[spoiler]Greetings, Guardians, and here's part twenty-eight of Doom of the Dragons! Here's[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/242865667?sort=0&page=0] part twenty-seven[/url] if you missed it, or, if you're looking for another part, here's the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/242738879?sort=0&page=0]Master Post.[/url] As usual, if you like it, give it a bump, and I'll get more out soon! Stay classy, Guardians! [/spoiler] The sun rose above the above the bleak Russian horizon, and the dead land slowly came to life. Plants sunk their roots deep into the ground as worms writhed in the dirt. A fly, driven by a desire to breed before its inevitable death, scented decay in the air. It flew to the ground, and extended its proboscis onto the ground, feeding off the substance that reeked in the soil. Suddenly, the fly’s life was cut even shorter as a crow, which had been roosting in a nearby tree, snatched the fly with its beak. Gobbling down the insect, the crow looked for the source of the putrefying smell that was beginning to fill the air. Then, it found it. Less than a meter away was a large corpse, the likes of which it had never seen. The pool of blood surrounding it had long since dried, as the life-giving fluid ceased to flow from the deceased creature. The crow eagerly hopped on top of the corpse, and began pecking at its midsection. Its beak bounced off the armor adorning the corpse, but the crow persisted in its endeavor. [i]Ch-ch-chk![/i] Three bullets impacted the crow in its midsection. It fell from the corpse, letting out a surprised squawk as it died. Cupun lowered his pulse rifle, and looked down on Marcella’s body. His gaze showed neither anger, nor compassion, nor pity. In fact, it showed nothing at all. Cupun’s ghost appeared next to him. It stared at him with its one, unblinking, blue eye. Cupun looked back at it. His ghost looked back at the three bodies on the ground, and then at Cupun. Then, it began to float away. To where, Cupun neither knew nor cared. Cupun began inspecting the three bodies, taking whatever ammunition he might need from them. But when he got to Kim’s body, the warlock groaned. Cupun recoiled at first, but then steeled himself. He grabbed Kim by the shoulders, and leaned him against a nearby rock. After a brief moment, the warlock’s eyes flickered open, and the two stared at each other. “So,” Cupun said, “you’re alive.” “No thanks to you,” Kim said between ragged breaths, “and not for much longer.” He clutched his side, where Cupun’s bullets had penetrated his armor. “I’ll bleed out within the hour. And if I don’t, the wolves will find me in the night. And even if I have the strength to fend them off, an infection will probably kill me.” He looked in front of him. “My ghost. . .” Cupun saw Kim’s ghost lying on the ground. There was a hole in the center of the broken sphere, right where its eye should have been. “You killed him,” Kim said. Cupun shrugged. “He was trying to heal you,” he replied. “And you couldn’t have that,” Kim said, “now could you?” Cupun stared at him. Then, he slowly grabbed the dead ghost, and handed it to Kim. Kim clutched the ghost in his hand, and held it to his chest. He closed his eyes, and sighed. “Why?” he asked. “Why?” Cupun didn’t answer. Kim opened his eyes again. He looked at Marcella’s corpse. “She never stopped believing in you, you know,” he said. “She always thought that Cupun was still alive.” Cupun frowned. “I am,” he said. “No,” Kim said. “Cupun is dead.” He looked up at the Titan. “Some advice. One dead man to another.” Cupun nodded. “Shoot.” “They’ll never stop looking for you,” Kim said. “Not after this. They will hunt you down. They will find you. And they will kill you.” Suddenly, Kim began coughing. Blood came up, along with spittle. Cupun shrugged. “They can try.” He turned around, and began to walk away. Kim stopped coughing. He wiped the blood from his mouth, and spoke. “Lyra would have hated you.” Cupun stopped walking, and turned around. He clenched his fist. “What?” Kim stared up at him, sneering. “She would have hated you for what you’ve become.” Cupun stared at him, anger filling his eyes. “Don’t talk to me about Lyra,” he said, “you left her there.” “She would have hated you,” Kim said. “She would have regretted every moment she spent loving you!” “Shut up!” Cupun roared. He hit Kim in the face, but the warlock appeared unfazed. “She would have regretted each and every good feeling that she’d ever had about you!” “Shut! Up!” Cupun hit Kim in the face again, harder this time. The warlock turned to face him once more, and spat out blood, along with several teeth. He gave a ghastly smile as blood filled his mouth, staining his teeth red. “She would have hunted you down, and killed you where you stood!” “I SAID SHUT UP!” Cupun smashed Kim’s face again, but before the warlock could speak, Cupun hit him again. And again. And again. And again. Finally, trembling, Cupun fell backwards onto the ground, blood dripping from his fist, pieces of Kim’s skull stuck in its crevices. “Shut up,” he whimpered. The ghastly ruin that had once been his friend stared back at him. Trembling, Cupun stood back up. He stared at Kim’s body for a moment longer, and then wiped his fist against a nearby rock. But try as he might, there was too much blood for him to remove. It seeped into the cracks of the armor and dried, refusing to be dislodged. Shaking his head, Cupun grabbed his pulse rifle from the ground, and stared at it. It had originally been called the Red Specter, but Cupun had now had a better name for the worn and bloodied weapon. He would call it Red Death - for a red death it would be to all who stood in his way. [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=243083951&sort=0&page=0]Part Twenty-Nine: Bounty[/url]