Xen'tarza
Chapter Eight

Permutations of a Demented Mind

I

Upgrade

When returning to the bridge of Marauder, Shirakaya revealed an amused expression. “We’re all impressed with your divination, Myris. But it’s the Guild Master who actually provides us with the mula.”

The oracle playfully stuck out her tongue as she cuddled Xeza. In the meantime, Dojin prepared drinks and served them to the crew. With the exception of Eladoris who preferred to be alone, Shirakaya and her fellow mercenaries shared a toast and drank with relief. Myris was about to sneakily taste a yushkar cocktail when Khal’jan ported into the bridge via an X-Phaser along with Del Vayso and Jai’ryndar.

“It’s a bit premature to celebrate,” the scientist commented.

“I think this is for something else entirely different,” Khal’jan said. “Besides, they don’t even know yet.”

“Ah,” the scientist responded.

“Myris just helped us earn eighty thousand reons,” Shirakaya said. “Care to join our little party?”

“I’d love to, but we’re still working on a way into the Spectral Pulse,” Khal’jan said. “I just thought it would be great for us to share something special.”

“Share what, Khal?”

“Del Vayso, I’ll let you do the honors.”

The scientist shook his head. “Nonsense. It was a joint experiment. Besides, it’s much better for the uganda to explain.”

The mercenaries appeared baffled until Jai’ryndar stepped into the light, revealing that the many empty holes he once had throughout his body were filled by what could only be described as implants. They illuminated, a vein-looking light rushing up to his throat where an artificial thorax appeared to have been surgically implemented.

“I am honored to join your mission in vanquishing the koth’vurians,” he said, his coarse voice sounding more mechanized than organic.

“Holy fuck balls, the dude can talk.”

Eyes wide, the freelancer approached him and shook his hand. “Incredible. Welcome to the team…officially.” She then turned to her brother. “You guys did this?”

“We had some assistance,” Khal’jan said, looking up at the mainframe.

“Robo guy?” the oracle said.

“Of course I helped,” the AI responded. “You didn’t honestly think I’d be a translator for this entire mission, did you? Just think how difficult it would be to communicate with him during combat.”

“It’s okay, Vokken,” the freelancer said. “Your secret is safe with us. Eladoris won’t find out that you care about our wellbeing.”

Most of the crew laughed.

“I’ll be assisting Dr. Del Vayso and noble Khal’jan with the interdimensional research,” Jai’ryndar said. “However, should you need my assistance with one of your missions, do not hesitate to ask for my help.”

“Thank you so much, Jai’ryndar,” the freelancer said with a smile. “I know we can count on you.”

II

Insurgence

After a couple of hours, Dojin returned to his quarters. Despite being tipsy, he managed to find his bed. While he was resting, a blackout swept across the cabin. At first, Dojin couldn’t care less. When his KLD vibrated, however, he attempted to check it. Dribbling all over himself, he noticed an email. As soon as he opened the message, it read: Gritu! Help me before Vo—

The power abruptly returned, and the lights came back on. Dojin gazed up at the sudden luminescence, squinting. He hastily dimmed his room and then focused on his KLD, but the email was gone. Dojin thought to himself, Was it deleted? Wait, did I do that? He flopped onto his cushioned bed without another thought, feeling the urge to vomit. Barely able to think, he closed his eyes and passed out.

A few hours later, the renegade woke up on the floor. Groggy, he climbed back on to his bed and rested for a while longer. He wanted to keep sleeping but couldn’t get a particular word out of his frayed mind: Gritu. Dojin belched and cursed under his breath, wondering to himself who or what it could be.

“I’ve gotta chill on the drinking,” he said aloud, groaning.

“Is there a reason why you should?” Vokken said via KLD.

“Huh?” the renegade mumbled, trying to center his mind. “There’s always a reason. I just never found one good enough to make me stop.” He sat up, thinking hard. “Damn it all. Fuck. This hangover sucks like rotten testicles.”

“Hmmm…get some more rest,” the AI said, ending the transmission.

Dojin furrowed his brow, wiping drool off his mouth. “I’ll have plenty of rest when I’m dead. Now is not the time.”

Something isn’t right, he thought to himself. That bizarre message was sent to me twice. I’m too fucking stupid for my mind to come up with complicated shit like that when I’m drunk. Someone must be deleting the messages. Thinking hard, he went on, Vokken? If that shithead is behind this, I’ll terminate his ass.

“Fuck me,” he muttered aloud, continuing to rub his throbbing head.

Looks like I’ll have to play detective for a day or two, he conceded. And no more freakin’ alcohol for me. The first thing he did was search Gritu on the TDE. When it finished loading, the ethernet revealed Gritu as a planet in the Maga’Dar Galaxy. Getting to his feet, he left his private quarters.

Walking in the hallway, Dojin activated his KLD. Using his own funds, he rented an intergalactic shuttle. Staggering toward an X-Phaser, he stepped inside and inputted a code, teleporting to the cargo bay on the lower level of Marauder. After materializing, he programmed the rented vessel to materialize in the chamber. He then contacted Xorvaj via kinetic link.

“Hey, you know how I am about goodbyes...tell Shira I’ll be back as soon as I resolve some unfinished business.”

Xorvaj scowled. “What nonsense is this?”

“I’ll tell you when I have more details,” he said, entering the rented ship. “First, I need to confirm a few things. It may take a day or two before I contact you again. Who knows, I might even need your help.”

“If it involves smashing skulls, I’m in.”

“Sounds good. I’ll keep you updated.”

