A/N: Enjoy the extra-long chap AND LEAVE A DAMN REVIEW!!! Throw some stones. Checkout my Patr*on for more.
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Void's jumpship tore out of hyperdrive as stars snapped from long white streaks back into sharp points. The hull shuddered once, a hard vibration that ran through the seat into Void's spine. For half a second, the cockpit lights dimmed, then steadied.
The next second, the maw behind the Jumpship closed.
Void heaved a sigh, and as he looked ahead, he saw it.
Jupiter.
Not just big. Massive. A bruised giant, banded with storms that rolled like slow muscle. The Great Red Spot sat there like a wound that never closed. Lightning flickered inside the clouds sometimes, distant and quiet.
Void didn't blink. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, watching Io, one of its moons, slide into view beneath the curve of Jupiter's shadow.
Io had always been a strange moon.
It wasn't dead like the others. It shimmered with colour, pale gold ridges and dark plains and strange bright streaks that cut across the surface like someone had spilt paint and never wiped it. Thin haze clung to parts of it, and the whole moon carried a soft glow.
Void sat back slowly. "Io, what do they call it again?"
Obsidian floated up beside the dashboard, eye bright. "Sanctuary of the Warlocks."
"Right."
"City records explain that when the warlocks first found this place, they felt attuned to it." Obsidian's shell turned as he scanned. "Energy everywhere. It's… dense. Like the air itself is full of something. They never could explain it, though."
Void stared out at Io, quiet for a beat, his thoughts ran wild.
He knew why the air itself felt dense, why the energy field of this moon was so...freeing. As the last place the Traveler terraformed, the moon retained some of the Traveler's energy. Which led to the pyramidion. A vex project aiming to turn this entire place into their network.
Though no one knew that right now except him.
He flexed his fingers once, then pointed forward. "Find Asher. Track his signal from orbit."
Obsidian's eye flickered, "I can track him, but...Signal's weak."
Void's brows rose. "Weak?"
Obsidian replied, irked, "Weak because Io's energy is messing with my comms. We'll be off by maybe a hundred meres?"
He hummed, then nudged the ship into a slow descent.
As Io's horizon swallowed him, the cockpit rattled faintly. Light stretched across the canopy in thin ribbons, almost like an aurora but steadier. It made the ship's frame look older. Dustier. Like it had been flying longer than it actually had.
The jumpship angled toward a jagged stretch of cliffside. A long stair of rock carved up the face. Not by intention, but by centuries of action. As if by pilgrims who followed the same wayward path to climb up.
The ship touched down with a soft thud. Dust puffed around the landing struts, then settled like tired smoke.
Void transmatted out into the open air.
The first thing that hit him was the smell. Clean, almost sweet, like wet stone after rain. The second thing was the silence. Not dead silence. Just a quiet that made your own breathing sound too loud.
He rolled his shoulder once and looked up at the cliff.
"Obsidian."
"Signal's up there," Obsidian said. "Somewhere. I can't pin it exactly."
Void took them two at a time at first, then slowed. Not because he was tired. Because he wanted to feel the place.
Every few metres, he ascended, paused and looked out.
Below him were Io's gardens. This was wild growth. Rolling fields. Weird flowers with thin stalks that bent toward nothing. In the distance, he could even spot some old Vex spires, half-buried and silent, as if the planet had swallowed them and forgotten.
Void reached the top and stopped for a breath.
He stared out across the view, then let out a slow exhale. "Yeah. This place is special."
Obsidian floated up beside his shoulder. "In my experience, special places usually try to kill us."
Void smirked. "True."
He tapped the side of his visor. "Ping the signal again."
Obsidian's eye flickered.
"It's nearby."
Void's gaze drifted down over the terrain ahead.
A field of craters stretched out in front of him. At first glance, they looked random. But the longer he stared, the more he saw it.
It wasn't random. At least it didn't feel like it.
Void's eyes narrowed, but he couldn't put it into words. Eventually, he chose to ignore it and moved between craters. His eyes flickered blue as Void tracked the faint residue of energy that didn't belong to wind or stone.
