Narvok knew his life was forfeit.

The Slayer's horrific new weapon had left him scarred and part-maimed. His vision was blurred in one eye. Every move of his right arm sent agony through his body. His worm writhed deep within, gnawing on him, sensing the weakness from the glancing blow he'd received. His bone armor, melted and seared onto his flesh, scraped against itself, creaking and limiting his movement. Should he survive the confrontation with the Slayer and the Lightborn, he knew that his worm would consume him, or his Queen would sacrifice him that she might empower a new Warden for a new Oubliette. Thus it had been, when he'd first accepted his duty as Warden. His lot was to contain the threat of the Unchained Predator.

Narvok knew his life was forfeit.

The trap had been sprung. The Slayer had been drawn in by the crystal, triggering the snare. Nar Eiru had suggested it, a dutiful pupil of their Queen as she was. A double snare, the first layer trapped the Slayer within the detainment field, flooding the air around him with poison. The second layer locked away the room, sealing the exits from any bearing the Light, and restricting their access to it. That would limit the Lightborn's ability to combat them. He commanded his legion from the rear, exhorting them to attack the intruders, even as his Queen arrived and began the end phase of her ritual. He could feel the shift in reality as she summoned forth the Force Unyielding. As powerful as Yaad Matu was, the Warden knew he had to take any action he could to slow down the Guardians, especially when he saw the Slayer rip the trap crystal from its mooring and tear his way out of the snare.

Narvok knew his life was forfeit.

He saw the Slayer draw out his terrible weapon, but felt the twinge of hope as it failed to fire. He sent his legion to engage with the abomination, but the Slayer cut down two of his best knights. But then the latter of the two knights sank forward onto the sword, and Narvok saw his opening. He closed the gap and swung his sword down, even as he knew the Slayer was too fast to be caught by it. While the Slayer avoided the direct force of the blow, it forced the dead body of the knight atop him, pinning him long enough for Yaad Matu to approach. The Force Unyielding would not check his swing if another Hive was in its path. The Warden understood and accepted this.

Narvok knew his life was forfeit.

But then the Slayer's arm punched through the body of the knight pinning him. The shotgun in his hand blew a hole through Narvok's knee. The Warden could not stop the bellow of agony coming from his throat, could not stop the physics pulling him down and into the path of Yaad Matu's axe. The weight of the body atop the Slayer shifted, and he ripped his arm free of the body and tore himself out from underneath it, rolling aside as the axe fell. Narvok, last Warden of the Oubliette, was crushed beneath the descending blade.

For Narvok's life was forfeit.

Rega-7 cursed as Hive adherents began peppering her perch with plasma fire. Not helping was the fact that the chain-witch was bombarding her with molten slag. She flung a grenade toward Kateäk before leaping from her balcony, lunging across the open air before springing off the air toward one of the adherents. The Hive shooter aimed its weapon at her, but she came down on it with her katana, plunging it through its face. She tore the sword free from it and sent its carcass tumbling to the floor below. Kateäk was shrieking with rage as she beat the flames out of the air from the grenade, but Rega instead aimed her sniper rifle and picked off the other adherents.

A glance at the floor below showed her that Wahei was Blinking around, shooting down acolytes with her scout rifle and hand cannon, using the power of the Void to suck the energy from thralls and fling grenades toward the Abyssal as it stomped toward the Slayer. But the Champion barely registered her attacks as it hefted its axe in preparation for its attack. "Morgan!" Rega called out as she leapt down to the floor. "We gotta get the Big Guy outta there!"

"Workin' on it!" The Titan blew a knight's arm off with his shotgun and hurled another pulse grenade toward a cluster of acolytes. He ducked under another sword swing, grabbing that knight's arm and hurl it over his shoulder to the floor before pumping another shotgun blast into its face. Getting a moment to orient himself, he saw the Slayer dislodge Narvok and roll to try to avoid the Abyssal's axe. Morgan drew in his Light, and there was a crack of thunder as the Arc burst outward from around him as he launched himself threw the air.

The Abyssal glowered down at the crushed, bisected form of Narvok, but he turned as Morgan hurtled toward him. Yaad Matu rocked back as the Titan's fist crashed into his chest, lightning coursing over the enormous Champion. With a bellow of rage, the Abyssal grabbed Morgan by the leg and flung him away. "You will not best me, Lightborn! Entire worlds have fallen beneath my blade!" The Champion swung his axe horizontally, forcing the Slayer to leap away from the blade. "I am the Force Unyielding. My worm will feast on your Light!"

