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[Hellmouth, Ocean of Storms]
Void unsheathed his blade and stepped forward. Across the basin, Garok did the same, the Hive prince's sword dragging a shallow groove through the dirt before it rose to meet him.
Zamyr's presence settled over Void like a second skin; a pale light wrapped his frame. Lightning wreathed across him, but then it changed. The blue lightning bled into an iron-grey under the Ahamkara's pressure.
Void set a foot, flickered—space folded, then he was there, his blade already moving. The first cut cleaved the air between him and Garok with a ruthless line.
But the Sword Prince Garok answered in equal violence. Cryptic circles flared under his feet and along the walls, scripts uncoiled and pulled in the darkness to veil his form. The prince took the strike on his blade and returned it in the same breath with a savage and exact parry.
'Again' Void pressed, the lightning arced, he jolted towards Garok and swiped at his head, he drove the exchange, as their swords clashed, a low shriek of lightning echoed through the basin. Sparks flared on the floor and died.
Void's thought clicked as he recognised the power behind Garok's strikes, 'This sensation, it's Crota's sword technique.'
«It is», Zamyr replied. «The princes are not only bound to the sword, but strengthened by it.»
Void shifted his stance, and the prince pivoted. The two eyed each other down, their forms flickered, and they shot forward. Void was faster; he stabbed forward with a piercing step and forced Garok back with raw power. The runes along the floor pulsed and prickled like thorns; magic wildly lashed out around them.
Garok slid back, and Void jolted to catch him. The two swung again and traded without waste. Blow for blow, guard to guard. Garok's focus narrowed to Void; the summoning ring under his feet faded as his attention left it.
The Hive prince and Void fought tooth and nail, inch for inch, but unbeknownst to Garok, the shadows had peeled off the walls.
Pahanin sauntered from the dark first; three of them arrived together. His clones darted and slammed into Garok from the sides. Garok swung and the first Pahanin shattered into particulate light; the second slid under the backlash and struck at the wrist; the third hammered the knee. For a heartbeat, the prince staggered, unable to react.
Overwhelmed, Garok's magic once again flared to life, his palms raised, but just then Levi dashed from the dark. His foot shattered the ground underneath. He twisted with ruthless power and smashed his heel through the prince's chest; cracks of light rolled up the ribs. He turned on the planted leg, rose, and chopped a downward kick across the head; the ground shook again, breaking into a crater.
Garok lurched, his grip loosening as the sword slipped from his grasp. He almost caught the weapon on reflex, raised it—
[Clink]
The world went white. Pahanin sheathed his sword.
Garok's head separated and dropped to the floor. It rolled once and stopped. The body stood a fraction too long, unaware that it was over, but a moment later, it finally slumped down.
Void heaved a sigh. He shot Levi and Pahanin a glare. "F*cking finally," he said, flat. "You two dogs took your time."
"Relax, I told you nothing will happen." Levi shrugged.
Pahanin scanned Void with a glance, but then snorted and walked away, "He's fine."
The two hunters walked to Garok's body, their eyes still trained on the weapon Garok had carried.
They moved to it. The Hive sword lay half-buried in the soft floor. Pahanin carefully picked it up, observing the strange inscriptions etched on its blade. "This sword, it's odd."
Levi rubbed his chin, brushing a finger across the blade's edge, "Seems kinda dull and rugged. Like it's meant to chop instead of slash."
Void crept closer and crouched next to it. He could still see a faint residue of Light that braided through the hilt and into the air above—threads of old vows and older deaths. The chain he had seen coiled over the prince's hand lingered, already thinning. The ethereal chain tugged harshly at the prince's soul.
Now that there was nobody to bind it, the soul itself was being drawn towards Hellmouth.
'Vicious' Void's eyes narrowed.
«You see it?» Zamyr said, «The prince of ruin must know what we have done. Soon, so will the others.»
Void looked ahead, tracing Garok's soul being consumed by the ethereal chain, his face turned grim. 'Looks like it."
The world rang.
A bell rolled through all of Hellmouth—horrific, cavern-deep, a stroke that shook every rock and pebble. The sound crawled inside the ears, reverberated through the bone and tore through the mind.
Levi flinched, he grit his teeth and his hands snapped to his ears; Pahanin's jaw set, and he touched the floor to keep balance., Garok's sword dropped next to him, but Void wasn't affected; the tone passed through him.
«They have counted it. The Oaths. They know it's dead.» Zamyr whispered urgently, « We leave. Now.»
Void was already rising, he snapped to Levi and Pahanin, the two hunters were still trying to get their bearings, " We don't have time, let's go!"
Pahanin forced himself up, and Levi jerked his head to set his balance straight. The two sensed the urgency in Void's voice and mustered their remaining strength to leave.
Levi grit his teeth and leapt towards the exit of the tunnel. Void flickered behind him.
Pahanin hastily jolted forward, his foot hit the Hive blade's edge, he looked down and hesitated, stalling for just a second.
An instant later, Pahanin grunted. He grabbed the blade and chased after Levi and Void.
At the tunnel's mouth, three sparrows stirred to life. Engines blasting as they shout out towards the open plains.
"Captain, you hear me?" Void barked, his hand pressed against his ear.
A sharp static cut through the channel. Tevis's voice crackled. "Void.....That you? What the hell's going on? Everything went ballistic just now, this weird ringing, it won't stop." The Nightstalker clutched his head in pain.
"We found a damn prince, and killed it." Levi replied, racing up to Void, "Get the hell out of there cap, now!"
