The sky felt impossibly wide after the Womb.
Cold wind swept the mountain crest where Kael stood alone, his Phoenix cloak stirring behind him like slow-burning embers. The Hive had fallen quiet—Velmira silenced, her corrupted influence finally burned out by Light and fire.
But above it all, steady and immense, was the sky.
And within it… something more.
---
Kael raised his eyes.
High overhead, glowing with impossible calm, hung the Traveler.
The massive white sphere hovered silently above the world, casting a faint and holy glow over the distant skyline. In his past life—the one where he'd held a controller, not a sword—he'd known it by another name.
Le Voyager.
The poetic name from the French version of the game's lore. Mysterious. Distant. Inspiring.
But this wasn't a codex entry anymore.
It was real.
It was here.
And for the first time… Kael felt it watching him back.
---
He stood motionless for nearly a minute, saying nothing. Letting the Light within his chest pulse in time with the faint rhythm of that distant presence.
Then a quiet voice beside him whispered:
"You look like someone who just saw God."
Kael blinked.
Mina.
She stepped beside him, arms crossed, still in her scorched armor. Her eyes were red-rimmed but alert.
"I didn't think you were the type to stare at the stars," she added.
"I'm not," Kael said softly. "But that one… stares back."
---
They'd emerged from the collapsed Hive sanctum three hours ago, following a winding mountain tunnel that ended at the ridge overlooking a vast, dark forest.
Beyond that? Civilization.
Or whatever counted as it now.
Mina had stayed silent during the climb.
Seraya had marched on ahead, scanning for threats but keeping her distance.
Kael hadn't minded.
They all needed space.
---
By mid-afternoon, they set camp at a clearing below the ridge, near a half-collapsed radio tower.
The fire crackled in front of them.
Ghost hovered beside Kael, occasionally blinking as he sorted through data logs and Hive-scorched telemetry.
"You're quiet," Ghost said after a while, his voice carrying that dry clarity Kael had come to appreciate. "Should I be concerned?"
Kael gave a faint shrug. "Just taking it in."
"You've died. Resurrected. Absorbed corrupted Hive remains. And now you're… staring off into the void."
Kael tilted his head. "Is that not normal?"
Ghost paused. "...No. But I suppose we've gone well past 'normal' by now."
---
Then his HUD blinked.
> [Main Quest Unlocked – "Last Light"]
Classification: Primary Narrative Objective
Status: Active
Quest Description:
"The Traveler's city is not easily reached. Before you approach the Last City, you must establish contact, validate your existence, and prove yourself to the eyes that still doubt the Light."
Objective 1: Locate active pre-City relay points (0/3)
Objective 2: Upload Hive Nightmare data to encrypted Tower channels
Objective 3: Await Vanguard response
Rewards:
– Jump Ship: Unregistered Stealth Model
– Traveler-Class Sparrow
– Tower Contact Channel Access
– Classified: [Redacted]
---
Kael exhaled through his nose.
"Here we go."
"Ah," Ghost said, materializing beside him. "We're officially on the record."
Kael didn't smile—but the corner of his mouth twitched. "Show me the rest."
"The rest?" Ghost asked.
"I want a full quest log," Kael said. "Main. Side. Annex. Trials. Whatever this system's got going on under the hood."
Ghost hovered in silence for a moment.
Then:
> [System Log – Quest Overview Request: Confirmed]
> MAIN QUESTS
– "Last Light" (Active)
– "Trial of the Ascendant Bond" (Locked – Requires further synchronization with Companion AI)
– "Rekindle the Forgotten Flame" (Hidden – Unlocked via future Solar alignment)
– "Fateweaver's Mandate" (Classified)
SECONDARY QUESTS
– "Echoes of the Crimson Queen" (Completed)
– "Lost Signal: Comms Relay West" (Available)
– "Data Fragment: Hive Language Codex" (In Progress – 1/3 found)
– "The Path Between Worlds" (Tracking – Multiversal Anchor Anomaly)
ANNEX QUESTS
– "Companion Threads" (Mina – Bond Progress 2/5)
– "Companion Threads" (Seraya – Bond Progress 2/5)
– "Inventory Archive: Eris Contact Chain" (Pending – Requires Secure Uplink Access)
TRIALS
– Trial of Identity (Complete)
– Trial of the Lustbound Mind (Complete)
– Trial of the Deep Consort (Complete)
– Trial of the Ascendant Bond (Locked)
Kael stared at the glowing log for a long moment.
Then muttered, "Damn."
---
Kael dismissed the system log, letting the quest windows fade back into his HUD.
Ghost hovered closer. "That's… a lot of threads to manage."
Kael grunted. "At least they're color-coded."
From a short distance away, Mina sat on a flat rock, cleaning her sidearm in silence. Seraya stood near the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, watching the slow swirl of the clouds as evening drifted closer.
He knew it was coming.
