Evan POV:

I awoke to the sound of the blazing snow storm, covering up the frozen wasteland of the north pole in a fog so dense that all outside light is snuffed out. Leaving the whole landscape eerily dark, I couldn't even tell the time of day.

I turned to Ellen, she was unconscious and barely breathing. I moved to put her armor back on now that it has cooled down, hopefully it will keep her warm. Then, I spot something. Her arm was twisted and bent in an outrageous angle, clearly broken from the impact.

I quickly moved to find emergency supplies for Ellen's broken arm, but there was nothing, only a few weeks worth of food. Thinking quickly, I carefully cut off a portion of my clothes using my combat knife, knowing it will all but guarantee I get frostbite.

I went outside to pick up a branch and straightened Ellen's broken arm. Using the portion of my clothes that I just cut off to secure my makeshift splint in place. It wasn't great, but it was all I had.

Then, I remembered the transponder on the life pod. I moved to the control panel to try and activate it. But there was nothing, no wonder the whole life pod was empty when I got to it. It didn't have a working transponder.

I sat down next to Ellen and Assessed the situation. We were stranded on harvest's North Pole with no help from the outside, very close to the covenant landing site and with a dwindling food supply that can't be replenished. The situation was as bad as it could get, plus, the covenant has probably spotted us by now. We couldn't move out because of the snow storm, we also couldn't stay here because of the covenant.

I figured trying to find a cave somewhere would be a much better idea compared to waiting to be captured by the covenant and tortured for information, or worse.

I picked up the only flare on this life pod, along with some survival equipment and food, stuffing them in my backpack. I gently picked up Ellen's damaged and unconscious body and made the trek outside.

The cold outside was beyond unbearable, like a thousand daggers slowly piercing into my skin, my breath turned to frost the moment I stepped out into the relentless snowstorm. With Ellen in my arms, I ignited the flare I had taken from the life pod, its bright light and warmth serving as our only guide through the blinding whiteness.

Xavier POV:

We have returned to the Edge of Deliverance, its purple hallways somehow looked even more alien than of the human ship. We were on our way to give the Fleetmaster a status report and it wasn't a pretty one.

The human resistance was fierce, the only survivors of the boarding were me, my brother and a couple of scattered grunts and jackals.

"This is outrageous! You are all Failures! FAILURES!" The shipmaster roared in frustration, his anger was let out on my brother, and he beat him to a pulp.

I suppressed my anger, though every sensation in my mind told me to kill the fleetmaster right here.

"How many humans did you kill, Minor?" His words weighed heavily on me, I suddenly realized the galactic toll this conflict was going to inflict on both sides.

"Seven, all on the bridge of the human ship, using a grenade. I also tried to chase down a human running to the escape pods, but he escaped." I said, recounting the events onboard the human ship, remembering the comradery of the humans.

"Oh, so that's what my scanners picked up."

"You will land on the surface of harvest's north pole, and kill all human survivors you see. Our luminaries have picked up a forerunner artifact, find it and protect it from the humans." His voice was commanding and terrifying.

"But fleetmaster, I am a mere minor. I am not worthy of such a holy mission." I said, hoping that the words can convince the fleetmaster to not deploy me. Though deep down, I knew it was so that I wouldn't have to kill the human I saw earlier on the ship.

"Which is why I am promoting you to the rank of Ultra, your weapons and armor are waiting for you in the armory." I just stood there, pondering his words, have I become an Ultra already? I've only been on one deployment.

"But-"I tried to speak, but was swiftly interrupted.

"But nothing, Go, and don't fail me." He said as I stormed off into the armory.

I was elated at the thought of becoming such a high ranking member of the covenant so quickly. Yet, I feel some form of despair grip me. As an Ultra, I will essentially become an extension of the will of the fleetmaster. I will never have freedom again.

I felt the presence of that armor long before I saw it. As the door opened with a soft hiss. I saw it, and it was beautiful.

It was white like my brother's, only there were no scuff marks or worn paint. It was fresh out of the factories. It was almost as if it had been waiting for me all this time. I am following in the footsteps of my brother, and I will be just like him, even if his belief wasn't firm.

"Lucky Bastard." I heard an elite snare, but I didn't care.

I slipped in it, and it fit me perfectly. Though something in the locker caught my eye. An energy sword. These blades were rare among the covenant, always decorated with Forerunner symbols, and this one was no different. I picked it up and gave it a gentle flick. It ignited with a hiss.

