บท 69: To Vaults and Minds
A/N: Enjoy the chapter.
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The desolate landscape of the steppes wasn't charming to say the least, but it was far better compared to the Martian dunes. Not getting chased by hundreds of bloodthirsty reality-bending horrors was also a huge plus in Void's books.
Void paced towards the Fallen camps, his figure flickering with each step he took. He was a shadow blending into the mundane, a phantom, unseen and unnoticed. Or was he?
"They're keeping tabs on me?"
He had noticed a strange presence, loitering behind him. It wasn't much to consider, the Cosmodrome was the home to many guardians. Yet, no matter how fast he went, or where he hid. Void still felt the presence lingering.
The identity of the presence was unknown. Void didn't want to spook his stalker either. Hence, he would let it go unnoticed, for now. But it did force him to think, what was the background of this daring stalker?
'There's only two possibilities. The Vanguard or the Factions.'
Both outcomes didn't sound exciting. Faction guardians weren't as capable in stealth. So that meant the Vanguard was tracking him? Suppose it was true, what could he expect from them? Void knew that it wouldn't be Cayde or Zavala, a tracker of this caliber was beyond their inner circle.
Despite Cayde being the Hunter's Vanguard, he only had a cohort of gunslingers and arc striders at his beck and call. Nightstalkers were out of the equation. That left only Ikorra. The transcended warlock was terrifying, holding authority over several Orders.
'It's the hidden.'
Void frowned, regardless of the identity, he planned on running circles around them. The hubris of challenging a Nightstalker at his own game, Ikorra wasn't giving him enough credit.
Taking note of his radar, Void lingered near the edge of a Fallen scavenger camp. A wry smile crept up to his lips. He stepped forwards, but before his foot could touch the ground, Void vanished.
Inside the Eliksni camp, there was no sense of fear or caution. In their minds, only a lunatic would venture all the way to the center of Steppes and, mere minutes away from the House of Devils. They were right, a lunatic had come.
A group of Dregs scuttled around the camp, running errands. The Vandals, armed with rifles gathered around a fire, servicing their weapons. The camp had one captain, but he was no where in sight.
Void slipped in effortlessly. Hiding in the subtle shadows of the smoldering camp fire. He observed the Eliksni surrounding him. A squad without their captain was cannon fodder. If Void was honest, it would take him minutes to dismantle their camp.
But it was never this simple. Void's eyes shifted, his vision now perceived the flow of energies. He immediately noticed several servitors underground.. A quick glance revealed a cave entrance leading down.
The Eliksni captain seemed to be lingering with the servitors. It was the perfect time to strike. Before anyone else could even perceive it, Void had a dagger in his hands. He sauntered towards the nearest Dreg.
His presence was still veiled, the creature couldn't detect him even if it tried. It's sensations were dulled to his actions. Void placed the knife to its nape and in one swift motion, decapitated it.
A dreaded silence echoed in the camp, as all Dregs jolted to their feet, unable to speak a word. In front of their eyes, was unspeakable horror. One of their own, decapitated without a sound!
But they were far too late. Void darted to the next, and the next, and the next. Heads rolled, alerting the Vandals who took shooting position. Aiming at an invisible enemy.
Void's dagger was lined with an imperceptibly thin coat of light, his feet planted into the ground. He took in a quick breath. Within an instant, he slashed out.
The strike cut through the air, cleanly slicing the Vandals into halves. Void peered at the servitors, they had yet to notice anything.
His figure disappeared, rushing towards the cave. He descended into the lightless cavern, using his light to stick to the walls, Void swiftly made his way to the Captain. The darkness in the cave couldn't deceive his sight.
He saw them all far clearer than they did him. Their eyes shimmered, a strange glow emanating from them.
In fact, he couldn't even be seen. The moment his figure touched the light forsaken cave, he had blended in perfectly with dark.
Could there be a better advantage for a Nightstalker? The answer was yes.
Void saw them all grouped together, for an odd reason the Captain seemed to be conversing with the servitors. Though he couldn't tell what was being said. He knew it was of great importance. Why?
Well simple, despite being isolated in the cave, the captain dared only whisper to the servitors, afraid that perhaps the dark itself had ears. He wasn't entirely wrong.
However, as Void couldn't decipher their words, it was better to put this ruse to an end. A lilac aura sprouted on his fingers. His hand pulled back, tracing the curvature of a bow.
The Eliksni weren't fools, they had noticed, a strange and abrupt build up of Light in the cave. The creatures were quite perceptive, immediately they tensed up.
However, Void smiled. After all, the moment one felt a Nightstalker's aura.
"It's too late."
His fingers released, a twilight arrow shot past him, a deadly streak of light, illuminating the gloomy tunnel for the first and last time.
An instant later, corrosive energy flushed the cavern, as all beings succumbed and withered away.
Void appeared, naturally completely unharmed by his own energy. He surveyed the burnt and corroded corpse of the Eliksni captain, unfortunately, all he held was a scorch cannon, that was simply not worth harvesting.
"That was a total one-shot." Void was astonished at his own power, he still expected a skirmish with the captain after the Shadowshot.
"You wiped the floor with them." Obsidian was amazed at the destructive show of power.
Although his light was still low, Void's level was max. Which meant that disregarding his equipment, he was at his strongest, for now.
"So how many bounties is that?"
"Well, considering you eliminated the entire camp. That's five. If we jam the communicators and install a relay, the payout jumps to 80,000"
Void frowned. If he wanted to meet the target of 600,000. He would practically need to sell himself off. Maybe it was time for more drastic measures.
"How many bounties left?"
"Hmm, a few, including patrols, about fifteen."
Contemplating the plan, Void decided the next course of action was to finish all his bounties, excluding the patrols. Although he really wanted to rush towards some golden-age vaults, he didn't want to reveal it to the trace.
Void had left his tracker behind, but it was obvious that they would eventually catch up. Since he was pretending to not notice, suddenly disappearing towards some hidden treasure would be...very suspicious.
As such, the next few hours passed lazily, Void went from camp to camp, wiping out scavenger squads and the occasional Fallen Captain. House of Devils was probably losing their minds due to the losses.
But unfortunately, they were necessary for Void to maintain his cover story. Not that he cared what they thought.
Once he had timely finished his bounties, night had fallen. Void took off to find a suitable resting place and made a campfire.
Laying near the rustling fire, Void fed it a few twigs and logs from time to time. Silently observing the fluttering flames. At least, that's what the Hidden had recorded in his diary.
He had indeed found Void's trail again, and was slightly impressed with the hunter's work. Even going as far as commending Void in his personal report.
The Hidden had no clue why he was asked to trail such a guardian. It wasn't his business to know, he simply had to comply with his duties. But in his eyes, Void was an upstanding hunter.
In Void's eyes, this Hidden was just a tedious bastard that refused to leave.
'How long do you want to see me resting by the fire? Are you a creep?'
Unfortunately, Void had to pretend for a few more hours until the tracker had lowered his guard down and finally stopped observing him. Perceiving it to be the best time possible, Void scattered into a haze.
Without wasting a second Void rushed towards the closest Vault. How was he locating them? Well of course, using his eyes. He was a walking x-ray cheat, the Ahamkara's favor allowed him to perceive all things as they were.
Not even buried vaults were hidden from it.
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[Sky Watch]
Levi walked into the Lunar command, as he saw the rest of the Nightstalkers loitering around, lazily passing time. The big mission was over, and everyone deserved a break. But he wasn't smiling.
"Someone tell my why there are some Dead Orbit shit-stains circling the south-side. Make it quick."
Bandit, who was sprawled over a lawn chair, looked up to Levi, and sighed.
"You're the fifth one to ask. No one knows why. Captain warned us not to beat them up. He said he didn't wanna see them hurt."
Levi was immediately furious. It was one thing to parade their faction around the city. But to knowingly encroach over the Nightstalkers territory?
"Have these rats gone mad? Do they not know where this is?" He stomped and paced.
Cory, calmly doing some handstands, chimed in.
"I am sure you are mad. But they aren't breaking any rules. Believe me, I checked."
His voice turned ghastly, bitter that he hadn't found a reason to bash their skulls in.
"Are sure? Did you ask Moltran? Moltran, did he ask you?"
Moltran was the Nightstalker seemingly huddled in the corner by himself. He heard his name, and looked intently towards Levi. His gaze lingering, but at the end, he soberly nodded.
"Really? Didn't think you cared that much. Ok, since Moltran's pissed, we gotta do something."
Moltran was a special Nightstalker. He was uncaring about most matters and most events were just fleeting moments to him. In fact, he had never once talked to Void, or even the other Nightstalkers for that matter.
Some had assumed he was mute, and others thought he was just a solitary man. Centuries had passed, but it was a mystery they had never unraveled.
Cory got to his feet, as he backflipped from a two-finger stand.
"It's impossible, the Captain's warning was clear. He didn't want to see us fighting them."
Silence fell over the Nightstalkers, but Levi still chuckled, mischief ablaze in his eyes.
"Who said anything about him seeing it? Accidents happen in the Cosmodrome."
Bandit sat up straight, intrigued, "So your idea is?"
"Lure them a bit further, to the south-west. No one's got eyes there. The rest, well we'll improvise."
Moltran was the first to agree, although no one really noticed, but he had nodded twice.
Naturally, the others were bored out of their minds. What better way to alleviate it than by toying with some random fools?
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