Destiny: The Legendary Hunter

[Writers-Ablood]

A/N: This is a fanfic based on the events of Destiny and Destiny 2 (The game), with an OC AU. Enjoy the story.

Synopsis:
## DESTINY THE GAME, FANFIC##
A dedicated Destiny player finishes the new Witch Queen dlc as a warlock. Ultimately he decides to make a new character, but play as a hunter this time.. Little does he know, he's pulled through the screen as he does. Now an NPC in the destiny world, he must survive the years until the game starts and the players come rushing in. How will he begin his journey, and what will become of him?

# MC will be an npc within the destiny world, transmigrated a few years before the start of the year 1 game. (Before the game officially releases with new changes).#
#Inspired by The Legendary Mechanic, Novel's Extra and Author's Pov.#
===================

The world was caressed by summer's soft winds as the horizon glistened like a frayed tangerine wrapped in a quilt of clouds. Rarely did this thicket disperse, yet streaks of light snuck through, gently showering the world with a mellow radiance.

As the sun descended over meadows of gold and yellow, it signaled the moment—the return to the nest. Like ants in a colony, cars lined the streets in a rhythm of headlights and exhaust.

Beside the busy roads, neglected neighborhood parks slowly filled with jovial students, humming and smiling as they chatted and fiddled with their phones.

Not long after, weary salarymen raced towards the markets, buoyantly drowning themselves in food and drink. Pedestrians flocked along the pavement, eager to rush back to the suburbs, their dogged faces reinvigorated by the desire to slump onto their beds.

Amidst the swarm of people, one man harbored.....peculiar plans.

Jostling through the throng, the young man found himself in several "passionate" encounters. Naturally, he was prepared.

"Hey! Let…LET ME go, you bastard!" he yelled, fighting tooth and nail to wrestle his leg from the clutches of the rush-hour maniacs.

Or should one say, tooth and shoe? Where was his shoe? Wrestling back to his feet, he barely squeezed through and frantically hobbled towards the crosswalk.

Going back to search for his shoe? Ridiculous!

A veteran like him knew the unspoken rules: whatever happened in rush hour, stayed in rush hour. Turning back would be a foolish endeavor; the crowd would swallow him whole and mercilessly spit him out the other side.

Besides, he didn't have time to squander.

A bright smile spread across his lips; today was a special day. Pacing through the bustling city, down the winding streets, he stopped in front of an old dorm. It was slightly lived-in, but that's all he could afford.

Swiftly up the stairs and to the last door on the left, his keys jiggled in his hand as excitement settled in. Stepping inside, he swiftly slammed the door shut.

At last… peace.

He turned on the PC and plugged in his headset—a feeling he'd missed during the grueling finals week.

As one might guess, he was a university student. After long and exhausting exams, he'd finally carved out some time to enjoy his favorite game.

The monitor lit up, and he launched the game frantically. An eerie and foreboding melody echoed as the game loaded.

The suspenseful chords rang in his ears, composed, as legend had it, by the conniving Witch Queen herself.

Destiny—a game set within a world of sci-fi and mythos. Today, he would embark on a new mission.

Yes, unfortunately, the man was a "Destiny" player. Alas, there were worse afflictions in life than addictively playing a soul-sucking game that also left him dead broke… right?

Perhaps the soundtrack had somehow actually bewitched him… Moving his mouse to the mission list, he selected the latest one.

**→The Ritual (Recommended Light: 1500) (Legendary difficulty)**

Launching the mission, he waited with bated breath as the Jumpship shot into the throne world.

Two hours later…

Just as he fired the last rocket, Savathun—the Witch Queen—slumped to the ground, and her treacherous hold on the Traveler weakened.

It was the culmination of the entire DLC. The final fight had left him an inch from death. His guardian would be practically dead if not for the dubious Phoenix Protocol and Well of Radiance build.

The Warlock Vanguard, Ikora, celebrated the successful attack, and then a cutscene played, introducing a new entity—the Witness.

It was all too perfect.

He'd wrapped up the game. But the addiction ran far too deep. His brain surged with euphoria and a dopamine spike as soon as he saw the loot drops pump through the chests.

Common? Legendaries? Exotics? Didn't matter—all he cared for was loot. But what now?

Sitting there wistfully, he realized he had wasted most of his life on this game. Grinding hours upon hours doing repetitive strikes and raids just for an exotic or legendary barely better than his current gear.

Some would call him a psychopath. Others would claim he was mentally disturbed.

But both groups would frankly be disgusted with what he was about to do.

Exiting the main menu, he saw three character slots.

1. Warlock (Light 1600)
2. Create New Character
3. Create New Character

Clicking on the empty slot, he began designing new facial features for a human character.

After wasting close to twenty minutes on character creation, he chose the Hunter class.

It went against everything he stood for as a Warlock main. But even he wasn't crazy enough to play through the game with the same class.

Clicking accept, the game began loading, and then it prompted him to name his new character.

A sudden jolt of cringe ran through his spine as he finished.

**Name: Void Blade**

He couldn't care less; it's not like he'd be stuck with it.

**Are you sure?**

The game prompted once more, and he quickly accepted. The Bungie logo appeared in the bottom right as the screen faded to black, loading the world.

But this time… something peculiar happened. A new prompt he'd never seen… A prompt so strange that he thought the game had somehow glitched.

The screen turned white, but before the game loaded, only one sentence hovered on the screen.

-

Would you like to try the enhanced difficulty mode?

[Yes] [No]

-

'What?'

He'd never heard of this. Excited at the prospect of new content, he immediately clicked yes.

Naturally, the game prompted again to confirm some terms and conditions.

He rolled his eyes as he rapidly agreed to whatever terms and services appeared. Not like anything important was ever listed there.

A bright flash of white sparked on the screen and the loading continued, suddenly the screen froze and turned off…

'Did the monitor break?' He frowned, immediately checking the cables at the back.

Everything seemed to be in order. Frustrated, he planted a few good smacks on the back.

The white pixels returned to the screen as it got brighter each second… The smacking had worked better than expected!

Perhaps… a bit too effective as the light from the monitor seemed to stretch outwards.

Wait, outwards?

Bright and shimmering light erupted, covering every inch of the room! Suddenly, the light enveloped him, and his figure began to flicker!

A few seconds later, he had all but turned into glimmer, flowing back into the screen as the light dragged him inside.

The screen went dark as only one message remained.

**Loading… Game will now start…**

The world turned to nothing, but then there was a voice and it whispered.

"Guardian."

Drawing the essence of the mind closer with every word.

'Who?'

"Guardian, are you awake?"

'Who are you?'

"Wake up, Guardian. We do not have time. The Fallen are coming; they've seen me. It's not safe here."

The voice urged, pulling him closer to life. From nothingness, a bright presence yanked him into a new body.

His eyes snapped open. All he could feel were the rocks he was buried beneath. The entity behind the voice saw him struggling and helped out—a bright flash of light turned the rocks to glitter.

The bright sunlight danced on his cold skin as he desperately crawled towards it, emerging from beneath the dirt to a new life.

With every push, he nudged his body closer to the surface. No strength remained in his arms, and his legs felt broken. He couldn't feel a bone in his body, but the voice beckoned, and he answered.

It felt like fate. Or perhaps it was destiny.

Driving his fist through the dirt, his fingers dug into the mud as he writhed out. 'Where am I?' he wondered.

Darting his eyes around, he found himself in a desolate scrapyard. It was a graveyard of metal, stretching endlessly under a bleak sky.

Rusted iron littered the landscape, remnants of a forgotten world. Decaying cars with shattered windows, planes with wings twisted and torn, and colossal shipping containers stacked haphazardly formed a chaotic maze.

Each piece of scrap was cloaked in rust, corroded by time and neglect.

Not an inch of ground was free from the suffocating presence of rusted metal, and the air was thick with the smell of decay and forgotten dreams.

Despite it all, the sky was a richly saturated deep blue. In the distance, he could see mountains, their peaks brushing the heavens, and when he turned around, a wall came into view—an insurmountable iron wall.

The scene felt all too familiar: the scrapyard, the echoing voice, and that imposing iron barrier. It seemed less like a wall and more like an iron dam.

The colossal iron plates, long since rusted with age, had started to fall away, exposing gaping cavities within the gargantuan structure.

There was a single door that he could spot, leading inside, into an abyss of darkness. Not a single speck of light lingered within, almost as if the darkness had devoured it entirely.

This was the Cosmodrome...

Just as his thoughts aligned, the voice resounded again. "Guardian, hurry up. We do not have much time."

He looked around but couldn't see its source. Still, he knew exactly who the voice belonged to. "Ghost?" he blurted out.

"Yes, Guardian," it responded, materializing with its black octahedron body, a single purple eye glowing in the middle. The eye turned yellow for

a brief second, scanning him.

"You must be confused. Let me explain. You are a Guardian, and I am your Ghost. You've been chosen by the Traveler as a warrior of the Light, to protect and defend the Last City. Please, allow me to attune you to the Light. It will help you recover." The Ghost's semi-robotic voice resonated with calm authority.

He extended his hand, and the Light formed a connection. "Guardian, we need to leave immediately," the Ghost urged.

He smiled bitterly. He was used to patiently scrutinizing his equipment in the game. But now… somehow, he had been pulled inside it. There was no way the enemies would wait.

Suppressing his disbelief, he followed the Ghost as it floated through the Cosmodrome. The place was eerily familiar yet unnervingly real. Rusted structures loomed, and the distant hum of unknown machinery filled the air.

If this was truly real, he needed to hide. He scanned the area, searching for a safe spot.

"Guardian, I've secured a small weapons cache in a cave nearby. Follow me."

His instincts, honed by countless hours of gameplay, kicked in.

With the Ghost hovering beside him, he moved swiftly through the underbrush, the mechanical eye flickering between purple and yellow, vigilant and ready.

The cave was hidden among the trees and rocks, its entrance partially obscured by overgrown vegetation.

He crouched to slip inside. The cave was dark and damp, but it provided the concealment they desperately needed.

The Ghost's light illuminated the rough walls, casting eerie shadows.

"The cache is here." It beckoned, circling a small chest concealed under moss and dirt.

He nodded and crept closer to the case, calmly digging it out. But then… he stopped. What next?

Flummoxed, he searched for a button.

Embarrassingly enough, he soon realized the cache needed to be opened manually.

-

**New Equipment**

x1 Traveler's Chosen (Sidearm) 5LL

x1 Scorched Hunter Strides (Leg Armor) 3LL

-

The equipment in his hands felt all too real. Suddenly, a transparent window hovered closer.

-

Name: Void Blade

Class: Hunter

Level: 0

Light Level: 4

Subclass: -

Weapons: (None)

Gear:

Helmet: Trashed Mask

Grips: Golden Age Grips (Common): 3 LL

Chest: Golden Age Vest (Common): 4 LL

Strides: Trashed Strides

-

'This is my status?'

Before he could even understand it all, another window appeared, causing his eyes to widen.

-

Legendary Guardian System

System authorized…

System Level 1

Objectives initiated:

Become Legend 0/1: (Main)

"The Light calls for aid. Become the herald of change needed in the world, push back the darkness, and defend the Traveler."

Rewards: x1 {Unknown}, x1 {Unknown}, +10000 Legend Points, +10 million Glimmer.

Reach the Last City 0/1: (Main)

"The Traveler beckons the Guardians to serve the Last City. Heed the summons and begin your journey."

Rewards: x1 Beginner Hunter Set, x1 Ballyhoo Mk.27 (Hand Cannon) (Rare)

-

'A system?'

The line between reality and the game blurred further with each passing moment. This was no longer just a game. This was a fight for survival.

Leaning against the rough stone walls, he took a deep breath.

Perhaps he had been dragged into something dangerous.

Perhaps Void still thought it was a dream… But something inside him wished to live and push back.

Everyone who had ever played Destiny fantasized about being a Guardian, a fearless immortal warrior.

But right now, Void was scared. More scared than he'd ever been in his life.

Observing the system window, he wasn't designated as a player.

He could see the fact that the system had chosen him as more of an NPC. Quite obvious as he had no chat box feature. Had he truly become a part of the game?

Sitting in this small cave in some random scrapyard on Earth, he couldn't believe it all.

Void looked to the sky, a peerless azure horizon.

Far away, he could almost make out the white hue of the Traveler floating above—a miraculous machine that had given humanity another chance at survival.

Perhaps it would give him a chance too.

 

[Writers-Ablood]

"Guardian"

A faint voice echoed and a bright blue light shined.

"Wake up guardian."

A sudden jolt ran through Void's body as he jerked awake. Surveying the surroundings, He found himself dozing off while squatting near the caves walls.

"Ghost...how far are we from the Last City."

His voice resounded in the solitary cave.

"Hmm, according to my calculations we are still 13,898 Km away from the Last City. At a regular pace it might take over 500 days to reach. Our only options remain a Jumpship or land vehicle to hasten the journey guardian. "

13,898 Km...It was too far. Unless Void wanted to trek on foot, he needed an alternative.

"Ghost, scan for the nearest Jumpship.....No, wait. Scan for the nearest vehicle we can access. Display the safest choices on the map, along with enemy locations and threat levels"

Void spat out instructions.

A new player might be overwhelmed with that distance. But Void had practically lived through destiny his entire adolescent life. He knew full well the advantages of owning a ghost.

Ignoring its returning abilities, a ghost was perhaps the strongest super computer capable of analyzing and scanning areas from miles away.

He knew this, simply because the game had justified the radar and navigation in the gameplay through these lore points.

Just as he had thought, the ghost's body split up into tiny spikes, as a blue sphere from its center sent out faint pulses of light, scanning the surroundings.

Naturally, the mini-map had already appeared on his HUD.

"Scan complete, according to my detection, there are no accessible Jumpships within 25 Km. Three Fallen pike speeders within 10 Km, currently surrounded by a small squad of fallen dregs. I have already marked the relevant locations on your map guardian."

Hearing the analysis he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Fallen dregs..."

The lowest class of fallen. That was one enemy he could definitely go against.

If that squad had a captain, he would definitely not make it out alive. Though dying wasn't permanent. Void wasn't eager to test that feature out.

Pulling out the menu, he scanned his equipment once more.

====

Name: Void Blade

Class: Hunter

Level: 0

Light Level: 5

Subclass: None

Equipment: (LL refers to Light Level)

>Primary: Traveller's Chosen(56/56) 5LL ] Armor: (Head) > Trashed Mask

>Secondary: None ] Armor: (Gauntlets) > Golden Age Grips (Common): 3 LL

> Heavy: None ] Armor: (Chest)> Golden Age Vest (Common): 4 LL

> Ghost Lv1 ] Armor: (Boots)>Scorched Hunter Strides 3LL

====

"Sure enough," Void sighed.

His Light level was still too low. It was enough to deal with dregs and the like, but a fallen captain would prove challenging.

Trekking outside the cave, a breath-taking scene awaited.

The harsh sun of the Cosmodrome had long since set. What remained was a mesmerizing sea of stars above the night sky.

Each speck of light was a star, and he could see millions. Every inch of the desert was illuminated by the moon's light.

"Beautiful..."

With no lights to drown out the sky, he saw the endless starry horizon. Yet as he looked into the sky, he could also see a faint halo of light, practically invisible to the naked eye, as it lingered above in the horizon...

The Traveller, in all its glory. He couldn't make it out yet, but could definitely feel its presence.


"Ghost, can you camouflage yourself again?"

It immediately turned translucent. The cover worked perfectly, as the light disguised its figure.

"Then can you also camouflage me?" Void thought out loud.

'A far stretch, but if that was possible…'

"Apologies, guardian, I do not currently possess the ability to camouflage others. However, it is possible to obtain this module in the future."

"Guess it was too good to be true." Void sighed.

Accepting the reality of the situation, Void bolted out of the cave, sprinting as fast as he could without attracting any attention.

The Hunter class was famous for being phenomenal at tracking and stealth. Despite Void running at full strength wearing a somewhat full suit of Armor, not a single step produced any significant noise.

With his quick strides, about 20 minutes later he had reached the destination.

Void leaned against a boulder to catch his breath while the ghost surveyed the area.

A few meters away, there were six Fallen dregs visible on his radar.

'A simple job,' Void resolved himself.

Peeking through the side of the boulder he could see the group of five loitered around their pikes.

Convening and conversing.

Unfortunately, all he heard were strange *clicks* and *clucks*. Their language was practically indecipherable.

"Ghost, analyze the best position to engage in combat." Void whispered.

He had absolutely no experience in combat, hence it was vital to use all the facilities available to him when possible.

A few seconds later, a white marker appeared on Void's radar.

"Guardian, the best vantage point with our loadout would be above the short hill about 20 meters away." its mechanical voice leaked.

Seeing the marker on his HUD, he could definitely understand the advantage. A clean shot would still attract their attention, but a shot from the hill would leave them clueless to his position.

Even if it all went wrong and he was found out, There was ample time to retreat...

'As expected, ghost's were simply a technological marvel', Void thought to himself.

Sneaking away from the dregs, he crept up along the hill.

Taking a deep breath, he envisioned the sidearm in my hands, and as he had done so, a faint glitter emitted from Void's hands.

The kinetic sidearm appeared in his grip, ready to be used.

'It seems the inventory works similar to in-game'

As long as he had it equipped, he only needed to think of it to use it.



Clutching the adaptive grip of the gun, Void aimed its sights on one of the dregs.

Lining the red iron sights along the head of a dreg squatting near its fellows.Void felt the weight of the gun in his hands. A feeling completely foreign to him.

With a finger on the trigger, Void channeled all my focus into aiming.

Taking deep breaths as he gripped the firearm with both hands.

Just as his finger poked the trigger.

Instantly countless notifications spammed the system panel, appearing in front of his eyes to block his sight.

'What....the'

=====

{Legendary Guardian System}

!!!! ATTENTION !!!! +Sudden Quest Issued!!

> GUNS BLAZING (0/1):

Objectives: "Defeat all Fallen Dregs engaging in close combat using any weapon! Announce your arrival and let them fear the light!"

Rewards: +Fallen Pike(Rare), ++XP, +Combat Perks, +Weapon Aptitude

(Failure) Penalties: -Fallen Pike (Destroyed)

Remarks: Don't be a P*ssy. Be Legendary, Guardian!

====


Void paused.

His eyes settled on the mission's penalty, 'A damaged pike.'

From what he understood, the moment he pulled the trigger, the chances of him obtaining a usable pike would be close to nothing.

'The system…what is it?' Void wondered.

How had it estimated what he would stand to lose or gain in this situation? What basis did it have?

He did not know. But he was sure that going against its advice wasn't logical. For now at least, he was bound to it.

Astonishingly, the ghost had not reacted to this sudden surge of messages. Perhaps, he was the only one who could react to the "system" part.

Void heaved a cold sigh and slowly crawled down the hill.

Coldly gripping the sidearm, he waited for an opportunity to pounce.

He had already formed a somewhat rough plan. As long as he could get a few headshots, taking out the first two wouldn't be a problem.

'Well... here goes nothing,' Void shook his head.

"Ghost, on my signal reveal yourself and distract the dregs." He whispered

"Affirmative Guardian"

Composing himself, Void felt his heart race.

"Now"

The dregs were immediately caught off guard as they spotted the ghost circling them. It was merely a distraction but super effective.

He waited until they all had their backs turned as they gawked at the ghost, unable to even comprehend what was going on.

Void immediately lunged from the bushes.

Before they moved a muscle, his hands moved instinctually, firing two shots swiftly into a dregs head.

The bullets had alerted them, causing a panic as they all jumped away, but to Void it was far too late

Deftly sliding across the sand, his hands grasped onto one's shoulder, immediately grappling him to the ground and serving three shots into its gaping mouth.

Within seconds, two were gone.

At this moment, Void's body moved as if possessed, like a predator playing with its prey. He leapt towards the third dreg, two bullets shot through its legs, paralyzing it completely.

A horrible screech was all it could manage, before a third bullet was skilfully placed between its temple

'Three down'

The remaining dregs had finally understood what occurred. Brandishing their guns, they fired indiscriminately, a storm of shock bullets rushed towards him.

But it was useless against golden age armor.

The bullets barely grazed his vest as he sauntered up towards the party of fallen.

Their fear was apparent, but Void did what had to be done.

Brandishing his own sidearm he fired thrice and the dregs had their arms blasted off.

With no threat remaining, Void crept closer to them as they tried desperately to crawl away.

' A useless endeavour' He clicked his tongue.

Lining the barrel on its heart, Void pulled the trigger mercilessly, and the fourth was done.

