A/N: ENJOY CHAPTER!! Leave a review though. WE'RE SO CLOSE TO 200.
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[Thieves' Landing]
Void's jumpship hissed onto the landing pad. Void kicked open the ship's door and dragged Nulsis onto the ramp.
The bustling docks immediately fell silent. All eyes fell on Void. And as they saw an Eiksni tied behind him, with his legs and hands wrapped in shadowy tethers. Countless whispers began to pass around in the crowd.
Void replied with a silent glare. Then, he raised a brow and took a step forward. His sudden shift startled the dock workers. Many even darted backwards, cold sweat perspiring on their backs.
"Relax." Void chuckled and continued dragging Nulsis towards Spider's base, "I won't do anything to you."
Today, Spider's hideout was unusual. Everyone muttered in hushed voices, afraid the shadows themselves had ears. This had rubbed the kingpin the wrong way.
Spider drummed his fingers with a slight grunt, 'Who exactly are they afraid of.' He scoffed, the entire Reef was in his hands. Who dared to rile up his people?
But as the gates parted and Void walked in, with Nulsis slung over his shoulder. Spider's eyes widened, and everything fell into place.
Now, the silence thickened. Only the groan of old generators and the distant churn of machinery gave life to the cavernous lair. Spider sat alone on his throne, his beady eyes narrowing as Void approached.
"You're fast," Spider muttered, watching Nulsis drop to the floor with a dull thud. "Didn't expect you back so soon."
Nulsis growled weakly, "You rot-infested traitor!" he spat in a rugged Eliksni dialect, "Working with humans? You've fallen lower than a Dreg."
Spider raised a brow and leaned back, unbothered. "And you, have fallen right into my hands. How utterly surprising."
"Save the reunion for later, I'll need a room." Void quipped.
Spider blinked. "A room?"
"Just for a little information extraction," Void said, casually.
Spider smirked, his gaze drifting to Nulsis, then back to Void. "Far back left. Empty."
Void gave a short nod and hoisted Nulsis again.
But then Spider gasped as if he remembered something, "Ah! Don't scratch the walls, I had them repainted this week."
Void sighed and continued dragging Nulsis down the corridor without another word.
Inside the dim room, rusted vents buzzed faintly overhead. Void dropped Nulsis into a chair. Luminous tethers coiled around his arms and legs, hardening as they locked him in place.
Nulsis thrashed weakly, but the chair wouldn't budge. He hissed as his jaws clicked.
"Obsidian, trigger active translation protocols. Relay it through my comms." Void tapped his wrist.
Then Void crouched to his eye level. "Ready to talk?"
Nulsis shivered slightly, "Useless. It is useless. I know nothing."
Void shook his head, entirely unconvinced, "I don't need much. Just tell me one thing. What exactly are the Devils, Winter and the Kings planning?"
Nulsis stopped struggling. Then his face shifted in horror as his eyes widened, "You....who are you?"
Void stared at him for a moment, "Answer the question."
But Nulsis's jaw tightened.
"I won't ask again." Void reached forwards, grabbing Nulsis's throat and tightening his grip. The Eliksni wheezed harshly, but still he didn't say a word.
"Suit yourself." Void sighed. Then, without a word, he lifted his palm.
"Zamyr."
The air tensed.
A breath of frost rolled through the room. The lights dimmed, then flickered violently. Nulsis's breath hitched. His mandibles trembled. Shadows seemed to curl inward from every corner.
And then—it appeared.
A vast, coiling serpent—fanged, plated, celestial—emerged in his vision, its mouth yawning wide. The illusion swallowed the walls whole.
Nulsis screamed. Then fell silent.
His head slumped forward.
Void stood calmly beside him as the lights returned.
Zamyr's amused voice echoed from the blade.
~Perhaps, too much.~
"Let's hope you didn't fry his brain." Void clicked his tongue.
He stepped forward and smacked Nulsis sharply across the face. The Eliksni gasped awake, tumbling from the chair. He blinked wildly, disoriented.
Void crouched again, this time the illusory serpent wrapped around Void and his voice turned low "Now. Tell me."
Nulsis's eyes quivered.
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[Cosmodrome]
The Cosmodrome buzzed with residual energy from the event. Nulsis's crashed ship still smoldered in the distance. Around the broken terrain, dozens—then hundreds—of Guardians lingered, standing in clumps, weapons slung over shoulders and Ghosts orbiting lazily.
