Chapter 26 - A Journey Begins - II

As they approached, words of the guardian remained in Zypher's mind. He felt a new weight because he realized what this journey would bring with it, as well as what responsibilities they carried with them. A series of sacrifices that he hadn't foreseen yet.

They arrived at the fragment, lying in a small crater of blackened glass, a soft and cold glow, utterly unlike the fiery energy of Ares. As he picked up this fragment, he felt a wave wash over him-a sense of purpose and clarity as if streaming from the fragment itself.

Kiera looked at him, questioning. "Are we ready for this, Zypher? For whatever else lies ahead?

He looked at her, holding tight to this fragment. "We don't have a choice. The journey has already gone past the element of survival. It has become about changing everything: Neo-ilka, the gods, and maybe even ourselves.".

They turned and set off across the Wastes, leaving behind all the cold residue of the past and the promise of power tempered with the weight of sacrifice. And as they walked, Zypher could feel a resolve hardening within him, a readiness to meet what lay ahead of him, the cost notwithstanding.

Their journey had barely begun, yet he was sure that, without a doubt, it would shape the very fabric of their world.

The air grew cold as Zypher and his team ventured deeper into the Ruins, an abandoned stretch of Neo-ilka where the city's tech titans had long ago given up. The place was once a hotbed of innovation; its birth could be felt where dreams and large ideas conceived themselves. Now, it was a graveyard to many failed dreams and mangled metal as the rusty machines lay strewn around like skeletal remainders. It was a place nobody wanted to go to willingly; stories were told about wandering spirits, malfunctioning tech, and worse-creations left behind that had taken on lives of their own.

The team moved cautiously, each footstep ringing through the quietly eerie air. Fragments of Divinitas pulsed in Zypher's pack, guiding him with a beacon-like instinct. But they weren't alone here, no; shadows danced at the very edges of vision, flickering in and out as if knowing their presence was something to be aware of. Kiera scanned their surroundings, her hold on her shock pistol tight.

"This place is… unnatural," she whispered, her voice low. "It's like the city's ghost."

Orion snorted derisively, though his hand rested on the hilt of his blade.

"Ghost or not, we're here for a reason. Let's not lose our nerve.".

Zypher ignored the banter, concentrating on the pulsing signal from the fragments. The path led them through crumbling hallways where flickering lights cast twisted shadows across the walls. They passed by consoles frozen in mid-boot, abandoned drones covered in dust, and rows of decayed monitors with their displays in glitches that resembled a threat notice more than an error.

Deeper, he felt a creeping dread. It felt as though walls watched, alive and breathing, and air thick with metallic scents, like tangy blood, filled his lungs.

This was one of the first technology labs, Nyra whispered barely audible. They experimented with stuff here that no one else would attempt to risk. Lots of experimental AI and cybernetic enhancements anything too deadly or volatile for the rest of Neo-ilka.

Zypher nodded. Exactly why the Divinitas fragment would be here. The gods' technology would have drawn them like moths to a flame.

Darkness seemed to thicken itself as they continued to move deeper into the ruins, it was impossible to distinguish where hallways ended and shadows started. Finally, they reached a huge steel door, partially caved in and plastered with warning signs.

Beyond it lay the heart of the lab—a huge room full of high machines, glass pods, and racks of complicated devices humming with a faint, residual energy. And suspended in the cracked containment chamber at the heart of it all was the piece they sought. Its glow was dim, pulsating like a heartbeat, as if waiting for them to draw close.

Zypher stepped forward. The very moment he crossed the threshold, a low growl filled the air. Shadows coalesced into a monstrous form—half metal, half flesh, with jagged limbs and glowing eyes that seemed made of something unholy. The forgotten guardian of the lab.

Orion muttered and raised his own weapon. "Another test. I was wondering when they'd show.".

The creature let out a raw snarl, its eyes fixing on Zypher. It launched itself toward him, its metal limbs skittering across the floor, claws glinting in the dim light. Kiera drew fire from her shock pistol. She struck the creature square in the chest, and it barely stumbled, its rage unabated.

"Keep it distracted!" Zypher shouted as he ran toward the fragment. "I need to get the containment field down.".

Orion leapt forward, swinging his blade with a fierce cry. The creature parried with one of its massive claws, sparks flying as metal met metal. Nyra darted in a blur of speed, fingers dancing over her console, hacking into the lab's systems, trying to find a way to disable any defenses around the fragment.

He entered the containment chamber, studying the control center. Old, rusty, half-fused by time and decay. But Zypher felt the thread of the fragment's energy reaching out to him, urging him closer and almost whispering.

As he kept overriding the chamber's locking systems, the creature turned its furious regard on him it sensed its purpose its very existence being threatened. It lunged again but this time Kiera stood in its path; firing a controlled burst of energy that seared its metal plating. With a screech the creature reeled back its fury now divided between the two attackers.

Almost there, Zypher muttered, fingers flying across the console. He could feel the system fighting back against him, as if some ancient and evil presence was baked into its code, a chunk of the god's will interwoven with the tech.

Finally, the doors of the chamber creaked open, and the fragment fell into his hands, a cold, sharp piece of divine machinery. The second he held it, he felt a flow of power through him: clarity mixed with terrible responsibility. It was no longer a part of a weapon but a sliver of knowledge, an echo of the god's mind it once belonged to.