A/N: Enjoy Chapter. Also, since we're ending in this arc in maybe 1 more chapter. I literally do not think any of you can guess the plot of the next arc.(Comment your guess). Of course, the players are involved, So please stop asking when they'll show up!
----
Days passed.
Within the isolation cell, Void waited calmly. His arms rested on his knees, as he braced his back against the wall. His eyes were dull, lost in thought.
The faint humming of the Tower's power grid was his only companion. He didn't count time in seconds, minutes our hours but pulses. As each pulse passed, his thoughts raced. It wasn't exaggeration to say that Void had replayed his actions a hundred times.
He wasn't remorseful but disappointed. Toland's existence, though a wicked and fickle one still supported the City's efforts in the future. Without someone like him, the City would never uncover the Hive's secrets.
Reality was bitter. He'd killed Toland in cold blood, and the warlock had earned his death. Yet after his demise, Void's thoughts couldn't help but spiral. He felt uneasy, burdened with the knowledge of the future, he knew Toland's role.
He grimaced.
He had shattered the timeline with his own hands. And still, he suspected it might not matter at all. The timeline already showed deviations—as if reality itself were a fractured mirror, his presence among its shards.Perhaps he had become that very deviation. All he could do now was adapt.
"It doesn't matter," he thought. "I stopped the massacre on the Moon. The timeline had to shift."
His role had saved Wei Ning, prevented the legendary six-man fireteam from raiding Hellmouth, and spared Eriana and Sai the need for relentless vengeance. Eris would not be captured by the Hive, and Toland would never become the Shattered.
Void looked up. A flicker of uncertain hope shone in his eyes—a stubborn glimmer that nothing was set in stone. The future terrified him, yet his defiant resolve had grown. From this moment on, he would forge his own path.
His fingers curled into a fist, and the shadows in the cell trembled in sympathy. With a thud, Void slammed his fist into the wall, shaking the floor beneath him.
The cell door rattled as guards hesitantly forced it open, weapons trained on him. "What are you doing?!" one barked.
Void remained unmoved—his voice a low murmur in the dark as their eyes met. The guards recoiled, shame flickering in their gaze.
Void dusted off his hand and said, "Tell the Nightstalker Captain to pay me a visit."
A guard hesitated. "W-what? That's impossible—Aunor has strict orders against additional visitations."
"It wasn't a request," Void replied coldly.
----
[Consensus Hall]
The main hall was dim, the light drawn inward, focused on the projection at the centre. A grainy replay flickered in front of the Vanguard and the assembled representatives.
The video showed Void entering the cavern, confronting Toland.
It showed their voices rise, their Light clash.
Then it cut.
The moment the battle broke out, the feed ruptured.
A hushed murmur rippled through the chamber.
"Why hasn't he spoken for himself?" one of the Factions asked.
"Because he doesn't trust us," A warlock spoke, he looked to the side and his eyes narrowed. "Maybe he's right not to."
A Titan from the Praxic order spoke then. "Void executed a warlock without authorization. That's the law."
"But Toland wasn't just a warlock," someone else cut in. "He was a rogue scholar obsessed with Hive death rituals. If the City had paid more attention to his experiments, he wouldn't even be alive."
"So you say that the City holds the right to execute anyone whose values don't align?" A warlock scoffed.
"Please, Toland wasn't a saint. As far as I'm concerned, he probably deserved it. Besides, punishing a war hero right now would just be foolish." A hunter chimed in.
"Do merits overshadow faults? Since when is there a pardon for murder just because he performed his duty as a guardian?" A titan spoke up.
"So what? You'd rather he be punished for upholding the values of the light? The Light is a power bestowed upon us, whoever cannot honour it must face consequences." Another titan barked.
Ikorra watched, arms crossed. She said nothing, but her thoughts moved quickly. She had seen the same cracks, the same missing pieces. The same strangeness in the Choir's behavior before the strike.
Cayde's voice cut through the tension, "Toland played with things no one should have. Void may have broken protocol—but maybe protocol needed breaking."
Zavala didn't respond. His eyes remained on the projection, jaw set.
Reluctantly, the Consensus called for the final trial to proceed. The chamber fell quiet.
----
[A Few Hours Later]
Tevis leaned casually against the door. "Heard you asked for me? Gave the boys quite a scare."
Void simply shrugged. "I was polite."
Tevis nodded slowly. "We've got good company trying to stretch out your trial. Shaxx and the Crucible are on our side too—probably earning you a day or two. But Consensus wants to get to the bottom of this."
He paused, then muttered, "So do I. What really happened…" His eyes narrowed.
"You deserve an answer, and so does everyone else," Void replied. He tapped his transponder, and a blob of light shimmered inside the isolation cell. In its glow, Obsidian materialized.
"Show it to him."
Obsidian's eye pulsed, and the video began to play. Tevis had seen the cut from Toland's ghost before, but Void had kept the full footage.
As the images flickered across the cell's dim light, it was clear: Toland had been planning all along. He feigned ignorance until the moment Void attacked—almost as if he'd expected it.
Void paused.
"Toland was there. He was watching, listening."
"I had Obsidian scan the books you saw floating around," Void said. "He etched the Song into its pages—carved an understanding of Hive magic into his core. At the cost of a thousand lives."
