Chapter Text
The dreams that echoed through the Guardian's mind were not peaceful ones. The past day seemed to flash back at him in echoes, with the sense of dread lightly outlining all of them. The enclosing walls, the endless dead ends, the darkening sky… All those things seem to stretch above him, making him feel infinitely small.
And yet.
Something made it less terrible. He remembered the feeling of steadiness and peace that that man brought with him. It was unexpected, and unprecedented in retrospect; he didn’t seem like the kind of person to do something like that. He expected anger, a slap to the face; not grace or compromise. What did he have to lose after all; the man didn’t want to harm him. Only ideas, images, and feelings of peace seemed to be associated with this ‘savior’ of his psyche, and without any hesitation, he embraced this image. The dread melted away, but the scene didn’t last as long as he wanted it to.
..!
A mechanical voice rang gently in his ear. Indecipherable, just barely out of reach of comprehension. He groggily opened his eyes and stared up at the floating orb that was with him earlier. Unconsciously, he quickly sat up and backed up against the wall out of fright, but then relaxed when he finally realized what it was. The floating eye seemed to pause at his reaction, but ultimately attributed the action as something instinctual rather than one of animosity. “You’re up finally, good. We have to be somewhere soon if you remember, but I wanted to discuss some things since you didn’t seem to have any immediate questions.” “If we must.” he replied plainly. He got up out of bed, bare as the day he was born, and born again… The Ghost didn’t seem to particularly care, and then started to materialize armor around his form again. “I forgot to give you something to wear besides your armor.” It stopped at his head. “Did you want a helmet too? You don’t need it currently but if you want.” He shrugged at the suggestion before replying. “I may as well. I still don’t understand the point of this... armor.” The Ghost closed its eye and spoke. “All will be explained as I said. We must go now, so I have some time to explain it all.”
They materialized out of the room instantly.
…
They re-materialized in what appeared to be a park. It seemed to be morning, the sun angled down upon them, illuminating the area very well. He glanced around and noticed the walls in the distance, but something else caught his attention immediately, one he was surprised that he didn’t notice earlier; there was a massive spherical object that seemed to dwarf the city in size. He felt an odd sense of peace from it, but it didn’t look to be doing anything in particular; it was bland and unassuming aside from its size. His trance was broken by the familiar mechanical voice. “That thing you’re looking at is the Traveler.” Without setting his gaze off the thing, he replied, “I feel a sense of peace from it. What is it exactly?” The Ghost hummed for a moment. “We don’t actually know entirely. What we do know is that it has a… thing called Light that lets you do unreal things. Really odd, even coming from someone that directly spawned from it, huh?” “You came from that thing?” “I did, yes.” “What is Light exactly? It’s not the same thing as sunlight, is it?” The Ghost chuckled. “It isn’t at all. It’s something that defies cause and effect, allowing me to revive you so long as we have Light. It also gives you power, very real and strong… power.” The Titan didn’t see any reason to question it; everything seemed outlandish at the moment.
After a brief moment of silence, the Ghost started again. “Well, besides that, there’s other things you should know about how things are.” The Ghost hovered in front of the Titan’s gaze. “You are Risen. Risen from the dead.” The Titan seemed mildly perturbed and confused at this revelation. “So I was alive at one point?” “Yes, all Risen come from the dead.” “Then why can’t I remember my past life? I feel like a new person in a sense.” The Ghost hummed; “All Risen are like that, they don’t seem to remember their past life at all. It’s probably something the Traveler thought to be beneficial for the Risen.” “Hmm.” The Titan seemed lost in thought. “Why was I risen from the dead exactly?” The Ghost seemed to pause, as if putting their words together correctly. “You were risen not necessarily as a chance at a new life, but as a means of helping humanity find its way back from the brink, and from opposing forces.” The Titan seemed to frown at that. “I don’t have a choice in the matter, at all?” The Ghost sighed. “No one is ever given a hand that’s favorable to them. What you choose to do is entirely up to you. You can choose to end it now and go back to everlasting peace if you want, or make something new of yourself. It’s up to you.” The Titan mulled over the choices presented for a while. “I may as well do something new for myself. I’ll fight for us then; I have nothing to lose it seems, and nothing to do with this extra life.” “I’m glad you chose to stay.” The Ghost continued with their explanations; what a Guardian was, that they were immortal and had more than one life, what their power of Light could do in particular, that he was a Titan, among other things. Soon it was midday, drawing their conversation to an end. “I can’t give you a demonstration; that will be Shaxx’s duty, hopefully. Speaking of which, we have to go to him now. I’d personally rather not keep him waiting.” The Ghost shuddered, and materialized both of them out of there.