The energy sword was a masterpiece of Covenant engineering, a symbol of power and authority. Its deadly efficiency in close combat made it both a feared weapon and a coveted relic among the Covenant ranks. Holding it in my hand, I couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation and responsibility, knowing that this weapon would be a part of my new role as an Ultra.

I went straight to the hanger, my brother was there to see me. This time, his armor was blue and depressing.

"What happened to you?"

"I was stripped of my honor and rank, because I failed in my duties, supposedly."

"Supposedly" That word hung around in my mind, slowly planting itself into my ever growing pool of doubt.

"I hope you may regain it again." I said reassuringly.

"I thank you for your optimism, but I doubt I ever will, to fail is to essentially die, I'm sure I'll be sent on a suicide mission, never to be seen again." His words hurt me deeply. It was unfair to humiliate him like this.

"It wasn't your fault."

"It doesn't matter, but let me tell you this. Failure is never the end. It is just a chance to learn, to improve." For once, It felt like the covenant wasn't right about something.

"Get aboard your phantom, I don't want you to suffer the same fate as I."

With that, I boarded the phantom as its doors closed shut. Preventing me from seeing my brother. I was away, ready to continue the Great Journey. But something was missing, I don't know what it is exactly, but it clung to me like a leech, draining me of my faith.

Then, without me realizing it, the phantom had landed. I stepped out into the biting cold and howling storm, despite all the protection this armor gives me. It has its limits.

All the passengers aboard the phantom had split up, each going in their separate ways to parts unknown.

"I have a mission to complete." I said to myself while walking up to the human life pod. It appears to have had a rough landing, and will probably never fly again. It was here that I realized something.

Not once in the covenant's two thousand year history have we made contact with a space faring race. One that appears to have mastered it to some degree.

And the craziest part, no forerunner technology is used by the humans. From their weapons, to their ships, to their armor. It is all their own technology, though relatively primitive. It was their own, they achieved it on their own. Unlike us.

All of our technology came from the forerunners, had the prophets not discovered a forerunner dreadnought on their home planet. The whole covenant simply wouldn't exist.

Am I the only one to question this? Am I the only one to realize this? Are we all so blind?!

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I refocused on the mission, still wheeling at letting such heretical thoughts conquer my mind. I approached the human ship with caution, part of me hoped that I wouldn't find them dead here.

I moved in with my energy sword, only to find nothing…but a scent. I explored the human craft, finding discarded clothing that was cut apart, along with broken pieces of a branch strewn across the floor of the craft.

"Why?" I whispered in confusion and frustration.

Finding nothing useful, I walked out of the craft with a sigh, though just as I was about to report that the humans are dead. Something in the corner of my eye caught my eye, it stood out from the rest of the white hell.

Footprints, but only one pair of them, I remember seeing two humans escape, then, I remember that one was wounded. The other must be carrying it. I can't imagine how hard that would be, going through all the trouble just to save one of your comrades.

I quickly picked up the pace and moved in the direction of the footprints before they were consumed by the storm.

Evan POV:

With each step, the storm worsened. I couldn't feel my body; it was as if my body was still following the commands I gave it an hour ago. My extremities were numb, and my limbs seemed detached from my consciousness. The world around me had become a surreal blur of white, and my existence had shrunk to the relentless rhythm of my boots crunching through the snow.

Then, I heard a soft murmur, unmistakably human. It came from what I was cradling in my arms.

"Evan? Is that you?" It felt like an eternity since the last time I heard something that isn't the howl of the wind. Her voice was barely above a whisper, dangerously close to being drowned out by the howling wind.

I couldn't respond, my mouth was frozen tight and shut. My right arm instinctively held the flare close to her beautiful frostbitten face, while I froze. She blushed heavily, her face turning red despite the freezing cold. It lit up a fire inside my heart, filling me with newfound resolve to never give in.

The snow had creeped up to my waist, seeking to consume me like quicksand. The ground and the sky had molded together, with nothing special in sight.

Then, an artificial voice came to my head:"This way reclaimer, this way." I looked over to the source of the sound, there was nothing. But a tingling sensation urged me to go in that direction, so I did. I had nothing to lose anyway.

