Darkness Rising

When Max and Lilli returned to the Tower, they gave the shell of Gabriela to Speaker Alamo for a proper funeral, then spoke to Eris about Leviathan's Ghost. "It's just as I thought," she said, "your friend is about to be sacrificed to Crota. His Light is gone, and the whispers are louder than before."

"Whispers?" Max asked, "What whispers?"

"The Hive communicate with each other by whispering across the fabric of space. My time in the pit has opened the doors for me, and me alone."

"So why haven't you turned against us?"

"Why else, Warlock? I'm loyal to my City, and it is this loyalty that keeps my body away from them. You could learn something like that from Lilli."

"I am!"

"Your past says otherwise."

"What? My past?"

Eris grimaced, then corrected herself, "I need two things to be done before we can stop Crota completely: First, I need the World's Grave."

Max shook his head in shock, "The World's what now!?"

"The World's Grave; easily the largest library in the universe, and it's only a few discs wide."

Max sighed with relief, "Oh, a library. Why didn't you just say so?"

Eris groaned, "ugh, I just did! The second thing I need is a shard of the Sword of Crota. And I'm not referring to his son."

Lilli and Max looked perplexed, "Huh?"

Eris answered with, "Those Hive Knights and Wizards that you killed in the Cosmodrome were some of Crota's most devoted lieutenants, all named after pieces of him: Omnigul the Will, Ir Yut the Deathsinger, Coroker the Hand, Sardon the Fist, Zydax the Might, Erxoy the Heart, Xig the Left Eye, Pex the Right Eye, Hedlar the Central Eye, and then there's Nazra, Son and Sword of Crota. Of all them, only the Eyes, the Will, and the Deathsinger remain. To stop them from resurrecting Crota in our world, I will need the core from Crota's corporeal sword of Darkness and the World's Grave. Do you understand?"

The Warlock and Hunter nodded.

"Take this map and go back to the Moon, I'll be waiting here when you return."

As Max and Lilli left for their ship, something dawned on the Warlock's mind, My past? What past? Was she referring to my time before I became a Guardian? His Ghost popped out and said, "I don't know why she referenced your past, but I know this: You died as a warrior devoted to your cause, and that alone made me choose you. Remember that if nothing else comes to mind."

Max simply nodded, then went back to his thoughts, just as he boarded the ship again. Lilli sat in the pilot's seat and flew themselves back to the Moon. "So," she began, "You seem interested in the World's Grave. Do you want to take that task?"

Max shook his head, "No, I think it might be easier for both of us if I destroy the Sword."

The Hunter was taken aback, "I beg your pardon!"

"The Sword is corporeal and has captured the interest of Eris, which means that it is imbued with Darkness."

"And you doubt my Light!?"

Max sighed, "I don't know if you have it or not. But one thing is certain: that Dark Sword needs to be destroyed by its direct opposite, and I as a Ghoul have a stronger connection to the Light."

The Hunter calmed down, "So we take the missions that best suit us?"

The Warlock nodded, "Yes, but if you'd like, I can call you for help and vice versa."

Lilli half-grinned, "Thanks."

As soon as they touched down in Archer's Line, Max started running off to the left, while Lilli ran over to another building on the opposite side of their drop off, smaller than the one manning the Chinese particle accelerator. Before they separated, Lilli shouted, "Yo! Max!"

The Warlock turned to face her, "Yes?"

She pulled a rod out of her pocket, pressed a button on the side, and tossed it in the air, toward the Warlock. "Jump on!"

The rod transformed into Lilli's Sparrow and landed softly on the ground, albeit on its back. Max looked at Lilli in mild shock, "You're lending me your Sparrow!?"

"It's a long way to the Hellmouth if Eris's map serves us correctly," Lilli justified. Max eagerly hopped on and revved the engine coils, but before he could leave, Lilli called out, "On one condition!"

The Warlock turned the hoverbike around, "Name it!"

"Don't scratch the paint!"

Max laughed, "Don't worry about it!" and he sped away to the Hellmouth. He raced across the Lunar valley and small craters until he reached the Hellmouth.

Once there, Eris spoke into his comms, "The Sword of Crota was forged by four Swarm Lords. Your job is to slay the Lords with the Sword, fracture it, and bring me its core."

"Sounds like a plan, Eris." As soon as Max entered the Hive Fortress on the other end of the Hellmouth's surface ring, three Hive Knights began attacking him. The Warlock quickly took cover and fired multiple shots into their heads, blinding two and killing one. Before advancing, Max asked, "How will I know where to find the Sword?"

Eris answered with, "The Sword eats Light, follow the path that makes you weaker."

Max followed this path all the way to a scaly circular room with a huge central chain. He entered through the west end, the Sword floated on the east side, and two more exits lay to the north and south ends. Max approached the Sword, but as it started to slowly sap his Light, he stepped back and asked, "Um, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Having second thoughts, Warlock?"

"Well, the Sword eats Light, and if I touch it, I might grow weaker."

Eris groaned, "If you're not willing to sacrifice your power for the greater good, then you are already weak."

Without a third thought, Max grabbed the Sword of Crota by the handle. The blade drooped, Max felt the weight of the Sword as it ate his Light, both physical and emotional weight bore him down. He screamed an unholy scream, as apocalyptic images flooded his mind.

A betrayal of trust...

A nuclear war without end...

A world on fire...

Max gritted his teeth and lifted the Sword to eye level. As the images flooded his mind, hordes of Thrall began to surround him, led by 3 adorned Acolytes. "TAKE HIM!" shouted the Triplets. Max charged with lightning speed at the incoming Thrall, slicing through all of them without delay or difficulty. The Triplet Acolytes, the Eyes of Crota, stared at the Warlock in shock and horror. "RETREAT!" they shouted, hands in the air, running away hastily. Max growled and charged through them, cleanly slicing through their abdomens, killing them.

More Thrall screamed in rage, this time led by 4 Hive Knights, the Swarm Lords. "Here they come," Eris eagerly said, "Don't let up!"

Max charged at the first Lord, clashing swords with extreme force, battling for their lives. Max swung, again and again, channeling more strength into each successive swing. The Swarm Lord was now on his knees crying, "LORDS HELP ME!" But it was too late; by the time the other three Lords arrived, the first one was stabbed and beheaded. Max turned on the other Lords with a fire never before seen in anyone's eyes. The Second one ran toward Max, but the Warlock was quicker by cutting open the Lord's stomach. The Third Lord charged and died when Max swung the Sword vertically. The Final Lord barely had to move to get stabbed in the chest by the same Sword he was commissioned to create.

Max plunged the Sword deeper and said, "It is done!" He drew the sword out of the dead Lord and pushed the Knight to the ground, panting heavily. Then he dropped the sword to the ground and cried, the same images flooded his mind, but this time at a slower rate, before stopping at the final image, the Earth ablaze and the former civilization left dying and in ruins. He cried and wailed loudly, his sorrow echoing throughout the room, throughout the Fortress. The Sword of Crota began to crack as Max wailed, then it shattered when he let out the loudest cry of pain, for it wasn't just a ghoul's Light that demolished it...

It was the endless pain that Max had experienced in his life before.