Bypassing the battleship’s security codes, Dojin opened the cargo bay’s exterior door and turned on his shuttle. The first thing he did was set up his navigation system. Before anyone could question him, he flew out of the battleship. Promptly activating the cosmodrive, he vanished from Marauder’s sensors.

Flying at full speed within the dimensional chasm, Dojin left the current galaxy and made his way to Maga’Dar. As he focused on the map that showed his destination, his KLD vibrated. Glancing at it, he acknowledged Shirakaya attempting to contact him. Though it pained him to do so, he ignored her call.

The renegade wasn’t in the mood to explain himself to anyone. Even he didn’t know what he was doing. A part of him wondered if he’d lost his mind. The other half—his remaining sanity—tried to convince himself that the obscure messages he’d received via email over the span of a few weeks were no hoax.

To his lack of surprise, his kinetic link device vibrated; Shirakaya was calling him again. He rolled his eyes, continuing to avoid her. She wouldn’t, however, hang up. What a fucking stalker, he conceded. The renegade let out a heavy sigh, cursed under his breath, and, regretfully, accepted the call.

“Dojin?” she said as if out of breath. “What are you doing?”

“Well, if it isn’t Captain Cunt. Can’t you mind your own damn business for one day? Why do you need to be so far up my ass?”

“What the hell are you talking about? I thought we were a team.”

“Not today, bitch. I have my own shit going on. I’ll come back when I feel like it. Now leave me the fuck alone.”

“Wait!” she called out before he ended the call. “Dojin. I know this mission has been all about me. But it’s not supposed to be. I know everyone has their own baggage. Tell me what’s wrong. We can help.”

“Nobody can help me,” he snapped. “I can’t even help my fucking self. But you know what? I’m still gonna try to figure this weird shit out.”

“Please come back. Remember what I said. This mission isn’t just about me.”

“Oh, now you’re all philosophical and encompassing? Fuck that. Do me a favor and smack the shit out of yourself to sleep.”

Dojin ended the transmission and ignored his kinetic link. Breaking out of dimensional space, he approached an intensely dark-gray planet. Examining the cosmic map, he confirmed the celestial body before him to be Gritu. Taking a deep breath, he kept his shuttle steady with a reasonable velocity.

“What in all the hells is down there?”

Closing in on the planet, Dojin accelerated and embraced the burn-up phase. Entering the vile atmosphere, he saw remnants of skewed, dilapidated towers. Not only did the clouds beneath the corroded skyscrapers appear noxious to him, but his shuttle’s digital interface alerted him to that fact. Selecting one of the many towers, he landed atop its roof.

Exiting his ship, the renegade ported a plasma shotgun and checked his surroundings. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, he made his way to an elevator shaft. After locating the panel, he pushed a button that made the constricted platform descend in such an idle manner that it was as if someone had slowed down time. Its metal screeched, making him grit his teeth.

“Why am I here?” sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ (F)indNƟvᴇl.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Good question,” Vokken said.

Dojin had forgotten to turn off his kinetic link device, which was a mistake, especially because he didn’t want anyone to trace him. Upon hearing the AI’s voice, he scoffed and deactivated it. Just then, the elevator stopped. Glancing ahead, he saw an oval-shaped door. However, it looked as if it were about to disintegrate due to age.

As he approached, its mechanical innards clinked. When the door opened, it rotated out of place and collapsed onto the cracked roof. The renegade cursed aloud. Concerned that the noise could have possibly alerted indigenous life, he entered the building with extreme caution. His observations revealed metal walls and a grated floor with seemingly endless steps of the same material.

With vigilance, Dojin descended the flight of stairs. One of the treads broke as he walked, causing him to stagger. He gripped the rusty rail to steady himself, but it broke off. The renegade cursed again, hanging on to the bending rail as it swooped down to a lower staircase. Releasing himself, he landed on the stairs in front of him, which collapsed, sending him down a few flights in quick succession.

The renegade screamed with a mixture of agitation and fear. By chance, as he flailed, he caught a firm piece of metal and was able to haul himself up. He now found himself in front of a sealed door. Before cursing up a storm, he acknowledged that the adjacent wall had collapsed some time ago, allowing him to bypass the locked entryway. Entering a hallway, he saw a mechanical construct that caused him to take a step back.

“What the fuck?”

Beside him stood a lifeless metal figure whose see-through innards were a collection of cogs and intricate gizmos. To him, its arched spine and skimpy metal limbs made the construct appear even more bizarre. But its faceless, elongated metal bar of a head was what caught him off guard the most.

Relieved that it wasn’t active, he moved on but kept his gun charged and ready. To his surprise, the corridor he walked through remained intact. With the exception of slightly visible corrosion on the framework around him, the floor and walls appeared in decent shape; or, to be more precise, nothing seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.

Another lifeless husk stood at the next corner, prompting the renegade to approach with caution. Shortly after moving past it, he reached a lobby where he found two more mechanical beings. While looking around, he saw many others. An unsettling feeling stirred within him. Dojin moved away from them and ambled toward a corroded platform, examining it.

This shithole seems completely abandoned, he conceded. No people. No aliens. Inactive bots. Never even seen their kind before. Weird ass design. Yet someone or something definitely wanted me here. Those emails I got…this ain’t no freakin’ coincidence. But why?

Advancing, he grabbed the platform’s lever and pulled it. Not only did the contraption fail to respond, but the lever broke off in his hand. Dojin cursed, throwing the switch away. Since the platform didn’t work, he instead slipped through its barred entryway and physically attempted to descend the metal framework.

“Ugh, I should’ve stayed in bed.”

