Six days prior…

“He killed him!” A loud shrieking voice reverberated from the ether, breaking Teros’ concentration as he tried to focus his energies on reclaiming the vast reserves of power that he’d lost in the millennium of imprisonment within the Annals.

“They truly are like barking dogs.” He muttered to himself before relinquishing control over the vast energies that he had been summoning in the days since his reconstitution.

A light sigh escaped his pale lips as he did, preceding the opening of his eyes as the energies around him dissipated. Much like the artificially induced DMZs used by Terrans to secure areas, Teros’ vast reserves had a similar effect, preventing his haima’sa servants from materialising in his presence while he exhibited his full channelling abilities. This was no doubt the reason for the disembodied message, but as he exhaled and focused his attention away from his previous task, he could see the beginnings of small flames forming in front of him.

“Tread lightly marionettes, my amusement for your insolence wanes.” He grumbled as Roc and Blitz materialised in front of him, looks of despair plastered across their faces. “Now, clarify your statement while you at least have my interest.”

“Shade.” Blitz clarified, anger now mounting in his voice. “That bastard that you sent us after – he killed Shade!”

A light, low chuckle seeped from Teros’ lips at the statement, causing Blitz’s eyes to widen at the unexpected reaction. This only stoked the flames of his anger, a fact that only further amused Teros. Soon his light low chuckle developed into a loud cackle, echoing through the desolate landscape of Usiles’ drowned province.

“I’ll admit it – at first I thought you were merely clever replicas of intelligence.” Teros spoke between his laughter. “But I must say that your sentience may indeed be comparable to my own.” His raucous laughter continued. “The Annals truly is a marvellous repository for knowledge.”

Unfortunately, his statement only served to annoy Blitz further, as he seemed to completely dismiss the issue that Blitz was adamant that he address.

“Did you hear what I just said?” Blitz pressed. “Shade is dead.”

Teros’ gaze merely narrowed at his reiteration.

“I heard you the first time, automaton.” Teros’ voice grew loud and his energy flared. “However, such is the nature of your existence; one cannot kill that which is not alive.” He finally dismissed Blitz’s original assertion with the wave of an arm. “You constructs should know that best of all.”

“Lord Teros.” Roc interjected at this point, noting that Blitz was starting to lose control of his tongue. “Regardless of how you may see us, Shade is gone.” He explained. “He has been completely erased from the Haima’sa collective by the progeny of the harlot.”

“Interesting.” Teros muttered, as he now rallied his sensory abilities and used them to scan the vast network of magical energy that housed the core essence of this anomalous race.

His eyebrow tipped upwards slightly at the revelation.

“There is nothing that is beyond my perception – so you are right – I do not sense this ‘shade’ anywhere among your repository.” Teros’s hand stroked his chin as he pondered the possibilities. “It would appear that in their attempts to develop a method capable of destroy a being such as myself; these guardians have stumbled upon a method of dispatching… lesser beings such as you.” He simply shrugged at the revelation. “Your ‘shade’ does indeed seem to have met his end.”

Blitz’s gaze narrowed at the nonchalance with which the statement was delivered.

“In servitude to you!” He remarked, causing Teros’ gaze to focus in on him now.

“This was his wish, was it not?” Teros questioned as he took a step forward, causing Roc to instinctually take a step backwards himself.

Blitz did not move however.

“Much like my senses, my memory does not fail.” Teros stated as he took yet another step. “I do not remember seeking out your assistance in the achievement of my goals, nor do I remember actively recruiting you marionettes to my cause.” His voice dripped with venom.

“His wish was simply for us to align our agendas, Lord Teros.” Roc, much more soberly, countered. “None of us have ever wished to die.”

“To engage in a war without the acceptance of the possibility of death is childish and naïve.” Teros dismissed. “Regardless of your wishes, death is the natural product of war.”

“Not for our kind.” Blitz dismissed his statement. “In the century that we’ve inhabited this realm, we’ve not lost a single voice from the collective.”

“And now you have.” Teros dismissed once more. “A century is but the blink of an eye in the annals of history. Your youth robs you of clarity.” He now scolded. “If such a loss has this strong an effect on your morale then I’m forced to question your potential usefulness as soldiers.”

“How dare you!” Blitz exclaimed; his wispy red energy rising up from his shoulders as his anger mounted.

“Easy Blitz.” Roc admonished, as Teros’ patience wore visibly thin.

