Zara embodied the storm. Lightning stretched from her fingertips, seeking the invader in scarlet armor like a voracious swarm. Arc fire shattered the Legionaries on the molecular level, ignited their organogel, reduced their weapons to ashes.

The storm raged around the Warlock, buzzing the air, and lifting the dust. In the distance, a Centurion uttered a guttural battle cry and threw a pack of beasts with bloody scales. An arrow of Void Light fell from the sky and pierced the Cabal's torso. From its disintegrated corpse, amethyst leashes sprang up, chaining the dogs to their master. A Titan draped in a mantle of flames rose from the top of a building and crushed the ground with his Solar Maul, wiping out the beasts in a torrent of Light.

"Threat eliminated." Jayden made his weapon disappear in a burst of sparks and drew his assault rifle. "Commander, what next?"

"I have received a report of a group of civilians in trouble in District 216, not far from your position."

"Understood." The Titan interrupted the transmission and signaled his fireteam to join him.

"Their mother ship continues to fly around the Traveler." Zara reloaded her sidearm, her eyes locked on the dark body that had docked on the white sphere. "I have a bad feeling."

"I picked up a call from Holliday." Willow landed smoothly between the two Guardians. "They sent a reliable person aboard the ship."

"Only one? But who...?"

"It doesn't matter, Jayden said. We've wasted enough time already."

The Warlock complied and the fireteam headed for the neighboring district. They crossed the ruined terraces, the collapsed buildings, and the fires ravaging the City. A heavy rain whipped their armor, forming torrents where the earth had been devastated by cabal bombs.

They passed underneath a crumbling arch and stepped out into a long street with a canal running through it. The terrain was sloping, and water poured down alleys and stairs, trickling through the rubble. There, taking shelter under a half-destroyed bridge, feet in the mud, a group of civilians called for help. One of them was armed with a rifle and tried in vain to prevent the brutes from approaching. Several Gladiators jumped into the canal, ready to tear this paltry resistance to pieces. Legionaries stood at the edge, their cannons crackling with Arc energy. On the rooftops, overlooked by a huge Harvester ship, a dozen Psions were monitoring the surroundings.

"We have to hurry." Jayden readjusted one of his imposing shoulder pads. "Willow, take care of their infantry. Zara, get on the rooftops. See if you can handle the ship."

The Hunter rushed to the canal and disappeared, cloaked in the Void. Jayden charged toward the Legionaries, mowed down two of them with his rifle to clear the way, and leapt at the Gladiators, his fists crackling with Arc Light. The first was burned to ashes, and the skull of the second was shattered by the Titan's massive shotgun. Immediately the Legionaries opened fire. Civilians screamed in terror and cowered in the mud, sensing the death ahead. Jayden turned around, planted his feet firmly in the water blackened by the cabal gel, and a barricade of Light materialized in front of him, protecting them from enemy fire.

A group of Phalanges dropped into the canal, accompanied by War Beasts. Their dorsal reactors exploded before they could hit the ground, destroyed by Willow's fire. The Hunter emerged from the shadows and threw two knives, wiping out two Legionnaires. An Arc blade appeared in the palm of her hand, and the elusive Guardian decimated the Cabal troops in a shimmering whirlwind. A few well-placed bursts from Jayden's rifle silenced the beasts.

Suddenly, a red dot glowed in a corner of his vision. He lowered his head on reflex, but the shot never came: the Psion fell into the emptiness and crashed on the pavement below, a solid fletch protruding from his skull.

Flying gracefully over the rooftops, Zara did not give the snipers time to react. Her shoulders, loaded with centuries of experience, stretched the rope and the long projectiles filled with Void energy found their target, one after the other. One Psion, more reluctant than the others, summoned a mental wave in her direction, sending her into the air. But the skies were her territory: The Warlock reached out her hand, and a whirlwind of Solar Light incinerated the creature.

Without ceasing to glide, Zara rose to the height of the Harvester. The spotlight on his prow covered her with a scarlet light, and the Guardian smiled, defying the brutes who had dared to attack the City. Void Light enveloped her, cutting her off from the outside world. A dark veil fell before her eyes, and she felt her skin stretch and her blood boil under the lack of pressure. A white noise echoed in her ears.

This sensation lasted only for a moment. She concentrated all her Light in the palm of her hand. Her mind was as calm as the singularity she was handling. Her body tensed up, and Zara bent her arm backwards, preparing to abandon the cabal ship to the cataclysm of her Nova Bomb—

Severed.

Her lungs were empty. All her limbs were burning. Gravity dragged her down and she crashed into the gravel that covered the roof. Shock, isolation, and pain prevented her from thinking. She felt the Harvester slowly turn toward her, already savoring its victory. She managed to get one knee on the ground and called to the Light again. Nothing.

The cabal ship bombed the roof. She spotted a ventilation duct and threw herself behind it. Intense heat burned her armor and the skin inside. The structure collapsed and Zara fell, surrounded by shards of concrete, glass, and metal. She folded back on herself by instinct and hit the ground almost twelve meters below. An unspeakable pain overwhelmed her, and her eyes blurred. Her ear drums filled with an insufferable hissing sound. She vaguely heard her Ghost shouting her name, his presence reduced to a faint blue glow in an ocean of red.

Someone turned her over, spread her out on a hard, sharp surface.

