The last Acolyte disappeared in a Void explosion. Zara put away her bow and entered the Gardens of Esila. She passed under the cleft arch and walked in the footsteps she had left the week before. Every three weeks the trail faded, and Zara had to imprint her presence again on the soft earth.

She no longer counted the pilgrimages she had undertaken in these gardens. She passed the benches where the Techeuns used to gather to meditate and discuss. A small animal was foraging in the bushes along the path and ran off before she could see more than a flash of fur.

As she advanced into the stream that joined the cliff, a Tombship emerged from a dark portal tearing the air with a strident scream. The Hive emerged from it, and a group of Thralls darted at her with their razor-sharp claws.

A few sidearm shots put an end to their whimpering, and a storm grenade decimated the Acolytes. Zara slowly advanced to the faltering Knight and gave a violent palm blow to his chest. The creature shattered into pieces of chitin, and the Warlock returned to her path, her boots gently twisting the surface of the water without tearing a drop off.

She climbed the crystal steps and reached the terrace where Queen Mara Sov had been crowned. She stopped for a moment, took off her helmet and took a deep breath, eyes closed.

Deprived of sight, her other senses were awakened. Birds were hiding in the trees, their songs mingled with the rustle of the leaves. Insects swarmed beneath the ground and fertilized the soil, which was covered with fresh grass and pale red flowers. A scent of humus, bark, with a slightly sweet aroma reached her nostrils. A cool wind rose from the cliff and caressed her skin, swirling the cottony mist that stretched endlessly, blending with the sky, and blurring the horizon.

Zara resumed her walk. She passed under a new cleft gate and walked over the white bridge. Her gaze was lost for a moment in the twists and turns of the immense portal floating in the nebulous sky of the Dreaming City.

A sphere darker than the void between the stars emerged on the other side of the bridge, a tumor infecting the fabric of space. Taken came out of it and confronted her Light; and were incinerated on its contact.

The Warlock advanced at the bottom of the statue representing the three Techeuns who perished in the claws of the Aphelion. Despite Shuro Chi's clear warnings, she could not help but feel an insatiable curiosity towards this mysterious creature.

She stared at the crystal faces. Was she hoping for an answer?

Zara smiled and walked around the statue. It was never that simple.

She followed the paved path to the dead tree. The Techeun had explained to her that it represented the nature of the Awoken, halfway between Light and Darkness.

She was a Guardian, and an Awoken. Had her rebirth erased the shadow inside her? She did not feel the call of Death and refused to believe in the logic of the Final Form. Yet the Pyramids had invaded the system, and a new Fall was already obscuring the horizon. Perhaps the Awoken were able to see beyond this dark veil...

A blade of Queensfoil passed in front of her face. Zara watched as the wind blew the thin purple leaf into the air and entered the large gazebo that towered over the garden. As far as she knew, this was Mara Sov's favorite place for meditation.

Petra had assured her that the Queen was alive. Apparently, she had worked for the destruction of Riven, then left her throne, and no one knew where she was. Had she foreseen the curse of the Ahamkara?

The path of earth and crystal extended beyond the gazebo and over the cliff. Zara walked around the tree at the end of the bridge and sat between its roots. Every week, she concluded her pilgrimage in this way, and always sat in the same place.

Her gaze got lost in the misty depths, agitated by the incessant tumult of the waterfalls. She wondered what had become of Azirim, the Ahamkara that had caused the loss of so many Awoken on this cliff.

Time passed, and her spirit finally regained her body. Even after three years, she could not know the exact duration of her meditation. However, they always ended in the same way: Koryl would appear in front of her, offering to take her home. Zara would not tell her how much this place reminded her of home, and they would both return to Earth, waiting for the next pilgrimage. The curse was perhaps relentless, but Guardians decide their own fate.