter who or what the Orokin were, they will burn in the flames of his hate for taking away his loved one. He had already started taking the first steps towards achieving his retribution. One person, a celebrated Dax soldier was on his trail but he made sure to deal with him as he saw fit. No one will be allowed to stand in his way.

For now, he had another matter to address.

The doors behind Ballas closed automatically as he entered a new room. From the looks of it, it was clear that the place belonged to an Orokin elite. Another executor no less. Alongside the usual rich gold decoration and luxurious items, the most distinguishing feature that would catch most people's attention would be the various pieces of weapons and armour decorating the room. There was a good amount of them and those appeared to be very old, probably aging as far as the early times in old Earth that very few actually remember. Armor of knights and soldiers, swords, spears, maces, shields and firearms from various ages were all kept in glass displays, well preserved.

"So, you finally came, Ballas. I was starting to think that you wouldn't show up at all." A gruff voice stated as Ballas turned his attention to the person that just entered the room.

The man had a tall imposing figure. He had silver hair and appeared to be a bit more aged compared to Ballas. He was clad in regal looking red cloth with some gold decorations in some places. Alongside this man was a pair of small drones adorned with gold that were floating by his side.

If the usual Orokin appearance was the embodiment of wealth, luxury and symmetry then this man was the embodiment of superiority itself. Even someone like Ballas himself felt an aura of superiority radiating from him. It was somewhat intimidating but Ballas was not the type of person to lose his cool in such situations so he behaved normally as one would expect of him.

"You wished to speak to me, executor Dominic?"

"Yes. Please have a seat. Make yourself comfortable." The man known as Dominus replied as he motioned to a large table with few chairs surrounding it. There was also a bottle of wine and two glasses on the table. The two executors took their seats.

Dominic was an executor of the Orokin empire who was also of noble birth. He was also a scientist who led a science division that created special weapons. Despite being behind Ballas when it came to achievements, he now had the favour of the Honored seven somehow along with having influence over quite a number of important people. It was even more clear when it was announced recently that Dominic would be allocated more funds for his own research.

As for Dominic himself, Ballas was quite acquainted with him as the worked together few times. He was well known for being cunning and highly ambitious. Not only that, his field of expertise was mind manipulation. Dominic was responsible for a notable amount of innovations on that field, mainly for the purposes of mind control, indoctrination and even forms of mental torture.

Ballas also did a bit of digging on his fellow executor's past. Dominic was born in a high ranking Orokin noble family and he was considered by many to be prodigy from his childhood due to his academic achievements. He also had four older siblings, three brothers and a sister.

But there was something that Ballas found to be quite intriguing. Currently Dominic was the only surviving member of his family. His mother died of illness when Dominic was around two years old. What was really surprising was the fact that every other member of his family died an untimely death. One by one, his four siblings…just died. The cause of death of his other four elder siblings was still unknown even to this day (Ballas found no records whatsoever despite his influence) and his father was said to have committed suicide by shooting himself with his own gun for some reason.

Thus, Dominic was left as the sole heir to inherit everything his family possessed. The way things ended up that way made Ballas question. Was Dominic the one who was responsible for those deaths? After all, bloody internal conflict amongst those of noble blood was not something uncommon in the history of the world, let alone the Orokin era.

But if that was truly the case, then it would mean that the other executor had stained his hands with blood since the age of ten since that was the age of Dominic when the first of his brothers died. Sure, murder was not something rare amongst the Orokin (in fact, there was a good amount of notable cases) but for someone to be able to get away with it from a young age just like that was something that Ballas could not fully comprehend even to this day.

Either way, the past of executor Dominic was shrouded by mystery comparable to the Void itself. But the past is past and Ballas had to deal with the present in order to make sure that the future is exactly how he envisioned.

"So, what do you think of my collection?" Dominic asked as he began pouring wine into a glass.

"Quite impressive." Ballas said, as he observed the relics on display. "Although it makes me wonder why a person like you have an interest for such relics of old." Indeed, it was quite strange as the owner was neither a warrior of any sort nor had any form of combat experience so Ballas really questioned his taste in such relics as he observed them.

"Well truth be told; these things actually have no extrinsic value whatsoever." Dominic answered as he finished pouring wine into one of the glasses and offered it to his fellow executor. "Care for a little drink?"

"No thanks." Ballas refused. He did not have much interest in drinking and besides there was the possibility that it was poisoned or worse.

"Suit yourself then." The other executor said as he began pouring wine on another glass for himself.

"Tell me, if they have no extrinsic value then, why do you keep them on display?" Ballas asked.

"Like I said, they don't have any extrinsic value. But they do remind me of the only thing that truly matters." Dominic replied, getting Ballas' attention.

"And what that might be?" Ballas inquired.

"Power, Ballas." Dominic answered as he brought his glass in front of him and crushed it using his left hand. "Power. Power is the only thing that matters to me."

"I see…" Ballas was quite intrigued by the answer his fellow executor had given him. "Then why do you value power so much?" He asked, earning a chuckle from the senior executor.

"You of all people should know that power alone makes all the difference." Dominic began. "In this world, there is no such thing as right or wrong nor there is anything called good or evil. There is only those who have power and those who don't. There is only one law; those with power will rise above, those without will fall below. That is the supreme law of nature, one that is echoed time and time again in history."

"is that so? You know Dominic, I expected something good from you but this is no different than a typical greedy fool obsessed with power." Ballas said in an amused tone. To him, Dominic sounded like one of those poorly written evil villains in a story who were totally obsessed with power and served no purpose other than to be a representation of evil that some good protagonist is supposed to overcome.

"Oh, you think it is funny then tell me Ballas, why were you unable to protect Margulis from the Jade light?" Dominic said, causing Ballas to flinch. He had some nerve mentioning her name in front of him. It made him angry but he remained his composure.

"The answer is quite obvious. You lacked the power to do anything against it. So, it was natural for the weak to fall prey to those with more power." Dominic added. Ballas however let out a mere chuckle in amusement.

"So, all this talk about how valuable power is and yet you are still an executor. When compared with the power of the Honored seven, you are no different than me." Ballas stated but the other executor still looked confident.

"In my current state, I agree with you." Dominic spoke up. "But you should know that the Orokin are truly weak now. They cannot even fully harness the power that is almost within their grasp. So, it is natural that sooner or later, someone who does so will overthrow them."

"You know Dominic, you could face the Jade light for muttering such words." Ballas said. He couldn't fathom why someone Dominic was saying such a thing in front of him. Yet the man was calm and composed. Something just didn't feel right.

"So sayeth the man who is plotting with the enemies of the Orokin empire and committed murder to cover his tracks." Dominic replied calmly.

Ballas was shocked. He couldn't believe that Dominic actually knew about his plan. This could potentially end his life before his vengeance was complete unless he dealt with it. But now was not the time to lose his nerve and so he stayed calm.

"What are you talking about, Dominic?"

"I am not a fool Ballas. I know what you are planning." Dominic stated. "And I also know what you did to Isaah's father. That was rather nasty, killing his family before forcing him to kill his own son. As expected of the great executor Ballas."

"So, you know then. If that is the case then why haven't you told the Honored seven about this yet?" Ballas asked. But he had a hunch about what his reason for this could be.

"It is quite simple actually. I need you to do something for me. In exchange, I will not only keep my mouth shut but will also let you get away with carrying out your revenge on the Orokin empire." Dominic answered, just as he expected. But still, he was curious about what Dominic truly wanted.

"Then what is it do you want that you are willing to let the empire get destroyed?"

"Here…" Dominic said as he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "I have already prepared a list of the things I need. Nothing that you cannot manage easily." He handed it over to Ballas, who got quite startled by what the other executor wanted.

"Those devils? What do think you can achieve by acquiring a few of them?" Ballas asked with keen interest. He was curious about what exactly Dominic was pursuing.

"I need them for my next step; Ascension." The other executor replied. "Ascension above all. Absolute power and supremacy that will dwarf the Orokin and whose influence will reach even beyond the Void."

Ballas was at a loss of words. Power that surpassed even the Orokin was something he hardly believed was achievable. But Dominus seemed like he was confident about whatever he was planning. Was there something about the Tenno that Ballas or Margulis did not know?

