Season of the Seraph
"Ah, Osiris! What an unexpected surprise. It's not every day that someone like yourself comes looking for me of all people."
"Believe me, I wouldn't be here if I didn't need to be."
When he was in a coma, Osiris experienced incredibly vivid dreams. He could vaguely discern shapes, people, places but couldn't quite make out the fine details. When he woke up, his first action was to find out what these dreams meant. However, because of his possession by Savathun, he was under the constant watch of the Vanguard. His apartment was under twenty-four-hour surveillance, his movements were closely monitored by Ikora's Hidden agents. He had to give his former student credit; she trained them very well. At the very least, he was able to access the Cryptarch archives. But even then, the crucial information he needed to conduct his research was once again, closely guarded.
This forced him to resort to more esoteric means. Toland was out of the question and Eris, while she provided some help, visions weren't exactly her specialty. However, there was one other person he knew of that could help him in his predicament. He worked with the man only once before and it always seemed like he knew something that others didn't. Perhaps that's what people thought of him.
Back when he was exiled, Osiris had only heard rumors about him. He once was a member of the Thanatonauts, just like himself and Toland. But even a fanatical group like that had expelled him for the abhorrent practices that he performed in secret. Granted, his experiments allegedly yielded greater results than the other members but, in their eyes, he went too far so he was forced out of the City, lest the Vanguard get involved. But that's all they were, rumors.
Tracking him down was more difficult than he expected. For weeks, he pursued every lead he could find. Consulting various warlock research groups and interrogating hunters at their dens. At one point, he asked Ikora about his whereabouts and even she had sparse information. Either that or she still didn't trust him. He was on the verge of dropping the whole thing until he found what he needed, completely by accident.
. . .
He was lounging in the Empty Tank after another trail ran cold when he overheard a conversation between the Young Wolf and the Avenger.
"That crazy Stormcaller called me again." Vendrick said between shots.
"Oh, yeah? What did he want this time?" Flux asked.
"He wanted me to get him a Vex warp gate."
"Why?"
The Gunslinger shrugged. "I don't know. I think it has to do with another one of his weird experiments."
"But did you do it?"
"I mean, yeah. He pays well. It was a pain in the ass to get, though."
"Flux. Vendrick."
The two looked up and saw the old phoenix approach them.
"Osiris! Didn't know you were here," said Flux.
"Which is weird because you tend to stand out in a crowd." Vendrick commented.
He ignored them. "You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"
Something changed. Vendrick exchanged looks with his friend, almost as if he was looking for confirmation. He got a shrug in response.
"Let's say I do. What of it?" Vendrick asked in an inscrutable tone.
"I've been doing some research and I… need a professional opinion."
"Why don't you ask Ikora?"
"Believe me, she was one of the first people I asked. What I need however, is someone with his…unique talents." As he said it, he slid a single silver coin with a glowing center to the Avenger.
Vendrick sighed and pocketed the coin. He looked around suspiciously before motioning for Osiris to come closer.
The Warlock leaned in.
"Fine, I'll tell you where he is, but you didn't hear this from me."
. . .
Which brought him here. A discrete metal door hidden among the mountains that surrounded the Last City. If he looked behind him, he could still see the City under the shadow of the Traveler which still obscured the sky.
"I need your help, Indra."
"Oh? Pray tell."
"For a while now, I've been having these visions. At first, I thought they were dreams. But they were always the same. I could barely make out shades of orange, deep blue and neon green. Massive entities cloaked in black. A massive cityscape. Yet the fine details escape me. I need to know what this all means."
He looked, no, stared into him. Analyzing. Glowing blue orbs penetrating right through his own gray ones. Like he was trying to glean more information.
"Very well." He said eventually, his playful demeanor gone.
He opened the steel door and what greeted the two warlocks was a rusty staircase that descended into the mountain, into darkness.
"Follow me."
What had he gotten himself into this time?
. . .
For what seemed like hours, the two descended the staircase. Occasionally turning right or left, but it all went in the same direction, down. Osiris couldn't locate the light source that illuminated their pathway. It felt unnatural.
They finally reached the bottom and were greeted with a ritual of sorts. They were met with a large open room with four pillars in the middle, in a square formation. Embedded in the floor between those pillars is what appeared to be a Vex gate. In the middle of that, was a bare-chested male on his knees with his hands bound behind his back. Four lines of Hive runes extended down his neck and body, with each line stretching across the floor and running up each of the four pillars, stopping at an embedded purple crystal. His head was encased in a glass helmet with a multitude of universes swirling right below the surface. To finish off the abominable scene, the helmet was adorned with a skull of inhuman origin.
The old phoenix felt nauseous.
"Indra, what have you done?"
"Oh, don't you worry." He said dismissively. "He was willing to go through with this."
