Nightcloud is an old ghost. Well, all ghosts are old. Nightcloud is simply guardian-less. And it had been that way for a very, very long time. Hence, Nightcloud felt old. As she stares up at the stars, Nightcloud considers. She didn’t mind at all, at first. She liked learning. All about the traveler and her purpose, but also everything in between. She had researched humanity and their vast history as well as their enemies’. She knew the comings and goings of each member of the vanguard, though she never spoke with them directly. She was the silent type back then. As time went on, Nightcloud remained optimistic. She was in no hurry to find her guardian. There were plenty of other things to do and see. The ghost named herself. There was no reason to wait for a guardian to do it. Nightcloud didn’t need them. But, eventually… every other ghost she knew had found their guardian. Any friends she’d made were long gone by now, off to distant worlds with their companion. Nightcloud twirls her shell. It’s a black generalist shell. She never changed it. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it, right? When the pyramids began arriving in Sol once again, Nightcloud finally felt it. A panic, an urge deep inside herself. She had begun making herself known a little while before that. She’d never admit it out loud, but she’d been hoping that meeting as many contacts as possible would get her closer to finding her guardian. Now, everyone knew Nightcloud. One of those… “side-ghosts.” One that didn’t have a guardian yet. The ghost feels an uncomfortable pang of jealousy. It’s not that they treated her badly. In fact, she was decently respected by the vanguard. She helped out a lot. But there was this… void, within her. And she was afraid. Nightcloud turns her gaze to the lake beneath her, to look at the stars there. As if the view was any different in a reflection. If she didn’t find a guardian… what then? The Witness was here. Surely this was the final hour for her purpose to be fulfilled? Nightcloud looks at her own reflection. Dark. Tired. Old. Guardian-less.