…
“Ah you finally made it, and not a moment too soon. As much as I enjoy pleasantries, we don’t have a moment to lose, Titan” The word from earlier that the Ghost used to describe what he was. A bit different from ‘Warlocks’ and ‘Hunters’. The three of you materialize into a much different zone; one suffused with wilderness all around them, but with a small clearing etched into it, one they were standing in at this moment. There were stumps, pieces of metal, and large rocks littered everywhere in this clearing; the latter seemingly intentionally placed there. “Now, you’re on your second day of a new life. We’ll take this nice and slow.” He walked over to one of the stumps, and began. “As I hope you’re aware of now, Light gives us a great deal of power to deal with combatants. It typically comes in one of three forms, based on three particular forms of energy.” A white hot fire erupted from his hands. “This is Solar energy. It’s basically fire. I assume you know how fire works, Titan?” He launched a concentrated ball of fire at a stump, which promptly went up in flames, and turned to ash. Without much hesitation, he moved onto a piece of metal that was sticking out of the ground. Electricity unraveled from Shaxx’s hands, traveling between his fingertips at unimaginable speeds. “This is Arc energy, or electricity in a sense.” Rather than throw a ball of electricity, he merely touched the piece of metal, causing electricity to visibly arc off of it, traveling and disappearing indistinctly into the air. The metal super-heated until it evaporated into plasma, eventually dissipating into the air as Shaxx removed his hand. He walked over to one of those stones. A passing thought occurred; did he move those in place himself? The thought was broken promptly by Shaxx’s booming voice, forcing him back into reality. His hands were suffused with a purple glow. “I hope you’re paying attention, Titan. The last energy is Void. Void is simply emptiness; not quite darkness, but… allow me to demonstrate.” Similarly to how he used Solar, he threw some concentrated Void at a stone, but rather than it catch fire, it disintegrated into a purplish glow, leaving nothing behind. “Now that you know the three energies, it’s time for you to create it yourself.”
…
The Titan focused intently, trying to make Solar appear in his hands, like Shaxx did prior. “Solar has some basis in emotion; like a fire, something wild and free, but can be dangerous in excess. Let your emotions wash through you; don’t abandon them, but focus them. Careful not to blow yourself up.” He focused again, pinpointing his emotions in his mind’s eye. As if subconsciously, he brought himself back to his loss and anguish, causing him to freeze suddenly, and the energy in his hand to become volatile, exploding. He was flung backwards, landing on the ground with a strained gasp. He seemed to be in one piece however, but he was crying again, even if he didn’t mean to be. It was thankfully hidden due to his helmet. “Watch it! You’re lucky you’re still in once piece!” He tried to stand up shakily, before being pulled up to his feet in an instant by Shaxx. He pulled off the Titan’s helmet, and saw the puffy face. Shaxx’s tone changed. “Ah, I thought so. This time, don’t embrace your emotions, rather, let them flow through you.” The Titan stood again, focusing on his emotions and directing them through him into his fingertips once more. The anguish that was back was forced out of him, replaced with a feeling of deep serenity left behind. Instead of Solar energy erupting from his hands, Void did instead. “Hmm. Well at least you know how to form Void now; formed of a serene mind rather than a volatile mind. Try again, Titan.” Tears streamed down his face; not ones of sorrow, but of joy. “I-I don’t think I can.” He sobbed, the Void ebbing between his fingertips before evaporating into nothingness. Shaxx came close to the Titan and embraced him softly. “It’s alright… this is normal for your first time. Let it all out.” Choked sobs continued to ring from his mouth until it was all gone. The Ghost watched from afar, unsure what to make of the situation exactly. Shaxx let go of him after a while, and turned to face him. “All good now? Try again now. Perhaps, focusing on a different emotion.” The Titan stood away, and breathed steadily, focusing on an emotion; this time… Solar erupted from his fingertips, but didn’t explode in his face this time. He looked in amazement that it held together. Shaxx gave a nod. “Good job, Titan.” He flushed slightly at the compliment. “Now, for the last energy, Arc. This one requires a clear mind. Electricity is precise and direct, and has no room for diversions and upsets. Unlike Solar, if you’re distracted, you won’t explode thankfully.” The Titan closed his eyes and let all of his thoughts and emotions drift away until there was nothing. Once done, he focused on this nothingness, and Arc erupted from his fingertips, jolting erratically, identically to how Shaxx was doing it earlier. The Bravado returned to Shaxx’s voice and demeanor. “Very excellent job, Titan! That was the first hurdle, and it will only get more difficult from here on out. But! I will be here to help and guide you. For now, I want you to clear this area of all this debris. As an added challenge, you cannot simply use Void to solve your problems. Use Solar on the tree stumps, Arc on all the metal, and Void on all the rocks. Go now.”
