Ok, so as some of you who see this may remember I uploaded a W.I.P/prologue thing for a Destiny 2 fic I, and @ItsFrostbyte were semi-collabing on quite a while ago, and then after a few comments on writing style, and whatnot, kind of forgot about it/left it.
But now I am back! And this time with the actual, (nowhere near) semi-regular updating (or so I hope) topic for the story itself as I finally get around to writing (and even more so completing) its chapters.
Now without further ado, the first chapter:
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#Chapter - 1: Awakening of adventure
âWhere am I?â Were the beings first thoughts as he awoke, finding himself floating within a sea of cold, composed of a darkness that carried a sense of⌠wrongness to his sight.
âHow did I get here? What happened to me? Who⌠who am I?!â He thought as a sense of fear and panic began to invade him.
All he knew was what he was, a human, male to be exact, and faded memories of pain and⌠prosthetics. Specifically arm types⌠An odd tidbit of information to have if one thought on it.
As he pondered on the oddity of his tidbits of knowledge⌠and as to why they seemed to be odd to his mind, he became aware of a light, a sudden flare opening above him, illuminating him, filling himself with the feelings of warmth, a sudden touch of ârightnessâ, but with still just the barest touches of the previous âwrongnessâ just lurking across the background, as it continued to widen and grow, the being feeling as if he was being pulled towards it, flying up to its center.
As he reached it, the light now blinding, his thoughts beginning to blur, he heard the faint echo of a memory, a whisper of the name âKaiâ passing through his collapsing thoughts, and with it a sense of self.
This was his name, this he knew.
.
Kai felt himself suddenly wake up, an ache across his entire body, and a metallic, coppery taste across his tongue, as he struggled to focus enough to open his eyes.
As he struggled, feeling his fingers twitch, he suddenly became aware of a voice, a tinny and, dark was the best way to describe it, sound to it as it grumbled in an irritated tone.
âHello⌠up⌠are⌠alive⌠oh great⌠needed⌠another dud⌠Perfect⌠wasted energy and time⌠use elsewhere⌠Well then, time to go.â As Kai listened he could hear small, split and unclear sentences register in his mind, slowly clearing as he became more focused.
What he gathered, going by the little he caught, was that this being most likely knew what had happened to him to explain his pain and memory loss⌠something he just realized as he thought upon it, suddenly noticing the gaping void that was his knowledge of anything before now, and that it was about to leave.
As he thought this a sudden flare of unexplained panic, most likely a combination of the fear of being left alone like this, and the realization of his amnesia, burst open within his mind, his heart beating crazily as he managed to crack his lips open, wheezing loudly in panic as he managed to shakily throw an arm up, scrabbling towards where heâd heard the voice as he finally opened his eyes.
His sight was blurry and unclear, little more than an undefined dot of the other other entity visible, but it nearly looked like there was no⌠body to it, as he heard a sound of surprising call from it, the blurry movement seeming to indicate it had turned as it said, âHeâs alive?!â Itâs voice full of a tone formed of wonderment and surprise as it suddenly zoomed over, moving at speeds that didnât seem human, before peering at him as it stopped in front of his face.
As it neared he could see a purple light shining from what seemed the center, the rest an odd mic of dark violets and blacks, changing position and moving in a way that seemed to indicate it was an eye as the being moved, a humming sound, similar to that of running fans⌠something else he realized he knew⌠somehow⌠and itâs shape, cubic and angled, even to his current vision, size, which was definitely smaller than his own head, and position in the air where he could see a lack of body, most likely indicated it was a robot of sorts, albeit a highly intelligent once going by its previous talkings and current mutterings⌠yet another thing he somehow knew and understoodâŚ
As his vision cleared farther he could even better confirm that theory, now able to see it for what it was, which appeared to be some sort of floating, high-tech trapezoidal box of sorts, four blunt and angular spike like protrusions on its front, leaning forward to create a sort of dip leading towards where its eye was, some mixture of glass and holographics, a neon purple light shining from it, and the same formation, just mirrored, on its back. Just without the eye.
The top right front âspikeâ appeared to be damaged the armour cracked and open, small wires, crackling with sparks in short, far-apart bursts, visible, some of the armour seemingly hanging on just by the wires that were attached to it.
