We don't care what they say
We will be here all day
We'll stay here till it's over
Till the world's out of sight
We will stand
We will fight
It's not over till it's over
Till It's Over – Tristam
July 17, 2957, 03:56; The Last City, Earth
The ship was full of Red Legion, but they posed no challenge for the two Guardians. The troops quickly ran out or pulled back, leaving the Warlock and the Hunter to walk the last hallways uncontested. Azra was fidgety, double-checking her weapons, polishing a smudge of soot off of her Mythoclast, re-settling her cloak.
The third time Azra popped the magazine on her Scout Rifle, Veera spoke up. "Nervous, are we?"
Azra was. "He's just another Cabal," she reasoned with herself. "Kill him, take his access codes, use their own system to shut this all down. Routine. Or it should be." Her gut told her it wouldn't be that routine. Ghaul had killed hundreds, maybe thousands of Guardians, and many times that number in civilians. He'd broken the Light.
But he was still just a mortal, wasn't he? Veera tilted her head. "Together, we have killed gods. What is one Cabal in comparison to that?"
Azra found enough humor to make a joke. "This won't be so hard. That is, if you can manage to stay on the ship this time." Veera's last visit to Ghaul's command ship, back at the beginning of all this, had ended with both her and her Ghost getting thrown off the side. It was a long way down.
Veera was taken aback. "Me? Manage to stay on top of something? Out of two of us, you are the true fall risk."
"Oh come on, it finally happens to someone else and I don't get to make fun of them for it?" They finally reached the last door. Spark got to work on hacking it open. "Plus, I don't fall off of everything-"
"One hundred thousand Glimmer," Veera declared.
Azra looked at her, stupefied. "What?"
"One hundred thousand Glimmer that you will go over the edge at some point."
"That is a ridiculous amount of money."
Veera unholstered her Hand Cannon. "Then you had better watch for slippery spots, yes?" Her voice was obviously teasing. "Unless you are too scared-"
"You're on," Azra said. "A hundred thousand Glimmer. I'm staying on the ship."
The doors slid open. Both Guardians took a step forward and paused.
Usually, City air traffic did not go this close to the Traveler. It dwarfed everything else at this distance, turning half the sky into a molted red-and-black expanse. The deck they stood on was typical rigid Cabal architecture, lacking in cover. A walkway extended before them, towards the key on the Traveler's cage. At the other end spun a narrow tornado of ethereal flame.
Azra could feel it. It was one of the Brightest things Azra had ever sensed, but it was… wrong. The air was thick with rage and loneliness. Azra herself had never laid eyes on Ghaul before, but his hatred now battered at her like a dust storm. The Light spun everywhere, flickering, dipping, before drawing back in on the vortex. Normally, the Light flowed, it diffused. It did not gather in on itself like this whirlpool.
A gravelly voice boomed across the deck. "Fitting your Traveler would send you to face me once more."
The tornado thinned and tore itself apart. In the center, shining brighter than a Warlock, knelt a Cabal. Big, pale, ugly, wearing enough regalia to put Lord Saladin to shame.
He stood. "Look upon me! Dominus of the Red Legion. Annihilator of suns. Razer of a thousand worlds. Slayer of gods and conqueror of the Light. I AM GHAUL!" Azra noted in dismay how the Light shone from within him, not just around him. He took a few steps forward, unholstering his gun. "I have become legend," Ghaul growled.
"Okay," Spark said over the comms. "He is not 'just another Cabal'. This is going to be-"
Azra finally shook off the shock and raised her Scout Rifle, firing off two quick shots to Ghaul's head. The Cabal just laughed, a wet, throaty sound, and began advancing. Solar Light burned in his hands, flaring so bright it left afterimages in Azra's eyes.
"Break!" Veera called just as a glob of flame came pinwheeling towards them. Veera went left. Azra dove right. The Solar attack splashed harmlessly on the floor, leaving a trail of flames.