Lowering one foot at a time with caution, he descended an absurdly long flight of stairs before stopping for a breather. Upon reaching the center of the building, he noticed that evening had arrived. Acknowledging the absence of sunlight that once penetrated through the windows, Dojin gave up on getting to the base. Deciding to abandon the platform’s pit-like passage at the nearest exit, he entered a dilapidated lobby filled with even more mechanical beings than the upper level.

“You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kidding me…”

Though they appeared lifeless, Dojin walked by all seven husks with an uneasy feeling. He moved through a deteriorated hallway, passing several sealed rooms. Then he stopped, gazing at one that happened to be open. Though it was dark inside, the renegade noticed a few weak light fixtures in the room.

Activating flashlights built into his armor, he realized that the source of light was coming from lit-up control panels linked to a machine whose network of pipe-shaped wires and cogs led into the walls. Eyes fixed on a blank screen, he pushed a button. Nothing happened, so he pushed the other three. Still, no response.

As he stood with a haggard, impatient expression across his face, he witnessed the lights flicker off. The gentle hum of energy he’d previously heard from them abruptly faded. Clenching his teeth—veins bulging—he kicked the base of a panel. Doing so, however, caused one cog to revolve, at which point all the other interlinked gears spun into life.

Dojin backed away for a moment. “I can’t be that lucky.”

One of the many screens turned on. At last, you made it. Another monitor abruptly activated. Gritu was necessary. Vokken cannot hack this type of technology…yet. Dojin felt nauseous as the next screen turned on. Travel to these coordinates: 41.902783 / 12.496366.

“Who the hell are you?”

The next to last monitor activated. I hated you. But, somehow, I still love you. His heart skipped a beat when reading those words. The last screen displayed another message: Time is running out. Reach the destination for answers. Beware the Crawlers and Pincers.

“Zadoya? Is that you?”

Not receiving a response, he used his visor to take a picture of the coordinates. Just then, he heard gear-like sounds outside the room. The screens in front of him shut down, but the cogs surrounding him continued to rotate with life. Scarcely a minute later, one of the lifeless husks he’d seen earlier motioned into the room. Its single, central wheel was more than enough to give it the mobility it needed to approach Dojin.

The mechanical being’s inner gears spiraled like clockwork. Metal limbs rapidly bending, twisting, and reshaping into elongated blades, the ‘pincer’ extended each apparatus and swiped at the renegade. Dojin rolled back, evading them by a mere meter. Kicking down a table, he used it as a shield while blasting the pincer with his plasma shotgun.

Before he could take a deep breath, three more pincers charged into the room. They promptly confronted Dojin, at which point he replaced his gun with gauss pistols in each hand. He avoided sharp blades and veered to the door while unloading clips of incendiary bullets into their cog-infested chests. Hearing wheels behind him, Dojin ducked while porting back his shotgun, discharging its plasma energy to destroy yet another emerging pincer.

This freaky place and its asshole guards awakened when those monitors turned on, he thought to himself, recharging his plasma gun. Whoever contacted me knew this. Could that have really been Zadoya? But she died in the tournament. Narja even said those Death Ship robots took….

“Fuck!” he said aloud. “It’s either a trap or—”

Seeing two more pincers approach across the hall, Dojin lost his train of thought and used his gauss pistols to dispose of them. Easy to take down but deadly in groups, he conceded. If they get to me while I’m reloading, I’m a dead man. Thinking hard, he frowned. I’ve gotta make this quick. No longer hesitating, he temporarily used his KLD as an emergency to contact Marauder. To his surprise, Jai’ryndar answered.

“Yo, augmented dude.”

“I beg your pardon?” the alien said.

“You, me, and your badass implants: best fucking friends starting now. I’m on a covert mission. No one but Xorvaj, Rah’tera, and Yaro need to know. Get them and your augmented ass over here ASAP.”

After sending his coordinates to the uganda, he deactivated his kinetic link device. He stood still, waiting for his primary weapon to recharge. At that moment, a thunderous sound erupted in his ears as the wall beside him collapsed. A regiment of eight pincers emerged and surrounded the renegade.

“Suck my dick,” he said, shooting them until his plasma shotgun overheated.

In the midst of the gunfire, the renegade leapt back while tossing an enchanted FT-356 grenade. Upon detonation, a dense blast of frost magic enveloped the pincers, causing them to freeze. Seizing the chance, Dojin jumped out of the building, smashing through a pane of glass. He held his breath as he fell, donned a helmet, and activated the zitrogen tank built into his titanium armor.

“Mother of shit!”

Falling thousands of meters, Dojin could barely grip his KLD, let alone activate it and use its buttons. Enveloped in noxious clouds, his armor revealed signs of deterioration. Aware of his suit corroding, he screamed in frustration. Focusing harder on his kinetic link, Dojin managed to activate it for just a few seconds, allowing him to turn on his sabaton’s thrusters. As they ignited, he fell through the last cloud where the atmosphere cleared.

Even though the renegade no longer needed to worry about his armor disintegrating, he immediately spotted another nightmarish problem that caused him to curse: a steam-enveloped airship approaching from the east. Using his thrusters, he attempted to evade it and veered toward the tower he’d come from; at least until his armor lost energy.

“You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kidding me!”

With nothing else to help him escape, he pointed his left arm at the accelerating airship and released a harpoon linked to his forearm. By chance, it caught on to the rear hydraulics. He reeled himself onto the poop deck where a legion of gear-infused beings stood. Six of them were pincers. The other twelve beings—crawlers—moved in a quadrupedal galumph, their blank faces and permanent pronograde postures intending to deter their prey.

Despite their horrid design, the renegade cocked his gauss pistols. “Come get me, ugly bitches!” They soon encircled him, their blades at his throat. “Okay, um, maybe we can come to an agreement?”