As Kai continued to study the bot it suddenly cackled, bursting into deep, and nearly crazed seeming laughter as it suddenly shot up, giving a twirl in the air.
âHahaha! I told those fools it would work! I told them my theory was correct! So what if a few tests went bad? Iâve done it! Iâve brought one back! And this time not as some kind of super-Fallen! Look at whoâs laughing now fools!â It said, continuing to boast its praises in a proud, near-conceited tone while Kai struggled to push himself up, finding himself to be on some sort of road, as he sat up, weakly coughing, catching the bots attention.
âS-so, mind telling me what all this cheering is about? And perhaps what exactly happened to me?â He asked, weakly grinning before giving another wracking set of coughs, the bot giving off what sounded like a slightly ashamed cough, before it quickly recovered, rolling its optic as it floated back down to his eye level, saying, âAh, Yes. I suppose introductions are in order.
You may call me Void, I am whatâs known as a Ghost, a robot sent out to find Connected and revive them as Guardians.â he said, about to continue before Kai interrupted with a shocked screech of, âWait! I was dead?!â causing the ghost to sigh in exasperation, rolling its optic as it watched the panicked human.
âYes fool, you were dead, and now youâre not. Good for you, youâve gotten a second chance. Now then, so long as there are no more interruptions,â The Ghost said, glaring at Kai. âIâll continue with my explanation of your requested info⌠no more interruptions? Good. Now then, essentially the world, earth as you should know it, was visited centuries or whatever time frame ago by a being known as the Traveler. Upon its appearance it began to share its technology and secrets with your kind, such as Light, the element which both indicates oneâs potential to become a Guardian, and allowed for your revival, and continuous other oneâs that will occur⌠or at least it partially did in your case.â The Ghost, Void, uttered cryptically, quickly changing the subject before Kai could comment as he continued.
âThis ushered your planet into a golden age of growth, inventing items centuries or more beyond your current tech level, and elevated your space travel capabilities by light years. But, what you all didnât realize, was that the Traveler had come to your planet to attempt to gather an army of sorts to fight against an ancient enemy that had been following it as it fleed.
It was known as the darkness. A non-physical entity and force, the opposite of the Light the Traveler held dear. And with it came those aligned with it. Alien forces that near wiped out your unprepared species.
Currently, many of you are dead, their bodies lain across the ground, such as those around us.â The Ghost commented, turning and projecting a beam of light, alerting Kai to the presence of a corpse, now little else but brown and sun-baked bones as the beam lit across it, showcasing what he was just a few minutes ago. As he was shown one he quickly began to notice the many more around him. Breathing short, withdrawn gasps of panic as he slowly moved his head around before the Ghost sighed, rolling its optic in exasperation as it let out a sharp trill, shocking Kai out of his panic with a jolt of surprise as he sharply turned and stared at the Ghost.
âGood, now that I have your attention again, we can continue. Just ignore the bodies. Theyâre bones, and nothing else.
Besides youâll have to get used to seeing them, or at least taking actions which usually would eventually lead to creating more in your new line of work anyways.
Now then, currently the remainders of your species are either holed up within what is known as âThe Towerâ, a âsecretâ stronghold here on earth. Either that, or theyâre Guardians like you, and theyâre traveling across the worlds, killing aliens, completing quests, collecting rewards, and ultimately attempting to foil the Darkness as they go.â He said, projecting quick flashes of random shots of the aforementioned beings.
âBasically, itâs as if youâre living in a video game, a first person RPG of sorts. Iâd ask if you remember any, but, as past records have shown, while you will most likely know what they are, your mind will not retain any memory of ones you may have played.â Void said as Kai nodded in agreement, being able to recognize, and recall the definition of the words, if with some surprise, but with no knowledge of reference-able material behind them.
âDuring our journeyâs youâll most likely gain access to many weapons and new armours, many of which contain special light given attributes. Now, while you wonât be able to carry all of them, especially with your build.â Void said, causing Kai to look down and note his bodies quite lanky build, enough muscles to showcase heâd been doing some form of physical work before his death.
âLuckily, these weapons and armours can be stored within me, your ghost, due to their state as a form of physical light.
