So, this is what it's like to die? To Tolcum, it felt very similar to real life, though his body was almost as numb as when he entered Oryx's orb. That was when his hearing returned. The cries of eliksni being slaughtered forced him to open his eyelids. A powerful hand suddenly grabbed hold of his own, and yanked him off the ground.
"On your feet, Tolcum," Shaxx said. "We still have a battle to win."
"You came…" Tolcum mumbled, still not grasping the truth of the situation.
"Don't go soft on us just yet, guardian," Shaxx replied before stepping away from the hunter. Parthix was on his feet as well, along with the other titans that had not yet been killed.
Tolcum looked out to see an army of devils and kings united, staring angrily back at him. Their kells were with them, enraged by Shaxx's interruption. The hunter then turned back to his friends. Behind him stood a thousand frames, rifles in hand. Slightly ahead of them was Shaxx's most trusted frame, Arcite 99-40. Alongside the sea of metal was nearly five hundred guardians, all hungry to kill. Through their ranks stepped another who made Tolcum stumbled forward. His heart skipped a beat. "Iris…"
"Tolcum…" Iris exclaimed. She stepped towards the hunter, overjoyed to see him alive. Though he could be a pain in the rear, he was one of the few people she had the honor of calling her friend. To Iris's surprise, Tolcum stepped closer to her as well, and suddenly she was being constricted by a pair of arms.
Tolcum embraced the warlock in a tight hug. "I thought that monster killed you!"
"Cats have nine lives, Tolcum. I've got a million," Iris replied. The hug felt good, and just as she was getting comfortable, the hunter pulled away.
"If you two are done, we have some scores to settle," Shaxx remarked. He then turned his gaze to the army of fallen. For a brief moment, the fort was quiet. The only noise heard was the gentle banging of wind against the fort's walls as the two armies stared down one another. Lord Shaxx's fists were balled, and in half a second, he raised his right hand high into the sky. "Charge!"
The frames rushed forth like a flood, their rifles screaming for death. Tolcum stood motionless as he watched the army run past. Row by row, the robotic warriors entered the fray. Then came the storm of guardians, led by the mighty Lord Shaxx and Parthix. Other notable warriors like Holborn, Ana Bray, and Banshee-44 charged onward as well. Thousands of bullets swam through the air, and the fort of Twilight Gap soon erupted in chaos. The two army lines mixed and blended as soldiers on each side broke through. Still, Tolcum stood mesmerized by the situation. He would've remained there for the entire battle had a firm tug from Iris not urged him onward. That was when his mind clicked, and his vision narrowed. The left side of his body became engulfed by Darkness as he sprinted forward. Half a dozen shadow copies formed beside him, and charged as one with black swords in hand. The shadows cut a path for their master, who quickly vanished amongst the chaos, leaving Iris to her own section of the conflict.
Tolcum's weapons were put away; he would not need them where he was going. Instead, he strolled forward unfazed as vandals attempted to ignite his body with energy bolts. In the blink of an eye, the hunter vanished, only to reappear behind the group of vandals. Purple explosions erupted from behind Tolcum as the vandals became engulfed in violet flames. Just ahead was the Kell of Kings, who was presently busy tearing through waves of frames that dared to challenge him. Tolcum raised a violet bow to the kell and fired, deliberately missing. The Kell of Kings lifted his head to see the guardian. Though fellow eliksni rallied to his aid, he ordered them out of the way. This fight only concerned him and the hunter.
And there they stood, motionless as armies around them fought a vicious battle for a floating orb in the sky. Tolcum was thankful for his helmet as various emotions flooded his muscles. His fists were tightly clenched as he recalled the past few days. He watched as the kell revealed four large, scimitar-like shock blades. The creature pointed a blade to him, daring for his retaliation. Instead of leaping to his certain demise, the hunter simply cocked his head. The fingers of his hands were splayed out, ready to unveil his true power. In an instant, void energy began to emanate from the hunter's body, creating a pair of violet glowing, serrated swords. The energized weapons fell into his hands as a mucky substance swarmed his body. "Kell of House Kings!" Tolcum shouted as he spun his weapons around. "Today, I bloody myself with your entrails!"
