Who else loves comebacks?

Just me? Alright.

Joking aside, Salutations everyone! I'm back, and so is 'The Old Wolf's Sword'!

I want to thank everyone who has been patient with me and this rewrite thing, I love you all and your incredible feedback. Like seriously, thank you guys again. You guys are why I even cared to think of rewriting. I want to give you all I can, and with a word count of 11,420 for the first chapter, I think I did that.

I spent a few days fixing the major problems I found before I started writing, so I hope you like the way I'm doing things now. I would love continued feedback though, so that I can give you all the story you deserve.

With all of that taken care of, I will not waste your time anymore.

Remember; reviews, follows, and headpats are all appreciated. I'll see you all next week! (hopefully ^-w-^)

Chapter 1

Strange New World

"When those who claim to be all powerful lust for more, know that they are truly weak and afraid of the one domino you will need to push to send them tumbling to the certain end they were to face eventually with but a knock of the wind." - Salazar Stone

A grey wolf growling on an onyx shore.

A demon of chitin growling back.

Crystal water licked at their feet. The sky darkened. The moon shined silver.

The wolf bared its teeth. The demon raised its sword and readied its wings.

All the while, he could only watch.

Only watch as their battle raged.

(? - ?)

The first thing Salazar noticed when he woke up was his pounding headache.

Resisting the urge to groan thanks only to his training, the old wolf raised his head and opened his dull silver eyes. Everything was dark, and his body sagged against the wall his back was leaned against, but he was able to make out small details with the glowing flames of his armor, which prompted him to check said armor.

His helm, even though he couldn't see it while it was on his head, was crafted in the shape of a wolf's head, ears poking up and all, snarling at the unseen enemy hiding in the dark. The helm itself was made of a dark, black bone, webbed with cracks that glowed an eerie neon blue that pulsed ominously. The snarling maw of the helmet always remained open, otherworldly black and white flames roaring inside with a heat that made wearing the helmet questionable.

Salazar's chest piece was an almost solid piece of black, cracked and scratched bone glowing from its crevices with neon blue energy. The piece of armor was obviously worn from battle after battle, war after war, all of which were survived by this piece. Starting from the chest down, the armor split into eight rib-like pieces laid over and attached to a dark red, almost flesh like undersuit. Carved into the chest of the plate was a tree that went up and around two snarling wolves with open maws. The carvings were holes that revealed even more otherworldly black and white flames. Finally, the man had two old, black leather belts fastened around his waist carrying various pouches and knives, one knife being larger than the other and made of pure black bone.

Next, Salazar's arms were covered in two, full and almost matching gauntlets. His wrists to his elbows had large, black bones plates that had cracks and scratches as everything else in his set did. His right gauntlet hand a snarling wolf head carved into it with eerie black and white flames flickering behind it while the left gauntlet had a small shield in the shape of a wolf's head attached to it, the snout pointing towards his hand. The man's upper arms were covered in several, interlocking yet large black and cracked vertebrae, as if they came from a large creature. His hands were covered in wicked looking gloves, the back of the hand and fingers covered in black bone. The bones covering his fingers came into the shape of sharp claws that could easily rip into any flesh or metal, each part of the gauntlets matching the other. The man's shoulders however were both protected by different shaped chunks of black bone.

His left shoulder was protected by a sharp, triangular piece of bone that not only had a sharp edge but also stopped in a wicked point going up. His right shoulder was protected by a more curved piece of bone that was only half a disk, the other half bent to attach itself to the rest of his arm. Whatever parts of his arm were not covered in bone was covered in a dark, dark red fabric.

The same went for Salazar's leggings, the parts not covered in bone being a dark, dark red fabric that acted as rough leather almost. His upper legs had this material, the inner thigh area being a bit lighter but still dark. The outer area of his upper legs had plates of bone that matched the plates on his arms. His lower legs however were almost purely covered in bone. The bone on his left leg pointed up into a sharp spike above his knee while his right leg did not follow this pattern. The plates of bone on his lower legs were completely solid, yet cracked and scratched with glowing energy.

His boots were thick on the bottom and purely bone and steel. The boots should have been heavy due to the materials used to make it, but they were light as feathers to the man who wore them.

Finally, Salazar wore an old, torn cloak over his back. The cloak was dark red and reached his ankles where pieces were ripped away by time and other things. The center of the cloak, just where his back would be, held a faded black inginia, the same one that was carved into his chestplate. The neck of the cloak, what attached it to the armor, was a solid piece of cracked and scratched black bone that pulsed with energy. The piece shot up a light but ever noticeable black and white flame all along the curve of the neck. The hood of the cloak was red like the main cloak with a thin, sharp bone acting as an almost mohawk that hooked over the front edge while two holes in the hood allowed for the ears of his helmet to stick through.

Shifting his gaze around the room, the Hunter quickly realized that he could only see about three feet around him, and the haziness in his eyes prevented him from making out any details that could have hinted at his location.

Haziness caused by the pounding headache.

The lack of light didn't affect his hearing though. At least, not too much. The darkness almost seemed deafening, making everything quieter than Exturn's Ghost.

Salazar would have laughed at his quip if he was in a laughing mood.

Staying as quiet as possible just in case, the old wolf attempted to get to his feet, pushing off of the ground with his aching hands only to hiss in pain and fall back to the ground. His entire body hurt. No, his body basically screamed at him.

Rubbing his wrist the best he could, Salazar realized that the fight with Aksis must have taken more out of him than he thought. He then frowned grimmly as he remembered that fight and how it had ended.

The bastard had a final stand they didn't know about, just like Oryx. Salazar forced the others to go while he made sure the machine died. Logan refused to leave, staying with him, and Scarlet had to drag Emily just to make sure they got out in time.

They made it out, Logan and him threw all they had at Aksis, and then they disappeared in a red miasma.

Which prompted the question of how he ended up… wherever he was in the first place. He didn't know. Running his hand over his handcannon's grip though, he knew he'd be okay for the moment. His trusty Ace of Spades was still there. Now if only he had a friend.

'Spector?' The Hunter thought, biting through his headache. 'You there?'

'... Yes, I'm here Sal.' The soft, female voice of his Ghost waited a second before answering. 'Did we actually beat that thing?'

'I think we did.' Salazar answered with a light chuckle, a small smile on his face. 'Another problem the city won't have to worry about, all thanks to my early release from… forced "vacation".'

The old wolf shook his head as he remembered how the Vanguard forced him to stay home for so long, 'recovering', only to hiss in pain as his headache flared up again.