The fifth only yelped as a gaping hole pierced through its heart.

"Last one"

Void pointed my gun at the sixth. One, two , three. He shot enough times to make sure that Its corpse was riddled with holes.

All he saw next was a simple prompt on his screen

=====================

+ Quest Completed GUNS BLAZING (1/1)

=====================

 

[Writers-Ablood]

===

+ Quest Completed GUNS BLAZING (1/1)

===

Void stood there in sheer awe of what he had done. The six Fallen dregs slumped on the ground around him, lifeless.

All it had taken was mere seconds.

In shock, he stared down at his palms. Where did this ability come from?

He did not know.

Void's body moved to its instinct for the most part. The instinct of a hunter.

"Of course.."

He had almost forgotten that my body was a golden age corpse. A warrior that had fought for humanity and died.

Surely, the only explanation he could muster was the ingrained muscle memory within.

"Remarkable."

But his excitement was cut short as Void heard a sharp voice.

"Careful guardian, our skirmish has alerted the nearby fallen squads. My analysis shows that within five minutes, this location will be swarmed." ghost's voice alerted

The sudden alert brought him back to reality and he instantly began to move.

Peeking at the primed Fallen Pike that had appeared before him, Void rejoiced.

"Yeah let's go."

===

[ A few hours later]

A red streak could be seen zooming through the dark desert plains.

Void was riding the Fallen Pike at full speed, having left behind fallen territory and he now roamed the wastelands.

Unfortunately, while it was safer out here, there practically wasn't a single living thing roaming this part of earth.

Which meant that not only was Void completely alone, he was also completely helpless.

"Ghost, how much fuel is left in the tank." Void sighed

Noticing the bike slowing down slightly, Void knew the fuel wouldn't last long. It was best to take this opportunity to park somewhere relatively secluded and hidden.

"The vehicle has about 30 units of fuel left. Distance wise, we may only cross another 60 Km. According to our current trajectory, the fuel will run out in approximately 23 minutes and 45 seconds."

Void nodded, "Determine the best place to stop in our current trajectory, somewhere we won't be seen easily."

"Hmm..." its voice echoed

Void waited a few more minutes and finally he could see a marker placed on his HUD.

"I have marked a place about 30 Km on your map guardian. A hillside, near the shore. The topology suggests it's an aqua ravine. Chances of anyone stumbling upon us are close to none."

"Got it, thanks."

Void revved the pike and shot past as dust clouded behind him.

After wringing the fuel tank dry at maximum speed, they had reached two plain limestone cliffs, separating the desert biome from what he could only describe was the beach shore line.

As the bike sputtered its last few embers, Void stalled beside the cliff, slowly steering the bike to its underside.

"This is unexpected," ghost exclaimed.

The cliff had a hollow cave at its feet. Conveniently placed facing the shore.

Carrying ghost in his palm Void walked in cautiously.

Soon the ghost's light illuminated the dark cave interior. But all he could see were some scrap boxes lying around.

Trudging in a bit further, the cave system had further ravines that went very deep

His foot slightly clinked against the floor, and as he shined the light on the ground Void could see what had caused the noise.

"Rail lines?"

Ghost flew out of his hand, examining the rails closely with his laser scanners.

"Hmm, interesting. Guardian, these are golden age railing lines. I think we're in a mineshaft. Aqua ravine, a few hundred kilometers from the Russian supply line. It is possible that we've stumbled upon an old mining tunnel"

"Fascinating....But can this help us?" Void inquired cluelessly.

"I am afraid we cannot know anything unless we venture deep below. But my sensors are blocked by something. I cannot scan anything below 20 meters."

As soon as he heard about the sensors being interfered with, Void immediately knew not to venture deep into the mine tunnels.

He wasn't a coward, but to venture into unknown territory wasn't exactly what he wanted to do.

"That's fine, let's just linger around the surface. I still need to get used to my powers." Void replied.

He picked relatively flat ground and sat down, opening the menu.

Immediately he could see the "System" tab flashing repeatedly

"Of course, how could I forget." he mused

The remaining rewards for the quest....finally some good experience. Void licked my lips and clicked the system tab

Immediately a few prompts were thrust into his face.

===

{Legendary Guardian System}

+ Quest Completed GUNS BLAZING (1/1)

+Claim Quest Awards (0/1)

Rewards: ++XP, +Combat Perks, +Weapon Aptitude

===

As Void claimed his rewards, he felt rejuvenated. Almost like he'd gained something he'd never lost.




===

{Legendary Guardian System}

!! Attention !!

Guardian has Levelled up (Lv. 0 ---> Lv.1)

Remarks: "The light rushes through you, as you grasp onto its secrets. It enlightens you from within and boosts you onto greater heights"

{New Task}

* Choose a Subclass :

1. Nightstalker

2. Gunslinger

3. Blade dancer

===

Void looked onto the screen, baffled.

He had long waited to choose a subclass, but to think he simply needed to level up once.

But....now that he could finally choose a subclass.

Which one?

It was a complicated issue that he couldn't just breeze past.

A Blade dancer wasn't really something he could pull off. It was a reckless art that required relentless combat.

He preferred to lurk in the shadows, preparing to strike with a lethal blow...

In that case, only Nightstalker or Gunslinger awaited.

Unfortunately, as things remained he was clueless as to whether he could switch later on. Surely he could multiclass these right?

"Nightstalker it is"

Suddenly, Void felt as if the space around him had warped. He felt a strange membrane around space. Something he could manipulate.

"Is this void energy?"

===

"The void welcomes you in its embrace."

* Nightstalker subclass Achieved!

+ Nightstalker Lv. 1/10

===

This was what he was missing, the power in his hands right now...If he had this previously, the dregs wouldn't even stand a chance.

The vortex grenade, the smoke melee, the double jump.... and lastly

The super ability... Shadow shot.

Void was still unable to perform it but he could certainly feel the possibility.

Looking at the HUD, the super bar was only half full...

If he could completely fill it up, it would be a simple task to obliterate a fallen captain. Excited about his new powers he opened the status screen.

====

Name: Void Blade

Class: Hunter

Level: 1

Light Level: 5

Subclass: Nightstalker Lv. 1/10

Equipment: (LL refers to Light Level)

>Primary: Traveller's Chosen*(56/56) 5LL ] Armor: (Head) > Trashed Mask

>Secondary: None ] Armor: (Gauntlets) > Golden Age Grips (Common): 3 LL

> Heavy: None ] Armor: (Chest)> Golden Age Vest (Common): 4 LL

> Ghost Lv1 ] Armor: (Boots)>Scorched Hunter Strides 3LL

* = 4% boost in accuracy for headshots against fallen enemies

Combat Perks: (1 Unlocked)

~Spectral Shade: In combat, enemies have a higher probability of losing your presence if you break line of sight.

====

He could see a slight modification to the primary weapon...That's right he did gain some weapon aptitude...and new combat perks...

Void was slightly familiar with the concept of perks, but it seems he had gained an uncommon ability.

'Spectral shade', the name surely sounded cool. But the fact that it said probability meant that it was an unlikely occurrence.

He remained brooding in his own thoughts, thinking of different ways to combine his abilities.

The fact that he wasn't limited by a 'game' was outstanding. The possibilities were endless.

A double jump into a shadow shot, coupled with smoke to make myself disappear. A completely stealthy approach where he could simply smoke in and sneak around to assassinate enemies. He had to admit, the concept was thrilling.

"Guardian, quick come take a look at this" Ghost voiced out

"What's going on?" Void responded, scuttling over immediately

"Don't you see this?"

Ghost pointed towards some strange letters inscribed in golden ink on the wall.

"This is?"

"Golden age encrypted language." Ghost immediately analysed the rest of the text.

" If my analysis is right, then we've hit the goldmine. Golden age exports were managed by Arcadia class Jumpships. Chances are there's some old ships docked inside the mining stations below. Probably stowed away gathering rust. If we can hack into those ships, we'll easily reach the Tower."

"You mean to say you want us to go down there?" Void said, pointing towards the dark obscured mine shaft tunnel.

"I think it's worth a shot guardian." Ghost responded

Though he wasn't in the mood to go down there, seeing as he desperately needed a ship….

'Beggars can't be choosers'

Besides, with his new void subclass, he was eager to fight anything he encountered... in moderation of course.

Taking a deep breath in, Void took a leap of faith and his vision turned to pitch black.

===

A/N: Will post more chapters slowly, I've got a lot of them, but genuinely forgot I started this thread.

 

[Writers-Ablood]

All he could see was darkness.

Pitch black darkness as he fell endlessly inside the mining tunnels.

Void almost thought there was no end to the tunnel. But then reality hit him.... almost like a truck as his body crashed into the floor.

Painful was not enough to describe what he felt. Excruciating, gut wrenching, agonizing and endless pain as his body plummeted to the floor, hitting the rock hard mine interior.

As he tried to struggle and get up… Void realized he had broken every bone in his body.

No... it was far worse than that. As he tried to call out to ghost for help, he could feel a slightly rustic taste fill my mouth.

'Ah.. yes the warmth. But from where?'

Void felt something embrace him, as it drenched him from the inside..flowing ever so slowly.

As he tried to take a breath, it filled his lungs, and he coughed it out.

A crimson red stained the floor, and it was all he could see through the measly light emanating from ghost.

Then he saw only red, and only red till he drowned in it. Death yanked him to its doors, and Void felt a chill embrace his soul.

*Guardian Down*

The light flowed through him like a bright sun. Pushing away the cold as he was brought back to life, and his eyes jolted open.

Void's body jerked awake, like he had just woken from a slumber.

"Are you alright guardian?" Ghost asked.

Void gawked at ghost, and then back at himself.

'Damn...did I just respawn? I can't lie...I thought that was it.'

He had died. But fortunately, ghost could still revive him down here.

But it was a great example of what not to do the next time he tried venturing somewhere deep.

Springing up from the ground, Void walked around to see where he was..

As he took a few steps, ghost's light showed the basalt in the floors.

The floor tiling had long since rusted, small streams of water flowed and converged to form a wave as it hit a vault door.

The walls were stained a mossy green, and it looked similar to a lost sector. The vault was locked, but he could see sharp claws on its door.

"Someone tried to break in." Void traced over the marks.

Just from a distance, he could spot the 12 inch thick steel bolts on each side of the vault door. Only a tank could burst through. With no other locking mechanisms in-sight, the only logical conclusion was that the vault ran through an AI or automated system.

Fortunately, he too had a supercomputer at hand.. Well you know what they say.

(With its dying breath the traveler made ghosts, to open doors) -Eris Morn

"Ghost, can you open that vault door?" Void said, nudging him closer

"Hmm, this is golden age security. It will take me about three minutes. But I have to warn you, we might trigger a safety protocol. Or worse, whatever is inside that vault. It creeps me out."

Hearing his reaction, Void knew he'd get dragged into a fight.

Gripping his sidearm he trained it on the door and instructed ghost to begin.

At this point, he was cautious. Having died once, he wasn't eager to experience that pain.

Besides, his instincts told him...dying in that vault....it would be a lot more permanent than he would like.

The top of his HUD glowed slightly. That's right, the super bar.

It was about half full. If it was fully charged then he wouldn't be scared. Shadowshot was practically almost a missile.

Sadly, he was only level 1, so Void couldn't guarantee it would be stronger.

Ghost's lasers poked and prodded the gate. A few minutes later he heard a loud click as the pistons around the vault door began to contract, unlocking it.

"We're done guardian, but something is fishy, the golden age security might be outdated, but it's not typically this weak."

"You're right, I can also feel it in my gut, inside that vault is something that shouldn't be here. Stick close." Void nodded.

The two crept closer to the vault door as it slowly opened, it's joints screeching when the rust finally peeled away.

A big rush of cold wind blew on Void, and he felt it. But more importantly, he also saw it.

========================

{Legendary Guardian System}

𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

*Respawning Restricted *

========================

As expected..

Void took a deep breath and stepped in.

Checking every single corner he passed through, his gut feeling worsened every second. His left hand had already nudged closer to his grenade

As Void trudged with leaden steps, anxiety clouded his mind.

Void noticed that he had begun to sweat a little. Perhaps, it was slightly getting hotter down here...

Navigating the dark corridors, he stumbled upon an empty hall..

Sneaking in slowly, he made sure to camouflage ghost.

Step by step, he nimbly hid within the shadows and leapt up in the ceiling. Crawling through the roof supports, looking for enemies.

But his radar was blank.

'No hostiles...weird.'

After he had confirmed that a few times, he jumped back down, but no one reacted to his movement.

Instead, he noticed that there was a lot of rubble lying around.

The walls were caved in. Something had dug that out.

With a gun in hand, Void moved slowly towards those cavities. But as he did, suddenly he felt something grab his ankle.

"Cccan I help... you Si#@#$@#$@"

An old robot laying on the floor stuttered, its core had been blown to pieces.

"A maintenance robot? What's that doing down here" Void felt his heart skip a beat.

"The robot was probably here to assist transport of materials guardian. Though I suppose since the vault was closed, it could never exit on its own." Ghost answered.

But the threat was not yet over... Void knew those holes in the wall, the walls that had been dug out, to make slight cocoons.

There was only one race known to do it, and he wasn't too fond of them.

Since he couldn't exactly find them, and there was no way to leave the tunnel. There was only one thing left to do. Bait them out.

Finding the highest ground he could, Void cleared his throat.

"You can come out now. You can all come out now. I know you're here. Watching me in your little ant hills and your cocoons. You're scared of me aren't you? Spineless cowards. Yeah , that's right. I know who you are." Void exclaimed.

"Hive Scum!" He shouted.

When he finished, the ground almost rumbled and quaked as a swarm of Hive thralls rushed to the surface.

Void stood there weak in the legs.The thralls drooled as their sharp fangs and claws surfaced, hounding towards him at once.

Just as they pounced, Void shot up towards the rafters.

Thralls might be lethal in large numbers, but they were only sitting ducks from this position

"It's over you idiots, I have the high ground" Void shouted as he pumped lead straight into their skulls with great precision.

Ammo conservation was imperative, hence he had only done headshots. Suffice to say, his skills as a hunter were improving drastically by life threatening encounters.

But Void had forgotten to take one thing into account. The game was far too restrictive....real life was not so easy..

The thralls began to pile up as they created a ladder towards him. A swarm of them rushed upwards climbing each other with fervor.

It was not long before Void's gun ran out of ammo and he couldn't hold them back any further.... It was time for the ultimate tactic...

He chucked a grenade and immediately began running around the room.

But glancing at the enraged swarm chasing him at every second, the minute he turned around, it was a wipe.

He would forever sleep here in this hive nest.. and that was not gonna happen. Not now.

"Ghost, search for any ammo, any weapons around us and do it fast."

"Got it guardian, stay safe"

Ghost's aura scanned the room multiple times, but it was simply impossible. Nevertheless it was not time to lose hope.

Peeking at the super bar as he deftly dodged around the room.

'95% done.... the last 5%'

He needed to get creative, galloping above the roof once more, the hive instantly began to pile.

They had already gotten used to his tactics.

Their shrieks got louder as they clawed towards him, but Void clenched his first and rammed it straight through the jaws of one thrall, ripping its head off...

"That's right fuckers, come and get it." He screamed enraged

A power built up within him and he kept going, punch for punch, blow for blow as he leapt out of their range.

Thrusting his hand through their skulls. It was a primitive way of killing them, and not something he could sustain for long.

His fingers had already started to bear the burden, his nails began to bleed with hive skin contaminating them.

But that did not stop, in sheer desperation, he used everything around him, be it chucking rocks, or ripping their heads apart with sharp blows.

Bit by bit, he could see the bar build up, then the next second, it shined yellow.

"Time's up c*nts" He bellowed.

The void curved beneath his fingers, he darted into the air with the most force his legs could muster. Gripping the void bow as he pulled with all his strength.

~Draw from the void, light the way~

The arrow filled with light shot to the ground, impacting everything in its way. Blowing it to smithereens as the orbs of power gushed forth.

Radiance took over him, his power surged to the peak, and he mowed through every living and breathing thing.

In the end, he dropped to his knees, drained....exhausted. Finally, ghost rushed to him, and its light began to rejuvenate Void's broken body.

A sly smirk crept up on his face..

"I succeeded."

===

{Legendary Guardian System}

ATTENTION

*Host has completed a secret mission

+ Golden Age Vault Encounter 1/15

===

 

[Writers-Ablood]

Void slumped on the ground, feeling as though he had exhausted most of his light energy after using the super. His Ghost hovered nearby, concerned.

"Guardian, are you alright? I've healed your injuries, but my light is still suffocated by the dark here. Can you move?"

Void checked his HUD. There were no enemies left alive. "Looks like we succeeded in clearing the hive nest," he said aloud.

His Ghost responded, "Hmm, yes, Guardian. My sensors show no more hive activity in the vicinity. Any idea what we will do now?"

"Light up the compound," Void suggested. "There must be some electronics still on the grid with latent power."

"Affirmative, Guardian. Just give me a moment," the Ghost replied and flew off to tinker with the electric panels. As the Ghost worked, Void opened his system screen to review the previous prompt.

=======================
{Legendary Guardian System}

Host has unlocked a new mission.
+Golden Age Scavenger (1/15):
Objectives: Clear Golden Age vault encounters in the Cosmodrome(1/15)
Rewards: +Golden Age Schematics, ++Golden Age Blueprints, +Golden Age Access Key
Remark: "The past haunts us, Guardian. Make sure it's put to rest."
=======================

The mention of Golden Age schematics and blueprints piqued Void's curiosity. The system wouldn't highlight these rewards unless they were important. Feeling a surge of satisfaction with his powers, he reflected on the battle. At first, he hadn't been sure he could use shadowshot, but his performance had left him in awe. The raw power of the shot had shaken the foundations of the vault. It might not compare to a high Warlock's nova bomb, but it still packed quite a punch.

Hunters, he reminded himself, weren't meant for mass destruction. They trained to focus on eliminating a single target, and their abilities reflected that. Nevertheless, the hive swarm was dead, and he was very much alive.

Just as he regained his senses and scrambled up from the ground, another prompt appeared.

===
{Legendary Guardian System}
+Level up 1 ---> 2

Combat perks
++Subclass xp

===

Void quickly pulled up his status window.

===
Name: Void Blade
Class: Hunter
Level: 2
Light Level: 5
Subclass: Nightstalker Lv. 2/10 *
Equipment: (LL refers to Light Level)

Primary: Traveller's Chosen*(0/0) 5LL
Armor: (Head) > Trashed Mask
Secondary: None
Armor: (Gauntlets) > Golden Age Grips (Common): 3 LL
Heavy: None
Armor: (Chest)> Golden Age Vest (Common): 4 LL
Ghost Lv1
Armor: (Boots)> Scorched Hunter Strides 3LL
Combat Perks: (2 Unlocked)
~Spectral Shade: In combat, enemies have a higher probability of losing your presence if you break line of sight.
~Void Imbalance: Grenades are likely to explode immediately when shot with void weapons or void energy.
===

The new perks weren't bad. The ability to instantly explode grenades could turn them into mini rockets, and Void realized that the perk didn't specify whose grenades.

That meant he could target enemy grenades, forcing them to explode prematurely. It was a deadly advantage.

With his level increased and his subclass upgraded, Void contemplated his next skill. After some consideration, he decided to go with shadestep, which would allow him to evade at close range, potentially coming out unscathed.

Without this perk, it would take years to master the skill, but with it, he could gain an edge that only dedicated hunters could match.

Lost in thought, Void was interrupted when the lights in the hall flickered on. The Ghost had been successful in restoring power. Slowly, the whole compound lit up, though a few security panels went haywire before shutting off.

The Ghost flew back.

"Guardian, I've accessed the database for this vault. It's a storage facility from the Golden Age. Better yet, I found four ship hangars hidden beyond that gate. There must be ships we can salvage."

"Hidden?" Void asked. "No other mechanisms?"

"Likely not. The motors have decayed, probably due to the hive's presence. We'll have to rip through the wall."

Void inspected the wall. His hand traced a small dent that indicated a hidden mechanism, but the trigger was gone.

The walls were made of steel alloy, strong enough to withstand orbital strikes. Still, if the hive had eroded parts of the wall, their claws might hold the key.

"Ghost, search for a special hive compound in the thralls' remains—anything with corrosive properties," Void instructed.

"Got it," the Ghost replied, scanning the room and marking fragments of hive bone and fangs. Void gathered the corrosive pieces, testing them on the wall.

Sure enough, some fragments left distinct creases in the steel.

