If you missed the last chapter, you can find it [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/219566826/0/0]here[/url], or if you need to find a previous chapter, you can find them all in the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/218618986?sort=0&page=0]Table of Contents[/url]. Please give a bump or leave a comment if you enjoy this and any other chapter! ***  The Deathsingers keep coming as Toland stands to the side, watching me curiously. * [i]Some assistance would be greatly appreciated![/i] * I shout to him. * [i]I can’t intervene,[/i] * he tells me dispassionately, * [i]You belong to them now.[/i] * Looking into the faces of the Deathsingers, I feel my heart plummet – [i]Is this how it ends? [/i] * [i]I belong to no one.[/i]* SIVA smiles inside. [i]~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ * Then fight,[/i] * Toland tells me, a smile playing on his own lips as well. The Deathsingers charge – I roll to the side, find my feet, and sprint toward the edge of the circle. The Deathsingers launch energy blasts at me, blowing away parts of their summoning ground. I leap, hit my boosters and dodge, eyes finding Toland again as I land. * [i]Eris was right about you! [/i]* I shout angrily. * [i]More interested in studying the Hive than helping your own people![/i] * Toland chuckles. * [i]Eris was naive,[/i] * he answers. * [i]She thought brute force and surprise would bring down gods. She learned her lesson the hard way. I pray you don’t repeat her mistakes.[/i] * I scowl, fury coursing through me from his apathy. I sprint, flip and roll again through SIVA’s aid, dodging more blasts from the Deathsingers. Toland meanwhile, seems excited watching me. * [i]We knew curiosity would draw you back, Auryx. In their desperation, the Ammonite have begun using precausal weapons. * * What are you talking about?! [/i]* I shout, the force of one of the Deathsinger’s blasts knocking me back as I lose focus for a moment. * [i]What are these? How do they work?[/i] * he continues unfazed. * [i]Wouldn’t you like to know.[/i] * I ignore him, focusing back on the Deathsingers – there must be a way to beat them. [i]~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ Maybe[/i], I think, ducking behind a nearby stone pillar – a moment later, Ir Mal has blown it apart and I’m rolling away again, feet sprinting as they hit the ground. [i]Nevermind. * Suffice to say that some powers in this universe are superordinate to mere material physics. *[/i] I ignore Toland again, mind racing for a solution. * [i]The source of these weapons is the Traveler, the Sky’s bait star. Their effect is subtle, but devastating.[/i] * Ir Yût’s blast lifts me off my feet, throwing me into another stone pillar – * [i]But you are armed to respond in kind. Savathûn’s mothers have listened carefully to our teachings.[/i] * I look up as Ir Halak and Ir Anûk bear down expectantly. I can hear their welcome, hear the triumph in their song as they think of all they can teach me, endless lessons in sorrow. ~ [i]Consume Enhance Replicate ~ I don’t know how, our powers don’t work the same here. ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ You know I can’t do that. ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ Stop distracting me.[/i] Toland ignores both of us, continuing his strange recitation. I understand no meaning in his words, but as I meet his eyes, I can suddenly tell he’s trying to convey….something. [i]What? * We will not give you the Deep, King Auryx – that power is for us, your gods. But we will teach you to call upon that force with signs and rituals. * What are you trying to tell me?[/i] I wonder toward Toland, but his eye merely twinkles as he continues. [i]* Small minds might call it magic. * ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~[/i] SIVA understands before I do – images force themselves into my mind as I dodge the Deathsingers again, images showing the Hive, the Worm Gods above the King, the King above the Deathsingers, Deathsingers above Wizards, above Knights, Acolytes and Thralls – [i]Hierarchy[/i] – the word is the only one SIVA can use to describe it, and I understand. I remember Eris’ stories, as well as one particular term she used to describe the Hive mindset: [i]Sword Logic. Survival of the fittest.[/i] Toland sees my comprehension and smiles. * [i]You are no longer bound by causal closure.[/i] * The Deathsingers descend again, singing my demise – * [i]Your will defeats law.