'Do you happen to know where we are?' Spector then asked, a slight tone of confusion in her voice before suddenly appearing in a flash of white light and shining her light across the room. Her shell was the standard Ghost shape, yet it was a stark, clean, even pearly white, as if her shell was made out of pure quartz.

Squinting his eyes at the new light, Salazar used the new light to get a look at the room he found himself in. When he did, his breath hitched and his hand flashed to his handcannon, despite the pain that shot up his arm as a result.

Strange, dark and otherworldly metal made up the walls and floor of the room. Along the walls and ground, a weird, green organic material seemed to grow and pulse, and a crusty brown chitin like substance was dotted around the entirety of the room. Green lamps in the wall emitted a glow that was just barely visible in the Ghost's light, and the room was deathly silent.

"Spector," The old wolf started, forcing his legs under himself before he started trying to get up again, "Make a scan. I want to know how far we are below the surface of whatever planet we're on."

"I-I understand." The Ghost didn't question her Guardian once she too realized that they were in the territory of the Hive. To say that they had a bad reputation with them was an understatement.

Expanding her shell, Spector sent a pulse of energy in all directions, hoping that she would get some sort of reading. Meanwhile, Salazar had managed to get himself to his feet, gritting his teeth as he did. Yeah, Aksis did something to him alright. He could worry about that later though.

For now, the old wolf drew his handcannon in his right hand and raised a knife in the other. He wouldn't be able to properly wield his sword in his condition, so he'd have to make do for the moment. The Hunter just hoped that the Hive didn't already know where they were.

"Anything Spector?" Salazar asked, making his way over to the Ghost, who had floated a few meters away, with a limp in his step. Spector turned to him slowly, as if fearful of saying what she was about to.

"I've got… good news, bad news, and even worse news." Spector then hesitantly started after a moment, making the Guardian grimace under his helmet. "We're on Earth's Moon, which is the good news, but we're too deep to send a signal and we're… we're in the Hellmouth."

Tightening the grips on his weapons, the old wolf's breath quickened. He couldn't help it. Despite the light his Ghost emitted, he could feel the oppressive darkness of the Hellmouth enclosing in on him. Suffocating him.

The Hellmouth was where the darkest, evilest, and most vile creatures of the Hive existed. There were creatures here that could rival Crota's power, and maybe even Oryx's. That's not what scared him though. He had killed them both, so that wasn't the issue.

No, it was the sudden memory the Hellmouth provided him with. Oryx.

He could remember the Dark, the soul wrenching pain. To have his very essence invaded. It was ugly, it was terrifying, it was painful. What Oryx did to him. What the Dark did to him.

Take

Take

Take

"Salazar! Snap out of it!" Spector's sudden voice snapped the old wolf out of his funk. His breathing slowly returned to normal, though his grip didn't slack for a second.

"I'm okay…" The Hunter told the Ghost, his voice low as he shook his head. The headache was still there. "Get out of sight Spector, I don't want to risk you down here while we move."

"You can't be serious Sal!" The Ghost exclaimed in shock, getting Salazar to flinch as the noise hurt his head. "You may be able to stand and move, but your body's basically torn up from whatever Aksis did to get us here! You're in no condition to move!"

"You think I don't know that?" The old wolf asked rhetorically with a shake of his head. "If we don't get moving now, the Hive will find us and we'll be sitting ducks for whatever they want to do to us. It won't be pretty with what we've done."

Spector was silent for a moment, seemingly trying to come up with a retort. Ultimately though, she couldn't, accepting that he was right. Disappearing in a flash of light, the Ghost was back in her Guardian's head, where it was safe for her.

'Just be careful, okay?' She asked the Hunter, worry lacing her tone. 'There are people who need you back home.'

'Don't worry Spector.' The old wolf told her through their link with a small, kidding smile. 'For once, I'm not going to go in guns blazing.'

Spector didn't respond to that, but the old wolf could feel her smile. If Ghosts could smile that is, it's a strange topic.

'We're too deep for me to know where to go.' The Ghost then told her Guardian as he started towards the exit of the room, still limping slightly while his eyes remained adjusted to the dark. 'We're on our own as far as a route out goes.'

'We'll just have to be careful to stay out of sight then.' Salazar nodded as he left the room, immediately stopping as he did.

With a loud snap, claws of chitin shot from the ground and pierced his armored leg like a three pronged bear trap. The Hunter dropped his weapons and dropped to his knees, trying his damndest not to scream out in pain as he felt Hive magic start to pump into him from the newly acquired wound.

That didn't matter though as the roars of the Hive echoed around them. The Hive seemed to already know that they were there.

'Sal!' Spector's voice filled the old wolf's head again, but he couldn't focus on it. The pain was too great already, Hive magic trying to take root in his very bones.

Grabbing his Ace of Spades off of the ground, the Hunter fired at the claws piercing his leg, hoping to break them off. He reholsetered his weapon as it didn't work however, instead gripping the claw itself and pulling in an attempt to rip it out.

As he tried in vain, a green mist started to rise around him and the roars of the Hive got louder. They would have been deafening if not for the singing. The hollow, deep singing of the Hive that suddenly started echoing in the chamber.

Salazar knew what it was. It was the song of the Deathsinger. It was the same ritual the Deathsinger in Crota's throne world had used. It had never left his head.

'Well, there goes us being quiet.' The old wolf thought, gritting his teeth and cracking his neck as he drew his handcannon again, raising it above his head this time. As the cannon was raised, it started to shine with a brilliant golden light, a light that illuminated the entire chamber and brought a bit of clarity to the Hunter's mind.

Lowering the cannon, he then pressed the barrel up to the trap and fired, the light infused bullet tearing straight through and shattering the trap in one place. Salazar repeated the act with another of the three claws before standing up again and ripping the last one out himself and throwing it to the ground while saving the last round in his Golden Gun for a Hive Knight who had tried to smash him from the shadows.

The old wolf clutched his side as he stood to his full height, growling as the Hive magic continued to invade his system. With the Deathsinger present though, he couldn't really focus on that.

'Forget the magic for now and focus on getting my leg fully working again Spector.' Salazar told his Ghost, pulling another knife from his belt. 'I need to find the Deathsinger. You know, before we need to call for an encore.' The Guardian joked with a shrug, though the message was received without a reply.

Instead, Spector simply started to focus all of the Light that she could muster into healing his pierced leg. Feeling the healing start, the Hunter fired at the Hive that were quickly trying to suppress him.

It may have been deathly dark this far down into the Hellmouth, but the sounds of roaring Hive let him get a feel for the room just fine.

Ignoring the pain in his quickly healing leg, Salazar jumped to the side just as a Hive Knight slammed its sword down where he used to be. He then stabbed it in the back of the neck, silencing the Knight before sprinting through the green mist with gritted teeth.

