"That's... a problem." Crucius said, looking over an arm sticking out of a block of ice. The green metal of the arm rapidly reflected the sun's light around the cave, struggling around, before grasping the surface of the block, doing its best to push its way out.
Floating around the arm, Crucius heard muffled screaming from in the ice. "Yipe!" The ghost piped, floating back, "I better fix this quick." He extended his shell, glowing a brilliant blue from the core. He saw the hand dissolve into streams of white, along with the distorted rest of the body it belonged to. The exo rematerialized above the ice, screaming in terror as he fell to the ground. Realizing that he was no longer trapped, he looked up at the ghost, shivering.
Crucius got an odd feeling after seeing his guardian look up at him. Confused, weakened, scared. The truth was, Crucius was scared too, but in a different way. He felt a sort of urge to protect the exo laying in front of him.
Crucius' eye darted backward, then to the exo. "So, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Crucius. It appears your name is..." Crucius scanned the exo's shoulder, who had began standing up. "Zahir-2. Welcome back. Judging from your date of conception, it looks like you died about 300-400 years ago, in this cave. I've brought you back, but you don't have your memories."
Zahir stared at Crucius blankly.
"You don't talk much, do you?" Crucius asked, secretly disappointed. He had been alone for so long-
Zahir tentatively pointed at his throat, namely, a scratched and corroded section of it.
"Ah, I see. The ice must have damaged your voice. Hold tight." Crucius said, as a stream of silky light flowed from him to the exo, covering up Zahir's wounded throat. Zahir coughed, shocked at the sensation of being healed, his throat being filled with what wasn't there. "Thanks, but I think I've had enough time to understand what's going on. Why did you bring me back to life, though?" Zahir asked.
"My destiny is to seek out a warrior capable of wielding the traveler's light, and aid them in saving humanity from its enemies." Crucius replied, spinning his shell.
"I was... chosen?"
Crucius began to worry that he was overwhelming Zahir. He hadn't really thought about what he would say when he found his guardian. "Listen, Zahir. We may never know why the traveler chose you, but I knew that you were the one the moment I passed by your corpse. I sensed a courageous spirit in you, a noble being." Crucius explained, while beginning to form light armor around Zahir.
Zahir took note of his new getup, materializing around him, and finishing with a helmet.
"Alright, I'll take your word for it." Zahir said.
"Just know that I'm here to support you. All the wa-"
Crucius was interrupted by a thrall stumbling into the cave room that was once Zahir-2's tomb. Scattered chunks of ice dotted its body.
"Oh no, reviving you must have thawed some of the hive out." Crucius frantically explained. He didn't want his newly born guardian to have to engage in combat right out of the gate, but he couldn't recall Zahir back to the ship until they escaped the ice caves.
"I'm guessing this is an enemy of humanity?" Zahir asked as the thrall took notice of the pair, throwing its legs toward Zahir as fast as it could. Zahir raised his fists, sending a heavy fist crashing into the thrall's head as it ran into him. The thrall stumbled back, but not after having managed to rake one of its claws across Zahir's chest. Zahir, not used to pain, clutched his wound, bending down. Crucius watched Zahir shake his head, reeling his fist back for another punch. Except this time, Zahir's fist was propelled by a brilliant flash of arc energy, striking the thrall and sending it dissolving into nothing as it let out a hollow scream. Crucius' eye lit up. "Great job!" He exclaimed, as Zahir looked at his hand, tilting his head. "You've already started harnessing arc energy!"
Crucius heard harsh footsteps against ice behind him again, meeting a couple of more thrall and an acolyte, peering upon Zahir with its green, cold eyes.
"I hope you know what to do." Crucius said to Zahir, who raised his fists again. Crucius was filled with joy. He already felt it. He had made the right choice.