"Your Traveler should have chosen me," Ghaul announced, "and now it is too late. Look at your dead god! It won't save humanity a second time. I am Ghaul. I claim what is mine."
"Great," Azra drawled. "He's one of the talky ones." She slid into an undercut in the walkway as Cabal guards began dropping in from the support ships. "You alright, Veera?"
"This is heresy," the Warlock hissed over the link. "What has he done?" Guardians were the Traveler's chosen, the Light a tool given only to them. Ghaul had taken it somehow, twisted it to his own purposes.
"We can figure it out later," Spark said. "He has no Ghost. No matter how much Light he's stolen, if we kill him, he stays dead."
"I'll take care of his honor guard," Azra volunteered. "And distract him as much as I can." She rolled a grenade at the nearest group of Cabal. It let off an explosion of Arc. Instead of dissipating like normal, the residual Light was drawn into the madly dancing currents and spun its way towards the center.
"I will end Ghaul," Veera swore. "He will burn."
A lot of things burned that day. Veera was very angry and did not feel like being prudent with her fire. Azra did her best to just keep control of the endless waves of elite Cabal that showed up to protect their boss. She took intermediate potshots at the Dominus but was forced to hide when he shot bolts of Arc back in retaliation.
It was a role she was used to, and one she was damn good at. How many times had she been tasked with add clear back in the day? The rest of the Crew would fight madly against whatever problem they'd come across, thinking they lived on borrowed time, only to turn around at the end to see a field of dead hostiles and Azra with a cheeky grin.
This was not the old days, Azra had to remind herself. The stakes were so much higher. Still, she relished the brutal efficiency with which she cut down the Cabal around her. She practically danced through them, using the chaos and confusion to her advantage. Whenever she found a second, she'd take the opportunity to lob a grenade or knife at Ghaul's back. Then it was back into the fray once more, ducking, sliding, firing her Mythoclast dry and reloading it.
The deck gave frustratingly few options for cover. It didn't seem to bother Ghaul or Veera, who floated around the space: Ghaul, shouting taunts and chucking messy splashes of Void and Arc; Veera, answering with sharp retorts and blades of Solar Light. Every time their attacks met, there was a crack and the currents of Light thrummed like plucked strings. It was a duel for the ages, and one Azra was doing her best to stay out of the middle of. However strong she was, she couldn't fight like that.
It was a surprise when Ghaul won. There was just nowhere to go when he finally started improving on his aim. One hit sent the Warlock tumbling from the air. The next one killed her.
"Veera's down!" her Ghost called.
Azra swore and finished off the Gladiator that had been occupying her attention. She, too, was exposed, and now with Veera gone, Ghaul turned his full attention on her. A Psion grappled Azra from behind. She managed to break its hold and lever her weight and push it off the edge, but by then Ghaul was rocketing towards her.
She was cursing herself for her stupidity- she tried to lunge out of the way, but Ghaul was already there, grabbing her by the arm, then by the throat. Azra couldn't breathe. "You failed your Traveler. You let your city die," Ghaul growled. Azra could see over his shoulder Veera's body, her Ghost hovering over it.
Ghaul's grip on her neck tightened, nearly crushing her throat. He held her at arm's length over the abyss. Her legs kicked uselessly. Her vision swam. The Arc he wielded was as oppressive as a summer storm about to break, locked around her neck, causing her muscles to seize up.
But he didn't own his Arc like Azra owned hers. Sure, he could make lighting, but without direction there was no real force behind it. He was much too rigid in discipline and ego to let the current take him. Azra called her own storm and it overwhelmed his with a crack and a boom like thunder.
Ghaul cursed and dropped her. For a fraction of a second, she was in freefall, a thousand feet above the City streets. Then her hands hit the edge of the platform and stuck. A push of Light and she was back on the deck, diving through Ghaul's legs as he stumbled, rolling to her feet a few meters back from the edge.