The Ghost analyzed the fragments. "These are made of a special mineral, corrosive and radioactive. We can fashion a blade, but it won't last long. It requires constant blood flow to remain intact, much like human teeth."

Void considered the plan. "We don't have a crafting station, but maybe we can use the power grid to melt the hive fragments and forge a blade."

"That's a brilliant idea, Guardian," the Ghost said. "I'll access the power grid while you gather the materials."

Void scavenged the area, dismantling an old robot for its parts. He found a durable carbon fiber alloy stem to use as a handle and fashioned a makeshift hammer from the robot's shoulder joint.

The Ghost reappeared, and together they set up a crude forge using the power grid.

Void pulled a live wire, directing a powerful arc of electricity through the hive fragments. Pain surged through him as millions of volts jolted his body, but the Ghost healed him as he worked.

Despite the crude method, Void successfully melted the hive fragments into a blade.

===

Learned Crude Crafting 1/10

Crafted: Crude Hive Fang
===

Void grabbed the blade and jammed it into the carbon-fiber stem. It wasn't exactly stable, but it would have to do.

He wrapped copper and gold wire around the handle multiple times, tightening the blade as much as possible. It wouldn't fall out for now.

Without wasting any more time, he attacked the hangar panels. After a few hours of digging, the poison had corroded through the thick protective layer. The electronic mechanism beneath was exposed, and after a few prods at the wire, Void managed to short-circuit it.

The hangar immediately sprang open, the doors swinging upward to reveal what had been hidden inside.

"Guardian, these are... Arcadia-class jumpships," Ghost announced.

Void saw four of them, draped in white cloth, concealed inside the hangar.

"Try seeing if you can pilot any of them," Void instructed.

"Affirmative, Guardian." Ghost sprang into action.

Void could tell that Ghost was more eager to return to the Tower than he had let on.

A few minutes later, Ghost gave the signal, and it was clear that the ship, although old, was ready to fly. However, Void knew it wouldn't survive planetary travel—some things never changed.

"So, how do we get this thing out?" Void asked.

"Don't worry, Guardian. Most hangars have a low fly exit. I'll trigger the doors from here and connect you to the ship's transmat system. You can board now," Ghost replied.

"Alright, let me know when we're ready."

Void clicked the transmat on his grips and was instantly seated inside the ship. He had to admit, the ship looked even cooler in person. The seat, the controls—everything felt surreal. It was like actually piloting a spaceship.

A few minutes later, a warning light blinked on, and a secret exit in the hangar wall opened, clearing away debris as it did.

Ghost transmatted back into the ship, and they were ready to go.

"Alright, Guardian. I've already set the coordinates. You can relax now. We'll reach the Last City in about two hours, using the orbital route."

With nothing else to do, Void quickly drifted off to sleep during the journey. The G-forces as they ascended to orbit were insane—faster than an F1 car or even a sonic jet—and this was just basic Golden Age technology. It made him excited to see what other advanced tech was out there.

Eventually, Void woke and glanced out of the windshield, spotting the Traveler's silhouette looming over the Last City.

"We're home, Guardian. The last city on Earth. Humanity's last survivors hold up these walls, and we're here to protect them," Ghost announced.

Void could see the Tower clearly. It was pristine—nothing like the ruined version he remembered from after the Red War.

As the ship slowly docked in the central harbor, Void transmatted out and landed in the hangar.

A blonde woman, dressed in black overalls with a red scarf, approached, fussing with a clipboard. Her hands were still covered in mechanic grease.

"Hey, Guardian! What do you think you're doing bringing this scrap ship into the service lane? Can't you read the signs? Parking's over there, hotshot!" she barked.

Of course, it was Amanda Holliday—the Tower's prime mechanic and lead machinery consultant.

Void stood there, unsure of what to say, but before he could respond, Amanda continued.

"Can't you hear me, Guardian? Move the ship to Zone A3 and park it with the rest. This harbor is reserved for mainten—wait a minute... No record of this ship landing here, no radio frequency, no authorization code... You're... new, aren't you? Freshly risen."

Amanda's sharp eyes scanned the clipboard, checking for any mistake on her part.

"Yeah, I am. Name's Void. Sorry for the mess. Took me a while to get here," Void apologized.

"No, no, that's alright. But to think we've finally got a new one. You need to visit the Vanguard. They'll want to hear your story. Matter of fact, you're the first new Guardian in months. They've been stressed, but you showing up is a good sign."

Amanda smiled, her initial frustration melting away.

===

+ New Mission Added:

The Vanguard Awaits

===

 

[Writers-Ablood]

Void stood still in the hangar as Amanda walked away. Staring at the prompt in front of him, he felt a slight anxiety begin to build. Anyone in his position would probably feel the same.

After all, who were the Vanguard? They were a group of Guardians who had lived for centuries defending the Last City. They were at the peak of their class, the culmination of hundreds of years of training and combat—absolute monsters in the shape of Guardians.

It would be foolish to think these people were entirely sane. Now that Void was actually in this world, the Vanguard seemed far too distant, their immense power obvious.

The Vanguard held full authority over the City's Guardians and were responsible for strikes and raid missions. They were also the ones holding back corrupted Guardians from resurfacing.

Though it was a rough process, the Praxic Order would investigate any Guardian suspected of wrongdoing, and by the Vanguard's hand, their Light would be extinguished.

People thought Guardians were immortal, but Void knew better.

"Nothing kills you faster than a Guardian," he muttered.

Suddenly, the idea of answering to an immortal authority seemed questionable, but Void didn't have a choice. He wanted to be an independent Guardian, like many others. However, to achieve that level of independence, one had to demonstrate power.

Currently, Void's power was laughable—a mere spark of Light that could be easily snuffed out. For now, he would wait, bide his time, and grow stronger.

Eventually, Void began pacing toward the elevator. For now, he would comply with the Vanguard.

Once he reached the elevator, it took him to the top floor of the Tower, which provided a literal breath of fresh air. The Tower was humanity's stronghold, where futuristic design met cultural culmination. Void walked toward the edge of the main bridge and peered down.

Below him, the Last City sprawled in all its glory. Millions of people lived here, under the Traveler's protection. Void could see thousands of homes and factories, banners and flags decorating the balconies, celebrating the Guardians and the peace they had brought.

As Void gazed down, he realized something he had never considered before—the Tower was actually a skyscraper. It housed Guardians at the top, but what about the rest?

The Tower was a meeting point for technologies from other planets and Earth. Void saw it in the infrastructure: everything was automated through robots and AI. Science had advanced far beyond what he had thought possible in his previous life.

As Void finished wandering around the Tower's annex, he received a notification from Ghost.

"Guardian, Vanguard has sent a request for your presence in conference room A290," Ghost informed him.

It seemed his sightseeing would have to be cut short. Void began descending the labyrinth of stairs within the Tower, eventually reaching the 290th floor, where there was quite a commotion in a nearby room.

Approaching the room, scanners swept over Void's body, and the energy shield blocking his path was removed. He could hear voices coming from the secured room beyond the checkpoint. As he stepped closer to the gate, it scanned his identity and allowed him entry.

The mechanical lock whirred, and the door slid open, revealing a long conference table. At the far end, three figures were locked in an argument.

"Cayde, I've already told you—you can't assign Hunters to patrol missions for 'fun.' Those Guardians have responsibilities to fulfill, and you can't abuse your authority," said Ikora.

"Ikora's right, Cayde. The Guardians trust our judgment. It would be wrong not to show them sincere leadership," Zavala added.

"Relaxxx, you're taking this way too seriously. All I said was that there could be a potentially important archived document in the Fallen's hands, stored in their camps. How was I supposed to know he'd rush in and die immediately? But it's fine—I rescued him and his Ghost, and he got revived. So, what's the big deal?" Cayde replied nonchalantly.

"The big deal is that you had him risk his life for a document you made up. Does Vanguard authority mean nothing to you?" Ikora slammed her hand on the table.

"Alright, alright. I take my job seriously. Look, I even apologized to the guy and gave him a new gun from my personal collection. He was happy about it, so what's the problem?"

Cayde rambled on as Ikora glared at him, clearly unimpressed.

"Fine. I won't do it again. Pinky promise," Cayde said with a half-serious gesture.

Zavala, noticing Void's presence, spoke up. "You two can continue this later. We have a new guest. Welcome, Guardian. Good job making it to the Last City. The Vanguard welcomes you with open arms."

Seeing he was invited to approach, Void walked toward the three figures at the end of the room.

Ikora turned to him with a nod. "You must be our new Hunter. I am Ikora Rey, the Warlock Vanguard. Welcome to the Last City."

"Thank you. My name is Void Blade," Void replied briefly, not having much else to add.

"Cool name. I dig it. I'm Cayde-6, your Hunter Vanguard. If you need help, I've got your back," Cayde said, with a grin.

"Thanks," Void responded.

"I am Zavala, the Tower's prime strategist and Vanguard leader," Zavala added. "Void, is it? I will remember that name. I hope your joining us is something to celebrate for years to come."

Zavala extended his hand, and Void shook it, immediately feeling the overwhelming power difference between them. Ikora's presence was just as intense, and Cayde, while lighthearted, had a dangerous air about him, as if his playful demeanor concealed something far more lethal.

"Your Light is strong for a newly risen Guardian," Zavala commented. "The Vanguard has much to discuss with you, but first, I believe we owe you a day's rest. I've sent the details to your Ghost. Spend the day in your quarters and rest. We'll see you on the front lines tomorrow."

A faint white marker appeared on Void's HUD, indicating the location of his room. Nodding, Void turned to leave, but Cayde stopped him.

"Hey, hold on, Void. Something's missing," Cayde said, studying him. "Ah, that's it—you don't have a cloak. That won't do. No Hunter of ours goes out without a cloak. It's bad for my reputation."

Cayde fiddled with a tablet for a few seconds. "There we go. I've issued you standard city gear in your room. Better equip that than what you've got on now. Also, your firepower's looking weak. I've given your name to the Gunsmith, so make sure to pick up a better weapon."

"Thanks again," Void said, heading out toward his room.

---

Void hadn't expected the Tower to be so big. "Ghost, which floor is our room on again?"

"Floor 285, Guardian. Your room is already marked," Ghost replied.

Navigating the Tower, even with directions, took Void about ten minutes. He finally found his room—number 234. As Void touched the handle, a green light popped up and scanned him.

Access granted.

The door clicked open, revealing a spacious interior—closer to an apartment than just a room. It had a bathroom, a bed, and a lounge for reviewing daily tasks. There was even a TV with holographic functionality. Near the bed, a neatly wrapped parcel sat to the side.

"That must be my supplies," Void muttered.

But what Void really needed was a good night's sleep. The exhaustion of fighting and training over the past few days had caught up with him. The moment he hit the mattress, he fell asleep.

---

[8 Hours Later]

Void stirred, sinking into the soft mattress as cool air blew pleasantly through the room. He felt at peace.

"What... happened?" he groaned, rubbing his eyes as he sat up, still groggy.

"Ghost? You there?" Void called out.

Ghost floated over. "You're finally awake, Guardian. I was starting to worry. Whenever you're ready, you can equip the new gear we got. Cayde didn't hold back on the equipment."

Ghost spun near the crate by the bed.

"That's right, the equipment!" Void said eagerly.

He opened the crate to reveal a standard Hunter vest, helmet, grips, strides, and a specially made Hunter cloak.

"This is some serious gear," Void remarked, running his hand over the materials. They were durable yet lightweight—perfect for a Hunter.

Void donned the new equipment and checked his stats:

---

Name: Void Blade
Class: Hunter
Level: 2
Light Level: 6
Subclass: Nightstalker Lv. 2/10

---

Satisfied with his new appearance, Void smiled. He looked intimidating, outfitted in the War Mantis armor.

"How do I look?" Void asked.

"Stronger than ever, Guardian. Let's pick up our weapons from the Gunsmith. Zavala probably has some missions for us soon," Ghost said.

"Ghost, you've been with me since I revived, but I never gave you a name," Void mused.

"Most Ghosts don't get named until they find their Guardians. You could name me if you want."

Void thought for a moment. "How about Obsidian?"

"Obsidian? Because my shell is black? Well, it's not what I expected, but it'll do," Ghost—now Obsidian—replied.

"Let's go, Obsidian. We've got a long journey ahead."

Void wondered what path lay before him as he joined the Last City's greatest warriors.

 

[Writers-Ablood]

Void stepped outside his room as he quietly shut the door behind him. It was nighttime, and it wouldn't be wise to be loud in the guardian quarters, most likely many tired guardians would be resting here. If anything, it was strange for anyone in the tower to be active at 2 in the morning.

He walked the wide halls of the guardian quarters, navigating towards the nearest elevator, the trackpad lit up in his presence, shining a blue ray on its screen. Void placed his hand and the biometrics scanner returned an affirmative as the elevator opened up.

The tower was a massive infrastructure, going up to 300 floors. But the reality was that only 270 floors were available to the general public. The 30 upper floors were mostly restricted to guardians and traders.

There was a good reason for this, as the top of the tower was occupied by the hangar and the armory.

Both were dangerous for uninitiated civilians. Not to mention that guardians themselves were extremely strong and heavily armed. One wrong move or any accident would naturally result in life threatening injury for those incapable of regeneration. Hence, Void understood that he too couldn't carelessly interact with the public.

Guardians were treated as heroes, and he had no intention of sullying that reputation.

Void stepped inside the elevator as the doors closed behind him, his fingers moved to the touch screen and he selected the 300th floor.

The elevator acted similar to a shuttle, ascending floors at neck breaking speeds, yet its gravity stabilized interior allowed the passengers to feel only a mild reaction force as it did.

After all, for a massive mega structure, transportation between floors was essential, it had to be efficient. Otherwise, the tower would soon be left destitute as it wouldn't manage the influx of trading supplies.

Void felt a slight pull as the lift reached floor 300, the bell rang and the door slid open, revealing the vast courtyard of the tower.

He stepped outside, as a gentle breeze brushed through the courtyard. The dark night sky shimmered with glistening stars, illuminating the tower. The traveler hung above the horizon, emanating a faint light, mesmerizing any that would lay eyes on it.

It was like a jewel adorned above the destitute earth, a symbol of hope, a symbol of power, the presence of the traveler so close had enchanted Void, his eyes refused to budge, and he almost felt beckoned.

Void strode across the courtyard, coming to a halt at the edge, as his hands caressed the cold metal railings, he felt reluctant to look away for but a single second.

The traveler stood in all its glory, its pure white hull, resonating, as if humming a lullaby, cradling humanity in its embrace, protecting them from the dangers unseen. Of course, Void knew the dangers to come, to him this sight had a different meaning.

It was a sight that brought closer imminent dangers, the guardians were destined to face dangers beyond imagination. He had forgotten what he came to do, but for a few minutes, Void remained at the railings, admiring the traveler as he heaved a sorrowful sigh.

it was then that a sagely voice startled him.

"Strange, very strange."

He turned to look for the source, and then spotted a man clad in white hooded robes with a strange white mask standing behind him. Void was startled, precisely because he immediately recognized the man, albeit it was someone who had slipped from his memory.

The spiritual leader of the guardians, the advisor to the vanguard, it was none other than the Speaker.

"What is?" Void replied, turning away from the traveler.

"When new guardians see the traveler, they yearn for its guidance, look towards it with expectations. But you, you look towards the traveler, as if reminiscing about your past, reuniting with an old friend. Strange isn't it." The speaker responded.

"Perhaps, it was an old friend from my past life." Void spoke with nostalgia.

"Perhaps indeed."

The speaker breathed in a deep sigh, as he turned away, looking to leave.

"May the light be with you guardian."

Void and Speaker had both connected slightly with the mention of a past life, but in contrast, Void meant his own life, while the Speaker considered him mentioning his life before he was risen.

It was a strange coincidence, but for a moment the speaker was surprised by the answer he received. He now looked towards the new hunter with some expectations. After all, he could sense the greatness within many guardians, this one was no different.

"Guardian, our appointment with the gun smith awaits, let's not dally around." Obsidian reminded.

"You're right, lets continue our checklist before we leave." Void spoke, sneaking a final glance at the great machine, as he paced towards the gunsmith.

A few minutes later, Void arrived at the gunsmith stall, as he spotted a spiked head exo expertly polishing an auto rifle. Naturally, he recognized the exo to be Banshee-44, precisely the gunsmith he'd been looking for.

Banshee, distracted from Void's arrival, looked slightly confused.

"Can I help you hunter?" He questioned, putting aside the maintenance kit as he walked up to the counter.

"I am looking for some new gear, Cayde sent me here, said I'd get a new set." Void responded.

Banshee scanned Void from head to toe, as he contemplated a few things. Eventually he went back into his shop, rummaging around as he looked for a specific crate. Having found it, he carried the heavy package and placed it on the counter.

"Any preferences?" He asked, opening up the safety locks on the weapon cache.

Banshee began displaying the various goods he had kept stored in his various weapon caches, Void had to admit, the gear was far better than he expected. In fact, he expected to receive rare gear at best, but what Banshee had offered him were multiple legendary weapons.

Of course, it was probably not something he could take at will, he would probably need to contribute something towards Banshee's shop to request prime gear. At first, Void only wished to get standard gear that he could get used to.

"Anything that packs a punch," Void replied.

"A hunter that wants to pack a punch. I know exactly what you need." Banshee scrambled back into his shop, as he shuffled around a few caches. Ultimately, he pulled out a cache buried within a pile. This one seemed peculiar, as it had gathered a lot of dust sitting in his shop.

Banshee placed the cache on the counter, as he began to unlock it, which surprisingly required a few passcodes and more security protocols he had to bypass.

The cache clicked open, and a glorious hand cannon was displayed in perfect condition. Void was instantly attracted to the revolver. An obsidian black frame, silver lined revolver, manually calibrated sights and a steel chrome barrel.

"This is?" Void asked, unsure of whether he could take it.

Banshee seemed to reminisce, as he recited what he recalled.

"A friend's, it was his favorite gun, he entrusted it to me.. I figured its best to leave the gun in new hands, better than catching dust and rotting in my shop."

Banshee expertly removed the gun from the case, carefully as to not damage its body. He took a cloth and polished it one last time, cleaning out dust gathered inside. A few minutes of inspection later, he deemed it safe to use, and presented it to Void.

Void took the gun in his palms, as he examined its weight, allowing his hands to familiarize themselves with it. Despite its slender appearance, the gun weighed a good few units, signifying its quality, the recoil would definitely take time to get used to, however the hand cannon was a must have in his arsenal, specially one of this quality.

As Void examined the gun, he noticed a notification prompt in his menu,

===

Acquired: x1 True Prophecy" (Legendary) (Hand Cannon)

===

"True Prophecy" Void mumbled

Void took out his previous Sidearm from the holster, placing it on the counter as he inserted the hand cannon in its place.

"Anything else?" Banshee inquired.

"A secondary, preferably an SMG" Void described his loadout to Banshee.

Banshee booted up a nearby terminal as he filled in the requirement, searching his current inventory. Due to large amounts of firearms in his workshop, it was important that he register the weapons available in digital documents.

Once he had searched a few available weapons, he authorized the shipment from his terminal, as a cache was shipped from the underground arsenal, towards his workshop. Since the tower used golden age transmat technology, it had taken less than a second for it to go through.

Banshee grabbed the case from the transmat station, once again examining the gun inside as he presented it to Void.

"This one's an old piece, nothing too special. It's great with handling, and a pretty stable shot. Currently, you're not authorized for advanced protocol weapons, this is all I can offer you." Banshee explained.

"That's fine, as long as it's smooth in operation, I will make it work." Void replied.

He took the SMG from the carrying case, and received another notification.

===

Acquired: x1 Furina-2mg (Rare) (Sub-Machine Gun)

===

As Void was currently a newly risen hunter, he wasn't authorized to obtain city certified heavy weaponry, it was certainly something he did not expect, but in hindsight, if every new guardian was allowed to own and operate all weapons, one could only imagine the havoc they could cause.

The Vanguard had obviously restricted their use for logical reasons, one he could not deny.

"If anything, I just need to prove myself to gain that authorization." He shrugged.

Bidding farewell to the gunsmith, Void ultimately made his way to the Vanguard quarters. Of course, he could very well leave without informing anyone. But it would certainly leave a bad taste in his mouth. Specially since he'd been shown hospitality by the Vanguard, and also offered tasks if he so chooses.

Void stood across the security grid as he waved his arm on the authorization panel, gaining entry.

He walked into the Vanguard Office, expecting to see everyone, but as he entered, he was greeted by Zavala, who was still busy formatting and reviewing documents.