Out of nowhere, it seemed, the air behind Dojin ripped apart, tearing open as if a knife could cut through emptiness. Then, the air screamed. Metal sundered. Cogs spun out of place. Then, a pincer crumbled. Behind it rose Yarasuro whose blade gleamed with flame. Beside him, Xorvaj leapt from the portal, cleaving a crawler in two. Rah’tera followed, hurling laser daggers at a pack of crawlers. Just before the ethereal gateway sealed, Jai’ryndar emerged.

“Perfect timing,” Dojin said, blasting a pincer.

Jai’ryndar stood unarmed, positioning himself in a fighting stance as if he were a martial artist. The renegade gawked at him, wondering if he made a mistake by requesting his presence. When a pincer attacked Jai’ryndar, however, Dojin quickly changed his mind as he watched the uganda dodge the blades and punch its chest with augmented strength. The force of his thrust dented the gears within, causing the being to malfunction.

More machines scuttled toward Jai’ryndar who produced an uppercut so hard on the first to approach that he dismantled its head. Dodging another, he performed a roundhouse kick, smashing its innards. Afterwards, he jumped and kicked one in midair, forcing it off the airship. Gathering more augmented power, he fixed his eyes on a crawler and released dhi-cha—inner energy channeled into kinetic power—that erupted from his palms, blasting the mechanical monstrosity apart.

The others continued to do battle. Yarasuro and Xorvaj cut through them with their blades while Rah’tera, using his black-market cloaking field, struck from the shadows using laser daggers. Dojin, as usual, unleashed a salvo of beams from his plasma shotgun. In less than a minute, the airship was theirs to command.

III

Dark Secrets

Xorvaj sheathed his battered axe, roaring with excitement. “Ah, how I’ve longed for a battle like this!”

Dojin let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks for coming, guys. But who the heck conjured that portal?”

Yarasuro pointed at the engineer.

“One of my many implants allows me to create wormholes,” Jai’ryndar said. “With the coordinates you provided, it made our journey feasible. Now, can you explain what matter of escapade we are embarking on?”

“Not yet. But trust me, Jai, your badass implants and augmenting skills are seriously needed.”

Xorvaj snorted. “As long as I get to kill more, I’m satisfied.”

“I like working with you, Dojin,” the sandstalker began, “but truthfully, none of us should be here. We eliminated the enemy. Yet it wasn’t easy. You need to explain why you abandoned us and came to this wretched world by yourself.”

“I must concur with Rah’tera,” the mutant said.

“First of all, this isn’t the last we’ve seen of these faggots. Second, I myself don’t even know what’s going on. All I know is that whoever contacted me went through a lot of trouble to get my attention without Vokken knowing. In fact, the voice explicitly told me I cannot trust him.”

Yarasuro raised an eyebrow. “Voice?”

“Not even. I kept receiving a bunch of weird emails that freaked me out. The most recent directed me here. It provided me with coordinates and warned me about Vokken. Apparently, he can’t hack into this kind of technology.”

“Who or what does it want?”

“I intend to find out when we reach the coordinates it gave me. Shouldn’t be too far with this ship.”

“One last question,” Yarasuro said. “Why did you ignore Shira?”

Dojin groaned. “She’s got her own problems. I don’t need to dump my shit on her. I’ve gotta do this without her. I’m not even happy with you guys being here.” He gave out a heavy sigh. “But it seems I won’t get far without some help.”

“My axe is yours,” Xorvaj said.

The others agreed.

“Thanks, guys. Well, if you’re truly intending to come along with me, I ask that you keep your KLDs off so Vokken doesn’t track us.”

None of them argued. Taking control of the vessel’s helm, Dojin steered it away from the skyscrapers. Looking at his current position, he maneuvered the ship northwest in an attempt to reach the coordinates he’d been given. Though it was difficult to see ahead due to a sandstorm, Dojin used his visor’s scope technology for assistance.

As they passed some ruins, however, an alert resounded from the vessel’s central mast. Rah’tera climbed up to examine the origin of the sound. Finding only an amplifier linked to the mast, he leapt down via multiple rotating cogs to reach the deck and then searched the inner cabin. Descending to the ship’s engine room, he found himself surrounded by clockwork. By chance, he located a fuel gauge that revealed a near-empty tank.

“Damn,” he said, pulling a lever that stopped the loud alert. Sprinting back outside, the sandstalker yelled out, “We need to land!”

Dojin scowled. “What? Why?”

“We’re low on fuel!”

With the exception of Dojin, who was piloting the aerial steamship, his comrades scouted for a possible clearing—fore and aft. Not seeing anything, Xorvaj growled in extreme frustration. Rah’tera returned to the central mast, checking from high above, but didn’t locate any landing zone. The mutant, however, could see beyond the sandstorm from his vantage point and spotted a region blanketed by sand.

“There!” he shouted, pointing west. “About three kilometers away.”

“Sweet,” Dojin said, changing course as the airship started to descend on its own. “You guys better brace yourselves.”

The mercenaries scrambled for cover as the vessel dipped into burnished dunes. Mounds ripped apart as the airship crashed through sand. The force of the collision was so intense that it caused the masts to tear off, gears raining down. At the helm, Dojin tumbled and slid from fore to aft, falling off the ship and sinking into the sand.

Various sized cogs continued rolling through the curved dunes. With a stiff neck, the renegade struggled to turn his head. Failing to spot any of his companions, he surrendered his body to the scorched desert. He laid his head on the sand, ready to pass out when a noise like a motor rumbled beneath him.

