Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The war has ended. Nyx watches the Traveler, confused as to what happened. It shouldn’t matter that much, but Nyx would swear with her life that she felt some kind of pull from her soul to go towards the Traveler.

Nyx takes a deep breath. Focus on the people for now.

***

It’s been three days. While she sits in her jump-ship, Nyx can’t help but think back to that feeling. What was it? Why did it happen? Should I tell someone about it? What if it’s not a good thing?

“I will bring you to Earth on one condition.” A voice echoes in her head, not dissimilar to Oryx. “You have to help me-”

Nyx tries to shake away the memory. It’s not hers. Not anymore.

“Why would I trust someone like you?” the memory continues in Nyx’s own voice.

“Lycan, can you please set course to the EDZ?” She needs something to tear the memory away. It’s not hers.

***

The feeling doesn’t come back for a while. Not when she’s fighting the Vex in the Infinite Forest. Not when she’s fighting the Hive on Mercury.

It’s not until Nyx first fights the Scorn that she really thinks about it again. The Scorn themselves aren’t familiar; the dark ether, however, is familiar.

She doesn’t bring it up to anyone, not even to Lycan. Nyx has killed Crota and Oryx. She can deal with whatever this feeling is after they get everyone back in their cages.

***

Cayde-6 is dead. Nyx can’t help but feel it’s her fault. Everyone is telling her that it isn’t, but if she had kept her focus on the fight rather than muti-tasking with trying to understand the pull from her soul… maybe he would still be here.

She can only focus on her emotions, her anger giving way to a new Solar light ability. Blade Barrage, it’s been called by some of her fireteam. Familiar… but not? How does that even make sense?

As Nyx gets closer to finding Uldren, her emotions give way to a new Void light and a new way to wield the Arc staff.

Nyx needs to bring justice to Uldren Sov. She might be able to make sense of everything that has happened since the Red War after she does this. Maybe I just need a break from everything.

Chapter Text

Crota, Oryx, Ghaul, Barrons, Uldren, Rivan…I’ve been alive 5 years and 21 days not even counting the time I remember during the Golden Age -

“Nyx?” Lycan’s voice breaks through every single conflicting thought. “Are you okay? You’ve been so aloof as of late.”

There are a million ways Nyx could describe how she felt and none of them would be right. She focuses on her ghost.

“Five years and twenty-one days…” Nyx tries keep calm, failing miserably. “Crota, Oryx, Ghaul, the Barrons, Uldren, Rivian, and there are still others…I…” Nyx hears something – maybe it’s something she sees? – and it distracts her from everything else going on.

Lycan flies into Nyx’s hand, a wordless message passing between them.

They let silence stay for a while.

“Lycan,” Nyx starts to say something that might sound crazy.

“Yes, Nyx?” Lycan’s robotic voice gives Nyx some comfort.

“The darkness is in the Milky Way…? I don’t know how to explain how I know it.”

“You don’t have to,” Lycan reassures her, “We can handle everything they might throw at us as long as we’re together.”

***

Nyx sets the autopilot to the moon before getting ready for a fight. She starts deciding on a bow.

“Why is it that whenever something has to do with the moon, it’s always Hive we fight?” Lycan muses.

“They’re like rats. You can’t clear out the Hive once they exist in a spot for too long.” Nyx pulls the string back and aims down the sights. “There’s also a seemingly infinite amount of them.”

“I swear, if you don’t get your brood to clear out, I will clear them out myself,” Nyx glares at the Hive Goddess of Cunning.

“You cannot clear them all out,” She counters, “There are too many of them to clear them  out.”

“There has to be a way to get them all out of the moon though, right?” Lycan asks. “I mean, why would they even be interested in the moon?”

Nyx smiles in amusement, brushing off the memory. “They might be going towards the Hellmouth. Or maybe they found something else interesting that no one knows about and that we will find.”

“Possibly -”

“Transmat ready,” the computer interrupts their debate.

“Well. Here we go again.” Nyx smiles as she puts on her cowl.

***

Nyx steps out into the open cave and freezes.

The pyramid looks familiar, and it definitely isn’t supposed to be there. However, there aren’t any defining features Nyx can see other than its size.

Nyx doesn’t start moving again until Lycan breaks the uncomfortable silence.

“Nyx? Are you ok?” Her ghost is rightfully worried; Nyx isn’t one to just freeze, especially if there is a job to do.

She squeezes her eyes shut and takes a deep breath. “I’m okay…” she answers with slight hesitation.

Nyx continues on the path laid ahead as quickly as she feels comfortable with.

“Something’s wrong. I feel strange. Like someone—or something—is invading my Light.” Nyx swallows. This definitely isn’t a good place to be.

“We should not be here, Savath û n,” Nyx glares at her companion.