A hoard of thrall met him on the other side, all falling as he fanned the hammer of his Ace, running past their bodies and never breaking his stride. The Ghost's quick work was already making that possible.

Still not breaking stride, the Guardian then rolled under several bolts of purple energy, flicking throwing knives from his wrists as he came back up. The knives soared through the air and claimed their spots between the eyes of several Acolytes, stopping them from firing another shot.

Salazar continued his path of death for several more meters before he came to a wall, a wall that he jumped on to and stabbed into with his knife. Reholstering his Ace, he drew another blade and quickly started to scale the wall, making a beeline for the Deathsinger he heard at the top.

Screw finding paths when you can make your own.

The old wolf quickly reached the top and rolled on to the flat surface above it, barely avoiding a large Hive blade that suddenly tried to pierce him as he reached the top. Salazar scrambled to his feet before the Hive Knight could try again, and that's when he saw that it wasn't a typical Hive Knight.

Standing taller than your typical Knight, the pale blue chitin of the Gatekeeper seemed to glow with an evil energy. Gritting his teeth, the Hunter figured that this Gatekeeper was holding up some sort of barrier for the Deathsinger, which sucked, because it could only be beaten with a Hive sword.

That and the Deathsinger was just behind the Knight, its hands raised and a green mist around it as its song began to quicken.

Rolling his shoulders, the Guardian brandished both of his knives and clashed with the Gatekeeper, letting its large sword hit the ground just to his side as he slashed its face. The Knight wasn't fazed by the action, only annoyed. Therefore, it roared and tried hitting him again.

Salazar simply dodged again, slipping into the Gatekeeper's guard this time and stabbing both of his knives into its grip and under its fingers. He then wretched the knives outwards, forcing its grip open and forcing it to drop its own sword.

Before the Hive Knight could even react, Salazar had wrapped his hands around the large sword's grip and hefted it up, slamming it down over its head as his armor's hearths flared with Taken flames. The flames seemed to empower his strike, sending the Gatekeeper in every direction as it shattered to pieces.

As it shattered, so did the mist surrounding the Deathsinger. The Wizard didn't seem fazed, intent on finishing its song as smaller Hive troops flooded towards the Hunter, intent on stopping him.

Gritting teeth once more as he recognized the last verse of the song started, the old wolf dropped the heavy sword and sprinted towards the oncoming Hive without drawing a weapon. Instead, Salazar jumped up just as he reached the Hive and used a Knight as a springboard as it tried to hit him. Reenforcing that with his double jump to get even higher, the Guardian then threw his hand forward.

Time seemed to slow as Taken flames suddenly started to form in his hand, taking the shape of a handcannon as his hearths grew even hotter. Being this close to the Deathsinger as the Hive magic flowed through his system, he could really feel the effects of it now, but he didn't care. He only cared about lining up the sight of his Taken Golden Gun with the Wizard's head.

Then, as the last twisted word of the Deathsong was uttered, Salazar's Taken magic fired and its bullet tore through the air, ripping into the Deathsinger's head. The Wizard screeched in agony as it's body was quickly consumed by Taken magic, yet it almost seemed to laugh as Salazar felt his body seize up, his own armor's flames going back down as the Taken gun disappeared.

The Deathsong was finished, and the old wolf knew he was too late to save himself as his head flared with pain. That was, however, until he felt his body get lifted by something else, something lighter.

In the blink of an eye, a white light suddenly surrounded Salazar, and in another, he was gone.

(? - ?)

*THUMP*

Salazar the urge to roar in pain as he was suddenly dropped on to his back. For the second time today, he had been dragged away by some sort of magic or technology, or whatever it was.

This time though, he had arrived with copious amounts of Hive magic in his system and a leg that, while not bleeding anymore thanks to Spector, was certainly aching. The fact that his adrenaline was fading also wasn't helping him any.

'Sal!' Spector exclaimed through their link, surprise and joy lacing her tone now. 'We're alive!'

'No fucking kidding.' Salazar replied, barely noticing that something had appeared in his hand when he fell. 'You mind working your magic on the, well, magic for a bit?' He then asked, clutching his side as he winced towards the ceiling. 'It feelings like I'm on fire, except the fire is on the inside.'

'As long as you can find out where we are.' The Ghost replied, going to work. The Hunter immediately felt an edge being taken off, but it wasn't nearly enough to get rid of the pain yet. 'This might take a while.'

'Take all the time you need.' The old wolf almost sighed with content, only being stopped by the immense pain coursing through his body. He almost didn't make it out of that one. The Guardian would let Spector have all the time in the world if it meant getting a little rest after that.

"The summoning was a success!"

But alas, duty always calls.

Brushing off the pain for probably the umpteenth time today, Salazar jumped to his feet and swung whatever was in his hand, strangely a sword, and pointed it at the speaker's throat. Even though the Guardian stood on shaky feet, the priest looking man was obviously shocked.

Taking a brief look at the sword, Salazar couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at it. The blade was an onyx black with steel and golden highlights adorning its edges and interior. The blade's shape was similar to that of his own sword, a knight's blade, though this sword had an impractical inward curve that probably made it less balanced overall. The hilt and crossguard were fairly tame, the hilts sporting black leather while the crossguard matched the blade's colors, save for a gem socketed into the center of it. Said gem was black and white, probably onyx and quartz, pieced together into the shape of a yin-yang symbol.

"S-Sir Hero!" The priest tried to move, his forehead already covered in sweat, but Salazar stopped him by pressing the sword closer to his throat. At this point, the old wolf had started to hear three sets of male voices behind him chatter nervously, but he wasn't concerned. None of them were hostile.

"Where am I?" The priest looked shocked again as Salazar spoke, though it seemed to be the tone of his voice this time. Mentally cursing himself, the old wolf didn't account for the fact that the pain would strain his voice so much.

"Are you okay Sir Hero?" The priest asked, only to get a growl in response. Before Salazar could probe him for answers in a different way however, one of the men behind him suddenly spoke up, approaching the old wolf from the right.

"Easy there dude, everything's cool." The voice was calm, yet it held obvious nervousness. "No one here wants to get hurt, so why don't you just… lower the sword, okay?"

At that, the Hunter spared a glance towards the talker. He looked young, maybe 20 or so, with an impressive height of around 6'0 without armor like his own. His hair was long and blonde, tied back in a ponytail that reached just below his shoulders, and his outfit consisted of civilian clothing; tan slacks, open red jacket with rolled up sleeves, white undershirt, and black tennis shoes.

