[Vestian Outpost, The Reef]
Void's jumpship cut through the Reef. The Vestian Outpost sat ahead like a lantern nailed to nothing.
His comms crackled.
Pahanin's voice hit first. "Tell me you're joking."
Void didn't answer right away. He kept his eyes on the outpost's distant glow. "For the last time, I'm just going to talk," he said. "That's it."
"Talk?" Pahanin repeated, as if the word offended him. "When the hell did you learn how to talk?"
Void exhaled through his nose. "It's just the Awoken. No funny business."
There was a brief silence, then Pahanin cursed long and creatively. "Well, whatever comedic shi* your planning, just make sure it doesn't reach us. I'm pretty sure the Awoken already have their eyes on our workshop, but best not to give them more of a reason to investigate."
Void's jaw tightened a fraction. "Right."
Void glanced at Obsidian hovering by the console. The Ghost was quiet, listening.
Pahanin scoffed. "Look, just don't do anything stupid. Definitely don't do anything you've thought of."
Void shook his head. "Just keep the rest of the crew active and do your part. Trust me, I'll do mine."
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of, you bastard." Pahanin shot back.
Void chuckled. "Time's up. I'll see you later."
Pahanin muttered something under his breath, then sighed. "Good luck."
The call cut.
Silence filled the cockpit again, broken only by the soft thrum of the jumpship's engines and the faint, ever-present hum of space.
Void drifted closer to the Vestian Outpost and let the ship settle in the blind stretch of rock just outside normal approach lanes. Outside the outpost, traffic moved like a slow, drifting river. Occasionally, Corsair Skiffs and the House of Wolves transport vessels would move through, but that was all.
Void leaned back in his seat. "Alright," he murmured and quickly changed his look to the dark Viper outfit he maintained/
Obsidian's eye flared as he began scanning traffic patterns. "Do you really think the Queen is here?"
"There's a chance," Void said. "Vestian Outpost is her front door. If she isn't here…" He paused, eyes narrowing toward the outpost's heart.
'She'd be in the dreaming City.' Void's eyes narrowed. There was no way to find her there, primarily because no one knew where the Dreaming City was, except the Awoken.
They waited.
Minutes stretched, and Void didn't waste them. He watched the patrol loops and tried to calculate the little blind spots created by their routine.
Obsidian spoke first. "Trade convoy departing, Outpost seems busy right now."
Void's eyes sharpened. "That's our opening."
The moment the convoy pushed out, the outpost reacted. Dock gates cycled. Signals flared. Awoken traffic controllers rerouted approach vectors. For a brief moment, the system's attention was on movement.
Void took it.
He nudged the ship forward, slipped into the convoy's wake, and when the outpost's sensors were focused on what mattered, he transmatted out in a pulse of glimmer.
Void appeared at the very edge of the harbour, and was already moving as his cloak settled. Shadows wrapped around him as he dimmed his presence till he was but an unnoticeable spectre.
Obsidian popped in beside him.
"Stay quiet," Void breathed.
"I'm always quiet," Obsidian whispered back.
Void started walking.
The Vestian Outpost was exactly like he'd left it. A space station patched together by recycling an old Fallen Ketch and merging it with awoken technology. Its dark and industrial aesthetic was further highlighted by its exposed metal flooring and sharp, brutalist structure.
Inside the station, patrols moved with purpose.
Corsairs passed in pairs, rifles angled down but ready. The Queen's Guard stood like statues at junctions. And mixed among them were the House of Wolves. A Fallen House that had sworn loyalty only to the Awoken Queen and now served as her personal army.
Void observed in silence. Tracking every presence in his mind. His figure was already cloaked within shadows, but that didn't mean he was completely undetectable. Not versus the awoken.
He had no idea how their sorceries worked, but Void was sure they were mystical, and their ways were unknown to him. Why else would the Guardians of the City willingly cooperate and assist the awoken? Why else had there been no guardian uprising against them to conquer even more ground in Humanity's name?
The answer was simple. The awoken held a power unknown to all but themselves.
Void waited with bated breath. And just as he saw the perfect opportunity. He once again used the noise of others to hide his own. A passing group of technicians. A courier sprinting between stations. The brief shift of a cargo lift, he blended perfectly within the gaps these movements left behind.
