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[Ishtar Academy]
"HOLY SHI*" Shiro-4 slid across the battlefield, ducking below a minotaur's laser as it grazed past his hood.
His eyes darted side to side. Shiro-4 waltzed through the battle following Void's trail.
The two Hunters flickered through the ruined courtyard like two lightning bolts, jolting between pillars, across broken balustrades, through the chaos of Vex and the Fallen fighting tooth and nail.
Shiro was quick on the uptake; he instantly realised that Void had carved out a path with his blue afterimages hanging in the humid air, as he streaked ahead.
"Left," Void called out and deftly flickered to the side.
The next second, Shiro-4 raced behind him and followed through.
The hunters cut under a collapsed arch, sprinting past a legion of Vex minotaurs blocking the gates. As they ran ahead, a barrage of laser shots cut through space where they'd been a heartbeat before.
Shiro-4 sped up, darting beside Void, "Where the hell are we going?" The exo grit his teeth.
"Just follow me!" Void zipped through the battlefield without looking back. He frantically zig-zagged through the conflict, flickering in and out of vision and taking turns at breakneck speeds at the fraction of a second.
Shiro-4 followed the same route because he could already see that Void had a clear way out. And as they stretched across the chaotic battlefield, his thoughts were confirmed. Void's erratic route was far too difficult to track for the Vex or the Fallen.
Neither the Minotaurs nor the Eliksni Captains could land a single shot at the two figures that shot past them.
"DUCK!" Void screamed and crouched, Shiro-4 grinded to a halt and dug his feet into the ground, pulling himself down.
The next second, a legion of Minotaurs warped ahead and unleashed a storm of bullets.
Void's eyes pulsed; the world had paused; He could already see the barrage of lasers hanging in mid-air, targeted towards them.
He moved.
Charging towards Shiro-4, Void tackled the hunter and hurled both himself and Shiro to the right.
The gears of time creaked till they eased back into motion.
Lasers blasted overhead, Void and Shiro-4 tumbled across the courtyard, the hunters jolted mid-air, just as their feet grazed the ground, the two flickered away in a blinding flash.
Two thunderbolts struck the lush jungle surrounding the academy. The light arced and spat out two figures. Shiro slumped to the ground, elbows on knees, helm tilted back as he heaved a breath.
"That was f*cking crazy", he chuckled and looked down at his arms that still faintly shook, as if in disbelief.
Void braced his hands on his thighs and let a laugh out, short and raw. "You should've seen the Moon," he said. "This was a cakewalk."
Shiro huffed, then nodded. "I can agree to that." He eased back into a tree and looked up, "Still, I never thought you'd be this fast. You move like you're on fire. Zipping from one step to the next."
"Appreciate the compliment. But I am not there yet." Void dusted his hands, "Besides, as an arc hunter, I am sure you've seen better. Weren't you under Sai Mota during the war?"
Shiro-4 shivered slightly at the name; memories of the lunar war flashed in his eyes, "Well, compared to the Captain herself, we're all so-so. I don't think anyone's that good."
Void nodded, "What makes her that good anyway?" He walked to a tree and leaned, glancing back at the academy.
"Hmm?" Shiro-4 hummed in thought till an answer crossed his mind. "It's hard to explain, but think of it like this. You're a bullet, fast, erratic and lethal. But the Captain? She's a storm. Barely anything survives her wake."
"A storm huh?" Void straightened, rolled his shoulders. "I kinda get what you're saying," he said and walked towards the academy's courtyard once more.
Shiro turned his head. "Where are you going?"
Void lifted a brow. "Where else?" He tapped two fingers on the sheath of his blade. "Back inside."
Shiro pushed to his feet, stumbling once. "You're joking."
"I'll be fine," Void said, steady. "Besides, the only reason I came out was to help you extract. I've still got business to handle inside."
Shiro stared at him in awe, then at the academy's courtyard. "So you're really going back there?" he muttered.
"That I am." Void grinned and stepped towards the academy, "Tell the Vanguard I'll take care of the spiking activity." The Arc was already gathered under his boots. A flicker later, he was gone.
Shiro watched the space where he'd been for a heartbeat, then shook himself and brought a hand to his comms. "Scout Shiro-4," he said. "Extracted successfully."
Static followed, and then Ikorra's voice echoed on the channel. "Copy. You did well."
"Ghostword helped me extract," Shiro said, already unslinging his long rifle. He set up a new spot observing the academy's courtyard from the outside. "He did say he's going back in to take care of the activity. For now, I am observing the situation from the sidelines."
Silence gripped the channel. Moments later, she replied. "Acknowledged," Ikorra said, softer. "Keep your eyes on him in case he needs help."
"Already on it." Shiro sighted along the scope, tracking a bolt of light that seemed to jolt towards the centre.
—
[Ishtar Academy, Courtyard]
The standoff had worsened. Hundreds of House of Winter squads had flooded the area. Fallen Captains roared orders as more Vex Minotaurs and Hydras appeared through ruptures in space. Goblins and Hobgoblins crawled out of the summoning lattices in stacks.
House of Winter and Ishtar's Vex legions continued their clash, neither side willing to give even an inch.
Void flickered and slipped back into the middle of the chaos, "These f*ckers are way too riled up." He stood at the centre of the courtyard as the Vex and Fallen traded thousands of shots a second.
"Let's see, Minotaurs, Goblins, Hobgoblins. Even got the Harpies, they're fully stacked." Void sucked in a breath, and his eyes flicked towards the Fallen forces, "Hmm. Four, no, there's five Captains. Forty vandals and three servitors? They're going all out."
