[b]Delta, End of a Tale – FINALE – A Serious D2 Short Story[/b] [spoiler]End: conclusion; to bring matters to a close; to finish something. -uNkNoW//////ERROR//////COMMAND NOT RECOGNIZED. REVERTING TO ORIGINAL PROGRAM SOFTWARE. -The Snake, Teller of Tales[/spoiler] For so many years I lived in the shadow of the three Hive siblings. For so many centuries I watched as empires, civilizations fell to their might. Now I myself am a part of an organization they wish to destroy. What’s left of them, at least. For many days I have now wandered the wastes of Fallen India, seeking an old Hive nest. One that could help the Vanguard end the Witch Queen once and for all. [i]Earth, Fallen India[/i] “We’re here,” as whisper as I descend to the nest. Worms glow around me, their wriggling bodies pulsing with a sick light. The tunnel eventually opens up, and I can hear Almus gasp inside my helmet. “This is…” “Horrifying.” “Yes. And yet so much more. I can feel the Darkness…it’s so strong here.” “This was who I was before the Light. It was not a healthy life.” “Let’s get this done quickly, then. I don’t know if I’ll be able to rez you the further in we go.” “Right then.” I withdraw Duality and load it quietly, so as to not disturb the legions hidden behind the walls. “Let’s end this nest.” We advance further; down, down, down into the depths. Far below the sea. Below life. We go so far I can feel the Darkness reaching for me, pleading for me to renounce the Light. But I hold fast. “Almus?” There is no answer. My Ghost is silent. I repeat his name. Still no answer. I hear a faint clicking, and slowly raise my weapon to the tunnel ahead. Nothing moves. Not a sound is made. Not one whisper in the dark. Silent as death. And then a voice, sweet and inviting, enters my ears. My hand begins to tremble at the sound of it. “Faeradûn, son of Hezradân, Lord of the Scarlet Keep, Eye of the Watcher. You are not welcome here, traitor.” I feel my Light waiting to explode inside me, but I hold it back. “Once I was honored in these halls. Once I was served as the right hand of the Hive. Now, I exist as a bridge between Hive and Traveler, Darkness and Light. I can help you and your subjects cross that bridge.” The voice laughs in the shadows. “I have no need. The Darkness has given me all the power I desire. But the worm inside me is hungry. I desire more, now. I desire worlds, traitor. This one…this one is ripe. I will end it.” Arc energy dances across my fingers. “Then you will—” A Cursed Thrall hisses into my ear and I freeze. I feel it wrap its arms around me, almost comforting. So this was the end. Almus said he couldn’t revive me this far into the Darkness, so this was truly my demise. Then I would end well. Screaming, I drop Duality and force my palms together, reaching for all the Light in my being. My palms flame, then spark, then form purple cracks in reality, all in a fluid storm contained by my hands. Savathûn screeches ahead. I shiver and feel her presence no more. She has retreated. No matter. I would end this nest for the future of the Traveler. Without a shout, cry, or scream, I plunge the end result of all the elements—a white spear—into the ground of the nest. And everything around me exploded like the Traveler itself. With Light. - - When Vanguard officials arrived at Fallen India, there was an overwhelming sense of awe that engulfed the crew that landed. A crater the side of a Cabal capital ship, maybe two, had formed in the middle of the night. Ashes of what were assumed to be Hive littered the grounds. Worms were burnt to a crisp. A nest had been destroyed, by a Guardian, obviously. Who else had that kind of power? But the Guardian who ended the nest remains unknown. There was no body. No Ghost shell. Just a glowing blue sigil in the ground. Anyone with inferior knowledge would assume it to be the symbol of the Witch Queen. But others know better. They know it as a very intricate, very complex design of the Delta sign. [u]Fín[/u] [b]Thanks[/b]: Bungie, the stage Fellow writers, the support/encouragement Community, the comments [i]“Though I smile in the dark, I walk in the light. I am no enemy, but I am no hero, either. I am simply a middle man who needed to tell a story. Now pass me a Pepsi.” -The Snake[/i] -[b]Epilogue[/b]- [i]Zavala, You told me when I last came that drawing out Savathûn to force her hand was out of the question, beyond sanction. I tell you now, in the wake of the death of the only Hive Guardian: we are beyond condoning the idea of sanctions. Oh yes, I am well aware of Delta, or Faeradûn, as he once was called. I felt his strange Light the moment he awoke. I did not tell you because I knew you would have reacted as you did with Crow. And now I admit…I was wrong. Though the pain of Uldren still rings true, the mask of Crow has dulled it. He is changed. And now I realize that you are, too. Because of this, I write an apology, hoping we can fight on the battlefield with honor and humility. I was wrong in my actions. Yet, I hope you see that we have some to a point where we can no longer sit idle. I have seen something. A Fallen, rising with the Light. He brings soldiers unlike others. His name is familiar to you. He leads a house of light, a group of misfits among their own kind. Welcome them. For me. Time is short. -Eris [/i]