A spark in the dark, Part 5

Zara focused on the frozen desert, which would stretch as far as the eye could see if a violent snowstorm had not engulfed them. Her ship was flying low, lifting a large trail of melted water in its wake. The gusts of wind did not hinder the flight, but visibility was severely reduced. The sun's rays could barely penetrate the thick layer of swirling clouds.

Koryl sighed for the umpteenth time, and finally spoke:

"They're going to blame you, you know."

"The important thing is that they are safe." The Warlock gave the topographical radar a sharp knock. They were getting closer to the magnetic pole, and the instrument was playing up.

"That's not what's important to them, Zara. They would have given up everything to join us." The Ghost shook its core in a desperate gesture. "You were never forced to fight alone. Why don't you ask for help when you know you'll get an answer?"

The Guardian remained silent. Koryl stared at her for a moment, waiting for an answer. Then he turned away and consulted the radar. "A few degrees west, fifty-eight kilometers."

As Zara was correcting the ship's course, the radio light came on. Upon her resurrection, she had left the Darkened Forest, leaving Willow and Jayden in the lurch. The image she had seen during her death was fading rapidly, and she feared she would lose it.

"It's them," Koryl said. Zara nodded, and the Ghost answered the call.

"Riddle for you," Willow's voice crackled. "I'm a reckless Warlock who follows the messages of the Darkness like a moth drawn to a candle. I know I'm going to burn my wings, but I'd rather go ahead and leave my friends in a haunted forest without even thanking them for saving me. Finally, I cut off my satellite signal so they can't follow me after taking care of our new psycho friend. Who am I?"

"Sorry, Willow. I just had to..."

"Save your excuses. Damn it, Zara, I'm barely eight years old and I'm already much more responsible than you are! Okay, big guy, maybe not. But what's got into your head?"

"What has become of the other Warlock?"

"You're avoiding the question." The radio went silent for a few moments. Zara heard faint exchanges between the Hunter and the Titan.

"Fine," she said, "but you won't get away with it! The other bastard is still a pile of ashes. We found no trace of her Ghost. Either he's dead, or he's very well hidden. We're still going to report this woman to Aunor when we get back to the City. If she resurfaces, the Praxics will take care of her. For the moment, nothing more can be done. Zara..."

"Yes?"

"This Warlock was nothing like the so-called Dredgens we ran into in Gambit. I have no idea where you're going next, but please be careful. And don't hesitate to call us. I'd be offended to get bored in the City while you're chatting with the Apocalypse itself."

Willow cut off the call. Zara pensively laid down on the backrest for a few minutes. Koryl finally pointed out a landing zone near their destination, and they landed the ship.

The environment was completely blocked by the storm. Zara's visor was covered with droplets and mist within seconds.

"Do you have the coordinates?" she shouted to Koryl to cover the howling wind.

"Yes, it's over here." The Ghost turned on his light beam and pointed it in the right direction, barely improving visibility.

The Guardian walked slowly, planting her heels in the thick layer of powder snow to keep her balance. About twenty meters further, Koryl pointed at the frozen ground.

"We' re here. But over several centuries, the ice has thickened. I detect a cavity about six meters below, as well as a metallic mass."

"Very well. Guide me."

The Warlock squatted down and placed her palms on the frozen surface. Solar Light heated her hands to white, and the ice began to melt. Soon the boiling water formed a thick cloud of steam as Zara sank. Barely a meter lower, she felt an itch inside her skull. The fire enveloping her shimmered like a mirage.

"Zara..."

"I feel it. It is the stain of the other Warlock. I must purify it."

She focused, releasing a torrent of flames, increasing the pressure as if to force a clogged duct. Her Light twisted like the solar wind crashing into the magnetic field. Little by little, the corruption weakened. Zara's breathing was heavy, her forehead soaked with sweat from the ice-consuming furnace.

"I think I'm doing it..."

"Good!" Koryl encouraged her. "But maybe you should slow down, there's not much ice left..."

At the same time, the thin layer that separated the duo from the underground cave broke and the Guardian fell into darkness. She concentrated to activate the glide, but a sudden point of pain in her stomach prevented her from doing so. She must have drawn too much from her reserves. Under the helpless gaze of her Ghost, she crashed to the bottom of the cave.

Zara stood up and thanked Koryl with a nod. It was quite ironic that he revived her here... She tried again to activate the flight. She felt lighter, and a simple impulse from her feet made her levitate. The Warlock sighed with relief and inspected the surroundings, only lit by the beam of the Ghost.

As she was about to take a step towards the chasm where the Awoken ship that brought her to Earth had fallen, she realized that she was shivering. She was cold. Very cold. Yet her armor had protected her well from the icy storm!

She invoked a Solar grenade. The heat spread pleasantly to her shoulder, but she barely felt it. Surprised, she intensified her Light until she was completely engulfed in flames. The cold still gripped her bones like dozens of sharp jaws. She looked down and realized that the ice was not melting under her feet.