“No Roc!” Blitz retorted, before turning his attention back to Teros. “While we mount assaults on Merricent and carry out assassination attempts in Genaisa, you sit here, in exile – licking the wounds from your defeat and doing nothing!” He snarled. “What is your usefulness to us?”

Blitz didn’t notice the ever so slight widening of Teros’ eyes in response to his statement; the only visible marker of him exhibiting the miniscule effort required to muster the modest energy to erase him from existence. Roc was even less aware of this, only noticing the subsequent grin on Teros’ face as Blitz’s entire body was instantaneously engulfed in an inferno of raging black flames. The entire ordeal took place in a fraction of a second, too fast to even be perceptible to the hulking bruiser of this particular haima’sa strike force. Much like with Shade’s death, Blitz was simply there one second and gone the next. As the realisation dawned on him, Roc’s face contorted in horror. He could feel as Blitz’s presence vanished from their collective, leaving a conspicuous void in his wake.

“To think—” Teros now mused “—that a flea would question the usefulness of a dog… while sitting on its back.” He just shook his head before turning his attention to Roc, who was still in shock from the entire ordeal. “You, at least, seem to be the only of your kind with the good sense to show me the respect – and more importantly – the fear that I command.” Teros stated as he stepped forward, fanning his hands as he walked through the slowly dissipating flames of Blitz’s body to rest his hands on Roc’s massive shoulders.

Paralysed by fear, Roc could do little but listen as Teros continued.

“As such, I will spare you the repercussions of their folly. Let it not be said that I am not a benevolent master.” He smirked, patting the large bruiser now.

Roc simply grimaced as Teros’ hands touched his shoulder again and again, a maelstrom of grief, rage, hopelessness and fear swirling in his chest before he fell to one knee.

“Th—Thank you… Lord Teros.” He barely managed to mutter the words, which drew a sly grin from his would-be master. “You truly are gracious.”

“That I am—” Teros nodded “—but, grace aside, I do grow tired of your failure.” He added, removing his hand from Roc’s shoulder and stroking his chin instead. “I’d been willing to give you the benefit out the doubt, but unfortunately you’ve simply proven that which I should have already known: the sons of man are not capable of the destruction of Gaea’s chosen.” He elaborated. “To be fit for such a task, you will need to become more than what you are now.”

Roc’s eyebrow tipped upwards at the statement.

Teros’ words preceded a visible change in the air as the latent streams of energy began to excite, thickening the atmosphere into a palpable soup of arcane energies. Roc could only sense the usually chaotic magic in the mix, but it was enough to understand the magnitude of the scale upon which Teros’ power acted. The energy from which he was constructed was normally untameable, but he could feel it being reigned in – brought under the control of the immense force of Teros’ will. What existed normally as a swarm of individual particles, first abandoned their chaos to dance rhythmically around the pale-skinned destroyer, before swirling slower and slower until it all came to a complete stop. Soon this now stationary magic ignited into his characteristic black flame before pouring itself violently into Roc’s body.

Once again, Roc was too slow to move; he barely got a peep out before the black flames muffled his screams on their way down his throat, flooding in through every orifice before they began to seep in through his very pores. Teros just chuckled.

“Your race is an interesting creation, but the majesty of your construction is marred by the weakness that saturates you.” Teros spoke as the energies continued to drill their way into his chosen vessel. “This baseless hatred – unrenounced fear – and most of all the complete delusion – these things all hold you back, even more than your lopsided constitution.” He muttered. “But worry not, for from this shallow monolith I will carve a robust and resolute masterpiece, an edifice to the Planet Mother’s former glory.”

The dark flames continued their procession towards the very core of the massive bruiser, destroying these ingrained weaknesses and sculpting their replacements from the ambient energies that surrounded him. Roc could feel his mind melting in the process, core aspects of what made him who he was being burned away – deemed extraneous by the tyrant destroyer as he remade him in his own image. The entire process took mere seconds, culminating in a massive explosion of power before the ambient energies in the atmosphere returned to their native states.

Slowly, the dust settled and Teros paused slightly, admiring his handiwork.

“Perhaps I’ve over done it.” He smirked as he gazed upon his creation, which now only resembled its predecessor at the most superficial level.

The Colossus that was once Roc just looked down at his creator with a puzzled expression, his eyes vacant as he did. The pain and fear that once plagued him were gone and the hatred that drove him now found itself replaced by a calm resolve. All Teros could do was chuckle to himself.

“Come child.” He spoke once more. “Let us share these gifts with the rest of your brothers.”