"What?! Why can't I talk with Cayde? I gotta sell these crappy treasure maps to someone," Arden whined as Rolan stood to block his path.
"I'm sorry, guardians, but the Hall has been temporarily closed at the discretion of the Vanguard," Rolan explained, his bulky frame easily preventing Arden from advancing further.
"Come on, Arden," Brutus urged as he put a hand on his comrade's shoulder. "We have other tasks that require our attention."
"Fine," Arden reluctantly agreed, shaking his comrade off him in the process. The guardians turned to leave, when suddenly the hunter stopped. Rolan lowered his stance in response, fearing the hunter would do something he'd come to regret. Arden tilted his head back to the titan ever so slightly, allowing the outline of his helmet to be seen behind his cloak. "This is because of Phaetin, isn't it?"
"I am not authorized to say," Rolan replied.
That was all the hunter required. "You don't have to," Arden replied before swiftly turning to leave. "I have my answer."
As Rolan watched the guardians transmat away, he briefly turned his head to the hall out of curiosity. "Don't hate me, guardians," he said quietly to himself. "We're all in the dark on this one."
/
"So, Phaetin, what's the next phase of your brilliant plan?" Cayde asked overenthusiastically as to indicate some degree of sarcasm.
The great warlock was silent as he approached the room's long table. His hood had been pulled up past its usual position ever since the conclusion of the parade. Everyone could hear his noisy respirator at work; so much so that Ikora almost became concerned. The warlock took several more steps, then threw his right hand onto the table; the next to touch was his left. No one had seen his arm since the fall of the Vex, and it was then that they discovered what had become of his missing parts. A metal hand did indeed touch the table, but it was not of the Vex. Instead, it belonged to that of a Redjack he had broken out of anger for his lost appendage.
"So, even your limbs didn't survive their collapse," Ikora remarked.
"No, and I was foolish for thinking they would," Phaetin stated as he lifted his right hand to remove his hood. The hood fell to his back, and he then removed his respirator. "I even had to claim the optical circuit of an old 55-30 frame."
"You've endured quite a lot, haven't you?" Shaxx asked.
"It does not matter," Phaetin proclaimed out of fear that they would try to strip him of his authority. "I will manage, as I always have."
"Then, back to Cayde's question," Zavala interjected.
"Yes, about that," Phaetin replied as he reached into one of his pockets for a datapad. Upon retrieving the device, he slid it across the table. The object stopped at roughly the center of the elongated table, and shot forth a holographic image from its lens. "This is our current solar system, taking into account all the destruction caused by the collapse of the Vex," Phaetin stated. "As you can see, several worlds no longer exist as a result, but most of our system has been left intact. That is how I intend to keep it," Phaetin explained. "The remaining hostile factions we face have a finite amount of troops at their disposal, thus my plan is simple: complete and total conquest."
"Then let's talk details. Where are we hitting first? What's our plan for holding conquered regions? When do we begin building structures beyond the city?" Cayde began to ask.
"Not so fast," Phaetin interrupted. "I wish to make this process as simple and… efficient as possible." The warlock then turned to the group of guardians that stood before him. "I do not wish to overextend, or overexert our own forces. Though I believe we could take control of the system by ourselves, it would be easier to enlist the aid of others."
"Like the Reef?" Cayde inferred.
"Yes," Phaetin agreed. "Along with others."
"Who exactly are these others?" Ikora questioned.
"For starters, the remaining guardian factions of Earth. I will need the allegiance of everyone if we are to succeed in the simplest fashion," Phaetin answered.
"So Dead Orbit and Symmetry," Saladin added.
"Yes, as well as another," Phaetin replied.
"What other?" Zavala asked, both curious and slightly disturbed. What other faction existed?
"You will know in time, but for now I must speak with the members of Symmetry," Phaetin said, easily dodging Zavala's question.
"They've been incarcerated since their attempt to assassinate you," Saladin reminded the warlock.
"Indeed. Nonetheless, I must speak with them," Phaetin replied before stepping past the group of guardians.
"Rolan Izin will take you to where they're being held. We'll see what we can do about Dead Orbit," Zavala informed the warlock as he vacated the room.
"I'm not sure those goth people are gonna agree with Phaetin's policies," Cayde remarked to the Titan Vanguard.
"They may not have a choice," Shaxx chimed in as he crossed his arms. "I fear that warlock may be beyond anything we thought he could be."
"Dead Orbit won't care what he is," Zavala argued.
At his words, Shaxx began to chuckle. "Neither will Symmetry. What do you think he's meeting them for? You believe he'll actually use politics to gain their allegiance? In case you haven't realized it yet, that warlock is devil-defined."
"Oh no," Zavala muttered. He then shoved his way past the enormous titan and sprinted down the hall after Phaetin. Little did he know it was too late.
/
Deep in the underbelly of the Tower, the Vanguard kept their greatest threats locked away. Their trusted lieutenant, Rolan Izin lead the devious warlock to the chamber of which contained the surviving members of a dying faction.
"Unlock the door," Phaetin instructed.
"As you wish," Rolan replied before revealing his access card. He quickly slid the card through the door's sensor, and it unlocked. "I will call for security to accompany you."
"No!" Phaetin abruptly argued. "I will speak to them alone. They must know that I do not wish to bring force down upon them."
"Your orders are to be followed, but I must warn you that these are dangerous warriors," Rolan advised. "They may be unarmed, but the Light is still their ally."
"As it is mine," Phaetin smirked before brushing past Rolan. He then pulled the heavily fortified prison door open, and stepped into the grand chamber Symmetry members were kept in. Once inside, Phaetin whipped his right hand through the air, allowing his shadow energy to shut the door behind him.
There, inside the dark chamber were the last hundred members of Symmetry. "Look what the Darkness dragged in," one of the guardians remarked with sinister intent as he rose from the muck-covered ground he sat upon.
"Your faction wished me dead, but I have survived," Phaetin stated. "I have annihilated the Vex, and seek to restore the rest of our wondrous galaxy to the authority of the Last City."
"Dark and light must exist together!" another guardian shouted. "You push back against the Darkness, and it will return with equal ferocity."
Phaetin's eyes grew dark as the muscles of his forehead tensed. "Do not dictate to me how the universe works! I am the Keeper of Exponential Knowledge, and only I know what is to come."
"It's like they said," a female guardian spoke up. "You truly are a false messiah."
"And you're right where we want you," a male exo stated.
Phaetin could hear the guardians activating their various abilities, yet despite this stood unfazed. "I held no false belief that I could convince you to join me," he remarked as his opposition drew closer. A hundred mighty guardians of a fallen faction leaped to him as one, confident they could obliterate the heretic once and for all. "But you must understand in your dying breath that there is only one path for those who defy me." An instant later, the warlock slammed his robotic arm against the ground at such a speed as to draw intense surprise from all who bared witness. From the warlock's fingertips came his six elemental energies, which shot forth unrestrained. The chamber filled with various colors of light, and screams of agonizing pain forced Rolan to shudder from the other side of the sealed chamber. It only made him quiver more when silence followed a few moments later.
"What have I allowed to happen?" Rolan asked himself before reaching to open the prison chamber's door. However, before he could, it was forced open from the inside. Smoke suddenly permeated the hallway of which he stood in, and only a single figure exited the chamber.
"They attacked me," Phaetin said as he stepped past the titan. "I had no choice."
"Still, was killing all of them really necessary?" Rolan questioned out of irritation.
"Oh…" Phaetin began to say as he walked further away from Rolan. "Yes indeed," he stated with a sinister grin.