But whatever it was, it mattered very little. Since Domnic was willing to let him take his revenge on the Orokin, it didn't matter now if he handed over those things to the other executor. The only thing that mattered to Ballas now was vengeance upon the Orokin.

"Have it your way then." Ballas said as he slowly got up from his seat. The sign of defeat was clearly visible on his face. The great executor Ballas, who survived a good number of attempts on his life along with besting all his rivals now finally got outsmarted by another executor. "Remember to keep your end of the bargain and I will see to it that you get whatever you desire."

"However, if you don't…" Ballas added with a smirk as the sound of a switch being pressed was heard. He still had a trick up his sleeve, something he had prepared beforehand for scenarios such as these.

"But you should know that the Orokin are truly weak now. Out of fear and the lack of true ambition, they cannot fully harness the power that is almost within their grasp. So, it is natural that sooner or later, someone who does so will overthrow them." The voice of Dominic was heard, repeating something that the executor said earlier. It only meant one thing; Ballas had been recording their conversation all this time.

"…then I will make sure that you will at least accompany me to the Jade light and to certain death."

"Hahaha well played my friend. As expected of executor Ballas." Dominic applauded. "I will be sure to keep that in mind."

Now Ballas too possessed leverage over Dominic. Even if the latter tried to destroy the recorder the former was carrying, it would be wasted effort as a copy was already wirelessly transferred to someplace else for Ballas to use. As such, if one of them was compromised, so was the other.

"Good. Then I believe we have a deal." Ballas said. Little did he know about the repercussions his actions that day was about to bring. Not just on himself…

Present time.

Knights of Pendragon dojo.

Tenno clan dojos were a thing of beauty. The clean halls coupled with Eastern themed decorations spoke volumes about the artistic elegance that the Tenno were capable of. The combination of tradition and sophistication created a marvellous sight to behold.

The dojo belonging to the Knights of Pendragon was no exception to this and Ken found himself quite amazed by it. It wasn't just the looks but also the sheer size of the Dojo that surprised him. There were numerous big rooms inside the dojo, with some of them being as large as stadiums that could easily house a very large amount of people. Currently Alice was showing him around and she had told him that the Dojo was well capable of housing a few thousand people quite comfortably.

As for inhabitants, he saw quite a bit of Tenno in the Dojo. There were many of them, both with and without Warframes. Some of them were armed and ready to head out to complete their missions across the system while many were spending their time idly chatting with their fellow clanmates. Some of the Tenno greeted them as they passed while a small amount of them were giving the two a strange look. Overall, they almost appeared like normal people, which made Ken quite surprised. He expected the Tenno to be stoic emotionless warriors but you know as they say, that truth was stranger than fiction and he IS in a place that he once considered a part of fiction.

Alice had shown him most of the Dojo, including the main hall, research labs where various research were carried out by the science division, the dining hall, observatory, mission control and more. They had to use teleporters in few places due to how big the Dojo was. They also visited the Hanger were the Landing Crafts and orbiters were kept and managed. Here, Ken found his own landing craft which was brought here when he was rescued and was able to see Ordis again, who was really glad that his assigned operator was all right.

Currently Alice was showing him the training grounds where the Tenno can practice their combat skills. The place had shooting ranges for Tenno to try their ranged weapons along with facilities for Tenno to spar with one another. There was also a duelling arena.

At one part of the training area, a Rhino Prime with a rather Knightly appearance was seen practicing with his Scindo Prime, a heavy axe weapon from the Orokin era. The bulky Warframe was mostly white in colour with some black parts and had a gold covering on the face. It had a white Nelumbo Syandana, a cape that had a black lotus symbol at the back and had Edo shoulder plates. Two others were seen observing the Rhino Prime train, one being a female Warframe with a helmet that had a single short horn and sizeable…busts that could be identified as a Saryn. It had a white colour Scheme with some pink lines and had a vanquished banner, a Grineer flag worn like a cape by some Tenno as trophy. She had a Destreza, a Tenno rapier, holstered at her side. The other person was a young boy who was no more than thirteen. He had brown hair and was wearing a blue shirt with a Lotus mark at the chest and black pants. Ken was quite curious to see a child in a place like this. He learnt that the Tenno clan dojos are situated in the void so this wasn't a place where ordinary people could live. Unless…

"I see that you are busy with training as always, Gaius." Alice called out to the Rhino Prime user, now known as Gaius. He stopped training and turned his attention to the Trinity along with the other two who were watching the Rhino Prime.

"Hey Alice! What brings you here?" Gaius asked.

"Just showing him around. He's new to our clan." Alice stated pointing towards Ken.

"Well if it isn't the famous ghoul slayer. I'm glad you decided to join our clan." Gaius said as he got out of his Warframe using transference. The form of a man in his thirties materialized in front of the Rhino Prime. He had a tall muscular build and had brown hair. He had similar clothes as Ken but he had two golden stars below his clan insignia. Alice and Ken also got out of their respective Warframes.

"Ken, this is Gaius. He is one of the members of the Holy circle and he was one of the Tenno who found you along with my brother." Alice introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Sir Gaius. My name is Ken." The Excalibur user introduced himself with a respectful bow.

"Whoa, no need to be so polite Ken. Just call me Gaius." The Rhino Prime user replied. The brown-haired boy approached Ken and was looking at him with eager eyes. However, the Saryn came and pulled him away.

"Hey, let go of me big sis!" The boy stated as he struggled to get free from the Saryn.

"Michael you should behave more politely with others." The Saryn's operator stated.

"It's all right. No need to be so strict on him. He's just a little kid." Ken said which caused her to let go of the boy. He bolted from her and hid behind Ken.

"This little guy right here is my son Michael." Gaius said as he introduced his son.

"Nice to meet ya!" Michael said with a goofy smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you too." Ken replied with a kind smile as he affectionately patted the boy on the head.

"And this here's my daughter, Rose." Gaius stated as he pointed towards the Saryn. Rose materialized in front of her Warframe. She was around Ken's age and had medium length lavender hair that came below her shoulders. Her clothing was more similar to Alice but had a grey coloration with some pink and her clan insignia lacked stars. But she didn't wear a beret and her uniform lacked the insignia of the medical corps.

"Nice to meet you, Ken. I'm Rose." Rose said as she closely inspected Ken. He found it funny because of how she was calling her little brother impolite for doing the same thing.

"Is there something wrong?" Ken asked.

"No. Nothing. It's just that I expected the Tenno who killed a hundred or so ghouls to be…. a bit older." Rose answered. If only she knew about what he had been through…

But there was still one thing on his mind.

"If you don't mind me asking, is Michael a Tenno?" The Operator of the Excalibur asked.

"If you consider having the power of the Void within you then yes." Alice answered. "But he is not old enough to be given a Warframe and take part in missions as per our current laws. He's still undergoing training to control his powers properly and use transference"

"I see." Ken muttered. That explained a lot.

"Soon, I'm gonna get my own Warframe and then I'll help everyone here." Michael said with enthusiasm.

"That's the spirit, son. I'll tell you what, when you are qualified, I'll give you a Rhino as your first Warframe." Gaius stated.

"No, I don't want a Rhino!" Michael pouted.

"Why not? It's a solid Warframe that provides great protection and offensive capabilities." Gaius asked.

"I want a Vauban because it suits me better." The boy replied.

"Oh, come on Michael. Dad knows what's best for you." Rose said.

Ken sighed. Seeing someone being excited about finally being able to enter the battlefield didn't feel right to him. He too in the past believed that there was glory to be achieved in the battlefield, fighting for a good cause and all.

But it was not until he saw first-hand the horrors that conflicts can cause when he realized the truth. No, he knew about it deep down but he was too ignorant to see it until that point. Wars were nothing more than the cauldron that brewed pain and suffering. Politics, difference, religion and hate would be the fire that creates and sustains it. A battlefield was closer to a living hell than a place where glory is achieved.

And yet, such catastrophic events were glorified by many. People would mostly talk about how glorious some wars were and how valiant the 'heroes' were instead of giving that much thought to the great devastation caused by them or focusing on putting a stop to pointless conflicts for that matter. It was as if wars were accepted as something natural and necessary. Like hundreds or even thousands of innocent people dying was something natural.