Morgan slammed through several workbenches before he slid to a halt. His leg was crushed and he couldn't move his arms, but with a flash of purple Light, Wahei appeared next to him, casting a healing rift around them. She peppered the Abyssal's helmet with scout rifle fire. "Can't get anything through this thing's armor," the Warlock mused thoughtfully. "Maybe if we all dunked our Light on it at once, but you just blew that with that Thundercrash, and the wards up around this place are restricting access to the Light. Big Guy's new toy might work, if it could just recharge faster. If we had some Hive crystals to use against them, that might work-"

"Not the time, Wahei!" Rega landed by the Slayer, who had gotten back to his feet. The giant glanced briefly at her before snapping his sawed-off up and blasting the head off an acolyte who had rushed up behind her. She, in turn, flung a knife into the eyes of a knight behind him, then spun around to fire her SMG into a swarm of thrall.

Both she and the Slayer dove aside as the Abyssal's axe came smashing down again. The floor bucked from the force of impact, then was shredded as the Force Unyielding twisted the blade to one side and dragged it through the deck plating after the Slayer. The giant pulled out his chaingun as he turned and tried to jump off the flat of the axe. The Abyssal, however, snapped the weapon upward, catapulting the Slayer backward. Even despite this, the giant still trained the chaingun on the titanic Champion, who barely noticed the bullets impacting across his armor.

Wahei moved aside as the Slayer came past, but as the big man got up from his landing, he had to leap backwards again as Kateäk above flung another lump of molten chain at him. He hit the workbench behind him, turning as he heard something clatter to the ground. The Warlock, meanwhile, was frowning as her scout rifle failed to penetrate either the Abyssal's armor, or the witch's shield. She pulled the Light of the Void around her-

-and screamed as chains lashed out and pulled her taut, limbs stretched out from her body. Above, Kateäk hissed a spell, and Wahei felt fresh agony as the links binding her began to smolder, draining her Light. Rega's katana slashed out, but the blade rung in her hand as its edge was blunted against the necrotic chains. Morgan attempted to grab the chains, gritting his teeth against the burning pain of touching the evil bindings, but his strength could not budge them.

The air split with a hellish shrieking buzz, and there was the Slayer, having hefted up the fallen chainsaw. The blades spun and he brought it down through Kateäk's links. They snapped and dropped away, and above the Queen of Chains screamed with rage. The other set of chains released Wahei, who collapsed and clutched her arms close to her chest as she waited for her Light to recover. The Slayer glanced at her, but then turned to look up at the approaching bulk of the Abyssal.

The Slayer turned to her, and Rega nodded once. "Morgan, rockets!" The Exo's tone told him enough to not question it. He pulled up his rocket launcher, snap-aimed it at the Abyssal, and fired. The launcher roared like a bellowing giant, and it caused the towering Darkblade to pause briefly without stagger. It did, however, give Rega-7 enough time to fling two handfuls of burning knives into its face. While they failed to penetrate its helmet, it blinded it for long enough for the Slayer to close the gap.

The chainsaw shrieked again as the Slayer swung it into the Champion's knee. The adamantine armor, which had allowed the Abyssal to stand amid the searing bones of dying worlds without injury, ripped apart against the crystalline blades of the buzzing tool. Armor parted, and then so did flesh and bone and sinew. The Abyssal fell to one knee with a roar, planting the shaft of its axe to try to heave itself back upright.

Morgan slotted a fresh rocket into his launcher. "Well, it's hurt, but even a maimed Hive Champion can be lethal, and we've still got the chain-witch hanging around-"

"Like affects like." He turned to Wahei, who was still cradling her injured arms. "The saw's blades are edged in Hive crystal. That's how it was able to cut through the armor."

The Titan nodded. "Rega, keep our Warlock safe, I got a plan!"

The Exo goggled at him. "You what?!"

But he just called out, "Eyes down!" A flashbang exploded in the air, and both Abyssal and Hive witch hissed with pain, hands lifting to shield their eyes. Below, the Slayer leapt backwards to avoid a blind sweep of the axe, and Morgan dashed over toward the crumpled form of Narvok. He heaved the Warden's sword out from underneath the body, turning to the Abyssal. The Champion was lurching because of the crippled leg, but was still strong enough to swing its axe one-handed. It came down toward the Slayer, who again leapt aside to avoid the blow.

Then Morgan was there. He chopped down with the Hive sword, striking down at the shaft of the axe. The crack of its shattering echoed in the chamber, and the sudden absence of the blade's weight on the end of the weapon caused the Abyssal to stagger to the side, unbalanced. The Slayer immediately came around again with the chainsaw, tearing through the Champion's other knee.

