To Vaults and Minds (3)

Enjoy New chapter, story not dead yet lmao.

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[Underground Vault]

Void had carefully placed the Valkyrie prototype in his inventory. Although it wasn't a finished product, a weapon of its caliber was hard to come by. 

A weapon crafted with a sole purpose, to slay the ancient worms. Rasputin's genius, coupled with humanity's desperation had birthed this double edged sword. It was a golden age relic.

Sharp enough to kill both the wielder and any foolish enough to challenge it. 

The Valkyrie was a ticking time bomb, the moment it was activated, the countdown began. A few minutes later, its core would fall apart, forcing the wielder to throw it as a last resort, the ensuing explosion would tear all apart.

Whatever remained, would die to the radiation. Rasputin was a shrewd commander, even if the wielder lost, the weapon itself wouldn't allow retreat.

The last bastion of humanity, was willing to sacrifice anything for victory. Void knew that by heart. Rasputin was no ally, he was a warmonger, he was solace at the cost of destruction.

He was the silence after the storm.

"Obsidian, scan the weapon, generate blueprints and analyze its structure." 

Nevertheless, Void was dead set on exploiting whatever he got. Life wasn't fair, so why would he play by the rules?

His figure blended into the dark, deftly avoiding any sort of sensors as Void appeared ahead of the faux wall. 

Now tracing his path towards the second mark, Void picked up the pace. The facility was long stranded, there wasn't any need to watch his step.

He flickered through, speeding akin a gust of wind flushing the halls. His eyes tracing every door he passed by. Void had already seen through all the traps, it was just a matter of stepping around them.

It was playfully obvious what he needed to do. Without wasting anymore time, Void sped up, darting around, his feet barely grazed the wall as he shot forwards like a bouncing bullet.

Within seconds he was facing the second marker on his radar.

"No entrance, as expected." 

Void sighed, secrets were exciting, but digging through layers of reinforced plating wasn't exactly appealing. His fingers locked tighter as a jagged aura lingered near his nails. 

Void calmly chiseled away, of course he could use his dagger again. But he felt that training his control was far better than rushing through the process.

Sure enough, he was right.

[Passive Perk: Light Mastery (1/10 )]

A sudden notice popped up as Void brushed it aside. He knew something of the sort would show up. Deep within himself, Void could feel his control improving by the minute. 

Perhaps the hunt had benefited him far more than he thought. However, instinctively, Void knew that the mission wasn't the only reason.

If so, he would have unlocked light mastery far earlier given how many combat perks he possessed. In the end, there was only one factor he didn't have previously. 

'I hit max level.' His eyes narrowed, that would account for the new perk. His light level was only measured by his gear, but his exp level accounted for all his kills. 

If he had reached the maximum limit, Void had essentially ensured his place within the high-rankers for the first few years of the plot. That was until he exceeded the limit. 

It was at this moment he recalled the (unrestricted) tag that Tevis and the others had on their stats. 

'Is there a way to evolve?' 

Void was lost in his thoughts. Suddenly, he felt his fingers cleave through the thick metal plating as a crack propagated on the wall. Gripping the perforated edge, he jerked as the metal panel tore off.

Immediately, Void frowned. Obsidian appeared beside him, his laser promptly scanned the opening they had made.

"This is...not what I expected." 

Void was dumbfounded as he stared at the opening. Before him, was a shabby, dark and shoddy crevice. There was no secret room, no dangerous traps and no big prizes.

Inside the hidden space, was a wall. At least that was what it seemed. But it couldn't fool his gaze. Right as one wall met the other, there was a gap. 

A gap so small, he could barely slide his hand in, even if he tried, his knuckles would scrape against the wall as he helplessly struggled to get himself free. 

The gap was just enough for a strange breeze to softly disperse into the room. 

"Sooo...what now? Do we go check out something else?"

Obsidian couldn't help but scan the panel they had just removed. It was far too suspicious to not be securing anything. 

As he was busy in his investigation, Void seemed peculiarly interested in the gap. 

"A clever map layout, panels securing the entry. It's not adding up, we're missing something."

For whatever reason, the gap seemed, strange. Was it an engineering error from centuries ago? Or perhaps there was something more to the story.

His eyes shifted, his gaze piercing through the wall as his pupils turned matte white. Void felt drawn to it. 

Placing his hand on the wall, his finger traced its width. He felt a minute string of power connecting the wall. Following its traces, he could see it running along the walls, but at one point, it had frayed apart.

"It's the walls."

"What?" Obsidian couldn't help but join in as he left the investigation behind.

Void traced his finger again, this time, he was sure.

"The walls, they weren't meant to be together. There's a mechanism connecting their movement. But I think its broken."

Obsidian was astonished at his analysis, but he knew better than to question Void's perception. Instead, he scanned for energy signals nearby.

It wasn't easy, but soon he came to the same conclusion. Although it wasn't his first choice, Obsidian could definitely agree it was a possibility.

"The base is falling apart, we can't possibly repair all the connections. Whatever's behind it, is staying there."

Void nodded, if he tried to smash through the walls, he couldn't guarantee the structure would hold.

Suddenly an idea flashed in his mind as he felt the cool breeze flowing in. Void inched closer to the gap, one eye closed as he peaked through it.