"Is something wrong? You don't look too well." Alice asked with concern visible on her tone.

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." Ken replied.

"Hey mister, how did you beat all those Grineer all by yourself?" Michael asked. Did he really needed to ask that?

"That's a good question. Even I wanna know how you pulled it off." Gaius added. Alice noticed that Ken was being a bit uncomfortable and was about to say something but the said Tenno spoke before she could do so.

"The usual Tenno way. With my arrows, kunai and blade. Had to kill the Ghouls at a distance most of the time as their blood causes paralysis." Ken answered calmly. They looked quite confused by his simple answer. If they were expecting him to narrate a tale of an epic battle between a single Excalibur and an army of Grineer or some shit like that, then they were bound to be disappointed now.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind." Rose stated in disbelief.

"If that's the case, then I want to ask you something." Gaius said as he approached Ken. "If you are willing, I want you to face my daughter in an honourable duel."

"Wait, what?!" Rose exclaimed with confusion and surprise in her face as Everyone seemed shocked by the request that the Veteran Tenno made.

"A duel?" Ken asked.

"That's right. A simple clash of steel. You don't exactly beat up Vor and a whole damn army of Grineer along with many units that no Tenno had previously encountered with gear like yours unless you got some real skills to back them up. I wanna see exactly what you are made of!" Gaius exclaimed as he pointed towards the Excalibur's Operator. Guess he didn't accept his answer.

"And besides, you would be put in a trial of combat sooner or later anyway so you might as well get it done now." The veteran Tenno added which made Ken give a confused look at Alice.

"Well every new Tenno joining our clan has to go through a combat evaluation to demonstrate his skills in order to gain proper operational clearance to participate missions." Alice explained.

"I see. But my sword got broken when fighting the Ghouls back on Earth." Ken stated.

"That's okay. If you need a weapon, then you can borrow one of mine." Gaius replied as he pointed to a rack to the side that had variety of melee weapons on it."

"So, will you accept or not?" The Rhino prime's Operator asked. Ken took a moment to think about it. While he didn't prefer taking part in unnecessary fights, this was the perfect opportunity to see just how capable a fellow Tenno was. Plus, some extra combat experience wouldn't hurt. As his mentor taught him, you could always learn a thing or two from a new experience and use it to improve yourself.

Not only that, if he didn't get operational clearance, he'd probably have to stay here in the dojo and would not be able to move around the system much which can be problematic for him since he was prepared to assess the situation more.

And besides, you would never know when you might end up fighting against your own allies.

As such, Ken was unwilling to back down from this challenge.

"Very well, then I accept your challenge." Ken said. Everyone except Gaius looked quite surprised by his answer.

"Ken, are you sure about this? You just recovered from your injuries." Alice told the Excalibur's operator.

"it's all right. I feel fine so a simple duel wouldn't hurt now, would it? And besides I need to see if cryosleep has made my skills rusty or not." Ken replied as he used transference to get inside his Warframe and made his way to the weapons rack.

"Dad, do you think this is a good idea?" Rose asked her father.

"What, are you afraid? If so then you can back out and I can take your place." Gaius replied with a smirk.

"Yeah Sis, are you scared of fighting him?" Michael teased.

"No, of course not!" Rose exclaimed; "It's just that it feels somewhat wrong."

"Don't worry. It's just a friendly duel. No harm comes from winning or losing. And besides, you're my daughter. I'm sure you will perform well regardless." Gaius said as he patted his daughter on her shoulder; "I know how good you are so that is why I am pitting you against Ken to test him out properly."

Meanwhile Ken found many types of weapons present on the racks, ranging from swords, staves, daggers, maces, axes and more. He began to search for a weapon that would suit him most. Soon enough, a weapon caught his interest.

It was a heavy greatsword that had a long slender blade which was large enough to cut down five people with a single swing along with a pointed tip that made it ideal for thrusting attacks as well if its wielder wanted. It also had a long grip and a rather strange looking guard. This was a Galatine, a Tenno made greatsword which was named after the same blade that was wielded by Sir Gawain of the knights of the round table in Arthurian legend.

Ken picked up the Galatine and inspected it. The sword was a lot heavier than the Gram he previously used and had much more range thanks to its long blade. It seemed like a good choice for his fighting style. But still, he felt that it lacked something but regardless it will do just fine for now.

"You sure about using a Galatine? it's quite heavy compared to other weapons and it takes a bit of practice to master it properly." Gaius commented.

"No problem. I'm used to a weapon like this." Ken replied as he effortlessly swung the large weapon in front of him a few times as if to prove his point.

"All right then. If you are ready then let's head for the duelling area." Gaius said.

Few minutes later.

A small crowd of Tenno had gathered in the duelling area as word spread of the duel between a member of the clan and the Tenno who supposedly fought off a hundred Grineer Ghouls on his own. So, it was natural for them to be interested in such a duel either out of curiosity of seeing just how much skilled this "ghoul slayer" was or just for some entertainment.

Ken and Rose were already on the arena along with Gaius and Alice. Said Arena was of square shape and had four columns at each end. Ken half expected the arena to be of circular shape but then again, the famed Colosseum built by the Romans was actually an Ellipse instead of a circle. He also noticed a large circular bell in one side of the arena which he guessed would be used to signify the start of the duel.

"So, is there any specific rules for this duel I need to know?" Ken inquired. Even during medieval times, such duels usually had specific rules that the combatants needed to follow. As such, he was almost certain that there were some rules to adhere to unless the Tenno weren't much honorable, something that seemed unlikely to him from what he knew so far.

"The rules are simple: the first one to disarm his opponent or deplete all his shields wins. Both of you will be given shields of equal strength and all mods are disabled for this fight along with Warframe abilities. But channelling is allowed" Gaius explained.

"I see." Ken stated. It looks like the outcome of this duel will solely rely on both of their combat skills and whatever decisions they take during the fight.

"Remember, Ken. Even if you lose it won't be much of a problem as you can always retry combat evaluation later when you feel like it. So, don't let this fight put too much pressure on you, okay?" Alice assured as she placed a hand on his Warframe's shoulder; "Just give your best shot and I'm sure you will do great."

"I'll try." The Excalibur user stated. At least he could have a second chance if things did not go in his favour. But then again, he was determined to try his best to win this one.

"Well if both of you are ready, then take up your positions." Gaius announced as he and Alice headed for the stands.

The two combatants took their respective positions on the arena and drew their weapons. Ken observed that Rose had decided to fight him using her Destreza. This meant that he'd have to mostly face quick thrusting attacks from his opponent which can be difficult to parry at times. But he had the advantage in range and power thanks to his Galatine.

"Don't even think about holding back, because I won't." Rose stated, pointing her rapier at Ken.

"Fair enough."

As his opponent got into stance, so did the Excalibur. Putting his left foot front and the right foot a bit back, Ken brought his sword over his right shoulder with him holding the grip with both hands. It was a simple yet flexible guarding stance that was good for both offense and defence.

The Saryn and the Excalibur were poised for battle as they patiently waited for the bell to be rung. As both of them waited, Ken made up his mind about what course of action he would take first. Since he never fought any Tenno before, he decided to start off defensively and analyse his opponent's capabilities before making his move. After all, an unknown opponent can prove to be trickier than a stronger but familiar one.

And then, it began. The sound of the bell being rung echoed, marking the start of the duel that would decide if the newcomer was skilled enough to be considered worthy of combat operations.

However, the two Warframes did not act immediately. Instead, they merely stared down each other, unmoving yet poised to attack at any moment.

Five seconds. Nothing happened

Ten seconds. They made no moves.

Fifteen seconds. The situation was still unchanged.

On the twentieth second, Rose made the first move. Deciding to act first, she charged head first at her opponent with her rapier ready to strike.

Rose executed two quick thrusts at speeds that would be hard for an average human being to track visually. But they missed as Ken sidestepped to avoid both of them. The Saryn instantly followed up with two more thrusts but Ken deflected them using his Galatine while backing away a little.

The Excalibur quickly retaliated by doing a horizontal swing which missed as Rose leapt back in time to put some distance between herself and her opponent.