Unfortunately, for you, I do have a storage limit. Usually a Ghost such as I would recommend you to go to the tower to sell them, and possibly buy usually unobtainable items in the âwildâ, Iâm not. In fact Iâd recommend we never go there. Iâm not exactly welcome, and I can assure you that, due to you being my Guardian, you wonât be either.
In fact, you can expect that theyâll kill you, and either leave you to dissipate, or force me to revive you within their jail, a pit of darkness built within their tower, where you shall permanently be exposed to the void, a form of Light balanced just on the edge of Darkness and what I was named after. Kept watch over by their strongest guards, kept sightless and contained for the rest of your immortal life, and even once your mind shatters you will never be let go.â Void hissed as he advanced, his tone dripping with malicious intent as his optic nearly seemed to crackle with a darker energy, Kai feebly pushing himself back as he paled, uttering, âWe-well then, looks like my luckâs pretty terrible if I got stuck with you.â His tone weak, an attempt of bravery forced into it, and an eye shut as he leaned away from Void who was hovering just inches from his face.
As the sentence left Kaiâs lips Void froze, a disturbing silence emanating from him as even the soft drone of his inner workings seemed to stop.
âUhhh, h-hey. Yo-?â Kai started to ask before a scream of rage burst from Void as he interrupted Kai, yelling, âHow dare you! I will have you know Iâm a Ghost Guardians wouldâve killed over if that option was a viable one! I am a Ghost of only a small group, so special in our abilities Guardians who had one of us were worshiped! Treated like the greatest of heroes! So what if a few experiments went wrong? No one died, or at least stayed dead! I was owed this! I was owed my experiments! My choices after they caused myâŚ" Void said as he suddenly thrust himself forward towards Kaiâs face, causing the Guardian to jolt back, fear lacing his features as Void continued his rant before⌠stopping, muttering quietly, "my lossâŚâ Sadness lacing his tone, and aura, as he quietly finished his rant.
âAnyways,â Void said as he shook himself, small sparks escaping from the broken âspikeâ as his frame shook. His inner workings sounding again as he shook his previous mood off and continued. âThe Towerâs unnecessary anyways. One can just as easily survive without it. Supplies are abundant if you just search with some level of care, and effort.
Youâre lucky to have me, and donât you forget it you one arm-! Oh, thatâs interesting⌠how exactly do you still have working cybernetic parts? They shouldâve broken down centuries ago, leaving space for your organic parts to regrow.â Void said, a tone of curiosity and realization filling his voice as his optic flitted between Kaiâs right arm and face.
âWhat are you talking about? Whatâs so weird about my face? Cybernetic parts? Are you sure youâre seeing things right? âCause I sure donât feel any dif-â!ââ Kai said as he lifted his arm, reaching for his face, glancing across his arm as it came into view, and freezing as he realized Void was telling the truth.
Instead of the flesh and blood his left arm was made of, and what heâd believed his right arm to be made of, it was instead built of metal and wires, crude but still kept in an advanced sort of way, with only 3 fingers on its hand, but each with their own changeable positions, allowing for the continued ability to grasp and manipulate items, such as pulling a guns trigger, an oddly specific use to flash through his mind, temporarily distracting him as Void said, âSee? I do not lie fool. But it is interesting to hear you didnât notice at all. It must be quite a bit more advanced than I first believed if it carries a sense of touch great enough for you to register a feeling that didnât differ from your other hand.
Perhaps your past self had it for long that your form body longer registers it as unnatural, and at such a level that your subconscious physical memory managed to retain its instinctive functioning at that?â
He wouldâve continued his pondering, but at this point Kaiâs hand had tapped against his cheek, just below his eye, having not stopped his movements even in his shock.
As it hit a clang of metal sounded and his sight flickered, what looked like a reticle suddenly forming in the center of his vision.
A scream of horror ripped itself from Kaiâs throat soon after.
âWhat is this?! What the hell is this?! My arms robotic! My eyes robotic! I have a frickinâ hud! Aghhh!â Kai yelled, flailing in panic as Void sighed with a roll of his optic before suddenly zooming forward, slamming his frame into Kaiâs face with enough force to stun the panicking human as he yelled, âOy! Shut up! Stop sputtering about!â And stopping Kaiâs panic through the mix of surprise, and pain.
Mainly the pain if Kaiâs groaning and clutching at his face meant anything.