Ghaul advanced on her slowly. Azra studied him with a critical eye. Sure, he'd won a round of combat against Veera. But Veera would come back for round 2 no worse for wear, while Ghaul was obviously busted up a bit. His armor was cracked in places, his footsteps labored. Even though he taunted her, his voice was rough. "Scrabble like a terrified rodent," he spat. "You lack the strength to wield this power properly."
"Why don't you just shut up and die already?" Azra complained.
It was like Ghaul wasn't even listening to her, the bastard. He monologued on, unbothered by her wit. "Your god is dead. Your Light is mine. You have nothing to fight for." A bolt of Arc lanced through the air. "Nothing to die for."
Azra dodged and the bolt went wide. She needed time to get to Veera.
Her voice is too light. "Well I'm often out on my own, and sometimes I get in a bit over my head, and a little bit of a head start via tether would help a lot." She smiles a bit nervously and you know it's not the real answer. Not the one that matters.
She steadied her feet and drew the Bow. Ghaul gathered himself to let loose another torrent of Arc, but Azra knew her shot would be quicker. Gravity pulled at her. She let her arrow tip just a bit right to account for the riptide of Light and loosed.
Ghaul roared. Azra hastily pulled the invisibility trick and sprinted towards Veera's Ghost. The small machine had almost finished his work. Azra grasped Veera's hand and pulled the Warlock to her feet as her Ghost raised her.
Ghaul fired his jetpack and flew himself back towards the center of the vortex. He was feeling the pain of his injuries now and barely managed to stay on his feet as he landed. He put a hand to his face as strings of Void tangled around his limbs.
"Are you alright?" Veera asked.
"Annoyed, mostly," Azra responded. Could Veera feel the pounding of her heart through her gloves? "You almost won your bet."
"'Almost' doesn't count," Spark said. "He's weak. Let's finish this."
The Cabal screamed as he absorbed more Light. Azra took the moment to reload and toss a grenade at a pack of Warbeasts running up the ramp behind them.
Ghaul emerged from the tornado absolutely luminous. But he was bleeding, his armor was scorched. He stood unsteadily. Azra wondered if he just wouldn't evaporate with the heat of the Light shining through him. He seemed to her like an old lightbulb about to blow. "I pity you Guardians," he said. "You know nothing of sacrifice. Nothing of worth."
Ghaul strode down the walkway towards them and the two Guardians steeled themselves. Veera hefted her Rocket Launcher and fired a salvo at him. Azra's Mythoclast shuddered against her shoulder as she emptied its magazine.
Ghaul staggered. Veera spun a singularity in her hand and lobbed it at his feet. Azra followed suit with a Solar throwing knife, which found purchase in the weak spot between Ghaul's shoulder and his neck. With a cry, the Dominus crumpled like spinfoil. Veera shouted triumphantly and sent another rocket screaming towards him. It was over. Ghaul fell and twitched once in death.
It hadn't been too different to killing a God- everything tended to die if you shot it enough. Oryx and Atheon had been much harder.
Azra lowered her gun a fraction. Veera straightened. But neither could relax. Ghaul wheezed his final breaths, but the stolen Light was not free. It spun captive still, even as the radiance in Ghaul's corpse grew. It shone, visibly now, through the cracks in his armor.
Then Ghaul Rose.
A jet of Light streaked upwards, hanging in midair for a long moment, then a form emerged. Wings- and for a moment Azra had an irrational fear that Oryx was back, somehow- but the limbs folded in on themselves and the fountain became Cabal-shaped.
"No!" Veera cried. This couldn't be happening. They'd won. They'd killed him. Yet here he was, stronger for it. That was supposed to be a Guardian trick. How in the world were they supposed to fight a 200-foot-tall Light construct?
Ghaul's voice rang out, so loud Azra felt it in her chest, in the floor beneath her. "Do you see me now?" The Cabal challenged. His arms swung out in a gesture of defiance. The entire ship rattled. He wasn't even speaking to the Guardians that had just killed him. They were below his notice now, practically ants. He spoke to the Traveler.