A few minutes later, he saw him.
Asher Mir stood in one of the larger craters, surrounded by equipment laid out in neat lines. Tripods. Small lamp modules. The whole setup looked like it had been built by a man who hated clutter but loved control.
Asher himself was hunched over a console, muttering to it, fingers moving fast.
Void stopped at the crater lip and watched him for a second.
The man looked thinner than Void remembered. Not weak. Just… worn. Like his mind never got rest, even when his body did.
Void cleared his throat.
"Asher."
He froze.
An instant later, he turned fast, eyes wide, hand snapping toward the weapon at his belt. His gaze flicked to Void's face, then to the sword on his side, then back to Void.
For a moment, Asher looked like he expected to be punished.
Then his mouth tightened, and his expression shifted into that familiar dry irritation.
"Of course," Asher said. "Of course it's you."
Void walked down into the crater at a steady pace, hands loose, posture relaxed.
"Asher Mir," Void said. "Didn't think you'd be hiding out here."
"I'm not hiding," Asher snapped. "I'm working."
Void stopped a few steps away. "You're alone. On Io. Surrounded by gear. That's hiding."
Asher's eyes narrowed. " I am not gonna argue the specifics with you. Do you want something, or did you come to loom dramatically over my research like every other Guardian who thinks curiosity makes them intelligent?"
Void's lips twitched. "Bit of both."
Asher stared at him, tense. His eyes flicked again, to the sword. Every fibre of his being reeled at the strange aura emanating from the sword. It was faint. Far too faint to be noticed by the untrained.
But he was a warlock. One who'd dedicated himself to unearthing the secrets of the Vex. Even these faint fluctuations felt like tremors to him.
Void noticed his glare, but didn't say a word.
Then Asher spoke, words fast like he wanted to get ahead of the conversation before it turned ugly.
"I had nothing to do with the Moon," Asher said. "If you're here because you think I'm responsible for whatever happened with Toland, you've come to the wrong crater."
"My assignment was observation," Asher continued, jaw tight. "That was it. Watch. Record. Report. And he still slipped through cracks I didn't even see." His voice faltered for half a second, just enough to show it hit him deeper than he wanted.
Then the bitterness returned. "So yes. I failed. You can enjoy that if that's what you came for. Now leave me to my work."
He looked down at his console as if he ignored him, then Void would disappear.
Void exhaled, slow. "I'm not here for revenge."
Asher let out a humourless laugh. "Right. Because you have such a reputation for mercy."
Void's eyes stayed calm. "Asher."
Asher didn't look up.
Void took one step forward.
Not threatening. Just closer.
Asher's shoulders tensed anyway.
Void's voice stayed even, but colder. "If I came here to kill you, you wouldn't have finished that sentence."
Asher's fingers froze above his console.
Void continued, simple and clear. "Let me make it clearer. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't even get a chance to be scared."
Asher finally looked up, anger flashing. "Is that supposed to reassure me?"
Void sighed. It was clear that Asher Mir wasn't interested in talking to him. Just like Ikorra had said, the incidents on the moon had hit him hard.
And now, he was slowly becoming a recluse. If Void didn't address it now, he knew Asher Mir would be perfectly content being holed up alone for centuries to come. But that wasn't part of the plan.
So, Void simply moved.
A blur. A crackle of lightning.
Asher felt his hard stand on end, and his eyes widened. Void wasn't in front of him anymore.
Void was behind him.
He tapped two fingers lightly on Asher's shoulder.
Asher stiffened like he'd been jabbed with a needle.
Void spoke right beside his ear. "I'm not here to hurt you."
Asher swallowed. The anger drained out, replaced by something quieter. But as he glanced behind him, Void wasn't there.
Asher's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a pit in his stomach as his gaze slowly drifted to the front.
Void was already back where he started, hands still loose, posture still calm.
Asher stood there, breathing a little heavier now. Then he dragged a hand down his face and let out a long, irritated sigh that sounded like it hurt to do.
