Phaetin's never failed. Never had a reason to.
The warlock was instantaneously launched into a world of great splendor. The facility he stood within appeared to be the Black Garden's antithesis. Where the garden held a sort of horrifying beauty, this realm was full of glowing life. The sky was painted with various beams of energy which all linked to a tower at the world's center, and Phaetin was surrounded by forest; but not of the organic kind. Instead, each tree and plant was a translucent structure with beams of circuitry running throughout. It was a forest of data, and what Phaetin required was at its center. As the warlock advanced down a slope to an enormous bridge, his ears picked up the numerous soundwaves screeching through the realm. The soundwaves were filled with various audio files that had been recorded across all of Vex time, and while many noises were familiar to Phaetin, there were those that seemed other-worldly.
"The Nexus Core," Phaetin uttered as he began his trek across one of the Vex bridges that lead to the massive central tower.
The tower was not made of any solid object, but rather a field of energy which contained wavelengths of all information known to the Vex. Most data was merely streamed from the various other Vex structures, but important algorithms and source codes were both derived and stored within the Core. Such files were never to be moved.
"Phaetin, stop!" a voice demanded.
The warlock immediately turned to the unseen being, confused as to how someone could be with him in the Nexus Core. Then, his vision narrowed as he gazed into the eyes of Osiris. "You're supposed to be dead," Phaetin stated.
"Turns out you're not very good at killing people," Osiris replied with a smug grin. "You mustn't destroy this place, Phaetin. Even if you somehow succeed, the crash will instantly end your life before you have a chance to escape."
"Old fool, you really don't know what you're talking about," Phaetin retorted. He was about to continue arguing, when he noticed Osiris's body shimmer. Phaetin suddenly began to chuckle. "You're wrong Osiris. It turns out I'm very good at killing people." Phaetin then raised his right hand and allowed a violet arrow of energy to fly out and impale Osiris. Upon collision, Osiris's body glitched and disintegrated into radiolarian dust. "Bloody Vex simulations," Phaetin muttered. He then turned back to the central tower, only to realize the bridge he stood on was disappearing. Without a moment of hesitation, the warlock began sprinting across the bridge's surface as it dissolved. Then, his foot touched air, and Phaetin started a dissent to the foggy abyss below. No, not like this. The warlock was out of all options, except for one. Phaetin outstretched his left arm and allowed it to sputter to life. A small, square platform materialized beneath him, and he landed on its solid surface. Phaetin then looked up to where the central tower was located.
"You almost had me, but I know your systems," Phaetin said to no one. He then lifted his left arm to the areas ahead and above him. His arm blinked with light, and several new platforms began to materialize. Then, the warlock simply hopped from one location to another, until finally he planted his feet on the central island where his target was located.
"Finally," Phaetin smiled with relief. He stood less than a hundred meters from the core, but unfortunately for him, dark mists began to dot the landscape. Dozens of Vex goblins warped in, and immediately turned their attention to the intruder. Simulations from the Infinite Forest also warped in, and hostile forces such as the Cabal and Fallen began to attack Phaetin as well. As the hostiles approached, Phaetin remained motionless. He thought of all he wished to gain, and remembered that defeating the Vex was just the start of his grand plan.
How can you defeat the Vex? It's not possible. Do you really think you can take back the whole of Earth? How will you ever save this Solar System from countless adversaries? You're simply insane; psychotic even.
"I'm not crazy…" Phaetin muttered to himself, his head down. His enemies opened fire, but not a single round touched him. Black holes had surrounded his body, and sucked in all objects that dared to try and collide with him. "I will succeed, because I am Phaetin Moraki!" the warlock shouted. In a glorious display of light, his six elemental energies shot forth from his body in a tornado of explosive power. His enemies were instantly disintegrated, and he stepped towards the central tower.
"I have done it," Phaetin exclaimed as he put a hand to the tower. But, nothing happened. Phaetin could not understand why at first; then he saw it. A slight distortion, so thin across the tower as to almost be unseen, was stopping him from fulfilling his goal. "The Vex are trying to distort time so that I may never know the interior of their systems," Phaetin growled. Then, he heard the roar of minotaurs warping in behind him.
/
"That's another guardian down!" Jorgan called out as he laid his comrade to rest. "Get to cover!"
Diana sprinted to her partner's side, and together they leaped behind a shallow Vex barricade. "They are rather determined to purge us from their systems, aren't they?" the warlock asked rhetorically.
"Focus on the battle!" Zephyr demanded as he raised his sniper to the enemy and fired, shattering the head of a Vex minotaur.
"In a few minutes, there won't be a battle," Jorgan remarked as he reloaded his scout rifle. Several other guardians huddled around them and prepared for a last stand. Across the Pyramidion, other groups of guardians took similar action as the number of Vex simply became too much to handle.
"I count roughly two hundred minotaurs preparing for a frontal assault against us," Zephyr informed. "Another hundred goblins will try to rush us from the rear as well."
"Anyone able to unleash their super?" Diana asked.
"Already used mine," Jorgan answered.
"No," Zephyr stated simply. Despite the desperate situation, the hunter somehow kept his nerve. He appeared indifferent to the battle, as if his own life was not at risk.
Then, a flurry of Torch Hammer rounds shelled the guardian positions, and three went down. Jorgan and the others raised their weapons to retaliate, but as one minotaur after another fell, more simply warped in to take their place.
/
"I can hear them: my brethren dying for the belief that I can succeed," Phaetin said to himself as he blasted away his minotaur adversaries with one swing of his enflamed sword. "I can hear their screams! I've seen this moment before. You all knew I'd come here eventually, and that is why you are so desperate to stop me," Phaetin spoke, turning back to the central tower. "You may have distorted this timeline, but not all of them. I simply have to find the right one." The warlock then raised his left hand and activated it. He was placed in a similar position before the central tower, just before it distorted time. Phaetin lunged forward, but again it was too late. The Vex Mind warped time around its core, and Phaetin was forced away.
Then, a booming voice echoed across the entirety of the Nexus Core. "You cannot vanquish us. We are Vex. We are eternal."
"I guess I'll just have to be faster," Phaetin replied, activating his arm again. This time, he appeared a dozen feet from the central tower; Vex goblins were already waiting for him. Without a moment of hesitation, Phaetin activated his arm again. He spawned next to the central tower, but its rupture of time had already begun. Phaetin then used his arm again, and again, and again, and again until finally he did it.
"I've got you!" the warlock shouted as he whipped Rasputin's fragment from his pocket and rammed the Warmind memory unit into the central tower. For a moment, all was silent. Then, the beams of light that had been shooting across the sky began to blink. The world began to rumble, and Phaetin's eyes widened as he heard a familiar voice echo throughout the realm.
"YA Rasputin, zashchitnik chelovechestva. Chistka sistemy prodolzhayetsya," was the phrase Rasputin used, and Phaetin watched as the Vex core became corrupted with the Warmind's interference.
The warlock smirked as Rasputin began to bend the Nexus to his will, all the while being slowly destroyed himself. "Now the real fun begins," Phaetin said to himself.
SYSTEM ERROR…
…
InTuRuPtIoN wArMiNd…
…
("Я Распутин, защитник человечества. Чистка системы продолжается.")
Translating…
("I am Rasputin, Protector of Humanity. System purge in progress.")
…
SyStEm CoRrUpTiOn In PROGRESS…
…
ENTRY TERMINATING…
…
…