Minutes became hours without me realizing it, parts of my skin was slowly peeling away from the frostbite, exposing the flesh underneath. It felt like my entire body was burning from the cold, slowly withering away.

I kept my eyes closed and only used them seconds at a time.

Then, the sound of my trudging footsteps slowly became lighter and lighter, without warning it disappeared, replaced by an echo.

I opened my eyes, but they were shrouded in darkness.

Have I gone blind? Have I lost my mind?

Just as I began to despair, my vision returned. I was in a cave, cradling Ellen in my arms. We were safe, finally. I just hope it wasn't for nothing.

The cave was dark, but the respite from the biting cold was a welcome relief. I gently laid Ellen on the ground, her breathing shallow but steady. The cave had an eerie silence, broken only by the distant howling of the storm outside.

We huddled in the cave's relative shelter from the relentless snowstorm outside. My heart pounded with a mixture of relief and dread. The cave offered respite from the cold and wind, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we were not alone in this place. There was a palpable sense of ancient, otherworldly energy lingering in the air.

I stood up with my nerves flaring in distress, and walked outside to pick up a few branches. I put them in a rough circle inside the cave, with the last of the it's warmth the flare lit up the branches, going out immediately after.

The warmth of the flame brought relief upon me, there was finally time to rest.

Ellen stirred and opened her eyes. She looked around, momentarily disoriented, before her gaze settled on the flickering flames. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Are we safe?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

She tried to sit up but winced in pain. Her broken arm was a constant reminder of the dangers we faced. I offered her some of the emergency rations I had salvaged from the life pod and we ate in silence.

"Thank you again." She said as she snuggled her head on my chest.

The sensation warmed me faster than the flame. I wrapped my arms around her thin waist and bent down to let our lips meet. She didn't resist, but embraced the moment alongside me.

As Ellen and I huddled together in the dimly lit cave, this moment became a brief respite from the harsh realities of our situation. The fire flickered and danced, casting its glow on the cave walls, and the distant howling of the storm served as a haunting backdrop to our connection.

The warmth of the fire began to seep into our frostbitten bodies, gradually alleviating the numbness that had taken hold. My heart continued to race, not just from the physical cold, but from the emotional warmth that had ignited between us.

Then, a gentle hum approached us, growing in volume.

"Wel-," it began, then hesitated, "sorry, am I interrupting something?"

We broke apart, quickly twisting our heads in the direction of the sound.

Pushing through the peeling pain, I tightly held my once holstered magnum, pointing it at the direction of the sound, shielding Ellen and holding her hand in the process.

A hovering, floating orb with a metallic, silvery surface adorned with green lights appeared from deeper within the cave.

"What are you?" I shouted.

Xavier POV:

I hurried against the storm, against time itself. The tracks were fading, and soon, nothing will be left to guide me towards the heretics.

The storm was eating away at my resolve, to the point where part of my body was giving in. I could no longer feel my fingers, even with the internal heating of my sleek undersuit. If my nerves could be lost to the storm, there was no way these humans could have gotten so far. No, This human.

Not only was it carrying its camrade, but it had braved the relentless cold and wind without fur or warm clothes, a testament to their resilience. Their brotherhood.

"No, this is impossible." I muttered to myself, struggling to comprehend the reality before me. "I must be dreaming, imagining, lying to myself." But as the cold continued to pierce into my skin and numb me, I couldn't deny it. It was real. My faith wavered, and for the first time, doubt crept into my heart.

I shook off my heretical thoughts once again, and saw a distant orange light flickering in the snowstorm, accompanied by a soothing olive green.

I became part of the storm, silently moving forward, nearing my target, seemingly forgetting the thoughts that originated within me out of spite.

As I neared the cave, I heard echoes signifying a conversation.

"Oh my, you'll need some help with that injury."

"Your kind has arrived millions of years earlier than my predictions, indeed, you are the inheritors of all they left behind. Passing the test without struggle, but what brought you here? On the verge of death."

"your kind is at war? Here?"

The voice was artificial in nature, but was accompanied by a touch of sentience and a gentle hum.

Could this be an Oracle?

The realization struck me like a jolt of energy. It was the only explanation that made sense. An ancient, intelligent entity, possibly dormant for millennia, reawakened by the arrival of the humans. I shall protect it!

I dutifully sprinted into the cave, firing at the two humans I saw without hesitation or thought. The presence of the Oracle filled me with faith, blind faith.

