[SkyWatch]

Void could be seen beaten and bruised, as he limped towards the terminals.

He slammed open the door, as he carried himself till the terminal and immediately began claiming his bounties.

Void gasped for breaths, as strange mumbles slipped from his mouth.

"OHohoh, you bastards, I will... Both of you, just wait ....."

Calming himself down as he held on to the terminal Void started checking his balance.

"Obsidian, speed up the claiming process, the cities servers are too slow to verify." Void ordered, as he inched further from the terminal

Obsidian appeared as he immediately sent a few instructions to the server, confirming the completion.

Void's wrist buzzed as the glimmer transferred to his account. He immediately opened the store to see if it registered with the system.

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{Store}

Current Balance: 100,000 Đ

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Void exhaled a sigh of relief as he saw the number go up. Six bounties had earned him a hundred thousand. Performing a few mental calculations, Void estimated that it would take him about seventy bounties to afford the skill he needed.

"Ahh..so troublesome." He bit his lips in frustration, but then Void recalled the real reason he was doing all of it.

"That's right.... that skill, will be mine." Determined to earn the big bucks, Void immediately shifted to work mode.

Void summoned his jumpship to the exit bay and made his way through the base, analyzing the gps node he got.

"Obsidian, where does this lead us?"

A momentary scan later, Obsidian observed the node closely.

"Hmm, according to my estimates, the location is somewhere near around..a place called, the Plaguelands?" Obsidian seemed unsure as he checked the node once more.

"What's wrong?" Void asked, reaching the exit bay's dock yard.

"Nothing, it's just that. This place is listed as restricted travel by the city. The danger ratings are off the charts. Radiation poisoning levels that I've never seen. The whole area is quarantined at the edge of the old Russia."

Void transmatted to his ship as he shot towards orbit.

"I guess that just means our new fireteam chose an interesting place to meet. Don't fret about it, set navigation to the node's location." He ordered, piloting the jumpship to coast along the stratosphere.

Obsidian felt an ominous sensation as he plugged in the coordinates, and the jumpships' navigation automatically used the autopilot to steer itself.

Seconds later, the turbo engine sputtered alive as the ship blasted above old Russia, tearing though the Cosmodrome's air space as it entered the desolate airspace of the decrepit mega cities of the golden age.

The gps node pulsed as it directed the ship towards an inconspicuous mining town.

Void stared down from the cockpit, he felt a sick sensation as his heart sunk to his stomach. Signs of humanities collapse still felt, so vivid. He couldn't help but imagine the terror it brought.

Rusted skyscrapers, broken roads, oceans of toxic waste that flooded every inch of ground he saw.

Nuclear waste had clearly made the whole area barren, not a single blade of grass dared to grow, even the air filtered through his ship felt heavy and leaden.

Void put on his breathalyzer mask as he saw the gps node pulse once more. The jumpship steered towards a small tunnel as it levitated above, gently rocking in midair.

A second later, Void transmatted out, fully geared up and armed from head to toe. He took faint steps, moving like a blur as he appeared near the tunnels entrance.

Void gazed into the descending tunnel as he signaled Obsidian to light the way.

Obsidian pulsed a bright light, illuminating the centuries old mine as Void carefully treaded along the steep rail lines, descending into the abandoned shaft.

The path crumbled along the weight of his steps, yet Void didn't leave any footprints behind, a discrete skill he had picked up through the Nightstalkers.

Once he had descended continuously for about ten minutes, Void heard the distinct sound of water dripping.

Void traced his hand along the sides of the wall, water droplets ran across his fingers

He estimated that the mine walls had long eroded due to the acid rain. The toxic water pooled above ground had began leaking into the mineshafts below.

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Void walked along the path a bit longer, ending up at a large cavern that stretched into another dark descending shaft.

Yet his instincts roared at him to stop when he reached the center of the cavern. Void's eyes darted around but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

However, Void knew better than to question his instincts. His heightened senses scoured each inch of the cavern.

He finally noticed it. The mineshaft at the end, seemed irregular. He couldn't place a finger on it, but Void felt that if he kept walking, he would never reach it's end.

On the other hand, the Cavern felt like a strange place. It was empty, far too empty. He couldn't see through it.

It almost seemed intentional at this point. The moment Void arrived at this conclusion, his hand jolted towards his holster as it clicked open.

Void's grip tightened as he cocked the hammer. Tracing his finger along the trigger, Void surveyed his surroundings once more.

He peeked at his radar, nothing showed up, ' No enemies, yet why do I feel so uneasy?' A frown appeared on his face.

"Obsidian, cut the light." He whispered, his figure slowly blending in with the darkness as Obsidian's illumination flickered off.

Like a phantom in the night, he moved briskly. Void's eyes twitched, turning a light shade of turquoise, his gaze pierced through the drenching dark around him.

The absence of Obsidian's light had definitely triggered something. Void could see perfectly normal in the dark, one could even claim that as a Nightstalker, there was nothing more suitable.

However, for the first time ever, as he glanced around, Void truly felt like he was stranded.

He felt like a presence watched him, yet there was no one around. Like the dark was working against him.

Void had been scurrying around the room, bouncing around erratically as he tried to shake the eyes off.