Glancing at the hundreds of files open at Zavala's console, he could only imagine the level of bureaucracy required to operate the last city on a daily basis.

"You're up early guardian. Exemplary attitude, but I feel that you're here for something else." Zavala boisterously greeted as he chuckled.

"Indeed Commander, I was hoping to receive some tasks within the Cosmodrome." Void replied, matching the energy.

"Just Zavala is fine, there are no ranks among the guardians. We are all collectively working our best for the city." He replied, slightly upbeat.

Zavala was pleasantly caught off guard. After all, here was a newly risen light, standing in front of him, asking for work. He had already constructed various scenarios in his mind about the unique heroic will of Void, and his burning desire to contribute to the city.

One that had not even let him get a good night's sleep. Of course, Zavala might have projected his own ideals, as he expected the rest to posses the same will to lead and protect. But why else would a new hunter want to immediately rush outside the safe city walls? In his mind, he was certain.

Unbeknownst to him, Void was simply a greedy bastard for loot, wanting to scavenge the wasteland for enemies and glimmer, while gaining favor with the Vanguard.

~Indeed, hero's come from the youth~ Zavala muttered, nodding his head

"Zavala?" Void inquired, as he saw the Awoken titan in a daze.

"Ah yes, where were we. Of course, the Vanguard is always in need of new blood guardian. In fact, I do have information regarding a few tasks in the cosmodrome vicinity. However, they might prove challenging given your expertise. Are you sure you'd like to volunteer?" Zavala questioned.

It was not just a sincere warning, but also somewhat of a test. After all, many claimed to be heroes, but in the face of true danger, they could only fall back. A guardian with a weak will was someone Zavala disdained.

"Not a problem, I can handle it." Void replied resolutely.

Naturally, it wasn't just blind confidence. Who else was more knowledgeable than him in the destiny world? He'd played through years of the same campaign, repeating missions, and grinding bounties. Void knew the cosmodrome like the back of his hand.

"Excellent resolve guardian, I have transferred over the objectives and information to your ghost. The Vanguard will support you in anyway possible." Zavala replied overjoyed.

~As expected, indeed a hero in the making~ Zavala thought to himself as he chuckled.

"Hmm, I've received the co-ordinates Void." Obsidian chimed in.

"Well then, allow us to excuse ourselves Commander Zavala." Obsidian stated, planting itself above Void's cloak.

"Of course, all the best to you." Zavala replied, as he turned back to his work.

Void walked towards the Hangar to receive a ship, but as he did a new prompt showed.

=============================

{Reputation}

Command Zavala: +10 /100 (Blooming Expectations)

The Vanguard: +5 /300 (Acquainted)

=============================

"I gained reputation?" Void questioned.

This system was naturally alien to him in this format.

"Perhaps, its similar to the guardian rank for each faction" He thought.

As one would play destiny, completing bounties and quests for the any faction, would earn reputation points, that he would then use to redeem rewards and resources. Was it possible to do something similar with this system?

Void wasn't sure, but it was best to leave tinkering with the system for later.

Void paced around the hangar, as he examined the docked jump ships. But one caught his eye as the transponder was linked to Obsidian.

"This is?"

"It seems that Amanda has assigned us this ship to use while she works on fixing the last one. I have to admit Void, it wasn't exactly in great condition." Obsidian giggled.

"Time to take off then."

Void triggered the transmat system as he warped into the ship's captain quarters. A jump ship didn't actually come with a lot of wiggle room.

These ships were largely intended for short distance, hyper-speed travel. Allowing fast and efficient travel for one individual. Naturally, the cockpit was designed to only house 1 pilot and no one else. In fact, the ship was only as big as the pilot's cockpit.

The only way in and out of the ship was the transmat system, otherwise one couldn't even access it properly. Thankfully, the transmat technology had long since been mastered in the golden age. It was practically a household name even in wasteland earth.

"Obsidian, set course for Cosmodrome, The Steppes and take off. Also, upload the available maps to my feed."

"Right away guardian."

The ship began to rustle as the jet engine came alive, immediately the sonic engine picked up speed as it ripped through the clouds, venturing thousands of kilometers into the Russian Cosmodrome.

--------
A/N: I do know about the weird emojis in the chapters, the formatting is a bit messed up when I paste it on QQ's text editor. I will try to fix that soon.

 

[Writers-Ablood]

The ship thrusters spluttered alive, as it blasted into the atmosphere, nearing supersonic speeds as the sonic bracers were triggered, the ship barely stopping before its hull grazed the grassy wastelands of the Steppes.

Void triggered the transmat as he and obsidian warped out. The Jumpship's autopilot queued as it returned to a geostationary orbit above the atmosphere, in it's last landing location. A sure fire way to immediately call upon transport when needed by guardians.

Void scanned the area around him, after making sure he was safe and alone, he equipped his primary weapons and stowed the rest within arms reach.

"Obsidian, begin Vanguard Protocol, Patrol " Void commanded.

The Vanguard would often assign tasks to guardians. However, in recent years, the tasks were simply grouped together and issued to the common guardian channel, after which, their ghosts could trigger protocols to request or begin activities suitable to them at the time. This ensured no guardian would be out of their league, and all tasks were efficiently completed.

In times of crisis, this channel also served as emergency communications and reinforcements. Each area had its own channel, which is why any guardian stationed in the Cosmodrome could at any time request a task by triggering protocols. Naturally, it was implemented to conserve the data transferred to guardians while they were outside the city.

Void had already been briefed by obsidian for standard encryption methods. If the fallen were to hack into their comms system, it would spell the Last City's failure to protect its data. An outcome no guardian wanted. Hence, only protocols were given out, the Last City's defences were not yet at the level of the one's in-game.

"Patrol issued guardian. A group of fallen scavengers breached the Divide, fallen squads seem to be interested in resources still hidden away within the Steppes. Vanguard requires we repel them and ensure maximum retaliation." Obsidian reported the mission.

Void's itinerary and HUD were updated as his radar was tuned to the objective. A single white dot appeared marking the search area.

"Affirmative, let's go, camouflage yourself and stick close obsidian." Void responded as he leapt in motion.

Void could naturally use a sparrow, but there were quite a few reasons he hadn't brought one. His current objective was to train his physical abilities, which required extraneous activity, a sparrow would only serve to hinder his training.

As such, Void prowled the decayed grasslands of the Steppes, deftly sprinting between grass mounds, unseen. As a void hunter, he could limit his presence in an area, coupled with his superhuman speed and agility, spotting Void was simply asking to look for a needle in a haystack.

Possible, but extremely tedious and requiring great precision.

Void rushed through abandoned bunkers and buildings as he spotted a few rusted power poles. He gripped the metal stands at its side, swiftly climbing to the top. Void surveyed the Steppes like a hawk, his eyes darting around looking for prey.

Of course, his radar blinked showing him the survey spot. But what was the use of being a hunter, if he couldn't utilize his powers outside the system. Void had an inkling the system wasn't absolute. After all, after first stumbling upon the golden age vault and clearing it, the system rewarded him for a "secret" mission.

Which meant it was possible to earn rewards for things not mentioned as long as they were remarkable feats. The system wasn't a crutch he had to rely on. Rather it was a guideline, one that he could use to learn the ways of this world. Void was no fool, he had picked up on this detail far earlier. Intending to level up his agility to unlock new perks manually.

A few minutes had passed and Void had picked up slight a slight rumbling, a harsh scent spread in the atmosphere, crude fuel. Or as the fallen called it, ether. An overpowering scent that indicated the fallen party were close. Possibly on multiple pikes to output this much ether waste into the atmosphere.

Void chose an abandoned building nearby, as he cloaked himself, hiding within its eroded steel beams, spying on the party.

The fallen dregs were accompanied by one captain. It was perhaps the first time Void had encountered a high level combatant from the enemy side. Sure enough as he observed him, a red sword appeared on the enemies health bar, establishing his danger level.

"Obsidian, scan the perimeter, mark all the enemies on the radar." Void whispered.

Obsidians blue eye glowed slight erratically as a peripheral ray silently emanated throughout. Ten small red dots and a red blight appeared in Voids map.

Void examined his radar, and as such he was sure of his judgement, there were only 11 odd enemies in this raiding party. From his experience, it was actually a larger amount. Usually falling raiding parties were accompanied by skiff's that would assist their troops by arial reinforcements.

However, the Vanguards attempt at controlling satellite arrays and patrolling guardians probably dissuaded the fallen from trying extreme measures. In that scenario a guerilla raiding party was perhaps their best bet.

Void curled his fingers as a revolver appeared within his grip. He waited with baited breaths as the fallen team scavenged the surroundings. His objective was crystal clear, assassinate a clump of dregs and try to isolate the captain.

Unless he could achieve this objective, more likely than not the captain would emerge victorious aided by his officers. Void knew better than to take a huge risk. A hunter was calculated and precise. Not daring and bold, that job was better left to his titan brothers.

Void clutched his left hand as he bundled up an orb of void energy, it circulated within his palms, as unstable energy.

The fallen party was close, perhaps only five meters away. Their dregs hounded every nook and cranny for a single scrap piece of metal. Void remained hidden, as he overheard slight chatter and pincers, the fallen prowled the ruined building, unaware of the danger hidden above.

Void glimpsed through the cracked concrete pillars, a clump of dregs had gathered as they struggled to rip apart a piece of rusted steel. They growled and struggled, but unbeknownst to them, Void had immediately sprang into action.

With a strong leap, he immediately crossed several meters, like a vulture as he dropped from above, his left hand tossed the void grenade below. Immediate panic ensued, but before their reflexes could save them, the void grenade burst explosively, annihilating the dregs.

There wasn't a single second to waste, Void slammed towards the ground, as he ripped a dreg limb from limb, leaving it squealing in pain, alerting the captain.

Within a fraction of a second, Void's body jerked away, as he broke line of sight, the tall grass camouflaged him, his figure turning a shade of purple.

He bolted towards the remaining dregs, clutching his revolver, a blur as he leapt past the captain, six bullets rang out from his barrel, each leaving a clean hole within their skull.

Void's body hung in mid-air, as the momentum finally dropped him to the ground, he slid across the wet grass, his legs braking his fall. It was far too quick for the naked eye to see, an expertly initiated encounter, Void balanced on all fours as he stabilized from the fall.

The captain made sense of what had occurred, his double iris darted around only to meet the gaze of one who stared back a deathly glare. Their eyes met, as predator met prey. The fallen captain, enraged at the sudden encounter, feeling belittled by Void's gaze he growled as his mechanical mask exhumed white fumes.

The presence of a fallen captain, was far heavier than Void expected. They were simply a machine, extremely strong, with four versatile arms, exceptional weaponry and of course the final addition.

He scanned his opponent as a familiar azure aura coated the captain's figure.

"Arc shields." Void spoke amused.

"Tell me, thief, did you find what you're looking for?" Void taunted, his hands sneakily reloading his gun.

A rattled enemy was simply a raging bull, one that you could run circles around. Void had no intention of making it a fair fight. If he had to play dirty? So be it.

Somehow the words had hit a nerve, the captain growled, now furious. He sauntered towards Void, gripping his solar rifle that burned with energy.

"Krrrrr, thief? I am no thief, it is you, who has stolen the great machine from us krrr." The Captain barked while his pincers rattled.

The captain and Void stared down, their blood pumping. Both were ready to gun the other down.

The Fallen captain lost his cool, beginning to see red, he charged at void, gun drawn as bullets sprayed.

Void reacted instantaneously, thrusting his fist into the ground as a cloud of void smoke blew across the field, slightly concussing the captain.

He immediately emptied his revolver into the captains chest, alas the elite fallen armor and arc shield had softened their impact, only slightly damaging the humanoid who screamed in rage.

The captain's arms flailed as he threw away his solar rifle, reaching towards his back. His two primary arms now supported gilded sabers, empowered by arc energy.

Void alerted at the captain's actions was cautious, his left hand deftly gripped a brittle dagger tucked away near his thigh.

The two rushed at each other, the captain in a fury swung his sabres, a frenzy of blows ensued. Void dodged each slash, a maniacal dance, as he weaved in and out of the captains range. Ensuring to unload his hand cannon into the humanoid's skull.


Void skilfully played with the captain, barely grazing the blades edge as he unsheathed his hive dagger. The captain rushed in once again, unleashing a decapitating blow, but just before it could connect, Void dodged briskly, rolling under the captains legs, plunging his dagger into the inner thigh.

The Captain roared barely feeling the pain, but soon a hint of fear emerged in his eyes. The hive poison penetrated his body, and it began to eat away at his strength.

He felt a cold shiver down his spine, his infallible armor could not save him from a deep infection. Void noticed this condition immediately as he jumped away from the captain, leaving the commander to shrivel in pain as he tried to fight it off.

Void wasted no time, the moment he created distance, he channelled all his void energy into his arms. Utilizing the remaining power, leaping into the air as he arced his body, drawing a void bow.

The captain winced in horror as a shadow shot descended unto him, erupting with void energy, ending his life.

The surrounding ground was marred with void singe, charred pitch black, no remains of the fallen commander in sight.

Void stumbled off the ground, as he walked where the commander stood. Searching for his dagger. He found it dug into the ground, but as he yanked it out, the hive blade crumbled into pieces, eroding away into the air.

Void frowned, as he chucked away the fibre handle. Instead summoning his ghost.

"Obsidian, log the patrol. Task completed, no casualties. Fallen raiding party wiped. Report back to command and prepare for next task." he sighed.

Void grieved the loss of a dagger, but he slightly rejoiced as a system notification popped up.


=============================

Attention


*User has killed a unique challenging combatant.

Type:

+Fallen: 1/?

Rewards: +3000 xp, ++ Sub-Class xp

=======

Void nodded satisfied with his rewards as he opened up the status screen.

=======


{Legendary Guardian System}

Name: Void Blade

Class: Hunter

Level: 3

Light Level: 7

Subclass: Nightstalker Lv. 3/10 (*Perk Unlocked)

Equipment: (LL refers to Light Level)

>Primary: True Prophecy (Legendary): 10LL ] Armor: (Helmet) > War Mantis(Rare): 5 LL

>Secondary: Furina-2mg (Rare): 8LL ] Armor: (Gauntlets) >Shadow Specter (Rare): 5 LL

> Heavy: None ] Armor: (Chest)> War Mantis (Rare): 5 LL

> Ghost Lv1 ] Armor: (Boots)>Scorched Hunter Strides(Rare) 5LL

] Armor: (Cloak)> A Cloak Called Home (Legendary) 8LL

* = 4% boost in accuracy for headshots against fallen enemies

Combat Perks: (3 Unlocked)

~Spectral Shade: In combat, enemies have a higher probability of losing your presence if you break line of sight.

~Void Imbalance: Grenades are likely to explode immediately when shot with void weapons or void energy.

~Acrobats Dodge * : Masterfully dodge your opponents, successful attack dodges allow instant counters and parries.


================================

Void grinned as he examined his status screen. As in the encounter with the captain, he had managed to perform a skillful dodge, he unlocked a dodging perk. This proved that while the system guided him, it was essentially a display of his current skills.

He did not need the system, rather it was but an indication of his own progress. This had immediately improved his mood. Void continued planning new ways to unlock different abilities, and creative ways he could use the light to form new skills never before seen.

"Void, I've received a new mission. Vanguard has issued patrol near the Divide. Two fallen skiffs were spotted hovering near the the area. Objective is to asses the situation and report back."

Void shut off the system as he registered what Obsidian had said.

"Look's like the hunter life catching up with us Obsidian. From one job to another, no breaks it is."

Void ensured all his weapons were loaded, as he set off to a new mission.

 

[Writers-Ablood]

[2 months later, The Divide]

A maroon sky, stained red by the drowning sun. Veiled, beneath a sea of clouds, traces of rain gathered.

The scorched wilderness of the Cosmodrome lulled as the soft pitter patter of rain quenched it's withered soil.

A culmination of storm clouds brewed above the horizon, a down pour of rain eroded the dry turf, forming small gullies as the water rushed through them.

This sudden influx of water overflowed the dams, water gushed forth from the divide's barrier, flooding the nearby river streams, small sewer channels exposed themselves to drain out the excess water.

One such hidden canal had been revealed, as the soil around it dissolved. The turbulent storm roared, the flooding the steppes beyond recognition, rocky valleys and hillsides had long drowned, in perhaps the worst flood to come in Cosmodrome history.

However, this peculiar sewer canal, let in no water, and remained sealed.

The meter wide seal on the sewer's entrance, now exposed to the harsh weather had come undone.

A singular man came into view. Despite the cascading rain and squall of winds, he pushed on to the pipe. Scowling as he approached, treading high water as it almost reached his knees.

The man appeared to be searching for something.

Or perhaps, someone.

He scoured the flooded plains, his hand gripped on to the hems of the concrete canal. He yanked himself out of the stalling water, crouching inside the channel as he observed.

The channel seemed blocked, but despite that, a faint trail of white ether lingered off inside. He seemed to have spotted the minute droplets of ether, evaporating into thin air as the wind carried them away.

He prowled the channel, the smell overpowered his senses, but the man was determined. His will drove him further along the pipe. Until a large mound of dirt appeared to be covering the pipe's exit.

The man clawed out the dirt, only for his hands to hit a sturdy metal blockade, that was two meters high.. He did not hesitate as he swiftly pulled out his weapon from the side holster. Using the impact of the bullets to dent the gate at its hinges.

Which he then easily ripped from its edges, revealing an opening in the Sewer to delve deeper.

The man hopped inside the narrow hallway, the trail of effervescent ether leading him deeper. He placed his steps carefully, navigating the long winding tunnel in the sewers.

At first glance the sewer tunnel seemed empty, but there were subtle traces of ether, smeared across some walls, the trail dragging along to underground cave systems that had long deteriorated since humanities golden age collapse.

All that remained were rusted walls, and corroded railings that allowed a nimble acrobat to expertly clear the obstacles.

The man was tracking a peculiar task, one that he had received, he stalked his prey to these tunnels, the ether traces more than confirmed it. As for how his target had found refuge here? He did not know, neither did he care.

He crept along the narrow sidewalk within the sewer network, careful to not alert anyone to his presence. Sneakily moving through the tunnels, where not even a glimpse of light could reach.

The man moved deftly, not a single step made any sound. He lurked within the tunnels, following the discontinued ether trails, till he came upon a single rusted metal door.

The door seemed mundane, likely a control room, perhaps an old radio shack for the sewer. But the man was not interested, rather what drew his gaze was the marred handle, covered in blue ether fluid.

The viscous liquid dripped from the door handle, a larger puddle gathering inside the room. He crept closer to the door, drawing his weapon.

With bated breaths, the man flung open the door, immediately aiming his revolver as he surveyed the surroundings, flicking his sights left and right, but no figure or presence could be spotted.

What he instead revealed, was a small dark crevice of a once operational room, filled to the brim with rotted supplies and old power lines.

Yet his instincts screamed, as he stepped inside.

Perhaps it was fate, that he pushed in the boxes, and they crumbled, likely stacked as a false wall. His eyes scanned the secret hole, his whole body tensed at discovering the hoax stack.

The man aimed his revolver, its meagre dim laser sights barely illuminating nooks and crannies of the room. Somehow, a small droplet splattered along the barrel of his gun.

He recognized the azure hue of the fluid, as his eyes traced it to the ceiling. He looked up.

A smirk planted across his face.

"Found you." He whispered in a gravely voice.

His target breathed heavily, clutching on to the bricked roof, perhaps praying to not be seen. Yet when he heard those words, the color drained from his face.

After what seemed to be an eternity for the victim, two gunshots echoed, the muzzle flash illuminating the room to reveal the injured eliksni panting on the floor, fainting as he gasped for ether. (A/N: If you haven't caught on till now. Eliksni or alternatively called Fallen, don't breathe Oxygen, instead they breathe Ether. It's not just used for breathing, but has various uses and is utilized in almost everything they do.)

"Target neutralized. Obsidian, log the report, relay back the progress, and if you can, jump start the power grid in the Sewers." The man stated as his ghost appeared.

---

[Underground room, Sewers]

The light flickered, as it buzzed, current surging through it.

Void leaned against the wall as he waited, his target, a supposed Eliksni royal lay incapacitated in the center of the room.

Void was tasked with eliminating the fugitive Eliksni, and preventing him from regrouping with loyalists within the Devil's Lair. Fortunately, today's storm had played a big part in preventing aerial extractions.

Rather, the flooding had caused the injured target to hide away in the sewers. As fate would have it, Void stumbled upon the ether trail and traced it back to the sewer canals. In fact, Void himself couldn't believe he found the target.