She then charged at her opponent once more, doing three thrusts in quick succession, all of which failed to hit as her opponent blocked the first two and evaded the third. Ken followed up with a diagonal slash to his right with his greatsword.

However, Rose was ready for it as she quickly dodged to her right side to evade the incoming attack and instantly took advantage of the opening by executing a quick jab with her Destreza, the rapier grazing the Excalibur's chest and depleting a portion of his shields. The Saryn quickly pulled her rapier back within a fraction of a second and prepared to do a second strike…

CLANG

…only for her rapier to meet her opponent's blade as Ken quickly turned around to perform a horizontal sweep which she was able to block, albeit at the cost of being pushed back a decent distance due to the massive force behind the Excalibur's swing.

Once more, the battle resumed as the Saryn continued her relentless onslaught. Rose would attempt to wear down her opponent with sheer aggression while occasionally attempting to flank the Excalibur to land a hit. But all her attempts didn't seem to work much effectively as Ken kept up his defence, blocking or evading the barrage of thrusts and slashes coming from his opponent's rapier.

WHOOSH

Ken evaded a thrust to his left side that missed his shoulder for a few inches and retaliated with a horizontal swing with his Galatine. However, it missed as Rose quickly created a gap between them with some backflips.

"Not bad. Your defence is really something." Rose praised.

"Thanks. I could say the same for your skills as well." Ken replied.

By this point, Ken had to commend his opponent's fighting prowess. Not only did Rose possess good fencing skills and footwork, her tactic against him was quite praiseworthy as well. She focused on putting pressure on Ken through aggression in order to maintain her offensive momentum.

While it may seem reckless to some, in her position, it was actually quite a logical thing to do as blocking attacks from something as heavy as a Galatine was a difficult task especially when equipped with a light rapier. Even more so considering how strong and fast Warframes were compared to a regular human. In short, against Ken offense was the best defence the Saryn had.

For now, it was paying off as she had a slight edge by being able to deplete some of the Excalibur's shields (around 25% of total) without losing any of her own. If she kept up her momentum and successfully landed a few more hits occasionally then she could eventually secure her victory.

But even then, Ken was still confident in his chances of winning. Despite his opponent having an upper had at the moment, the Excalibur had secured something.

Something that can be considered a useful stepping stone in the path of victory.

A mental victory over his opponent.

The battle resumed once more as Ken charged at his opponent with the tip of his blade pointed at his opponent. He did a thrust which Rose avoided by sidestepping and did two quick thrusts in retaliation, which also missed as Ken leapt back.

Attempting to regain her offensive momentum, Rose lunged at the Excalibur with her rapier ready and did three thrusts, which her opponent blocked. Ken retaliated with a horizontal sweep but Rose did a backflip to evade as she was ready for it. If her experience in this fight taught her anything, it was that Ken usually repelled her in this way if she tried to attack him from the front.

What she didn't anticipate was Ken suddenly transitioning into a quick lunging thrust shortly afterwards. The Excalibur charged towards her with great speed, his blade ready to impale. It happened so quickly she barely had much time to react.

The unpleasant screech of metal grinding against another metallic surface was heard as Rose attempted to block the incoming attack. But her hasty defence wasn't much effective as the Galatine still managed to graze her Warframe's waist, depleting some of her shields. Ken quickly pulled back his sword within a mere fraction of a second and spun around to do a diagonal upward slash. The Saryn leapt back instinctively but the tip of his opponent's blade still managed to slightly graze her chest, damaging more shields in the process.

Now, Rose was quite surprised at what just happened in the last five seconds. One moment she had the upper hand then It was as if his opponent suddenly increased his speed by quite a bit and turned the tables on her, making her lose around half of her total shield capacity.

But this was exactly what Ken wanted. He started off defensively with the intention of observing and understanding his opponent's capabilities. At the same time, he restrained himself from taking any risks just to be safe.

Which also had another purpose: to make his unaware of the true extent of his own skills. Even if it meant giving Rose a slight advantage early on, it still played in his favour because of the fact that she knew less about him. This lack of information in turn allowed him to find an opening to exploit.

After all, this was exactly what his mentor had taught him. At first glance, it may look like that swordsmanship was all about strength, instinct and finesse. But there was much more that most people wouldn't notice easily. Factors such as observation, timing of actions, weapon dimensions, terrain, relative positioning etc can also play a huge part in ensuring victory in a fight.

In other words, swordsmanship wasn't all about strength and skills to win. To Ken, it was something that also required strategy like a game of chess, albeit a fast paced, complex and deadly one where every single action must count, every factor must be considered and every mistake has the risk of severe consequences.

And now that his initial strategy using misinformation gave him an advantage he needed, it was time for his next course of action: landing the decisive blow to secure victory.

Launching himself in the air, Ken executed a flipping smash aimed at his opponent. The Saryn rolled to the side as the Excalibur came crashing down on her previous position with a loud thud, leaving some cracks on the floor. Rose quickly leapt back as her opponent followed up with a fast swing of his greatsword.

Wasting no time, Ken dashed at the Saryn and began his offensive. Now, Rose faced an onslaught of swings from his opponent and was forced to be on the defensive. She couldn't find a way to break his opponent's momentum easily due to the large size and weight of his weapon compared to hers. It didn't help much either as her opponent was now acting fast and aggressive.

If anything, she needed to find an opening. And this was the very same thing Ken was also looking for. His current strategy was to put pressure on the Saryn until she gave an exploitable opening or break down her defence eventually.

Rose sidestepped to her left to avoid a thrust from the Excalibur's Galatine and leapt back to avoid two horizontal swings in quick succession. She then charged head on at her opponent with her Destreza ready.

Ken was prepared to counter her offensive but just before the Saryn was in his striking range, she bullet jumped, quickly propelling herself forward and landing behind her opponent. Finding the Excalibur's exposed back, she attempted to take advantage of the opportunity…

CLANG

…Only for her rapier to meet the flat metal surface of the Galatine as Ken brought the greatsword parallel to his back to block. Rose quickly leapt back as Ken followed up with a swing as he turned around.

The Excalibur then launched himself in the air and attempted to impale his opponent from above. Rose evaded to her side as Ken stabbed the floor with great force.

But it now appeared that his Galatine was stuck and presented an opportunity for his opponent to strike. The Saryn wasted no time as she lunged at the Excalibur, ready to strike. Just as she almost reached striking range...

"..!"

With a quick motion, Ken pulled his greatsword out and instantly performed a fast sweep that struck Rose square in her Warframe's chest. The force of the impact knocked her off her feet and sent her flying a good distance, depleting a good chunk of her shields.

This was due to a trick Ken learnt (Read: fell for a few times) from his mentor. He feigned his sword getting stuck so that his opponent thought that it was an opening, which the Saryn was desperately looking for. As a result, he was able to bring his opponent to a favourable position for him to strike.

And since it worked, Rose now had a small portion of shields left while he still had a good amount of his. Now all he needed to win was another hit.

Rose recovered and got back up on her feet. Now she was at a huge disadvantage due to her own misjudgement of the opponent's skill and tactics.

But nevertheless, she still had some fun in this fight and it didn't matter much to her whether if she won or lost. It wasn't very often that she'd find someone of such skill, let alone not from higher rank. If anything, she didn't want to give up and was still willing to go through with this till the very end. After all, she was given the responsibility of evaluating Ken's skill in combat.

So, she pulled herself back together and prepared her rapier. In response, Ken prepared his Galatine as the two Tenno circled each other while having their focus fixed on one another. It was like seeing two lions facing off against each other in a violent territorial struggle which happens often in their wild habitat.

And then, both of them charged at each other.

Ken was now ready for anything the Saryn could throw at him, whether it was a head on attack or a flanking manoeuvre using bullet jump. He prepared his sword just as they were about to reach striking range…

CLANG

What happened next caught him off guard. He realized a second ago that Rose was attempting to attack him head on, seeing her motions and was prepared to act accordingly.

What he didn't expect was his swing to be parried with great force that seemed impossible from such a lightweight weapon. It almost threw him off balance.