"I can... her bones." She thought to recognize Koryl's voice. "But until this thing... can't close the wound."

"I'll take care of it. Willow, you guys, hold her."

A large silhouette leaned over her and seemed to grab on to something in her stomach. Suddenly, she felt as if her heart was being ripped out. She screamed and struggled as a warm liquid ran down her side and permeated her robes, but several hands held her firmly down. A faint glow enveloped her, and the pain subsided. Her sight and hearing gradually returned. She stood up coughing and saw Jayden's face. The Exo had gotten rid of his helmet, and his armor was in a pitiful state.

"You'll be okay?"

"I think so." She got up staggering, still stunned by her fall. "What happened?"

"The Light is gone. They have... enclosed the Traveler in a kind of cage." The Titan pointed to the cabal device, and the Traveler masked by a scarlet sphere. "Our Ghosts can no longer resurrect us, and we have lost contact with the Tower."

"What are we going to do now? asked one of the civilians, on the verge of panic."

"Our priority remains to protect you. We will..."

"One second." Willow raised one hand and tilted her head slightly. "Do you hear that?"

This came from outside the building. It sounded like a fireworks display, but the three Guardians immediately recognized the origin of the sound.

"Colossus! bawled Jayden. Everybody gets down!"

The rain of micro-missiles fell on the ruined building. The stone slabs lifted on impact, and the last pillars gave in to the powerful attack. Everything began to collapse around them. Willow briefly inspected the surroundings in search of a way out.

"This way!" The Hunter pointed to a trap door leading to the basement.

A concrete block blocked the access. Jayden rushed in front of the obstruction and began to painfully lift it up. The Titan growled under the effort. His legs and arms were shaking.

"Hurry up!" The group rushed through the opening and into a poorly lit underground. Zara was the last to pass.

"Come on, drop it and let's go!" she urged Jayden, who was holding his ground.

"No." The Exo turned his head. The Colossus was getting closer, its huge slug thrower pointed at the ruins. "He is alone. I'll take care of him."

"Jayden, don't be a fool! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I'll buy you some time. This underground is connected to the sewers. Escape as far as possible."

The Titan lifted one leg and pushed Zara through the hatch. Before the Warlock could stop him, he dropped the heavy pillar, sealing the exit.

"Jayden!" Zara got back on her feet and pushed the block with all her might but was barely able to lift it. "Damn it!"

"Zara." Willow's hand rested gently on her shoulder. "We have to go. These people are counting on us."

She wanted to protest, knock on the obstacle until it was destroyed and leap to her friend's rescue, but the Hunter was right. Koryl appeared at her side, barely able to hold himself up in the air. Zara gently grabbed the Ghost and carried him close to her. She suddenly felt desperately weak.

"You're right, she said. Let's go."

Willow encouraged her with a nod and turned to the civilians. There were nineteen of them. Humans, Awoken, Exos, of all ages. One of the women was holding an infant in her arms.

"These sewers go under the City and through the Wall." Willow studied the various exits and then led the group. "Once we get to the other side, we'll evacuate you."

They walked without saying a word for several hours. The flickering light of the two Ghosts was their only help against the darkness that reigned in these nauseating undergrounds.

Above their heads, the fights had stopped. The Cabals marched in the City, their huge tanks patrolling the streets in search of survivors like them. They had to be extremely careful: in some places, the pipes had collapsed, and they had to go back up to the surface to find another way. Even though the spaces were too narrow to let infantrymen through, a pack of War Beasts would not have given them a chance.

This long night gave them no rest. They emerged from the Wall at dawn, but columns of smoke from the fires still darkened the sky. Sheltered in the foothills of the edifice, they took a moment to settle down and tend to their wounded. Zara reduced her robes to rags to make bandages. Willow had to do the same with her cape. The only communications they captured ordered the evacuation of the planet. There was no longer an allied ship in sight. Some civilians could not stand upright, but they had to move forward despite everything.

The group left the perimeter of the City and went into the mountains. Fear awaited them at every turn, at every cabal ship flying over them, forcing them to cower under icy ledges to avoid being spotted. Their journey brought them face to face with many corpses, Lightless Guardians, and civilians less fortunate than themselves. Those whose wounds were too severe eventually succumbed and were unceremoniously buried under the snow by the civilians under the watchful eye of the two Guardians. As they moved away from the Wall, they eventually came upon another group of survivors, and then another. Bad news and a few words of comfort were exchanged, then the march resumed, silent. Occasionally one would hear crying or moaning, but never words. Some would sometimes dare to turn around to contemplate the Last City, now tinged with red.

They advanced, torn by fear, hunger, and exhaustion. Then, the snow stopped falling. A green valley stretched out before their eyes. Several jumpships bearing the insignia of the city waited, led by an olive-skinned falconer. Other survivors gathered around the vessels, and the groups mingled, each looking for familiar faces.

Willow climbed up on a boulder for a better view, and suddenly held out her finger, an exclamation of surprise and relief on her lips, to a large Exo, busy loading crates of food into a transporter. He turned around, intrigued by the noise, and his eyes widened when he saw the Guardians.

They embraced, exchanged stories of their journey. Willow had tears in her eyes. Then the ships flew away, heading for a refuge on the other side of the ocean. The City was behind them, but Zara had never been more determined. The Cabals, despite their best efforts, had failed to separate them. Now they were going to make them pay.