My ship lands at its docking station in the circle of bones. I exit the ship and immediately fall to my knees. My armor burnt, battered, and broken clings to my body, wrapping me in its dark embrace. I reach inside and pull out the cube. One objective was completed, the other I must first secure.

But there is no time to plan or consider, my guest will be arriving shortly. As if on cue I see the opening of a slip space portal and through it a ship heading directly for me. The ship slams into me smashing pillars and rock, driving me through a wall. The ship's ruptured fuel tank exploded upon me searing my flesh to the bone. The ship's pilot stumbles in from the side, having teleported out at the last possible moment.

Lynda stumbles towards me. A knife in one hand and her other clutching her stomach. Pinned to a pillar by the remains of her ship's cockpit, I reach out with my left hand towards the cube just out of reach. My left hand is nothing more than bone, held together by sinew and hive magics, the black bone is inscribed with faintly glowing blue-green runes. The burns of the explosion are along my left side with chunks of flesh gone, I feel a cold sensation on the left side of my face and I realize that it has been stripped away as well. I've take too much damage, healing will take far too long at this point I must focus all my efforts on Lynda.

Lynda is almost on top of me. Through her helmet I hear her speak.

"You've hurt us enough Ben it's time I return the favor. I'm gonna fucking end this myself, for Ruby, for Jace, for Beta".

The commotion has alerted the hive and they are beginning to swarm. Lynda is completely unaware, her focus entirely on me. Out of the corner of my eye I see He-moz and Ferron leading a battalion of hive out a dark side passage. Glancing back at Lynda I begin to talk.

"Your rage has blinded you Lynda, it it will be your undoing".

I blast her with a burst of fire sending her back towards my soldiers. With my energies still coursing through me I channel the heat into the metal ship, liquifying the hull and allowing me to slip out of its embrace. Lynda, meanwhile, is engaging acolytes and thrall while my guards attack from behind. Raising my hands I command them.

"Zor-has!"

The hive retreat back into the dark crevices of the hellmouth leaving my two guards and Lynda. Full of rage she lunges towards me, bellowing with anger, her body glowing with the all to familiar electric blue energy. Her yells of rage are cut short however as she slams into my wall of darkness I cast in front of her. Dissipating the wall I slam my right fist into her skull slamming her on the floor, putting cracks in her helmet. Before she can retaliate I grab her with my skeletal hand and pin her to a pillar.

"Do I look like something that can be destroyed? Do I Lynda!?"

From the cracked glass I see my half exposed, blackened skull inlaid with the symbols and my eyes glowing with a green flame, the same as the symbols.

"I cannot be defeated, I will never stop until my revenge is complete. Like I've told you, I can't die. But you can".

I shock all of my electricity into her. She screams in pain as it courses through her body. As fast as I began, I recall the power, the sudden jolt stopping her heart. I let her slip from my grasp and fall to the ground, gently kicking up a cloud of lunar dust on her impact. My guards stand behind me as I stare at Lynda's body. Turning around I address them.

"Bring her to my laboratory I still have need of her."

With a slight nod my guards gather her up and bring her to into the hellmouth.

Nearly an hour had passed when Lynda regained consciousness. Her armor removed, she lies on the examination table with the minimal clothing that lay underneath, a small mask upon her face supplying the oxygen to keep her alive. Beside her is a tray with a large syringe filled with a black liquid. With a loud gasp her eyes open and she begins to struggle against the restraints.

"Where the fuck am I?!" She exclaims.

"Oh good you're awake, looks like we can finally get to work. To answer your question, you're in my laboratory deep within the Hellmouth." I say with a skeletal grin.

"It doesn't matter where I am, my team will find me and destroy you! Even if you kill me they will take you down!"

"I don't believe you're in any position to make threats, Lynda. In any case I'm not sure why you think I want to kill you. If I wanted you dead I could have left you to suffocate on the moon's surface. No, I require something from you Lynda, and you will give it to me."

"I'm not gonna give you anything, you sadistic son of a bitch!"

"You will in time. Even if it takes a little, coercing. Let's start with an easy one: who were the others fighting alongside you?"

"Fuck you! Torture me all you want I'd rather die than help you!"

"Very well, let us put that to the test"

Above her I summon a sigil of power. The bright green symbols comprised of pure mystical energy hover above Lynda. She scoffs.

"That's the best you got, a bullshit light show?! Cmon Ben I thought you said you were a fucking god of death or something, I expected more."

I grin and cast the spell. Tendrils of energy extend down from the symbol shoot out piercing her body wherever they strike going into her very bones. She writhes against her restraints and cries out louder than before until her voice gives out and she can only grunt in pain.