This task had been assigned to him a month prior. Naturally, he had been tracking and tracing the target for weeks. Even going as far as to participate in small skirmishes to dwindle out the number of guards.

Void glanced out to the sewer canal, he observed the water still rushing in.

The flooding hadn't stopped, prompting the guardian to keep the injured prisoner here. Void wished to take no risks, it was likely that the loyalists faction were already scouring the Devil's Lair awaiting their esteemed guest.

As Void contemplated his thoughts, the Eliksni's body jolted awake. Void met his gaze as the Fallen cretin yelped, gasping as he coughed.

Void immediately pointed his gun at the Eliksni's forehead.

"One wrong move, and your body will rot in this tunnel for decades."

The Eliksni breathed heavily, his face aghast, turning numb at the sight of the barrel. He barely took deep breaths, leaking fluid dripped from his mask as he exhaled.

The Eliksni grinded his pincers, showing resilience, a useless gesture. Void planted a fist in his abdomen, forcing the Eliksni to wince in pain. The previous gunshots had fatally injured him.

Void shuffled his pockets, pulling out a small canister filled with a strange concoction.

"What do you know about corrupted ether?" Void barked holding the container.

But despite his repeated questions, no answer came. Until the Eliksni laughed, clutching his chest. A broken respirator and bleeding wounds forced the fallen an inch away from death.

Barely grasping his breath, the Eliksni mustered some words.

"You.... Machine spawn are all.... the same." He chuckled. (A/N: Common insult for the Lightbearer/ guardians because Fallen consider the traveler the great machine.)

"Fifty tons of corrupted ether was transported to the devil's lair through lunar orbital channels. I will spare your life if you tell me. An Eliksni noble like yourself must know." Void urged.

"...Spare...me? You...jest. Do you know who I am? Know what you've done? You will....be hunted. Day and night, they will stop at nothing to have your head. I....am Fikrul, Kell spawn. Rightful heir to the House of Devils."

The Eliksni royal sneered gasping for his last breaths, he rummaged around his chest, revealing a blinking tracker implanted within his grip.

Void's face tightened, fury etched into his brows.

"Time....is up. Machine..... scum." Fikrul sniggered

Seething with rage Void disregarded his words, immediately unloading his revolver in Fikrul's face, leaving a gaping hole through his respirator.

The gunshots echoed as the Eliksni's body slumped to the ground. But all was not over.

Obsidian hurriedly appeared back into the room, anxious.

"Void, I am picking up a large fallen transmat. They're heading towards us. We need to leave." Obsidian spoke distressed.

Void turned to grab the body but immediately Obsidian's tracker blinked again.

"This can't be....Incoming fallen mercenaries, they've found us. We need to run... NOW." Obsidian urged void.

Voids heart sunk at the alert. He immediately left the body and yanked away the tracker, crushing it in his palm as he bolted towards the exit. Fearing he would be ambushed, Void instantly triggered his full speed, darting back to the Steppes within seconds, leaving Fikrul's body.

Unbeknownst to him, a Fallen transmat triggered near the sewers as multiple squad captains rushed in the tunnels. They followed the ether trail left behind, coming upon Fikrul, or whatever remained of him.

One Eliksni warrior, distraught at this outcome dropped to his knees, his hands clutching Fikrul's corpse.

"My prince...How could this be." He grieved, staying by the corpse.

His hands examined the killing blow, tears rolling down his face. His trigonal eyes picked up faint traces of void energy that had singed the old halls of the tunnels.

The Eliksni captain immediately understood what happened, he could only scream as anger boiled up. Sheer fury bottled within him

Only one phrase rolled of his tongue.

"My Prince, House of Devils....will avenge you."

 

[Writers-Ablood]

The captain grieved, caressing Fikrul's lifeless corpse, he clutched onto it, sitting in silence as he lowered his head.

"Find out, who did it" He growled.

The nearby Eliksni captains were fast to act, a fallen vandal paced into the sewers, with a modular tool in his grip, he punched in keys and buttons, as he examined the prince's corpse. Sensing the void light seeping through the wounds, the archon had tuned the modular sensor to the light's frequency.

An insect like chatter echoed in the tunnels as the archon presented his findings, "Commander, I found him. He is close, still running". The archon presented his scanner, slight arc rays jolted at the tip of the sensors.

The Eliksni captain was furious as he yanked away the scanner, he studied it as he spotted a pulsing blip on the grid, rapid moving further away from his location.

He roared, clutching his fists, "The coward machine spawn scurries, like a rat. Rahn, Varjis, bring me his head."

Two of the four captains rushed outside, in the raging storm. Their ships couldn't penetrate below the stratosphere, the turbulent clouds had stopped any chance of aerial support.

However, the same was true....for Void.

---

A torrential rain continuously poured in the steppes, drenching Void as he tried to sprint. The rocky canyons of the divide had deformed to mounds of mud.

He struggled to stride along, the slippery terrain had thwarted his plans of escape. Void lunged with all his strength, trying his best to create distance between him and the sewers, but as he ran, his fears came true.

Obsidian appeared nudging a radar in front of him, "Void, it's bad. Two fallen radars rapidly closing in on us." He spoke.

Void's efforts didn't stop, he used his skills, to hurl himself through the hills as he blitzed through the steppes at blinding speeds. Void scanned his radar, seeing two red blights not too far behind.

In an instant he recognized the pattern, "They're using pikes to close in on us. Obsidian, rendezvous with jumpship, start the transmat."

Obsidian's eye flashed blue as he stressed, "It's not working, the storm's cutting out my signals. The ships navigation system can't be contacted."

Void's face tightened at the words, he glanced at his radar, "Obsidian, estimated trajectory for interception"

"Five minutes, Fallen seem to be moving closer to us by the second. They must be tracking our location. But their energy signatures, it's off the charts". Obsidian warned.

Void frowned, the only reason they had shown up as blights on his radar, was because their energy far exceeded his.

He turned to his last resort, "Contact Zavala on the open channel, Vanguard protocol compromised, requesting immediate assistance."

"An open channel will expose our location to all local satellite arrays, anyone in the cosmodrome will track us in real time." Obsidian argued.

"We have no other choice." Void said, gritting his teeth as he continued to sprint through the Steppes valley.

Obsidian understood as his eyes blinked, sending a communication request across the cosmodrome.

As he did, Void spotted a new notification that had popped up from his system.

---

{Legendary Guardian System}

Rahn, Devil Captain Lv 40. Pursues you!

Varjis, Cleaver Headed Lv 40. Pursues you!

New Mission: Survival of the Fittest!

Objectives: Survive the onslaught from House of Devils

Rewards: +++ Xp, System Level 2 Unlocked, +100 Global Renown

Remarks: Good luck bub

---

Void laughed at his own misery, "Both of them are Level 40, I'm basically facing two mini-bosses by myself." He thought to himself.

Void glanced at his own level in the status screen,

---

{Legendary Guardian System}

Name: Void Blade

Class: Hunter

Level: 20

Light Level: 30

Subclass: Nightstalker Lv. 8/10

Equipment: (LL refers to Light Level)

[Weapons]:

Primary: True Prophecy *(Legend Hand Cannon) (30 LL)

Secondary: Furina-2mg (Rare SMG) (30 LL)

Heavy: Reginar-B (Rare Rocket Launcher) (30 LL)

[Gear]:

Helmet: Clutch Extol Mask (30 LL)

Grips: Road Complex AA1 (28 LL)

Chest: Frumious Vest (28 LL)

Strides: Cinder Pinion Strides (26 LL)

Class Item: Photoseude Cloak (27 LL)

* = 6% boost in accuracy for headshots against fallen enemies

Combat Perks: (6 Unlocked)

~Spectral Shade: In combat, enemies have a higher probability of losing your presence if you break line of sight.

~Void Imbalance: Grenades are likely to explode immediately when shot with void weapons or void energy.

~Acrobats Dodge *: Masterfully dodge your opponents, successful attack dodges allow instant counters and parries.

~Advanced Agility: You move fast guardian!

~Triple Jump: Jump twice in the air using an intermediate mastery of light.

~Gilded Blade: Your melee attacks have a chance to trigger Void singe on champion enemies,

---

Void despaired slightly, "If it was only one captain, I could have done it." He mumbled.

Facing two level 40 Fallen Captains alone was suicide, the terrain was to his disadvantage, plus his natural advantage of stealth had been stripped away. The enemy, was now fully aware of his location due to an open channel broadcast.

Mere seconds later, his radio buzzed as Zavala answered, "Void, Zavala speaking, what is your current status, report." He said.

"Mission status compromised, House of Devils has sent their captains after me. I'm currently being pursued into the steppes as we speak, requesting immediate assistance. Aerial extraction is not available." Void hurried replied.

Void waited with bated breaths, the radio silence took over as the transponder buzzed. He did not have much time as the radar blinked, the two fallen captains had almost closed over. Despite him running at full speed for a few minutes, the captains had somehow caught up.

Zavala stood stunned in his office, trying to judge the best course of action, his fingers traced along the screen as he saw satellite images depicting closed orbital channels, overflowing water canals and flooded trails. His eyes darted, trying to look around for solutions, but after awhile he hesitantly reached for his transponder.

Zavala exhaled a helpless sigh as he responded on a different channel, "Calling all Vanguard operatives, this is commander Zavala, Vanguard Protocol Mayday, access code 339281, public channel is open. I've sent you all current coordinates of a compromised Vanguard hunter, we require immediate assistance in extraction."

Zavala gently put down his transponder, hoping that someone would reply.

Void had evidently gotten the distress call by Zavala as he too was included in the Vanguard public channel. But he could only cast a forlorn look.

How could he not? After all, if Zavala had put out the mayday request on the public channel, it could only be a last ditch effort to try and gather some help. In conclusion, the Vanguard could not help him now.

If anything, he hadn't expected it either, the journey from the tower to the cosmodrome would take hours, but the storm still raged on. Void dismayed, as he clutched his revolver.

"Obsidian, estimate trajectory."

"Current trajectory, 1 minute."

Void squinted as he could vaguely make out two pikes blasting at full speed closing in on him.

"Obsidian, camouflage yourself. Hide somewhere else, It will be a last stand. If you make it out, you might just be able to revive me." Void grabbed Obsidian's shell as he directed him towards the wet grasslands.

Obsidian tried to resist, but he knew it was the only way to succeed. If the fallen captains were to find him, he would surely be destroyed.

Standing alone in the trail, he resolved himself as the captain's chased closer.

Void brought his wrist closer as he whispered, "Callsign Void, preparing to engage the enemy for a final stand. Over and out."

He turned off his mic, and the channel transmitted static as no response came.

Zavala heard the last transmission, he was stunned as he woefully closed his eyes, slamming the table. He couldn't bear to look at his transponder as he turned away, hanging his head in shame.

Void spotted the approaching pikes, as he deftly shot a few rounds into its engines. The bullets barely grazed the captains as the arc over shield absorbed them mid-trajectory.

Rahn and Varjis drifted the pikes to the side, the two Eliksni Captains leapt off as they began creeping closer.

Void didn't waste any time as he began firing premature rounds in their arc shields. Although it didn't even graze their armor, he could see a smidge of the shield being depleted at every shot.

The Fallen captains shrugged off the shots as they approached. Void scanned them over, they seemed terrifying, muscular humanoids, seven foot tall, donned in pristine armor equipped with scorch cannons stowed to the side.

A mechanical growl startled Void as Rahn barked, "Machine spawn, your bullets do not graze us. Today, you will be slaughtered like you slaughtered our people."

The Eliksni grabbed his scorch cannon, hurling it over his shoulder as energy gathered in its core.

Varjis observed the situation as he stepped up, "I will go in, you cover me from here" He commanded.

Varjis unsheathed his shock sabers, overflowing with arc energy as he pounced on Void.

The Eliksni and the hunter were immediately entangled between a frenzy of blows, Varjis rapidly swung his sword as Void precisely dodged each slash by the skin of his teeth.

Varjis was a sly foe, each blow was angled in a way to introduce flaws in Void's movement, the hunter was jammed between a scorch cannon and an arc sword. With no way to run, Void was risking it all with each blow.

He fired multiple rounds into the Captain's chest, but each only amounted to insignificant damage as it chipped away the arc shield.

Rahn had not stood idly, scorch projectiles were launched at every step, Void was forced to dodge as he parried each swing, depleting the guardians stamina.

Finally as Void emptied his magazine on Varjis, the arc shield broke off, leaving the captain vulnerable. He immediately gripped his smg, rapidly planting lead into the Eliksni.

Varjis howled, feeling the bullets chip away at his armor, he lunged towards Void, aiming to decapitate with a single swipe. Void briskly slipped under the edge of the blade, a dagger formed in his palms as he deftly planted it into the Eliksni's thigh.

Varjis felt his flesh singe, as he went into a blind rage, flinging his fist at Void who gambled with a risky dodge, but failed to read the tempo of the battle as a scorch shot hit Void straight in the chest, the momentum blasted the hunter into the ground.

Void coughed the burning embers lingered on his body as Rahn moved in closer. Sensing another scorch shot coming, Void threw a smoke bomb, as he jumped into the air.

He used his remaining light to fully charge his shadowshot as a void quiver appeared in his arms. The light arrow struck Rahn with full force, breaking the cannon on impact as energy exploded violently.

Varjis had used his arc sabres to counteract some explosive force as he remained relatively unscathed.

Void panted, having consumed his super. Without obsidian, his light would only recharge at a snails pace. As such the hunter was left helpless as he sprawled on the ground.

The two fallen captains inched closer, Varjis jolted his sword, ready to strike at a moments notice, as Voids wrists buzzed.

"This is callsign Tevis, target in sight, permission to engage Vanguard operative."

Zavala who stood dejected in his voice, rushed back to his desk as he grabbed his transponder, "Tevis, this is commander Zavala, permission granted, I have connected you to operative channels."

Zavala expertly connected their comms, a new message resounded from Void's communicator.

"Guardian, can you move?" Tevis asked

Void scrambled off the ground as he spotted Varjis creeping closer with blade in hand. He clutched his chest, still feeling the cannons blow. Void barely uttered, "Yeah, but if you don't hurry up, I might not."

" I am sorry, but this is gonna hurt." The communicator buzzed as static took over.

"What, what are you saying." Void spoke hurriedly as he slowly crawled further away.

Varjis clutched his sword, seeing Void desperately speaking into his comms system, he laughed. The Eliksni almost jumped, ready to swipe his blade as he felt a chill run down his spine.

He looked towards the sky, a cataclysmic shadowshot tore through the air as it descended.

Void recognized the super, as he understood what the message meant, he clenched his jaw.

The ballistic arrow plunged into the ground, light erupted as it consumed everything in its path. Not a sliver of flesh was left unsinged, void light tore through every living cell within a 50-meter radius.

A riveting explosion consumed the area, as the light dissipated, leaving a deep crater on impact. The Fallen captains remained nowhere to be seen, consumed entirely, a lone arc sabre marked Varjis's grave.

Void had also been consumed within the explosion, or at least his body could no longer maintain it's initial structure, crumbling against the shadowshot's corrosive properties.

Sensing the enemies defeated, Obsidian rushed from nearby as his blue rays scanned the surrounding, looking for Void.

The ghost's body spiralled into a blue orb as he found it, slowly light formed, as a new body for Void was created, breathing life into the dead hunter.

Void sprang to life, as he took a sudden breath, immediately looking to the sky, expecting an attack.

"Void, we've done it, you survived." Obsidian rejoiced, as he managed to revive his guardian.

Void was unnerved, still feeling some residual pain from the last super as his senses came back to him, "Yeah I guess we did."

---

Survival of the fittest (1/1)

+Mission Complete

---

A lone Nightstalker watched from among the mountains as he observed with a keen eye, his hands reached his ears, "Call sign Tevis, rescue is successful. Vanguard operative secured, over and out."

 

[Writers-Ablood]

---

Survival of the fittest (1/1)

+Mission Complete

---

Void stared at the popup as he realized he'd succeeded. Despite dying once, as long as he wasn't permanently destroyed it would count as survival.

However a peculiar sight followed, as the system window began to transform.

---

{Legendary Guardian System Lv2}

~New functionality unlocked~

Eyes of Mercurio: Your sight peers through the unseen, allowing you to understand the strength of those around you.

+100 Global (Earth Renown): The Fallen are vaguely aware of your identity, your light signature fades from their radars after death!

~Reputation~

*House of Devils(-100): 100/500 (Bounty Target)

* Vanguard(+100): 105/300 (Trustworthy)

*Commander Zavala(+100): 110/100 !!! (Promising Light)

---

Void's eyes were glued to the reputation as he realized the consequences of surviving a Fallen hunt. Whether he liked it or not, he would likely be hunted within the cosmodrome and devil's lair.

As for the Vanguard, Void's eyes shined brightly,

"Trustworthy".....He muttered.

It was true that the months Void had worked under the Vanguard had not been limited to rudimentary tasks, the proof lay in the humongous tracking quest he had somehow finished now. But gaining reputation was far slower than he expected.

Even after he finished his obligated tasks, the reputation did not increase, in fact, during this time, it had not budged a decimal. Yet after completing a challenging task, his gains shot up.

It seemed obvious what the system tried to represent as reputation. It was not built on collective completion like the game he recalled. Instead it was far likely based on achievements, real achievements.

Returning alive from a bounty hunt against an Eliksni Royal was far beyond his league, even if he took into account the desperate distress call, had he not managed to track down and kill the royal?

Granted he would not have made it out alive without external help, but the completion of the task was not to be questioned.

His eyes drifted towards Zavala's reputation, it was weird to somehow see his reputation exceed the maximum limit.

"Perhaps, I can move on to the next tier?" He thought.

Void was not yet familiar with increasing reputation so drastically, hence he moved on, choosing to focus on the intriguing part of the popup.

He had intentionally saved the system level up for last, his eyes darted between the words as he impatiently fussed to read.

Void felt a twinge in his temple, almost as if something had forcibly been implanted within his body. Yet this sensation was not the end.

A sudden loss of focus and extreme dizziness took effect, Void's consciousness almost faded as he stumbled back on this knees, barely keeping from sprawling over the destroyed crater.

The pain spread to his iris, and a hot burning fever built beneath his eyelids.

Void could not even bring himself to scream, his body had been incapable of categorizing the pain. He shuddered, and Obsidian panicked.

"Void, what's happening!" Obsidian was completely shaken.

Through his connection he could feel Void's vitals, and yet it felt odd, almost as if he was barely on the threshold between life and death.

Yet no matter how much light Obsidian channelled into Void's body, the threshold refused to budge.

It was a power beyond the ghost's understanding.

A mere few seconds later, Void's eyes had gone from burning to seeing in patches of black and blue, his vision blurred as his body slowly recovered.

Void's mind expanded, his thoughts went into a disarray as all his senses.....faded.

He could faintly hear a frightened cry, he knew it was Obsidian, but Void could not physically respond.

It took Void a few breaths to gather his calm and regain control over his body as he weakly responded,

"It's fine Obsidian, it's all....fine." Void uttered breathlessly.

His hands shivered as he abruptly opened his eyes.

Void felt an indescribable amount of information rush to his head, almost as if he could see through the very fabric of existence.

His eyes now a shade of pale purple, darted around, but soon he relaxed, realizing that the system had somehow "upgraded" his senses.

Void once again read through the list, trying to understand what he had gained.

---

{Legendary Guardian System Lv2}

~New functionality unlocked~

Eyes of Mercurio: Your sight peers through the unseen, allowing you to understand the strength of those around you.

---

His lips parted as he comprehended the meaning of his new power. Eyes of Mercurio... if Void had understood it correctly, this new functionality....it would improve his insight twofold...No!

At least three fold! Void had the painful realization that in the real world, accurately predicting the opponents strength was difficult. Sure he could vaguely see their level, but levels did not ultimately decide victory, in fact it was the stats!

As such he wholeheartedly appreciated the Eyes of Mercurio, the only thing left was to test it out.

However, considering he was the only guardian around, Void instead looked to Obsidian, his pupils deftly focusing on the ghost's black chasse.

Obsidian felt slightly uneasy as he faced the stare, unable to understand why his guardian felt...different.

"Void?" The ghost hesitantly asked.

Void spotted a strange thread.... a very faint thread of light connected to his ghost. He immediately guessed it was the Traveler's power. After all, ghosts were one way or the other still connected to the Traveler.

Void had affirmed the power of his eyes, as a thread he had previously never seen, was now visible.

After confirming his doubts he hurriedly waved his hand, pretending to be in a daze.