Before Ken could recover, he was struck twice in the chest by her opponent's Destreza, losing a good portion of his own shields. The Saryn attempted to follow up with a swing but Ken leapt back to evade, putting some distance between them.

The Excalibur was quite surprised at the sudden turn of events. Being parried by a rapier like that was the last thing he expected but then he remembered seeing the Destreza glow with energy just before he got repelled.

As such, it didn't take long for Ken to realize what happened: The Saryn channelled her energy to multiply her strength to counter him. Until that point, he didn't know that channelling could also be used something other than reinforcing the weapon's capabilities.

For this, they were now in equal footing in terms of shields. So, one mistake could result in his own defeat.

The battle resumed as the Saryn went on the offensive, launching a volley of quick jabs at her opponent. Ken responded by a combination of blocking and evasion. As Rose attempted a channelled swing with her weapon, Ken stepped back a little to evade and retaliated with two fast swings, both of which Rose nimbly dodged and quickly followed up by lunging forward with her Destreza ready to jab. Ken was prepared for it and use his Galatine to block…

"..!"

He recoiled in pain as the Saryn punched him hard in the gut while he was blocking her attack. Stunning her opponent, Rose acted instantly, attempting to strike the Excalibur. In a swift motion, she thrusted her rapier forward, its tip aimed at her opponent's chest.

Victory was almost within her grasp as her weapon was closing on its target.

But there was one little miscalculation she made.

It was underestimating her opponent's recovery speed.

CLANG

Just as the tip of the Destreza was inches away from its intended target, Ken parried it with great force, channelling his own energy into the swing. The sheer force of the swing caused the Saryn to lose her grip on her weapon, sending the lightweight rapier flying off to the side and landing a few meters from her. Losing her balance, she fell to the floor as Ken quickly brought his blade close to her neck.

The battle was decided. Ken won by disarming his opponent.

Pulling away his Galatine, Ken offered Rose a hand and pulled her up.

"Well fought Rose. I must admit, you almost had me there." Ken complemented the Saryn's operator as they shook hands. Since it was a friendly duel between two fellow knights, it was natural to show some courtesy. Plus, she deserved appreciation as she was quite close to victory. If she wasn't fully aware of how quickly Ken could recover from being stunned or if the latter reacted even a second late then the outcome would have been different.

"Thanks." Rose replied; "You got some amazing skills. If you don't mind, we could do some missions together sometimes."

While it was not apparent, her words made Ken think. Doing missions…. with an ally. Having someone fighting beside you always helped and his previous experience as a knight told him the same thing.

But all his comrades that had fought beside him were dead. Not only did they swear to follow him till the very end, they were the few good friends he had.

And they were all dead.

Because of his own actions.

"That was awesome!" Ken was cut off from his thoughts when Michael rushed over to him in excitement. Alice and Gaius had also come to the arena.

"So, do I pass or not?" Ken asked.

"Of course, you pass" Gaius said as he patted Ken on the shoulder; "That was a good fight, Kid. I must say, you have the makings of a fine Knight."

'A knight? What a joke. I have been given the title of a knight in the past but I'm nothing more than a murderer.' Ken thought. The things he did as a 'knight' could no way be considered something to be proud of. It was utterly disgusting to him and he felt no different than any of the infamous war criminals back in his world. If only he wasn't ignorant enough and actually thought about the true motives behind his orders instead of being blinded by his so-called sense of purpose and duty.

Perhaps that was the sad reality of being a soldier. You can end up being nothing more than pawns at the hand of those that command you. If your superiors are good then you actually do something good. If not then a soldier ends up being used as a tool for evil. Even then, those pulling the strings could still manage to cover up their crimes and say it's for the greater good or some shit as long as they were more powerful and influential compared to others.

Then what are the Tenno? Were they truly warriors fighting for the sake of justice or mere tools for someone else to use?

"Impressive, Ken. Who would have thought that you were that skilled with a greatsword?" Alice complimented.

"Thanks." Ken replied. The only reason as to why he had such skill was because of the training his mentor had made him undergo.

His mentor was a knight who was well known for his skill with the greatsword. He put Ken through harsh training regimens every single day to teach him the way of wielding a sword. Ken remembered how tough it was and how much he struggled at first.

But since he was determined to become stronger and didn't back down despite going through a lot, he was able to acquire the skills he now possessed. Some even claimed that he was almost as skilled as his mentor.

But in the end, did all that really matter?

"Superb. Simply magnificent." A male voice announced, making all those present instantly become silent upon hearing him. Ken turned his attention to the speaker and found an Excalibur Prime approaching.

The Warframe appeared different from a regular Excalibur visually as it possessed a somewhat void key shaped ornament on its helmet along with some blade like decorations on its elbows. It was coloured mostly white and grey with some blue and had the Misa Prime syandana. Not only that, it also had Edo Prime decorative body Armor.

But the thing that caught the young Tenno's attention most was his clan insignia on the shoulder. Like Alice it had three golden stars below it, meaning that he too was of high rank, probably having a special position.

"That was a fine display of swordsmanship." The Excalibur Primes' operator stated as Alice went over to him.

"Arthur where the hell have you been?" Alice said as the Operator in question got out of his Warframe. He had quite a resemblance to the healer, also possessing blonde hair and emerald eyes along with having the same height as her. If anything, he looked like the male version of Alice which meant that he was her twin brother.

'Arthur? What the hell is wrong with this place? Don't tell me he's gonna eventually bang his own sister and have a bastard son who will betray him.' Ken thought, the Arthurian mythology coming to his mind due to the resemblance in name and the parallels he has seen in the clan.

"I'm really sorry, sister. I was caught up in some important work that I was assigned to." Arthur replied as he then turned his attention to Ken.

"So, the famous ghoul slayer has decided to join our clan." Arthur said as he walked up to the young Tenno who got out of his Warframe.

"I'm Arthur, knight of the Holy Circle and the tactician of this clan." Arthur introduced himself.

"My name is Ken. I must thank you for coming to my aid back on Earth."

"No need to thank me. I was merely fulfilling my responsibility towards a fellow Tenno." Arthur replied.

"So then, what do you think of our clan, ghoul slayer?" The Tactician inquired. Ken however felt a bit irritated being addressed by such a title.

"Well I don't know what to expect since I can't seem to remember many things but I feel as though there is an uncanny resemblance of this clan to a certain legend on old Earth. But other than that, everything feels fine so far." Ken answered.

"Hmm interesting. So, you know about that myth then, ghoul slayer. One of the founders of this clan was a fan of the tale of the Knights of the Round and he loved the concept of an order of knights dedicated to upholding justice and protecting the weak. For this, he organized the structure of the clan somewhat based on it with some obvious differences." Arthur explained.

"And please, stop calling me ghoul slayer." Ken requested.

"All right then." The tactician replied.

"Anyways, that was some fine performance you showed against Rose, Ken." Arthur said.

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"But, if you don't mind, I'd like to face you in a duel to experience your skills myself first hand." The Tactician stated, something that took everyone by surprise.

"Wait. Just wait. What the hell do you think you are doing challenging him out of the blue like that?!" Alice exclaimed in disbelief.

"So what? It's his decision and not yours. Stop acting like his mom or something." Arthur replied with a smirk.

"Why you little prick! What do you want? He just regained consciousness few hours ago and already proved himself in combat a while ago."

As the two twins argued, Ken couldn't help but smile. It was apparent that those two were quite fond of each other. He also pondered on whether he should accept the challenge or not. As it was obvious that Arthur was of higher rank than Gaius, he was quite curious to see how much skilled the tactician was. Plus, a victory or loss here mattered very little to him as he neither wished for fame nor he cared about his so-called reputation. After all, he had already secured his goal of being able to participate in missions.

As such, it was clear what his decision would be.

"I accept your challenge." Ken said much to everyone's shock.

"You can't be serious." Alice stated. She was quite surprised to see him accept the challenge so quickly. But her brother didn't seem to be surprised at all. Rather it was like he expected this.

"Good. Then let's have some fun, shall we?" Arthur said as the two got back into their respective Warframes and took their positions in the arena.

Ken prepared his Galatine as the Tactician pulled out a pair of elegant swords with the mark of the Lotus on both of them. These were the Dex Dakra, a modified version of the Dakra Prime sword that was made by the Lotus herself.