He paused, the memory tasted bitter.
"There's only one way he could've done that."
Tevis's jaw tightened. "You don't mean…"
"He's done it before," Void scoffed. "Back during the first scouting mission. Claimed it was a mistake. They tossed him out for it." His voice hardened. "But he never stopped. He perfected it. And when we let our guard down—he struck."
Tevis's hand curled into a fist. "Whatever you did… it was right. If I'd known—maybe I would've done the same.
"With this much evidence, you should be able to convince the Consensus. Why haven't you said anything?"
Void let out a long breath, leaning back against the cold wall. He raised a knuckle and tapped lightly on the steel plate behind him.
"When I first came in, I wanted to. No—I was eager to."
"Was?" Tevis arched a brow.
Void closed his eyes, voice low. "Things changed. Being in here… alone with my thoughts for days—it forced me to face some things. Harsh truths. I know what needs to be done now. Even if I don't like it."
A grimace twitched across his face.
Tevis studied him silently. Then shook his head. "Forging your own path, huh? Guess it was about time you entered your rebellious phase."
"Yeah, well—not everyone's a relic from the Dark Age," Void muttered.
The Nightstalker chuckled. "Easy there. But if you're so sure… what's the holdup? You scared?"
Void didn't answer at first. His gaze drifted upward.
"No," he said at last. "Not scared. Just… hesitant."
Tevis nodded, the humour fading from his features. "Big step."
"It is."
"What do you need me to do?"
"I've got most of it worked out. But I need a favour." Void looked him in the eye. "I need to talk to Ikorra."
Tevis paused. "That's… tricky. But I'll make it happen."
"What's the plan, exactly?"
Void's eyes sharpened. "It's not that complicated."
---
The guards straightened as Ikorra approached, her presence enough to silence the corridor.
With a simple flick of her hand, the cell door hissed open.
She stepped inside, her gaze sharp and unreadable. The door sealed shut behind her.
"I heard you wanted to talk," she said.
Void remained seated on the stone bench, his arms resting on his knees. "Since you actually showed up," he replied, "looks like I'm not the only one."
Ikorra studied him, unmoving. "You're… a strange one, Void. If I sifted through every Guardian I've met, every fighter, every fool, every legend — I still wouldn't find another like you."
She folded her arms.
"You're gifted. Exceptionally so. Even Osiris was unable to see through the Hive like you do. But that makes you… volatile."
Void nodded, unflinching. "I know. Isn't that why you've been watching me?"
Ikorra's eyes narrowed slightly—just enough to betray her surprise.
Ikorra took a slow breath, then stepped deeper into the cell. "How long have you known?"
Void didn't look up. "Long enough."
She studied him, her expression unreadable. "Not even the Hidden knew you'd caught on."
Ikorra's silence spoke volumes.
"You weren't just observing," he said. "You were evaluating. Waiting to see what I'd become."
Ikorra's voice came quieter now. "I was trying to protect the City."
"I know," Void said. He looked up, eyes steady. "So was I"
Ikorra's eyes hardened. "But you killed a Guardian. Destroyed a Ghost. You crossed a line no one was meant to."
"Spare me your Ideals" Void grimaced, " He wasn't a Guardian anymore. Just a monster that followed his wretched desires in the name of knowledge."
A silence hung between them.
kora studied him. "You really believe it was justice."
"I believe," Void said, stepping forward, "that if we rely only on the City's laws to protect us from what's out there… we'll die in silence."
She said nothing.
"Why tell me all this?" Ikorra questioned.
Void paused, "Because I plan to leave."
"So you are running."
"No." He shook his head. "I'm not running. I'm choosing. I chose when I ended Toland. And I'd choose it again."
He tapped his wrist, and a holo-file appeared — the missing footage. The pieces Toland cut, buried, reshaped.
As she scanned her communicator, Ikorra recognized the missing pieces from Toland's video.
"This…" she murmured, "this could exonerate you. This could prove what really happened."
Void didn't speak.
"With this much evidence," Ikorra said, almost accusingly, "you could sway the Consensus. The Vanguard would stand with you. We could quiet the dissenters."
Still, Void said nothing.
Ikorra stepped closer, lowering her voice, her tone rough around the edges now.
"Why leave?" she asked. "Why walk away when you could finally be seen for what you are?"
Void's fingers tapped against the slab. Slow. Measured. Then—
"I'm not leaving because I'm guilty. I'm leaving because I'm finally free of it. "
Then he looked right at her, or perhaps through her, Ikorra couldn't tell, for the first time, Ikorra felt like the weight in his eyes mirrored her own.
"At first, I thought I needed the City to defend humanity. That I had to follow its rules. But now I see… the City serves its own survival. It chooses comfort. Order. Delay."
His voice quieted further.
"Toland was a rot. He used the laws you serve to shield himself. He bent your hesitation into his armour."
His shadow seeming longer now, darker against the floor.
"I killed Toland." He was unfazed, "I killed him, because he chose to gamble with the lives of thousands. I killed him, because I knew the city wouldn't. I hold no guilt Ikorra and if it happens again, I won't hesitate."
Ikorra looked at him for a long while.
She asked, finally.
"What do you need me to do?"
===
A/N: Hope you enjoyed.