IEatPaint let out a low whistle. "Man, that was a wild chase."
TheOneWhoKnocks nodded, "That Fallen was fast as **** too. Crazy speeds."
Waffles chuckled, "Dude was gliding on the sand for real. Plus that jetpack was crazy. Didn't know you could get one."
"Dude you can literally float." Gandalf raised his brow.
Thunderclappin stepped forward, hands on hips. "So, you guys ever figure out what that workshop thing is? The guy said to visit him?"
The six looked over. A lot of New Lights had huddled together trying to figure out what Viper meant.
Gandalf snorted. "F*cking noobs. Of course I do."
Waffles cracked a laugh. "Yup."
Undecided stepped in dramatically and cleared his throat. "Ahem...That workshop? Nothing big dude, its just a secret faction"
Everyone froze.
"Secret...faction?" Thunderclapping repeated slowly, not sure if he was getting it right.
BearSpray chuckled and equipped the Faction's class item, "I mean, we're already a part of it."
Percy Jackson chimed in, "Wait… WAIT. Secret faction? Dude, are you deadass?"
"It gets better" TheOneWhoKnocks said, grinning as he held up the Gaboon MK1. "Check this beauty out. First thing I got after joining. Just for saying yes."
Everyone instantly inspected his loadout.
"No f**** way," Erectus_Maximus cursed.
"Say on your momma right now." LeeroyJenkins refused to believe it.
"Relax dumbass" IEatPaint said casually, taking out his own VENOM weapon like it was no big deal.
The crowd buzzed.
"Dude. WHERE is this workshop. I've searched the entire map four times. It's not here." ILoveLoot screamed.
"Easy. It's in Thieves' Landing, next to the Reef." Waffles chimed in.
"That place doesn't even show up on my map," someone complained.
"Then finish the second campaign mission," Waffles replied, shrugging. "You'll unlock it. That's the ticket."
A ripple of panic spread. Some Guardians checked their progress screens.
"I haven't even started the second one yet!"
"Well," Gandalf said with a smug grin, "The best weapons aren't for everyone. There's levels to this shit."
One Guardian shouted, "Nope! I'm not waiting. Cosmodrome's done for today—I'm finishing that mission!"
Like dominoes, dozens of others joined in, transmatting out.
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[Kings Watch]
The wind whispered across the flat plains of the Cosmodrome. And as the winds followed rugged hills of Kings Watch, silence reigned—except for the soft clink of armor plates and the crunch of dust beneath heavy boots.
A lone Fallen Captain stood at the edge of a jagged ridge, overlooking the City in the distance. His yellow cloak fluttered in the breeze. Its color had faded to a murky gray, but still it felt regal. His four arms rested calmly at his sides, but the air around him felt tense.
He was watching. Waiting.
A shimmer behind him bent the light, then a splicer appeared disabling its stealth tech. Its armor was adorned with cybernetic grafts. The splicer fell to a knee.
"Captain," the Splicer rasped, lowering his gaze.
The Captain didn't move, didn't look. Instead, as the cape billowed, his jaws clicked faintly. Then he gestured for the splicer to rise.
The Splicer continued, hesitant. "Nulsis… has been captured."
There was no response.
"More than a hundred Guardians were involved. Coordinated. Swift. We—did not expect them to move so fast. Not with their network in ruin."
The Captain slowly turned his head, his eyes gleaming beneath his hood. His mandibles clicked once again.
"So what?" he said, quiet but firm.
The Splicer flinched.
"The speed and swiftness of their movements suggest that the City has recuperated far faster than our expectations." The Splicer twitched with unease, "A large number of new lights also means that maybe, our plans are no longer feasible."
"They are many, that is true." the Captain turned. "But many are blind. And the Light has made them soft."
He turned back toward the City in the far distance. The Traveler loomed above it like a pale god. The Captain's eyes narrowed.
"They think the Great Machine belongs to them. That it watches over their cradle."
The wind tugged at his cloak.
"But it will remember. Eventually. When the time is right. It will return… to us."
The Splicer hesitated. "And until then?"
The Captain finally moved. One slow step forward. Then another. His voice was nearly a whisper.
"Let them gather. Let them build. Let them believe."
The Splicer nodded and cloaked again, fading into the wind.
"Because no matter what, they'll never see it coming," The captain muttered.
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