A/N: Enjoy Chapter! Throw some stones! Also can I get some reviews cuz this upload streak is CRAZY!
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The silence hung heavy. The air itself seemed afraid to move.
Not a single Fallen remained. Only scorched ground, drifting ash, and the distant, sparking hum of the Arcadia Jumpship behind them.
Waffles was the first to speak.
"…What the hell was that?" she whispered, slowly lowering her weapon. Her voice trembled—not with fear, but with the kind of stunned adrenaline only a warlock could mask with faux curiosity. "Did we just get saved from a boss fight?"
"I—I think we got carried," IEatPaint muttered, his Titan frame glitching slightly as he moved forward, peeking at the blackened walkway Void had stood on. "I think I saw my soul leave my body when he fired that first shot."
"Was that, a hunter?" TheOneWhoKnocks said sharply, scanning the scene, "He moved like one"
"That wasn't in the beta". Waffles cut in, more firmly this time. She turned to look at them, her helmet tilting. "You remember, right? This mission ends with a scuffed Fallen squad and we clear a few Dregs, then the cutscene triggers. No custom NPCs. No supers like that."
They were all looking at the same spot now—the high ledge where Viper had appeared like a shadow stitched into reality. He was gone now.
"He moved like a player though," IEatPaint said. "Sliding corners. Optimizing his reloads. Flick shots. Like... actual PvP-level clears. Did you see the cancel on that reload animation?"
"Did I see it?" Waffles said with a dry laugh. "He style-fragged a Captain mid-slide. He was putting on a show."
"...And then gave us loot." TheOneWhoKnocks brought up the new weapon in his inventory. Sleek. Marked with an unfamiliar emblem—a serpent crest. "Custom stats. Unique perks. This isn't in any build notes."
Waffles turned the weapon over in her HUD, examining the detail. "This is new. Nothing like the BETA. The perk pool's curated. He said it was 'on the house'? This is straight-up narrative integration. A whole vendor system, hidden behind story events."
IEatPaint took a step back, as if trying to process it all. "You think this is a new mechanic? Like, hidden world NPCs that respond based on how we play?
"Nah, but I don't think he was in the story before" Waffles muttered, she seemed to recall something, "Wait, did any of you watch the new trailer?"
"Nope, why would I. Didn't think it was anything new." IEatPaint replied.
Waffles immediately shared a link to the trailer in the chat. As the Fireteam watched, they stood stunned in silence.
As the trailer ended, Void appeared before the end credits—TheOneWhoKnocks exhaled, long and slow. "Damn, who the hell is he?"
Waffles nodded, still staring into the distance. "He introduced himself. 'Viper,' right? That means he's not just a one-time event. He's a story character. Has to be."
"Yeah, but I thought story characters don't taunt elite squads and then vanish like ghosts," IEatPaint added. "They don't act that menacing."
TheOneWhoKnocks turned to them both, his voice quiet. "...You think they changed the story?"
Waffles didn't answer immediately. Then— "I think he's part of something bigger. I think we just got dropped into a storyline that wasn't in the BETA."
They turned toward the Jumpship, its engine slowly whining to life.
"You realize what this means, right?" TheOneWhoKnocks said. "This game's changed. This isn't just loot and strikes anymore."
"Nope," Waffles said, stepping up the ramp. "This is narrative immersion dialled to eleven."
IEatPaint grunted. "Damn, I thought this was just an FPS RPG. I didn't think it had a good story."
Waffles smiled under her helmet. "You sure? Because I'm invested now."
The Jumpship's doors closed behind them. Lights blinked. Thrusters surged. But none of them moved toward the cockpit just yet.
They all stared at their new weapons—serpent-forged, unlisted, gifted.
They were all excited at the prospect of a new story. Perhaps, they also wanted to know who had saved them.
The players moved towards the Jumpship, and as they took off, somewhere in the Cosmodrome, a shadow watched it all.
-
[Cosmodrome, The Divide]
The sky was beginning to bruise with evening.
Void watched from the shadows as the Jumpship roared into the upper atmosphere, its blue trail flickering briefly before vanishing past the clouds.
He let out a low breath.
A flicker of light crossed his HUD—
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[Mission Complete: "A Guardian Rises"]
+20 Reputation (Player Alignment)
-
Void dismissed the prompt without a glance. Instead, his entire focus lay on the Cosmodrome. It was about to happen, he was sure of it.
'She'll show herself, anytime now.' Void watched with hawk eyes, and then.
Obsidian was pulsing—sharp, urgent, "ANOMALY SIGNAL ACQUIRED. COSMODROME WILDS. LOCKED."
Void didn't hesitate.
In the next instant, he flickered—vanishing from the rusted platforms and appearing on a hill across the warehouse.
Void remained hidden in the shadows, biding his time.
Just as he'd expected, he wasn't the only one watching that Jumpship leave.
He could sense it, and then a few steps ahead of him, a figure stepped out of nothing.
She stood still. Cloaked in snowlight and silence. Her gaze locked on the departing trail.
