"Ok, what the fuck," said Liv.
Uldren gave her a slight wave. "Hello."
"No seriously, what the fuck," she repeated, "I almost hit you, genius! Also, what are you even doing here? Did nothing I said last time stick in your head? 'Cause I don't know what you think 'laying low' means, but this is so not it."
"Hey, I am laying low," Uldren protested, gesturing to his armor, "I changed my look so people wouldn't recognize me… Temporarily, at least. I'm not keeping this. Glint got me the wrong size."
"I like to think that I did my best under the circumstances," said Glint over the comms, "It wasn't easy, you know — a Ghost with no visible Guardian trying to get Guardian armor… Be glad I didn't get you Titan armor. It would have buried you."
Uldren waved him off. "Whatever. The point is no one will recognize me now. See?" He held up a helmet for Liv's inspection.
"Good for you," she said shortly, "Do you wanna tell me what the hell you're doing here?"
"I'm backing you up, of course… Your Ghost said you were going to go into the Ascendant Realm alone."
"He told you what … Rhys?" She wished her Ghost was out of phase so she could deliver him the withering glare he so deserved. Instead, she settled for directing it at Uldren as she waited for Rhys' response.
"Uh… sorry?" he said sheepishly, "Look, I was just worried about you and I may have mentioned my concerns to Glint…"
"I would appreciate it," she muttered through gritted teeth, "if you didn't go behind my back like this. I have to get to the Garden of Esila, and instead I'm stuck dealing with him ."
"Look, Liv, I know you don't want me here," said Uldren, "But I think your Ghost is right to worry about you. I've never been to the Ascendant Realm before, but from what Glint told me it sounds pretty serious."
"It is serious," Liv agreed, "Which is why I don't need a New Light to worry about while I'm in there. I'm going to meet with the Queen's Techeuns. If anyone is going to recognize you, it'll be them. Even I won't be able to help you then."
Truthfully, she wasn't really sure what the Techeuns would do if they discovered that Uldren had been revived as a Guardian. At the very least, they would tell Mara, and that was a can of worms that Liv didn't need opened right now. She just hoped her threat sounded scary enough to ward Uldren off.
He did seem slightly rattled at the mention of the Techeuns, but irritatingly persisted anyway.
"That's why I changed into this armor," he said, "They'll think I'm just some random Guardian you brought along as backup. They probably won't even notice I'm there."
"Listen," Rhys told her, "If we take too long, they're going to wonder why we haven't found the site yet… I think you should let him help you." Liv drew breath to argue, but he forestalled her. "Seriously. This isn't me doubting your capabilities. I know what you're capable of better than anyone… But just because you can do something alone doesn't mean that you have to. I know Janus and I will both be there, but we can't physically be there… We can't watch your back. Uldren can."
Despite her annoyance at Rhys bringing Uldren in without her knowledge, Liv was forced to consider his point. Because he did have one. She could probably handle the mission alone. But she would also be in unknown territory with only the directions of an Ahamkara to guide her through the treacherous terrain of the Ascendant Realm. And the longer she stood there arguing, the more time she lost.
Liv groaned. "Agh, fine! You can come with me. But that means you have to listen to everything I say. My mission, my rules, got it?"
"Got it," said Uldren. Rather than apprehensive at the undertaking he'd just signed up for, he seemed almost excited.
"If you're taking him with you, you're going to have to tell him about me," said Janus, "I am the reason for this venture, after all."
She signed. "Yeah, alright…" She turned to Uldren. "What do you know about the Ahamkara?"
"Glint told me a bit," he replied, "I know they were a race of shapechangers that granted wishes, and that their wishes often proved disastrous."
"Good, that's pretty much all you need to know," she said, "...The reason I'm going into the Ascendant Realm is because I have an Ahamkara in my head and the Techeuns are going to take it out."
For the first time, Uldren's face showed a hint of nervousness. Maybe he had some sense after all.
"...I don't understand," he said, "You have an Ahamkara in your head? How did that happen? Can it hear me talking to you?"
"It's a long story… All you need to know is his name is Janus, he speaks to me inside my mind, and yes, he can hear you."
"Ah…" He appeared even more nervous. "Good to know."
"Alright, we've wasted enough time," she decided, "Put your helmet on, stick close to me, and don't talk over the comms."
Without bothering to wait, she strode off toward the stairs that led to the Garden of Esila.
"I'm too fucking old for this," she muttered under her breath.
True to the Techeuns' word, a portal was waiting for them when they entered the Garden. Liv stared at the pulsing tear in reality as it hung in the air, all but ruining the spectacular view the Garden had to offer.
