Destiny: The Legendary Hunter

A/N: Enjoy the Chapter! Its an early one, so I am expecting some, REVIEWS AND STONES! Throw them, NOW!

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[The Divide, Cosmodrome]

The sun sunk below the horizon as it marred the cloudy sky with its last fading light. The wind tugged at Void's cloak as he stood by the foot of a dilapidated satellite tower, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the last rays of light radiating below the clouds. 

A booming laugh echoed as a transmat triggered towards his left. The dust rustled below his feet as the figure stepped closer, "Void! It's been long!"

"Lord Shaxx." Void smiled as he saw the armored titan approach. Shaxx laughed again as he patted Void on the shoulder, almost hard enough to rattle his entire spine.

"Good to see you again." Shaxx chuckled and walked over to his side, facing the fading rays of light. "So, how's our hero doing?"

Void smirked as he leaned back on the tower's grills, "Good enough." 

Shaxx threw his head back and laughed again, "I owe you one again, Void. Crucible's up and running, and the new lights are swarming in!" He waved an arm broadly at the sky. " Tell me, how'd you even do it? Word spread like wildfire."

"Trade secret." Void replied with a smug smirk.

Shaxx chuckled. "Figures. Can't just go around sharing secrets now can we?"

Shaxx paused, he turned towards Void again, scanning Void's form with a curious tilt of the head. He hummed in thought and pondered his next words. 

"Hmm." Shaxx continued, "I can feel it. Your Light's stronger. Cleaner. Refined."

Void glanced to the side, watching the dust swirl off a distant ridgeline. "Guess the training's paying off. I wouldn't have survived anything if I hadn't grown."

Shaxx crossed his arms and nodded. "Good. The Crucible was built for the strong—but it's forged by those who survive."

Before Void could respond, a faint mechanical ping sounded from above. Obsidian flitted down from the air, blinking erratically.

"Void," Obsidian chimed in, "City relays are active. Full coverage. Communication grids are up. Network integrity at ninety-nine percent."

Void tilted his head slightly, as he absorbed the information.

'City's finally in control huh.' Void's thoughts raced.

His gaze drifted eastward, past the rusted junkyard and beyond the Mothyards highway—towards the dark silhouette of a jagged mountain range.

The Devil's Lair.

The distant peak loomed like a scar on the land, jagged and blackened from past wars. It was too quiet. Too still. His eyes narrowed.

If the City had the network up, it wouldn't be long now. They'd strike the closest threat—and the House of Devils was clearly the best target.

"Something wrong?" Shaxx asked, noticing the change in Void's expression.

Void blinked, then shook his head. "No. Just thinking."

Shaxx didn't press. Instead, he softly rolled his hands into a fist and looked toward the distant hills.

"I'm planning on keeping the Crucible running," he said. "The way these new lights are swinging rifles, they need more than a mission list and blind luck. They need refining. Real training. Pressure. Fight after fight after fight until something breaks—and remakes itself."

Void turned back toward him. "I was going to ask you to do that."

Shaxx gave another laugh, and slapped the railings jovially. "It's been centuries since I found someone on the same page as me. You're remarkable Void. To think you've accomplished all this within your first year."

Void raised his brows, "I wasn't aware the Warlord himself dished out such compliments."

"For centuries, I've given others hope. Tried to light a fire in their hearts." Shaxx spoke, the words lingered on his tongue. "Now, I realize, that perhaps you've done the same for me." His lips curved into a smile.

Void exhaled through his nose, fighting a smile. "Still not gonna tell you how I did it though."

Shaxx broke into laughter again, "Guess nothing sneaks past you now."

"Leave the new lights to me, I'll keep them in shape." Shaxx said finally. "I don't know what you're trying to achieve, but at least you'll have reliable warriors by your side."

"Hmm?" Void looked at him with a hint of surprise.

"The City's been peaceful for a while. But everyone knows it won't last. Eventually, something will come." Shaxx's eyes narrowed. "That's why You're building your strength are you not?"

Void frowned, his thoughts focusing on all the schemes he'd uncovered. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're not wrong. I can't say for sure. But something's definitely brewing. And its something I must stop."

-

[Tower, Last City]

A constant stream of data flowed through the central relays, blinking wildly across the Vanguard's terminals. Every screen was alive, filled with telemetry, surveillance, mission feeds, encrypted messages—all pumping in from every corner of the Sol system.

Ikorra's brow furrowed as she skimmed through the latest batch of Hidden reports. Zavala stood nearby, arms crossed, calmly scrolling through fleet movements and faction reports. 

Then, a sudden shout cut through the silence.

"Wait, wait! Stop the feed. Rewind that. That one!"

Cayde's voice practically exploded across the room. Ikorra and Zavala both looked over as the hunter threw himself forward, jabbing at one of the holo-screens.