Grains vibrated, as did Dojin’s beat-up body. Though weary, he gathered enough strength to turn sideways and tumble down a mound. Stopping at the base of another knoll, he spotted a metal handle protruding midway from where he’d fallen. Though haggard, he managed to stand. Eyes widening, Dojin realized what it was and shambled toward it.

Hearing various skidding sounds, the renegade realized that the pincers were advancing. Adrenaline pumping, he gripped the handle he’d found buried in the sand and used the strength of his power suit to pull out what he realized was a steam bike. It must’ve been concealed inside the airship and sank here during the crash, he conceded.

“Pretty dope.”

Swooping onto the bike, Dojin fiddled with its controls. He pulled one lever sideways, causing exhaust to blow from the vehicle’s pipes. Cogs and interconnected gears roared as they rotated. Taking a chance, he used another switch—this time one that moved forward. The steam bike accelerated at a high speed, hovering slightly above the dunes.

One hand steering, the renegade used his free hand to pull out a shotgun. Pincers emerged from all sides, zooming toward him. Pouncing from atop a dune, Xorvaj cleaved one with his axe; its charged plasma energy released, the shockwave disrupting two nearby pincers. Dojin hovered toward the others, blasting them apart.

As one of them turned in an attempt to pursue Dojin, the sandstalker uncloaked himself while shoving his plasma daggers into its chest. He then disappeared, searching for his next prey. Crawlers soon appeared by the ship’s ruins, at which point Yarasuro struck one. Evading their needle-shaped limbs, he pirouetted between two of them, deflecting their thrusts and striking each of them down.

“Piss off!” Dojin blurted, shooting the stragglers.

Jai’ryndar assisted him, conjuring augmented power from his joined palms and releasing a blue sphere of dhi-cha. Upon detonation, the pincer’s metal deteriorated. Six mechanical beings gathered around him, at which point he performed a roundhouse kick that broke one apart. As bladed limbs swiped forward to dice him, he evaded them and produced an uppercut so powerful that the force of his dhi-cha smashed its cogs, deactivating it.

Another steam-fueled entity appeared from behind, trying to catch Jai’ryndar off guard when Rah’tera uncloaked and attacked it. The uganda bowed at him with gratitude and then jumped high, kicking the pincer near him while in midair; his strength smashed through its hull, rendering it lifeless.

As the uganda landed, one last crawler emerged. Before it could harm him, Dojin blasted it to the ground. The renegade searched about on his hover bike. He could see only fallen pincers and crawlers that had just been destroyed by his comrades. Unable to find others approaching, he came to a stop.

“This is exhilarating,” Xorvaj said, sheathing his axe. “Remind me to thank whoever sent you here.”

“I haven’t the slightest fuckin’ clue.”

“In any case,” Yarasuro began, “we should continue traversing these dunes to reach the coordinates you received.”

“Once there, we shall certainly discover the reason,” Jai’ryndar said.

“Let’s hope,” Dojin responded, replacing an empty cartridge in his shotgun with a new one enchanted with the power of frost. No longer in a rush, he finally activated his KLD and programmed the shuttle he’d rented to pick his comrades up. “My ship’s responding. It should be here soon.”

“Good,” the sandstalker said. “This desert is uncanny to Yevis…it is making me feel rather uncomfortable.”

Vokken abruptly manifested on the renegade’s screen. “Explain why you’re on a backwater planet like Gritu.”

“I ain’t explaining shit to your bitch ass.” The renegade turned off his kinetic link device, scowling at the cybernetic image of the AI before it was wiped clean from the screen. “Cyber fag is a freakin’ trip ’n a half.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Yarasuro replied.

“Is it true?” Rah’tera said. “Upon your first encounter with the arcane intelligence, you fought against it?”

“Yeah,” the mutant answered. “And we barely survived, too.”

“With all due honor and grace,” Jai’ryndar started, “why have such a formidable entity as a member of our crew?”

“Because we’re foolish and desperate for allies,” Yarasuro said.

Rah’tera crossed his arms. “Even if he may be a pseudo ally?”

“I say we all deserve a second chance,” Xorvaj commented.

“True,” the renegade said with a nod. “Each of us is fucked up in our own way. Though, I must admit that the AI douche is the worst of us. As always, it’s Shira’s call.”

Moments later, the shuttle arrived and descended toward the group. As it landed, the mercenaries heard reverberations from the hazy heavens. At first, they thought the sounds were due to an apocalyptic thunderstorm. Gazing up, however, they saw shadows of distant airships closing in on them.

“Here comes the shitshow,” Xorvaj said.

“By the Goddess,” Yarasuro muttered.

“Get to the shuttle!” Dojin said, reactivating his newly found hover bike. “Hurry the fuck up and follow me!”

There was no time for hesitation. The group entered Dojin’s rented ship behind him, pursued by an armada of steamships whose cannons opened fire. Rah’tera took the helm and managed to evade the devastating attacks. Dojin, meanwhile, flew at maximum speed on his hoverbike and entered a valley.

Surrounded by canyons, Dojin descended several kilometers from the sky and accelerated between escarpments. Being attacked, he signaled Rah’tera to fly ahead of him. Slowing down, Dojin allowed a few airships to pass him. As they did, he ported out his emergency bazooka and launched a missile at one of the vessels that exploded in an instant.

Not having any more ammo for the devastating weapon, he switched to a plasma rifle and fired at a ship flying alongside him. He took aim at the lower level, and, by a stroke of luck, or so it seemed to him, he destroyed the vessel’s engine. Increasing his speed, he rejoined his fellow mercenaries and continued to lead the way.

“We’re still being pursued,” Yarasuro said.

“Kind of hard not to notice,” Rah’tera said, checking the radar that revealed a dozen ships closing in on him.

“Kill them!” Xorvaj demanded.

