The world was open again.
Kael could feel the air cling to his cloak as he leaned forward on the Ashrunner, his sparrow humming like a Solar-charged arrow. Hills blurred past him in a smear of stone and green. Above him, the skies cleared for the first time in days.
But his eyes weren't on the road.
They kept drifting up… to the sky.
To the Traveler.
---
It loomed high over the horizon—colossal, perfect, and alive.
He still remembered calling it Le Voyager in his old life, the name from Destiny's French localization. A poetic title. A fiction.
Now, it was no longer poetry.
It was real.
And it was watching him.
---
Ghost pinged softly from behind his shoulder.
"You're staring again."
Kael didn't answer. Not right away.
Finally, he muttered, "It's one thing to believe in something from behind a screen. It's another thing to have it staring back."
Ghost hovered closer. "You've changed since the Womb."
Kael chuckled. "No kidding."
---
The last relay point was nestled in a cracked Golden Age outpost, hidden beneath wind-scoured ruins. He rode in, dismounted, and walked across the scorched floor until the rusted console buzzed weakly to life.
"Ghost."
"On it."
---
> [Last Relay Node Synchronization – Complete]
Locating Vanguard beacon...
Establishing handshake...
> Clearance Request: GRANTED
Vanguard Protocol: Class-R7 Verification
Tower signal unlocked.
---
Ghost blinked brightly. "You're officially in their system now."
Then came a softer ping—one Kael had been waiting for.
> [Secondary Objective – Upload Hive Nightmare Trophy?]
Item: Velmira's Core Remains
Classification: Nightmare Class Hive
Uploading this item may trigger flagged analysis protocols.
Kael tapped his wrist. "Do it."
Ghost hesitated. "Uploading corrupted Hive core... this could trigger... reactions."
"Exactly why we're sending it."
> [Data Upload in Progress...]
Nightmare Hive Signature Confirmed.
Routing to: Vanguard Archive Core
Special Trace Triggered: E.M. CHANNEL PINGED (Status: Awaiting Response)
Kael raised an eyebrow.
He didn't speak the name aloud.
But inside, he knew what those initials meant.
If she exists here, he thought, we're going to need her.
---
The system chimed again—this time different.
> [System Milestone Complete – "Last Light" Quest Chain Finished]
New Rewards Unlocked:
– Title Earned: Flameborne
You rose by Light not given, but taken. The fire within answers only to you.
– Achievement Unlocked: Unseen by Night
Successfully transmitted corrupted Hive data to the Tower under non-rostered Guardian ID.
– Trait Gained: Flickerstep (Passive)
Kael's dodge range slightly increased; enemies near dodge gain minor disorientation for 2 seconds.
Ghost whirred. "Well. Someone's getting fancy."
Kael cracked a grin. "I like that one."
Ghost added, "This achievement's usually tied to hidden ops. You triggered it by breaking the rules elegantly."
"Like always."
---
Above them, the sky shimmered.
And then, as if summoned by the system's cue, the Fang of Solas descended from the clouds—silent, sleek, and gleaming. Crimson etched lines along its black hull, and its wings arched like the spread claws of a raptor coming to land.
It didn't need to announce its purpose.
Kael already knew.
The gate to the Last City had opened.
---
He approached the ship slowly, footsteps echoing softly across the cracked platform. The ramp lowered with a hydraulic hiss, and internal lights flared to life—deep red and amber, shaped by Vanguard tech and something… older.
> [Ship Log Online – Light Signature: Verified]
Welcome, Solas.
Command Mode: Linked
Auto-Pilot: Available
Ship Type: Custom Vanguard Hunter Class
Jump Drive: Enabled
Ghost floated up beside him, scanning the interior as Kael stepped aboard.
"System's tied into the Tower's encrypted channels now. Once we're airborne, I'll patch us into navigation control. I've also flagged your Light profile with a 'Priority—Anomalous' tag."
"Doesn't sound ominous at all."
---
The interior of the Fang of Solas was surprisingly minimal.
Just one pilot chair, a small rear alcove for gear and weapons, and a curved ceiling embedded with pulsing light veins that shifted between bronze and soft white. Panels blinked quietly along the control surfaces. The cockpit screen projected a translucent 3D view of the terrain outside.
It was sleek, responsive, and fast.
Everything about the ship screamed hunter-class precision.
Kael lowered himself into the seat, brushing his fingers along the edges of the console.
The screen pinged as it recognized his touch.
> [Pilot Link Established]
Vanguard Clearance: Active
Auto-Flight Protocol: Optional
Jump Route: Confirmed – Destination: Last City
Awaiting Launch Authorization
---
He exhaled slowly, but didn't activate it yet.
Instead, he stared out the cockpit window.
The silence stretched.
And then he muttered: "I have no idea how to fly this."
---
Ghost blinked into visibility just above the navigation panel.
"Oh. You don't know how to fly?"
Kael raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"
"I mean... I'm an AI drone created to crack codes and plot Light resonance telemetry. So… yes. But I also think watching you try would be hilarious."
Kael groaned. "System?"
> [Query Registered – "Can I fly this thing without crashing?"]