As he went deeper, he let Zamyr's presence stir in the air, announcing his presence subtly.
"See if you can locate the lingering traces of another Ahamkara," Void whispered to Zamyr, and the two outstretched their senses to encompass the inner halls of the Vestian outpost.
Then they felt it.
A familiar pressure. A spectral scent, a wishful aroma. One is reminiscent of an Ahamkara's latent magic.
Void's eyes flicked. "There," he whispered.
«I see it, O brother mine. The Ahamkara is not here, but the one who has wielded its power is present yet.»
Void didn't answer. He was already following the traces of the power he'd seen, letting it pull him deeper into the outpost's halls.
The closer he got, the tighter the security became.
More Corsairs lined the halls to the inner sanctum. Eliksni Captains of the House of Wolves stood alert, ready for even the slightest sign of an intruder.
Void sucked in a shallow breath as he watched them stand guard. A moment later, he leapt and deftly dug his fingers into the hall's high ceilings, crawling across the roof with ease.
As he reached the door to the inner chambers, he stopped.
The guards stationed inside were Awoken Paladins. He could see it through the walls. The strange ivory energy radiating off of them.
'Is that their sorcery?'
Part of him knew that sneaking past them wasn't worth the effort. That perhaps their senses could pick his scent regardless of what he did.
It was only a hunch. But Void knew better than to ignore his own instincts.
'It's time'
He inhaled.
And then he revealed himself.
His grip on the shadows loosened, and as his figure was unveiled, Void stepped forward and brazenly pushed the door open.
-
The inner chamber of the Vestian Outpost inside was wide, lit in soft blues and pale whites. It had an elegant design, and at its centre was a throne, carved out of a green luminescent jade.
Mara Sov presided over her throne, eyes flicking side to side as she heard one report after another.
"There's no need to delegate Corsairs to the outskirts of Pallis Falls." Uldren Sov barked, "This is a useless endeavour only serving to waste our resources."
A Paladin bowed, "My prince, it is important to consider that Skolas the Rabid may still roam at large near the unidentified asteroid fields."
"Skolas is dead; we uprooted his entire group. Gutted them with our own hands and set fire to their Ketches. I saw it with my own eyes, and yet you doubt it?" Uldren frowned.
"No, my prince." The Paladin raised his head ever so slightly and bowed again, "But I do not believe Skolas is dead. I've heard....whispers." For a moment, the Paladin caught his breath and looked towards the Eliksni Guards stationed behind Mara, but then he eventually averted his gaze.
"Speak freely, Hallam," Mara interjected.
Hallam's brows furrowed, "My Queen, Skolas is a crafty weasel. A roach that has evaded capture and death at every turn. I am the one who almost ended his life. Yet he escaped that, too. Even if the reports of his death are true, I cannot rest easy until his corpse is burned before my eyes."
"So you wish to send every Corsair squad and turn every asteroid field inside out? Our people cannot sustain a cost built on just suspicion." Uldren gritted his teeth. "Let alone one resulting from your own failures."
Hallam Fen sighed and bowed again.
"That's enough, brother." Mara raised her hand, "Hallam has already served the Awoken well."
Uldren's yellow pupils flicked to the Paladin's face, his face scrunched up. "So be it. I will assign an additional squad under you."
"Thank you, my Queen." Hallam smiled faintly.
"Granted. But, I expect results." Mara smiled back, her silvery pupils glistening in response.
"What a great resolution. He's happy, you're happy, oh, of course, you're not happy, but you can't win 'em all, can you?"
The door pushed open, and Void casually walked in.
The instant he spoke up, a ripple of surprise struck everyone. The next second, everyone drew their weapons, and the Wolf Guard shifted with unease, raising their glaives.
Uldren's eyes instantly flared up with confusion as he aimed at Void with his revolver and fired at his head.
Void's eyes flickered.
[Time's Tempo]
Everything went white. The world ground to a halt. Then he saw it, the bullet swirling through the air as it tore towards him. Void tilted his head just a fraction, and time slipped back into place.
The bullet barely grazed past his figure, "Who the hell are you? Identify yourself," Uldren growled, his finger on the trigger. The sheer speed he saw had rattled him.
