Forgive others, for they will one day grant you the mercy you gave them.

Ryan marched through the desolate halls to the elevator. He entered it in a hurry as he quickly toggled in the lowest level.

A beep greeted him through his comms.

“Patch in the news.” He sternly demanded.

“There has been a rise of cosmic activity over a town in Mexico. Identity confirmed, the Colossal. We haven’t been able to get satellite images over due to the cruel weather but we suspect they have stationed themselves over the Pyramid of the Sun. I sent in Commander Valeria of the Ghosts to circle around to observe enemy behaviour and all she could report back was a beacon priming with an energy-like dome. We have our…suspicions.” Ava reported over.

“Get to it.” His voice grew even more soulless. It would seem that the severity of this war had braced his humanity, depriving him of his kind attribute.

“It's a similar obelisk to the one on Silawan. Considering the sheer size of the pyramid, we can only assume the obelisk is larger than recorded data. It could, and in theory, produce a higher threat in releasing a much larger rift to transport perhaps an entire flee-

“Have Violet do an educated guess. How’s Ajay?” He leaned to the hand rail.

“He’s getting better. I hope.” Her voice was filled with uncertainty over the comms.

“If he wasn’t harmed, he could have figured all this out and prevented the beginning of this invasion.” He wiped over his damp forehead as his eyes shut to look back.. All he could ever feel was helpless.

Helpless at the fact that his enemies were always steps ahead in this feud.

The stroll to the main chamber through the fields of troops quickly ended as he was lowered to once again, the front of the chamber.

“Enjoyed some uninterrupted peace yet?” He yelled over. His voice echoed in the bottomless pit.

Orion laid on the provided bed without a sense of discomfort. He mentally seemed in a much better state than the times he experienced under the mask. The solitude and comfort provided was something he was fond of, though now not with the overlapping stress as duties of a Supreme Leader.

Even so, his devious intentions remained.

“I would be lying if I disagreed.” He parried over as he woke up from a nap.

“I’ll need you to be thorough with me this instant.” Ryan demanded.

Orion felt the atmosphere change. The calm-hearted hero within him faced the other way. The stern and thorough warbringer within him that existed during the dark times under the Front’s rule seemed to have returned. A change that intrigued Orion.

He quickly sat upright and walked over to where Ryan was, facing him from behind the dome shield.

“Proceed.” He replied.

“What are the Dominion’s plans on their presence on Earth?” His eyebrows caved in as he stared over Orion’s purple eyes.

“Hm…” A reply was given.

The prisoner slowly walked over to the centre of the platform. The unusual aura of calmness from Orion was further elaborated in his cooperation.

“With your question in mind, I assume they have made it to the Pyramid of the Sun?” He asked, rather curious with an actual serious intent.

Ryan paused for a moment, hesitant to reveal such information.

“You expect compliance yet you can’t provide me means to be so. Answer the question.” He turned over to Ryan.

Stuttering on his first word, he replied.

“The Dominion has set up a front over the perimeters of the Pyramid. None of our drones, ships or ground forces could infiltrate.”

“I see.” He simply replied.

He went over to his bed, lying back down once again. He felt a sense of completion. Even with his failure, the plan is still in motion. Perhaps his job was done.

“You haven’t answered my question.” The ghost commented furiously.

“The Dominion seeks to activate the Rift Obelisk that is conveniently located in the heart of the Pyramid. With such activation, it will be able to transport whatever awaits on the other end.”

“What awaits us?” He continued.

“Your demise. Your end. The end.”

Orion’s head jolted up to face Ryan. He cupped his head with a pillow as he continued.

“What awaits you is an army you cannot defeat. A fire you cannot extinguish. To face them is to sentence death upon your ideals. When the Obelisk fulfils its purpose, the end of the Allegiance follows swiftly. The Emperor will herald in the extinction of insurgence.” 

“That was their plan all along?” Ryan’s threatening voice died down as curiosity took over his interrogating tone.

“Yes…and no.” Orion continued.

He shuffled his pillow as he was in a comfortable position once again. He crossed his arms as he closed his eyes.

“Rift Obelisks are present in every world that was once Dominion territory. It serves to be an easier way for the Dominion to return to the planet should something provoke them into doing so. Sometime along our history they must’ve lost control and allowed its independence.” He continued.