As he contemplated, bullets, lasers, and arc missiles shot towards him.
Void jerked to the right and took a half step back, "Oi! You dogs! I am strategising here, give me a second."
The next instant, two Fallen Captains locked their arc cannons onto him and fired.
"Son of a-" Void's eyes widened, he darted forwards and slid between a pair of Harpies, kicked off a pillar as the Captain's arc cannons ripped through where he'd been, taking down two Harpies with the shots.
Void twirled towards the ground and slid back into a stance. "If that's how you want to play it, fine by me." A jolt arc through his eyes, he unsheathed his blade. Blue jolts coursed around his body; his light pushed his senses to the limit.
A memory flashed in his mind.
Dust was everywhere, and the next instant, a lone gunman shot out from the centre. Shin Malphur flicked his wrist and drew his gun, fire coiling at its barrel. Right at that instant, Sai Mota cut through the cloud with sheer speed. A blue spectre that fearlessly blitzed the threat in front of her.
'Ruthless and relentless.' Void smiled to himself, and a vast amount of energy poured out from him, running rampant around the courtyard.
The sudden influx of light had triggered both the Vex and the Fallen, but neither side had attention to spare for a third problem. That was the point.
He shifted forward with an unsheathed blade. The world narrowed in front of him. Void's feet pressed into the floor, and he squeezed everything he had into the first step.
-Clink-
He hit the House of Winter first.
Void jolted, his trajectory colliding with a Fallen Captain. With a deft slice, he cleaved off the arm that held the arc cannon. Void raised his blade and instantly riposted the Captain's strike. He stabbed and dug his blade into the Captain's throat.
A blink of an eye later, Ether plumed.
The sight of the Ether spreading through the air was enough to trigger the Fallen to fire wildly. Void flickered backwards, hiding behind the marching Vex legions.
He turned right then, pivoting towards the goblins. Void beheaded several with one strike, chucking their heads towards the Harpies to disrupt their beams.
The air pulsed as the Harpies stuttered, unable to aim. Their focus immediately shifted to their own backlines; they spotted Void.
But Void was already flowing—hit, step, vanish, return. Blinking from one strike to the next, never standing for more than a fraction of a second. Void struck in short bursts of lightning, like an imperceivable spectre.
The moment the Vex locked on, it was already too late, and he would already be gone.
A Minotaur lumbered in, warping towards his location with a herculean slam.
Void rolled under the charge, palmed the ground, scuttling up its back with precision. He raised his sword and drove it into the Minotaur's core. It spasmed, sputtering out in sparks and stalling.
Void slid back, coiling inwards, his gaze flicked towards the Fallen scavenger party ahead, and his eyes gleamed. He sprang forth at breakneck speeds and struck the minotaur with a crushing kick, sending it hurling towards the Fallen.
As the Minotaur came crashing down, its core sparked once more.
Boom!
The Vex Minotaur erupted in a riveting explosion that wiped out tens of Fallen.
But Void didn't stop there.
He sprinted straight, charging towards the Vex. A Harpy dive-bombed, crushing towards him, but he zipped past it with finesse and batted it with the back of his hand, chucking it down. A Hobgoblin raised its shield, making itself invulnerable. Void raced towards it and leapt over, leaving blue lightning coursing in his wake wherever he stepped.
Void ran through the battlefield. Faster than he ever had, squeezing every ounce of light through his system. He ran, and ran until he could run no further. Until he'd spent the last of his light and slowed to a stop.
He panted for breaths as the lightning still jittered in his system, but as Void looked around, he found himself standing in ruin. Vex legions and Fallen squads were left torn around him. As if swept by a storm, unable to even react to what had hit them.
Void wheezed, recovering his light.
And as the seconds passed, the Vex and the Fallen seemed to cautiously replenish their numbers. This time, their eyes were peeled for the strange presence that threatened them
Seeing their hesitation, Void smiled.
'Like a storm.' He muttered to himself.
He rolled his shoulders, and slowly the light returned to him. Void raised his hand, and a jolt ran between his fingers. He was slowly starting to realise the essence of an arc hunter.
Void grit his teeth and riled up his light. 'If this is the way to learn, so be it.'
'I will become the storm'
His eyes flicked towards the battle that continued, and lightning enveloped his figure. Void channelled his light with fervour and shot forward.
-
Shiro-4 watched through his scope with bated breaths. His eyes widened in awe, and he flicked the rifle around like a crazed fanatic, following the blue blur that darted around the battlefield.
Each step, each strike, Shiro-4 saw it all.
He watched as Void poured more and more out of himself, fighting tooth and nail with each passing second. Just as Void's figure thundered across the courtyard and slid to a stop, Shiro's grip around his rifle tightened.
'Is this the calibre of a Hero?' The thought crossed his mind. He couldn't look away for even a second, afraid that he'd miss the next move. Shiro-4 was mesmerised by Void's relentless style.
Unbeknownst to the scout, another presence keenly watched Void's mad frenzy against the Vex and the Fallen.
Her eyes narrowed. Elsie stood at the outskirts of the Ishtar Sink, observing the chaotic return of the Vex from the sidelines. She'd been determined to step in if things went south. But just as she thought she'd have to.
He appeared.
Elsie heaved a sigh; no matter where she went, he was always there. Almost as if he knew what would happen. For a shiver ran down her spine, but then she shook her head.
'That's impossible'
There was only one way to slip back into the timestream. She looked down at her rifle and at the strange clock at her wrist. A moment later, her eyes drifted back towards the academy, silently watching Void push back the Vex.
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