Void swerved his sparrow, his eyes looking towards the Veil's exit, "Captain, the bells started ringing when we killed it. Looks like Hellmouth was tracking those bastards as well. Like Levi said, meet you at the exit."
"What a f*cking surprise", Tevis cursed under his breath, "Nothing here is worth bleeding for. We're turning. See you there." He cut the call. Void revved the sparrow and shot forward at breakneck speeds. A moment later, he glanced back.
Pahanin was still on their tail, slowly catching up. Void breathed a short sigh of relief; he looked forward once more. The three hunters charged across Hellmouth, but unbeknownst to them, the barren plains of Hellmouth had already begun to shift, as if the necropolis itself did not like their retreat.
A shrieking fissure howled and tore the ground ahead, cracking their path forward. Levi saw it first, he braked and took a sharp turn along the fissure's seam. Void twisted his sparrow, cutting through the right. Far behind him, the fissures dragged their way towards them, as the earth below seemed to break apart.
Pahanin looked back, the fissure rippled behind him, chasing his sparrow. He took in a sharp breath and floored it. The sparrow rumbled, its engine roared, and Pahanin raced against the wave of collapse, leaving it behind.
Ahead, the cut Void had made through the Umbral Veil still held—edges flickering in the wind. The bell struck again. The Veil tensed, pulsing with energy.
"Go!" Void gripped his blade's hilt and pushed forward a pale wave of energy that wisped towards the Veil and held it open.
Levi shot the gap, sparrow stuttering as he grinded to a halt. Inches behind him, Void swerved in, and the two looked back. Pahanin followed. He tilted the sparrow to the ground, skidding against the sand. Pahanin barely slid through the veil.
"Close it!" Void summoned Zamyr, and the phantasmal dragon roared, willing the seams shut. The fissures crashed into the veil, but the old magic was far too strong and a breath later, the forces dispersed.
"F*ck me, what the HELL WAS that?" Levi pushed out his sparrow and trudged towards the edge of the veil, his eyes glued to the viridian fissures.
He paused, and his jaw tightened. Levi watched as the viridian fissures that chased after them retreated, stitching the ground as they receded, "Wait, was that..."
"Crota." Void grimaced, his eyes shimmering blue. He traced the fissures retreating towards Hellmouth, where the dark energy that propagated them seemed to settle into Crota's crystal.
"Just a fraction of his power. A fraction of Ruin."
Levi stood there in silence, his eyes glued to the unnatural and wicked power that reeled back towards its master, "Why did he stop?" Levi hesitantly looked at Void, his eyes eventually settling on the sword.
"Looks like he realised it'd be futile to chase us further." Void guessed, "Or maybe he couldn't, whatever the reason, we should be thankful."
Pahanin shoved the sparrow off of him. The bike was in complete ruin; its frame had broken, its thrusters melted, and its engine cracked. "This prince of theirs is a real bastard. That was a really good sparrow." He got to his feet and kicked the scraps
"My condolences." Levi's shoulders loosened as he spared Pahanin's sparrow a glance, "You're pretty good at riding, though"
"Yeah, I was." Pahanin shook his head, a nd his eyes drooped low as the scrap at his feet burst into flames. He sighed.
"Relax, we'll build you a new one." Void patted his shoulder, "Put Nulsis's thrusters on it too. More speed."
"We?" Pahanin raised a brow and looked offended, "Who's we?"
"That's the spirit, you'll do it yourself." Void gave him a cheeky smile and patted him on the back, earning a sharp glare from Pahanin.
"Hmm, aren't we forgetting something?" Levi rubbed his chin, "Feels like something important."
"Are we? Can't really remember it." Void contemplated.
"YOU DOGS! LET ME IN, LET ME INNNNN!" Bandit shrieked, swiping daggers at the Veil from the inside.
"Oh f*ck" Void rushed to the Veil and swiftly cut out a new opening, letting Tevis, Bandit and Cory come through.
Tevis swung his sparrow through the new gap but did not dismount fully. "You little shit," he groaned, "I thought I was f*cking lost in there."
"Aghh!" Bandit groaned and fell to his knees, voice cracking with despair.
"For f*ck sake", Cory rushed to his side and carefully slapped Bandit's entire head into the sand. "Ignore the bastard, he tried to steal a weird shiny chalice from the Hive but dropped it during our escape."
"Uh-huh, I believe it." Void face palmed.
"What! What did I tell you about picking up random shit?" Levi frowned, but Bandit shot him a murderous glare, the exo's eyes slowly snapping to Pahanin, or rather...the thing next to him.
"SO he gets to take a sword? But not me? This is UNFAIR, UNFAIR!" Bandit rapidly uttered a chronological list of curses that he knew.
The mood eased as Levi and Bandit bickered like wild dogs. At the side, Void used Zamyr to once again seal the Veil.
«They will not be surprised again,» Zamyr's voice rang in Void's mind, quiet against the wind. «We killed only one. For the rest, we must take them down in one fell swoop.»
Void's eyes gleamed with purpose, 'I figured. Looks like we'll have to get the New Lights for some backup.'
Zamyr chuckled, «What we need is a large attack, deep into Hellmouth. One that cannot be ignored on Hellmouth, then let your little lights reap the souls of the sword princes.»
'Great suggestion, just one thing. This... large attack. It's definitely not because you want to eat the hive magic inside Hellmouth....right?'
«What blasphemy is this! How dare you doubt my intentions, O brother mine!» Zamyr's ethereal form drooled.