The thing that really stood out to the Hunter was his eyes. They were a vibrant red, a shade that reminded him of Scarlet in a way, if only because of her hair.

"Who are you and why are we here, kid?" The Hunter decided to humor the kid, allowing him to step closer, though he didn't move the sword an inch.

"I'm Kitamura Motoyasu." The young man stopped just about a meter away from him with both of his hands raised in a non-threatening manner. "As for why we're here, I doubt the four of us know that." Motoyasu then gestured behind him, probably towards the other two Salazar heard earlier.

"If you lower the weapon though, I'm sure that the men you're holding at sword point will be more than happy to explain the situation." Motoyasu then offered, making the old wolf cast his gaze fully back on to the priest he was threatening. He waited a moment before responding.

"Will you?" The Hunter asked, his voice as flat as he could make it.

'Sal, it's fighting me.' Spector suddenly spoke up through their mental link. 'I'm getting the magic out of your system, but you're probably not going to be awake to know that in a moment.'

Salazar didn't respond, simply locking gazes with the priest until the nervous man nodded, well, nervously. Still keeping his new sword up for a moment, the old wolf let the tension in the room build before he finally lowered his blade.

If the room itself could have sighed in relief, it would have. Motoyasu patted Salazar lightly on the shoulder, sighing a sigh of relief himself.

"Thanks for listening to reason dude." The young man told him with an easy smile, getting a pained nod in response.

"Don't mention it, kid."

And just like that, Spector's words came true and the old wolf suddenly collapsed under his own weight, crumbling to the ground and dropping his sword. He didn't even get to see everyone's worried faces before he was completely and utterly out for the count.

(? - Later)

Recurring themes seemed to be the theme today, if Salazar waking up with a pounding headache for the second time in the last 24 hours was any indication.

The old wolf forced himself to sit up, hissing in pain and holding his side as he did. His vision was hazy again, but it wasn't because it was dark. In fact, the light of the room actually caused him to cover his visor for a moment in a vain attempt to not be blinded by it.

'Take it easy, Sal.' Spector's soft voice started through their link, getting Salazar to relax just a bit, as it always did. 'You've been out for a couple of hours. I was able to get the Hive magic out in that time, but it left your body in quite a sorry state. It'll be at least another day before you're at full strength.'

'Thanks for the warning.' Salazar's voice, even in his head, was drained. He was completely sapped of strength for the first time in a very long time, which was strange considering that he had actually been out for most of the day. 'Any idea where we are?' He then asked, getting a huff in return.

'I asked you to find out, didn't I?' Salazar nodded with a light grin, amused. 'Besides, I've been trying to heal you while whatever doctors these guys have basically fawned over you. Seriously, all they did was pump some type of energy into you before noticing my healing and calling it a success.'

'Did you-'

'Yes, I got rid of whatever they gave you.' Spector didn't need to hear the rest of his question to know what he was going to ask. 'I also prevented them from taking your armor off. I don't know how they could tell you were healing, but they did somehow.'

'Whoever these people are, they probably have some way of monitoring vital signs.' The old wolf shrugged before looking around, ignoring the pain in his neck as he did. 'I don't see anything obvious though.'

And truly, he didn't. The room he was in looked more like a restored room in the castle he first revived in back on Earth than a proper medical wing. Stone brick walls with a wood grain floor and simple wooden ceiling. An entrance to a balcony was off to the side, though it was covered by a red curtain. To add to that, the room was lit by candles instead of modern lighting. The people who brought him there must have been real committed to restoration and pre-Golden Age architecture.

Speaking of which.

'We need to find out just where we are and who these people are.' Salazar swung his legs off of the bed he was laying in, again ignoring the pain that came with the action. He then noticed the sword from earlier leaning against the side of the bed.

'Leave my weapons digitized for now, but be ready to pull them out if needed.' The old wolf then told his Ghost, grabbing the sword and testing its weight. 'This thing will just have to do for now, despite its impracticality.' The Hunter ran his armored finger along the curve of the blade as he thought that.

'Don't get up so fast, Sal.' Spector told him, getting him to stop. 'That leg of yours is probably the most damaged thing on you at the moment. Even the doctors noticed it, with the hole in your armor of course.'

Looking down to his right leg, he indeed saw that there was a hole in his armor. Not a major one, but it was large enough to show his semi-pale skin underneath and the now ripped blue jeans he wore just under the armor. Of all the legs to injure, it just had to be the one that was still human. His robotic left one would have been fully repaired by now.

Curse lady luck and her apparent hatred of human healing.

'Probably right about that.' Salazar mumbled through their link, getting Spector to laugh.

'Of course I'm right.' She seemed to say proudly. 'You should still be able to walk, although slowly. I've been focusing on the leg for the last half hour. It should be fully healed in another few hours.'

'Thank the Traveler for that.' The old wolf sighed aloud before continuing. 'Hey, uh, Spec? I don't say this often enough, but… Thanks for trying so hard. I don't know where we are, but we'd probably be dead back in the Hellmouth if it weren't for you.'

'Of course, I'm the best after all.' Spector brightly replied before softening her voice. 'We only made it thanks to you though, I'm sure. Just… try not to risk yourself with another stunt like that finisher for a while, promise?'

'Promise.' Salazar nodded as he answered through their link.

"Hey, you are awake!"

The sudden male voice caught the old wolf off guard, making him jump and grip the new sword tighter. The action would have made him drop it if it weren't for the fact that his right arm was also robotic and probably fully healed.

That didn't stop the pain from coursing through the rest of his body at the sudden movement though, causing him to yelp in pain as he gripped his side.

Actually looking towards the voice's owner, Salazar spotted a very sheepish looking Motoyasu standing in the now open doorway of the medical type room they were in. He seemed to be carrying some sort of spear now, holding hit like a staff by his side with the spear head facing upwards.

The spear itself was like the sword Salazar now carried, in a way. Its shaft was a simple ivory white while the head was the same black with white and gold. There was a round crystal socketed into the center of the head, though it was an enchanting scarlet instead of Salazar's black and white.

"Sorry dude." The young man apologized, walking up to the bed the old wolf was sitting on. "You doing alright?"

Taking a better look at the kid, the Hunter immediately took a liking to him, despite the fact that he really didn't know him. Again, his eyes reminded him of Scarlet, but he also seemed to give off that 'big-brother' kind of vibe.

"Certainly better than earlier… Kitamura, right?" The Guardian wasn't exactly sure on the name, but he tried it anyway. He was pretty sure that's what the kid called himself earlier, but it just sounded weird.

The kid just grinned.

"You can just call me Motoyasu." The young man leaned a bit on his spear as he started, almost casually. "How about you? You got a name under all of that sick looking armor?"