“You don’t even know where we are going yet,” Savath û n speaks in a tone she usually uses when ready to trick someone. Nyx doesn’t stop glaring.

“That…thing across the way. What is that?” Lycan asks, and Nyx, while knowing she should reply, can only shrug.

When close enough, Nyx reaches out and tries to touch the energy.

It’s only for a second that she can feel something and hear voices calling her name, then she’s thrown slightly. Nyx stumbles.

“There’s some kind of massive energy spike here.”

“Is it too heavy to pass through?” Nyx finally breaks her silence.

“Yeah. We might be able to find another way around,” Lycan contemplates.

Nyx backs up a little bit. If we can’t go through, can we go above? She jumps on a nearby rock to get more height when the energy forms into a sight she hasn’t seen in years.

“HOW IS CROTA HERE?!” Nyx yells, panic causing adrenalin to flow in her veins. She doesn’t hear Lycan’s response. She barely notices the Solor light summoned in the form of Blade Barrage.

Nyx tries to get a better vantage point, but a swarm of Thrall comes her way.

Lycan, having watched Crota, quickly notices something wrong. “He’s… regenerating?” Nyx catches the worry in his voice.

Seconds later, Dominus Ghual and the Fanatic appear beside Crota.

“Lycan, see if you can locate any escape routes!” Nyx says in a hurry.

“Guardian!” Nyx hears Eris Morn for the first time since the Taken King. “Come to me!”

Nyx takes a breath once, then she’s out of the cave.

Nyx hops out of the portal and instantly scans her surroundings.

It’s only a second before she addresses the one who got her here.

“Eris Morn.” Nyx walks forward to stand by Eris.

She takes a deep breath, not sure if she’s ready to ask a question she might already know the answer to. “What is that Pyramid?”

Eris turns to Nyx when she answers, “You’ve heard the stories. Of the Traveler’s sacrifice. Of darkness descending upon humanity.” Nyx keeps her anxiety unseen as she lets Eris speak.

“Before us lies a dark remnant of their existence.” Eris walks forward as she continues. “Was it struck down by the Traveler? Left here on purpose? The truth is ours to discover.”

What have I gotten myself into this time? “Discover how?”

Eris turns to Nyx, a small smile on her face giving signs of a plan forming. “We find a way inside.”

Chapter Text

Nyx runs down the hall of the Dreadnaught. She’s almost out. She’s almost escaped with her prize. Nyx looks ahead and sees her ship, when a tug on her cape forces her back. She’s been caught.

Nyx catches herself easily, years of practice keeping her afloat. The hive behind her grabs her arm in a bone crushing grip. Nyx sighs. She was so close to making it back to her ship and to her study.

“Guardian?” Eris’s voice calls from behind. Nyx blinks and shakes her head. “You had been staring at the Cryptoglyph for a time. Are you all right?”

Nyx looks back at the now floating Cryptoglyph and shrugs. “Just thinking,” she replies quietly.

Nyx would head into her ship not too much later to think more and sleep.

***

Nyx closes her eyes and breathes carefully. She didn’t know what she had been getting into, but now, only a few minutes before going into the Pyramid ship, everything feels too overwhelming.

“Breathe, find your emotions, use them to your advantage,” a voice from someone Nyx can’t name echoes distantly in her head. “Find a balance.”

Nyx feels the air around her and focuses on a feeling she can’t quite describe.

Then, she finds it.

A single spark on her fingertips travels up her arm. Arc. It flares once it reaches her elbow. Solar. It sparks one last time as the spark travels down to her other hand. Void.

Nyx lets one more breath out before opening her eyes.

“It’s always fascinating to watch you do that,” Lycan says.

“Do what?” Nyx walks to look at the weapons she currently had in her ship. Fatebringer, Dream Breaker, and… Sleepless.

“Whenever you decide what element to use, your eyes change to that color and sometimes glow,” Lycan explains. “It of reminds me of a Warlock.”

“A Warlock? You mean like how Noctis’s eyes are always glowing, sometimes even through his helmet?” Nyx always found that interesting. The glow Warlocks have in their eyes showing the power that they hold was something not many had seen, and even fewer could explain why. “I doubt it’s as bright or as constant.”

Nyx takes a deep breath. I should leave before I convince myself to back out of this.

***

When Nyx walks into the cave once again, she notices how the presence of the Darkness feels so much more threatening than before. It almost makes Nyx freeze like the first time.

What is happening to me? I never hesitated before…

Her movements are quick when dealing with the remaining Hive in the way, but she decides to preserve her ammo.

The path opens before her; however, she hesitates again. “Don’t hesitate,” the voice remains unrecognizable to Nyx as it continues, “hesitation will kill you one day, or kill those closest to you.”

Nyx tries to keep her breath steady as she walks closer to the pyramid. The armor she wears doesn’t help. It feels so wrong compared to the armor she usually wears.

