Inside a sophisticated yet dilapidated laboratory, a figure lay soundly asleep on its research table.
Strangely, it had a humanoid appearance but wasn't a being of flesh and blood.
It seemed more like… a robot?
Arov observed the gears partially hidden beneath its thick white cloak.
Brraaak!
A futuristic door, standing 3 meters tall, shattered into pieces, its debris striking the slumbering robot.
"HAHAHA! Are you here, Little Argenta!?"
A towering robot, five meters in height, bellowed and puffed out its chest.
"Grrr… You bastard! Can't you enter normally? How many times have you destroyed my lab doors!?"
The previously sleeping robot,Argenta growled in frustration.
Smaller robots started moving, bringing in raw materials from who knows where, and immediately began repairing the destroyed door.
"Forget the door. I have something urgent to tell you," the large robot said.
Argenta noticed the expression on his companion's face and felt a twinge of unease.
"Frank, is this about… that?"
"Yes, we've just received news from the Divine Court. They've informed us they can't spare any forces for reinforcements."
Argenta's expression darkened, hardening as though he had turned to stone.
Without delay, the two vanished, leaving the base they called home behind.
Outside, fragments of countless planets formed a sprawling asteroid field. Blood of various colors splattered everywhere, and energy storms generated by battles raged across the area. Only destruction remained in this place.
Argenta and Frank stood atop a continent-sized fragment of a shattered planet, their gaze fixed on the horizon.
A massive energy shield covered an area spanning the size of a galaxy.
"We are the noble Automata race. Once a proud people existing since the beginning of creation, now reduced to cannon fodder for the Divine Court," Frank said in a melancholic tone.
Argenta's eyes burned with rage as he stared at the vast, star-filled expanse, now ruined by their war with the Abyss.
"Frank, steel yourself," Argenta said, turning to his companion.
"I know it's hard, but you are the only fighter left on our side. All the Divine Court's Myth-Tier warriors have fallen. You are the last remaining Legendary-Tier."
Argenta's eyes were filled with fury and a thirst for vengeance.
"We're counting on you. No matter the odds, we'll fight until the end."
Frank looked at Argenta with sorrow, unwilling to see his dear friend perish in this hopeless battle.
When the day came, and the Abyss breached the colossal barrier, the entire galaxy turned into a chaotic battlefield.
The Automata race, once dominant in one of the World Domes—housing hundreds of thousands, even millions of galaxies—fell in a single day.
Within a spacecraft, