Every Guardian has a moment of exquisite horror that that gives them nightmares forever after. Anyone who says differently either hasn't had their moment yet or is lying through their ancient teeth.
Oh? You want to know what mine is? It's not pretty Guardian.
You still want to know? Alright then. Have you ever heard of Hive thralls? They're vicious creature whose only wish is rend you back to the bone you came from. One of them damn near shredded my arm yesterday.
Sorry, I got off topic. Anyways I was out on patrol on Earth, near the Russian Cosmodrome. I had been mopping up little pockets of Hive resistance in the abandoned rocket yards. Nothing strenuous or even too dangerous.
I had noticed a hole in the ground down a warehouse annex, Hive corruption spilling from it. A couple of Old Earth train cars were littered nearby and I suddenly felt that urge to explore. Damn I wish I had ignored it.
So I ventured down the gaping hole, my trusty Suros Mkb-51 at the ready. After passing by a glowing Hive artifact I emerged in a grotto crawling with thralls. I still remember the feeling of satisfaction as I watched a beautiful grenade toss atomize a cluster of thralls.
The entire battle was going a normal patrol usually does. I wasn't ready or prepared for the moment a bitch of a Wizard appeared with a group of thralls. Before I could react I was choking on a sickening miasma of dark poison. My head was pounding and I felt as though I had a Hive Knight tugging at each limb.
With a panicked scream I reached for the Light. And it answered. My thrice blessed gun of light answered my call and ensured the Wizard did not have the time to regret her mistake. However in my Darkness induced terror I missed her charges, three thralls.
The first warning I had was a talon digging its way into my leg. With moments the trio of shrieking horrors was repaying the death of their master with savage glee.
Have you ever tried to fight in the dark miasmas the Wizards conjure? With no strength in your limbs and your enemy already ripping into your body? I managed to kill all of the thralls and drag myself back to the rocket yard. However the same to my body was beyond horrendous. So I did what every guardian is taught to do the first day in the Crucible.
I pulled free an incendiary grenade and armed it. Then to just to make sure I crammed the explosive in my mouth. Those three seconds have been the longest in my life Guardian. I've died before. I've been cut to pieces, as well as shot dead. But none of it compares to lying on an uneven bed of Hive corruption, bleeding out, and knowing I'm about to burn to death. This is why I scream at night. That is a nightmare that will never leave me.