Salazar laughed lightly at that.

"Salazar Stone, though you can just call me Sal, kid." The old wolf introduced himself with a grin under his helmet.

Motoyasu nodded before sighing and running a hand through his hair.

"I'm assuming you have a bunch of questions you want answered, right?" Salazar nodded as the kid voiced his thoughts. Nodding at that, the young man continued. "Well, there are a few things I'll save until I get you to the rooms they gave us, like why we're here, but I can tell you at least how you got here first, and where we are since you wanted that so bad earlier."

"Please, do tell." The Hunter sat a bit straighter, not actually expecting to get some information from the kid. He thought that he'd at least have to wait until he was fully recovered before he got any answers, but it seemed like that wasn't the case.

'I'm going to record all of this.' Spector whispered through their link, getting a mental nod in response.

Sitting down on the bed across from Salazar's, Motoyasu laughed lightly.

"First, can you tell me what you were doing before you appeared here?" The young man then asked, getting a strained smile to appear under the old wolf's helmet.

"Ah… Let's just say that I was about to strike my final chord, if you catch my drift." Motoyasu nodded grimmly at the Hunter's words, signalling that he did in fact understand. "Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't really I guess, but I was just curious." The spear wielder answered, a smile already back on his face. "Me and Itsuki actually also died just before we got brought here, but Naofumi didn't."

"Itsuki and Naofumi?" The Guardian tilted his head in confusion.

"The other two guys that were brought to this world with us." Motoyasu cleared up before sitting up straighter. "Speaking of which, we're currently in a different world than the ones we came from. In fact, we're all from different versions of our worlds. Me and the others figured that out earlier." He added the last bit with a bit of a proud smirk.

"We were… we were taken from different versions of our world and brought to this one? How is that even possible" Salazar couldn't help but question that claim, and neither could Spector.

'I mean, sure, the Darkness and the Light can do some crazy things, but multiverse travel?' The Ghost seemed to mutter to herself. 'Warlocks have been trying to crack that kind of thing for decades, and nothing we face can do anything close to that. Well, except maybe the Vex. Still, how did…?'

Motoyasu seemingly could hold back a chuckle at the Hunter's question.

"It's confusing, isn't it?" The young man started, his eyes glinting with youthful amusement. "The king we met today said that they performed some sort of ritual to summon the four of us."

"Well, while I don't exactly like magic, I guess I have to give them my thanks for saving my life in some regard." Salazar shook his head as he thought of the many, many Hive spells and rituals Eris had taught him about. "Did he give a reason for why he summoned us? I don't imagine it was just to save some four randos after all."

"Like I said, that'd be easier when we're all together." Motoyasu dismissed the question before standing up tall. "Speaking of which, we should get going. The doctor said you'd probably be fine to move once you woke up, though you might need a bit of food. Itsuki and Naofumi should have already taken care of that, so we probably shouldn't keep them waiting."

"As long as I get to be on my bloody feet again." Salazar mumbled mostly to himself, though Motoyasu couldn't help but hold back a small laugh as he heard it. Then, using his sword as leverage, the old wolf stood up on shaky feet, even shooing off Motoyasu when he tried to step up to help.

"Are you sure that you're okay to walk on your own dude?" The spear wielder asked in concern upon seeing the Guardian's shaking legs. They weren't shaking all that bad, but it was still somewhat noticeable. "I don't want you making any injury worse."

"I'll be fine Yasu, don't worry." Salazar let out a small laugh of his own at the concern. Only giving him a nervous smile in return, Motoyasu decided not to push and led the way out of the medical room. The old wolf followed suit, a slight limp in his step but not at all slower than the young man.

The two walked in a bit of silence after that, and neither could tell if the silence was an awkward one. Personally, Salazar didn't really care about the silence if it meant getting answers sooner rather than later. Explaining whatever situation they were in probably would be easier with everyone involved present, minus the people who actually knew the full story that was.

At the very least; Motoyasu, Naofumi, and Itsuki would be able to give them all the information they had, so they would all at least be on the same boat. Motoyasu looked like a civilian though, and the lack of confrontation against the priests earlier that day probably meant the other two were too. They probably didn't give all the information they were given the thought it deserved, meaning he'd have to do his own research to fill in the details at some point.

Still, they would give him a place to start.

"So, is that armor real Sal?" The sudden question from Motoyasu broke Salazar from his thoughts, getting him to nod.

"It is." The old wolf confirmed. "Forged it myself too, mostly."

"That's impressive. It must have taken months to get that kind of detail in if you did it by hand."

"You'd be surprised what kind of progress you can make in a short time when you've had years of experience." The Hunter was quick to point out, a smile on under his helm. "I'm a master armor and gunsmith back where I came from."

"That must have taken some determination." Motoyasu gave him a genuine look of surprise, obviously somewhat impressed. "I don't think I'd have even half the patience for that kind of stuff." The young man then added, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Well, it wasn't so much determination as it was passion." Salazar started after a moment of thought. "I mean, we had armorers and a pretty good gunsmith back at the Tower. I guess I just wanted something original that I could improve anytime if the battle called for it, and I just took it a little overboard."

"Wait, you mean it wasn't some kind of hobby?" Motoyasu's surprise was more obvious this time. "You were actually fighting with this stuff?"

"Well, I'm not just going to sit out on the fight." The old wolf gave him a weird look before realization hit him. "Oh, that's right, we're from different worlds. You guys probably wouldn't know about the Darkness."

"The Darkness?"

"Not something that's important at the moment." The Hunter waved off the question as they stopped at what he assumed was their rooms. "What is important is getting me caught up to speed. Hopefully, all of you can do that."

Motoyasu just smiled brightly and nodded, placing his hand on the door and pushing it open.

As soon as the door was open, Salazar could see the other two standing up from their spots at a small table, looks of concern on either of their faces that was washed away as soon as they saw the old wolf. Ignoring their sighs of relief, the Hunter quickly looked them over.

First, there was a young man, no older than 16, standing near a table off to the side. He had kept blonde hair and a pair of light green eyes that nicely reflected his clean face. His eyes also just happened to match his green uniform. The uniform itself reminded Salazar of school uniforms he'd seen around the city in the richer districts. The young man's slacks were the same color while his dress shoes were a soft black and his undershirt was a button-up white dress shirt.

At his side, leaning against his chair, was a white and ivory bow. The shaft of the bow almost seemed to be carved with the detail it contained. Where the two halves of the weapon met was a brilliant amber crystal surrounded by a gold base. Out of the three new weapons the Guardian had seen today, the bow seemed to be the most decorative.