"Nothing... just getting myself together."

The nimble hunter swiftly got back on his legs, he glanced towards the sky, internally thanking whoever had saved him.

His eyes then set on the shock sabre, but just as he was about to inch closer, his new enhanced sense warned him of an approaching mass of... energy.

It was strange, as if the depths of space were trying to crawl out towards him. An ominous yet controlled light, that bolted towards his spot.

Recalling the descending Shadowshot from earlier, Void had already guessed that his saviour was currently rushing down to meet him. He waited with bated breaths, unable to imagine the monstrous guardian able to snipe using a void bow from so far away.

As if on cue, Obsidian perked up. recognizing the other guardians light signature

"Void, it's Tevis. One of the Vanguard's most lethal and trusted hunters." He reminded.

Void had also racked his brain to recall where he had met Tevis while playing the game, but he could only recall hearing about Tevis during the Taken king's Onslaught. He was a Nightstalker trapped in the black garden, who died facing an endless legion of vex.

Void frowned, not much was known about this guardian, except that he was the main reason players were able to achieve the Nightstalker subclass. He waited a few more seconds, lingering near the crater.

Not far from himself Void felt a pair of foot steps leaping through the cosmodrome, as Tevis's figure instantly flickered before him.

The veteran Nightstalker was a tad bit shorter than he had imagined, but his small stature did not take away from the grim and fickle aura around him.

Tevis stepped closer as he exhaled, faint fumes exiting his helmet. His eyes lingered on Void for a few seconds, and he finally spoke.

"To think I would meet another nightstalker. Quite a ruckus you kicked up behind you." His palm stretched as he gestured for a handshake.

Void corresponded with a firm grip, as he nodded,

"And If not for you, I don't think I would have made it out at all." He replied expressing his gratitude.

In Void's perspective, it was natural for a skilled Nightstalker as Tevis to recognize his subclass, hence he wasn't alarmed.

But what truly shocked him was when his eyes began to glimpse into Tevis's strength.

He could see some of Tevis's stats, and although others were still obscured, it was enough to make him question his own credibility as a Nightstalker.

---

Name: Tevis Larsen

Age: ???

Race: Human

Sub-Class= Nightstalker

Light= 363 (Unrestricted)

Level = ??? (Unrestricted)

---

Void sucked in a cold gasp as he barely believed his eyes.... 363!

Void knew full well that he was far far below Tevis in terms of light. If anything, his mere light of 30 was pathetic compared to 363.

Although Void had worked hard this past month, he had only reached level 20, while his equipment was simply slightly better than the standard issue. But what really drew his curiosity was the (Unrestricted) marked next to Tevis's stats.

The level and light were both listed as unrestricted.

Void already suspected that his own level was restricted in some way. After all, the amount of work he had put in was simply not proportional to his progress. For now his strength was perhaps still bound by the system, restricted by certain limits he could not cross.

Or perhaps, some other barrier stood between him and that power. Void eyed Tevis, enviously, hoping he could figure out how Tevis had achieved it.

Tevis noticed his glare, as he smirked.

"An ambitious one I see, but you're still too young and inexperienced." He mused.

Void realized what he did subconsciously and withdrew his gaze.

Tevis stared at the shock sabre embedded in the crater as he asked,

"Yours?"

Void shook his head but then approached the sword, as he gave it a light tug.

The sabre shimmered with lightning as pulled it out, Void examined the sword carefully.

"But I guess it will make a fine addition to my arsenal." He replied slightly impressed with the saber.

Tevis shook his had knowingly, as he chuckled.

"Hunters never change." He whispered.

 

[Writers-Ablood]

---

{Legendary Guardian System}

+Gained Shock Sabre (Legendary Heavy Sword 40 LL)

Remarks: May the light be with you Je-....err Guardian!

---

Void glanced at the shock sabre, his fingers trepidly ran through its edge, he felt a slight tinge as his fingertips went numb. The saber was indeed powerful. He was already astounded that it survived the Shadowshot. Though it was unbelievably heavy to wield with one hand. Hence he could only use it as a great sword.

But as he recalled the condition of his own equipment, Void's mood soured , he pulled up the status screen.

---

{Legendary Guardian System}

Name: Void Blade

Class: Hunter

Level: 20 --> 25 (!Level Up)

Light Level: 30

Subclass: Nightstalker Lv. 9/10 * (!Level Up) (New Combat Perk Unlocked!)

Equipment: (LL refers to Light Level)

[Weapons]:

Primary: True Prophecy *(Damaged Hand Cannon)

Secondary: Furina-2mg (Broken Rare SMG)

Heavy: Reginar-B (Broken Rocket Launcher)

[Gear]:

Helmet: (Damaged) Clutch Extol Mask (30 LL)

Grips: (Trashed)Road Complex AA1 (28 LL)

Chest: (Damaged) Frumious Vest (28 LL)

Strides: (Trashed)Cinder Pinion Strides (26 LL)

Class Item: (Damaged) Photoseude Cloak (27 LL)

* = 6% boost in accuracy for headshots against fallen enemies

------------------------------------

Combat Perks: (7 Unlocked)

~Spectral Shade: In combat, enemies have a higher probability of losing your presence if you break line of sight.

~Void Imbalance: Grenades are likely to explode immediately when shot with void weapons or void energy.

~Acrobats Dodge*: Masterfully dodge your opponents, successful attack dodges allow instant counters and parries.

~Advanced Agility: You move fast guardian!

~Triple Jump: Jump twice in the air using an intermediate mastery of light.

~Gilded Blade: Your melee attacks have a chance to trigger Void singe on champion enemies

+~Void Sense: Your glare pierces through the enemies, revealing their weaknesses, highlighting critical spots. Go get em Guardian!

[Passive Perks]: (1 unlocked)

(A/N Decided to add this so people can keep track of perks like crafting and so on. Idk if its the right decision cuz it makes the status screen slightly long. But let me know.)

~ Crafting Lv. 2/10

Remarks: Your experience in crafting is but a blooming seed. Perhaps you can convert all your scrap to extra bullets or a dull knife....maybe?

---

Void frowned as creases appeared on his forehead.....he bit his lips in frustration. All his gear was either trashed or damaged. Although he was bitter about it, he couldn't do anything. Tevis's super had saved him from permanently dying, he had essentially traded his life for his gear. It was a trade he would never hesitate to make.

Once the super had landed, his body had vaporized instantly along with his gear, but since Void had sent obsidian away to hide, he could easily be regenerated. As for his equipment....Void sighed (A/N: So it's realistic that his equipment should be damaged or at least trashed if his body disintegrates, I know in the game your equipment doesn't get damaged at all, but this is reality no longer a game.)

"It's time for an upgrade I guess." He mumbled.

Tevis who had been standing behind Void spoke up as he saw the young hunters dejected eyes,

"Don't worry too much about it, everyone loses equipment here and there." He consoled.

Of course, as a veteran hunter he too had gone through countless scenarios where he'd trashed his equipment, but in his eyes that was simply the purpose of having good equipment in the first place!

As Tevis spoke, a ghost with a shimmering bright shell appeared in front of him.

"Tevis....Jax has been flooding the network with an insane amount of messages. She said Eriana's pretty angry that you stood her up. I don't think we have the time to worry about a stray hunter right now." The ghost blurted, vexed that he had to deal with a bullshit influx of messages.

"Riqi, mind your tone, that's a potential future recruit I see. His abilities are not that bad, besides Zavala asked for help on the open channel, it's not like she didn't see it. Eriana's just pissed she lost her savings to me the last time we played."

Riqi's body jerked at the last sentence, perhaps recalling a drastic event that had taken place. His shell shuddered, as his eye glowed once again.

"There it is again, it's an onslaught of voice spams...Just reply to her please." The ghost begged.

Tevis clicked his tongue, "Fine, just tell her I am on the way". His eyes lingered on Void for a second as he added, "I will be bringing someone along so, prepare one more chair."

Riqi transmitted the voice note immediately as he seemed to find some relief. The ghost swayed its eyes, despondent that he had gone through it all. He turned around only to find Obsidian glaring right at him.

Obsidian seemed to circle Riqi as he spoke, clearing his robotic voice ....

"Stray?" His eyes holding a questioning glare.

The crystalline ghost had forgotten the other party could hear him as he panicked and blurted an apology.

"Ah um, sorry just a bad habit I picked up from Jax, I didn't mean it really...Your guardian's not a stray, he's definitely.... uh... someone we need yes. The tower needs all the hunters, even if he's weak and pathetic he's still irreplaceable...Ah wait no I didn't mean that wai-." Riqi fumbled his words as Tevis gripped the ghost and shoved him aside.

Tevis sighed, "That's enough Riqi. Sorry about that, he's...slightly unique."

"Anyhow, if you're done here I would like to leave soon. I don't suppose your transmat is working so I will give you a ride. But we'll be making an early stop first." Tevis smirked much to Void's confusion.

He raised his eyebrows as he saw Tevis smirk.

"Don't worry, it's no place dangerous, just a small gathering place, we call it the Den. Ah, don't talk about it though. Only trusted guardians can make it in, I wouldn't want you to go missing if you blabbed your mouth." Tevis chuckled.

Although it was a casual threat, Void knew that Tevis had really meant it, he gulped. The Den? This was the first time he had ever heard of it, there was no such place in the game!

"Riqi's already sent your ghost the transmat line, when you're ready join me on the ship." Trevis waved his hands as he turned around, Riqi and Tevis disappeared triggering a transmat.

"What do you think Obsidian?" Void asked.

"Hmm, there's no need to worry. Tevis is a trusted vanguard elite. I don't think he would try to harm us at all. Besides he's right, I already tried but, our transmat link is really broken. Perhaps the impact earlier fried the transponders circuit, I will get Banshee to ship a replacement to our room."

Void didn't hesitate as he triggered a transmat, his figure immediately appeared inside the ship along with Obsidian.

Tevis seemed to be fidgeting with his controls as he saw Void appear.

"Great, sit down or grab something, the ride won't be pleasant." He cautioned.

Void was about to shake off the warning but just before he spoke, Tevis had already boosted the engines to max, triggering the ships space drive.

The boost had sunk Void's stomach to his core in an instant!

He immediately took a nearby seat as the ship began to tremble, the engines rumbled and instantly the ship shot through the horizon, tearing through space!

"Fuck... is this, the warp drive? Inter-planetary travel?" He barely spat out the words holding himself back from vomiting.

"Right my bad, is this your first warp?." Tevis scratched his head forgetfully.

"Well just hold o-.,,"

Void couldn't even understand the next few words, his consciousness was a hair away from slipping.

The ship was tearing through the exosphere as its bearing was changing automatically. Void's center of gravity had switched at least five times during the same ship ride.

It darted through the earth's asteroid field, as it's bearing finally settled on a large geostationary asteroid that seemed to be eerily filled with craters.

Tevis steered the vessel near the largest crater, which seemed to increase in depth. The ship plunged into the hole, as the two guardians rapidly descended into the asteroids core.

A few seconds later Tevis immediately struck the sonic dampers, halting the ship halfway deep into the hole. The duo looked ahead and Void saw a large cavity that had been carved into the asteroids core.

Tevis released the hatch as he nimbly jumped across the gap, signalling Void to follow along.

The two followed along as they finally reached the centre of the cave.

Void could immediately spot a group of guardians sitting around a table in the cave, a ruckus was kicking up as they played cards and merrily joked around. The abandoned cave system was basically a secluded bar.

"This is.." His eyes widened.

"Welcome to the Den."

 

[Writers-Ablood]

A crude cavern, carved through rock with what seemed like sheer force. Void's eyes darted as his gaze swept the Den. Secluded deep inside an asteroid crater, in his opinion it was the perfect spot for a secret hideout. He almost couldn't believe his own luck that Tevis had dragged him here.

Just as he was about to thank the veteran hunter, he felt Tevis swoop him away, flickering further as he realized what was happening.

A boisterous titan from among the four guardians around the table eyed her cards suspiciously. She was clad in heavy ivory armor, a jade Cong covered her right hand.

But the moment her mood soured, the aura of light around the table had immediately turned suffocating, she moved faster than Void's eyes could see, he could only notice a faint lightning aura covering her hand as it planted into the table, a frightening shockwave rippled through the Den.

'F*ck is that storm fist?' Void immediately slammed into the wall despite trying his hardest to absorb the resonating waves.

"CAYDE. How Dare You!" She barked.

"Aaand cue the ominous music." Cayde retorted with a smirk, his hand slyly placed on his holster.

Void gulped as the strange woman and Cayde suddenly wanted to rip each others heads off, and it wasn't reassuring that Tevis was crouching defensively. Void had already noticed that Tevis was ready to use smoke bombs to disrupt the situation.

But before either side took action, a sharp voice resounded, it was warlock watching over the game. Clad in fiery robes as her very presence demanded respect, she snapped.

"Wei, stop this nonsense. You know I am in no mood for work." The warlock's fierce glare dissuaded both guardians as the two parties calmed down.

"Tsk, consider yourself lucky this time. Just so you know I am not paying for that round." Wei scoffed.

"Hey hey hey, come on now. I won that fair and square, you can't possibly go back on the bet. Your honor I demand justice". The Exo hunter smacked the table and pointed accusingly at Wei.

The Warlock furled her brows as she heard Cayde, Void could only describe it as shooting him the "Do you think I am an idiot?" look.

"What?...." Cayde looked around the table innocently...

Only to find that everyone else simply deadpan glared at him.

"...Fine, I might've uh...Used some underhanded methods, but I swear it was just to liven up the party. Right guys, I mean who wants a boring game. Last time we were stuck in the same game for six hours. I really just saved your time here." Cayde changed the topic swiftly.

"And casually pocketed the difference is that right." The lean huntress casually commented.

"Woah woah woah, what do you think you're saying. I won't tolerate this insubordination, I am your vanguard I will have you know." Cayde turned to lecturing the huntress but she simply rolled her eyes and sighed.

"That's enough of your spiel" The warlock sighed, the corner of her eyes settling on Tevis and Void huddled in a corner.

Tevis did a little hand wave as the warlock looked over, her eyes keenly set on Void, she looked like she wanted to say some words, but her lips didn't part.

Instead, everyone's eyes fell on Tevis and Void as the guardians finally acknowledged their presences.

Cayde's voice pierced through the moment of silence,

"Young blood? Hey I thought this place was invite only, what are you doing here?"

"He's tagging along with me. Your man was in quite a predicament. You would know if you ever kept the damn transponder on." Tevis retorted clearly annoyed over some past business.

"Ignore your deranged commander, how about you give your seniors an introduction?" Wei smiled curious to know who the mysterious hunter was.

Void gulped, he couldn't believe this was the same woman who had almost shattered this cave system a second ago. Titans were terrifying in a sense.

"I am a new hunter, my name is Void Blade. Pleasure to meet you all. I look forward to learning from you" Void blurted out the last line without thinking.

He bit his own tongue the moment he ended that sentence.

'Fuck...I accidentally said the generic introduction for university seniors...." He looked towards Wei with some awkwardness.

But the titan chuckled hearing his odd greeting. In fact not just her but almost everyone was barely holding in their laugh.

Most guardians were reclusive and didn't like to talk. However, for a hunter like Void to suddenly say such an innocent greeting, almost like they were academy buddies....The warlock and huntress couldn't keep it in together either.

"Yeah nice to meet you, I am Wei Ning, but you can just call me Wei." She thrust her arm forward and grabbed Void's hand with a firm grip and did a good handshake.

Void could only wince in pain as his bones had almost gone numb.

The huntress next to Wei glanced at Void, "Sai Mota" she spoke and nodded.

Void simply nodded back, basic etiquette between hunters.

The Warlock remaining looked at Void, her apprehensive eyes seemed to be piercing through his very skin as she finally said.

"Eriana of the Praxic Fire." She shot him a solemn glare and Void responded in turn bowing his head very slightly.

It was not out of respect that Void had done so, but the Praxic Fire was a special command of guardians. One that existed solely to discipline guardians internally. In a way, Void had just encountered a very troublesome individual hence he decided to show some respect to not cause any problems.

Furthermore, Void began jogging his memory as he heard all their names, he almost couldn't believe who he had met. In his opinion they were legends....If not myths.

'The first fireteam in the Dark Below...These three were definitely in it.' He thought to himself.

"Well I suppose everyone already knows me bu-"

"Shut it Cayde." Eriana interrupted.

The Hunter Vanguard looked displeased but he was still too new in his position hence he didn't want to piss off Ikorra's praxic order. Dealing with that woman was like a nightmare for Cayde.

"So I don't suppose you called me here urgently just for a game of cards?" Tevis spoke up.

"No, but there was a reason I called you two here. I will jump straight to the point, I need a scout." Eriana looked towards the Tevis and Cayde.

Everyone's ears perked up at the mention of a scout.

"Wait, you called me here to be a scout? Sorry, to break the news but uh.. I don't think you can afford me." Cayde replied shrugging.

" You can't be the scout, you're too high profile. I need someone, invisible. Last I checked the nighstalker corps excelled at it, isn't that your field?"

Tevis frowned, "I don't recall the Praxic order needing to watch their steps while finding a scout. For you to take such a precaution, it can only mean one thing."

Eriana's eyes narrowed, she looked at Void.

Void felt her glare as he understood that perhaps he wasn't meant to listen in, but Tevis shook her off.

"Don't worry about him, if you mean what I think you do, then he's the least suspicious one among the entire hunter corps."

His words brought some confusing stares but he continued,

"Void here has only been an active guardian for three months. I reviewed his records earlier. Which means there's no wa-"

"There's no way he's associated with them." Eriana finished the sentence.

Void was confused at the current events, everyone was simply speaking in vague terms.

Eriana looked a little relaxed as she heard Void's circumstances.

She continued, "We found another one, two days ago. As we expected it was done in one shot, just like last time. Only ashes remained. Near the graveyard above King's Watch."

The tension in the room sprang up, everyone except Void had understood the severity of the situation.

"Who was the Victim?" Cayde chimed in.

Eriana simply swayed her head, they ashes weren't even enough to identify who they belonged to.

The air had immediately gone stale, a perverse aura gathering as the veteran guardians contemplated.

"Are you really sure it was him? Eriana last time you said your squad had hunted him down." Tevis argued.

Eriana's forehead creased, " The Praxic squad did manage to track him down but...He escaped. Injuring most of our elite operatives. At the time, Ikorra advised that we announce him dead just to ease the tension in the Tower."

"Besides, there's only one man capable of reducing a body to ashes with one shot."

Hearing this the Hunter's face hardened.

"So this scouting job?" He questioned.

"Sai managed to pick up his energy signal. She can track it but. We're not sure who's on his side. If anything gets out, her life is immediately in danger. We need someone from your corps, unseen, invisible to others." Eriana urged.

At her reply Tevis looked shocked. "I am sorry but its not possible, my corps will ultimately be stationed in Skywatch. The Vex activities on earth are getting stronger. I can't abandon that front."

But before Eriana could argue Tevis spoke again, "However, I do know of a solo nightstalker. Unseen and unknown, I don't suppose he would be interested." His eyes lingered towards Void.

Void's eyes widened, 'Fuck how did I get dragged into this.' he mumbled.

He wasn't idiotic, the way these guys were discussing the events, there was certainly someone powerful behind them. It was far beyond his caliber. He wanted to refuse but before he could even speak up, everyone's eyes had already settled on him.

"I...."

"Save your words Void, I know you might consider it dangerous but, you're our only chance. No one else available fits the criteria, and I won't let you do it for free. The Praxic fire will be indebted to you, I assure you we can be very useful." Eriana pleaded.

Void contemplated, he was interested in the mission, but he was also well aware of the saying "Curiosity killed the Cat".

"I will consider it but, what does the mission entail?"

"I can't reveal the specifics unless you accept but, you're only job would be to track the signal and maintain distance with the target. As long as we can use you to triangulate the target's location, your part will be over."

Void's eyes flashed as a blue prompt appeared in front of him.

---

{Legendary Guardian System}

+New Mission:

* Praxic Order's Plea: Scout the mysterious man responsible for the incident. Maintain a minimum distance of 1.5 Km with the target!

Rewards: System Lv 3. (Store Unlocked!) , +++Xp, Praxic Fire Seal

Remarks: The strings of fate intertwine, what has the great web of fate spun into? Do the risks outweigh the gains? Perhaps only destined one's shall know. Those willing to risk it all.

[Accept]/[Decline]

---

His jaw almost hit the floor... SYSTEM LV3. !!!

Void couldn't believe it, didn't he just unlock Level 2?

