Editing Forum:Shadowkeeper Apocalypse

{{forumheader|Fan Fiction}}<!-- Please put your content below this line. Be sure to sign your edits with four tildes: ~~~~ -->

{{Battle infobox

|conc=

|image= [[File:Shadowkeepers Apocalypse.jpg|380px]]

|conflict=  

|date= March 24th, 2017 - November 7th, 2024

|result= City advantage and victory

*Purification of the Darkness and growing influence of [[Forum:Fusion|Fusion]]

Creation of the [[Forum:Solar Coalition|Solar Coalition]]

|side1= '''[[Solar System]]'''

*[[The Last City]]

*[[The Reef]]

*[[Forum:AJ's Host|AJ's Host]]

*[[Forum:Eternal Brotherhood|Eternal Brotherhood]]

*[[Forum:Iriksi Syndicate|Iriksi Syndicate]]

*[[Forum:Stygian Brood|Stygian Brood]]

*[[Forum:Sumeragi|Sumeragi]]

*[[Forum:House of Time|House of Time]]

*[[Forum:Sinon's Resistance|Sinon's Resistance]]

*[[Forum:Neon Wraiths (reworked)|Neon Wraiths]]

*[[Forum:Golden Legion|Golden Legion]]

*[[Forum:Shadowkeepers (Paradox)#Shadow Army|Shadow Army]]

**[[Forum:Shadowkeepers (Paradox)#House of Shadows|House of Shadows]]

**[[Forum:Shadowkeepers (Paradox)#Cult of Shadows|Cult of Shadows]]

*[[Forum:Shadowkeepers (Paradox)#Ghosts of Nagasaki|Ghosts of Nagasaki]]

*[[Red Legion]]

|commanders1=

'''Last City:'''

*[[Sagira]]

*[[Osiris]]

*[[Shiro-4]]

*[[Suraya Hawthorne]]

*[[Forum:Anna Blue|Anna Blue]]

*[[Saint-14]]

*[[Colonel]]

*[[Shaw Han]]

*[[Cayde-6]]

*[[The Guardian]]

----

'''Underworld:'''

*[[User:Koriks, Kell of Flame|Koriks, Flame Kell]]

*[[Forum:Rajiks, Flame Archon|Rajiks, Flame Archon]]

----

'''The Reef and Associates:'''

*[[Petra Venj]]

*[[Sedia]]

*[[Shuro Chi]]

*[[Kalli]]

----

'''AJ's Host:'''

'''Eternal Brotherhood:'''

*[[UserWiki:Brayden12012|Brayden-4]]

----

'''House of Lions:'''

*[[Forum:Velaks-3|Velaks-3]]

----

*[[The Spider]]

----

*[[Forum:Emperor Zor|Emperor Zor]]

|commanders2= '''Shadowkeepers:'''

*[[Forum:Tatsuyi Kirigaya, Vibebreaker of Shadows|Tatsuyi Kirigaya, Vibebreaker of Shadows]]

----

'''Shadow Army:'''

*[[Forum:Kamrak, the Titan|Kamrak, the Titan]]

*[[Forum:Lilthis, the Daemon|Lilthis, the Daemon]]

----

'''Ghosts of Nagasaki:'''

*[[Forum:Ghaul, Supplicant to Kirito|Ghaul, Supplicant to Kirito]]

*[[Forum:The Consul, Loyal to Ghaul|The Consul, Loyal to Ghaul]]

----

'''Scorned Barons:'''

*[[Pirrha, the Rifleman]]

*[[Yaviks, the Rider]]

|forces1=

'''Forces of the City:'''

'''Allies of the Guardians:'''

*[[Loyalists]]

*[[Awoken]]

*[[Nine]]

*[[Forum:House of Emperors|Emperor Reformists]]

*[[Forum:House of Flame|House of Flame]]

|forces2=

*[[Fallen]]

*[[Hive]]

*[[Vex]]