That moment.
The inevitable split.
---
Mina looked up first.
"I'm not coming with you."
Kael said nothing. He just waited.
She kept her eyes down, busying her hands with reassembling her weapon.
"I need to go back," she said after a moment. "Wherever 'back' is now. My squad. My people. My place. I'm not… ready to follow whatever the hell you're becoming."
Kael nodded slowly.
He understood.
Not everyone could follow him into the fire.
Still… he pulled a compact black comm-link from his pack and walked over to her.
"Encrypted. Frequency-jumping. Dead-channel fallback."
She smirked. "Still trying to impress me with tech?"
"No. I just want you to call if things get bad."
She took it, slipping it into her belt pouch. Her fingers lingered on it a beat too long.
Then she stood.
Without warning, she stepped forward and kissed his cheek. Not playful. Not shy. Just… honest.
"You're insane," she said, voice low. "But you made me want to try."
And with that, she walked away into the trees.
---
Kael turned to find Seraya already approaching him.
"I'm returning to command," she said. "My division needs a report. If your name doesn't start showing up in every report across the network within the week, I'll be shocked."
He handed her a comm-link identical to Mina's.
"I don't suppose you'll warn me if they come hunting?"
"No," she said flatly. "But I might shoot slower."
He laughed.
They stood in silence for a long moment.
"I still don't trust you," she said. "But I do respect you."
He nodded. "I can live with that."
She stepped close, touched his shoulder once, and then turned without another word.
---
And then he was alone.
Truly.
For the first time since his rebirth.
---
He didn't sit long.
He packed his gear, checked his weapon, and began descending the slope toward the last known comms relay beacon pinged by Ghost.
---
It took him hours.
The ruins were half-sunk into the cliffside, one tower completely collapsed, the other still flickering faint blue. He scrambled up broken platforms, kicked aside Hive residue, and forced open the control panel.
Ghost connected without needing to be told.
> [Uplink Initialized – Routing Tower Beacon]
Requesting Contact with Vanguard Tower…
Verifying Identity…
Signal Authenticated.
Vanguard Response: Pending.
---
Then a ping.
> [Quest Objective Complete – "Last Light"]
System Rewards Processing…
– Jump Ship Acquired: Fang of Solas
– Sparrow Acquired: Ashrunner Mk. II
– System Access Unlocked: Tower Bounty Interface
– Reputation Path Unlocked: [Classified]
---
The sky shifted.
From the clouds above, a sleek shadow descended—silent, elegant, hunter-cut with crimson trim and curved wings like falcon claws.
Kael blinked.
"That's… not subtle."
The ship touched down silently. Its side door opened with a hiss.
At the same time, a smaller ripple of light shimmered beside him, and his Sparrow manifested—sleek, fast, ready.
Ghost hovered beside him. "I made some tweaks. You're welcome."
Kael grinned. "Good. I don't plan to walk again anytime soon."
---
He mounted the Ashrunner and tore down the slope, wind screaming past him, the sky widening ahead.
And far on the horizon, nestled beneath the pale gaze of the Traveler—
was the Last City.
He didn't know what he would find.
But he would ride straight through it.
---
The wind calmed as Kael crested the last ridge before nightfall.
He parked the Sparrow and stepped off to view the world below.
A vast valley stretched toward the horizon, dotted with ancient ruins, flickering lights, and winding roads—each one leading, inevitably, to the glow beneath the Traveler.
There, like a myth brought to life, the Last City pulsed with quiet life beneath the great sphere's protective gaze.
Kael stood still for a long time, letting the view burn into his mind.
---
"Looks smaller from here," he said quietly.
Ghost blinked into view, hovering just over his shoulder. "It's still home to thousands of Guardians, civilians, engineers, and more bureaucracy than I'd care to count."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "Didn't know you had an opinion on bureaucracy."
"I've been watching you manage quests. I'm developing one."
Kael snorted, then stepped back to his pack, tightening his belt and checking the seal on Starflame Whisper.
The bow glowed faintly, then… spoke.
> "They were strong. But they left you."
Kael paused.
"You think I'm alone?"
> "You are now. But not forever."
A beat.
> "When you burn again, they'll return."
Kael exhaled.
"Cryptic as always."
---
He looked up at the Traveler once more.
Le Voyager.
The poetic name still haunted the edge of his thoughts, even if he knew better now. This wasn't a legend anymore.
It was a future that he was a part of.
---
> [System Reminder – Quest Tracker Active]
– "Last Light" [Completed]
– "Tower Contact Authorization" [Awaiting Response]
{Incoming quests and contacts will appear upon arrival at the City.}
---
Kael stepped forward.
The wind picked up again, warm and sharp—like breath against skin.
And with a slow nod to the sky, to the Light, and to the road still waiting to be walked...
He rode away.
---
To Be Continued Chapter 14 – The Gate Beyond Light
---