The Cabal Harvester travelled less carefully across the skies back to base. Without any foes to rip them out of the skies, Bracus no longer needed to keep such caution. The engines of the ship was the only sound that broke the silence of the former Vex sanctuaries.

Of course, the Guardians did not leave the Vex Complex without leaving behind a Transmat beacon that one of the Ghosts had prepared. With that beacon planted, the Sunbreakers would arrive soon enough and take control of that location as they had already done with the sky fortress of Tralion. And with no Vex units to repel them, both the renegade solar Titans and the will of Enlightened Warlock was going to spread across Mercury, thus placing the world back into the hands of the light.

Independence's red eye beamed brightly. The last thing he remembered was forcing him to spawn more Arc clones in a desperate and successful attempt to slay a high ranking Vex. When he knew that the job was done, he allowed himself to let go of consciousness.

When he awoke, he was onboard the ship he and his team had arrived in. He was safe. Thanks to him the mission was a success.

He could still feel them. The voices. They were no longer torture. But they were there regardless. Independence could hear the voices ever so faintly in the depths of his mind. He would need total silence just to hear them. However, he was convinced that with enough time awake, the voices would return. If he could only somehow make use of these voices. All of those discarded Vex units that had been dumped together in a lake. Now in his mind.

First thing he noticed from what he saw was that he was strapped in one of the large cabal seats, leaned onto the side. He looked about the room. Kestral and Claw were across from him in silence, tired and in thought. While Kestral's eyes were the only thing visible and Claw's face was expressionless, the Vex Guardian could tell they were both occupied with their daydreams.

His Ghost appeared in front of him, ready to spill a couple of words. "Rise and shine. I hope your awakening this time wasn't as rude as the last couple. I'm getting concerned about your mental condition. It may be a hinder to the coming events."

The voice of the Ghost caught Kestral's attention, whose eyes were now locked on Independence. Claw had no concern and continued to wander in her violent fantasies. Independence himself ignored kestral's stare of curiosity and replied to his Ghost with the kind of tone any would have upon waking up.

"Coming events?"

"In time. But the mind fluid from the lake. We're going to have to find a way to remove as much of it as possible. If the many subminds that I'm picking up in your mental readings get too strong, you might even lose the ability to control yourself, the insanity of the infective minds kicking in. Causing you to commit random actions and think random thoughts."

At this, Independence shifted from his seat. Not frightful, but uneasy from this confirmation of his suspicions.

"Independence, I don't mean to scare you with this. The good news is that there is a way to keep this at a weak state. It seems that when you go unconscious or in a state of "sleep", the other minds do the same. It's only after prolonged consciousness that they increase in activity."

"Ghost, do we know of any way to rid of this condition I bear?"

"Not yet."

The Stone gates opened, and the Titan clad in Yellow and gunmetal armour stepped into the chamber of light. A sunbreaker guard remained at each of her sides. None of them bowed before the Warlock on the throne. The three of them looked up to the column of yellow light shining into the sky.

The middle titan, the leader, began. "Osiris, from Warlock to Vex Mind. For so long you have been quiet. Yet as of late, I see you have been rather active, determining by the light you exhaust into the sky. My fellow Sunbreakers have reported a Cabal ship traveling among this world. And only recently, these two warriors by my sides, Phoenix and Icarus, grant me interesting news."

"Ouros, Third Empyreal Magistrate of the Sunbreakers. I can feel their power. The beasts. Far below the surface. Soon enough, they will build enough might within themselves and break free of their prison. They will resurface, destroy me, destroy you, and poison the light once more."

"I understand that. I assume these "Guardians" of yours are your next attempt?"

"Indeed."

"A Vex, a Cabal, a Hive, and a fallen. Why these?"

"It is, in a way . . . experimental. There is only so much time we have left. But I need to be sure that their strength is primed before I send them down into the Catacombs."

"It was experimentation that caused this ordeal to begin with. Why do you choose to use a new experiment to end this one? How do you know the past will not repeat itself?"

"Ouros, if you desire, you can send me your entire clan of Warriors. You can join them. While I believe you are strong warriors, you cannot defeat these slithering weapons. I have sent down warriors of your own many times, you remember. My final attempt had been a Champion from the city. One I had once fought alongside. And like those who came before him, they failed. Exos, Humans, Awoken. They all come from the same world. They think the same. We need more colourful minds. We need enemies to fight other enemies."

"You did not answer my question. How do you know the past will not repeat itself?"

"I . . . do not. But I start with them small. I learn from my mistake. And we will erase that mistake with a correction. My new Guardians are on rout to this place as we speak. So far, they are proving to be rather successful."

"They did help us take down the Eradicative Mind, Mistress." Icarus added.

Osiris continued. "It is because of them that you had no need to defend yourselves from Vex weaponry as you made your way here. We are Lucky that unlike the Vex of Venus, these units can only work with an active Axis mind within the network. If I could, I would reclaim control over these machines. But the power of the creatures block my connection to the units."

Ouros was silent for a moment, thinking. She looked back up to the light and continued. "What is your plan?"

"I wish to prepare these four warriors. They have already discovered the powers they hold within themselves. Now they need to master them. When they are ready, together, they will venture into the Catacombs with a weapon to destroy the beasts. If I am proven wrong and they fail, we will have as much artillery and warriors on the surface as we can as a final attempt. I am convinced that once I open the gate to let the Guardians enter that wretched place, I will not have the strength to reclose it."

"Where do you expect to get artillery and more Warriors?"

"I believe despite my sour relationship with him, the Speaker would be more understanding when a threat is eminent."