Night fell over Sentoraya once more, filling the cold ashen air with a deathly silence that smothered any sound. The sound of snowflakes and ash falling was the only sound in the dead city where even birds were silent. Even flies and insects died against the irradiated cold where many remaining mangled machine bodies remained, left behind or not found by the search teams. Even rats that scurried through the streets did not last long before convulsing and vomiting under the toxic air that poisoned all who came near. Near the body of the slain Eikon, Vortex’s heart spilled out an invisible miasma that pierced skin, metal, and stone alike without a care. A lone crow flew by and landed before the dragon’s lifeless maw and dug around in the snow.

As the crow rummaged through the snow, a deep thundering lightning filled the air as the dark gray clouds above shimmered with a brilliant white light that faded as soon as it appeared. The crow watched the sky carefully before going back to the snow. Before long, the crow slowly flapped its wings as it struggled to maintain balance. Suddenly it began to flap its wings violently yet was unable to take flight as a red and black bile surged from its guts, pouring from its beak as it slowly went still and quiet, letting the sickness take its toll. Within a few minutes, the crow had joined the many who dared approach the dragon’s den, only this den held only the vengeful soul of the slain monster.

Once more lightning flashed through the sky and carried a hum in the air. As more lightning rumbled in the sky, the ground began to shake and small pebbles began to float towards the sky. Suddenly, the sky opened up with a violent roar as a beam of white light struck the earth, breaking the ground underneath and launching ash and dust into the air. In an instant, the beam faded, leaving a crater near the Eikon’s metallic corpse and filling the air with the shouting of soldiers from the mountain that witnessed the event.

A scout ran ahead as a group of guards filed out from the sanctuary of the mountain, covered head to toe in leather armor lined with dark gray metals and helmets that housed masks which kept their faces covered. The scout climbed over rubble and regularly beckoned the group to follow his path. He approached a ledge near the slain Eikon, giving him a moment to breathe as he worked up the courage to walk into the opening. In the clearing where the Eikon’s corpse laid, he could hear a deep droning metallic sound, not unlike the Eikons that attacked. He began to question his resolve before getting a sickening metallic taste in his mouth as he struggled the urge to spit in his mask to get the sour taste out of his throat.

He swallowed the reminder the sickening reminder; he was outside for already too long.

He took a breath through his thick cloth mask as he jumped over the ledge and out into the plaza as dust and snow clouded his vision. In the dust, he could make out the orange light of flames. The scout slowly approached where the flames were burning and found himself in a deep crater with a large metallic spherical object in the center, smoking and burning in the flames. The scout examined the object and its various mechanical parts that jutted out that carried strange writing carved into the metal. Within the folds of the machinery, blue lights flashed through the object’s internals, pulsing like it was alive.

The scout turned around and saw the detachment of guards approach and waved at them, unable to shout to them through his mask. As the soldiers approached, they drew their swords and watched the large metallic shape closely, afraid of what it could be. The soldiers waited as an armored man approached wearing a thick blue and gold cloak over his protective armor as soldiers moved away with a bow, recognizing the Kaiyumian king. As Moviron approached the edge of the shallow crater and examined the object, he began to shake his head in disbelief, working up the courage for another fight against an Eikon.

As Moviron drew his sword, the object began to hum louder and various clicks were heard coming from the object. Suddenly, the sounds grew louder and the machine began to unfold, loudly and violently unfolding itself as various limbs rested against the ground as the machine slowly rose up on two legs. Moviron watched as the machine’s torso twisted into place as a longsword in a mechanical scabbard unfolded from the machine and remained attached to its back followed by a thick blue and white cloak with gold markings on the trim unfurled from within it. The tall machine taller than any man then stood up and covered its head with its cloak, letting Moviron only see the iridescent pearls of blue and white glowing eyes on its shadowed face.

Blue eyes that Moviron knew all too well.

Before Moviron could tell his men to stand down, the soldiers hollered loudly through their masks as many loosed arrows and others with swords ran towards the hulking machine as a select few unleashed magic of fire and lightning against the machine. As the barrage of attacks struck the machine, it looked around, unbothered by the onslaught as it looked towards the corpse of the slain Eikon as it examined the body and the radiation in the air and the hole torn in its chest.

It quickly made its calculation and turned back towards the guards as a mechanical growl bellowed from its throat. It lifted its arm as a blue light shone from inside its mechanical arm and snapped its fingers as a wave of unseen energy knocked back the soldiers who ran towards it before they could land with their swords. Before they recovered, the creature made swift strikes at their joints and limbs, knocking them to the ground.