âGood. Now that youâre calmed down realize this, youâve already had these for centuries! Well in truth probably more than a few decades taking into consideration the time your corpse laid here.â Void muttered, his tone taking an inquisitive turn, his optic drifting to stare into the distance before quickly snapping back to Kai as he continued. âEither way itâs unimportant. You are alive, and you have them, be done with your pathetically panicked mewling.â The Ghost said with a mocking tone and roll of its optic.
âNow then back onto business. Seeing as how such a pathetic specimen as yourself somehow managed to prove compatible for revival that makes me your Ghost, I.e. The only one of my kind that can give your corpse life again after the numerous failures Iâm certain youâll experience. So Iâd recommend you work your hardest to ensure said benefit of continued revival remains. And if not that, at least attempting to not suffer the level of failure I can practically see exuding from yourself is a step in the right direction.â Void deadpanned as he both casually insulted, and threatened Kai.
âNow I have a number of demands, and rules Iâd recommend you follow to ensure your continuous revivial. Number 1, do not argue with me. Number 2, do not threaten, attempt to blackmail, or otherwise bring some form of harm to my being. Number 3, do not question my ethics. Number 4, shoot what I tell you to shoot without hesitation or die. Number 5, avoid the Tower⌠along with most other sapient-entity inhabited zones. Numbe-â Void said before he was interrupted by the newfound Guardian letting out a small cough. His mixed tone of uncaring, and authoritative monotone changing into one of enraged fury with startling speed as he roared out, âWHAT?! WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU PUT IT HIGHER THAN LISTENING TO MY, THE ONLY BEING THAT WILL ENSURE YOUR LIFE IN THIS WORLD, RULES TO ENSURE SUCH PARTNERSHIP STAYS INTACT?!â As a shadow-like aura, composed of a mix of evershifting purple, and black energies, and almost flame like in its movements suddenly erupted around himself.
His optic followed suit as it began to glow with a near-threatening intensity, increasing with each word he spat out as he slowly drew nearer to Kai in matching fashion. Stopping only millimeters away from the fear-filled face of the now cowering human.
âU-uh, w-well I-I donât really know how I remembered this but, uh, m-my guns kind of, um⌠n-need custom bullets.â Kai whimpered, giving a failed attempt at a sheepish grin as he slowly moved himself back.
âWHAT?!â Void shrieked, the aura flaring before beginning to slowly die out, his optic also lowering in intensity as the Ghost tilted forward, nearly seeming to slump in a defeated manner as it levitated lower. âOf course this couldnât be simple. Shouldâve been able to figure that out the minute I saw those prosthetics of yours were somehow still intact, and operational.â He muttered tiredly, giving an exasperated sigh as he asked, âFine. What exactly do we have to do to get this ammo of yours?â Lifting his optic to stare tiredly at the recovering Guardian.
âW-well Iâm sure I can scrounge up a c-couple more bullets from around here, probably dropped a few when I died, maybe have some in my pockets or still loaded, b-but to get more weâll have to, uh⌠probably head to the tower, and get someone to make them. Probably also reverse engineer one firstâŚâ Kai said as he nervously patted across, and through his clothes various pockets, pulling out a small handful of, frankly archaic at this time point, bullets as he gave out a nervous, noticeably fake chuckle, and hand across the back of his neck.
ââŚFine, but you listen to me, follow my rules, and demands, keep your Guardian status hidden, and you keep knowledge of my existence, and your ties to it hidden unless you want to find yourself chained up, and left to a fate of eternal dissection, experimentation, and continuous suffering of death!â Void warned in a low growl, and a less threatening than it was oddly enough, an actually warning tone.
âI, uhhh⌠Of course. Whatever you say, Void.â Kai replied as his tone, expression, and posture visibly brightened, earning an optic roll, and scoff from Void. âYes, yes, thank me for my generosity later, and whatnot. Now then, get yourself up, we have a long walk ahead of ourselves, and probably a good number of âtrainingâ opportunities at that. Also note the sarcasm on the word training. By that I meant a high number of events where you end up being useless, dying, and I have to âsave the dayâ by risking my chassis reviving you so you can flee, instead of just leaving your remains to be ravaged, and retreating with minimal danger for myself.
So basically try to keep your tendency for easily succumbing to death, and all-around uselessness to a minimum if you can.â