S1-105
Beyond Infinity

11:19 AM
08/09/3272

Planet Mercury - Fields of Glass
The Lighthouse

Music
Minecraft - Warmth

With Sagira having been somehow melded with Michael's Ghost, the group went back to Mercury, where the Shadow himself was waiting.

"{Osiris saw something in the Infinite Forest, and it terrified him. NOTHING terrifies him. We need to find him.}"

"OK, but you better seek cover. I don't want you scuffing up my Ghost's shell."

Ikora was on the line. "Osiris could be anywhere. Put in the wrong coordinates and you'll never find your way out."

"{I know I can do it. Osiris is in there, protecting the rest of us from the Vex. He needs us. He needs me. And we're going to find him.}" They entered the doorway to the Infinite Forest, and it didn't push them back this time. They got in.

Planet Mercury - Fields of Glass
Vestibule

Music
none

The place was made entirely of Vex tech, and there was a solid energy floor. "I never thought I'd actually see the place." The Shadow was impressed.

The area up ahead was dark, with platforms vanishing and reappearing. Sagira was still out, and she illuminated the area like a flashlight. They maneuvered themselves to a little tunnel, which led to a large chamber. "{Osiris has adapted some of the technology of the Forest to his own purposes. We're going to run into his Reflections. They're copies of himself, made so he can explore multiple pathways at once.}"

"That-" Jenny was immediately interrupted.

"{And yes, I am aware that it makes Osiris sound like an egomaniac. But don't worry. He is.}"

"That's not helping." The Shadow stated.

There was a large red circle up ahead. Once they stepped into it, the ring turned white, and a cubed force field surrounding some strange mechanism floating in the middle of the room disappeared, and Samus was the one to shoot it.

As a large structure appeared, a gold-colored energy-comprised version of Osiris appeared, levitating in the air ahead of them. "Sagira! You shouldn't be here. And you've brought someone new with you."

"{Who? Oh, them? Heh. Get this, they're friends of Ikora's.}"

"Hmph. Send word: Sagira has returned."

"{Osiris has to be here somewhere.}" Platforms appeared, allowing the group to advance.

"What was that about?" Jenny wondered.

"Osiris sent you away for your own safety. Your presence here puts everything at risk." A Reflection stated.

"{Well guess what? He needs me.}"

One Reflection up ahead seemed to be dividing. "New timelines are expanding. We must create Reflections to explore them." Like that, they all vanished.

"It's almost too late." Another stated.

Michael was confused by this. "Huh?"

"{What do they mean 'too late'? Something must have gone wrong.}"

Planet Mercury - Fields of Glass
Infinite Forest

Music
Destiny 2 - The Infinite Forest

"My Power Suit's picking up odd temporal field distortions."

"We're in the Infinite Forest. It's locked outside of time." The Shadow replied.

"{Where's the real Osiris?}"

A Reflection answered her. "You cannot go to him, Sagira."

"{What? What did he find? What's so bad that it could scare Osiris?}"

It was then that the Infinite Forest was revealed. "Behold... the Infinite Forest; a planet-sized prediction engine, simulating trillions of realities in parallel, all geared towards a single Vex purpose." A partial landscape section appeared before them. "Keep going, and you'll see."

They jumped in, destroying any Vex in sight. "{The Vex are simulating reality in here, brute-forcing the future. And before you ask, everything in here IS real enough to kill you.}"

Up ahead was an odd gate structure. It opened upon approach, causing another section to appear, complete with more Vex to kill. The Vex died, another section appeared, and they moved on.

"{Sometimes the Forest blocks a path. Eliminate the Daemon controlling the local simulation, and the door should open.}" Out of the Vex ahead, one seemed different, emitting digital particles. Just like that, upon its destruction, the gate unlocked. A path directly to one of the massive towers appeared, with a few Vex in the way.

"First, I will show you where it all began."

Planet Mercury - Fields of Glass
Simulant Past

Music
Destiny 2 - Ancient Mercury

Through the gateway up ahead, they ended up in a simulation of the past. "Mercury, untold centuries ago, before the Vex arrived." The Reflection of Osiris showed how Mercury was a garden world. Suddenly, strange rifts opened, releasing Vex constructs. "Here, the Vex planted the seed that became the Infinite Forest. And its Mind, Panoptes. Panoptes has a single purpose: reshape reality for the Vex, and only the Vex. All this started with a single Vex. Will it end with the arrival of three Guardians and an entity of Darkness?"

A portal appeared, leading to the sector's exit. "{Now I see why he's made so many new Reflections.}"

"Yes. We've tried, and failed, to prevent this outcome. Now even our best efforts only slow it. But you must see for yourself."

Planet Mercury - Fields of Glass
Infinite Forest

They were back in the regular void of the Infinite Forest, with a simulated environment section appearing. "Tell me, Guardians. Were you there when the Traveler woke? A living Traveler changes everything, for good and bad."

Music
Destiny 2 - The Infinite Forest

There were simulated Fallen up ahead, and they had to be dealt with in order to proceed. "Now many things have been set in motion. Osiris wrote the Lost Prophecies to warn the other Guardians, and they sent him away, but you cannot exile the future."

The simulated Fallen were cleared out, and the next portion of the simulation appeared ahead of them, with more to kill, and there were Servitors this time. With the Daemons killed off, the door to the next simulated section unlocked, and opened as the group approached. It led directly to another pillar.

"We must find and stop Panoptes, but none of us have discovered a timeline where we succeed. This is what it looks like when we fail. This is the future the Vex want."

Planet Mercury - Fields of Glass
Simulant Future

Music
Destiny 2 - The Dark Future

They ended up in a simulated future; in a destroyed version of the Lighthouse. "{The Lighthouse! This is what Osiris saw!}"

"Neither Light nor Darkness exists anymore. The sun's warmth is gone. All life... lost."

"This can't be happening..." Jenny was horrified.

The Reflection of Osiris spoke up once more. "But that was before you. You are the keys. You can stop this. Every timeline we've tracked leads here. We must destroy Panoptes to prevent this dark future."

It was then that something started to happen. "Panoptes! He's found us!"

Music
Destiny 2 - Panoptes, Infinite Mind

A giant Vex construct appeared, and it seemed to have complete control over the entire simulation.

SCANNING...
ERROR - ERROR - ERROR

"Go! You're more important than any of us now!" An exit appeared, and they went through it, escaping Panoptes... for now.

"{This is bad. Really, really bad. We need to work together, all of us, you, me, Osiris, Ikora. If we don't stop Panoptes, you've seen what happens.}" Up ahead was the way out of the Infinite Forest.

Planet Mercury - Fields of Glass
The Lighthouse

Music
none

"Good to be back in the real world." Samus said.

"Good to be back within time." The Shadow rephrased her.

"Is that an expression?" Samus asked.

"No. When we entered the Infinite Forest, we left time. Upon leaving the Infinite Forest, we came back."

"{Ikora, you there?}"

"Sagira? You just left."

"Told you." The Shadow said.

"Where's Osiris?" Ikora wondered.

"{In trouble. We all are. I'll explain everything on our way back to the City.}"

"Things are about to get interesting."

You got that right, Jenny.

See you next... Ahh, you get the idea.