"... Finally."
Now close enough to one of the original contact points, Szeth had at last encountered other xenos.
The sight in front of him looked like something taken from a sci-fi horror movie, with a director that bordered on dementia and enough funds fueled into the visual effects to drown all the cast in cash.
The xenos were hard at work.
This part of the city had already been partly transformed into a nest. A sickly black-and-blue carpet covered most of the ground and part of the buildings, halfway between mold and flesh. It acted as both soil and the building foundations of a nest. All raw organic matter gathered by the xenos were eventually brought here for processing, where the rotted-looking mold would quickly transform it into sludge that the Termites then used to 'build' their nest.
Everywhere he looked, Termites were dragging chunks of trash, plants and food like giant ants bringing the spoils of war to their anthill.
The bodies in particular were a gruesome sight to see.
Corpses with bite marks on their heads, legs or arms, exposing chewed bones and spilling brains through the ground. Gnawed chests, part of the ribs and most of the lungs and hearts missing. Gouged stomachs with the guts hanging from the open wounds. Not even the flies dared feast on the banquet. The stench of decomposing flesh suffused the very air.
Szeth puked.
It was a subconscious reaction, brought by primal disgust. And people lumped him together with this… thing! The xenos didn't know hatred or mercy. They were aliens in the literal sense of the word.
Compared to them, Szeth, the specter, was a pale shadow in the night.
Still, he didn't back down.
Still dragging his metal pipe through the concrete, he spat the last of the bile that remained on this mouth.
A Termite approached, setting its sight on him.
Then another followed.
And another, and another.
The little nightmares crawled up from beneath the corpses, around the buildings and even the cracks that ran through the concrete. They appeared from everyone corner in sight.
"No hunters yet?" he said, trying to smack his pipe against his other arm before realizing again he didn't have it anymore.
"Well, fuck it. Let's have some fun."
Szeth howled.
Not all the Termites rushed at him, of course. They viewed him as food to collect, not an enemy to battle. That meant only the bare minimum number was dispatched to deal with him. With the eerie coordination of a colony that moved like a single entity, six Termites launched themselves to the air.
Crack!
The leader of the charge was struck down in midair by Szeth's improvised weapon. He spun in place, trying to avoid the others. One latched itself on his knee, but he swiped it away with another swing of his pipe, crushing its exoskeleton. The rest failed their initial dive, and tried again as soon as the landed.
Two more died, one by Szeth's stomping foot and another by the metal pipe that was shoved all the way down its maw.
One bit him on the chest. Szeth let out a hiss of pain before hitting himself with his now soaked weapon, crushing the xenos and dampening the blow to his ribs.
But more Termites came in to take the place of their fallen kin.
One bit his good arm. Szeth bit it off with his own teeth.
Another aimed for his head. He hit it with an upward swing, sending its ruined body flying in an arc.
He kept swinging, punching, kicking and screaming the rage that stormed inside him. Bits of flesh were shaved away every second, taking him a step closer to the grave, but at the time he cared about it as much as he did about the dripping turquoise goo that covered him from head to toe.
He kept fighting and fighting and fighting, until…
Clang!
His weapon, swung down in an overhead blow, met a shell more resistant than any before. Bent and worn by misuse, its durability, which had been lacking in the first place, finally reached the limit. The metal pipe broke off in two, one part flying in the air while the other was still gripped on his hand.
The air was filled with momentary silence, until the clanging of the flying metal piece hitting the ground shattered the balance.
Szeth stared at the new xenos in front of him.
"About time you showed up," he told to the creature in front of him.
Similar to a stingerless scorpion in shape, the main difference was the turquoise-black palette and the unnatural sturdiness of the creature's shell. The vibration-sensing organs and its size, a meter tall and almost two long, were also somewhat important details.
Aptly named Soldiers, they were the vanguard of the Blight. An agile hunter-type xenos that combined great agility with deadly battle gear, composed of two pincers sharp enough to literally cut steel and a shell that, while not nearly as solid as other hunter-types, could deflect most bludgeons and knives.
Szeth had finally run into a wall.
Even if there were a way to continue fighting the Termites with only one fist, there was no way on Earth to kill a Soldier without firearms or ar least a plasma cutter.
This was the end of the line.
Still, Szeth being a walking body, he didn't see why he should stop fighting just because the battle was over.
At least, it would help him vent the hatred.
So he grit his teeth as one Termite bit his ankle and another toppled him. He bit his lips as he punched one of the bugs with his only fist while he kicked another with each leg.
Not yet…
Even as his vision was filled with blue and red, he kept fighting.
Not yet…!
Even as he felt the teeth sinking on his flesh, he continued to thrash around.
Not yet…!
He didn't mean "It's not over yet," but "I'm not dead yet."
Because, for as long as his body moved, he would continue releasing his hatred.
And then, as his vision started fading to black, even as he kicked and howled and bit away at everything, he felt something push against him.