Seeing the weapons his opponent was wielding, Ken thought about how he should approach this engagement. He had a huge advantage in reach and weight due to the sheer size of his weapon and for this it would be quite hard for his opponent to properly defend himself from his attacks.

Then again, his opponent also had the advantage in speed and flexibility due to his smaller weapon. Plus, the Dex Dakras gave Arthur a little more defensive options compared to something like a rapier. Even more so if channelling is taken into account

Moreover, he wasn't exactly sure how skilled Arthur was. For some reason, he felt like he should be more careful in this fight. After all his current opponent was a knight of the Holy Circle.

As such, he made up his mind to start off defensively like last time. Only this time, he shall be far more cautious.

From the side-lines, Alice and the others watched as the two Tenno took position, eager to see how it goes. She had to admit, she was quite surprised when Ken won against Rose due to his skilful display swordsmanship. But…

"Do you think he will win? Against your brother I mean." She was cut off from her thoughts when Rose spoke up.

However, the healer remained silent and only focused her attention on the duel that was about to begin.

Back at the arena, the two Tenno were poised for their confrontation, their blades ready to clash with one another as they waited patiently for the bell to start the duel. Their focus was on each other and nothing else.

No sooner was the sound of the bell heard than Arthur did something that Ken never anticipated from his opponent; He charged at him head on.

Acting quickly, Ken parried two swings from his opponent and instantly followed up with a horizontal swing that Arthur leapt over while attempting an overhead slash with both of his blades. However, it missed as the Excalibur quickly got out of the way a second before the strike.

Wasting no time, the Excalibur Prime lunged at his opponent with great speed, attempting to attack Ken from his flank…

CLANG

…which failed as Ken countered it with a mighty swing of the Galatine. Arthur was able to block but was pushed back a considerable distance, with him stabbing the floor with both his blades to maintain stable footing.

Determined to break down his opponent's defence, Ken quickly executed a lunging thrust which the Excalibur Prime evaded to the side. Arthur retaliated by executing a thrusting attack with his left hand Dex Dakra which narrowly missed the Excalibur's head for a mere few inches as Ken reacted quickly and instantly followed it up with an upward swing which the tactician dodged by leaping back a few feet.

Ken charged at Arthur and did a horizontal swing but the Excalibur Prime rolled under it and attempted to strike his back with both blades. Instead they were met with the surface of the Galatine as the Excalibur brought his sword parallel to his back to block and Arthur had to leap back as his opponent instantly followed up with a quick horizontal sweep while turning around.

Once more the Tactician charged at his opponent as Ken quickly blocked two strikes with his Galatine. However, Arthur followed up his attack with a powerful kick that Ken was able to block with his sword but it pushed him back a good distance from his opponent.

If the brief exchange of blows, which happened within a time period less than twenty seconds, taught Ken anything, it was the fact that Arthur possessed incredible agility. Just keeping up with the tactician till that point felt quite difficult even with his skill. If he wasn't totally focused right from the start or reacted even a fraction of a second late, he would have surely gotten hit.

"Your skill with the greatsword is most impressive. Not only are you quite agile when wielding such a weapon but you do well to cover up all your blind spots." Arthur praised. Ken was taught by his mentor that when wielding a heavy greatsword, the body had to be moved due to momentum which can leave some obvious openings. As such, he was trained to identify those openings and counter opponents trying to exploit them.

"But…" Arthur continued as he prepared his Dex Dakras. "…even if you don't give an opening…."

In the blink of an eye, the tactician closed the gap between them and was at his left flank with both his swords ready to strike.

"…. I'll just have to force one myself!" Ken widened his eyes in shock and before he could even do anything, he was struck on his right shoulder by both blades, losing a portion of his shields. The Excalibur retaliated with a diagonal slash but Arthur dodged by leaping back and put a good distance between him and his opponent.

The two Tenno then charged at each other with great speed. The sound of blades clashing against one another echoed again and again as Ken quickly found himself on the defensive. He kept blocking an onslaught of strikes from the Excalibur Prime. Due to his speed and skill, Arthur was able to unload a barrage of attacks in quick succession and reposition when his opponent tried to retaliate before quickly re-engaging from a different angle that was more favourable to him.

And such tactic was putting quite a bit of pressure on the Excalibur. Blocking his opponents fast and aggressive attacks were quite a chore and he even got struck a few times, losing some shields in the process. All the while he couldn't even land a single hit.

At the rate things were going, Ken knew that he couldn't keep this up for much longer. As such, he needed to land a decisive blow soon if he had any chance of turning this around.

CLANG

He quickly repelled an attack coming from his left side and retaliated by doing three fast diagonal swings with his Galatine, all of which the tactician dodged easily by sidestepping. The Excalibur quickly followed up with a horizontal sweep but Arthur evaded it by performing some backflips, creating a distance between them.

However, this was exactly what Ken wanted as Arthur ended up positioning himself in the corner of the arena with a column to his back. Now, the Excalibur Prime had little room to manoeuvre as Ken instantly executed a lunging thrust with a great burst of speed, intending to take advantage of this opportunity. Even if his opponent tried to evade, he could only do so by moving to his sides which will allow Ken to strike him with his follow up attack.

Just as the Excalibur was close to his opponent, Arthur surprised Ken by charging head on and leaping on his blade. Before Ken could react, the Excalibur Prime had hopped over his opponent, landing behind him and quickly performing a sweeping kick that knocked Ken off his feet.

Now, Ken suddenly found himself lying on his back with two swords to his neck which belonged to his opponent.

This time, he had lost. His opponent was faster and far more skilled than him. As a result, he was defeated before he could even land a single hit.

But it didn't matter to him as he got a glimpse of what one of the highest-ranking members of the clan was capable of. So, in a way it can be considered as a win for him too. An intrinsic one at least.

Putting away his swords, Arthur offered Ken a hand which he took and pulled him back on his feet.

"Not bad at all. You got some really good skill with the blade and it's not often that I find a warrior who also uses his head in battle rather than relying on strength alone." The Tactician stated which made Ken realize more clearly why he had lost so badly: Arthur was well aware of his mindset in battle.

It made more sense as the thought about what happened. Arthur started off aggressively, which not only put pressure on him that preventing him from properly observing and analysing his opponents combat skills, it also exposed his own capabilities to the tactician. Due to how Ken reacted upon being pressurized, it gave Arthur a chance to devise a way to defeat him.

In other words, it was checkmate for him right from the start.

"You have my thanks." Ken replied respectfully. However, in his mind Ken had other thoughts. He somewhat felt like he should be careful of Arthur. It wasn't like he was starting to hate him or anything, it was just that the tacticians calm and analytical personality was

"But if you want be a knight of the Holy Circle, combat skill and standard battle achievements alone won't be enough." Arthur said.

"I figured that much and I don't plan on doing so either." Ken stated as Alice and Gaius approached.

"Impressive, Kid. You sure know how to put up a good fight." Gaius said as he patted the Excalibur on the back.

"Yeah you did really well." Alice said. "I didn't think you would last this long against Arthur."

"Well now that you showed us what you are capable of, I, Arthur as the tactician and a Knight of the Holy Circle hereby welcome you to our clan." Arthur said. "I expect great things from you."

The last part made the young Tenno feel a bit uneasy. He never felt good when people put too much hope on him. And considering what occurred the last time that happened…

"Sorry to say this, but I believe you are thinking too highly of me." Ken stated. Before the others could say anything, Alice grabbed him by the hand.

"Since I still haven't finished showing Ken around we'll be taking our leave from here then." Alice stated. Arthur wanted to say something but stopped the Trinity gave the Excalibur Prime what could be assumed to be a death stare as her Warframe lacked any form of facial features.

Perhaps it was the bond between the siblings or the tactician possessed the capability of being able to read the faces of Tenno within a Warframe? Regardless, Arthur seemed to understand his sister.

"All right, then I guess I will see you around Ken." Arthur stated.

"Come on, I still have lots of things to show you." Alice said as she headed out of the training area, dragging Ken along with her.

"One more thing, Ken." Arthur said which caused both of them to stop and turn their attention to the Excalibur Prime.