*[[Cabal]]

*[[Taken]]

*[[Scorn]]

----

*[[Pyramids]]

*[[Blight]]s

*[[The Immortal]]

*[[The Almighty]]

|casual1=

*Many Guardians and Guardian Orders, such as the Sunbreakers, are destroyed

*Deaths of [[Zavala]] and [[Emperor Calus]]

|casual2=*Kirito and Asuna and their Shadowkeepers killed, but then resurrected as Nightmares

*Numerous Shadow forces crippled

|casual3=

|casual4=

}}

After years of fighting against the proxy forces of the [[Darkness]] and emerging victorious, the Guardians found themselves traumatized and losing the will to continue fighting when the Shadowkeepers launched a surprise attack on Auradon, brutally killing Zavala and terraforming it into a realm of Aincrad. With replicas of their powers and arsenals corrupted by the Shadow Army and their timeline fractured, the Guardians ventured into the birthplace of the [[Shard of the Traveler]] and acquired [[Forum:Fusion|Fusion]]. Shortly after reuniting with [[Cayde-6]], the Guardians recovered and planned a counterattack in order to save their home and legacy.

==Prelude: The Swordsman's Arrival==

===Birth of Fusion===

{{Quote|It seems that we're not the only Guardians chosen by the Traveler. Even before it arrived, there were others like us... those chosen to wield these dark powers.|[[Eris Morn]], explaining the creation of Fusion to the Guardian.}}

Long before the [[Traveler]] came, there were numerous [[Guardian]]s who were blessed with dark forms of magic that would later become a part of this new power, and among those Guardians were [[Forum:Hendrick Yor|Hendrick Yor]], [[Forum:Kaguya Narusaka|Kaguya Narusaka]], [[Forum:Aoi Narusaka|Aoi Narusaka]], and [[Forum:Yukito Narusaka|Yukito Narusaka]], [[Warlock]]s who were capable of mastering these forms and using them for purposes that benefited [[Humanity]]. Recruited by a lone [[Hunter]] named [[Forum:Lila Bray|Lila Bray]] and a [[Titan (class)|Titan]] named [[Forum:Darius Watanabe|Darius Watanabe]], they would harness this power and combine the Light with Darkness in order to create a strong sense of prosperity, peace, and unity between Humanity and numerous non-human forces. On December 31st, 1999, Kaguya gave birth to a girl named Mal, whom she and Hendrick knew would someday carry on their legacy and use this power to help bring an end to the coming war. Moments after her birth, while Lila and Darius and these Fusion-empowered Guardians were praised and commemorated by most of the Lightless civilians, some of the people, however, grew worried that their discovery would jeopardize the balance between Light and Dark or, even worse, enthrall everyone into abandoning their long-held traditions, creating a chaotic society fueled by anarchy and dark ambition in the process.

===Resurgence of Darkness===

==Events==

{{Quote|I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I just... I thought that... I was afraid to tell you. I thought I was gonna lose my life. But I had to do something! I had to protect my birthright! It's just... I wish things could've been different.|Mal, talking to Petra Venj shortly before leaving with the Shadowkeepers.}}

[[File:Kirito attacking Auradon.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Kirito leading an assault on Auradon]]

===Death of a Legend===

{{Quote|We should've been there. This is not your fault. This... is on the head of the Black Swordsman. But if he thinks what he's done is the end, it's not. It's... the beginning. We're going to fight him. All of us. Every [[Titan (class)|Titan]]s and [[Forum:Meister|Meister]]s. Every [[Warlock]]s and [[Forum:Shinobi|Shinobi]]s. Every [[Hunter]]s, [[Forum:Huntress|Huntress]]es, and Huntsmen. We will take Auradon by storm... for our [[Fireteam]]. For Zavala.|[[Ikora Rey]], addressing the Guardians.}}

[[File:IkoraCayde.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Ikora grieves over the loss of Zavala]]