"Your mastery over your powers is frightening," Asher said. "Fine. You've made your point. Congratulations. You can kill me whenever you want."
"As I said, I am not here to hurt you. And I do not hold you responsible. What I am here for is entirely unrelated." Void frowned, "But I can't tell you that unless you trust me."
Asher's jaw tightened, "Fine. Let's say I trust you. What then?"
Void nodded once, serious now. "I need Vex knowledge. Real Vex knowledge. Not Tower rumours. Not fireteam theories. I need someone who knows how to read their behaviour."
Asher's eyes narrowed again, this time with interest.
"And why," Asher said slowly, "would I help you?"
Void looked past him at the crater field.
"Because the Vex are moving earlier than they should," Void said. "I'm sure you've kept up with the news. An old Vex archive was discovered back on Venus. I went there, saw it myself. I know for sure that the Vex are planning something, but without your help, I can't do anything."
Asher stared at him for a long beat, then glanced down at his equipment. Though Void's words concerned him, Asher scoffed. He turned back toward his console and began tapping commands, hands moving fast again as if he could hide behind the work.
"If you're going to claim that the Vex will do something major, at least find a better excuse than Venus." Asher said, "Because I also heard that you personally wiped out their forces in bulk. I may be a recluse ghostsword, but I am not a fool."
Void smirked. "Well informed. I guess you're not as much a hermit as you look"
"So is that it? Your big reason?" Asher continued his work.
Void's smirk faded. "No. Unfortunately, there really is a big Vex disaster. I can't tell you everything because I do not know the details either. What I can say is that I need to access a place through the Vex network. And for that, I need the key of a Gatekeeper."
Asher didn't answer immediately. But then he spoke, quieter now. "What are you trying to find in the Vex network?"
"A restricted space. One where the Vex are performing a ritual. A dangerous ritual. And if I don't stop it, we all will pay the price." Void nodded.
Asher paused and took in a breath. "Like I said, how would I even help you? What would I even know of Gatekeepers?" He chortled.
Void took a few steps towards his table, his gaze still staring down the endless field of craters. "It's not that you know nothing. But you choose not to."
"What?" Asher replied, face scrunched up, "What the hell are you saying?"
"But see, what you do know is guilt." Void tapped the table to interrupt Asher's reading.
Void tapped the table again, this time with some force. The loud taps made Asher flinch, and then Void sighed.
"Are you gonna keep running from it? Convince yourself you don't have it? What's the game plan here?" Void turned and looked at Asher, and their eyes met.
"The greatest Vex Scholar of the City, a recluse. A man who values his work above all else. That's what they all see, don't they? But not me." Void rolled his hand into a fist and clenched.
"I see a broken man. One who couldn't stop the slaughter, one who blames himself for letting it happen." Void continued, "And so he punishes himself. Goes on a journey to do whatever he can to make it right. Hides from those around him because he doesn't have the heart to face them, because he couldn't accept failure."
Asher felt his face heat up, his heart raced, he stumbled for words, but they just wouldn't come out.
"You can hide. But the thing is, Asher, what about when it happens again? What about when this disaster strikes? Or another? Will you run away from it again? Will you estrange yourself from everything and everyone you know, just because you couldn't figure it out?"
"You think that makes you a self-sacrifing hero. No. It only makes you a coward, Asher, because you're running from your problems." Void grits his teeth.
"No one's always right. No one." Void took a step back, "Not me. Not you. Not the City."
"You..." Asher felt his blood boil, his pale blue skin flushed a tinge of red as he sprang up. "So what should I have done? Grovelled and asked for forgiveness? Admitted that I failed? That hundreds died because of me?"
"Because I was too foolish to see through the tricks of a man under my watch? Is that what it is? Is that what you want!"
"No. All I ask of you is not to give up. To not turn your back when others need you because you're afraid that you'll get it wrong again." Void shook his head, "Choices must be made, Asher, even if they're wrong choices."
Void chuckled, "Because otherwise, all you'll do is watch as it happens."