Suggestion: Recommended skill upgrade – [Pilot: Level 3 – Master Tier]
Installation Source Available: Stored Inventory (Unclaimed Skill Module)
Would you like to consume Skill Module: "Master Pilot – Spatial Combat & Atmospheric Flight"?
Kael smirked. "So you were just sitting on that."
> [Confirm?]
"Yes."
---
> [Skill Acquired – Master Pilot]
You now possess intuitive reflex control over Light-Linked ships, sparrows, and orbital maneuvering vehicles.
Trait Bonus: +10% evasion in air combat, smoother jump navigation, no motion sickness.
Title Updated: Pathforged
Ghost made a whirring sound. "That's… actually impressive."
Kael rolled his shoulders as the knowledge slotted into his brain. He didn't remember specific lessons—but his hands itched to touch the controls.
Like he'd flown this ship a hundred times already.
"I think I got it," he said.
"You think?"
Kael activated the launch sequence.
The engine purred like a predator.
Then roared.
---
The ship lifted gently from the ground—hovering, smooth, precise. Dust and loose stones scattered under the force of its repulsors.
Kael tilted the yoke slightly.
The Fang rotated to face the distant skyline.
He grinned.
"I know I've got it."
---
> [Launch Initiated – Course Locked: Last City, Earth]
The Fang of Solas shot upward in a clean arc, engines burning red as it broke through the lower atmosphere.
From the sky, the landscape below unfolded into brilliant layers—mountains, rivers, cloud canopies—
And then, far ahead, the glow of a city that had survived the end of the world.
---
The world blurred into clouds.
As the Fang of Solas climbed through layers of atmosphere, Kael's knuckles slowly loosened around the flight controls. Not because the turbulence faded—it hadn't. But because he had. Something in him had relaxed. Clicked into place.
Maybe it was the knowledge slotting into muscle memory from the Master Pilot trait.
Maybe it was the Light.
Maybe it was just the fire not letting go.
---
Ghost floated beside him, running systems checks aloud with his usual monotone snark.
"Ship diagnostics nominal. Engine output at 84%. Long-range communication open. No signs of interceptor alerts or auto-cannon locks. That means either they trust you…"
"…or haven't noticed us yet."
Ghost paused.
"…It's probably the first one."
Kael smirked.
---
Then he saw it.
The clouds broke—and there it was:
The Last City.
Tucked between valleys and cliffside walls, cradled beneath the impossible shadow of the Traveler, the City stretched like a woven tapestry of towers, solar gardens, and lights. Highwalks bridged rooftops, runners zipped across skyways, and in the heart of it all—
—the Tower.
The nerve center of the Vanguard.
A sleek structure of steel and Light tech, aglow with scanner pulses and anti-orbital wards, a beacon to the Guardians and survivors of Earth alike.
---
Kael's breath caught.
Not because of grandeur.
But because for the first time since waking…
He felt like he was heading home.
Even if it wasn't his.
Even if it didn't recognize him yet.
---
> [System Update – Quest Thread Active: "Welcome to the Tower"]
Objective: Dock at Hangar 03-B
Vanguard liaison will initiate contact.
Secondary Thread: Trace Contact: E.M. – "Pending Tower Clearance"
Ghost buzzed softly. "Looks like they're expecting us."
"Good," Kael said. "Let's not keep them waiting."
---
Kael guided the Fang of Solas into a gentle descent.
The Tower grew larger beneath him—its sleek infrastructure lit by docking lights and cooling towers, and the shimmer of Guardian ships cycling in and out of orbit. The sight of it all—real, tangible, alive—left something warm and raw in his chest.
> [Tower Landing Clearance Granted – Hangar 03-B]
Docking sequence in progress.
Vanguard records updating: Non-rostered Guardian "Solas" — Arrival Logged
The ship touched down in a quiet hiss of engines and light.
The ramp extended.
Kael stepped out—
—and saw her.
---
Amanda Holliday.
Brown jacket. Work gloves. Blonde hair tucked beneath her red bandana. Grease-streaked. Confident. Focused.
Alive.
---
For a moment, Kael couldn't move.
His breath hitched.
Back in the game, she'd been a support NPC. Charming. Clever. Loyal to the end. He remembered the cutscene—her final mission—how she went out like a legend and never came back.
And now she was here.
Real.
Smiling.
Talking.
So alive it hurt to look at her.
And she was… beautiful.
More than the models or pixels had ever let on. There was life in her expression—warmth, fire, a quiet joy in the way she carried herself.
Kael blinked hard.
His throat tightened—but he kept his face even as she approached.
---
"Well," Amanda drawled, tapping a datapad on her thigh. "You ain't the weirdest Guardian I've seen walk off a ship... but you are lookin' damn dramatic."
Kael chuckled quietly, voice a little rough. "It's the cloak."
She looked him over once more. "Bet it screams louder than you do when it catches fire."
He smiled.
Amanda stepped forward and offered her hand. He took it.
Warm. Firm. Real.
"Welcome to the Tower, hotshot," she said.
Kael nodded.
And whispered to himself:
"I missed you."
---
To Be Continued Chapter 15 - Echoes in the Tower
---