===A New Aincrad===

====Kirito's Reign of Terror====

====Conquest of the Light====

With Aincrad rebuilt, Kirito and Asuna, along with the Shadowkeepers and their armies, would lead a series of devastating invasions against the forces of Light and people still loyal to Ben, corrupting numerous universes and turning them into realms of Kirito's world along the way. The Stranger, having witnessed the fall of Auradon's forces, the corruption of numerous outcasts, and the deaths of countless champions of the Light, led her forces in an attempt to avenge the Traveler; however, she was forced to retreat after a close encounter with Kirito and Asuna. Fueled by grief and her desire for vengeance, she attempted to reach Mal, but suddenly found herself transported back in time to the day [[Cayde-6]] was named Hunter [[Vanguard]] after his victory over [[Taniks, the Scarred]]. Having determined that this had happened before, she was determined to make sure that she would successfully prevent the dark future from coming into existence.

===Rebirth of the Red Legion===

====The Fall of Calus====

====Preparing for War====

{{Quote|Ghaul was meant to die, and now this "Kirito" managed to slip past me during my prophetic resurrection and do the thing that I was meant to do?! This pest is slick and deserves pain!|[[Forum:Emperor Zor|Emperor Zor]]}}

====Vanguard Resistance====

====A Relentless Battle====

{{main|see=1|Forum:War of Dimensions}}

{{Quote|This Lightbearer who calls himself [[Forum:AJ, the Relentless|the Relentless]]... he thinks that he can slaughter you and avenge the man who turned your home against you. He's wrong, and by the time he realizes it too late, you'll have proven that to him already.|[[Forum:Zharves, Shadowcaster of Kirito|Zharves, Shadowcaster of Kirito]], supplying Kirito with help from her Champions.}}

At the same time, across numerous known and unknown dimensions within the Void, [[Forum:AJ, the Relentless|AJ]] would rally numerous factions of dimension protectors to fight against the Shadowkeepers; however, although AJ and his crew fought valiantly, the Shadowkeepers managed to cripple the dimension protectors' forces by destroying their Light and slaughtering them, leaving AJ and [[Forum:Cinnamon|Cinnamon]] as the only survivors. Filled with rage and guilt, AJ would lock three dimensions, including his own, shortly before isolating himself on [[Forum:Yavin|Yavin]].

===Assault on the Empire===

The Titan would be awoken by one of the Empire's Barons, [[Forum:Solviks, the Gunslinger|Solviks]], who consoled him that Castris and her Empire were allies, not enemies, albeit unconventional. Speedwagon would also meet one of the Empire's lesser known, yet most treasured associates [[Forum:Myra Winters|Myra Winters]], who told him that she had upgraded his [[Ghost]] with tech that just might help with his investigation and prove the Empire's standing on the Shadowkeepers, starting with a previously recorded conversation between Wren and his trusted [[Psion]] friend, [[Forum:Lithwe|Lithwe]], who were conversing about Castris's decision on the deal with the Shadowkeepers as well as what might happen if they did accept. But before the two could let on about her decision, the two are interrupted by a familiar looking, muscular [[Fallen]] brute who was asked if he could purchase a special sword; Speedwagon recognized the Fallen brute as one of the attackers who snatched Wren, learning his name was [[Forum:Kamrak, the Titan|Kamrak]]. The Titan hesitantly thanked the two Criminal associates before the two left, stating that they had some business to attend. Continuing the investigation, he would utilize the "ECHO" tech to discover the murder of Ashe, where he would see the Vanguard representative being escorted by some of the Empire's associates, learning that they were there to guard her on her way to Rudolph. Expecting them to turn on her, he would, instead, discover that the squad was picked off one by one and the Exo Hunter would be murdered by the other mysterious assailant from the night prior. Raising even more questions, the Titan would attempt to go back to where he meet Tatsuyi to learn more. Going back to the site and activating the recording software, seen from his eyes, the Shadowkeeper scion would be seen conversing to the members of the assailants and gave them new orders, attempt to frame Castris and rope the faction into war, telling the [[Forum:Lilthis, the Daemon|female assailant]] to stay here and wait for Speedwagon and attempt to escape to give the guise she was Castris while telling the other two to hunt down and capture some of the syndicate's higher weapons designers and suppliers such as Wren and [[Forum:Vyslaks, the Technomancer|Vyslaks]] to which a respected new member of the Shadowkeepers would get them to replicate some of the Empire's work. It all came to the Titan that this was a conspiracy, one that will force the Empire into war with the Shadowkeepers.