[/i] * I remember the last time I looked at them – the echo of SIVA’s pain passes through me, the ticking countdown of the grenade I’d stuck to my chest…. … I feel beneath my armor, hoping – * [i]Kill a hundred of your children with a long blade, Auryx, and observe the change in the blade.[/i] * … And with a breath of disbelief, I feel my fingers close around my last grenade. * [i]Observe how the universe shrinks from you in terror.[/i] * I hold it tightly in my hand. The Deathsingers see it, sense the shift in what I’m thinking, and scream louder. * [i]Your existence begins to define itself. * * How do you kill that which cannot die?[/i] * Ir Anûk whispers to me. * [i]You tell me,[/i] * I answer, pulling the pin and rolling it toward them. * [i]Of course, high Auryx, we know it was not curiosity alone that brought you back to the war.[/i] * … The grenade explodes, driving the Deathsingers back, but as its blast begins to fade, I see the Deathsingers still stand, Toland behind them. * [i]Weakness,[/i] * they whisper as they close in again. * [i]You felt your own death growing inside you,[/i] * Toland recites. ~ [i]Consume Enhance Replicate ~ Yes[/i], I think as I realize what’s about to happen. [i]The preaching has gotten really old already.[/i] And I can’t do anything but chuckle. My last hope, and it did little more than a firework. * [i]You must obey your nature. * Is he ever going to stop?[/i] I think ruefully, his words grating and annoying. [i]I don’t care what he’s trying to tell me about the damn hierarchy. Right now, I just want him to shut up so I can at least have some peace and quiet as the Deathsingers claim me. ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ Where would I jump to? Further into the Hive’s influence? ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ I can’t, you won’t stop if I do. ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ Because I can’t![/i] I turn to look out toward the Sea of Screams as the Deathsingers draw closer – they see me watching the sea, hear my thoughts – they slow, patiently waiting as I behold their realm. * [i]You can stay,[/i] * Ir Halak tells me. * [i]If you prove yourself. * * What if I don’t want to?[/i] * I answer, the fight in me dissipating as my options dwindle. * [i]Your worm must feed.[/i] * Toland responds. ~ [i]Consume Enhance Replicate ~ I can’t. ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ I’m still me. I want to keep being me.[/i] And then the rumble of a Tombship breaks the quiet. I look up, and see the massive, floating mausoleum drifting lazily overhead, heading toward –– My heart soars with the stroke of luck. Toland and the Deathsingers follow my gaze, shrieking and scowling as they deduce my intent. * [i]You’ll never get stronger if you run[/i],* Toland tells me. * [i]I can live with that[/i],* I respond before jumping. The Deathsingers scream with rage and launch energy blasts at me indiscriminately as I soar upward toward the Tombship. Toland merely sighs, looking weary and disappointed. ~ [i]Consume Enhance Replicate ~ I’m not his project[/i], I answer her. [i]He can find someone else if it means so much to him.[/i] My feet land gracefully on the top of the Tombship as a rip in the sky appear before us. I crouch, impatiently goading the Tombship forward, on to freedom – … And then I hear boots hitting bone behind me. I turn to see Toland standing atop the Tombship, staring me down. * [i]You must learn their ways,[/i]* he tells me coldly, the twinkle in his eye gone and replaced with a frightening determination. * [i]You must learn their names. You must learn their power. * * Not if it turns me into you![/i] * I shout back. He chuckles darkly. * [i]You already are like me. You hear them, speak with them, understand them as no Guardian has before or since myself. Not of the Light, yet not of the Dark.[/i] * I know he’s right, but my defiance still burns. * [i]No! I – * * You don’t even know what you want to deny,[/i]* he tells me as he approaches casually, purposefully. * [i]You want to fight, but you know not for what. You want to deny my words yet have none to counter them with. You are weak and confused, but blessed with a gift that you don’t understand and cannot appreciate. * ~ Consume Enhance Replicate ~ Completely crazy[/i], I think back to her. Toland only smiles as he brushes aside his robes, revealing a Hive sword hidden beneath. He draws the jagged blade and holds it aloft as he readies himself to attack. * [i]And if you cannot serve your power justly, it must be given to a new master.[/i] *