Chapter 40: Inflexion Point

Beyond ours lies another world, one pervaded by Darkness. Where guardians abandoned their Light at the call of temptation. In that world, you were no exception. But here… -Exo Stranger

For an eternity Whisper hung in the balance, part of her wanting to resist whatever power this was, and part of her wanting to use this power to fix all the things that needed fixing in this miserable solar system, this miserable universe.

As she wavered a tiny thought bubbled up from deep inside. I've been alive again for a few months. And before that, I was just a human, one of billions, who lived for a moment, then died. I'm no Cayde-6, no Ikora or Zavala or Osiris.

I'm not the one who can decide.

Whisper decided.

She struggled, tearing at vines and wood writhing around her. The Light was slow to come, but it answered her call and she crackled with arc power, sending the possible futures scattering off her in every direction as she chose her own fate.

She stood her ground, looking up at the Darkness in defiance, as one by one the red eyes of the Vex flickered to life and turned to look at her.

Well, here goes nothing. Or everything.

The fight was on. Dozens of Vex frames attacked, hurling solar particle jets through the air. Whisper kept on the move, constantly ducking behind jutting outcrops of the Vex's bizarre architecture and taking them down one at a time. The Devil You Know thundered, destroying Goblins and Hobgoblins, while the Tongoku FR2 revved up to annihilate the Minotaurs.

Her shields flashed from repeated hits, forcing her back into cover, and she hurled a grenade of lightning to keep the Vex at bay while she took cover to let them recharge.

Look out! The Heart is bringing that statue to life!

Whisper peaked around a corner, and sure enough the Darkness was sending tendrils of itself to wrap around the statue of an enormous Axis Mind using the frame of a Minotaur. Golden cracks seeped into the stone, before the outer shell exploded outwards, crushing a half-dozen Vex, and the machine turned to face her, tendrils of pure Darkness writhing around it.

The machine stumbled as her first Light-infused rocket detonated on it, then she was on the move again as more Vex teleported in to flush her out of cover.

Whisper lost track of time as the battle dragged on. She used the last of her rockets to take down the Eschcaton Mind, which detonated in an explosion that scarred the ground, before the charred carbon sprouted dozens of new plants. She'd focused on it too much, and the Vex took advantage of her distraction to surround her. She almost went down before exploding in arc energy and blinking into the midst of the Vex, striking them down with her blade.

The Darkness again reached out, siphoning its strength into the second statue which rumbled to life as the Imminent Mind. It was another Minotaur, but it was different from the first. The Eschaton Mind had been of this Sol Divisive, but this one was colored black and brown and its head was in the shape of a ring. Its armor, too, seemed different—sleeker, harder, more advanced.

Its torch hammer erupted in an explosion of strange particles harder and faster than any other Vex she'd seen, spraying radiation everywhere in a direct hit that sent Whisper flying, and her weapon spinning from her hands.

She hit the stone hard, but blinked back into cover as Blabber frantically worked to put her back together again. The Vex closed in, but the Chilonis-A was in her still-working hand and the sidearm spat fire to beat back the Vex again. She hit the Imminent Mind again and again with her fusion rifle, draining its batteries until the last blast erupted into its radiolarian core and finally tore it apart into a soupy mess that brought down the hulking machine.

The Darkness was fading above them, but it roiled even more violently and threw the last of itself into the third statue, and the Primeval Mind was in pursuit. This one, too, was different. Its shape was angular, harder, more… primitive, like a much earlier version of the other Minotaurs.

That was good news, because Whisper was running on fumes.

The machine seemed to sense this, as it charged forward and slammed its arm down on her. She tried to get away, leaping to the side and holding up her right arm as a shield, but wasn't fast enough. The heavy weight smashed down on her, crumpling her arm and crushing the sidearm into sparking scrap. She staggered out of reach, slicing apart a Goblin with the blade in her left hand, as the Primeval Mind recovered.

Her ammunition gone and weapons destroyed, she called on the last weapon she had, and filled herself to the brim with roiling, solar Light, forming it into a weapon. The Darkness raised the arm of its puppet, pointing the torch hammer, and the Light's champion raised her remaining arm with a hand cannon of raw Light.

Whisper was faster. The hand cannon cracked with thunder as it hurled boiling solar Light into the construct, knocking its aim off target. She didn't flinch as the crackling ball of void whizzed past her face and fired again. Her second shot impacted off the Axis Mind's side, cutting deep inside and sending it reeling.