Ryan sat down on the floor as he leaned his back over to the shield, formulating a proper conversation with his old friend.

“There was never an option for us to win…”

“You should have left control in my arms. Rather me than the Emperor.” He felt a sense of sympathy for Ryan.

He disagreed with his old comrade in ideals. Eitherway, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of sorrow towards his sadness. He felt first hand what it means to have good that you fought for ripped away from your arms by forces of extreme complexity, one that are beyond your comprehension.

Perhaps a remedy of humanity left in his beating heart.

~

Ava’s pearl eyes glared onto the twitching screen of the chamber’s security footage. Her posture remained unhinged as she closely examined his mannerisms. Such an odd display from someone who is defeated. She wondered as much. Perhaps this is merely a delayed defeat.

She was abruptly turned over to face away from the screen.

“You were supposed to assist me in the archaeological finds.” Destoria’s angered tone broke through. It interrupted Ava’s train of thoughts as she was forced to comply.

“I sent Violet on my behalf! Plus, she is more suited for the job than I am.” She turned herself back to the screen.

“You might as well make her your own personal assistant.” Destoria tossed over her gauntlets over to a cleared table top as she sat on its side.

“Not a bad idea.” She ended the conversation.

Destoria seemed to be resting from her search. The archaeological finds, though a possible lead to learn more of the Dominion, led to an end. Desperate as they were, they knew that the only lead that would even suffice to be advantageous would ultimately be Orion. At the brink of destruction, he is the key that holds everything in place. The only person that can put a stop to this.

The mere realisation was the reason Destoria ended her search here. The only viable lead. Such a demanding toll that she refused to take. She knew talking to him would plunge her to a range of emotions that would tear her apart. She had neither the courage nor the bravery to do so. Strong as she is, a soft soul remained.

“You want to talk to him, don’t you?” Ava slowly turned over to Destoria.

She looked into the archer’s eyes. The question was inevitable. Her eyes slowly watered.

“No…” She softly replied with a broken voice.

Ava gave a soft sigh. She quickly deactivated the monitor as she focused her attention onto her dear friend.

“You need to talk to him. Right?” She asked again.

“Yes…Yes…” Another broken voice replied.

Her grasp on the table’s edge softened as her head slowly lowered. Her neatly tied hair began to lose its integrity as some of it covered her face.

Ava walked over to brush her hair aside, revealing a tearful face. Destoria looked up to her in fear and sadness as she tried to blink away her tears to get a clear view of her friend.

“I’ll be watching over you. Don’t worry. Do what you need to do.” She calmly replied.

~

With the right push, Destoria stood on the hovering platform as she was lowered into the darkness around her. The platform slowly came to a gentle stop.

This was it. A moment she thought impossible. A moment she dreamed of, though with different intentions and of different circumstances.

It was the gentle click of her heels that called to him. A soft sound that slowly grew closer. Quickly, it ended. The atmosphere was cold.

There he was. Standing with his hands tucked behind him as he pondered over the bottomless pit. He slowly turned to her presence. A simple gesture that consumed both of them. A spark of which bursted into a burning flame within.

Their eyes connected. There was a time where that connection was severed with a tinted visor that glowed purple, and a time where it started before. A history, evermore in disarray, finally reunited at this moment. Love through such gruesome pain.

“This must hurt.” Orion commented, even chuckling slightly as he said it.

Her eyes of shock caved in to form a slight frown. 

“This. Whatever this is. Knowing what I did and how you came to be this…tainted fighter.” He slowly walked closer.

His purple eyes glowed past the shield as it towered over Destoria’s damp eyes. It was visibly apparent that she was shaking being near his presence. A person she loved who once tortured her.

“You wouldn’t have the heart. Look at you, you’re shivering.”

“You are too.” She abruptly replied, cutting off what he wanted to say.

It gave a moment of pause as Orion stumbled back. He was confused.

“Your eyes never lie. I can see your fear even when you’re brave like before.” She retaliated.

A retaliation that sent him to a shock. He was appalled by her observation. Such a comment would mean with the great monster he became, Orion never left.

“No.” He furiously turned away. He couldn’t bear to look at her. A feeling that had been switched in this conversation.