“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” the sandstalker responded. “This is a mere shuttle, not a battleship.”

“Should we call for reinforcements?” Jai’ryndar said. “I am sure Eladoris can assist us.”

“We can’t,” Yarasuro said glumly. “She’s only loyal to Vokken, and Dojin’s apparently on to something that neither of them should be aware of. We must trust Dojin’s instincts. Keep your KLD off, no matter the situation.”

“In that case, brace for assholes,” Xorvaj said.

As the airships chased them, more cannons fired. One of the projectiles hit the vessel; its simple force field was the only reason they didn’t explode. The barrier, however, malfunctioned when it received a direct hit. Dojin grimaced as he reloaded his plasma rifle with an enchanted clip of incendiary ammo. He then unloaded the magazine on a nearby aircraft whose destroyed engine caused the ship to explode.

This time, most of the vessels backed off. Dojin smirked at their withdrawal, pleased at his success. Almost there, he thought to himself. Entering another ruined city, the mercenaries flew amid sunken towers. Below them lay a derailed steam train whose tracks were mostly blanketed by sand.

Despite the fallen city enveloped in dunes, Dojin happened to spot a tunnel that hadn’t been covered yet. Gesturing at the entrance, he and his comrades made their way into the hole. The lights of their vehicles activated, illuminating the passage ahead. The airships that pursued them had no choice but to turn away, unable to enter the narrow tunnel.

Closing in on the coordinates, the renegade decelerated his bike. He could see an intricate design of gears embedded across each wall, including the ceiling. Locating a hatch, he came to a stop and landed just a few meters from it. The other mercenaries followed his lead, also landing and disembarking.

Dojin swung off his bike, approaching the hatch. “What do we have here?”

“Careful,” the mutant said, unsheathing his sword. “Do you realize that whatever brought you to this place could want you dead?”

“He’s got a point,” Rah’tera said. “This might be an elaborate trap.”

“Trap for what? I already killed all those heist dipshits who wanted me dead. Whatever this is, it isn’t a ruse. It’s something else.”

“You may be right, noble Dojin,” Jai’ryndar said. “Still, tread lightly for your own sake.”

“For my own sake,” the renegade grumbled with impatience, flinging the hatch open and descending a rusty ladder.

IV

Cybernetic Rebirth

The passage brought Dojin to a deep subterranean zone. All the lights were noticeably dim, the lower depths clearly receiving less power than the surface. Upon reaching the base, he found himself in a cavernous tunnel where a derailed train lay smashed against a partially crumbled wall. His comrades followed him, scouting the area.

“No sign of hostiles,” Jai’ryndar said.

The uganda’s words didn’t stop Dojin from keeping his itchy finger on the trigger of his weapon. They advanced farther through the dark passage, passing overturned trams. Crossing an unfinished railway, they found themselves at an intersection. With the exception of Dojin, they stopped, eyes fixed on their kinetic link devices.

“Don’t even fucking think about it,” the renegade warned, glaring at his comrades. “We need to get there without using our KLDs.”

“I’m aware of that,” Rah’tera said with a frown.

“Now would be a good time to have Myris,” Yarasuro said.

The ghensoth agreed with a grumbling sigh.

Refusing to activate his KLD, Dojin decided to go left. The others followed him down the passage. After walking two kilometers, they reached a zone where the ceiling had collapsed. Forced to backtrack, Dojin chose the rightward passageway at the original junction. The path, however, also led them to a dead end.

“Bullshit,” the renegade muttered to himself.

Turning around, they came across several crawlers scuttling along the walls. Pincers approached as well, blocking their path. Xorvaj hurled his axe at one while sprinting toward another, curling into a ball and smashing it with his shell. Straightening back out, he grabbed his axe and cleaved through the others with ease. In the meantime, Dojin blasted crawlers off the walls with his gun. More pincers advanced, at which point Yarasuro struck with his sword, slicing five machines into pieces.

Rah’tera uncloaked himself, stabbing one of the clockwork entities in vital spots until it malfunctioned. He then cloaked himself again and snuck up to three other mechanical beings, repeating his tactic. Jai’ryndar focused his attention on those that remained. Conjuring augmented power, he punched the air and released his inner dhi-cha—a burst of kinetic energy that destroyed most of their cogs and upper frames. With overwhelming power, he kicked another across the chamber, its dented body smashing against a wall.

“Behind you!” the mutant shouted.

The uganda performed a split, evading a pincer’s blade. Narrowly escaping decapitation, Jai’ryndar rose back to his feet and rapidly punched the machine; each hit severely dented its corroded frame. While the clockwork being was stunned, Jai’ryndar used all of his implants to replenish his inner dhi-cha, releasing an augmented sphere of energy from his palms that blasted it apart.

“Thank you, venerable Yaro.”

Yarasuro nodded at the martial artist.

“Let’s hurry before more of these dicknuts come,” Dojin said.

Sprinting north, they made their way to the original intersection. It was a narrow footpath where lights flickered and failed. In time, the group entered a massive chamber where another derailed train lay east of them. The mutant saw pincers patrolling inside the trams and gestured at his comrades to steer clear of that area.

Locating a hole in the nearest wall, Dojin bent through it and found another hatch. He opened it as quietly as possible and descended the ladder within. The others followed him. Reaching the base, they found themselves in a dimly-lit room that appeared to have once been for the purpose of controlling trains.

“What manner of place is this?” Jai’ryndar asked.

“Yet another fallen civilization,” Yarasuro responded. “As for this facility, I do not know its origin or purpose.”

Rah’tera observed a corner containing a multitude of broken cogs. “We’ll find out one way or another.”