"Right," she said, "Gonna need a tincture, Rhys."
"Copy that," replied her Ghost.
She grabbed the small bottle as it appeared. Turning to face Uldren, she held it up. "Tincture of Queensfoil — got one?"
He shook his head.
Liv sighed and tossed the bottle at him before getting another one for herself. She hadn't really expected him to have one, but she was still a little miffed at having to give him one of hers. They were expensive, dammit.
"I'd tell you you're buying me a drink after this to repay me for that, but it's probably not a good idea to show your face in any of the local bars," she joked.
Unstoppering the tincture, she tossed it back, savoring the aftertaste of blackberry tea on her tongue.
Uldren was staring at her, an alarmed expression on his face. His helmet was on the grass by his feet, but he had yet to drink his own tincture.
"What?" she demanded, "Do I have something on my face?"
He shook his head wordlessly and gestured at his eyes. Instantly, Liv understood.
Tinctures of Queensfoil were primarily used to enter the Ascendant Plane, but they had a few lesser-known side effects. Drinking one would give Awoken-crafted armor an unsettling Taken-like appearance. And while Liv wasn't sure about humans or Exos, she knew it had a tendency to turn the sclerae of Awoken Guardians black. It also transmuted the patterns of Light that swirled beneath their skin, but the eye change was the most noticeable and creep-looking part.
"It's fine," she explained, "Queensfoil does that. It's harmless and it'll wear off once we leave the Ascendant Realm."
Uldren nodded, finally moving to uncork his own tincture of Queensfoil. He sniffed it warily before taking a small sip. Liv stifled a laugh at his hesitance. Then Uldren's face cleared and he drank the rest of the bottle.
"It's good," he said, sounding surprised.
Liv nodded. "Yeah." She cracked a smile. "According to non-Awoken Guardians, it tastes like dirt though."
Uldren laughed. Then his expression grew sober. "...I'm ready," he told her."
"Good. Put your helmet back on and let's do this thing."
Needless to say, the Ascendant Realm threw all of its usual tricks at them. Unstable rocks, vanishing islands, suddenly-appearing boulders that barreled through their path with all of the force of a speeding train. And Taken, of course. Their presence seemed to draw the Taken in like moths to a flame.
It was like hiking, Liv thought. If the trail consisted of craggy rocks and islands that hung suspended over a bottomless void. And if it was nighttime, with flickering lightning providing the only light source. And if they were getting attacked by other hikers every ten minutes. And if the guide had only done this particular hike once when they were drunk and had to constantly backtrack and correct themselves on which way to go.
Overall, it was pretty miserable. And it didn't help when Toland decided to appear and grace them with his advice — by which Liv meant ominous warnings.
The first time he had appeared in front of her, Liv had swatted him out of reflex. Unfortunately, Toland had easily bobbed out of the way.
"The curse cannot be unraveled," he taunted, "You're so deep into the web of her will!"
"Shut up or I'll unravel you," Liv muttered, stepping around him.
He laughed. "Inflict your desires upon reality, Guardian."
"Who was that?" asked Uldren once they'd passed out of earshot. His voice carried an odd canned quality to it since he wasn't using the comms.
"Toland the Shattered," said Liv, "He used to be a Warlock, but the dude got obsessed with the Hive to an unhealthy degree… He died to a Deathsinger on purpose so he could exist forever as an orb. You know, as one does."
"Oh. That's… interesting."
She laughed. "It's alright, you can call him an asshole. He is an asshole."
"...I think I'll try to reserve my judgment for now," he said.
A little while later, they encountered Toland again. This time, his message was even more cryptic and ominous.
"Listen — death is the last part of living and life is learning to die. The song is the same as the singing, the last truth commands me to eat all the light in the sky."
"Never mind," said Uldren abruptly, "He's very… unpleasant."
Liv snorted. "Tell me about it… I wish I could kill him again. He always shows up when I'm in the Ascendant Realm. I think he likes to flex that he can hang out in here without getting attacked by Taken or Hive."
Suddenly, Janus spoke up. "We're drawing close now," they said, "Keep following this path, and you will find my remains."
"Finally," she grumbled, "It feels like we've been going in circles for an hour."
"It isn't as easy to navigate the Ascendant Plane as you might think, little Hunter," said Janus, "Not even for an Ahamkara… Direction is not so straightforward."
"Yeah, I noticed…" She raised her voice for Uldren's benefit, "Janus says we're almost there!"