The other side was dark, but it seemed hollow. There was definitely something back there. He checked to make sure, but once Void knew it was possible, he smirked.

'When there's a will, there's a way.'

"Obsidian, what do you say about some exploration?"

Void faced the gap with a cheeky smile, Obsidian came to the same realization.

"You're not thinking of..."

"You're absolutely right."

His figure blurred, coated with aura as Void peered through the gap. As long as he could see his destination, it was possible.

Void's figure scattered and fell into discrete particles, as his energy flowed through the gap. On the other side, he merged back together.

Obsidian followed similarly, all ghosts could manipulate space to hide and teleport. It was the only reason they weren't such burdens during combat.

On the other side of the gap, there was silence. No light could enter through the crevice. 

His eyes sparked with an intense glow, Void's abilities naturally allowed perfect night vision. He looked down, on side, was a never ending abyss. 

On his right, was the jagged mountain that stretched for miles underground, yet in front of him were stairs. To be specific, the stairs were made from steel, mounted to the side of the underground caverns.

The stairs, or at least what was left of them after centuries of rust, zig-zagged downwards. Connecting to what he could only assume was another facility. 

Void walked towards the leading step, the cold air rising to his chest as it brushed past him. 

"This one's gonna be a long ride, you ready?"

Obsidian's faint halo illuminated the dark cavern, its destitute and hollow walls seemed isolated for centuries, salt crystals built up through its crevices.

"Ready when you are." 

Void looked towards the stairs below, and he leapt, skipping through sections as hopped on down.

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[South-West, Skywatch]

The vast azure sky seemed sorrowful, the stars too shy to pierce through the thick blanket of clouds wrapping the horizon. Yet an ethereal glow shined through, the Moon's brilliance seemed to radiate a pearly white hue.

"So..let me get this straight."

Levi scratched his head, his foot threatening to crush the skull of another hunter as he stomped on his face.

If one really tried, they would evidently hear the muffled cries of the guardian. The man squirmed and struggled, but Levi wouldn't budge an inch.

"You're telling me, that all this time, you were looking for Void?"

Levi's voice rang out again, this time a shrill crack echoed, as his foot dug into the man's helmet. His visor cracked open.

His arms jerked as he tried to push Levi's leg away, but the hunter simply conjured daggers, with a swift flick, they burrowed into the mans wrists, anchoring them to the ground.

Beside the man squirming beneath Levi's feet, were his allies. Tied up and gagged as they were forced to watch. 

As for what had happened? There wasn't really anything to say. The Nightstalkers were currently huddled around, patiently watching as Levi extracted information from their unwelcome guests.

Levi's eyes narrowed, a dangerous frown etched on his face. 

"Either you talk, or I will make sure your ghost won't ever find your remains. Am I clear?"

The man shrieked, gasping for breaths as Levi lifted his foot, giving him a few seconds of relief.

His face was completely bruised, eyes were torn and teeth were smashed in, the guardian was filled with fear as he looked up. A strange cohort of guardians watched him, their eyes surveying his every move. 

"O-ok." 

The man barely uttered a response, a suffocating pressure weighing on his chest.

"Who asked for it?"

"J-Jelal. He's one of our archons. I, don't know why."

Levi raised a brow as the rest of the Nightstalkers sighed. Sure enough, the factions were throwing their weight around.

It wasn't the first time they had heard of Jelal looking to weasel his way into their business. However, targeting one of their own? No hunter would tolerate such an insult.

"Is that so? Thanks for the heads up."

Levi crouched next to the guardian. The man jolted, as he tried to squirm away, his arms still pinned with daggers. He desperately kicked the ground, his heels only struck the rugged rock beneath him.

"Scared? Don't worry, I won't kill you."

Sensing his panic, Levi stretched his hand over the mans face, his palms softly gripping the mans Jaw. The guardian seemed to know this gesture, his face paled as he kicked the ground harder. 

But his struggles were useless. Levi, now firmly grasped his jaw as he looked into the mans eyes. 

Slowly, his grip tightened, like a rope around the mans neck. Before he could beg for mercy, Levi's palm twitched.

In an instant, Levi mangled and crushed his jaw as he twisted his palms close, wringing the blood out of his face.

The man went into shock, convulsing as he shrieked in pain, but the hunters turned a deaf ear to his pleas. If anything, his ghost would heal him instantly.

Levi wiped his hands on the sand, a rustic red hue colored the rocks. 

"Bit of a shocker isn't it, to think they're after that idiot. Is that why he rushed out to patrols? To hide?"

The rest nodded, it was a fair possibility. Besides, it was something they would have done too. Dealing with politics was far too much of a headache. If anything went wrong, they could just "disappear" for a few weeks.

Suddenly, a familiar aura flashed nearby, the Nightstalkers felt their faces stiffen. A few seconds later, a specter appeared behind them, shedding its aura cloak, revealing the hunter behind it.

"I thought I was quite clear in my orders."

The man seemed calm, yet, his voice was laced with anger. He chuckled.

"You bastards, what the hell are you doing?"

Levi straightened up as the voice entered his ears, glancing at the beaten and bruised guardians piled up beside him, there wasn't much to explain.

With an ashen face, he glanced back.

"Captain...."

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed.