A/N: Enjoy Chapter! Leave a review!!!! Throw some Stones! The players, are finally here.
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The world surged into view with a hum of Light.
Three new Guardians materialized in the wild wastes beyond the Divide. The landscape was barren, scorched, and vast—unlike any MMO they'd played. Of course, there hadn't been an MMO with RPG and FPS elements like this.
"Holy crap," TheOneWhoKnocks muttered, spinning in circles "These graphics… this is another level. They really picked it up for the live release."
"No UI lag," Waffles added, spamming a switch between inventory and HUD. "Feels smooth."
"I can punch a tank," IEatPaint grunted spamming melee attacks on the rusted scrap. "10/10 already."
The three were veterans, rpg enthusiasts that were eager for the official game launch. When the game went live, they'd already decided to form a fireteam. As the opening cutscene played, the three immediately skipped it.
"What classes did you guys pick?" TheOneWhoKnocks opened his HUD.
"Warlock" Waffles replied, spamming her crouch as her robes fluttered.
"Titan." IEatPaint spammed a few more melees in the sky, and then spammed his jumps.
"Hunter for me", TheOneWhoKnocks began running around in circles as he slid, " Damn, the movement's fantastic."
"Shouldn't we go enter the walls?" Waffles chimed in, facing the quest indicator.
"Wonder if the game still crashes if you go the opposite way." IEatPaint chuckled.
Waffles sighed, "Wouldn't wanna test that out."
TheOneWhoKnocks immediately opened his director and looked at the quest details, "Looks like the intro quest is the same. Guess we speedrun it and continue the campaign? We only got to play a few missions last time."
"Agreed." IEatPaint nodded, "Let's move fast though, isn't it only one fallen squad? We can take those out."
The players darted towards the Divide, reaching its first tunnel. A section of the wall had been dug out by Fallen scavengers, revealing the inside of the complex.
As the three stepped inside, a wave of darkness rushed over, their screen turned black. They could see nothing, but just then, their ghosts flickered beside them and pulsed with a light barely bright enough to illuminate what was ahead.
TheOneWhoKnocks cautiously walked forward, with the other two right behind him. As they prowled the dark halls of the Divide, they could hear the clicking of jaws, old vents that rustled with movement. Strange movements. And ever so often, their hearts would race as they sensed a pair of eyes in the dark behind them.
Unknown, but watching. But just as they turned, the eyes were gone.
"Damn. They really upped the vibe this time. It's feels real." Waffles whispered.
"Yeah, but why are you whispering?" IEatPaint chuckled, "You scared?"
"No....It's just a bit creepy." But as footsteps echoed in the dark, she huddled beside the two, afraid to explore alone.
The three crouched, moving through the Divide's rusted carcass. A few minutes later, they had reached the first checkpoint. A weapons crate nestled under a flickering light bulb.
Waffles breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly walked up to the crate, she immediately opened it to receive the first auto rifle and a random special weapon.
What she got was a prized classic, the grey Khvostov Auto Rifle. But with her luck, Waffles had also gotten a sniper rifle, an Amina-E7.
Puzzled, Wafffes asked, "I thought this gun was removed in the final patch notes?"
"Probably decided to keep it," TheOneWhoKnocks replied, collecting the crate for himself. Receiving the Khvostov and a Maverick Mk. 20 hand cannon.
IEatPaint clicked open the crate, and immediately equipped the Deadlander Mk.24 shotgun, "We're all set. Guess the first enemies show up now."
"Let's move. Watch your step though, I remember they had these weird traps all over the place." TheOneWhoKnocks recalled.
The players advanced, moving through a broken air vent, ducking under trip mines, weaving through collapsed catwalks and jumping across rooms littered with crumbled tech.
As they reached the first room, their radars blinked red.
"Shit, here comes the first wave." TheOneWhoKnocks crouched beside a wall, chucking a grenade.
Immediately, the exit of the room was flooded Shanks. Dregs. Then a pair of Vandals—textbook low-tier mobs.
"Easy XP," IEatPaint rushed forward with his shotgun.
They cleared the pack, following the path forward that led them to an open clearing.
The quest marker blinked again, directing them to find a Jumpship to escape.
"Found the waypoint, it's right there." Waffles shot a few bullets to mark the spot in the distance.
The three darted towards the abandoned warehouse in the distance, fighting off small scavenger squads. By the time they reached the door, everything was clear.
Entering inside, it was a flickering warehouse bay, and a crashed Arcadia-class Jumpship, tangled in cables and arc sparks.
"Nice, guess the intro missions over." Waffles sighed with relief.
TheOneWhoKnocks approached the Jumpship and a cutscene triggered. "Not yet. We'll still have to hold down some waves before the repair's done."
"Start it, we've got plenty of special ammo." IEatPaint reloaded the shotgun.
"You got it." TheOneWhoKnocks summoned a ghost in his palm, gently directing it to the ship. Then, the timer started, their radar's blinked red. The Enemy was near.
Unbeknownst to them, it was an enemy they had never expected. As the Fallen skiffs drifted towards the warehouse, their HUD blinked with a dark flare.