Against his brain.
— Would you continue to fight?
It was an absurd question. The part of Szeth's mind that was already detached from his body and his struggle complained so.
— Would you battle even with the knowledge that all is lost?
He was annoyed at the intruding thing that was pestering him incessantly. He wanted to return, to go back to his body and feel every last bug he squashed in fury. Of all the things he could have been dreaming, why did it have to be this one?
— Would you give yourself to the struggle despite it's futility?
Fed up with his delusional brain, Szeth replied angrily at himself.
Yeah.
— Why?
He considered it for a moment, before replying.
Because there's no fucking way I'm going down without dragging the bastards with me.
That was the truth.
It wasn't out of a sense of justice or unwavering faith. It wasn't resignation. He just did it because he felt like it. Since nothing in this world came with a real reason, what did it matter if he died then? He'd just enjoy it to the very end.
Not the part about him kicking the bucket. He wasn't insane. But the part about killing the xenos who had him fed up?
Yeah, he could do that.
— Acknowledged.
Then, as if answering his thoughts… No, in answer to his thoughts, the voice on his head spoke its approbation.
The haze around his mind cleared and time seemed to stop as he stared down at his body, in the same state he had left it at.
— You have been elected for a System Integration.
— Should you accept it, you will be subject to the rules of the Contract. You may inquire about the Terms and Conditions of the Contract before agreeing.
— Do you accept?
… What the fuck?
His body wasn't moving.
No, it wasn't that. It was moving, only at a ridiculously low pace. Everything around him had slowed down to a snail's pace, his body included.
His mind raced.
What's that?
Have I finally gone bonkers?
I've got a voice inside my head uttering nonsense.
Fucking amazing.
— In accordance to the covenant signed by Custodes and mankind, contemplation of the contract is permited for forth eight hours after the offer.
— However, it is adviced you make the decision quickly, based on your precarious physical condition.
— Do you accept?
Huh?
Custodes?
Covenant?
A silent voice inside my head insisting on a contract…
Szeth only knew of one thing that could explain what was happening. And it made absolutely no sense.
— Your critical condition will not allow any further vacillation.
— Make a decision.
— Do you accept?
Szeth couldn't tell heads from tails about the situation. Everything had become a convoluted mess of emotions, thoughts and oversized bugbites.
One thing was clear, though.
He had to give the persistent voice an answer.
He thought it for less than an instant before coming to a decision.
I'm dead already so…
Why the hell not?
Sure, I accept your terms and conditions.
— Acknowledged.
It was as if a switch had been flipped.
Time returned to its normal pace. Before the sea of scuttling legs and teeth could swallow him entirely, a massive boost of energy shook him to the core.
Szeth felt electrified. All of his exhaustion was burned away, and the strength returned to his body.
Still in shock, he managed to jump back from the place where Termites had been turning him into minced meat not a moment ago.
…What the fuck?
He wasn't healed. He was bleeding everywhere, and his arm was still missing…
But he didn't feel sluggishness, nor did he feel the pain.
It was as if he had somehow convinced his own body that it was in peak condition.
— System Integration completed.
— Calculating initial Watcher Points…
— Calculations completed. Your current balance: 3000 Points.
— In accordance to the Contract, Hypnotic Booster "Mocha" has been administered to the Watcher due to extreme circumstances.
— Balance after deduction: 2500 Points.
— Caution is advised, Watcher. The effects of the "Mocha" are temporary and do not heal the body, but allows it to keep working despite otherwise immobilizing damage.
Huh?
Watcher?
Is there a Watcher around? Where? I don't see them…! Are they waiting for the bugs and I to kill each other off?!
— In accordance to the Contract, all individuals who have undergone System Integration are referred to as Watchers. This includes you, Watcher.
Then, like a bucket of cold water on his face, Szeth finally made sense of those words.
"A Watcher?! Me?! You've got to be kidding me!!!"
He screamed to no one in particular.
Watchers.
The modern-age heroes who protected every life without exception. The perfect beings who stood at the summit of humanity, and allowed it to fight back against the all-devouring blight.
And someone had gone and made him, a one eyed, one armed dying shadow of a boy, into one of those Watchers.
"Have the Custodes lost their minds?!"
— In accordance to the Contract, the Custodes are under no obligation of revealing the specifics of the selection process for candidates to System Integration.
— It is highly advised that you maintain your focus on the imminent threat, Watcher.
Szeth shook his head in disbelief to find an army of Termites heading to his position. The Soldier from before was running at him as well.
"Oh, right."
He had been suddenly caught up on the chaos of the voice on his head, the System, that he had nearly forgotten.
He had a business to finish with those damnable xenos.
The flames of hatred, momentarily subdued by confusion, were stoked once again as Szeth realized he was ready to go again.
With his body now completely energized, he threw himself at the the approaching horde of xenos.
"Let's pick up where we left!!!"