"The Ishtar Sink region looms large in our surviving knowledge of Venus. Guardians come hunting the ruins of the legendary Ishtar Collective, a sprawling Golden Age scientific project. But the ancient ruins that brought the Collective to the Sink have awakened again." - Grimoire of the Ishtar Sink


It was like being asleep. Like waking from a long dream. But had the dream ended or had it just begun?

Sensation pulled at his mind, drawing him closer to wakefulness. First was touch. He felt cold. Weightless. Was this death? Life? How could he know the difference? Were they different at all? Smell. The scent of darkness washed over him. He couldn't explain how he knew or why darkness had a smell, but it was there all the same, cold and heavy, weighing on his chest like a block of ice. Inhale. The smell of plants, of growing things. Of metal and stone. Exhale.

Where was he? He opened his eyes, panic constricting his chest when the darkness did not end. His eyes flicked back and forth, but the blackness was unchanging, uncaring. He tried to move, to get up, but his body did not respond. He focused on his ears. Muffled. As though a pillow was being pressed down over his ears. And yet… He could still hear something.

It was as if someone was shouting from a great distance, the wind pushing their words away before they could be interpreted. A blinding light shone suddenly, as though a fiery sword had cut through the darkness. He squinted against its harsh whitish-blue color. There was a shape. Something hovered there, beyond the light at the edge of his vision. He forced his limbs to move, to respond. He sat up with a rush. The light dimmed and he could see.

It was a large cavern of some sort, supported here and there by crumbling pillars overrun with moss and strange vines. Metal crates were scattered around, some pushed up against the stone walls as though they were trying to break through. A foot of water covered most of the floor. That explained the weightlessness, the cold. A small object hung in the air in front of him, its glowing blue eye the only source of light in the room, reflecting off of the water below.

He attempted to speak but was met with only a strange croaking sound. He frowned and cleared his throat a few times before trying again. "Wh-what're...you?"

The thing in front of him blinked. "I am a Ghost," it spoke with a strangely metallic voice, "I'm your Ghost now, actually."

"...What?"

"Ghosts are a form of artificial intelligence created by the Traveler to seek out new Guardians."

He put a hand to his head, heedless of the water dripping off of him. "Whoa."

"Yes. It might be a little much to understand at first. You have been dead a long time."

"What?" Great job. 60% of your vocabulary is 'what.'

The 'Ghost' sighed. "I can tell this is going to take a while… What is your name, Guardian?"

He thought for a few moments before he was struck by a rush of realization. "...Fyr Allerton."

The Ghost blinked at him again. "Your name is Fire? As in flame-fire?" It sounded skeptical.

He shook his head. "Nope. It's actually spelled F-Y-R..." He stood up, listening to the sound of more water dripping into the puddle with faint plinks. "Where am I? Also, why is it flooded?"

"You are underneath the Ishtar Academy on Venus. As for why it's flooded, well, that's just how it's always been."

"Venus? Like the planet?"

"Yes. To put this all in a nutshell: I am an AI called a Ghost, you are the Guardian I revived from the dead, which was made possible by the Traveler."

"...So this isn't a dream?"

"No. You see, the Traveler came to the solar system and brought a Golden Age for all of humanity. Then the Darkness came, causing the Collapse which was pretty much the destruction of everything. Then the Traveler created Ghosts to find Guardians to fight for the side of the Light."

Fyr rubbed his head. "Dude, I think you might've just given me a brain overload." He looked at the Ghost. "Let me get this straight...you brought me back from the dead?"

"Yes."

"So I'm a zombie?"

"...It's more complicated than that."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. I woke up in the 'more complicated.'" He looked around at his dismal surroundings. "How'd I wind up here? This place smells like the inside of someone's shoe."

The Ghost shrugged. Its version of a shrug anyway. "You must have died here... Don't you remember anything from your past life?"

