Prologue
Order. Chaos. Light. Darkness. These four words have haunted me while in this ship. It's shrouded by the remains of dead guardians. Remains so old that the bones crack just by looking at them. I thought I've seen hell, but this goes beyond anything I've seen before.
How am I supposed to tell you my story. I can't start at the end. The beginning is too boring. Somewhere in the middle...
Yeah, let's start in the middle.
It's been a year since I was brought back by my ghost. He wasn't like the rest. Very aggressive. I had to hold him back from getting shot a couple times. He constantly curses at the darkness in a firefight. I'm not one for names but called an ogre "Satan's Sphincter," is a very creative insult that matches that horrendous abomination.
I'm a male human...
My usual gear is the Celestial Nighthawk, the Iron Breed Sleeves, the Iron Breed Vest, and the Tireless Striders. And my cloak is the Mantle of Perun.
Lets see. What else...
I remember we were at the tower waiting for a new mission.
I wasn't the strongest Guardian, but I wasn't the weakest either. As long as I've got my light...and my gun. I'll be safe. Or at least I think I did.
I wondered around the tower aimlessly, studying it's design. Every now and then I glanced at the local weaponry to see what the Gunsmith has. Usually it's garbage weaponry, but I know for a fact he has some special parts. I've heard rumors from other Guardians. Damn cheapskate.
I hear a soft beep in my armor. My Ghost materializes itself in front of me and starts to fly around. "Kage, Cayde-6 and the Speaker wish to speak to you at the Hall," says the Ghost while flying around. Funny, at the tower he's very calm and mellow. But on the battlefield he starts acting like a tactical genius. Providing any means of advantage and strategy. Without my Ghost, I'd be lost. Unlike some Guardians, I decided to name my Ghost to make it more unique among the other Guardians. His name is Star. My son, Blake named him. Blake was forged in light just like me. But he's far to young for field work. I end to talk to him through both our Ghosts while I'm out on the field. I even use telemetry to show him how the word outside the City looks.
He made his first gun about two months ago. He looked up Golden Age weaponry accessible only in Tower, and used various blueprints to craft his very own hand cannon. He named the weapon "Begone." It's a standard weapon but it has a lot of kick. I'm very proud of him.
I'm getting ahead of myself. Where as I?
Oh that's right.
I walked to the Hall of Guardians. I look around the room and I see everyone is busy on their terminals and Ghosts. Ikora Rey and Commander Zabala aren't at the table. That's strange. But I do see Cayde-6 and the Speaker looking at their terminals. They must be planning ahead again. I walk towards the table.
I stop in front of the table and the Speaker and Cayde-6 stop looking at their terminals and divert themselves to me.
"Guardian Skyeris. Thank you for joining us," says Cayde-6. I nod at Cayde-6.
"Guardian we have some troubling news. The Darkness has corrupted some of our Guardians," says the Speaker. He looks at the terminal and starts to type. A hologram appears on top of the table. The hologram shows a Warlock fighting. I can see Thralls rushing to the Warlock. Those grotesque monsters are always lurking in the darkness. The Warlock is then blasted by a black aura and they start to stagger. The aura then begins to cover their entire body. The Warlock struggles then collapses on the ground. His entire body alters itself. It's an abomination. Spikes pop out, glowing eyes on the head. The armor begins to crack and a red glow comes out. The abomination rises and the hologram disappears.
How is something like this possible? How are we supposed to fight something like this? I...I...I don't know what they expect me to do.
I grip my hands and calmly say, "What the hell is this?"
I'm barely able to stay still. I'm terrified of this. I can easily be turned into...that.
I pray they have a plan for this.
The Speaker plays back to the abomination at it's full transformation. He looks at me and says, "That, is a Dark Guardian. The Darkness has learned how to corrupt the light within Guardians and alter them to do its bidding." The Speaker types into the terminal and displays other Guardians fully transformed into a Dark Guardian.
"Is there a way to reverse it?" I asked.
"We don't know," replied Cayde-6. "But we do have an idea to combat this new threat."
"Cayde," says the Speaker. Cayde-6 looks at him and both nod.
Cayde-6 types into the terminal and the Dark Guardians hologram's disappear. Another hologram appears of a white aura and a black aura.
"We have done tests on every Guardian's experience on the field. We believe that some Guardians have the ability to use both the light of the Traveler, and the power of the Darkness. Unlike Dark Guardians. You won't change physically, but your powers will be enhanced. You have mastered the way of the Gunslinger, the Bladedancer, and the Nightwalker. You have a strong light, but your light has something very few Guardians have. A path."
What does Cayde-6 mean by a path?
"I know you're wondering what Cayde means by a path. Let me enlighten you Guardian," explains the Speaker while walking towards me. He puts his hand on my shoulder.
"You fight not just for the Traveler, the people of the Last City, but also your son. It's that reason why we believe that you would make a fine candidate for this experiment."
The Speaker speaks the truth. I care more about my son Blake than anyone else. Even though I barely see him. I do what I can to make sure he's safe. And knowing me, he'll probably want to adventure out into the cosmos.
"You won't be alone this time Guardian," says Cayde-6 with a smirk.
"What do you mean?" I ask curiously. I've always worked alone. What's he talking about?
The Speaker goes back to the terminal and begins to type. Two auras disappear and two holograms appear. One is of a Warlock with powerful gear. I believe it's a female Warlock. She wears the Facade of the Hezen Lords, the Kellbreakers Gloves, the holy Purifier Robes, and the Kellbreakers Path. The entire armor set is of a white and black variations. She also bears on both of her arms to strange bonds. One glows of a burning yellow ember on the left, and the other glows of a burning blue ember on the right.
The other hologram is a male Titan. Most of his armor set has a color scheme similar to that of the Warlock. He wears the Spearhead Type 0 helmet, the unstoppable ACD/0 Feedback Fence, the Spearhead Type 0 chest plate, and the Kellslayer's Greaves. He wears the Light of the Great Prism mark.
Interesting teammates. Very. Interesting.
"These are your teammates. A Master Warlock named Sonia Northstar, and a Praetorian Titan named Jacob Draconus. We have already spoken to them and both have agreed to participate in this experiment," explains the Speaker.
"Now we need an answer from you."
I look at Cayde-6. He nods. His robotic face doesn't help with identifying his emotions about this experiment. I look at the Speaker, his unique mask covering his face from the people. Speaking for the Traveler and helping it heal. He also nods. I look at the holograms of the two Guardians.
This experiment has my attention. Something is telling me I should do it. And if I'm one of the few people who can handle it...
I take off my helmet and give a smirk.
"I'm in."