"If you try to do anything funny with my sister…" Arthur said as he pointed one of his swords at the Excalibur. "…I'll have your head. Mark my words."

"I'll…keep that in mind." Ken said as he and Alice left the training grounds.

Unbeknownst to all of them, a Warframe was watching everything from a distance the whole time.

Moments later…

"Well, what do you think?" Alice asked.

"I think it's really great." Ken said.

Currently, Alice was showing Ken his quarters. It was a moderately sized room with a single bed and had a small bathroom as well. It wasn't anything grand but the arrangements were more than enough for him.

Getting out of his Warframe, Ken sat down on his bed and got a feel for it. He found it soft and quite comfortable compared to what he was usually used to. At least now he had someplace to get some sleep other than the floor of his orbiter.

"I'm glad you like it." Alice said as she got out of her Warframe and sat down beside the other Tenno. "And if you ever think of make some modifications to your room then you can always do so using the dojo's construction drones. But you need to pay a credit tax to the clan vault to use that service."

"No need. It's more than enough for me." Ken said. In his mind, he had some questions regarding the construction drones but decided to put them on hold as He knew that some people can feel irritated if asked too many questions.

"Now if you don't mind, I want to ask you something." The healer stated.

"All right."

"You know, at the training grounds I couldn't help but notice that you looked like something was really bothering you a lot. And you looked really pale when my brother welcomed you."

Ken remained silent and pondered on whether or not he should tell her about it. He wasn't exactly the type of person that trusted others very easily.

"It's okay if you don't feel like sharing some things with me and I am truly sorry if I have hurt you in any way. We have only been acquainted for like a few hours so and I have no right to ask you such questions. I just…felt worried." She said.

"No. You don't have to apologise." Ken said with a faint smile. "I should be the one apologising for making you worry for no reason. It's just…. I really hate it when people expect too much from me even though I'm not really that good."

"Why do you even feel that way? I think you are a good example of what a knight should be." The healer said. Ken however frowned upon hearing her words.

"A good example of a knight? That's just ridiculous. If a Knight is supposed to protect others then I am no doubt a failure because I couldn't even protect the people I was supposed to protect." He spoke looking down on the floor, sadness evident in his tone; "And those who followed me? They are all dead. All because of me."

Alice was saddened upon hearing his words. She was reminded of her own experience during the Old War. Despite the advantage the Tenno held against the Sentients, there was still a good number of casualties on the Tenno side.

The Orokin had used them like disposable tools and so the Tenno had none but each other to rely on. The bonds between them that was forged by the hardships of the war made them really close, like a family of sorts.

Alice remembered all those friends and comrades that fought besides her but couldn't make it out alive. They always had each other's backs and even when all was seemed lost, her comrades gave her the strength she needed to pull through and survive.

As such, she knew very well how her new clanmate felt.

Before Ken could say anything, he found himself gently pressed against the medical officers' chest as Alice had wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a caring embrace. He was quite surprised by her action but it felt warm and soothing, like a blanket that protected one from the chilling cold.

"It's really hard, isn't it? Losing those you care about right before your own eyes." Alice muttered.

"Yeah. Even worse when you know that it was all your fault." Ken said.

"You know, back in the days of the Old War, I lost many of my friends. As a healer, I was supposed to protect them from harm but I couldn't do anything for them. Never a day goes by where I don't remember their faces."

Upon hearing her words, Ken really felt sorry about the medical officer. Truth be told, he felt as if both of them weren't much different from each other considering what they had to go through.

"But even then…" Alice continued as she slowly released Ken from her embrace. "…I don't let the past hold me down. That's why I do my best every day to help as many as I can. For the sake of those that I have failed, I press on forward so that their deaths are not in vain."

"I see. So, you choose to help others to honor your friends. That's really noble of you." Ken muttered.

"Ken, I want you to listen closely. You may have failed to save those you cared for but that does not mean it's the end for you. Try to move on because if you let your past torment you, you are sure to repeat what happened before." Alice said.

"Instead, you should try to be someone your fallen comrades would be proud of. I don't know who you were in the past but I think you can be a really great Tenno if you give your best efforts starting from now on." Alice stated confidently with a smile.

"I'll…try." Ken muttered.

"Good. In the meantime..." Alice said as she quickly grabbed her clanmates cheeks and Ken suddenly found a pair of white gloved hands caressing his face, much to his embarrassment.

"Stop being so gloomy and smile more often. Being positive is good for your health you know." Alice said in a teasing tone.

"Okay."

"All right. I guess I'll be off then." Alice said as she got up. Using transference to assume control of her Warframe, she then headed outside.

"Wait." She stopped upon hearing Ken speak up and turned her attention towards the other Tenno.

"Thank you for everything you did to help me. I really appreciate it." Ken stated.

"No need to thank me. I'm just doing my part as a member of the medical corps and a friend." Alice replied. "And if you ever need someone to talk to, I'd always be there for you. After all we're friends, right?"

"Yeah. After all you have done for me, it would be wrong for me to not consider you a friend." Ken said.

"Great. I'll see you around then." Alice said. With that, she left his room, the automatic doors closing behind her.

Now Ken was left alone in his quarters with his only company being his Excalibur. The Warframe stood in a corner, silent and stiff. It was almost eerie, as one may get the impression that the Warframe was silently watching over its Operator.

Said Operator was currently sitting on his bed in deep thought. He was thinking about what Alice had told him and what he should do from that point onwards.

The very thought of returning home was abandoned by him long ago. Now, it felt even more pointless as he believed that his family, or anyone else he used to know for that matter, would accept him for what he has become: a cold-blooded killer.

On top of that, there was no guarantee that the people he knew were alive anymore. Who knows how long he was in cryosleep. Perhaps hundreds, maybe thousands of years have passed during that time. Even more so if the ship he was in was in constant movement, taking time dilation into account.

Plus, there was the possibility that his people may have been wiped out on that night, when he remembered the sky becoming crimson red, like being covered by a thick veil of blood. The Tenno couldn't remember anything else but he could tell that it wasn't anything good.

And there was also the possibility that the people in his world had brought upon their own destruction. He remembered how the state of his world was in his time: human rights violations here, terrorism there. Meanwhile, civil war was raging on somewhere else taking the lives of countless people or forcing them to leave their homelands in hopes of finding a shelter.

Worse part was world leaders and politicians not doing anything other than empty promises, condemning the situation or pointless debating with other leaders with different views. Only time they did something was when they could fulfil their own agendas. It was like incompetent people were now well capable of taking up the important positions that should only be given to people more responsible and capable of that role.

And bad leaders meant one thing: even worse people rallied behind their backs, supporting them. Use of fallacy and manipulating public emotions along with other means ensured that such politicians always had supporters who would blindly believe them like some perfect saints sent by God or God himself for that matter.

So, Ken wouldn't be surprised at all if he learnt that humans in his world wiped themselves out, whether through a world war or any other stupid and irrational way.

So now, the only option Ken had was to walk in a new path. A new life with a new purpose. A purpose was something that one should have in order to live, something that he believed in. And he needed a purpose to devote himself to. Otherwise, his existence was meaningless.

Right now, he was a Tenno amongst many other Tenno caught up in a war raging across the solar system. In the world he was in earlier, he was supposed to be saviour but he ended up unknowingly causing more harm to countless people.

But now he was just a soldier. Even though he didn't like killing or any other form of unnecessary violence, he didn't know any other way that he could do any good other than wielding his sword and killing his enemies. To him, it seemed to be the only thing he knew he could do best.

Ken looked at his Warframe, more specifically the Galatine attached to its back and smirked. Maybe this was what Alice meant with his name being meaningful. Maybe he was no different than his sword, having only one purpose: to kill.

And so, the Tenno decided what path he shall take. He won't take up the mantle of a hero of salvation like he tried to do earlier. Instead, he will strike down those who attempt to take innocent lives. Simply kill them before they kill others. This shall be his new purpose for existing.

He shall become nothing more than a blade.

But for now, he had to put those thoughts on hold as he felt a bit tired. After all, he had participated in two back to back duels so it was supposed to be natural. Although, it was a bit strange as he did not feel that much fatigue compared to what he should when he was in his Warframe. Perhaps it was one of its special functions? Plus, he felt a little bit of pain on his back.