{{Quote|Long before the Traveler came, I made a promise to live on for the sake of my friends and Fairy Tail. Now, it has called on me to speak on its behalf and help you fight back against the Black Swordsman and the Lightning Flash.|[[Forum:Lucy Heartfilia|Lucy Heartfilia]], speaking to the Guardian moments after becoming the new Speaker.}}

Some time after Dawnrise Protocol's initiation, Ikora Rey appointed [[Shiro-4]] as the [[Hunter]] [[Vanguard]] and [[Forum:Luther Hargreeves|Luther Hargreeves]] as the new Vanguard Commander representing the [[Titan (class)|Titan]]s, while the [[Consensus]] would appoint [[Forum:Glynda Goodwitch|Glynda Goodwitch]] as the [[Forum:Huntress|Huntress]] Vanguard, [[Forum:Kakashi Hatake|Kakashi Hatake]] as the [[Forum:Shinobi|Shinobi]] Vanguard, [[Forum:Jotaro Kujo|Jotaro Kujo]] as the [[Forum:Meister|Meister]] Vanguard, and [[Forum:Lucy Heartfilia|Lucy Heartfilia]] as the new [[Speaker (title)|Speaker]] in order to strengthen the defenses of the City and provide more protection for the Traveler.

===The Cosmodrome Breach===

====Sumeragi's Reemergence====

====Preparing for the Hunt====

Upon reaching the Last City, Luther Hargreeves explained to the Guardian that ever since Kirito killed Zavala, many enemies of humanity have pledged their loyalties to him and Asuna, seeking to destroy the Light. The Guardian would also learn of the identities of the Shadowkeepers who helped kill Zavala and are planning to usher in a new dark future. Luther then tasked the Guardian with hunting down Zharves's Hive sect, to which the Guardian accepted.

====The Hive Shadowcaster====

{{Quote|The Darkness didn't choose Kirito and Asuna for nothing. They're both looking for the same thing: the opportunity to settle an old score with us and the Light. My friends gave their lives so that I can help you guys deny the Shadowkeepers that chance.|[[Forum:Anna Blue|Anna Blue]].}}

Some time after the Guardian uncovered the source of the Shadows' emergence in the Cosmodrome, [[Eris Morn]], aided by her new recruit [[Forum:Anna Blue|Anna Blue]], intercepted a distress signal coming from the [[Hellmouth]], searching for answers on [[Moon|Luna]]. After traversing deeper within the [[Scarlet Keep]], she stumbled upon an abandoned [[Clovis Bray (corporation)|Clovis Bray]] facility and touched a black surface, which revealed itself as some kind of footage. Upon getting a closer look at it, she discovers what happened to Mal back when she was a child and that the two adult [[Warlock]]s shielding her from Maleficent's attacks were her parents [[Forum:Kaguya Narusaka|Kaguya Narusaka]] and [[Forum:Hendrick Yor|Hendrick Yor]]. Moments later, the Guardian is summoned to the Moon by Luther Hargreeves in response to a disturbance that, according to Eris Morn, originated from the [[Forum:Phantom Keep|Phantom Keep]], a massive citadel recently erected by the Hive Shadow Swarm near the [[Hellmouth]]. While assisting Eris Morn and Anna Blue in fighting the Hive, the Guardian would encounter Zharves and [[Forum:Xyurdok, Commander of the Throne|Xyurdok]] and their Hive army.

