Taken Horizon Origin, volume 2, Descension

Episode 20 : ashes of death

"This should be where Swale corp's main base is... what the hell happened here?" Standing in front of a half melted metal gate that should of been capable of stopping peak gold-grade beasts easily i was left dumbfounded by the likely decades old ruins.

"Did an apocalyi do this?" Thorn walked through the gates in wolf form next to me, seeing the rubble and burning fires of what was once a military base now reduced to a quietly burning pit of heat.

"We've only run into minor apocalyi so far so its hard to say." Crouching down to one knee i stroked my finger through a pile of ash finding a metal military badge reading 'Gark' on it. "Look around for any bodies. We need to find ones compatible for Cayde and Silven soon."

"I'll see what i can find. This places gives me the creeps though." Prancing off Thorn sniffed at the air going further into the base in search of any still intact dead bodies or a survivor if there were any lucky enough to escape from the carnage that had torn through this place.

Still on one knee my gaze rested on the name plate intently. "What did this to you, Gark? How did it break the resurrection curse?" Tearing my eyes off the name tag i thought i felt someone watching me and darted my gaze around trying to find it. "...must be my imagination."

Tossing the name tag aside i got back up and started walking around in the destroyed military base. I ventured into the disintegrated military garage with several ash piles covering the floor between the vehicles, walked around the half destroyed main building only finding emptied weapons, and explored the barracks finding possessions and trinkets but no people for them to have owners for.

Finally in my exploration of the ruins i arrived at a security tower. opening the door i was grateful but also disturbed by what i saw. "A body..."

Pierced by a soot black javelin, a single man was hoisted in the air like a flag, not even swaying his limbs as he hanged. His skin was pale green, already falling to necrosis, and the tv screens behind him were on the fritz likely being damaged. It would be difficult to fix them with what little knowledge i have of technology.

Stepping into the dark room filled with electric static for sound, my fingers grazed the shaft of the black spear feeling tingly from its touch. Looking at the soot on my right hands scarred skin, my fingers were slowly beginning to decay showing the bone of my fingers beneath my flesh. "What made this?"

Aether flowed into my fingers erasing the decay and repairing the burnt scarring on my right hand and as the aether rested in my hand and i swiped the black pillar in half, making it collapse and free the man from his hoisted position.

As he fell i caught the man in my chest making sure no more damage came to his body. "Thorn, i found a body in the security tower. You dig anything up yet?"  Carrying the body out of the tower i laid it flat across the stone road just outside, letting the light touch it's white veiny skin.

'Nothing but ash and dust here.' Thorn affirmed. 'But one things creeping me out. All the people in <archon hold> are supposed to be immortal due to the distorted aether or some system by the <quest line>, right? People should be up and about trying to fix this place then.'

Hovering my hand over the hole in the dead mans chest as i crouched, aether steadily oozed out of me erasing the ash that decayed his flesh. "That's what happened after we destroyed Foxhill corp when trying to get bodies for Cayde and Silven." Done with removing the ash across the mans body, i waited for the body to rebuild itself with those blue blocks but nothing happened. "Whatever or whoever did this is capable of breaking the immortality here. We need to be careful."

'Uh huh... hang on.' Thorn held me on silence as i waited beside the dead body. 'Footprints! I found tracks, pisspot.'

"Thats good to hear. Follow them and see if they belong to whoever did this. Be careful though."