'Had the intruder dodged on purpose, or was he just lucky?' The thought echoed in his mind, but was quickly buried by his duties.
"I said speak, how did you get in here!" Uldren barked again.
"Calm down, gentlemen," Void said. "I'm just a weary traveller."
Void felt Zamyr stir. He whispered inside his mind, quick and quiet.
'Now.'
Zamyr slowly released his aura, and a ghastly pale energy leaked through Void's silhouette. It was just a thread of presence, so subtle it would slide past anyone who didn't know what to look for.
But of course, there was one present, who knew everything.
Mara Sov's eyes gleamed with interest.
Her chin lifted a fraction,
"Stand down," Mara said, "All of you."
Uldren's head snapped toward her. "Sister."
She didn't spare him a glance, only looking at Void. "I said stand down."
Uldren's jaw clenched hard enough to crack stone. He didn't lower his guard, but he didn't move either.
Mara rested her chin on her hand, curiously eyeing Void. "Who are you?"
Void tilted his head. "A nameless shadow."
A Paladin beside the throne spoke in a whisper, but the chambers were deathly silent, and so his voice echoed. "A rogue vagrant called Viper. He operates with the Spider on the Tangled Shore. Further reports have not yet been made."
Void chuckled, as if caught in a harmless lie. "So much for being nameless."
Mara didn't smile. She simply leaned back, as if she was enjoying it.
"What do you want, Viper?"
Void let Zamyr's presence curl again, slightly stronger this time. And then his eyes met Mara's. "I think you already know."
Mara Sov's gaze sharpened, then softened into a mask of polite interest. " It seems you've brought an interesting problem. Whatever it is, I will hear you out. That is my duty as Queen."
She lifted a hand slightly. "Leave us."
Uldren's eyes widened. "You can't be serious."
Mara's voice didn't change. "Leave."
Uldren stepped forward like he wanted to argue, then stopped. Rage rolled off him like heat. He pointed at Void. "What did you do?"
Void's voice stayed calm. "That's not for you to know, so take your princely ass out of the room."
Uldren looked ready to lunge.
Mara's gaze snapped toward him, and it was enough. Uldren went still.
A few seconds later, he turned, furious, and stalked out. The Paladins followed, and then the Wolf Guard also joined their ranks.
The door shut.
Void exhaled softly. "You seem to trust me fast to facilitate a meeting between just the two of us."
"You're thinking of it the wrong way, little shadow." Mara's eyes didn't leave him. "Why must I be cautious?"
Void's eyes widened just a little as he smiled.
'Is that confidence? Or a belief in her own strength?' He did not know.
Her hand gestured slowly. "Approach."
Void stepped closer to the throne and stopped a few inches away. Then he slowly reached inside his cloak.
Mara's aura sharpened. The temperature in the room dropped.
"Relax. I'm not foolish enough to attack you from the front." Void chuckled and pulled out a small thing.
A fist-sized Ahamkara was curled up on his palms. "I believe you know what this is." The Ahamkara uncurled with a chirp, tiny claws gripping his glove, then slid up his arm and draped around his shoulders.
Then it grew, slowly stretching into a serpentine form that was pale and sinuous.
Mara Sov's eyes narrowed. "I thought all Ahamkara were hunted down and wiped out"
Void paused and eyed her wryly, voice turned flat. "What a coincidence. So did I. Yet, here we are. A pair in between the two of us."
Mara didn't flinch at his words, but her eyes pulsed, betraying her shock.
Void met her gaze. "I don't want to waste your time or mine. I need something from you."
"And in exchange?"
"I continue to keep your secret."
Mara's brows lifted slightly. "You think I have a secret."
"If the fact that a living Ahamkara nestles at the heart of your realm is common knowledge, then no, I don't think so." Void shrugged, "But of course, you and I both know that's not the case. Given that you secretly raised it to build a realm for your own people."
Mara's gaze deepened, "You know a lot of interesting things."
"That I do." Void caressed the Ahamkara that coiled around his shoulders.
"You're threatening me," Mara said.
Void smiled, but it was thin. "I wouldn't dare. It's just that if the City learns that an Awoken realm is being built around an Ahamkara, they won't see it as your miracle. They'll see it as a target. So will the Cabal. And trust me, they'll come for it. They'll come for you."