The Light was fading now, but she clung to it, gathered in every last dreg she could muster, and put it all into one final shot. She aimed and pulled the trigger.

It hit directly on the radiolarian core, which exploded outwards in a mess of filmy white liquid. The Vex construct toppled over and collapsed, the tendrils of Darkness fading to nothing.

Whisper dropped to her knees, utterly spent, as the Darkness at the center of the Garden writhed and roiled in crackling sparks of power as it collapsed in on itself. Her vision distorted as the entire Garden seemed to warp. For a moment there was an indescribable wrenching sensation, then the oppressive weight of the Garden vanished.

Blabber emerged and pulsed with Light as he attached her arm back in place, resealing leaking microtubes and repairing shattered circuits. Whisper looked around, confused. They were still in the same place—the same platforms, the same wrecked Vex frames, the same large half-moon structure where the Darkness had lurked. Only… the place they were itself seemed to have moved. Somehow. The Light came easier here, like she could breathe again. The plants were gone, but the last red petals still fluttered in the air.

Blabber scanned the area after he finished reassembling his exo companion. We're... back on Mars, in Meridian Bay. The shroud of Darkness is lifting. Light is returning to the Traveler!

Whisper looked around, stunned. "Did… did we do it?

I think so. Oh, I'm picking up a signal. The Speaker is calling us home.

…

Blabber submitted their report as they soared back home to the Tower while Whisper tried to wrap her head around what had happened. She hadn't made much progress by the time she transmatted down into the Hangar. The line to get back in had been long, and all around her guardians milled and whispered, all heading towards the Tower.

Shiro-4 collected Whisper quietly and escorted her rapidly to the Speaker's office before stepping back to ensure they had privacy. And he wasn't alone – the entire Vanguard were present.

"Whisper," began Zavala with his reassuringly steady voice. "We've received your report, but would like to hear it from you, personally. If you would be so kind…"

Whisper nodded, took one last moment to collect herself, and walked them through what she had seen, heard, and done. When she finished, they were quiet for long moments, even Cayde-6, contemplating what she'd said. Finally, the Speaker broke the silence.

"We have long heard rumors of the Black Garden and its tainted influence. At last, the Heart of the Garden has been destroyed, its stranglehold on the Traveler released."

Whisper looked up at the Traveler. She could feel the gathering of the Light even stronger this close, and yet the Traveler remained silent and still. "I thought… I don't know what I thought. But I guess I hoped for some reaction from the Traveler."

The Speaker nodded solemnly. "I have faith. It is part of my responsibility, but that makes it no less true. I have faith in the Tower, the Vanguard, the City. And faith in you, Whisper. For now, yes, the Traveler is silent. We must make our own way in the world. But that will not always be the case. Thank you, Whisper. For all that you have done, and all that you will yet do."

"You are welcome. I guess I can't really believe it's over. The City is saved."

The Speaker put a hand gently on her shoulder. "The City is saved, yes, but it is not over. The City has been saved many times before, and I fear it will need to be saved many times more. Take some time. But if you need something more to look to, then know that the power of the Vex is not broken. We are only just beginning to understand the ramifications of what you found, but look to the Vault, for it may be that it holds the power the three Vex avatars, the Sol Progeny, were meant to bring forth to our reality. But for now, go with our gratitude and join the celebrations of this great day."

…

Whisper wound her way through the crowd atop the Tower feeling distinctly surreal. There were more guardians around than she'd ever seen before, wearing a kaleidoscope of equipment and armor. Every few seconds a guardian looked up instinctively at the Traveler above them, looking for some visible sign of what they all felt, a flow of Light up towards the silent sphere.

She kept pushing through until she caught sight of a familiar set of robes and joined Vistrek and Alice. They joined a group hug of triumph as the Speaker, standing above them all, began to speak and the crowd quieted.

The Speaker spoke loud and clear over the chorus of birds on one of the last warm, clear days before winter set in.

"For centuries, we feared the forces of Darkness massing against us. We sought to hide and cower beneath a broken god. No more!" He gestured grandly at the assembled crowd for the hovering cameras broadcasting to the rest of the City below. "These guardians show us what we are, what we have always been, and what we will be again. We are what remains of the Light, and we will not be stamped out. This is our world, our solar system. And no matter what the Darkness brings, we will be here at the dawn."