Above, Kateäk screamed in rage again and began to weave a spell, but had to shrink back as Rega took up Wahei's grenade launcher and began filling the air around her with explosions. The Queen of Chains hissed a curse before twisting in the air and vanishing back into the Ascendant Plane. Below, Yaad Matu had fallen to his knees, and tried to raise an arm to block Morgan's next chop, but was too slow. The Titan's blow cracked the Darkblade's helmet, splitting it open, and then the Slayer plunged the chainsaw through the crack. The noise it made was horrible, bones and metal crunching and shredding apart. With one last howl, the Force Unyielding finally fell.

There were only a handful of lesser Hive still present, and with their Queen's withdrawal and the Champion's demise, they quickly retreated from the area. Morgan hefted the sword up onto his shoulder and frowned as the Slayer tore the chainsaw free of the Abyssal's skull, but then started stomping on what remained of the monster's head. Bone and gristle crunched under the heavy boots, leaving behind effluent and blood. Even as bone shards were crushed into powder, leaving little more to kick, the Slayer kept going, and finally the Titan stepped in. He laid one hand on the giant's chest and gave a faint push. "I don't think he's gettin' back up, Big Guy." The Slayer looked up with a sharp grunt, then glanced at the carcass of the Abyssal. He gave it one last kick before stepping back.

Rega-7 racked a fresh round into her sniper rifle. "Next time you have a plan, Morgan, it'd be a good idea to share it with everyone first."

"Yes, because the chain-witch was totally going to let us stop to strategize."

Wahei smiled to herself. "If you're going to get angry at someone, Rega, get angry at me. I figured out the weakness in the Abyssal's armor, and I knew that Morgan would figure it out if I gave enough of a hint."

The Titan nodded, but changed the subject. "How're you doing after chain thing? Just tying to pull them off you left my hands burnt. And that was just a couple seconds for me."

She flexed her fingers, then hissed in pain. "Light's still restricted down here. Give me half an hour, I should be able to handle a gun again."

Rega-7 shook her head. "I'm thinking I'm agreeing with you now, Morgan. We should get back to the Tower and regroup, maybe get some backup before we come back to kill the chain-witch-"

But the Slayer was moving. He stood over the broken pedestal where the trap crystal had been embedded and took a deep breath. Then he swiveled about and started marching toward the Hive tunnels, still carrying the chainsaw, sticky with Hive gore and bone-gristle. He kicked some rubble out of the way, then kept moving. The Guardians all shared a look.

Rega sighed. "-or maybe we go make sure the Big Guy doesn't get in over his head."

Üles Matu, the Blade Unbreaking, knelt on the shores of the hallowed sea of the Ascendant Plane. The cleaver which gave him his name rested across his palms as he bowed his crest to the Deep. He had taken up the blade ages ago, when first elevated beyond mere thrallhood, after marching against the Daa'nii and burning their blasphemous libraries and drowning one of their High Scribes in his own ink vat. He had breathed deep of the smoke from the smoldering ruins and his worm had been fed well that day. He had taken his blade and gone against prey after prey. When he campaigned against the empire of the Surihaa, cutting through their ships and skewering their generals, he had charged his sword in the heart of their dying star while the Choir of the Damned sang the end to their homeworld. And from there, he had been allowed into these Ascendant Realms, so that he might then wage war against the proud Korstovani warriors, not only slaughtering them on the battlefield, but marching on their afterlife realm, where he'd butchered their gods.

In his ages of warfare, Üles Matu had taken his blows, and while his armor had grown powerfully resistant, it bore the scars of his battles. But his sword, after countless duels, had never been notched, had never failed him, nor his Sovereign. He and his brother and their brood-kin Baalgar had been among the many Champions named and sent to stop the Slayer's inexorable conquest, but only the three of them had survived the massacre that ensued.

The sound of chains lifted his head from his supplication, and he turned to look at Kateäk. She said nothing, but he saw the curl of her claws and the hiss of her breath, and he knew. "My brother is dead." It was not a question.

"As ever, the Lightborn complicate things." The Queen of Chains stared into the Deep. "More and more, I am uncertain if we can contain him this time."

Üles Matu nodded, gripping his sword and planting it in the soil as he rose to his feet. "Containment has never worked against him. Baalgar had always stated we should kill him, as had my brother and I. Something like the Predator cannot be contained forever."

She snarled. "You dare question me, Mat Kos?"

"Yes," the Blade Unbreaking did not falter as he met her gaze, nor show any fury at the usage of his spawn name. "Your plans have failed so far. You brought us to the prison individually, instead of as one. Had the three of us been there at once, we might have been able to overcome the Lightborn and... contain him. Instead, now two Champions are dead and the Slayer is growing stronger. Why you persist in trying to contain that which cannot be contained boggles even the Sovereigns."