Thus, he laid down on his back, deciding to take a nap before starting anew. From tomorrow, or whatever was applicable for those living in a large space station or something in who knows where, he would begin from scratch once more. This time to redeem himself.

"You know, I'd forget about it if I were you. I'm myself and not your damned empty vessel to insert yourself in this world. Either way, it doesn't matter much as you're going to regret it soon anyway." Ken spoke, to nobody visible in particular.

Unknown location.

A squad of Tenno were storming a Corpus outpost on some frigid landscape, cutting down or gunning any opposition that stood on their way. The Corpus sent various types of MOA and Ospreys into the fray as the crewmen at the back rained down streaks of plasma from their various weapons at the advancing enemies in order to supress them. Even against such powerful foes, the Corpus fought hard, either motivated by the thought of rewards or knowing that it was the only way for them to survive.

Elsewhere, a Contingent of Grineer troops were advancing towards a rebel stronghold as the rebels fight on against the onslaught of cloned soldiers. The area was lit up by flames and tracer fire as explosions from mortars and rockets felled Grinner and rebels alike. For both sides, defeat was not an option as the cost of failure was just too great. And so, they fought on with the hope of being able to grasp victory.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Origin system, a large-scale battle for domination was going on in space between fleets of Grineer Galleons and Corpus battleships. It was chaos all around as large calibre cannon rounds crashed upon energy shields of Corpus spacecraft as they retaliated by firing their powerful energy weapons, sending a stream of blue energy at their targets. Smaller fighter craft belonging to both sides engaged in combat as blinding light from exploding spacecraft lit up the empty darkness of space from time to time. Such clash for territory between the two factions have now become a common occurrence.

In another location, colonists were fleeing in terror as deformed creatures gave chase. Some of the more capable colonists fought back with the weapons they had in order to hold the creatures back just long enough for the others to escape. The incoming wave of twisted flesh was met with a hail of bullets, shrapnel or streams of flame projected from the flamethrowers the colonists had. Many of the creatures fell but there was no end to them. Soon the infested pounced upon the unfortunate defenders as the colonists were slowly being overrun.

This was a testament of exactly what kind of hell the Origin system had become and was the scenery that was being shown in the cluster of hi tech displays in that room.

The sole inhabitant of that room silently watched on with a satisfied expression on his face. It was chaotic as if hell itself had manifested in the Origin System. But to this man, former Executor Dominic, it was something else. To him it was just nature. War was nothing more than the crucible that decided who gets to move forward in the path of superiority and those who will fall below in weakness and defeat. If years of human history taught him anything, it was this lesson, which he regarded as a Golden Rule of life.

With a soft hissing noise, the automatic doors behind Dominic opened as another person entered the room. This person was a male who appeared to be in his sixties and had messy black hair.

"Sir, shouldn't we be making our move on the enemy anytime soon? Our forces are ready and we can use the confusion of the ongoing conflict to carry out surgical strikes to inflict heavy losses." The man stated.

"You know Martin, one must never fail to acknowledge the strength of the enemy even when they are at a great advantage over them." Dominic replied as he watched the monitors.

"But sir, we have a good opportunity to strike. With proper strategy it is possible for us to land a decisive blow that can help us ensure our victory. So, it would be a waste not to take advantage now." The man known as Martin said. This seemed to have caught the attention of the former Orokin executor as he turned away from the monitors to face Martin.

"Yes, it is true that now is a good opportunity to strike and I am well aware of how eager you are to exact your vengeance upon them for thwarting your plans, which I respect." Dominic stated as he placed his hand on Martin's shoulder.

"But former President, do not forget for a single moment the reason you were defeated in the first place." The former Executor began in a serious tone. "You made a terrible miscalculation thinking that your prized Darwin's Hand ensured total victory for you and it was precisely why you lost. Letting your guard down before completely confirming a victory is a foolish mistake." The former Executor added, almost in a mocking tone. Martin flinched upon hearing this but remained calm.

"So, then what will be our next course of action?" Martin asked.

"For now, our main priority is the preservation and expansion of our strength. They are not aware of our presence yet so let us make full use of that compensate for our previous losses. As covertly as possible." Dominic stated. "And while we are at it, let's find those whom we can make use of. You know what they say, the enemy of my enemy is a friend."

"Very well then. We shall wait for further orders." Martin said as he headed out of the room. He agreed with the logic of his superior. While they still had a good amount of manpower and resources at their disposal, it would be far wiser to take a more careful route, especially against the enemies they wanted to eradicate.

"On more thing." Dominic spoke before Martin could leave, causing the man to stop.

"I have other arrangements in place that will help us in the total annihilation of our enemies."

"You should be ashamed of yourself! You cannot even do the only thing you are supposed to do properly, let alone stand up to their achievements!"

"Look at their mangled corpses and tell me, how does it feel to know that their deaths are all because of you?"

"You think your actions make any difference here? Humans will always be like that and you cannot do anything about it. You deserve eternal damnation for what you have done!"

Personal Quarters.

Knights of Pendragon Dojo

Ken woke up from sleep, panting and sweating like a pig.

Once more, he had the same dream again, finding himself standing on an endless sea of blood, being surrounded by dead people he both knew or never saw and finally being devoured by a massive creature.

Only this time, he was able to get a closer look at the being that was inside the great beast and what he saw was quite shocking.

It was him.

Or more specifically, it appeared to be a twisted version of himself, something that can't exactly be called a human anymore and it looked like something more akin to a monster due to the nasty bestial grin the thing had on its face as if it took great delight seeing him in such torment.

He couldn't think of any logical explanation of the recurring dream but he doubted that this may be the last time he experiences it. If that was the case, then it meant that he might be getting any proper sleep anytime soon.

But for now, he decided to give as little thought to it as possible. Getting up from his bed, the Tenno went to the washroom to clean up. Afterwards he took control of his Warframe and headed out for the training area.

Since he wasn't going to participate in any missions at the moment, he decided to spend his time training, trying to hone his swordsmanship and other things. After all, he had grown used to routine training regimens thanks to his mentor and training everyday became a habit of sorts.

After reaching the training grounds, he picked a quiet area to train peacefully without much disturbance from anyone else.

Pulling out his Galatine, the Excalibur began his first training regimen as a Tenno. He did what he would usually do, starting from the basics of his swordsmanship that his mentor taught him. He performed the various stances, guarding methods and attacks. Ken put up an impressive display of swordsmanship, as he moved around with great elegance, showing off his precise footwork and deft use of the sword. It appeared as if he was skilfully cutting down invisible enemies one after another with great skill and grace.

Any onlooker who would happen to witness his skilful display would certainly be impressed at first glance and would be able to understand just how much dedication Ken had put in his swordsmanship in order to reach such a skill level.

For a while, Ken continued his training until he decided to take a break. It was then he noticed someone who was leaning against a column while watching him. The person was someone who was quite familiar.

It was him.

The doppelgänger looked at him with a sick and twisted smile on his face and spoke;

"No matter what you do or how hard you try, your actions won't be making any difference."

To be Continued…

Well that's it for chapter 3. I really had fun writing this chapter, especially the part about Ballas and Dominic. The former is hands down one of my most favourite characters in Warframe so far.

Speaking of Dominic, if you think he is a lazily designed typical antagonist, you are absolutely right because that is precisely how I designed him. I wanted him to appear to be your usual cardboard-ish typical evil dark lord type villain at first glance as much as possible. Even Ballas himself mentions this.

Then I must say something about the general direction of the story itself. I have been thinking for some time about what kind of identity the story will build up with its characters and plot. Then I have finally decided the course. It shall use a typical fanfiction-y plot as a base but while at it, there are some themes I want to explore in order to tell a meaningful story. Basically, somewhat a parody fanfiction by day while being an ultra-serious story by night. Except if night-time is much longer than daytime (well you get the point.).

Well that will be all for now. I hope you people enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to review if you have something to say or any mistakes you want to point out that I should correct. Some constructive criticism always helps.

Hopefully the next chapter won't be taking this long to come out but I can't promise anything.