He sucked in a cold breath of air, the rewards... they were outstanding but. The remarks were simply too vague.

Should he take the risk? He contemplated as everyone around him awaited an answer..

It was true that Void wanted to play it safe, he wanted to play it smart but. The System Lvl 3 unlock unlocked a store. He didn't know what it contained but, it definitely had to be something amazing.

Lastly, there were no penalties to failure. If worst came to worst, Void knew he could definitely abandon the mission, he might earn the Praxic Order's enmity but they wouldn't hold it against him to not take huge risks.

Considering all these factors, Void glanced at Eriana, and finally agreed.

The warlock's face lit up with relief as he did.

"I've agreed to the mission now so I want to ask, who's the man I will be scouting?"

Void had a premonition that it wouldn't be easy, listening to the descriptions of their target he seemed to be extremely powerful.

Eriana looked at Void and sighed,

"It would be better for you to not know, but since you volunteered I will tell you."

"Our Target is, The Man with the Golden Gun, Shin Malphur." She answered.

Void immediately tensed up as he heard the phrase....

'It's him!' His eyes shuddered.

'I am fucked aren't I' Void thought to himself and despaired.

 

[Writers-Ablood]

Void stopped his body from trembling at the mention of his name. He knew who Shin Malphur was, perhaps in this world, he was the one who knew him best. Every Destiny player even slightly aware of the lore was obsessed with this legendary figure. The Man with the Golden Gun, the lone Gunslinger, Dredgen Vale. He held many titles.

However, his current identity, was not yet exposed to "Shin Malphur". Hence Void restrained his reaction and only showed slight curiosity and confusion at Eriana's words.

Eriana observed Void's "Restrained" confusion. She sighed,

"Right, the newer generation don't know a lot about him. But it's better that way."

Void scoffed, internally he had already put this mission on the highest difficulty he could imagine. Shin Malphur, the man capable of killing guardians in one shot. He was a fearsome entity. Seeing Eriana not even mention it was indicative that the Praxic Fire would not give him more information unless he asked.

"I prefer if I knew more about my target from you. I wouldn't want any mistakes to happen during my mission." Void spoke resolutely.

Eriana didn't hesitate to add on some basic information,

"Shin Malphur is a very powerful rogue vigilante. In his early days he was a respected hunter. Until he eventually turned to mindless killings. There are not many accounts of his abilities or appearances. That is all the information we posses." She seemed to observe Void's expression.

Whereas after listening to the brief explanation she gave, Void truly wanted to ask whose side she was on.

His expression darkened Powerful vigilante? Mindless killings? It seemed the Praxic Fire wasn't being completely honest with a newbie like him.

But it was already more than he had expected. He naturally did not restrain his frown, because Void knew it was the appropriate reaction.

Eriana noticed his "worries" and provided a bit of reassurance,

"Don't worry, as I've said. You will never have to engage him. If anything you'll be furthest from the danger. As long as you can help triangulate his general location, our team will take care of it." She emphasized the last phrase.

As soon as she finished, Cayde chimed in slightly confused,

"Soo, young blood here is your scout. But what do you need me for? I will have you know a vanguards schedule is very packed, I don't have time to sit around and play games."

'Shameless'...was the only thought in unision by everyone present.

"Your duty is much simpler. The Vigilante has many hidden supporters in the consensus. They don't act on his whims but they do provide him information. You need to make sure Void isn't connected to this mission in any way.

Seal his information, send him on one of your long treks. Whatever it is, his name should not be mentioned at all." Eriana answered solemnly.

"That's all? You could've just asked Zavala or Ikorra for this boring stuff." Cayde replied clicking his tongue.

"A hunter is ultimately under your jurisdiction, if his records have any signs of tampering by other authorities, it would be suspicious. Rather, hunters are known to request time off from the tower. As long as you sign it off, no one would question it. It's nothing unusual." Eriana answered.

"But if Ikorra or Zavala were to handle his reports, the importance attached to his identity would be increased. I am sure you know what I mean." Her eyes narrowed.

Void was startled by her words. Indirectly, she meant that Cayde was too new in his post, if he signed off a few hunters no one would put any effort to work through those files in suspicion of a plot.

But if the mysterious and cunning warlock vanguard or the steadfast titan vanguard stepped in....Shin's supporters would definitely notice his absence.

It was times like these that the Praxic order loved Cayde for his nonchalant and sometimes erratic behavior. His carelessness was a gift they could utilize.

But despite these harsh words, Cayde barely showed a reaction. Instead, he crossed his arms and chuckled,

"Hey, if you think the big blue and Ikorra aren't up to the task just say so, no shame in admitting it. Trust me I won't tell her." Cayde gestured his zipped lips.

Eriana almost fumbled her words after hearing his response, she wanted to explain but Void could see that she deliberately swallowed her words and just walked away.

Sai and Wei stood up, joining Eriana as she faced the Den's exit. The warlock looked back at Void,

"The mission will be in a few week's time. When we're ready, I will contact you through Tevis", Eriana twirled her fingers as a small token swiftly shot through, directly dropping in Voids arms.

"And if it's any consolation, we'll replace your broken gear."

She waved goodbye and their figures immediately disappeared, leaving behind lingering transmat particles.

Void looked intently at the token in his hands, a small jade dog tag with flames engraved into it.

'Praxic order's sponsorship, it's the real deal.' His eyes gleamed with satisfaction. Void clutched his palms, perhaps the Praxic Fire weren't as prudent and dubious as he thought.

Perhaps it was also because they had offered him free gear, but Void couldn't deny their tactics, the way to a guardian's heart was free loot. Expensive free loot of course.

Cayde whistled as he smacked his lips, "That's some nice loot you got there partner, good luck on that mission though, heard that guy's a real psycho in the head you know? But hey, if you're getting paid that's all that matters. Erm... Anyways, I will catch you later, I have to go do some things Ikorra asked me to take care of." he sighed looking at his transponder filled with tasks he was responsible for.

Cayde did not linger any longer, his figure flickered away, it was actually so fast that Void couldn't even register that he had left. Forcing him to reevaluate Cayde's strengths one again.

Tevis and Void looked at each other once more, the two could only sigh. They had somehow gotten caught in some deep shit.

"So what are your plans for now?" Tevis shrugged, scratching his head.

"The mission is going to be difficult, I think I will need to do some training. I have never scouted another guardian before" Void replied looking a bit clueless.

Tevis contemplated for a few seconds, "If you're willing I can show you some steps, but it will be up to you to try and follow along. If you need some more practice, just try out the crucible. Last I heard there are many interesting contenders there."

Void nodded, accepting training from Tevis was a great chance he couldn't pass up.

The two hunters flickered away returning to the ship. A few seconds later the ship shot out from the asteroid belt, heading back into earth's atmosphere.

-----

[Tower, Last City Earth]

Void clutched his palms as he flexed his arms, stretching and moving his joints. Currently he had donned a covert gear used for camouflage., a dark grey thin armor suit, coupled with gripping footwear and gauntlets capable of blocking bullets.

He swiftly performed a backflip, as he nimbly got up using a reverse flip. It seemed that the gear really suited his style. Quick and agile. It was neither too heavy nor too light.

"Banshee, thanks for giving me the good stuff. I will definitely get you some golden age scraps like last time." Void complimented.

"Don't mention it, the Praxic order means business, for them to sponsor you, you're gonna need it." The Exo gunsmith replied while polishing another gun's barrel.

"What about the weapons?"

" The smg is out of commission, so is the rocket launcher. As for the hand cannon, I managed to find some replacement parts and fixed it up. Here you go." Banshee returned the hand cannon in pristine condition.

Tevis had been observing Void as he finally spoke up,

"If you're ready I can take you to skywatch. It won't change much but I can at least train you in stealth."

Void's ears perked up at the suggestion, although he wanted to train other stats, perhaps training for stealth was his main priority.

Void held up the hand cannon in his grip, examining the barrel carefully.

He could only sigh and hope to make it through this mission.

 

[Writers-Ablood]

[Skywatch, Cosmodrome]

The sun shined, blaringly hot, the horizon was lined with desolate buildings that piled up one after the other. Each rusted and hollow, worn down by the elements.

Skywatch was an obsolete satellite bay once used in the golden age. With its hundreds of towers and control stations, it was a scrap goldmine, a technological marvel of the golden age, yet it had been hollowed out, reduced to breeding ground for the hive, vex and the fallen.

However, with a keen eye, one could barely spot the presence of something "veiled" in the city. A presence so inconspicuous, that its only traces were the mountain of corpses left behind.

The Fallen houses could not explain this phenomenon. Skywatch was a relatively safe haven during the day, but at night, it was a ruthless hunting ground. No matter who stepped in, at day break, their corpses would be littered along the barren wasteland.

But to the guardians? Skywatch was the residence of the legendary Nightstalkers. Hunters, who had mastered stealth itself, blending in the shadows, invisible to the enemy, and highly lethal assassins.

Currently Void had been dragged all the way to Skywatch central by Tevis, the leader of the Nightstalkers. Void was stunned to say the least, currently he was at the top of a satellite tower, peering down on the landscape.

Tevis stood beside him, leaning against the antenna tower, the veteran hunter chuckled,

"So, what do you think, I told you the view up here was quite breath-taking."

Void nodded, "I didn't expect a hunter like yourself to care so much about the scenery."

"Well when you spend a few years mucking about every shitty nook and cranny in the world, you start to appreciate the view a little. That aside, this vantage point is the best to survey the entire perimeter of the area. Anyone dumb enough to cross into Skywatch will instantly be hunted down", Tevis replied as he abruptly leapt off the tower.

"Wh-", Void was stumped for words. The winds rushed past his face as he recalled that this tower they were on was hundreds of meters high. In a fraction of a second, he shot up and leaned against the edge, looking for where Tevis was falling

'What the hell did he just do, there's no way anyone can survive that fall.' Void thought as he desperately darted his eyes around to search. He knew best that fall damage was an unbeatable enemy for every guardian/

But a second later he could see Tevis's body piercing straight down to the ground.

His gaze caught Tevis's as the hunter flashed him a sly smirk. A sudden influx of light gathered at his feet, and then the unthinkable occurred.

Void's eyes widened in shock, "-what"

Tevis shot towards the ground, similar to a diving hawk, the energy coating his body emanated a faint glow, it was densest around his feet. Immediately his legs jerked as he gracefully landed on the ground, planting himself down on all fours, almost as if he had dashed downwards mid-air.

Tevis got up from his stance, as he spread his arms wide, indicating for an applause, as the hunter raised his brows.

Voids hands were shaking as he tried to understand what had just happened. To him, falling damage was an absolute. He knew it far too well, his very first death had been to a fall.

But seeing what had just happened, he couldn't believe it. Immunity to fall damage? No, bullshit. Such an item didn't even exist in the game, let alone this reality he was in.

The system itself had also not shown him any hints for the past few days. It was barely a mission log for him that helped him navigate his powers and abilities, he felt that the system was waiting for something, something he couldn't explain. Currently Void was clueless, and now finally seeing a new breakthrough he wasn't aware of...

Ecstatic was a bit less to describe what he felt.

His Hud received a transmission as Tevis's voice sounded, "Really, I thought you would at least clap for that display, but I guess acrobatics aren't everyone's cup of tea."

Acrobatics? Void clenched his teeth, 'my ass'....

"How did you do that? Can you teach me that?" He asked immediately. 'If I can learn that skill...'

"Calm down there newbie, application of your subclass is pretty advanced stuff. I can't teach you all this complicated stuff when you've not even handled the basics. Why don't you climb down first, we can talk all about your training."

The transmission ended as he saw Tevis wave his hand, apparently waiting for him.

Void began steadily climbing down the tower, he had nimble movements, but no where near as fast as Tevis, in the end it took him a dozen or so seconds to climb down the rusted satellite tower.

Void dusted the rust off his hands as he walked up, "So, what do you mean by the basics?"

Tevis eyed him down one more time as he spoke, "Well to be honest, your combat capability is surprisingly better than average for your level. But the utilization of your abilities is horrendous. Almost like you're subconsciously limiting the possibilities. That isn't really your fault, light is a mysterious power. To completely master it, it takes ages. Thankfully guardians have an indefinite life span."

Void's eyes narrowed at 'subconsciously limiting'. He didn't want to admit it, but it was true. After all, playing Destiny for all those years definitely had an impact on how he chose to live in this world. Overall, it was very helpful, he knew more about combat tactics than an average hunter, but his 'understanding' of light was rudimentary at best.

What else could he expect, to him it was but a game just a few months ago. Expecting to adapt to a new power and then master it to the level of monsters who had lived centuries? It was but a pipe dream for him right now.

His recent progress was already considered good by him, but to move further, Void knew he had to fundamentally understand what was 'possible' with light. His combat perks were something he had unlocked after experiencing battle.

He knew it was possible to unlock more perks and master them, but to listlessly perform random actions to try and unlock a perk? It was beyond stupid.

"Go on." Void replied.

"The best way to improve those shortcomings would be to force yourself to rely on your abilities, Once you're able to take the first step, the possibilities are endless." Tevis remarked, a faint energy covered his body.

With a flick of his fingers, Tevis went completely invisible.

Void was pleasantly surprised at this ability. It was completely different to the hunter invisibility he knew....

Tevis's voice echoed, coming from an unknown direction, like he was somehow everywhere, all at once, "The light gives you powers beyond your imagination. It lets you touch the very essence of the world. Whether it be strength, vitality or speed, intelligence, spirituality. Everything can be modified. Though certain people are better at controlling certain aspects of this power than others. Hence, the class system."

Void spun around trying to locate him, his eyes shined a faint blue as Mercurio's was activated...yet Void couldn't even begin to locate Tevis.

'He's not even on my radar....'

This sight terrified Void, a hunter capable of sneaking near you without you noticing? It was a certified death sentence...He now understood why Skywatch was the stronghold of Nightstalkers...No other race could hope to survive as long as they existed here.

The voice sounded again, "Titan, Warlock, Hunter. Just fancy words to classify what you're good at. Subclasses? Just how you apply your power. These are all names, fancy titles to help people recognize who they are. But the lines are much thinner than you realize. I am not saying you can learn spells like a warlock, or create walls like a titan, but you can definitely control your energy in similar ways. Though your application will be different."

Tevis waved his fingers as his figure appeared back in front of Void, almost as if he'd never left.

"How do I start?" Void didn't hesitate with his answer.

"Eager are we, well I suppose we do have a few weeks." Tevis brought out a simple dagger that he chucked towards Void.

"I will teach you the basics, but I can't guarantee that it will be easy. We'll focus more on the stealth aspect and mobility. I think you'll need those two the most." Tevis scratched his head.

Void nodded, gripping the dagger, he spun the blade around his fingers, and looked towards Tevis.

"Your first task is simple, stealth needs discretion, and discretion requires experience. I will give you a four days. Bring me the head of every Vandal that enters the borders. Of course, you can't be seen. If you fail to kill one, I will count it as a strike, miss more than five targets, and I won't be wasting my time on teaching you directly."

The hunters eyes turned resolute for a split second, his calm demeanour was almost seeming a façade.

'Basically a limited time bounty quest?' Void thought, he agreed and left to prepare for the night. If he wanted to be unseen at every kill, it would take some preparation. This was a quest he could not fail, as expected the system also recognized it.

---

{Legendary Guardian System}

!! New Side Quest initiated (Limited time)

*Skywatch Bounty (5 days remaining): Kill all vandals within Skywatch without being completely spotted by the enemy group. If user is identified and located, the quest will automatically fail.

Rewards: Tevis Reputation (+50), +Class Advancement Unlock, +xp, +Subclass Xp

Failing Penalty: Tevis Reputation (-20), Fallen Reputation (-100)

(A/N: Before you start shit talking the system and its penalties, think for a second that its just a visual representation of the actual consequences the MC will face if he fails, its not just bullshit. Random rant, anyways. Fallen reputation reduces because if he's identified they will know he's in Skywatch and increase his bounty. Keep in mind he already has a bounty on his head.)

---

[Graveyard, Kings Watch]

The sky had been muddled a murky blue through the smoke spiralling from fallen glimmer excavators, nearby a deep ravine had been dugout from century old mining, stretching endlessly downwards.

Below the valley was a single wooden shack. Dust had completely settled within the wood, it had became only a husk of what it once was, riddled with fungus and mould from the water collected through the seasons.

The floor squeaked with every step, threatening to fall apart at moments notice, but the man inside seemed to not care.

His presence was heavy, the shack seemingly quaked with each breath he took.

The man wore a seasoned armor, but it showed no signs of cracking. His bright yellow eyes peered through a breathalyzer mask, allowing him to breathe through the swampy air collected in the mines. A ripped maroon cloak hung from his shoulders covering his body.

The right side of his cloak was jagged and torn, just enough for him to swiftly jerk out his arm, a holster was hung at the same side, a sleek revolver strapped inside.

The gun had a base black grip but a faint golden barrel lined at the top. It's trigger seemed worn, indicating years of use.

The man sat facing the wall inside, when he suddenly turned his head towards the door.

His golden eyes lingered near the entrance.

The door swayed open, a cloaked figure slowly walked in, facing the man.

"Here I thought you three had no more business with me? To have you at my doorstep. What's the occasion." He chuckled hoarsely.

"Just some business you know, though I have to say, quite the unique place for a hideout. I suppose the down payment in the Devil's lair was too much for you?" The figure spoke.

The man stared at him with his brows furrowed.

"Not one for comedy, I see. I mean hey everyone's got their own interests, I don't suppose you're into ramen though? Come to think of it, I know this really good spot for spicy ramen, I can't say you've ever tried it tho-"

"Get to the point." The man sounded frustrated, his hands already leaning towards the right.

"Not one for conversation, noted. Anyway I am here on her orders, I think you already know what that means."

The figure tossed a green token engraved with embers towards the man.

The two looked at each other, a moment of pure silence between the two followed, until the man rubbed his hands over the token and spoke.

"I will see to it." He paused.

"But if this happens again, I might not be able to keep our little promise." The man clutched his palms, easily bending the token in half and dropped it to the ground, his eyes turned cold.

The figure seemed confused for a second, but then regained some composure,

"I will relay it to her exactly as you said. But hey, not gonna lie, might wanna invest in some air freshne-."

"Leave." The man interrupted.

The figure waved as he left swiftly, leaving the man alone in his thoughts.

His eyes darted towards the token on the ground, he couldn't help but click his tongue.

'An annoying errand has popped up.'

----

 

[Writers-Ablood]

An intense storm brewed over Skywatch, turbulent clouds hung low on the horizon. The rain poured but unlike the mountain valleys in devil's lair there were no canals to drain the water. The lower district had drowned, its short rusted buildings submerged in water, only leaving a few rooftops afloat.

The fallen believed the rain to be a blessing, the city was in a peculiar disarray, unlike the previous occasions, for some odd reason, the last few days all their scavengers hadn't been brutally killed in the city. Although the Fallen were cautious, this had gone on for four days, they somewhat believed that whatever was stopping them had somehow left the city.

Naturally, there were still casualties, but it was still to an acceptable level when comparing to the last few years. To the fallen scavengers, it was a golden opportunity to try and harvest some scrap. Especially with the city flooded, the fallen believed they were untouchable.

An uneven terrain and flooded areas were unsurprisingly an advantage to the quadrupedal fallen, they could move at neck breaking speeds, wading through water at four limbs, similar to cheetahs and tigers.

The House of Devils was riled up, the city was a crucial vantage point for their war with the hive and the light bearers. This flood, they considered it retribution.

Three scavenger teams entered the perimeter of the lower district, they crawled through the old ventilation system, climbing through the intertwined air vents, coming out to the inner city.

Unbeknownst to them, a single hunter lurked in the shadows, under the looming storm clouds, hiding within the cracks and crevices, his figure only an afterimage illuminated by thunder claps.

Void's hand twitched, a single dagger appeared within his grip. His transmitter glowed, a faint voice sounded , "Three teams, a total of four vandals, seven dregs and a captain. We'll take care of the captain, in the north inner district, everyone else will be caught in the choke near the north east. Make sure you get the vandals before we come into contact, Tevis over."

"Understood, Void over."

He clutched the dagger, Void's eyes traced the scavengers rummaging through the lunar station scraps. But his body seemed frozen stiff. Each movement was with a purpose and his intention was to wait till the aforementioned choke points would separate his target from the others.

To Void, this bounty wasn't a test of his skill, but of patience and planning. If he simply leapt in to the fray, considering the Nightstalkers nearby, he would most likely survive and kill every single enemy.

However, the task was to keep his presence as faint as possible, to strike the opportune moment and finish the bounty. He channelled his breath, covertly moving through the roofs to keep a certain distance from the scavenging party.

Void scanned the radar, the inner north choke was about two hundred meters away.

'Its time'

He stalked the team, like a panther ready to leap at his prey. Nudging ever so closer with each passing second.

Void squatted on a rooftop above the team, drenched in the rain but ready to attack at a moments notice, his bounty was only the Vandals.

"Ready", he whispered into his transmitter, as his message got through Void fished two small orbs from his kit and chucked them directly onto the ground.

The Fallen were immediately alarmed at the sound of two small beads hitting the floor behind them, their bodies jerked back to see, but nothing happened.

Void spun the dagger in his fingers, leaning slightly closer to the edge.

"Kriiki", A dreg cautiously crawled closer to beads, poking it with the barrel of his gun. To the fallen, the beads seemed, weird. They seemed to be drawn to it, but at the same time, they were apprehensive to try and approach it.

Void's hawkish gaze locked onto a Vandal, he waited.

'No matter how cautious, in the end, you'll give in to the temptation'. He knew the Fallen's weakness was loot, be it treasure or just some odd scrap. His beads fit that criteria perfectly.

One breath.... two breaths....Void exhaled slowly, it was as he predicted, the rest of the scavenging team had taken an interest in the beads, thinking it to be odd gems.

Just as the whole team had gathered within their radius, Void's eyes turned cold. His body jerked, almost leaping off the roof, as he triggered a faint light through his hands.

"Kriii", The fallen crowded over the beads felt it...an ominous energy for but a split second. The fallen captain felt his instincts roar, he immediately tried to step back, but it was futile. Within a blink of an eye, the beads erupted, engulfing the whole area in dense smoke.

'NOW', Void sprang forth from the rooftop, shooting like a bullet through the smoke, his trajectory directly stopped in front of a Vandal, but instead of dropping down, Void twisted his body, using his momentum to be directly above the fallen.

His body hung in mid air, for but a brief second, but to Void the time was more than enough. His senses ran wild, as if time itself had slowed down for him.

Void's hands jerked, his dagger moved swiftly, etching a fine line between the Vandal's neck and torso.

Void flipped in the air as he braced the ground right on his legs, the smoke perfectly covering his trail, it was not yet over, channelling his utmost strength, Void planted his foot on the ground and blitzed towards the second Vandal within a fraction of a second.

The dagger in his right hand slipped from his palms flying straight through the Vandal's knees, pinning the Eliksni to the ground, the Vandal croaked, words almost spilling out its mouth, but Void thrust his hand through its throat, instantly crushing the Vandal's wind pipe and ripping its head off the torso, Void dug his feet into the ground, his momentum carrying him through as he skid off outside of the smoke.

A thump was heard, as both heads dropped to the floor.

"KRRRKR" The scavengers howled, all immediately unholstered their weapons.

The fallen captain was incensed, unable to even understand what had happened within such a short time frame.

Void had brought down two Vandals and two remained, the scavengers were still within the smoke bomb, but he predicted it wouldn't hinder them for long.

He creased his brows. The bounty wasn't over yet.

 

[Writers-Ablood]

Void's eyes glowed, his gaze piercing through the smoke as he located the Vandals. The Eliskni captain erupted in anger, howling as he flailed his arms trying to punch through the smoke.

'tsk', He clenched his teeth.

'I can't go in without alerting him.'

Void wanted to use his weapons but the moment he channelled too much light or used a gun, his presence would be revealed. He had not yet mastered stealth to that extent.

He observed the smoke and realized it would soon begin to disperse,

'not good. Hiding from that captain will be troublesome.'

"Nicely done newbie, Tevis wasn't wrong about you. I will take care of the captain. Levi out."

The voice pricked his ear and Void immediately turned his head,

What he could only describe as a "shade" flickered through space rushing towards the smoke at blinding speeds.

Levi's figure emerged, separating from the shade, he jumped through the air, a short bow conjured in his hands.

'Tether', Void muttered seeing the bow, his eyes following Levi's leaping figure.

Void immediately jumped twice, almost stepping on air as he cleared the area.

Levi pulled back the arrow, energy condensed heavily into his bow, as he aimed right at the centre of the smoke.

His actions weren't without response, the fallen were immediately hooked onto his position. Not a fraction of a second later, immense firepower erupted from within the smoke.

Levi like an untouchable ghost, twisted and turned his body in mid air, brushing past the shots, the power in his bow finally condensing as he let go.

A beam of light shot through to the centre of the smoke, as the arrow planted itself into the captain's thigh, shearing through his bone. Immediately, the air got heavier, a strange power compelled everything to slow down.

Unexpectedly a pulse of energy flared through the area, and bounced back on itself, attracting everything to its centre. The light condensed into a fierce vortex, everything within its radius had been pinned down.

Void was shocked and almost stumbled back down, if he had been careless and not jumped back, he couldn't guarantee whether or not he could resist this pull.

"Did you even leave anything alive". Void placed a hand on his ear.

"Come on now, you gotta have some faith in me, it's only gonna slow them down". A crisp reply came back.

The erupting vortex had sucked in all the smoke, but surprisingly except the captain being slowed down, the rest of the fallen were still in one piece.

Void was dumbfounded, was this level of control even possible.

"Hey don't show that dumb look, just shoot an arrow for a few hundred years, you eventually know what it does. Though I suppose you would need to shoot one for a thousand" A snarky laugh plagued his ear.

Void furrowed his brows and switched his channel to a quieter one.

'Why the fuck are all hunters such insufferable assholes.'

It was a question he couldn't answer in either of his lives.

He took a deep breath in and focused once again. The captain was temporarily immobilized trapped in a vortex of energy, whereas the rest of the fallen seemed to fearfully scatter away, choosing to hide in nooks and crannies within the alleys of the city.

Void stretched his legs and faced the direction the Vandals ran towards, he immediately began sprinting with full force.

---

[Lunar Station, Skywatch ]

Tevis gazed down at the city while squatting down at one of the satellites, observing the encounters his team had with the fallen. As the leader his responsibility was to ensure their safety, but currently he was relaxed.

"Levi alone can handle the scavengers, I hope Void doesn't fail his task." He muttered to himself.

Tevis shot a glare to the side, a figure appeared blinking through space.

"Elliana, I thought you were busy with preparation. Too much time on your hands?"

"And I thought the Nightstalkers were busy protecting Skywatch, fighting tooth and nail. You're just playing with the Fallen foolish enough to step inside." She retorted.

Tevis shrugged as he chose not to pursue that line of argument.

"I heard you're training him? How's it looking." The warlock gestured down to the city.

Tevis contemplated as he looked conflicted.

"It's hard to describe. He has monstrous potential. I don't know where his sense for battle comes from, but the tactics are impeccable, it's almost like he's done this a thousand times before.. His execution is surprisingly pathetic, but he keeps trying nonetheless. It's the first time I've ever seen someone this talented this desperate to get strong. But it won't be easy for him. To put it simply, it's like trying to pour an ocean into a cup." Tevis spoke solemnly.

Eliana was quite perplexed at such an evaluation. She frowned.

Tevis wasn't just some random hunter she consulted, he was one of the few disciples left behind by the previous hunter vanguard Andal Brask. Tevis could even be one of the strongest hunters within the last city, and for him to issue such an evaluation....What kind of a potential did Void have?

Currently she could not classify this "evaluation" as good or bad.

'Monstrous potential but terrible execution.'

It was a dilemma. His potential was valuable without a doubt, but considering he would be facing a lot of dangers, it was likely that his feeble strength wouldn't be able to keep up with his problems.

All of a sudden a sour taste entered Eliana's mouth....'Had I known of his potential perhaps I wouldn't have chosen him to be the scout.'

It was better to recruit him into the Praxic fire directly, but it was likely that he wouldn't accept in the first place. Now that she had already prepared everything for the mission, changing the scout wasn't feasible.

However, in her eyes, Void's evaluation had shot up, he was definitely a target the Praxic Fire would keep an eye on in the future. With monstrous potential, a possibility of turning to the other side exists.....Eliana made a mental note to keep an eye on this budding guardian.

Tevis hadn't realized the impact of his own words on his fellow hunters' life.

"So how long do you plan to train him?" Eliana spoke up after observing in silence.

"The agreement was me training him if he completed fallen bounties for five days. But there's no way you're here to just chat are you." Tevis squinted, Praxic order being here was bad juju, he couldn't help but believe something had gone amiss.

"It's not like I can't come to observe my scout, but since you asked, we might have to speed up the lead time to this operation. I am here to give you a heads up, don't waste too much time testing him, teach him something useful."

"Tsk, that's the problem with you guys, I can't rush his development. If anything he's gonna be half baked at best if he went in early. This isn't a spell you can rush, a hunter's abilities are honed through grueling experience alone." He retorted.

"You can decide that on your own, I am just here to give you a heads up, if your precious hunter here ends up getting compromised because he couldn't perform well enough...I don't think you'll find anyone else to blame."

Tevis's face went numb hearing the words, he moved away from Eliana as he gestured the warlock to whisk away.

Eliana noticed his sullen mood, not wanting to meander any longer, she blinked through space her figure spreading thinly into light particles.

Tevis stayed, lingering at the edge of the satellite tower. He occasionally glanced at the lower city. After a few minutes of contemplation, he let out a heavy sigh and held his head.

"F*ck, guess I can't help it."

Tevis grabbed the rails and jumped off downwards.

-------------------------------------

[Skywatch, Lower District]

With a blast Void blitzed into the streety alleys, each step was placed with extreme precision, like a bullet he shot through the narrow turns, bouncing off the walls in succession Void maintained his momentum chasing the Vandals.

The Vandal's scurried in fear, knowing there was no way they could fight without their captain, they followed their natural instinct. To run and hide, in the darkest place they could find.

Unfortunately for them, Void was far too experienced in hunting out mobs. He was like a wolf sniffing out prey.

'These bastards, they're really good at hiding between these alleys.' Void thought, as the roads got narrower along.

The alleys were a network of twists and turns that he couldn't easily rush through, but for the Vandals, it was a safe haven they could easily hide in.

At a certain threshold, Void was forced to swiftly climb along the walls and continue the chase. There was no way he would lose track of them, his radar had already caught their presence.

Void darted between the walls, catching a glimpse of a Vandal as he increased his speed. Grabbing onto the wall beside him, Void channeled his strength, using his own momentum to fling himself across the gap towards the Vandal.

He immediately jumped to create elevation, as his feet glowed faintly, Void jumped in mid air propelling himself further, until finally he was right above the two fleeing Vandals.

In an effort to mimic Tevis, Void flipped his body with his feet up in the air, channeling the last part of his triple jump he kicked the air, effectively blasting him downwards hitting the Vandal.

With a swift grapple Void broke the shoulder joint in the fallen Vandal's arm, immediately a dagger appeared in his grip as he plunged it directly into the Vandal's head.

His movements were abrupt and not controlled, hence, the second Vandal jerked its head around sensing turbulent energy. Void's senses flared up, he knew that he had risked getting spotted. But in a sudden twist of events before he was recognized, he immediately chucked multiple daggers with full force towards the Vandal.

The shock of facing multiple daggers forced the second Vandal, to instantly focus on defending itself, hence losing sight of Void.

This fraction of uncertainty was enough for Void to trigger his shade perk, as he immediately used his extreme speed to rush out behind the Vandal.

With haste he pulled out his revolver, lining it perfectly behind the Vandal's skull unbeknownst to the fallen.

'Last one'

One shot rang out, the echo filling the hollow city as the shell dropped to the ground. A gaping hole was left through the Vandal's brain, staining the road blue, the Fallen's lifeless body dropped to its knees and plopped on the ground.

"Fuck that was a close one", Void breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's all four done, Obsidian, status report." Void called out.

Obsidian appeared from thin air, his eye's glowed blue, calculating a few factors,

"According to calculations, the Fallen captain's energy signature will reduce to zero in thirty seconds. The remaining scavengers have no signal. It seems someone really wiped them out fast." The ghost replied.

Just as Void relaxed his body, another transmission occurred on the guardian channel in Skywatch.

"All hunters report to Lunar-one. The fallen have been taken care of. Return to base as soon as possible, this is a direct order. Tevis out."

Void looked towards obsidian as the ghost vanished from sight, signalling it was time to go.

"Damn, I can't even catch my breath". He lamented, but soon began sprinting back towards base.

 

[Writers-Ablood]

[Lunar-One, Skywatch]

The deserted lunar control station was essentially a wide junkyard littered with satellite scraps, and occasionally one would spot rusted steel towers that seemed to stretch endlessly into the sky, now simply reduced to ruins left behind by the old lunar command in the golden age.

Naturally, the communication space within this junkyard was exceptional. There was still some reason why it had been a satellite communications hub in the golden age. The Nightstalkers had capitalized on this space, turning it into a somewhat temporary hideout and communication bay themselves.

Their old satellite grid covered all of earth, but not only that, it also served as a safeguard against transmission tampering. Ever since the Fallen had arrived on earth, they had largely hijacked old golden age satellites to act as their own. However, this lunar command center was one of the first and largest of its kind built on earth. Hence, it could easily override any communications request and even turn off those satellites to an extent. In a nutshell, as long as the Nightstalkers dominated Skywatch, no external force could establish secure communication channels within the cosmodrome.

Tevis loitered around the lunar bay, awaiting his teams return, he stomped around, seemingly still annoyed by earlier events.

Finally, in an effort to ease his bitterness, he once again picked up his transmitter and spoke,

"All hunters report to Lunar-one, return to base as soon as possible. This is a direct order. I repeat, a direct order, you can't run from this one Levi, I f*cking dare you. Tevis out."

No sooner than he had closed the channel, Tevis saw a dozen figures gather near the base.

He seemed to be doing a mental head count as he nodded,

"Alright, that's thirteen of you, I suppose the two still out are Levi and Void."

Tevis continued marching up and down the road, around the base, he seemed restless. Although no one could pinpoint what plagued the commander, the Nightstalkers were slightly anxious. It wasn't everyday their captain was itching to call them to base.

Tevis was seemingly running out of patience as he waited, he almost activated his transmitter again but just before he could open the voice channel, he saw two hunters rushing back.

Levi and Void spotted the gathered hunters as they too sped up to take their place. The Nightstalker corps gathered as they immediately lined up symmetrically in front of their captain.

Although Tevis hadn't ever instructed them to do that, hunters loved to add their own touches to protocol, though somehow this time it fit the situation really well. Coincidentally, Tevis was marching around them, like a field marshal ready to dish out some drills.

Somehow, it felt like they were soldiers ready to be scolded by their drill sergeant. Tevis walked around still brooding in his own thoughts. His lack of words surprised some hunters, and annoyed the others.

'What kind of bastard would call us here and then not have any orders...' is what they all thought.

Naturally, none of them had the guts to spit it out, hence the fifteen Nightstalkers stood in place. This was all until Levi had enough of watching Tevis circling the group.

"Ummm....Captain I am not trying to be rude but, if we have nothing scheduled I will be leaving right now", Levi turned to sprint off but before his legs could grant him any lift, Tevis snapped out of his trance.

"Shut the f*ck up. You've been dodging sentry duty for three weeks. It's a surprise I haven't ratted you out to the Praxic order, stand still or else I will really make sure you have to clean the city sewers by hand."

Tevis shot him a death glare.

The threat of community work was strong enough to shake Levi to the core, sending shivers down his spine, as he immediately portrayed the image of a perfect soldier, and lined up again.

Void observed from the side, he wanted to chuckle but since no one else had, he could only imagine that Tevis was being completely serious..... City sewers, it can't be that bad..can it?

"I called you all here regarding an abrupt request. A few days ago, an important mission was issued by the Praxic Order. They require a scout from the nightstalkers to aid their fireteam. As you would expect, you have to coordinate with their fireteam and involve yourself in some political mess to complete this mission."




Tevis's words were like a hammer that slammed the hopes of the Nightstalkers, shattering it to pieces.

The atmosphere instantly turned gloomy, everyone looked around, glancing at each other, unable to keep calm after hearing Tevis.

Void however was left slightly confused, but before he could show any reaction, Tevis messaged him privately to be calm and not say anything.

The Nightstalker's seemed to be discussing with hushed voices, not caring that Tevis could still slightly make out what they said.

Void was surprised at this reaction as well, ' The praxic fire might not be popular, but hey they're still offering some good loot.' He muttered to himself, unfortunately his peers disagreed.

In the end, the praxic order was still a disciplinary organization under the Vanguard. They were lapdogs who enforced rules on guardians, and as one would expect, their prime targets were almost always hunters.

Working with them was not exactly "favourable" to them. If anything, hunters avoided the praxic fire like the plague. Why would they wish to cooperate and inadvertently put themselves in the spotlight for these rat bastards? All Nightstalkers present held the same thoughts.

Hence why none had ever thought about accepting Tevis's "mission" from the start. They could only discuss in hushed voices and hope the captain declines the request.

"Alright alright, no need to be on the defensive. I knew you all would back out anyways so the first thing I did was reject them." Tevis waved his hands disgruntled.

All of a sudden, everyone was delighted, and couldn't help but cheer openly, throwing their fists in the air, much to Void's amusement.

Naturally, Tevis let them enjoy the moment before he dropped the next bombshell.

"Ahh, but how unfortunate, the next day the Praxic order came to me with the Vanguards approval, so I couldn't really reject them anymore." Tevis added casually.

It was a split second later, but Void could almost swear he saw the colors visibly drain from the Nightstalkers cheerful faces.

The moment "Vanguards approval" was uttered, every ounce of hope they had to dodge this "draft" had disappeared. After all, the Nightstalker Corps, Praxic Fire, and however many else fireteams and squads operated by guardians, they were ultimately answerable first and foremost to the Vanguard.

Even the city did not hold a right to command them! Every single guardian was under the authority of the Vanguard, not the city. The city had its own counsel, called the "Consensus", which obviously included the Vanguard in its list of participants.

Hence, if the Praxic fire and truly obtained their approval? There was no use of running from this mission.

When the expressions of the hunters around him had sunk, and everyone showed downcast looks. Tevis finally added the last line, like a devil playing with their hearts.

"Luckily for you guys, at the time Void was present, and he basically volunteered to take that job. That's why I allowed him to train with us. But what do I see? You ungrateful bastards didn't even try to talk with him, let alone teach him something useful. I am really ashamed to show my face around here." Tevis clicked his tongue, as he looked towards Void.

Void knew there was a scheme involved, but he couldn't ever imagine that Tevis would spin some stories to make him out to be the one who took the job without hassle.

All the hunters present couldn't help but glance at Void, some eyes held gratitude, while others seemed to perk up with interest. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that initially his existence was ignored, perhaps only Tevis and Levi cared to talk with him.

But after this incident, all the hunters looked to him with some curiosity, and also with some desire to somehow pay him back.

"Of course, we can't just let him train with us and go to the mission. You might not know but Void's only been active for a few months. His skills aren't exceptional, but he is daring and possesses immense potential. I brought him here to train and test his abilities, but I can't possibly teach him everything."

Tevis hinted something subtly, and it didn't take the others long to figure out what he meant

A few minutes later a few hunters stepped up, volunteering to teach Void.

"Hi, I am Cory, I am pretty good at hand to hand combat, I can help you out if you need it." The hunter extended a hand.

Void immediately accepted the help, in his eyes the more the merrier.

An exo popped up and looked at him, "Bandit-3, I can teach you dagger and sword skills. You can reach me through the captain."

The exo immediately left not wanting to interact any further.

"That's enough, don't hound him. First I will be teaching him stealth, he only has a week at best before the mission calls." Tevis informed them all.

Hearing the captain, the crowd around Void thinned out and everyone ran back to their posts, they couldn't exactly leave surveillance duties...

This time, even Levi was dragged to his duties by his fellow squad mates, knowing nothing good will come of him leaving him alone.

Tevis then gestured for Void to follow him to another training area he had prepared when Void finished his bounty.

"I planned to use this later on, but you don't really have that much time left. Your recent bounty is good enough for me, so we'll be starting your training early on."

As Tevis said these words, Void was baffled and also delighted. His mission had just been ended, how could he not be?

Naturally, he checked the system and as expected the mission was completed early.

---

{Legendary Guardian System}

Skywatch Bounty: +Mission Completed

Rewards: Tevis Reputation +50, +Xp

+Subclass advancement unlocked!

Nightstalker (Lv 10/10) *

---

Void was satisfied by unlocking his class advancement, but he wasn't sure what lied ahead...what kind of advancement would he go through?