Azra was the one to break. Her feet shifted, then she took a step back, and another. She turned-
Veera grabbed her arm. There was so much Light around them- bleeding of Ghaul, humming still, contained in the Traveler's cage, swirling and coiling about the two Guardians. Azra's abject terror swamped her own senses.
Ghaul's malevolent delight shone down like a spotlight. "I am a god!" he thundered. 'Immortal!"
This was the end of it. Azra felt very small. Here was Human civilization come crashing down, and there was nothing she could do.
"Whatever is up here," Veera reminded her. "We have done the impossible before."
Azra looked at the Warlock, then up at the giant Cabal Light-god still taunting the Traveler, then back at the Warlock again. Her instincts screamed at her to run, hide, pray that the threat would ignore her.
Pray to whom? The Traveler was caged and silent, if not dead.
"This is insane," Azra said.
"Fighting Atheon was insane," Veera urged. "Following an Ascendant Hive into their throne world and killing them was insane, and we did it twice. We can do insane things, Azra. But we must first try."
Azra looked up again. It would be hopeless. Ghaul was orders of magnitude larger than them, many times more powerful.
But if this was to be the end, she should at least try, right? If they had even a sliver of a chance, they had to take it. This fear- it was useless. It could not keep her safe, not against something like this. If it was over, it was over, and no amount of running and hiding would ever give her a chance to make this better. If there wasn't a chance, she'd rather go down fighting.
So Azra steeled her resolve and closed rank with Veera.
Azra leaned hard into the Arc and summoned her Staff. Veera drew a sword of vicious Flame. Their Light, though different, so different, sang in harmony. Not unison, not the soul of one being, but two. They were stronger in contrast with each other, stronger in two parts than anything could ever be in one whole. Azra spun and threw messy ball lightning at the figure. Veera sent arc after arc of fire screaming towards him.
Now, these are the facts: Ghaul died, and Rose again in a monstrous form. The two Guardians resolved to fight him anyway. Ghaul called out to the Traveler, and the Traveler broke its bonds and destroyed him.
Facts aren't worth much without meaning behind them. The why and the how of the Traveler freeing tself are very important. Perhaps the Traveler had been gathering strength, and the castoff Light released in the wake of Ghaul's death was just enough. Perhaps the Traveler had been awoken by Ghaul's cry. It could have been that the Traveler could have broken the chains at any time and Ghaul's Rising was the final straw that made it act.
Or maybe it wasn't any of those things. Maybe the first link in the Traveler's chains cracked when two people, tiny and insignificant, looked up at death, up at the end of it all, and said no. When they took in the thing so big, so much more powerful than them that it would be impossible to fight, and steeled themselves to fight anyway. When they did so together.
The entire universe held its breath. Even Ghaul stopped his monologue and stared in wonder. The air tasted like starlight and possibility and righteous anger. Azra could hardly tell the difference between her own emotions and those echoing through the Light.
Light shone through the Traveler's cage, clean white cracks snaking through the dull red like lightning scars and tree roots. The plates splintered like frozen lake ice, skittering chirps underlaid with deep, bone-trembling booms. The chains on the cracked like whips as they snapped.
The Traveler was breaking its bonds. If the cage exploded, Azra and Veera would be caught in the blast. "Now!" Veera shouted. "Now we run!"
Azra did not have to be told twice. The glory blinded her in her Lighstense. The universe was screaming, singing, crying. She felt incandescent, illuminated from the inside, power shining through flesh and matter. The smell of ozone and burned hair filled her nose.
The two Guardians ran madly for the edge of the deck.
And Azra.
Fucking.
Tripped.
She had only a brief second to process the insane irony of it- the one time she needed to fall, and her body was solidly on the ship deck- and to take in Veera's confusion. The Warlock leapt from the ship and realized too late Azra wasn't beside her.
Then there was a sound like breaking glass.
Then-