Another two waves of confluxes emerged. The next with two and the last with three of them. It was fairly straightforward for us. Two to each on the last wave...and when they finally disappeared, we ended up back into the hole to stay safe. Then suddenly, when all went quiet outside our safe zone….we all acquired links to lost armor.

"Praedyth?..." Jarvis says with confusion in his voice. I could tell my hunter friends were confused as well, even I was….seeing my hero's armor, his chest piece...now stored away for me.

I didn't say anything about it however as I followed my team out of our rabbit hole. It was ominously quiet...no vex in sight. We slowly made our way to the center of the area once again before a strange, and loud sound filled our ears. The sound itself was like a gong being hit, but it got higher in pitch every time. And with each gong...a yellow glowing orb appeared in a different location….Oracles.

"What in the world are these?" Kry asks, trying to keep one of them in the sights of his gun. Once each one appeared for its moment, there was a few seconds before one appeared, however, this one stayed.

"Oracles…" Me and Jarvis said at the same time. Me and him took quick looks at each other before realizing we had no time to ask how we knew.

"Everyone, destroy the orbs!" I yell to my team, lifting my rifle and firing into the orb, causing it to explode in its own energy, making it disappear.

"Where they appeared is where they show up...make sure they are destroyed!" Jarvis yells afterward, leaping up a ledge to find anymore as they spawned in. Our four comrades deciding not to question it and run around as well to find the energy orbs.

Seven waves of this, it would've been easier if the hobgoblins weren't sniping us from the pillars around us. After the strange change in targets, the team slowly got used to it. Kry was even messing around, twirling in the air before blasting them with his rifle. It was a nice sight, we came ready for anything.

However, amongst the gunfire and energy spikes, the sounds of the Templar, watching us crept into our ears. It's menacing gaze was on us the whole time, pulsing waves of dark power.

It wasn't long till the oracles fell to pieces, the seven waves done. To my surprise, after the six of us regrouping to celebrate our victory, an object floated out of a ring in the center of the lower ground, a relic that seemed to stare back at us.

"I am not picking that up." Zula said in a distasteful tone against the relic shield.

"Yea, as much as we'd learn from it, it still wouldn't get me to hold it." Jarvis said with a half hearted chuckle. Hearing my team trying to dodge the question of picking up the relic, I sighed deeply.

"Fine, I'll pick it up." I mutter as I started my way down the stairs to grab it. I could hear them talk behind me, quietly hoping it wasn't a trap...but as I got closer, the voice of Kabr spoke to me again.

"Drake...for this one and only time...let us fight together...you, the sword...and I, the shield." Kabr said during a chuckles not my ear. I couldn't help but smile...was Kabr, or at least what's left of him, was he the shield? I came up to the shield, ready to grab it...till I could feel the heavy glare of the Templar...it felt close, like it was ready to pounce. It was waiting for me to pick it up…

I quickly motioned everyone to move to the right of me to the higher ground...waiting for them to be in safety of the low ceiling there...before using my arm to equip the shield...me with that, the blood curdling cry of the Templar screeched through the walls of the Vault.

"Drake, run!" Myata yells as the Templar materialized in front of me and up the stairs. My eyes widened under my helmet as I leaped up the edge with the sounds of canonfire behind me, even Raylin grabbed my arm, pulling me to rest of us, which were hiding behind cover as the Templar unleashed it's fury in void blasts.

"This guy just doesn't quit huh?!" Kry yells among the explosions of energy.

"That shield is too overpowered!" Jarvis yells in return….and just then, I remembered what Luxan said about the relic. The shield should be able to take down its shield...but how?

"Harpies!" Zula yelled as she shot one to pieces with Thorn. Behind us...no, all around us, harpies began to seep into the battlefield. Well placed shots were enough to rip them apart, even me bashing them with the shield would blow them to smithereens. I suddenly got a surge of light, almost like the feeling of knowing your super was ready.

"Fire the shield at it when ready…" Kabr said to me with enthusiasm. I couldn't help but match that with a smile.

"Everyone...I'm gonna use the shield to take down the barrier, so get ready to shoot." I say to everyone, each of them nodding with a long held laughter, hell, Jarvis was ready to nova bomb the Templar from the way he was sitting. When I confirmed they were ready, and the harpies around us were thinned out enough, I leaped up to my feet and held the shield in front of me, the center towards the damned robot. I thought of using my super normally, powering the shield with my own...and before I knew it, a ball of light formed in the center just before it was blasted at the Templar, striking it's shield...and bringing it down.

"Kill it!" Kry and Myata yell as each of them stood, firing whatever they could into the robotic beast. Gunfire was joined by an explosion of void power, and being followed by hard Truth rockets. While everyone opened fire on the hydra, the gongs of the Oracles blasted above the gunfire, however, in moments, Jarvis and me were on top of things, him shooting one down as I smash the shield against the other. We were a well oiled machine ourselves, making our mark on this vault. Then suddenly...the Templar teleported away.

"I'd say roughly half his health is obliterated." Kry said proudly as he reloaded his sniper. I could sense the smile everyone was sharing under their helmets. Thanks to the help from all our inside info, outside help...we came to finish this darkened vault.

Suddenly, once more, gunfire from the Templar from across the way rang out against our cover. Pelting the rock with void damage. Harpies spilled out into the battle once again, with quick kills by Zula and Raylin, Raylin speeding to each kill with Arc blade, and Zula covering her with Solar shots from behind. Without me getting any action in that fight, the shield took a bit longer to charge up.

Oracles spawned in, this time four of them. Three were finished quickly, but Kry ran to the fourth at the other end of the area, seeming to kill it just in time.

"Everyone ready?!" I yell out amongst the void blasts.

"Just do it dude!" Kry yells as he rejoins us, dodging the canons quickly. I nodded quickly before leaping into the air, on the same level in the air as the Templar itself.

For a moment….I saw images, the Templar firing into many different guardians over the years...Kabr's team….Drakis' team….and once I charged the shield to fire...I swear on my life….I could hear the cries of vengeance from those lost guardians…

Then, in a flash, I blasted the shield of the Templar down, and as I fell, gunfire rang out through the open air. As I watched the Templar take the damage, it seemed to be trying a last effort to get us, floating into the middle towards the team. It was suddenly stopped however as a rocket hit it, causing something to go wrong in it. It began to float up uncontrollably before its speed made it slam into the ceiling above.

I could hear everyone laugh a bit for our victory….then the sound of ground cracking above overtook those echoes. Without a word, I ran to my team as the Templar blew up, causing the ground to crack and fall down into the chamber, even the blue lava from the surface spilt into the chamber, filling the lower levels with the strange liquid...and the remains of the Templar and its minions.

"Did we do it?" Jarvis asks a bit concerned.

"I think we did…" Kry says as we all looked into the cold burning liquid.

"I overheard a bad story about a guardian and that stuff…" My ghost spoke to me.

"Well I'm not standing around here any longer then we should. Everyone good?" I say, turning to everyone. However, the one I didn't think would be happy about everything, actually stepped forward, letting a burst of his new fusion rifle ring out into the now opened hole above us, reaching the sky.

"I'm ready. These pretorians shall be foiled." Jarvis said quite proudly.