But it didn't work. Whoever it was, was far beyond Void's ability to hide from.

Understanding that his efforts were futile, Void stopped darting around, and came to a halt at the cavern floor.

He took a few quick breaths, stabilizing his condition, and he waited.

If he couldn't find the presence, the presence would surely find him.

Void couldn't sense any hostility, so he wasn't at all afraid that something would happen. Void was truly shocked that someone beyond the Nightstalker squad could play him like a fiddle in the dark.

However, knowing that Kabr had called him here, it was one of guardians from his fireteam.

Void deduced quite quickly that Kabr couldn't have been the one. After all, a titan wasn't quick enough to bamboozle his senses.

That left him with two options, Praedyth and Pahanin. A hunter and a warlock.

Praedyth was hailed as a legendary warlock. But Void didn't think that it was the work of a warlock.

After all, a warlock didn't have the necessary finesse to tail him so effortlessly.

That left only one individual.

Void smirked, as he waited wordlessly in the dark cavern.

"Are you really going to continue this game with me? I didn't know the great Pahanin was so hostile to his fellow hunters." He spoke to the empty cavern.

But Void knew that his words were heard.

The darkness that had occupied the cavern, that feeling of being watched had immediately gone away the moment he said Pahanin's name.

Peculiarly, a few orbs of light bloomed in the cavern, illuminating the entire cave.

Void was perplexed seeing the orb of light bloom from nothingness, but then a chill ran down his spine as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Feeling his heart jump from his chest, Void jerked his head around, but found himself alone.

Before he could process what happened, he felt another tap on his other shoulder as he whipped back to find a hunter, an inch from his face wordlessly staring into his soul.

Void was left speechless as he glanced at the hunter, a man clad in glistening silver armor, with neon highlights tracing the edges.

He felt his legs wiggle, Void tumbled backwards, almost losing his balance as he looked closely at the hunter in front of him.

"Are you...Pahanin?" Void inquired.

The man stared at Void dumbly, as if to say 'what a stupid question'

He slowly nodded his head.

Pahanin seemed to stare at Void for a bit longer, gauging him up and down, then he finally turned around and began walking away.

"Follow me" His voice echoed throughout the empty mines.

Void gathered himself as he began pacing behind Pahanin.

The hunter walked a random route in the cavern, as he seemed to stop before a dead end.

But as Pahanin traced a symbol on the rocks, they crumbled and withered away, revealing a secret pathway leading inside to a secular hideout.

"You first." Pahanin gestured with a flick.

Void followed his words as he quickly walked through the small gap, Pahanin following closely behind him after sealing the entrance again.

As Void finally made his way through, he ended up at a large cathedral, seemingly constructed into the wall of the cave.

It seemed like a work of art, engraved into stone. Void admired it's beauty, but it wasn't long before a second voice snapped him out of his trance.

"Welcome Nightstalker, to our hideout." A titan with an armor seemingly fashioned from Vex remnants invited Void into the cathedral.

Void glanced upon his figure, the titan donned a unique helmet that obscured his eyes, instead replacing them with a single red dot.

'The man rumored to be among the strongest titans to have ever lived.' Void met his gaze as the titan walked forwards for a handshake.

" I am Kabr." He announced, with overflowing pride.

Void shook his hand, and quietly followed him inside, Pahanin had long disappeared the moment Void saw Kabr.

As Void and Kabr made their way inside, Pahanin had already holed himself up in a corner of the room, as he seemed to be scribbling something in a tattered book.

Void spared him a glance, but then began looking around.

"This place."

He had never seen so many parts and materials gathered in one location. It was practically littered with equipment.

"Ah, don't mind the mess. Pahanin is an exceptional inventor, but it often involves a lot of experimenting." Kabr clarified, leading Void deeper into the cathedral.

The two walked towards a heavy obsidian door, but Kabr quietly stepped up and knocked thrice.

Void watched as the doors shifted to carve out a pathway for them. Kabr stepped through as he signaled Void to follow along.

"Praedyth doesn't like to be disturbed when he's working, but just follow my lead." Kabr whispered, gesturing Void to come along.

The two entered upon a small room, pages upon pages of scribblings and runes scattered all over the floor, as a warlock tinkered with a piece of armor on his workbench.

As Kabr approached him, the man jolted backwards anxiously.

"What's wrong? Is he here already?' Praedyth asked anxiously.

"Calm down, you're staring right at him." Kabr replied.

Praedyth shoved Kabr aside as he stared at Void from head to toe.

Void truly felt like he was completely exposed under Praedyth's gaze.

"Good job not falling for the loop spell. You've got a good head on your shoulders." Praedyth complimented.

"Thanks, the mineshaft just seemed... suspicious." He replied, unsure of what to say.

"You hunters and your....'instincts' they are quite troublesome to trick sometimes." Praedyth chuckled.

Kabr left the two alone in the room as he walked back outside, preparing a few things.

"So, I heard you're taking my place for the hunt?"

Preadyth jumped to the point, startling Void.

"Yeah..that is what I've heard." Void replied.

"Interesting...interesting indeed." The warlock whispered, his gaze lingering at Void's sword.