[ WARNING: No Respawn Zone! ]
Then a chorus of roars rose around them as Elite House of Devils squads blinked into view from cloaking fields, Dozens of red health bars flared. Four Captains towered among them.
"Son of a..." IEatPaint swallowed dryly.
"Are those... max level enemies?" Waffles shouted, peeking out the small door.
"This...wasn't in the BETA." TheOneWhoKnocks nervously stared down the approaching squads, "F*ck it, farm your supers, play it slow!"
As the squads flooded the warehouse, the three of them fought, clawing for every inch. They'd played hard intros before— this was different. Tactical. Deliberate. Designed to break them.
"I punched one four times—it didn't die," IEatPaint barked, taking a knee.
"My super's almost full! Keep fighting!" Waffles hid behind the doorframe, dropping her healing rift.
TheOneWhoKnocks continued his headshots, but it was futile, ""They're over-leveled! I can't crit!""
Finally, the super bar glowed with a faint yellow outline. Waffles rushed out the warehouse and jumped, then a massive Nova Bomb formed above her and she chucked it down.
An explosion rang out, engulfing all the enemies. As she dropped to her foot, the three expectantly looked at the Fallen Captains....they'd barely left a scratch.
With a Nova Bomb wasted, they were running out of tools.
Unbeknownst to them, a figure perched at a signal tower beside the warehouse, observing their every more.
"So? What do you think?" Void chuckled.
"They've got heart, I don't think I've seen anyone fight that hard versus elite squads." Obsidian sighed, "You know, you're quite evil for this one."
"Please, they can't always be babied. Guardians need to struggle to improve." Void shrugged, "I suppose that's enough of an intro. Time to make an entrance."
Then the shadows shifted.
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The players retreated into the warehouse. No Warlock super, no chance for big damage. Special ammo had run dry minutes ago. Without perks, all they had left was RNG—and that had stopped smiling on them a long time ago.
As far as they were concerned, this was the end.
"F*ck, are we seriously failing the intro mission?" groaned TheOneWhoKnocks, firing his Khvostov in frustration. The bullets sparked harmlessly off a Captain's shield.
Then he saw it.
A shimmer—Half-shrouded in static and shadow. He emerged like a glitch in the game.
Void flickered into existence on the far walkway, half-shrouded in static and darkness. His cloak danced in the dry wind. In his hand: a sleek, custom-forged hand cannon.
He raised it, tilted his head, and fired into the air.
The battlefield fell silent. None of the Fallen had detected his presence, and with that gunshot he'd startled them all.
As they all turned back. Void smirked, and raised his hand-cannon.
One.
A Captain's head detonated.
Two.
A Vandal mid-leap was blown off trajectory, slammed into the wall.
Three. Four. Five.
Each shot cracked like thunder. Every round a statement. The Fallen were confused. Afraid.
He flickered across the field—shadow to ledge, smoke to steel—never staying still, never wasting a bullet.
Elites fell in seconds.
Void holstered the hand cannon and drew a solar shotgun, closing the gap in a blink. He slipped through gunfire like it moved in slow motion, blasting Dregs apart, slicing through the chaos with a knife and a whisper of smoke.
Above them, he reappeared mid-air, one step ahead of gravity, and shot another Captain point-blank in the face.
The fireteam stared, motionless.
Only two captains remained.
Void sauntered forward, gun hanging loose, taunting. The Fallen had recognized him.
They charged but he didn't flinch.
The hand cannon vanished behind his back. One hand extended, the other pulled back on a string of crackling void light.
A bow took shape in the air and a shadowshot condensed at its centre.
Void released.
The arrow shrieked through the battlefield like a storm made solid.
It struck and Imploded. The two Captains dropped instantly—dragged into the void, their souls unravelling mid-scream.
Void exhaled. "Bit much?" he muttered. "Nah. They probably loved that."
He glanced at the hand cannon and sighed. "Should've stuck with the guns. Good marketing."
He turned toward the fireteam, expression unreadable beneath his helmet.
"…Newly risen?" he asked. His voice was cold—but not cruel. "Didn't think I'd see that again. Name's Viper."
He approached slowly, cloak fluttering behind him. "Looks like you walked face-first into a Devil ambush. Bad luck."
"The House of Devils are greedy bastards. Don't like competition." He looked around at the carnage. "You'd be dead. Count yourselves lucky."
The players didn't speak. Just stared.
Viper's gaze drifted to their worn Khvostovs. He frowned.
"You took what you could find. Smart. But don't trust random drops. Pick your weapons like you pick your fireteam. Deliberately."
He nodded to their Jumpship in the distance. "That'll get you to the City. If the engines haven't iced over. I'll hold the line while you make your move."
Then, his inventory shimmered open. One by one, he handed them weapons—sleek, unique, glowing faintly with light. Each one stamped with a black serpent crest.
"Free of charge," he said. "Cosmodrome's no place for rookies wielding rusted junk."
A prompt appeared: [ACCEPT GEAR].
The fireteam did. Wordlessly.
Then, Viper turned.
"Tell the Vanguard what happened," he called over his shoulder.
He paused, "we'll meet again."
And just like that, he was gone—vanished into the shadows.
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