"Blasted Meddler." was the last thing I could have imagined coming from the Oracle.

In an instant, a shield formed in front of the two humans, blocking my searing plasma. Then, the Oracle used its eye to disable my weapon and my armor. Hoisting me up into the air in the process. What in the name of the forerunners is it doing? Defiling such a righteous believer.

"So this is what you've been losing against, but this doesn't make sense. How could their technology have advanced so quickly in such a short period of time? Explain yourself, Meddler!"

I was beyond dumbfounded by the Oracle's actions, protecting humans? protecting heretics?

Then, all my past teachings in the covenant returned to me in a seemingly never ending surge. I answered with as much respect as I could muster.

I recounted the history of the covenant that I had been taught. How the prophets unlocked the secrets of the forerunner dreadnought on their homeworld and sailed for the stars. How the writ of union brought the elites and prophets to an alliance. How every species was discovered and consumed into the covenant. All in the name of ascending to godhood. How we met the humans, and were ordered to eliminate them after they were labeled as heretics.

"Oracle, Why are you protecting these humans, these so-called Reclaimers? Look at them, look at their primitive technology. They are heretics. They are nothing but vermin, unworthy of the Great Journey!" I shouted in frustration, not realizing the untold amounts of heresy that come with conversing with an Oracle.

My previous thoughts on the humans vanished, replaced with blind faith.

"Oracle? Great Journey? Why do you insist on using such inaccurate verbiage? First of all, I am 2746 Balance of Neutrality. The monitor and protector of this planet. My purpose is to maintain equilibrium and oversee the preservation of what remains of the Forerunners' legacy on this planet."

"Then, we must destroy these humans, they are blocking our path towards salvation, disrupting the equilibrium that the forerunners have set up for us. They are nothing more than worms and maggots!"

"And you are nothing more than a slave, in mind and body." The Oracle retorted.

"A slave? I am a devout follower of the Great-" I was interrupted by a sparkle of electricity that lightly burned my throat, sending me weeping in pain.

"There is much talk, for I have listened, through rock and mettle and time. Now I shall talk, and you shall listen." The eye of the Oracle brightly flared a disturbing red, while its voice dimmed and deepened, a clear sight that it was angry.

I closed my mandibles shut. Fearing the wrath of the Oracle.

Oracle's voice reverberated through the cave, filling it with an eerie, ancient energy. "You have been blinded by dogma, shackled by the chains of your own beliefs, and manipulated by those who seek power at the expense of truth. The humans are not heretics, and they have not disrupted the equilibrium."

"They are the inheritors of the mantle of responsibility, chosen and tested to protect all sentient life in this galaxy."

"They are the next Forerunners." Those words left me with absolutely nothing.

"No, you have been corrupted!" I desperately retorted.

"Corrupted? They can barely comprehend my existence. Let alone corrupt me with their ancient technology."

"So why are they the inheritors if their technology is so primitive?!" I tried to break free of the Oracle's grasp, praying that this was a dream. That none of this was true.

"It is but a test of their independence. Their intellect. Their resolve. All traits that any inheritor of the mantle of responsibility must have."

"Your covenant seeks to begin this "Great Journey", presumably by activating the halo arrays. The only thing that would result from this is death, not ascension to godhood.

"The halo arrays were built to eradicate all life in the Galaxy. In the final moments of the forerunners, just as the flood was about to take over the whole galaxy. The rings were activated."

"What is the flood?" I interrupted.

"That I cannot tell you, but they caused the destruction of the forerunners."

This is impossible, how could they have. The forerunners are gods.

"The forerunners too, were destroyed by halo." My heart sank to my stomach, to think that the gods can falter as quickly as we would have…wait, what?

"Your covenant are the true heretics, walking a path not meant for you, not made for you, not entrusted with you."

"The actions of your covenant go against everything the forerunners sacrificed themselves for."

As my mind races, conflicting thoughts swirl within me. The Oracle's words echo in my consciousness, challenging the very foundation of my beliefs.

Is this truly happening? How can it be that we've been so wrong for all these years? The thousand year old Covenant, the Prophets, our entire faith… Could it all have been built upon a lie?

I've become a battleground where the echoes of tradition and the whispers of enlightenment wage a relentless war, dragging me to my knees and ripping out my inner tears.