There was no acknowledgment, but Liv could still hear his footsteps echoing behind her, so she assumed he'd heard.
Sure enough, around the next bend in the path sat a massive island. It was mostly flat on top, though a few peaks projected along the edges. Upon crossing over to the landmass, Liv saw a clearing in the middle, upon which rested the crumbling skeleton of an Ahamkara.
The bones were massive. While not quite Riven-proportions, Liv imagined a whole fireteam could stand shoulder-to-shoulder inside the ribcage. The ribs were the only things that still stood tall. Many of the smaller bones had crumbled to dust long ago, and the twin skulls lay at one end, pillowed on the hard ground.
"Holy shit…" said Liv, "Janus, are you telling me that was you ?"
"Many years ago, yes," said Janus. The Ahamkara sounded remarkably unaffected by the sight of its own skeleton, but then again, Janus had had many years to come to terms with their death.
Uldren looked around. "Why are there no Taken here?" he wondered, "They seemed to be everywhere else."
He was right. They had been plagued by the Taken throughout the entire course of their journey through the Ascendant Realm. Now that they were standing still, Liv would almost expect them to be getting swarmed, yet no Taken had appeared.
"It could be that the residual power in my bones drives them off," mused Janus, "Ahamkara bones, as you no doubt already know, retain a certain amount of power even long after death."
Liv nodded. "Yeah. Some Guardians make armor out of them." And those Guardians all reported some variety of whispering.
"What's he saying?" asked Uldren.
"Janus says that the rank vibes of his skeleton keep the Taken away," she reported.
Uldren laughed.
"Very funny…" Janus didn't sound amused in the slightest. "I don't hear either of you complaining about the lack of Taken to fight… Although, the longer you linger here, the more likely they are to come anyway. The Taken can sense Light miles away in the Ascendant Plane."
Well, that was a sobering thought.
"Jeez," Liv muttered, "You could give Toland a run for his money…" Still, the Ahamkara was right. Now that they were here, they shouldn't waste any more time.
She opened a comm channel. "We're in position," she said over the comms, "Ready to start the ritual."
"We are locking onto your location, Guardian," said a voice she recognized as Sedia, "Remain where you are."
Liv muted herself and turned to Uldren. "They're coming," she told him, "Remember, whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourself."
"I won't," he said, "...Just out of curiosity, how are the Techeuns getting here?"
His question was answered when the air in front of them suddenly shimmered, depositing the three Techeuns onto the island. They wasted no time, instantly turning to locate Liv.
"Guardian," said Kalli with a nod. Then her gaze fixed on Uldren. "...You've brought a companion."
Liv couldn't tell if she sounded disapproving, so she decided to err on the side of caution. "Yes…" she replied, "He helped keep the Taken away as we navigated. He won't interfere with the ritual if that's what you're worried about."
"His very presence interferes," Kalli replied, "But no matter… We will just have to look past him." She turned to Uldren. "You are not a part of this ritual, Guardian. Stay still and stay silent so as not to interfere with our work."
"Peace, Kalli," said Shuro, "We have completed more difficult trials than this…" She turned to Liv. "Are you ready, Livayla?"
Liv nodded. "I'm ready."
"Good… Lie beside the remains. This will be unpleasant, but try not to move… The mind is a delicate thing."
Liv did as instructed, laying down on her back between the Ahamkara's skulls. Her heart was beating rapidly in anticipation, but she forced herself not to fidget. This would all be over soon.
The Techeuns moved to stand in a semicircle around her and the skulls. By tilting her head, Liv was able to see Uldren standing several feet away. His helmet concealed his expression, but his posture was tense. She wasn't sure if that was from anticipation of the ritual or of his identity being discovered. Possibly a bit of both.
"I trust you were able to find the portal easily enough?" Sedia inquired. Liv nodded. "Are you aware of the history of the Garden of Esila?"
There was another layer to that question.
Liv thought back to the story of Azirim and her own choice of whether or not to trust Janus. She made her decision.
"What Azirim did was horrible," she said, choosing her words carefully, "But I'd hope that not all Ahamkara would take the same actions in his place."
Sedia nodded almost imperceptibly, accepting Liv's choice. "...Let us begin the ritual," she said.
Before Liv could wonder if that was the slightest hint of disappointment she detected in the Techeun's voice, all three were lifting their arms, their heads tilting back ever so slightly. Remembering her instructions, Liv too, let her head fall back to rest on the cold ground. In her peripheral, she could make out Shuro Chi.
No audible words passed among the Techeuns, but Liv could sense the pulse of their shared power.
