Rest of the story (there is a tag too): https://docs.google.com/document/d/15ew1g89oxjEj5mZRFvv94Ht2Td6lVWkc-Lk7nwplUgg/edit?usp=sharing Tivik stumbled aside. His entire left half was charred pitch black, and the smoke from the explosion still lingered, filling his sense of smell with a vile reminder of his shortcoming. He heard all of his guns, including his modded wire rifle, crackle and pop, broken. He clutched at his wounded torso and began to grumble. “How could this happen to me?! You…” the Guardian Killer crouched low and pointed at Zahir’s body. “Who do you take me for?! I’ll make sure you never see the light of day, no, anything ever again!” Before Tivik could reach Crucius, the titan filtered back into the cave from the feet up and blasted the massive Eliksni back with all five rounds of his shotgun, shattering his void shields. Tivik’s head was overloaded with flashbacks to times he had stumbled while working his way up Noxis’ crew. He was a dreg again, being knocked to the ground by the vandals. “No! Never again! I won’t, I can’t fail!” Tivik drew a shock blade from his belt and activated it. “This was meant for that warlock, but it seems I will need it for you, instead!” “I had no sympathy for Phoros, but at the end of the day, that’s another warrior of the light that’s out of commission forever.” Zahir stepped back to avoid the arc drenched sword. He threw a punch that was caught by Tivik’s lower hand. He tried again, but ended up with both arms stuck. Tivik raised his upper two, blade in hand, for a finishing blow, but lost his composure as his already damaged stomach was headbutted. he felt the buckshot wounds scream in pain as his torn skin was scrambled by the titan’s helmet. As he was pushed backward, the two found themselves at the mouth of the cavern, overlooking the Lost Oasis of Io several tens of feet below them. “Lightbearer, you have no idea what you’re doing! I am the savior of the Eliksni!” Tivik raised his blade again and plunged it into the advancing titan’s back. “I will lead my people to greatness once again! It is my duty!” “And who put that duty onto you?” Zahir pushed himself away from Tivik before the blade could hurt him anymore. “Some senile captain?” He winced as he removed the knife from his back and threw it behind Tivik, off of the cliff they now stood on. “How dare you speak so lowly of Noxis? Of a dead Eliksni? The root of my Ambition is just!” The Guardian Killer’s now black cape of stolen cloaks began to lift in a terrible, sudden wind. “Fate appointed me to be the harbinger of an era. An era that belongs to the Eliksni, and not humanity! You will be a martyr to my cause. The only one who could push me this far will die, as a reminder not to meddle with the Guardian Killer!” “I’ve heard enough. You’re not noble. You’re not just. You’re just a trapped soul, who has nothing to do but kill.” Zahir closed his fist, and arc energy spread from it to his entire body. He began to walk toward the towering mercenary. “How are you already charged? Back in that cave, you-“ “Io harbors a vast amount of Taken and their energy, but that’s only because this moon is flowing with the Traveler’s light.” Zahir looked down at a crack in the ground below him that glowed a brilliant deep blue and siphoned power into his body. “You think I wanted to hear you out?” “Then approach me. Destiny will assure that I emerge victorious. I am the right choice!” Tivik bared his claws. “You’re delusional. It’s time you rest.” The two rushed toward each other, and Tivik was easily overpowered by Zahir’s super charged state. He was pummeled repeatedly by the titan’s electrical fists, until, eventually, he followed the path of his shock knife, plummeting from the raised cave entrance to the ground for what seemed like an eternity. Zahir returned to normal and fell to his knees, exhausted. “Zahir, I’m touching down soon.” Lacer called, “What’s the situation?” “Tivik’s dead, but he took Phoros with him.” “Phoros, huh…” “Wait,” Crucius returned from the cliff’s edge. “Tivik’s alive. Just barely, but he’s alive, and he’s talking?” “What?” Zahir rushed over and looked down at the Fallen, sprawled over on the ground. He leaned over a hole in reality that oozed black. “My will is going to live on. Even if... it does not belong to me...” Tivik groaned, allowing his ash covered body to sink into the cosmic blanket. “I will not… fail. Take me. I will ensure my plan is seen through… at all costs.” “No way. That’s not good!“ Crucius retreated to Zahir. “A Taken rift?” Zahir drew his pulse rifle to fire, but Tivik was swallowed by the hole instantly, as if he were never there. /// Tivik found himself falling through and endless abyss, but he felt no terror. It was almost comforting. Suddenly, a pitch black knife appeared high above him, and a voice began to boom throughout his skull. “You are Tivik. Enslaved to an outside will that twisted your own. You murdered in your desperation, and abandoned your hope. Your life was one of abandonment and false promises. It all amounted to success, but perhaps not the success you desired. You have been taken. Relax. No other will burden your ambition. No longer will you answer to one weaker than you. What veil shrouds you? What creature dares to pursue you? You plan meticulously, and you are rewarded with the death of those you hunt. They shudder at your name. But you are not immune to failure. You are weak when surprised, and you feel so bound by your work, something you do not believe, deep down, you were called to do. You must not be bound by your mistakes and fear. You deserve to live for yourself. There is a knife for you. It is shaped like [freedom]. Take up the knife. Cover yourself in it. Take up your new shape.” Tivik shook his head. This didn’t feel right. What had he done in his final moments of desperation? He looked back up at the floating knife. It looked oh so enticing. He shook again. What was he doing? Where was he? He was confused and scared, but slowly, his doubts were erased by the warm presence of the knife. He finally gave in, and took hold of it. His hand moved on its own, plunging the blade deep into his heart. There was no pain, only solace. A quite uncomfortable solace. /// Tivik, Reforged Will, exploded back into existence in a puff of Taken energy. Instead of settling, it turned into a frenzied tornado, covering a radius around Tivik that spanned at least ten meters. Zahir was struck by the storm from his perch, and a cloud of darkness covered his head. “Zahir? What happened? Zahir!” Lacer asked, “I’m almost there! I’m coming to you!” “No! Land somewhere away from Tivik!” Zahir grasped at the blackness around his helmet, but he accomplished nothing. It lingered around his head, immovable. “Tivik? You said he was dead! You’re tellin’ me that -blam!- can cheat death, too?” “He was Taken. That’s what happened! Right before he died, he was communing with a Taken rift.” Zahir reached out in front of him, but still saw nothing. “Listen, I don’t know for sure, but I think the cloud of Taken energy around him blinds anyone who comes into contact with him.” “So? That’s what all Taken Captains do! It’ll be gone any second!” The two waited as the slave of Darkness lumbered away. “Lacer… nothing’s happening.” Zahir continued to sit as his vision remained clouded. “I think we have to kill him to make this go away.”