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There is a rumour circling the Leaf Bud city. Or perhaps not a rumour. Rumours do, as they say, have a bit of truth to them. And this… tale? couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Perhaps we should call it an urban legend. After all, urban legends do tell of events that are possible, but untrue. Things that have a possibility of being true, and are often told as such, but that could not possibly happen in this universe. And this tale fits the category. There was a possibly it was true, at least in some other universe, but on the other hand, it had absolutely no base in this reality the citizens lived in.
But now we’re straying from the topic. Perhaps we should start over.
There is an urban legend circling the Leaf Bud city. It is a legend of the Sun Knight. Yes, the 38th Sun Knight, the one dubbed the personification of perfect. He is beautiful, kind, forgiving, has a loving smile: everything a Sun Knight should be and more. And, at least according to the legend, utterly terrifying.
The urban legend claims the 38th generation Sun Knight is even more frightening than the Judgement Knight of the same generation. It tells of criminals that are brought to the Judgement complex to be punished for their crimes, criminals that have information that is needed fast. For example, people whose victims could possibly be still alive, locked somewhere, and time is of essence in making sure the victim doesn’t die before their prison is found. For those criminals, if they are not forthcoming with the information needed, the Sun Knight is the one to interrogate them after the Judgement Knight concludes his methods are not effective or fast enough.
Not that anyone would truly believe the gentle Sun Knight can actually interrogate people. More likely he preaches about the God of Light’s grace and goodwill until the criminal is convinced into doing the right thing. After all, if the fearsome Judgement Knight can’t squeeze a confession out of the criminals, what could the compassionate Sun Knight possibly do to force them into coming clean.
But this is why we consider the story is an urban legend after all, and we are straying again. Let us get back to the topic at hand.
After declaring he can do no more within an acceptable time frame, the Judgement Knight calls for the Sun Knight, and clears the interrogation room from everyone but the criminal and the Sun Knight. Some versions of the story claim horrible sounds emerge from the room after the two are left alone, most insist that the oppressive silence spreading to the surroundings is the most dreadful part of the story. Several different versions exist on what exactly happens in the room. Some proclaim the Sun Knight uses magic to inflict extreme pain on the criminal, or that he uses it to poke at the criminal’s mind until they are completely insane. Some maintain that he kills the criminals over and over again, using his resurrection spell to bring them back, each time with a heavier price and a more painful death. Others go even further, and declare the Sun Knight kills the criminal, and then uses necromancy to bring them back, only to use his boundless holy light to torture them that way.
As it should be apparent at this point, even in case you, dear reader, did not heed the warning of this tale being absurd, that this story is, indeed, complete, and utter hogwash. What? You do not see anything wrong? Well, it should be quite obvious. After all, everyone knows the Sun Knight cannot use magic, much less necromancy. Not to mention that everyone knows the Sun Knight absolutely abhors undead creatures, and that one could definitely not be found in the temple of the God of Light without a huge fuss. Now do you realise? Good, that’s what I thought. But what about the repeated resurrection story you now ask. Silly you, he’s the gentle, compassionate, perfect Sun Knight, how could he possibly kill someone, only to bring them back repeatedly.
And now you protest calling this an urban legend, questioning the grain of truth in this story? Does nothing satisfy you? Very well, it is the truth that the Sun Knight does occasionally go over to the Judgement complex to help with the criminals, and that he has, apparently at least, appeared from the room with bloodstains and a wide smile, but that does not mean there is any way this story could possibly be true. You still protest? Fine, I give up. Do whatever you want. But as a last piece of advice, straight from the 37th generation Holy Knights, “Remember, child, no matter what the circumstances are, the Sun Knight is always perfect!” There. And in case that wasn’t enough, here is some additional information: “Child, even if you’ve unintentionally discovered the Sun Knight’s imperfection, you had better just admit that he’s perfect unless you want to experience his imperfection yourself.”