The video flickered back a few frames, then resumed.

The cosmodrome came into view. The holoscreen flickered, hundreds of New Lights were rampaging and hollering as they chased a single Fallen Vandal through the Cosmodrome like a pack of wolves.

"What." Ikorra's brows twitched.

Zavala's lips pressed into a line.

The feed paused, this time Ikorra swiped her hand so it could play from the start.

A ship came crashing down. They all watched as a Fallen Vandal scrambled to make an escape only to get chased and thrashed by hundreds of New Lights.

"How old is this feed?" Zavala paused, entirely unsure of what he was seeing.

"Two days, what even is this. Who are they chasing?" Ikorra was baffled.

Cayde groaned dramatically and slumped over the console.

"Oh come on! That was peak chaos and no one invited me? Not a message? Not even a memo? Are you seeing this! Look at the coordination. Look at the moves! These New Lights are jumping and thrashing this guy like he pawned off their loot!"

Ikorra rolled her eyes as she tapped away on her screen, trying to dig up more info.

"You know what this is? This is ageism. They think I'm old. That's it. That's what this is. They look at me and go, 'Oh that guy probably does crossword puzzles and refines his cape collection.' They don't even call me for a chase!"

He turned dramatically toward Ikorra. "Be honest. Do I look old?"

Ikora glanced up from her data pad, studying him for a beat too long.

"Well," she replied with a flat voice, "Your outer plating's starting to oxidize."

Cayde gasped, clutching his chassis like he'd been shot.

"I knew it. I knew it."

Zavala pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled.

"Cayde. Focus."

"Can't. I'm spiraling."

Zavala looked away from the drama and tapped a key, pushing aside the incoming feed. "Did we finish combing through all recovered data from when the city's network was down? Anything on this?"

Ikorra nodded. "The Hidden swept through it all. Nothing significant slipped through. Only standout was this."

Cayde perked up again. "Exactly! What was that about? Why was he being chased?"

Ikorra shook her head. "That's the thing. We don't know. No intel, no context."

"Let's finish watching the video." Zavala nodded.

He flicked the holo-screen again as it resumed. This time, they watched to the end.

As Nulsis tried to make his escape, he was ceremoniously caught, and thrashed within an inch of his life. Then, a shadowy figure flickered beside them and took Nulsis away.

"Hmm, is that his Viper outfit? How'd he get his cloak to flow like that?" Cayde's eyes narrowed

Ikorra sighed, "So its Void behind all this? Explains the mystery. How'd he even really all these New Lights? I don't see any connection or request." 

Zavala closely watched the video, rewinding frame by frame as something caught his eye, "What are they wearing around their arms? it seems, like a symbol." 

Ikorra and Cayde also leaned closer to the video, their eyes flickering with recognition. 

"A faction symbol? Don't think I've seen it around here though?" Cayde rubbed his chin.

"That's because its not in the city." Ikorra nodded, "No symbol like that is registered in the City. Looks like an external faction."

"Let's find out more. Our new system should be able to gather information faster. There's definitely something we don't know." Zavala replied.

She tapped her console and looked up at Zavala. "I'm assigning the Hidden to monitor the New Lights. If there's a breadcrumb trail, they'll find it. Tracking Void himself is… a waste of time."

Zavala nodded in agreement. "We'll get the answers eitherway."

A brief silence passed between the three.

"Now that that's wrapped," Zavala said, his tone shifting. "It's time to move forward with our actual plan."

Cayde stood upright, his voice losing the theatrics. "You've finally got something?"

Zavala brought up a holographic map of the Cosmodrome. He tapped a blinking icon on the edge of the map—just beneath the Devil's Lair mountain range.

"I thought it through." he said simply. "The House of Devils is elusive. But with the expansion of our network, we managed to find a weakness."

Zavala tapped the screen, the hologram morphed into a large ball with an eye in the middle.

"Their servitor." Ikorra chimed in.

"Sepiks." Zavala swiped again, "The House of Devils hid their servitor in the Cosmodrome. But we've managed to uncover its location."

"If we can destroy or disable it, they'll lose cohesion. A blow to their systems and their morale. They'll scatter. Pull back. It'll buy us time to secure the region."

Ikorra crossed her arms, scanning the map. "They won't leave it undefended. If we hit it, we need to do it fast. Clean."

Zavala nodded. "That's why I want the Nightstalkers gathering recon now. Cayde—"

"Say no more," Cayde said, already pulling up his own display. "I'll have the crows flying by morning. If the Devils even think about relocating their pet server-ball, we'll know."

Zavala looked between them both and gave a quiet nod. "Get the New Lights in when we're ready. We'll strike before they even know what hit them."

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Read ahead on my Patre*n!

Thank you for reading!