A soldier let loose a ball of flames that rushed towards the creature yet the creature effortlessly caught the magic as the ball disassembled itself in the creature’s hand and rushed through its mechanical veins. The creature quickly lifted its other arm as white energy moved from the arm that caught the magic and moved to the other arm and lashed out as lightning that struck the soldier, knocking him to the ground.

“Stop, all of you!” Moviron finally called out, yet his mask restricted his voice as another soldier picked up his sword and ran towards the machine.

As effortlessly as it caught the ball of fire, the creature turned towards the soldier and caught his sword in his arm. The creature was briefly bathed in a blue light as the soldier fell to the ground, his sword taken by the creature and the hilt rammed into his gut in the blink of an eye. Moviron felt horror strike him as he recognized the ancient magic as the creature turned towards the detachment with a deep fury in its blue eyes.

The creature reached towards the sword on its back as the scabbard attached to its back unfolded as a rich orange light poured from the opening. The machine grabbed the hilt and pulled out a long single edged sword that hummed with lightning and energy as it came out of its scabbard and otherworldly writing carved into the blade shone with a brilliant blue light as the metal of the blade itself shone with a divine orange light surrounded by a pale blue glow and bolts of white lightning where the edge touched the air. As the sword moved through the air, it hummed loudly like a roaring lion as even the smallest movements shredded the air like paper.

A blade worthy of a god-king.

The soldiers renewed their courage as they lifted their swords and ran towards the machine. Moviron watched as each soldier raised their sword to attack the creature yet the creature vanished and instantly reappeared several meters away, leaving the soldiers behind it cut down as they fell to the ground, slain by their cauterized wounds. The creature turned around and watched Moviron with its blue eyes as it lowered its sword, inviting the challenge.

The remaining soldiers hollered louder, ready to avenge their fallen brethren and slain families in the wake of the last battle. Moviron shuddered as he realized that they did not stand a chance and their proximity to Vortex’s corpse meant this was already a one-way trip for most. Moviron watched as the creature walked closer, taking thundering steps as it approached with a cold fury in its eyes.

A ringing in his ears deafened Moviron as he dropped his sword, surrounded by his own men opening fire with various spells at the creature as the last few of those with swords rushed towards the creature. With a brilliant beauty, the creature moved elegantly as it vanished and reappeared, maneuvering around the swings of the soldiers and returning with graceful spins of its own sword that roared through the air, cleanly cutting through the soldiers and cauterizing their wounds with the radiant heat of the blade. Moviron began pulling on his helmet to remove it as he watched the creature stretch out its arm as the air hummed loudly and blue lights shone from inside the creature’s arm and one of the soldiers began grasping at his throat as an unseen force lifted the soldier in the air. The creature then closed its fist and moved its hand to the side as the invisible magic threw the soldier against a stone pillar. In an instant, the creature vanished and reappeared by the soldier and sliced across his abdomen with its burning sword, instantly disemboweling the soldier.

Moviron finally got his helmet off and shouted towards his men. “Stop it now!” he bellowed and his men finally listened to the order and began backing away from the creature as it approached. Moviron watched the creature as fear took sanity from him and he began to wonder what would appease it. He could only find one way as the creature approached Moviron and lifted its glowing sword into the air.

Moviron fell to his knees and bowed before the creature. “Jedah inpe’rex vira’dai,” Moviron shouted loudly towards the creature, keeping his head low as the creature stopped in its tracks, watching with glowing mechanical eyes. The soldiers surrounding Moviron looked at him with confusion before slowly bowing down in kind, wondering what could cause their king to kneel.

The creature growled softly before lowering its sword and coming closer to Moviron, its mechanical throat growling as it began to recognize the Kaiyumian king. Slowly, it began to laugh as it returned its sword to the scabbard on its back as the machinery enclosed the blade and locked away its orange light.

“Koverin’ye mi’n enforiya,” the creature said in kind, returning the otherworldly speech.

“It pleases me to see you in good health, my Lord,” Moviron continued, continuing the otherworldly speech that drew only confused looks from his soldiers. “I wish to apologize for the hubris of my soldiers;please be merciful for they know not what they do. I live to serve you and that has not changed.”

The creature nodded slowly as it examined the soldiers surrounding it. “And so you shall,” the creature responded in its foreign tongue. “For many of them however, they will not for long.”

Moviron slowly lifted his head, feeling the sting of shame as he looked back up at the creature, watching it carefully with fearful eyes. Moviron opened his mouth to ask a burning question, “why–”

“‘Why are you here’?” the creature answered in a voice that sounded similar to Moviron’s as it returned its gaze back to Moviron, its blue eyes turning white for a moment as it recited the words before returning to blue. The creature laughed as if it was asked a pointless question as it rested a mechanical hand on Moviron’s soldier. “So I can ask you one question; where is Arylos?”