"I'm sure you've heard the stories about wizards stripping the light from guardians. This is a slightly modified version of their spell, it siphons the travelers energy signature from you, but that would normally kill a guardian so it substitutes it with a power similar to that which sustains me. If I stop now the process can still be reversed, just tell me what I want to know and I can make it stop."

"F-fuck you arrggggh!"

As I accelerate the spell her back arches up towards the sigil as the tendrils absorb the last of the travelers power, sending it to a another location. Lynda inhales sharply and makes another snide remark.

"Y-you not gonna get anything from me, w-we will stop you, you bastard."

I put up the syringe from an onyx tray behind me.

"Hm, I suppose bastard is a good term for me. I'm no longer human and yet the hive will never truly accept me. Being born of both light and dark I have no true parentage, no place to call home, no one to call my family. There is only me. I guess you are correct, I truly am a bastard. Regardless all that matters is you at this current moment, before I continue do you wish to give me what I want?"

"No, you might as well kill me because I'm never going to!"

"Who said I was going to kill you?"

"Torture me as long as you want, you won't get anything."

I inject the black liquid into her neck.

"I will get exactly what I want in time. Now we have to wait for it to take effect."

"What is it? What the hell did you do?!"

"I injected you with the black liquid used in certain hive rituals, particularly the one used to transform a thrall into an ogre. It will make things easier for the next phase."

"Next phase? What are you doing to me?!"

"Oh you'll see soon enough. But while we wait for it to fully enter your bloodstream I'll tell you about my time here. After the Crota ordeal I began claiming power within the hive. In addition I attempted to learn all I could from the Wizards including one particular trick, breaking into the minds of others. They explained it was like extending ones mind to pierce the veil surrounding another, like a knife through thoughts. They also said that some minds are easier to break than others as very few are trained to resist it. So I naturally wanted to become resistant to such manipulation and so I began experimenting, I allowed the Wizards to attempt to break into my mind. Once they broke in I killed them immediately to prevent them from taking control. I forced myself to adapt to the situation and defend myself or fall until my efforts finally came to fruition. Gradually my mind toughened, my defense strengthened, and eventually the Wizards were unable to break in at all. I continued the trading but I began to study their methods of breaking in and while they tried to get into mine I sent my mental knife into theirs. I became proficient in cracking the minds of others and stealing information among other things."

Lynda's eyes widen.

"Wait then you don't even need me to-"

I cut her off mid sentence.

"Exactly, I can rip whatever I need from your mind."

"Then why the fuck are you torturing to me why not just kill me like you did the others!?"

With a sinister grin I reply.

"Good you're catching on, certainly took you long enough. You see Lynda I am surrounded by noise, both within and outside of my mind. A buzzing, a whispering, the plotting of treachery and danger. There are those who wish to remove me from power, to prevent me from completing my goals, and even to use me for their own ends. These voices I hear within even my own fortress, they distract me from my true mission. I need these voices quieted, the noises stopped, what I need is silence. That is what you will be, my peace, my Silence."

"I'm never going to help you as long as I am alive you son of a bitch. Get one of your fucking minions to do it for you."

I chuckle and walk over to the pedestal holding the Mask of The Third Man beside it is a large egg along with the heart of a wizard.

"They are not nearly skilled enough for what I need. None of them have the stealth or the ability to be my perfect assassin, the only option is you. I have been planning this for quite some time Lynda, nothing can prevent this."

Lynda attempts to respond but no words come out. She then begins to gasp for air and her writhing slows. It is time. I grab a large scalpel and make a long, deep vertical incision along her chest. She grunts but her body no longer responds as it is entirely focused on reacting to the ceremonial liquid. The blood begins to flow from her, slowly and at an abnormal rate I reach around her rib cage and cut out her heart placing it on the tray behind me. Quickly I place the modified Wizard's heart where her's used to be and began reattaching the arteries, the ceremonial liquid allowing her body to take the foreign organ. Due to the spells cast earlier, her body begins to heal around the heart upon which green runes appear on its dark surface. The new heart begins to beat spreading the black liquid throughout her body. I reseal her chest and once again cauterize it by superheating my hands. Lynda can only stare at me with wide,horrified eyes. She is still conscious thanks to my magic, but in a state of near paralysis. I then cut out her tongue to ensure her secrecy.

"This will allow your living body to be more compatible with the worm, and to let me stop your heart anytime I see fit."

Her eyes dart back and forth in horror.

I pick up the egg and utter another spell causing the inside the inside of the egg to faintly glow. The egg then cracks to reveal a larval worm. Gesturing towards her I speak.