All of a sudden, she felt it.
A white-hot needle pierced her mind, delving into her innermost self. She bit back a scream as it plunged in, in, in. Distantly, she was aware of her limbs thrashing against the ground. Every nerve was on fire. Janus was there in her mind, the Ahamkara's own pain blazing across their bond, creating a feedback loop until it was the only sensation that Liv could feel.
She was screaming now, though she could not hear it — the burning in her throat was the only indication.
One of the Techeuns shouted something, probably a command to stay still. But Liv was nothing more than a creature of pain, overcome with the animalistic urge to escape it at any cost. Her bond with Janus was laid bare before her — a braided rope whose strands were being snipped one by one. And each cut strand brought with it a new wave of agony that washed between her and Janus, each new wave building upon the other and wiping out all else.
Just when she was sure she could take no more of it — that her brain would simply shut off from an overload of pain — Liv was aware of someone grabbing her arms, trapping her in the pain, cutting off all hope of escape.
Snip.
Another strand broken.
Snip.
Another wave of agony.
The only other sensation was the pressure of the hands around her arms, like bands of molten steel. Somehow, Liv knew that their grip would hurt if that pain were not outweighed by the slow extraction of Janus from her mind.
Still, it was something. Something to focus on outside of her own mental torment. She clung to that pressure with every scrap of consciousness she had left as her bond with the Ahamkara was slowly but surely severed.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, but must have only been a few minutes, the burning needle withdrew from Liv's mind like a splinter being extracted from skin.
Once it was gone, the absence of pain was staggering — making her wonder if she had finally lost consciousness altogether. Her only assurance that she hadn't was the bone-deep ache that had settled over her body, along with the pincer grip on her arms that was now too tight.
Gathering her strength, Liv blinked her eyes open only to be met with the sight of a helmeted face hovering above her.
"Are you ok?" Uldren asked, keeping his voice low.
She groaned. "Arms…"
"Oh, sorry…" He released his grip but didn't move. "Seriously, are you ok, Liv? That was… scary to watch."
Liv nodded, instantly regretting the motion as her vision swam. "...I'm alright. Just… really sore."
"I think I can help with that," said Rhys, appearing above her.
He swept his beam over her a couple of times and she sighed in relief as the soreness eased, leaving only deep fatigue behind.
"Help me sit up," she muttered to Uldren, who helped guide her into a sitting position.
The Techeuns were still gathered around her, though the slight curl in their shoulder spoke to their own weariness.
"It is done," said Shuro.
Liv turned toward the bones that she had been lying next to, only to see a large glowing eye staring back at her. She flinched. "Fucking hell."
"Well met, Livayla Marko, rumbled Janus' voice.
It sounded different outside of her head, but Janus still spoke with both of its heads at once — masculine and feminine voices intermingling and overlapping.
"Let's never do that again," she grumbled.
"Agreed. It was… most unpleasant."
Liv grunted in agreement and pushed herself the rest of the way to her feet, swatting away Uldren's hovering hands. She appreciated him helping ground her during the ritual, but she was capable of standing on her own, thanks.
She turned to the Techeuns, offering the customary Awoken bow. "Thank you," she said.
The Techeuns inclined their heads.
"We are glad to have aided you," said Shuro, "Few Guardians have shown such devotion to the Dreaming City."
"I just hope I can help break the curse," said Liv.
They nodded. "So too do we," said Sedia. Then she turned to face Janus. "...Listen well, Janus, for this is your second chance. You will not get a third one, and it was only by the grace of this Guardian that you were granted another at all… Honor your agreements, or next time you will not find us so merciful."
With that, all three Techeuns vanished.
"...They sure love to make a dramatic exit," noted Uldren, "...I suppose it was too much to hope that they would have taken us back with them."
Liv sighed. "Yeah… Guess we'll have to find our own way out of here."
"No need," said Janus, "I'm sure I can manifest a portal here. I am, after all, back in full command of my power."
"Well that's the best news I've heard all day," said Uldren, "Let's get out of here."
A/N: I got onto my computer with the intention of posting this and then I started scrolling on tumblr lmao. This chapter was a lot of fun for me to write, getting to have Liv, Crow, Janus, and the Techeuns all interacting in some way or another.
Next weekend you'll get the last chapter. It'll officially cap off this story. Keep an eye on the notes because I'll be giving some insight into what you can expect to see in the future!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please consider leaving a review, I always appreciate it ^-^
Follow me on tumblr thewolfparadox for fic updates, writing stuff, and sneak peeks.
See you next week!