Next to him was another man, though he looked to be about 20 or so like Motoyasu. He had messy black hair and emerald green eyes that matched his partly open green hoodie. Under that was a white t-shirt that went along with his faded blue jeans and his charcoal black tennis shoes.

Whilst they all had traditional weapons, this young man had a shield. A silver kite shield, to be exact, secured to his right arm with a dazzling emerald socketed into the center of it. There didn't seem to be a strap that secured it though, as if it was just connected to his sleeve. Out of all the weapons, it was the least detailed and decorative.

From Salazar's perspective, it was the most practical that way.

A weapon, especially a shield, would get worn out from use. Decoration and over the top details, while certainly eye catching, were ultimately pointless in the face of many battles. Not that these kids were going to be facing that many battles.

At least, he hoped they wouldn't.

"You two would be Naofumi and Itsuki I'm guessing?" The Hunter asked as he walked himself in, his limp barely visible now but still hurting like a bitch. Spector's work was good, but not fast. The one with the shield gave him a smile at that.

"That's right." He started, nodding. Motoyasu closed the door to the room as he did. "I'm Naofumi and he's Itsuki. I'm guessing Motoyasu told you?"

"Right-o, kid." Salazar replied simply as he plopped down on to the lone couch in the room, leaning on the arm rest and setting his sword next to him. Naofumi laughed lightly at being called a kid as he sat back down at the table with Itsuki following his lead. That's when the Guardian noticed a plate of what seemed to be roasted boar meat and vegetables on the table with them.

"This is Salazar, guys." The spear wielder told the other two, gesturing to the Hunter. He then scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I know we all probably want to get to know him better, but he really wants to know what's going on, and I don't blame him to be honest."

"So he doesn't know anything about this world either?" Itsuki questioned rhetorically as he tapped his finger to his chin.

"It's not like I got a memo." Salazar replied as he leaned back, arms crossed. "I've been too busy researching other things anyway. To be fair though, I would have put time into learning about another world if I knew about it." He then added with a shake of his head.

"I just mentioned it because me and Motoyasu know this world from games that we used to play in our own worlds." The bow wielder clarified, laughing a little. "Naofumi didn't know anything about this world either though, so you're not alone."

"Yeah, none of the stories I've read or games I've played relate to this at all." The old wolf turned to the shield wielder as the young man spoke awkwardly. "At least the king gave us a good explanation of the Waves."

"Waves?" Salazar's question prompted Motoyasu to walk over and sit on the lone bed in the room, across from the old wolf.

"That's right, we should probably explain the Waves now that we're all here." He started with his usual bright grin. Itsuki gave him a look as he said that.

"You mean you haven't told him already, Motoyasu?" The bow wielder asked. "Just how much did you tell him anyway?"

Motoyasu laughed awkwardly at that.

"Only how we got summoned really. I thought I'd save the why for when we're all together and once he's been able to eat something, you know?"

Sighing, Itsuki seemed to agree. All the while, Salazar just thought about how they were wasting time. They actually seemed more worried about his well being than the situation they were in. It was strange.

He didn't understand civilians.

"Sal?" Naofumi's voice broke Salazar out of his thoughts, making him focus on the now worried faces of the other three.

"Sorry, I'm just spacing out." The old wolf apologized, shaking his head. "It happens sometimes."

"Maybe you should take that helmet off and get some air then." Motoyasu suggested, leaning back on his arms and being the first to let go of his worried face. "That would probably help you eat too." He then joked, getting a light chuckle out of Salazar.

"Only if you can assure me I'm not in hostile territory." The Hunter told him, shrugging. "I'm still not exactly sure about that ya'know."

Naofumi was the one to chuckle this time.

"Don't worry dude," The shield wielder told him, "We're probably in the safest place possible right now. I mean, the king even called us heroes."

"Heroes…?" The Guardian was utterly confused at this point. Spector was no different, having gone over everything in her memory and still not finding any reference to another world of any kind.

"It relates to the Waves we mentioned." Itsuki explained with a small grin.

From there, the three of them actually got to explaining those Waves and why they were all there to begin with, relaying what the king of the country, King Aultcry Melromarc XXXII, had told them.

To start with, the ritual that Motoyasu mentioned earlier, the one that summoned them all to the world they currently found themselves in, was one used to summon the country's (Melormarc's) four heroes of legend: the Bow Hero, the Spear Hero, the Sword Hero, and the Shield Hero; Itsuki, Motoyasu, Salazar, and Naofumi respectively. They were summoned specifically to beat back the 'Waves of Catastrophe'.

The king apparently ignored the legend of the Waves until it was too late, simply not believing in them until the first one actually happened and nearly wiped out the entire nation's army before they were able to fight it off. In all honesty, that reminded Salazar about the Crota era of his Guardianship, except he actually believed Eris from the beginning.

The Waves themselves sounded like mini Raid ops to the old wolf: a huge wave of powerful monsters with a boss spearheading them. The boss wasn't something they were told about apparently, but Itsuki and Motoyasu insisted that there would be one.

Salazar only believed them because of how an army, no matter what made it up, needed a leader of some sort. A more powerful beast was usually that leader in these situations.

The Waves would happen every so often and flood the site of the attack with monsters until the boss was defeated, pretty basic stuff. The site of the Wave wasn't believed to be centralized though, if their legends were right, which meant that they could happen anywhere in the world with little to no warning unless you did something with the Dragon Hourglass, a mysterious artifact that predicted the coming of the Waves.

It sounded like something he would find in one of Emily's fantasy novels. Dragons, heroes, magic, all of that crap.

On top of all of that, the king would apparently be providing the four of them with party members to help them grow more powerful quicker before the next Wave. That alone prompted several questions from the Hunter, the first being why they four of them couldn't party up themselves.

Salazar would have prefered it to be the four of them in all honesty. If the four of them were being forced to fight some war they never should have been a part of, he would at least want to protect these kids. They were just civilians after all, there was a good chance they wouldn't be able to handle a war against the Darkness.

However, Itsuki explained to him that they would only get in each others' way. Apparently, the 'Cardinal weapons' they were assigned stop growing stronger if they were close to each other. He said that any training in that situation would be useless.

'Any training' was doubtful, but apparently, these weapons worked off of a different system, which was the old wolf's next question.

It was… the stupidest system Salazar had ever seen, but he held that comment in his throat. It was simple in concept, sure, but it was still stupid. Supposedly, you kill monsters to get EXP. That EXP would level you up and improve your 'stats', and 'stats' were what determined how powerful you were over all.