"There are places where the Light no longer shines. Where cheating is no longer allowed."

Zara turned around. Koryl stared at her. His points did not move an inch.

"Give me back my Ghost." The Warlock gathered even more Light, summoning all the power of her Sun Song. Under normal circumstances, she would have become a miniature sun. But in this cave, the Light was as if numb, dissipated in the ice.

"In Light, there is only weakness. If you’re strong, you will survive the cold. You will surpass it."

"I will not listen to the lies of a being too cowardly to come and talk to my face."

Koryl turned to the side, inviting her to follow him, and plunged into the pit. She could have held him back, walked out of the cave and never come back. But would the visions stop? Would her diminished Light be enough to escape the cold?

The jolts of her muscles, the last reflexes of her body to generate some heat, gave her the answer. She followed Koryl, and her glide worked perfectly. The Darkness had no interest in killing her. Not yet.

The wreck of the Awoken ship was still laying at the bottom of the chasm. A thick layer of ice covered it, but details of the hull were still visible.

The Ghost shone his beam on the vessel. Zara approached; her arms clasped to her chest in an attempt to conserve the heat escaping from her body at an alarming rate.

"These Awoken preferred to flee their Reef to join the Traveler and failed. How many civilizations the Light has abandoned?"

"You know that. You have destroyed all those who opposed you."

"Winter destroys those who are unable to overcome it. Those who try to ignore it suffer the same fate. In Light, there is only failure."

Koryl moved away from the wreck and went into a tunnel, going deeper and deeper under the ice. Zara tried to push back the cold with all her might. But her limbs were getting numb. She remembered the crazy stories of the Drifter, the frozen planet he found beyond the Solar System. How did he manage to survive? Memories were racing through her head without her being able to get her hands on the right one. Even her mind was stiff.

The path led them to a huge cave, its ceiling lost in the darkness. Thick stalagmites of ice rose to dizzying heights. Koryl guided Zara to the center of the underground cathedral.

"You don't know how to survive without Light. The Traveler is a false promise of life and freedom. In Light, there is only death."

Suddenly, a scarlet cloud appeared before the Guardian. She recognized this manifestation and immediately took a step backwards. She drew her bow but could barely feel her fingers.

"You won't need weapons." The Ghost rose into the air like a flare in the night.

The blood filaments folded back on themselves, and twisted into the silhouette of a Nightmare, well known to Luna veterans.

Crota, Son of Oryx, brandished his cleaver in defiance and advanced with a heavy step toward the weakened Guardian. The threat of death was a whiplash to Zara, and the Warlock concentrated Arc Light in the palm of her hand, unleashing a Chaos Reach. The beam illuminated the entire cavern for a few seconds before dissipating.

The Nightmare did not even have a scratch. He charged her, and struck down his light-eating sword, which Zara narrowly dodged.

"The Traveler's gift will be taken away from you. All that is given can be taken away. Only by seizing power will you defeat death."

Zara was in no condition to use firearms. As for parrying Crota's sword... She performed an Icarus Dash to escape the deadly blade. The cold was overwhelming her more and more.

"The Light offers. Scatters. Divides."

The impact of the cleaver projected sharp ice shards. Some of them penetrated Zara's armor, and she felt a warm liquid flowing out of her veins.

"The Darkness takes. Gather. Strengthens."

Zara narrowly dodged the edge of the blade, but the creature struck her with the flat of the sword. The Guardian flew through a stalagmite and slammed against the frozen wall. Several bones broke.

"In your turn, seize it. And you will get raw strength. Victory. Life."

She coughed, and blood covered her slit lips. Crota charged again. Blink. Her Solar Light was reduced to just a few sparks. Exhausted, she fell to her knees. Her hand landed on the ice, and she felt a tingling in her fingers.

It was not her imagination. Power was flowing beneath the frozen surface, waiting to be grasped. A hungry, patient, and relentless power. Zara pressed down on the ice, and her hand sank into it, crumpling and breaking it like a dead leaf.

The power that flowed through her was nothing like the Light. Even the Void did not provide such a feeling of emptiness. It was... absent. Out of time, out of space. Total absorption of matter and energy. Thirsty to test the flesh of the cosmos.

A staff of frost formed in her hand. It sang a quiet melody, and Crota was imprisoned in a dark stasis field. Zara took off and thrust the end of her weapon of Darkness into the chest of the Hive god. A storm took her enemy away, ripping his armor and tearing at his skeleton.

The Nightmare disappeared in a scarlet blast. Zara rested her feet on the frozen ground, and the staff disappeared. The cold was still there, starving. But she could not feel it anymore. For now, she was colder than the dark cave.

"Come closer." A wall shattered, and a breath of wind blew into the cave. Koryl approached the opening, leading to an even larger space. His beam illuminated the contours of an angular shape.

"We offer only truth."