The kell chuckled horrendously as he raised his blades. Then, he lunged forward. He swung with his swords, only for them to be blocked by four of Tolcum's shadow copies. The kell quickly twisted his blades and brought them back in the opposite direction, splitting the shadow copies in half as he went. That was when Tolcum leaped through the dissipating shadows. He swiped horizontally with his swords, tearing into the left side of the kell's helmet. The Kell of Kings staggered backwards, attempting to regain control of the situation. He whipped his swords back in anger, only for the hunter to retaliate with a swing of his own. The hunter shattered one of his shock blades in a single swipe. Still, the Kell of Kings continued to swing his blade vigorously, and quickly overwhelmed the guardian.
Tolcum stepped back as another volley of swords aimed to tear him in half. He raised his own swords for another strike, and leaped high into the air. He was met with the kell's blades, and forced back. He then struck again, this time splintering another of the kell's shock blades. The pair clashed again and again, but no harm befell either as they danced delicately around one another's curved edges. Eventually, they broke off from one another, and that was when Tolcum took a new approach. He unveiled his blackened bow; three arrows were embedded in the string. He pulled back and fired. The Kell of Kings successfully defended against the first two arrows, but the third snuck past his shock blades and impaled his right shin. The kell let out a howl of pain as he desperately tried to pluck the arrow from his body. Tolcum leaped to the monster once more, only to be stopped as members of House Kings stepped into his path. Thirty eliksni swarmed him with rifles and swords in hand. Bullets raced past the hunter, several even nailing him in his chest. However, the liquid-like Darkness and Light that engulfed his body kept him well protected. Finally, he called upon the void, and energy rallied to his right fist. He brought the arm violently down upon the ground, and instantly incinerated all the fallen that had encompassed his position. He then looked back to the kell, only for a strange phenomenon to occur. His chest felt heavy, similar to when he was within Oryx's orb. The Darkness he had once wielded as a weapon was turning on him. It felt as if thorns were piercing his soul. Though his Light retaliated, it was overwhelmed by the Darkness in his heart. The hunter crumbled to his knees. "No, not yet!" he cried out. That was when he heard a familiar hiss.
"The Darkness would consume you inevitably. That was the deal," Oryx growled from beyond the realm of reality. "Now, the deal must be met."
The shadows collapsed around Tolcum's body, his vision being made blurry. "No! Not yet!" the hunter shouted in anger as he attempted to reach for his revolver. His fingers fumbled around for a moment, but soon claimed the weapon. Just get close, and finish the kell with a shot to the skull. That's all you have to do. Tolcum crawled forward, holding off the Darkness for as long as he could. Slowly, he raised his revolver to the Kell of Kings, only to realize he was too late. The kell had plucked the arrow from his shin, and stood over Tolcum with a shrapnel launcher in hand.
"Sook dow ka," the kell growled as he aimed the weapon down at Tolcum.
All his memories flashed before his eyes as the weapon heated up. He remembered his former life, the fatal day on Mars, his rebirth, his arrival at the Tower, his newfound friends, the day he lost the love of his life, the moment he met Iris, the file he found within King's Watch, the Shrine of Oryx, the Battle of Vespir Hill, and seeing Iris one last time. Iris, I'm sorry. He watched as the kell fired, and felt scorching layers of fire tear through his body. In his dying moment, the Darkness was freed. It could not travel beyond with his soul, and so was released to the world. Millions of jagged shards of dark energy shot forth from the hunter's lifeless body, shattering the fallen lines and severely wounding the Kell of Kings. Thousands fell to the bone-piercing shards as they erupted.
Shaxx broke the skull of a fallen captain with a single headbutt and lifted his rifle to open fire. The Kell of Kings was fleeing on the back of his ahamkara, and Solkis made the decisive decision to retreat as well. Shaxx watched in the final hours of the evening as the fallen horde vanished over Vespir Hill. It had been a long, hard-fought battle, and countless laid dead. The walls of the Last City had been battered by walker fire, but they still held firm. At long last, the Battle of Twilight Gap was over, and they had won.
In the aftermath of the battle, all of Shaxx's frames had been destroyed, save Arcite. Many guardians had fallen victim to the conflict, such as the hunter, Ana Bray. Still, many more survived. Iris and Parthix seemed to lock onto Tolcum's position with equivalent timing, and slowly made their way to his body. A wave of Light shimmered over the guardian's body for a brief moment, void energy still held in his right hand. The energy remained for a moment longer before fading entirely. The hunter they had once known as Tolcum was gone.