Again, incredibly stupid in the Guardian's eyes, but it turned out that he was going to have to get used to it. That was only because the stupid sword he was given (against his will he might add) had intigrated that system into him… somehow. Spector didn't see an obvious way to get rid of it, and the sword seemed to be bound to him on some sort of level, so he was stuck with it.

It made Salazar a bit bitter, knowing that he would have to keep 'leveling up' just to keep up stat wise unless he wanted to risk his skill. He doubted though, with the way it was explained to him, that his pure skill on the battlefield would be enough to overpower anyone. People near his 'level', sure, but not everyone.

What was worse though was what his level actually was.

The other three showed him how to access his 'level' screen and his 'stats', and it honestly disappointed him.

Light Level: 1100

Guardian Rank: 60

Raid Leader

Title: The Sword Hero

Level: 1

Attack: 33

Defence: 18

Agility: 22

Health Points: 140

Magic Attack: 31

Magic Defence: 16

Mana: 30

Spirit Points: 132

Level 1 out of what Motoyasu said could be 100. It wasn't a good start. What's more was the fact that his Light Level and his Guardian Rank, while still there, were greyed out, probably meaning that they couldn't be used.

Honestly, it reminded him of his first revival: weak and armed with only a sword. He had the abilities of the Light then though. Here, he couldn't even feel his connection to it. He would have to be careful, if only because he wasn't sure if he could revive anymore. There was only one way to find out, and that would be a one way trip.

The other three couldn't see his screen, so they didn't see his Light or his Rank, and Salazar decided to keep them in the dark about it since they didn't mention anything close to it. It would probably only confuse them. It wasn't like it could help him here anyway.

On a different note though, the old wolf also questioned why they were all trusting in the faith of the king to get partners for them. It didn't ensure the three traits Salazar would look for in a teammate at all, that being trust, loyalty, and skill level.

Trust was obvious. If you can't trust your team, then you can't fight with them at your full potential. Loyalty, while similar, was a different matter. Loyalty not only ensured that your team could work together, but it also ensured that your team would work together by being faithful to each other, willing to make a sacrifice if needed and ready to run into anything with them.

Skill level was another obvious one, yet it was actually hard to nail down and by far the most important to Salazar himself. It wasn't just the skill they had right then that the old wolf would question, but the skill they could reasonably reach was also important. If you couldn't grow, you only held back the team as a whole.

Of course, Itsuki, Naofumi, and Motoyasu all agreed that he was simply reading too far into it.

A civilian's mindset was adorable sometimes.

"Is that all you want to know?" Motoyasu asked as he, Itsuki, and Naofumi finished answering the Hunter's last question, a smile still on his face like he had given all of the right answers. Salazar just nodded at that, leaning back with a sigh.

"There's still a lot of things I want to know, but I doubt any of you would be able to answer them easily." The Hunter told him, looking between each of them. "From the look on your faces though, I can tell you guys have questions for me."

Naofumi and Itsuki had the decency to at least look embarrassed. Motoyasu, on the other hand, simply smiled brighter.

"I was actually wondering if you could tell us about your world Sal." The Spear Hero started, leaning on said spear from his place on the bed. "I mean, you mentioned that you fight something before, so you've got to have some exciting stories."

At that, the other two heroes gained looks of interest.

"You were a warrior back in your world Salazar?" Itsuki asked, tilting his head slightly before tapping his chin. "I guess the armor would make sense in light of that."

"That's actually really cool!" Naofumi excitedly proclaimed, leaning forward a bit. "You must be really good too from the look of your armor. Is that bone?" He then asked, tilting his own head slightly.

"It used to be titanium reinforced carbon steel, when I first made it, but that doesn't matter." The old wolf started, shaking his head slightly. "Yes, I was a warrior in my old world, and I was pretty high ranked, but that doesn't matter in this world. Neither do the stories I have or my history in general. If I were to explain it all, we would be here all night, and none of t will help you all anyway."

"It would still be cool to hear though." Motoyasu pointed out with a shrug. "I mean, it would help us get to know you more anyway."

"Look, it's not like I don't want to recount some of the stories of my service," Salazar raised his hands in mock surrender. "But even some of my closest friends can't handle what they're about. I would only tell you three if you had to face those horrors, but since we're not in my own world, it'd would be pointless."

"I still have a fight going on there too, which is one of the only reasons I'm going to fight this stupid war for these people." The old wolf continued, surprising the others with his bluntness. "Once these 'Waves' are over, I'm getting back to Scarlet and I'm getting back on to the frontlines like I always do."

"Who's Scarlet?" Naofumi's sudden question actually made the Hunter stop for a moment, having only just realized he let her name slip. After a moment of rather awkward silence, Salazar let out a sigh and rested his head on his hand, leaning on the arm of the couch.

"She's my fiance." The old wolf answered, surprising the other three yet again. "People in my ranks don't usually officailize things like that, but we didn't really care."

Another silence followed after that, but this one was more somber as they all realized what that meant.

"... Damn…" Motoyasu was the first to vocalize it, his smile finally gone. "So you actually have a family to get back to?"

"I'm willing that we all do." Salazar commented as he gestured lazily with his hand. "But yes, I have a fiance and a daughter to get back to. That's why I'm hoping the 'Waves' don't take too long. The longer I'm away is the longer they have to fight alone."

"Wait, you also have a daughter?" Itsuki asked, surprised yet again. Motoyasu quickly interjected with his own question though.

"How old is she?" The question itself was innocent enough, but the tone in his voice made Naofumi give him a weird look.

"She's lesbian Yasu, and yes Itsuki, I do. She's adopted though, not biological, but she takes after me either way."

They all ignored Motoyasu as he laughed in embarrassment. The Spear Hero decided to change the topic after that.

"So, are you going to take off your helmet Sal?" He asked before shrugging. "I mean, you do have to eat, doctor's orders. You can put it back on after you're done if you really don't trust everyone yet. Considering you're from a war world, I'm not even hurt if you don't trust us honestly."

The last part made them all chuckle. Salazar did nod to that however, reluctantly agreeing. He'd normally disagree, saying that he didn't need to eat, but food would actually help the healing process, whether he actually needed it or not.

Without a word, the old wolf reached up and flipped off his hood. He then put his hands to his neck and clicked off the seal for his helmet, getting small hiss out of it as he did. The others watched in interest as he actually pulled it off, the flames in the helmet's hearth disappearing as if they were the blown out flames of a birthday candle.

As he set the helm on to the couch with his new sword, he shook his short steel grey hair, getting it to its usual messy style as his grey wolf ears twitched with the shaking. The ears themselves pivoted on his head a bit, getting used to the open air after a few days of not being free. His face looked as young as ever, like he was in his mid-twenties, yet his eyes reflected his much longer eyes. The dull silver orbs jumped from each hero to the next with an energy that simply didn't match how tired he actually looked.