====The Hunt Begins====

{{Quote|You are too late. The world now knows the truth about Mal. And soon, everything they once thought they knew will be forgotten. This is your end. Accept it.|Kirito, summoning his Shadowkeepers.}}

====The Vex Mindkiller====

As numerous Lightbearers ventured across many worlds to defend the Light against the Darkness, the Vanguard had the Guardian travel to [[Venus]] to find any lead on Kirito and Asuna. The Guardian arrived at [[The Citadel]] as the [[Forum:House of Flame|House of Flame]] were deploying their troops to repel any attacks by the Vex. Helping [[User:Koriks, Kell of Flame|Koriks]]'s Fallen fight the Vex, the Guardian ascended into a control room on the Citadel, where they discovered a superweapon capable of giving the Vex total control over time shortly before jumping into another place to escape the Shadow Divisive. Finding a bright gap in an otherwise dark platform, the Guardian would do battle with Kirito and Asuna.

====A Personal Score====

====Witnessing the Dark Future====

{{Quote|Welcome to the [[Forum:Chinese Dead Zone|Chinese Dead Zone]], Guardian.|[[The Drifter (character)|The Drifter]].}}

====Meeting the Resistance====

===Beyond the Darkness===

====Revealing AJ's Whereabouts====

====The Cabal Crownforger====

{{Quote|It came from the Black Swordsman himself. We command Legions. Conquered worlds. Waged war across the galaxy to prove our worth. We shall prove ourselves worthy of the Traveler's Light, and your death is the key to achieving that.|[[Forum:Gha'arn, Crownforger of Kirito|Gha'arn, Crownforger of Kirito]], challenging the Guardian.}}

====The Taken Blightmaker====

====Rise of the Taken Emperor====

====The Scorn Fatesmith====

===The Death Game===

====Return of the Kell of Darkness====

{{Quote|And so it begins. Once it is done, the Great Machine shall suffer for what it did to my people... and yours.|[[Eramis, Kell of Darkness]] to Magda Peterson.}}

====Defending the Lions====

{{Quote|[[Forum:Ahnkra, Devoted to Zharves|Ahnkra]] the Weakling. Ahnkra the Coward! I had always despised that rat, but to become another dog to [[Forum:Kirito, the Black Swordsman|Kirito]] out of the delusion that he is the strongest? FAH! I should have never allowed him to become part of my Brood. Come, Lightbearer, let us show this fool what true strength is.|[[Forum:Viznoor, the Black|Viznoor, the Black]], tasking the Guardian with hunting down Ahnkra.}}

====Return of the Dimensional Mind====

====Challenging the Ghoulies====

====Bringing Down the Archangels====

{{Quote|Ever since we escaped the bloodbath caused by the Black Swordsman, we've looked far and beyond, searching for a light that can help end this nightmare. I believe that you are our best hope.|[[Forum:Karviks, Dragon Archon|Karviks, Dragon Archon]], establishing an alliance with the Guardian.}}

During the formation of [[Forum:Fireteam Endgame|Fireteam Endgame]], Joskaa and Joseph would intercept an incoming signal from Yavin, to which they order the Guardian to find AJ and bring him back home safely.

===Endgame===

====Freezing Zevon====

====Putting Eugeo and Uldren Out of Their Miseries====

====Destroying the Cabal Shadows====

===Seeking the Truth Eternal===

==Appearances==

**''[[Forum:Paradox|Paradox]]'' {{1st}}

***''[[Forum:Season of the Black Swordsman|Season of the Black Swordsman]]'' {{Mo}}

**''[[Forum:Fractured Worlds|Fractured Worlds]]'' {{Mo}}

**''[[Forum:The Void Within|The Void Within]]'' {{Mo}} {{c|Alternate Timeline}}

***''[[Forum:Season of Farewells|Season of Farewells]]'' {{c|Archived footage}}