He did not look away as she glared at him, nor as he felt the distant throne's eye fall upon the shores of the depths, or the hungry grasp of the Deep focus on him. As Kateäk dropped into a bow, he did not look away, though he did bend the knee and bow his head as he felt the gaze of a dreadful attention. The Queen of Chains whispered a hurried apology on his behalf, but Üles Matu shook his head, interrupting, "Do not speak for me. I do not apologize for questioning whether she is capable of the task ahead of her. I do not apologize for questioning whether he can be contained."

There was a silence, but for the furious hissing of Kateäk toward him. Then there was a sound- the rush of the waves on the shore / the drumming of fingers on the arm of a throne / the smoldering of sundered atoms- as the Sovereign admonished his vanity, to think himself capable of questioning those above him.

He bared his teeth. "All things strive to understand their place in this unfit reality. Those above me see things I do not," he acknowledged, "gifted with foresight and farsight. They see more of the board than I, they plan moves to happen ages from now. But with my brother and brethren dead, then I deserve to know what strategy or scheme my death will achieve."

There was another sound- the shifting of dust and sand / the laughter of a court en masse / a thrumming note on taut wire- as the Sovereign was amused at his conceit, that he might be capable of understanding such things. Even Kateäk was chuckling at him, finding humor in this.

But Üles Matu remained steadfast. "In such presumptions, all Sovereigns gain power. The King Our Navigator grew strong in knowing things others did not. The Lord Our Marshal grows strong by making strategies our enemies could not withstand. The Queen Our Witch grows strong when her schemes mislead." He turned his gaze up to the threefold reality before him. "I ask not for the whole shape of the puzzle. Tell me that there is a reason to keep such a predator alive. That there is a reason to sacrifice my brethren and I besides stubborn curiosity."

Kateäk narrowed her gaze at him. "Such knowledge is dangerous, Üles Matu."

He shrugged and bowed his head. "Aiat." There was nothing else he needed to say.

Kateäk opened her mouth to speak again, but there was again the shifting/laughing/thrumming sound of the Sovereign's amusement. The Queen of Chains fell silent as there was- a crash of tides / the applause of a gathered throng / the hum of a whetted razor blade- the sound of the Sovereign's approval, for he had spoken well of his conviction.

The Blade Unbreaking bowed his head once again, but kept silent as there was- the slosh of brine / a murmuring of a choir / a chime of dying spheres- the Sovereign agreed that he should be granted a glimpse of deeper knowledge, of why the loss of so many Champions and lesser Hive was so important, and why the Slayer had been contained so long ago instead of simply killed.

And then the depths opened and poured into his mind. It was- a tsunami slamming down upon the shores / a howl as of from a thousand throats echoing off resonant walls / a shriek of dying galaxies- more than he had imagined. His crest cracked, his skull throbbed, and his worm writhed in agony. Ichor bled from his ear ducts and from all three eyes, and his bellow ranged across the shore. He slumped, and only the unbreaking spire of his blade kept him from collapsing completely.

At last, the pain ceased, and silence descended on his perception forevermore, but in his mind he still heard- a gush of waves on the beach / the hushed whispers of the massed ranks / the quiet pulsations of quasar nebulae- the Sovereign speak of how he should stay content with the glimpse he had received, and be grateful he still lived.

Üles Matu dragged himself to his feet using his blade as a crutch, and when he spoke, it was in the unmodulated volume of the deafened. "My thanks and my gratitude shall be from my sword. I shall either drive him back into the Oubliette to see such schemes fulfilled, or I shall fall and the logic shall be satisfied."

There was- one last rush of waves on sand / one last round of applause from the court / one last sharp note of humming wire- one final approval from the Sovereign before the threefold reality collapsed back into the shores on the edge of the Deep. Kateäk folded her claws as she hovered over him. "Art thou satisfied, O Blade Unbreaking?"

He nodded. "My blade has served. It will continue to serve. Whatever the outcome."

She smiled. "Aiat."

Üles Matu knew his life was forfeit.

Afterword: Again more of a delay than I intended, but I needed to figure out how to proceed forward after the fight with the Force Unyielding. I want to make sure this story doesn't go too far beyond ten chapters, if I'm honest. I never intended for this story to get as long as it did, but as ever, my creative center had its own ideas.

As one might expect, Shadowkeep and the impending Season of Dawn have me occupied with all that juicy, juicy lore. As a Titan main, the fact that we're getting the most Titan of Titans back is getting me hyped. In the next chapter, the current plan is for the Blade Unbreaking to collide with the Slayer and Guardians, but I've got to determine exactly how the endgame of the story will wrap up. I know the "final shape," as it were, but it's getting there that presently eludes.

Happy Dawning, Guardians!

Jay 2K Winger

9 Dec 2019