Osiris pushed back the disgust he was feeling. "Did you prepare this in advance? If so, how did you know I would come to you?"
The look on Indra's face hardened. "I'm only going to say this once, Osiris. Do not ask me how I conduct these rituals or where I get my…materials from. Just know that, as of right now, I have the means to help you."
"Fine. How does this work exactly?"
"You're going to place your hand on my…research partner's back. This links your mind with his, allowing him to see what you see. I'm going to be facing you and initiate the projection ritual."
"Projection ritual?"
"Yes. You see, that helmet he's wearing projects his mind into the paraverse. The Vex gate beneath him simply stabilizes the projection so his mind won't break."
"And the Hive runes?"
"Anchors to this reality. They act as a lifeline so that his mind can return to his body...more or less. Any other questions?"
"No."
"Excellent. Let's proceed."
Osiris did as he was instructed and immediately it felt as if some supernatural force had taken hold. He tugged but was unable to pull away from the man's back.
Indra, meanwhile, stepped in front of them and started performing weird hand gestures in a sequence, ending with his hands pressed together as if in prayer.
Instantly, the purple crystals turned a sickly green and the runes lit aflame with unnatural fire. The bound man's body locked up like every muscle in his body was clenched and the Vex gate beneath them lit up.
"Now, let's begin. Shall we?"
As soon as he said it, Osiris felt displaced. Like his mind had left his body, leaving nothing but an empty void. In his mind's eye, he could see, no…feel the paraverse in its entirety. Knowledge of infinite universes, timelines, and abstract concepts trying to pierce into his psyche. All the visions he had experienced for the past few months sped past faster than he could perceive. He could hear rapid whisperings of an inhuman language, echoing throughout the void.
And then, he returned. The whispering ceased and his mind was clear. He blinked and he was back in the room, the bound man slumped over, like a puppet whose strings were cut. There stood Indra, off to the side with his hands behind his back.
"Interesting. Tell me, from one scholar to another. What's the Vex network like?"
Osiris steadied himself, hands on his knees trying to overcome the wave of nausea that washed over him. "Like a system of roads," he answered. "That our reality is merely a single road going one direction among the endless possible roads in existence going in infinite directions."
Indra nodded in agreement. "Let me follow up with another question. What holds them together?"
"What do you mean?"
"A road is held together by a support underneath it, unseen by those who walk it. So, what holds these realities together?"
The old phoenix was not able to answer. When it came to paraversal theory, he was only able to speculate. Traveling the Vex network gave him some clues but never definitive answers. Very few warlocks researched the subject, most preferring to study things in their own reality. Those few that did look into it, however, were a very unpredictable sort. He had to tread even more carefully than he already was; if the ritual he participated in was any indicator.
"What are you getting at?" His voice even.
"I'm referring to the green color that you've seen in your visions. I've encountered it before, only once."
"How do you know this?"
"Do you know what it's like having your mind being shattered across space and time?"
"What?"
"No, nothing. My point is, I've seen the framework that holds reality together. That green color feels just like it, like threads that compose a tapestry. This also means that it's connected to those other colors."
That got Osiris to perk up. "Explain."
"Your visions. They're pieces of the near future."
"And? What do they mean?" He tried not to sound desperate.
"Our friend here. He said, gesturing to the bound man. Whispered of a city. Not a dead one like on Io or Titan. Rather a city similar to that of ours. It too survived the Collapse and is still very much alive."
Osiris felt relieved. He guessed as much, he always had a gut feeling that there was something more on Neptune, now that he had confirmation, he could finally be of use again. Perhaps even gain back the trust of his former apprentice.
"What about the orange?"
"Ah, yes. I believe that pertains to Mars…and a much more immediate concern. The Vex converge there to retrieve Golden Age data. Given what's been happening lately, I wouldn't be surprised if that data involves the Warmind in some way."
Osiris' eyes widened. "I have to notify Ana. Farewell, Indra. I…appreciate your help."
"Not a problem, Osiris. Now, get going. I'm sure you have more important matters to attend to."
Without another word, the old phoenix transmitted out, leaving the Stormcaller in empty silence.
…
"Hm? No, I doubt he suspects anything. He's too preoccupied."
…
"I don't need to. They all know what's about to happen, it's just a matter of when."
…
"No. At least, not this time. I'm curious to see how they'll handle it, and how it all ends."
…
"It doesn't matter if they're prepared, it's already here. Hell, they don't even know what it looks like. Well…they do."
…
"Like I said, I'm not going to participate in the conflict. Though, I do want to take a closer look at those threads, like the others did."
…
"Alright, let's get you off there."
The warlock walked up to the bound man and removed the skull-adorned helmet. What stared back at him were his own lifeless eyes.