"This is the larvae of the hive, as they grow into what you think of as thrall and then progress to other forms such as the acolytes. By allowing it to bond to you, you will join their ranks and be subject to the Sword-Logic like myself and all of the hive."

I make the operation table become fully vertical so I can reach her back where I set the worm on her back where it proceeds to burrow into her body. Moving the table back down her body continues to shudder as the larvae attaches itself to her spine.

I grab the mask of the third man and approach her.

"Now this is the part that hurts, I am going to take all of your memories before I wipe them. You will become my perfect assassin, loyal only to me."

Tears form in her eyes as I place the mask over her face. I then go into her mind, quickly I rip her memories from her learning the identities and locations of Jav and his new team along with everything else she knows. I disconnect her memory and personality leaving only her skills. The last thing I do is attach mental connections to myself so I can see what she sees and communicate with her whenever I see fit. The last thing I do is make her unconscious for the final stage.

I summon the brood mothers who wrap Lynda's broken body in a large cocoon. When they are finished they silently carry her towards the ritual site, located in a place that roughly translates to the Cauldron. After procuring the Black Hammer I join them along with my guards at the altar. Along the twin staircases acolytes kneel in prayer, levitating their weapons slightly above their bony fingers. The high brood mother then speaks to me in a raspy voice.

"The ritual is prepared in accordance with the worm-gods. I must warn you that a spell of in this specific manner has this has not yet been attempted, what will emerge may not be what you seek."

The council of wizards floats in the back of the chamber to watch. Abragore eyeing my progress. There can be no signs of weakness if I am to maintain my command. I face the mother and respond to her statement.

"I am aware, proceed."

"A sacrifice shall be required in accordance with the Sword-Logic."

Now for my gamble.

"The wizard Abragore will be the sacrifice".

The Wizards in the back buzz, Abragore is shocked and enraged. She hovers towards me, claws beginning to crackle with energy.

"How dare you offer me as a sacrifice for your creation! I am the commander of the hordes, priestess of Oryx, you cannot do this!"

"Oh can I? You may be his priest but I am Oryx's chosen warrior, the slayer of his son and embodiment of his power. To challenge me is to challenge the King."

The rest of the council remian in the back and silent, they are interested in what I will do. I pick up the ritual knife on the altar and continue.

"You exist to serve me. Instead you have attempted to undermine my authority on multiple are useless to me in life but in your death will give rise to a far greater servant."

I lunge faster than she can react and stab her in the heart she screams as the brood mother casts her spell. Her power and life force are siphoned into the cocoon. The mother begins the sequence of spells.

"As the worm-lords first gifted the heirs to the Osmium Throne their mighty power so do I impart the power of the wizard to this new being."

The spells continue as the acolytes chant, both are in ancient hive text with a limited translation in any earth language.

Eventually the form inside the cocoon glows green as noises of cracking and oozing emanate from it. The chanting increases in frequency. The glow continues to increase as the chanting reaches a crescendo and then suddenly disappears.

"It is finished."

With the final words the mother and her assistants float back to their domain, the acolytes return to their duties, and the council flees. The only ones left are my guards and I. I approach the cocoon, Ferron questions.

"Was it successful my lord?"

"We shall see."

I hear a loud crack as the cocoon breaks open to reveal I hand, nothing like Lynda's, it resembles an acolytes but with fingers ending in claw-like points. She continues to climb out allowing me to she her chitinous body, like one of the hive, with a spike on either shoulder like those on a knight. She climbs to her feet, showing her face. The mask has become her face. The three eyes glow with an emerald light, they are no longer a visor but her eyes as it has fully melded and become part of her. Her body is a similar color to that of the Hammer and appears to be of a similar composition. I feel her in my mind I can see into it and communicate with it on a whim. I address her.

"Lynda is dead, only Silence remains."

She kneels before me. I pick up the Hammer and her modified knife, enchanted and organic. I bid her to rise and place the weapons in her hands. She takes them feeling the weight and getting a sense for them.

"Although I am sure you are loyal only to me we must be sure. Your first task will be to kill Ruby. My sources say she is currently in the tower's medbay, you will sneak in and eliminate your final tie to your former self. Take my ship and take her out discreetly, I will monitor your progress."

She bows her head and proceeds to the ship. I watch her mentally and see what she sees as she teleports in undetected and sneaks into the medbay under the cover of night, her hunter stealth and invisibility augmented by hive magics. Entering the bay and finding the room she stands above Ruby, lying battered and unconscious in the bay. She pulls her knife and cuts the wire to the machines keeping her alive. She resets the cameras and begins her return. Silence has claimed her first victim, many more will follow.