…
It took a while for the Titan to clear the area, all the while Shaxx merely observed from afar. The Ghost wandered over to where Shaxx was and watched with him. The Ghost spoke suddenly, just barely out of earshot of the Titan. “I’m surprised you acted this way towards him. I’ve always heard you were hard on Guardians.” Shaxx chuckled at that. “Would you be harsh with a mere babe? He’s new; he doesn’t have experience. Why would I be difficult with someone who’s had their world turned upside down not just a day prior?” There was more Shaxx wanted to say. He saw that face of terror and sorrow when he found him that fateful evening. He felt sorry for the poor thing, and knew being insensitive and harsh wouldn’t help anything. He’s seen many hardships, and none of them had made him any less sensitive, not one. His thoughts were broken by the Ghost’s reply. “I suppose you're right; that does put things in perspective now that you say it. I hadn’t even thought about him exactly when I found him; all I could feel was joy, that I could feel complete now...” The two returned to an agreeable silence, watching the Titan work through this exercise. He was gaining leaps in bounds over controlling the energies; he took less time to swap between the three, less time to manifest them, and eventually he was able to almost unconsciously use an Energy, seamlessly going from a stump to a rock with the respective energies. The sun closes on the horizon, turning the bright day to oranges and reds. Inevitably, the Titan finished his challenge. Shaxx walked towards the Titan, the Ghost following closely behind. “Very nice job, Titan. That concludes our work for today. I hope you come back tomorrow with a similar mindset.” The Titan went over and grabbed his helmet that was lying off to the side, before walking up to the two of them. The three of them soon after materialized out of the area.
…
The Titan looked forward to the next day, he looked forward to seeing Shaxx again. The Ghost and him materialized into the familiar room, lights turning on slowly as the night seemed to intrude through a simple window. The bed was in the same state as it was when they left it; a bit messy but lived in. The Ghost broke the silent with a simple question. “How are you feeling?” The Titan processed the question for a long moment. “...I feel excited sort of. I want to see him again tomorrow.” He walked into the bathroom, the pile of armor no longer there which was a tad odd to him. “I won’t lie, I didn’t feel very comfortable around you, but I guess I’m getting used to you now.” The Titan’s voice echoed out from the bathroom. The Ghost felt glad upon hearing that. It didn’t say anything in reply, hearing the sound of rushing water from the shower fill the room they were in. The Titan, stripped bare, stepped into the shower, and sighed with relief. He found respite in its warm grasp, rather than idle misery like last night. He was quick with cleaning off the day’s grime and sweat, drying off relatively quickly, before stepping into the other room with a towel wrapped around his waist. The Ghost was humming absentmindedly above him. It noticed his state and materialized some underclothes around his legs and upper body. The Titan removed the towel and moved a bit in the garments before silently agreeing with the subtle comfort. He went back into the bathroom to hang up the towel before returning to the bedroom. He slipped into the covers, feeling as comfortable as he was last night. The Ghost seemed to break from its trance and asked an odd question. “May I sleep with you?” The Titan raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” “I mean, sleep close to you. I figured it’d help us bond more. It’s okay if you don’t want me to.” The Titan didn’t really think about it, and simply agreed seeing as there was nothing wrong with it. “Of course.” The lights started to dim as the Ghost silently landed right next to the Titan, both fading into quiet and peaceful slumber.