Elsie Bray narrowed her eyes behind her visor.
"I saw it begin," she murmured to no one. "This time, I saw it."
But just as she turned to leave, something… shifted.
A prickle at the edge of her senses. Like the past curling back toward her.
She spun—weapon drawn.
Void flickered into reality only a few meters away.
The moment their eyes met, she fired.
Void moved like a blur—but the bullets twisted unnaturally, caught in some kind of magnetic rewind. They snapped backward mid-air, forcing him into a second dodge.
He skidded across the dirt, then lunged forward.
She fired again, but this time he was too close.
He knocked the gun away in a clean arc, his palm locking onto her wrist. For a moment, the world held its breath.
"Wait," he said, quiet. Controlled. "I'm not here to fight you."
Elsie didn't answer. Not at first. Her eyes met his, a tinge of rage coloured her gaze, but before Void could notice it, she'd let it go.
Then, slowly, she let out a breath—lowering her hand.
Void released her and stepped back. The space between them was tense, but no longer lethal.
Elsie stared at him. Her eyes scanned him, not with suspicion, but with something colder. Older.
Recognition.
"…Do you know me?" Void asked, tone carefully neutral.
Elsie paused, for a second too long.
Then she replied, "No. I don't."
Void nodded, as if he'd expected that. "Strange. I've run the Cosmodrome for years. Never seen you once."
Elsie gave him nothing. She turned slightly, like she was preparing to leave.
But Void called out again, with a hesitant voice.
"I need your help."
That made her pause.
"I know you don't know me," he continued, quieter now. "Maybe that's a lie. Maybe you do. I can't tell anymore. But I know this—if the Light is to survive what's coming… I'll need your help."
Elsie didn't speak.
Not at first.
Then, with her back still turned, she looked over her shoulder.
Her visor shimmered faintly in the dying light.
Then she was gone. No transmat. No blink. Just—mist. Like the end of a dream.
Void stood in place for a long moment, then exhaled.
"Didn't think so."
He vanished too—disappearing into smoke and flicker. Far away from the Cosmodrome, a Jumpship flared to life, heading for the shore.
-
A soft crackle of static filtered in.
Elsie stood at the edge of a windswept plateau. Behind her, nothing but dirt and sky. Ahead, a translucent interface shimmered to life.
The voice on the other end was familiar.
"Report."
She nodded once. "I've seen it all, the Jumpship took off. "
Then, she spoke softly, "I also saw him."
Silence.
"Are you sure?"
Elsie didn't answer right away.
"Not… entirely. He was different. But it was him…"
She trailed off.
The voice on the other end didn't hesitate.
"You know what's at stake. Don't trust him. We can't afford it."
Elsie glanced back, toward the City—now distant.
"…I won't," she said. "I know what I have to do."
The comms cut out.
Only the wind remained.
-
[Tower, Last City]
The sun was beginning to dip behind the Traveler, casting long shadows over the City below.
Ikorra Rey stood at the window of her office, watching the sky shift hues. Her thoughts were interrupted by the soft hiss of the gate opening.
Cayde-6 strolled in, Ghost floating lazily behind him.
He leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"They made it," he said.
Ikorra turned, one brow raised. "The new Guardians?"
"Yep. Just docked. Rough ride, but they're intact. Mostly." Cayde tilted his head. "Their Ghosts gave me the debrief."
"And?"
Cayde exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fallen ambush. House of Devils. Multiple squads, even Captains. Real classic welcome party."
Ikorra frowned. "They weren't supposed to encounter resistance that early."
"That's what I said. But… someone stepped in."
Ikorra tilted her head. "Who?"
"Guy called 'Viper,' apparently."
She blinked. That name didn't ring any bells. "That doesn't match any registered Guardian in the system."
"I know," Cayde said, smirking now. "Didn't ring a bell for me either. Not until the new Lights said he used this—"
He put his hand out and mimed pulling a bow.
"—weird bow made of shadows and nightmares."
Ikorra's eyes sharpened.
"Shadowshot."
Cayde nodded. "That's the one", there was a pause. The Tower's silence hummed around them.
"…It's Void", Ikorra said.
Cayde's smirk faded into something softer. "Yeah."
Another moment passed. The weight of that name hung in the air between them.
"Without him," Cayde continued, "the House of Devils probably would've torn those new Lights apart before they even found their footing."
Ikora looked back toward the horizon.
"He was watching," she murmured. "Even now."
Cayde stepped up beside her, resting his elbows on the railing.
"Guess the exile hasn't dulled his sense of timing."
Ikorra allowed herself the faintest smile. "Or his aim."
"Even now he's doing more than you. Probably get that act together Cayde." Ikorra laughed softly.
"Please, who do you think taught him the moves?" Cayde mimed the bow again, this time aiming haphazardly.
"I'd like to see you say that in front of Tevis." Ikorra shook her head.
Cayde cleared his throat, "Don't say a word to him."
Then, they stood there in silence for a moment, watching the sun dip lower.
Grateful that a shadow still guarded the Light.
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