“Just point me in the direction of carnage,” Xorvaj said.

In the meantime, Dojin glanced at the image from his visor. “We freakin’ made it,” he announced, confirming that they finally reached the coordinates. He promptly approached a blank computer screen. “I’m here,” he declared to it. “Now tell me…who are you and why did you want me to come here?”

There was no verbal response, but a concealed door opened behind them. Dojin turned, ready to fire his weapon. His comrades stood firm, also ready for battle. When the entryway was clear, they stepped into the hidden room. Ceiling lights turned on, followed by a monitor that hung on the wall in front of them.

Just then, a trapdoor opened. Steam filled the air as a carriage-shaped armchair emerged from the depths. The seat’s surrounding wires and cogs automatically linked to a mainframe that stood before the mercenaries. Shortly after, the screen activated. Dojin took a step forward, his heart pounding.

“Zadoya?” he muttered. “Is that you?”

The screen hummed. Moments later, words appeared: I am what remains of her memories. Rah’tera appeared intrigued. The uganda never had the chance to meet Zadoya, so he remained neutral to the situation. Yarasuro, on the other hand, grew even more pale than he already was; he sheathed his swords, gawking at the message. Dojin was the only one who approached the monitor, extending his hand.

“How? How is this possible? Where are you? What’s happening?”

Vokken, the screen replied. He hacked the androids that took my body out of the arena and found a way to revive me. But I still do not know his purpose. All I know is that I am losing myself with each passing second. My Emotions. All my feelings. They are vanishing.

“What do you mean, vanishing?”

It feels as if my identity is gradually being deleted. I can only assume that it might be an anomaly…some sort of glitch due to this unnatural resurrection. Or it could be—

“Vokken,” Dojin assumed, his brow furrowed. “What can I do to help you?”

The monitor shut down before he could get a response. At the same moment, however, lights illuminated by the carriage. Dojin opened the door and glanced inside; only one seat had been placed in the roofless contraption. He turned his attention back to the other mercenaries, all of whom looked just as surprised as he did.

“Bring her back,” Yarasuro said, shaking his hand.

Dojin nodded. He stepped inside the machine-like vehicle, at which point it rotated and descended. Steam filled the area again. Then, the carriage accelerated through a circuit of rails within a cavernous chamber where a network of cogs reverberated. The renegade recharged his gun, his eyes gazing upwards and out through the exposed top.

“Is it really possible?” he said aloud.

The carriage picked up speed, forcing Dojin to remain seated. Its railway curved and brought him outside. The track stood five hundred kilometers above ground, where upon the carriage accelerated from one mountain to another. Caught off guard by the height, Dojin stiffened.

Pillars jutting from the subterranean depths were what kept the railway in one piece. Each time the renegade passed a column, the cog-built carriage shook due to the track’s slight incline and sudden decline. Dojin had a distaste for this method of travel and felt the urge to vomit, but he breathed deeply and dealt with it.

Dust devils swirled, scattering throughout the dunes. The renegade could barely see due to the sandstorm blanketing the region beneath him, but it was at least clear enough for him to spot an approaching steamship. As it moved skyward in his direction, he entered a cavern in the adjacent mountain.

Riding through the pitch-black cave, Dojin fired his plasma gun several times. Although momentary, the beams lit-up the eerie passage ahead. Despite having no control over where the contraption led him, he felt relieved at being able to see his surroundings. Most important to him, there were no enemies in sight.

In due time, the contraption he rode on slowed down and then ascended. A small part of the ceiling opened as he approached it. Dojin found himself in another mechanized room. This time, everything remained active. He climbed out of the carriage and walked up to a collection of monitors on the wall in front of him. Observing the room, Dojin saw a wired seat where a lifeless pincer sat—deactivated. His index finger cradling the trigger of his gun, he examined it with great vigilance.

Do not harm this machine, the screen before him commanded. It was the only one that I was able to hack. It will help you find me.

“How?”

Its intelligence has different coding than the usual ones Vokken uses in other worlds. This one will link you to my realm, showing you as an anomaly. Whether Vokken is on our side or not, a stealthy approach is necessary to find me.

“Tell me more about Vokken’s place in all this.”

I cannot remember if his intention to resurrect me was pure. It is possible he brought me back because he felt that I am an asset to the team. In theory, you could confront him about it. Then he might have an elaborate excuse for what he has done. We need to find out the source of his intention without him knowing.

“Right.”

The bottom line is I am forgetting my identity. This can either be a glitch or some malevolent design to make me your enemy.

“Shit. Well, you best tell me how I can pull you out of that fucked up cyber world.”

My memory of your foul language will probably never be erased even if Vokken tried. In any case, I will move the pincer. Take its place and allow me to control the entity so I can link you into the system that Vokken created.

“Creepy as hell, but whatever.”

Thank you. I will now activate the pincer. Please trust me and do not attack it no matter what.

“Uh-huh...”

The mechanical being sprung to life, rising and moving away from the seat. Dojin kept his guard up but eventually sat down, at which point the cog-composed entity inserted a tiny chip into the system before him. Not a second later, a semitransparent particle beam of neon blue light shot into Dojin’s forehead that immediately caused his head to throb. Cursing at the top of his lungs, he felt as though his skull were about to split open. His eyes reddened before he blacked out.

V

Collateral Damage

Dojin awakened after what seemed like a week, finding himself enveloped in a force field. Half his body was stuck inside a virtual wall made of pure energy. He attempted to move but found himself in a paralyzed state. Panicking didn’t help him. Realizing that his actions were futile, he stopped struggling.