Fyr frowned, but aside from his name, he was just drawing a whole bunch of blanks. "Sorry, no." He winced and massaged his temple. "Think I gave myself a migraine, though." He dropped down onto a crate. "So why am I on Venus and not Earth?"

"The Traveler made many planets habitable during the Golden Age. Mars, Mercury, Venus, and the Moon all have human colonies... Or had them at some point."

"So why am I down here all alone? Shouldn't there be some other people around here?"

"Most of the colonies were overtaken by other alien races during the Collapse. What remains of humanity is on Earth, in the Last Safe City protected by the Traveler."

"Dang. Guess that's the party zone, then... Are there other Guardians?"

"Yes. The Guardians are based at the Tower in the City. There used to be a great many, but that number has since been reduced."

"How come?"

"Well, Guardians can't die, but-"

"Wait. You mean I can't die?! That's awesome!"

"You can't die as long as there is Light. Without the Light, I cannot revive you... You also can't be revived if I am killed."

Some of Fyr's excitement drained away. "Is that what happened to the others, then?"

"Not exactly... You see, around 6 years ago, us Ghosts stopped finding Guardians with enough Light left to revive. Ever since then, any Guardians we've lost…well, there haven't been enough new recruits to balance them out."

Fyr frowned. This stuff was barely making sense to him. Brain must be on the fritz. He returned his focus to the Ghost. "So if there haven't been any new super zombies...how am I here?"

"Well, this place used to be a Darkness Zone: somewhere with no Light... My guess is the Darkness' hold on this place was broken, allowing me to find your Light."

Fyr whistled. "That was lucky... I like being alive better." Not that he really remembered what being dead felt like.

"You still aren't safe here," said the Ghost, "Plenty of enemies dwell on Venus. We need to find you a weapon."

Fyr grinned and nodded. "A weapon... I like the sound of that."

The Ghost expanded, sending waves of light throughout the room. When it came back together, it said, "There should be a hand cannon in that crate over there."

Fyr shrugged, walking to the crate the Ghost had indicated. He wasn't sure what a 'hand cannon' was, but he liked the sound of the cannon part. Reaching into the crate, he withdrew a gun. It was on the small side, no longer than his forearm. He frowned. "Would've preferred something more powerful... Like a bazooka for instance."

"Hand cannons may look small, but they pack a punch," said the Ghost.

"If you say so…" He turned back. "So am I just supposed to call you 'Ghost'? Cuz no offense, but that's kinda lame."

"You can give me a name if you wish."

Fyr tapped his chin. "Hmm..." The Ghost's voice sounded male, so he was pretty sure it would want a male name. He grinned as an idea came to him. "Got it! How 'bout Spark?"

The Ghost remained silent.

Fyr raised an eyebrow, grinning at him. Come on. You know you like that name.

"Very well. You may call me 'Spark'... If I might ask, what made you choose that particular name?"

Fyr shrugged. "I mean, my name's Fyr so it seems kinda appropriate for you to be named Spark."

Spark sighed. "So you named me after yourself. Wonderful... I can just tell what it's going to be like to be your Ghost."

Fyr nodded, smiling. "Pretty freakin' awesome, right?"


A/N: Hello my friends! I'm happy to introduce the sequel of Herald of the Machine World. You might be thinking "Wow that was fast!" You'd be wrong. I knew before I started HMW that there would be a sequel. In between chapters, I was busy thinking up ideas for a storyline. For all my new readers: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE READ THE FIRST STORY TO READ THIS ONE. This story can stand alone, but of course, it is easier if you've already read HMW.

I was debating on whether I should wait for this weekend to upload. My mind was made up for me by one of my readers on Twitter. If you're interested in following me, my handle is ArcaneGlitch. I mostly post about D2, but the story stuff will be there as well.

But enough of that! I'd like to hear your opinions on the first chapter of the sequel. Was anyone thrown off balance by the beginning? I LOVE READING REVIEWS SO DON'T HOLD BACK :D Also any questions you ask, I'll be more than happy to answer.

See you in the next chapter!

- TheWolfParadox