"How old are you Salazar, if you don't mind me asking." Salazar simply raised an eyebrow at Itsuki's request before laughing with a smirk and answering.

"The hair is from stress, not age, if that's what you're wondering." His answer only made the others laugh nervously.

(Melromarc Castle - 1 Hour Later)

The old wolf sat on the edge of the bed thinking to himself, having put his helmet back on when the others left not too long before. He had eaten like they wanted and he even managed to convince them that he could sleep alone and didn't need anyone to watch him during the night.

He didn't, but his stubbornness wasn't why he wanted them gone. Sighing as he stood up, the Hunter disregarded the now dark room around him and simply stood at attention, briefly eyeing the Cardinal sword as it leaned against a nearby wall.

'How's the healing going, Spector?' He asked through their mental link, getting a hum in response.

'Your leg will be fine by morning, if just a bit sluggish.' She answered happily after a moment. 'The same thing goes for the rest of your body. You should be able to ignore any remaining pain by morning, but the Hive magic clogging up your system will take a bit longer to get out than I suspected. I've already got the worst of it out though, so you're not in any major danger.'

'That's good.' Salazar replied with a genuine tone of relief, getting a giggle from his Ghost. 'If that's true though, then let's switch to something else for just a bit.' He then started with a nod. 'Is all of my gear still in your inventory?'

'Yup, it's all here.' Spector replied after a moment, that of which she used to check.

'Bring out one of my extra sidearms then, nothing important. I want to test something they said earlier.'

Another thing the other three heroes mentioned earlier was how you could only use weapons of your 'assigned weapon type'. Well, Motoyasu and Itsuki mentioned it at least. Again, it was something Naofumi didn't know about due to his overall lack of the world, or at least a similar world. What that implied was that Salazar couldn't use the firearms he loved so much, severely limiting him.

It was probably easy to why he wanted to test that now.

'One Teacup coming up.' Spector quipped before she transmitted the sidearm into the Hunter's outstretched, awaiting hand.

The gun only lasted a second before turning into an absolutely glitchy mess.

Dropping the gun while suppressing the urge to yelp, Salazar watched as it's entire form glitched with bright, 3D static, as if it was a living yet broken television screen. As quickly as it had appeared though, Spector took it back, making it disappear in a small flash of white light.

'That's certainly a way to prevent you from using other weapons.' The Ghost commented as she checked the gun's condition. 'The gun itself seems to be fine though. The static disappeared once I took it back, but there's something strange about it now.'

'And what would that be?' The Hunter questioned with a raised eyebrow.

'Well, it remained itself to "Otherworldly Weapon".' Spector answered with a slightly confused tone. I don't exactly know what that means though. It shouldn't have been renamed by all logical accounts.'

Salazar hummed at that, thinking for a moment before he came up with an idea.

'Can you bring out my extra Quickfang, Spec?'

The Ghost did, letting the old wolf get a grip of the sword before it too fell to the ground and out of his hand in a glitchy mess. The sword almost seemed to spark before it was brought back by Spector.

'This Quick Fang's also been renamed to Otherworldly Weapon.' She told him, sounding even more confused now. 'It wasn't a firearm though, why did it get renamed and glitched like that?'

'Probably because it is an otherworldly weapon.' Salazar answered her rhetorical question. 'Think about it, both of them were created in another world before being brought here with us. This universe, if we are in another universe, probably doesn't support its composition.'

'That… does make sense in a way.' Spector agreed after a moment of thought. 'But wait, why isn't your armor glitching out then?' She then asked, going back to being confused. 'And your armor is still marked the same. That doesn't make sense with that theory.'

That made the Hunter tap his hemlet's chin in thought. He then closed his eyes as a realization came to him.

'You and I both know that the way my armor was forged to this state wasn't exactly… conventional.' He started through their link. 'It's Taken properties probably don't follow any sort of universal rule set.'

'If that's true, then would the same go for your sword?' Salazar shrugged in response to the question, holding his hand in front of him.

'Only one way to find out. You know what to do.'

Simply nodding, if Ghosts could nod while inside of someone's head, Spector summoned his sword from their inventory and put it in his hand so that it was held with the blade running horizontally in front of him.

Instead of being summoned in a flash of white light like the other weapons, this sword appeared in a flash of Taken flames. It also glitched, but only for a moment before the blade itself won out, banishing the glitch entirely.

The sword was just as intimidating as his armor was, if not more so, yet its design was quite simple. The blade was long and straight, being double edged with a point at the tip like a knight's blade from story books. It was far from your typical fairy tale in appearance though, as the blade itself was a pure onyx steel, so black that it almost seemed to absorb the light from around them, making the area around the blade even darker in the dim room. The crossguard of the sword was also made out of the same black metal, though it was far more ornate. It looked like a bunch of thin tree branches twisting and intertwining, going off in each direction. The grip was far more simple, being a simple handle wrapped in maroon red leather. Finally, the pommel of the sword was a strange crystal, sort of like the one in his new sword's crossguard. However, this one seemed to be living with black and white flames dancing for him to see. The crystal itself was resting inside of the maw of an onyx black wolf.

The Taken Blade of the Wolf Guard.

The sword seemed to hum in his grip, pleased to be held by its master. Salzar just chuckled lightly at that.

'So it is the Taken properties.' Spector seemed surprised to admit. 'I never thought that they would actually be useful to us until now.'

Salazar couldn't help but nod at that.

'We'll keep her hidden away for now.' The old wolf told his Ghost, sending the sword back into his inventory in a flash of Taken flames. 'It'll be a good resource to have in case we need it. Otherwise, I think I should get used to the sword I've been forced to use.'

As he thought that, the Hunter threw a glance at the Cardinal sword. It didn't react.

The Guardian then pulled up his new stat screen for only the second time that day, looking over it with a critical eye.

'I still don't like this thing, but I better take some time to get used to it.' Salazar's tone was less than enthusiastic as he sat back on the bed. 'Tomorrow morning sure will be interesting. It'll be amusing to see who the king has chosen to help us.'

'Are you sure that the king was telling the truth about how we can get home, by beating the Waves?' Spector suddenly asked, slightly concerned. 'There's got to be more to it than that.'

'I'm sure there is.' The Hunter nodded in agreement. 'For now though, it's all we've got.'

Reluctantly agreeing, Spector returned her focus to getting the Hive magic out of her Guardian. The next morning certainly would be interesting, wouldn't it?

Parties And Puppies - June 1