Mara's lips curved faintly. "And what makes you think I couldn't do the same to you. Expose you. Tear down your little shadow operations."
Void shrugged. "You can try."
"My words are not empty."
Void's smile widened a hair. "Neither are mine. You have a realm. A throne. A population that believes in you. Me? Like I said, just a nameless shadow. If all is ruined, I'll pack my bags and set up shop in another shit*y corner of the solar system. Trust me, there's enough asteroid fields to call home."
"But you?" Void paused, and rubbed his chin, "What would your people say when they learn what you've done? When they slowly but surely come to understand the consequences of your actions. The price of your wish?"
"Of course, you also can't just wish all this away." Void tapped the serpentine head of the Ahamkara. "If I sense even a morsel of ill will directed from your Ahamkara towards me or my work after I leave, I won't hesitate to make my own last wish a bit more personal. Isn't that right?"
Void smiled, and the Ahamkara whispered back.
«But of course. O bearer mine»
For a brief second, the pressure in the chamber shot up, and a pale light threatened to engulf both of them. But before the turmoil could go any further, Mara raised her hand again.
Their powers scattered.
"Enough." She sighed drearily.
For the first time, Mara Sov's expression shifted. It was neither anger nor fear. Rather, her eyes flickered in recognition.
No one had ever surprised her this way.
She didn't have the upper hand. Not cleanly. Not in a way she liked.
"What do you want?" Mara contemplated and asked.
Void didn't hesitate. "A Vex Gate Lord corpse."
Mara's brows furrowed. "And what are you doing with it?"
"Not your business."
The Ahamkara smiled wider, teeth gleaming. As if it enjoyed the tension.
Mara held Void's gaze for a long moment. Then she nodded once, as if deciding the next move.
"I will grant your little wish. But, you will swear to secrecy," she said.
Void's lips curved. "Why, don't you trust me?"
"I don't trust nameless shadows," Mara replied with a shake of her head.
Then she extended her hand.
It wasn't a simple gesture.
Her palm glowed with Awoken sorcery, a mix of Light and Dark principles twisted into something else.
Zamyr's voice curled in Void's mind, quiet and sharp.
«Careful. That is not a bargain I recognise.»
Void stared at the outstretched hand.
He watched the energy around it.
Mara's lips curved faintly. "Are you backing out?"
Void didn't sense any hostility from her. So he took a breath. And shook her hand.
The moment their hands touched, the strange power slid up his arm. It didn't burn. It didn't bite. It bound. It settled into his bones for half a second, like a brand pressed into place.
Void's jaw tightened, but he didn't pull away.
Mara's voice was low, "You will not speak of what you know. You will neither covet nor cross my realm. You will not use my secrets as currency with anyone else."
Void held her gaze for a second, "Honour my request and I'll do the same."
Mara's pupils glowed faintly, then dimmed.
She released his hand, and the binding faded.
[Warning! Origin Sorcery Detected]
[Warning! Origin Sorcery Detected]
[The user has been branded with a soul contract!]
Void stepped back a half pace.
Mara lifted her wrist, and space tore open beside her throne. An engram floated out, old and encoded, humming with layered locks.
Mara flicked it toward Void.
"Everything we recovered," Mara said. "Data. Remains. Analysis. All of it is stored there."
Void's eyes narrowed. "Did you study it?"
Mara didn't deny it. "Of course."
Then her gaze sharpened. "And I will caution you only once. Do not let the corpse connect back to the Vex network. Not even by accident. The danger is… far too great."
Void's fingers tightened around the engram. "Noted."
Mara watched him for a long moment. "You got what you came for."
Void nodded once. "Yeah."
He stepped backwards into the shadows, letting the room dim around him as his presence loosened from the light.
Mara's voice followed him, calm and cutting. "Remember our terms, Viper."
Void's reply was soft. "Always."
Then he vanished.
The shadows swallowed him whole, and the chamber was empty again, save for a Queen on her throne, staring at the doorway with cunning eyes, like she was already planning what came next.
-
A/N: As always, THROW STONE!! Do a backflip, and maybe leave a review.
Check out Patre*n for more chapters ahead!
patre*n.com/Writers_Ablood.