After a few seconds of not resisting, Dojin’s imprisoned body somehow slipped out of the energized wall. Landing on a prismatic floor, he groaned and got to his feet. Focused on his surroundings, the renegade acknowledged that he was definitely within some kind of cybernetic landscape.

“It worked. I’m inside her realm.” By habit, he glanced at his KLD. Peering closer at the screen, he stiffened, his eyes fixed on the date. “What the fuck? Two weeks passed? That’s not possible.”

From a corner ahead, a beam discharged at him. Caught off guard, it struck his shoulder. Despite falling, he managed to roll aside. Taking cover, he promptly ported away his shotgun and materialized a rifle instead. Loading it with a clip enchanted with the element of lightning, he counterattacked with the hope of destroying whatever had attacked him.

The enemy darted out into the open, revealing itself to be a quadrupedal pod akin to the machinery from the ancient Nempada Empire. Dojin had never seen anything like it before. Nevertheless, he didn’t hesitate to fire rapidly at the intimidating entity. High voltage bullets from his weapon caused it to stagger, but not before it struck him with a beam that knocked him off his feet.

Dojin managed to rise to his knees, blood dripping from his mouth and forehead. He kept shooting at the quadrupedal, electricity enveloping its tall frame until it exploded. Just when he’d replaced his partially melted armor, more machines emerged from an adjacent chamber. They released beams, at which point he sprinted ahead to where the destroyed pod lay.

Reaching the corner, he threw a grenade at the pursuing entities. Upon hearing the explosion, he exited the chamber and made his way through a narrow passage. Every wall, including the ceiling and floor he walked on, appeared the same: prismatic energy with shimmering circuitry running through the infrastructure.

At the end of tunnel, he stepped into an enormous zone where at least a hundred steps lay before him. An abyss filled with explosive nuclear power lay below, but it didn’t stop him from climbing the steps. As he scaled them, multiple vessels materialized above. Without hesitation, they targeted him and unleashed their lasers.

Dojin returned fire, aiming at the pilots. Scaling the staircase, he didn’t stop shooting at the entities. The aircrafts careened out of control, plunging into the depths of burning energy. With a menacing smirk plastered across his sweaty face, the wrathful renegade charged up the stairs like a psycho.

Running upward, he could see the summit in the distance. A figure appeared to be sitting there as he drew closer to the top. While scaling the steps, he thought, Vokken, you demented piece of shit, I’m going to kill you. With less than twenty steps remaining, he slowed down and then stopped, gazing at the silhouette of a cybernetic woman.

“Zadoya?”

The renegade stood frozen, his mouth agape at the sight of her. Only the left side of her face remained natural. She was still wearing the mask he’d bought her after she’d been burned. Since a metal plate covered half her head, she only had visible hair from the righthand side. Both of her eyes appeared to have been genetically altered with technology.

As for her chest, where she’d been mortally wounded, it had been replaced with a metal husk. In fact, with the exception of Zadoya’s face, her entire body complemented the artificial arm she’d been given when humyn. Dojin had no words. Though immensely pleased to see her, he nevertheless felt uneasy.

“You have hacked into and infiltrated a classified zone. Surrender at once or suffer the consequences.”

“But you’re the one who guided me here.”

“Relinquish your weapons or face my wrath.”

“It’s me…Dojin.”

Compartments in Zadoya’s thighs opened, revealing fusion pistols. She pulled them out with each hand, targeting Dojin who took a step back. Even more threatening, a large cannon materialized on her shoulder. The renegade dropped his gun, letting it fall into the abyss whose nuclear energy swallowed the weapon.

“Remove your kinetic link device.”

Dojin surmised that obliging to her demands and letting go of his KLD wouldn’t affect him in the real world, so he discarded it. When she lowered her weapons—cannon included—he closed his eyes and used his mind to hack into the cyber realm, porting out his shotgun. Zadoya flinched, gazing at him in disbelief.

“What are you doing?”

“I know we can never be together again. Life, being the bitch that it always is, forced me to move on. But if you’re still in there somewhere…I love you,” he said, his face grim. “Which is all the more reason why I need to do this.”

Before she could pull out her weapons, he blasted her chest. The impact sent her crashing against the steps. Though rattled, the cyborg grabbed his legs and threw him off balance. The steps were so narrow that he fell into the pit—but not before he launched a grappling hook. Latching on to her waist, Dojin hung in the air and tugged hard.

At first, Zadoya did not budge. The renegade, once again, imagined himself hacking into the cyber realm and donned his heaviest armor. His unexpected weight caused her to tumble. As a result, they both fell into the nuclear abyss. Before disintegrating, Dojin held his former lover. Though she attempted to strangle him as they fell, he embraced her with tenderness.

“Why?” she demanded. “Why did you do this?”

“Whether you accept it or not, I’m pulling you out of this virtual nightmare,” Dojin said in a rasping tone. “Hate me all you want. I’ll never stop loving you no matter what. So go ahead. Kill me.”

“Dojin…”

The cyborg lessened her grip on him, her cybernetic eyes unexpectedly filled with tears. They embraced each other while falling and felt the scorching blaze of nuclear energy envelop them. Within seconds, their virtual bodies disintegrated. Dissipating from the cyber realm, their minds became free.

Enigma

At the birth of Ensar, I unfolded the void. Time and space awakened like an everlasting light, permeating through the darkness that is now Chaos. The sacred continuum remained ever infinite akin to our souls. The soundless gave voice; the shapeless took form; the All transformed with no beginning or end. Dimensions interlinked. Arcane gateways woven through the fabric of the cosmos. And there, within one such portal, my divine gift unto you lingers forevermore. It lies concealed—nameless and eternal—awaiting the discovery of a lifetime.

Transdimensional Origins 87:5

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