The crowd cheered and a jumpship roared overhead dropping a cloud of confetti. The Speaker stepped down and a bunch of guardians broke out into a spontaneous dance party, with ghosts blaring music. Many others headed down into the City to celebrate, already talking about the restaurants and bars they wanted to visit.

Whisper slipped away from the noise and press of people and headed to the hangar where it was relatively quiet. And there, at the edge of the pad overlooking the City and the Traveler, was the Mysterious Stranger.

Whisper had so many questions she didn't even know where to begin. So instead she walked over to stand by Stranger, who leaned against her pulse rifle as she considered the Traveler above.

"It's a day of pretty speeches and medals. But we know the real fight takes place out there." She turned and hoisted her weapon into her hands and held it out to Whisper. The finely crafted weapon's burnished golden plating glowed in the afternoon light. Whisper took it carefully, admiring its fine lines and precision.

"There is so much more, guardian." The Stranger turned away again, looking up at the Traveler once more. "I've seen terrible things born out in the Darkness. Every moment brings them closer. All ends are beginnings… our fight is far from over."

She started to turn away when Whisper grabbed her arm. "Now wait a minute! That all sounds suitably heroic and mysterious, but I have so many questions. Who are you? How do you know all of this? What things are drawing closer?"

The Stranger smiled. "You'll find out soon enough. If I give you too many answers now, you will stop looking and you won't be ready for what you need to do."

Whisper gave her a hard stare and the exo chuckled. "I've missed that look. Hopefully it goes better this time around. Best of luck to you, Whisper of the Traveler. You're going to need it." She brushed off Whisper's hand, stepped back, and transmatted up as a Jumpship soared by overhead.

Whisper shook her head in exasperation. With her gone, Whisper looked up again at the Traveler. There were still so many questions, so much mystery in this world. And not just with whatever games the Exo Stranger was playing – the important things, the fundamental things. What was the Traveler? Why had it picked her? What was her purpose as this resurrected, amnesiac war machine?

Blabber transmatted out beside her, humming to himself. She sighed. "What do you think, Blabber? We've done a lot in a short time, but it feels like we still have so far to go."

Hopefully for a very, very long time. But I wanted to thank you, too, Whisper. Doing this, saving the Traveler and the City… it's all I've ever wanted to do. And I couldn't have done it without you.

She smiled and rubbed the floating ball of Light fondly. "And I couldn't have done it without you, either. I guess we'll just have to see what comes next."

…

Ikora settled down in her library to get back to work as the festivities were finally winding down and saw a light blinking on her Vannet terminal. It was from Zavala, and she couldn't help but smile at his typically terse message.

We've had the good news. Now, what's the bad news?

She considered, then began typing her thoughts.

Zavala-

How like you to ask me for the bad news, even in this moment of triumph. I've finished going over Blabber's report.

It is my hypothesis – a hypothesis at best – that the Vex saw the abominable presence at the heart of the Garden as a divine power. I can hear your protest already: how can machines have a god?

The answer Is simple. The Vex, for all their voracious intelligence, could not understand or decipher what they found. They searched through all available reactions, and they settled on the course with the greatest payoff...to worship this power, and to remake themselves in its image.

I believe the three Axis Minds found in proximity to the abomination were Vex machines built to serve as vessels for this power: a way to extend its reach across space and time, binding it to the Vex, and the Vex to it. If they had succeeded, I cannot begin to guess what horrors they would have unleashed.

Attend carefully. There is cause for hope. When endangered, the abomination activated these vessels and defended itself. This tells us that it was threatened. Whatever it was, guardians could harm it. And it activated only a single vessel at a time. Its strength was limited. Whatever it intended, it was not ready yet.

We must assume the abomination was part of something greater. And we cannot flinch from the terrible, obvious comparison: just as the Traveler acts through us, this power was able to act through its own servants.

Let us be wary. There may be other abominations, and other vessels.

Ikora

A/N: To the person that asked a question, I can't respond to you if you are asking as a guest without being logged in. In answer to your question, I do plan to return to that story.

Lore Referenced:

Transcripts:

Stranger in a Strange Land (Visit 4)

Grimoire:

The Black Garden

Sol Progeny

Human