She doesn’t expect the beam. Nyx feels the pull of the pyramid more than she expected. Floating was not something she tended to enjoy doing, but it was even worse when it came to being over a seemingly bottomless pit of darkness; even Nyx, a hunter who’s made many more precise jumps than this might be, wasn’t sure if she’d survive a fall from this height.

Relief is all Nyx feels as she lands, but it’s short lived. Something feels off…. Wrong…. It all feels wrong.

Nyx’s ears start to ring as she walks, barely noticing Lycan’s voice echoing of another. Her hand runs along the window as familiarity falls over her in the worst way possible. Why do I recognize this place? I shouldn’t…. but then again… I also shouldn’t remember any part of the golden age either, should I?

Nyx loses herself in her mind and memory as she walks through. Every time the statues come alive, it just feels like going back into a more recent memory. She doesn’t truly feel like she leaves her mind until she retches the final statue.

Nyx blinks as she looks at the floating orb. She doesn’t retch out to touch it at first, but she does observe it.

After she did touch it, it was as if she was both in the past and the future at the same time. Nyx had only felt this a few times: when she woke up for the first time-memories still intact-, when she was in the black garden for the first time-her fireteam close behind-, and when she lost her light. None had been particularly great experiences. The loss she felt recalling everything from years before was the worst of all, even with the idea of losing her light once again in her mind.

“You made it,” a familiar voice echoes from behind, masked with Nyx’s own voice. It sends shivers down her spine; a voice so close to her own and so familiar makes Nyx feel as if she isn’t real.

Nyx turns to face the direction the voice is coming from. As she stares, near identical eyes stare back.

“We have heard your cries for help,” Nyx barely breathes as the being using her skin starts to walk forwards, “and soon we will answer.”

The voice echoes in Nyx’s brain, a voice so familiar, yet so unknown. “Who are you?” she finally asks, her fear and confusion barely hidden.

The being stops walking and begins open its arms before speaking again, “don’t you recognize us?” it walks again as it continues. “We are not your friend. We are not your enemy.”

Nyx tried to back up, but she approached a ledge she hadn’t noticed quickly.

“We are your…” the being pauses, as if to collect its thoughts. “Salvation.” It finishes.

***

Nyx blinks, and when she opens her eyes, it's as if she had never even gone into the ship in the first place.

Chapter Text

Nyx blocks everything out as she sits in her jump ship. Even Lycan’s constant scanning and badgering doesn’t get through to her. Instead, all Nyx focuses on is the Rubik’s cube in her hand. I wonder what the chances of finding another 3 by 3 is. Probably low, if I had to guess. The fact that I had this one might as well be nearly impossible .

Nyx eventually sighs and sets the cube down.

“Nyx! Wake upppp!!” One of her friends from her clan—Sphinx—calls through calms for maybe the thousandth time.

Nyx blinks and holds back a laugh at Sphinx’s tone. “I’m awake now. What’s up?”

Sphinx sighs, but before she can complain, Noctis—another in the fireteam—speaks up, “Nyx, so many people have been asking for you. It’s been weeks!”

Nyx blinks, sighing slightly. She glances at Lycan, who nods in agreement to Noctis’ words. “I... sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to how long I was-“

“Well! You’re finally back! Meet us at the Tower?” Sphinx cuts Nyx off. Huh... guess Sphinx hasn’t gotten out of that habit.

Nyx laughs slightly. “Yeah, I’ll meet you both there.”

Nyx set course, ignoring the semi-familiar throbbing at the back of her head.

***

A few days later...

Nyx sits down again in her jump ship, though this time, she’s sat on a bed. I guess now is a good a time as any to get some sleep... nothing is happening yet.

Nyx takes a deep breath, laying down before a com message is intercepted. Nyx sighs slightly, sitting up and walking to the front of the ship.

“Heading to Trials of Osiris. Any of you want to join?” The message in question is from Onyx—another fireteam member. Trials? I can’t remember the last time I did that with Onyx. Maybe he’s found a third Guardian?

“I might if you still got room.” Nyx messages back, keeping her message short and simple.

“‘Course I got room!” Onyx sends his precise location along with the message, and Nyx sets course to join him.

***

One week later...

Nyx can’t sleep. She’d been trying and trying, knowing her body still needed rest, but the most she got was a nightmare that would wake her up.

Nyx would blink, only to be greeted with black. No stars, no moon, no planets. She could see her armor, and she could feel her seat. Nyx couldn’t feel much else. Not her cape, not her viser, not even her ring .

Nyx shakes her head. Thinking about the nightmare won’t make it go away. It might just make things worse...

Nyx takes a deep breath. For the past few days, her clan has been constantly trying to get her out of the jump ship, and as much as she appreciated it, there were some times, like now, that made her want to hide from the world.