When Ivara awoke in the large in decorated room she panicked. The surface on which they had lain her upon was black liquid inside of a translucent membrane that felt like rubber to her skin. She pushed herself off the bed but instead of landing on the ground as she'd hoped she stopped, hovering a few feet above the ground. She looked down terrified, her feet and leges were hidden behind a cloud of black mist.
She tried to step forward but to no avail. She leaned forward in a desperate attempt to grab hold of the wall but as she leaned she began to fly forward. She leaned backwards and stopped her movement. She repeated this a few more times till she was able to do it with her better control.
She looked down at the ground and leaned towards it slowly. At a manageable pace she drifted towards the ground. As she drew closer to the ground the cloud of black dissipated and revealed her legs with their chiton covered knees and torn fabric. She took a few steps on the ground before a realization struck her.
Ever since the death of her first team she despised the hive with all her being. She'd dreamt of the moon covered in flames, purifying the hive's malignant infestation. Now, she was one of them. Once again the darkness dwelling monsters had reduced her life to shambles. She sighed and clenched her fists tightly, half expecting the chiton claws to crack and send sharp blasts of pain up her arms. The chiton didn't crack but bent with her movement. The white chiton was now glowing a slight green hue that was almost masked by the brightness of the white.
She unclenched her hands and let them hang at her side. She looked out towards the window like structure for the first time. Outside of the room was what remained of Croat's oversoul, cracked and dark with a black sphere at its middle that seemed to absorb the green light that poured in from the distance.
"Ghost? Can you hear me?" She asked the open air. She waited a few moments for a reply that came faintly from inside her head.
'I can hear you but not very well.' It replied to her with a relieved tone.
"Thank the Traveler you're alright. Can you summmon yourself to me?" She asked. She longed to see someone or something familiar to her.
The was a slight flicker of light in her palm that faded after a second. She held out her plan before her and concentrated on it. She could feel her ghost tugging on her light as it tried to materialize in her palm. After a moment of struggle the ghost appeared. It's shell was no longer white but was chiton covered with only faint hints of white. It's blue eye was now green and much fainter.
"Oh ghost. What happened to you?" She asked sympathetically and she pulled her companion closer to her.
"The darkness corrupted me." It replied weakly.
Ivara crosses her legs and began to float with the same black cloud. "I'm so sorry. I promise I'll fix this." She said with a tear in her eye. She could feel his light fading in her palms.
"You don't have to worry about me. Fix this for yourself, and John. I haven't seen him since..." The ghosts voice began to fade as the light in its eye when dark.
She felt an immense loss in her heart that caused black tears to run down her cheeks. She clutched the shell of her ghost close to her chest and cried.
She must have cried for hours before a loud bang and the sound of grinding stone pulled her attention to the giant door at the far end of the room. She dropped to her feet and turned to the doorway where the large white knight was standing.
Dark trails ran down its own face. The knight knelt down before her as she came closer.
"My queen, what bothers you? We can feel a great sorrow." It said in a raspy voice that sent chills up her spine.
She'd never paid much of her attention to the knight before now. The broad, chiton covered shoulders were cut and chipped with grooves from many bullets running across the surface of the natural armor.
"Y-you can feel my pain?" She asked as she wiped away the black marks from her own face.
"We all can your highness." It replied with a still sorrowful tone.
She rose off the ground and flew to the widow, the black cloud once again enveloping her legs. Outside the window was a large collection of hive. Knights, acolytes, thrall, and wizards, all with black streaks running down their faces. She pressed her hands against the glass with her ghost still firmly held in her left.
Some part of her felt sorry for them. She never wanted anyone to bear her pain be they hive or guardian. She lowered her hands and turned back to the knight.
"What is your name?" She asked with curiosity on an attempt to distract her from her pain.