Destoria calmed herself down. The favour of the conversation fell into her favour. She took breaths to maintain composure before she continued.

“The others don’t see it but I do.” She continued, gritting her teeth as she forced herself.

“The man I once knew is still there. And I know when he will show himself.”

She looked over to the camera. She gave a gentle nod as she expected a response from Ava. Slowly, the shields over on her side begin to fade away. It allowed Destoria to step in.

A change in composure forced her to be precautious. Even so, she felt at ease. She felt comforted. Maybe it is true. She said those things to weaken Orion knowing that his heart is the most fragile part of him. Maybe…she was believing it as well.

Orion lowered his head as hair covered his emotions. Destoria slowly approached him.

“He will show himself when he is close to the ones he loves. Wouldn’t he?” She slowly grew calmer with each step closer to him.

It seemed like their hearts were intertwined once again. A feeling she yearned for since he was away from her arms. She took the opportunity to slowly glide her fingers into his, connecting their hands as she grabbed it.

She clenched it, spreading the loving warmth of her palm to his cold hand. It was at this moment that she believed in love again. A love separated the day he was pronounced dead.

“I forgive you for what you did wrong. And I am sorry.” She began to break into tears.

She cried as she forced out words through her sobbing.

“For not being there for you. For choosing to stand aside while they murdered you.” Her head would fall over to his shoulder as she broke into a loud cry.

“I don’t.” A hesitant reply was given.

A reply through a stoic tone from Orion. One that eliminated her cry. Destoria looked at him as her lips shivered.

“If given the opportunity again, I would gladly imprison you to the undesirable pain you felt under my grasp.” His fingers slowly loosened, slipping through Destoria’s hand.

“I will never forgive you…or the others for the pain I felt through the years of my survival.” His head slowly raised. The dark aura surrounding his eyes increased. The purple glow in his eyes grew. He slowly looked over to Destoria in a soulless stare.

“I can almost hear your heart shattering to pieces, Des.”

His eyes connected to her once again as she came to a realisation. Orion was gone. Her heart was gone. Her love…was gone.

“I’ll see to it that you all will lo-

A left hook would throw Orion down to the ground. Destoria quickly mounted on him. Her eyes were sealed shut with tears flowing down her face. She hesitantly raised her fists as she began raining down punches onto Orion.

The comms circulating around the entire chamber would go into a level-wide siren.

“Breach code 5 on Sub Level 0. Immediate response to detain the hostile! Someone get down there!”

Orion simply took the punches by Destoria. All he could feel on his numb face that was riddled with her fists was the cold touch of her tears.

Before she could continue, arms would pull her away as she was forcefully dragged out of the chamber by the troopers that guarded Orion.

“I JUST WANT HIM BACK! PLEASE!” The painful screech of her voice coupled by her aggressive cry echoed the abyss. Athena rushed into the chamber to oversee the situation.

“Bring her to Ava.” She demanded. Slowly, she turned over to Orion who was bruised on the floor.

Athena slowly walked over to her former mentor. She kneeled over to his side as she gently lowered her blade onto the ground.

“Can you hear me?” She asked.

“Clearly.”

“Then listen. The beam has expanded in size. Cosmic activity by the atmosphere above the city has risen exponentially. You promised cooperation. Whatever you haven’t told us, I need to know about it now.”

He gave a gentle nod. He had already proved himself useful. There was nothing left for him but a mere monster locked in a dungeon.

She stood, rather quickly than Orion expected.

“I used to look up to you. I loved you like a brother I never had. I didn’t know you were capable of…this!”

Orion spat out blood as he composed himself from the pain he felt. On the inside and out.

“The others may have thought of you as a monster but I…I pity you. You were the best of us and yet here you are.” 

She marched away from his chamber as the shield closed him in. The chaotic moment died as the chamber was, once again, quiet.

“Monarch…Such a lonely king.” She mumbled as the platform was raised back up to the surface.

He heard it. Soft in nature, it echoed in his ears as he continued laying on the ground. He slowly turned over to his back as he laid motionless. A part of him agreed.

Such as before, in his height of power when Monarch laid claim to his golden throne aboard the Ordinance. Much of his time was spent alone. Pondering like he is now.

Forever a soul in solitude.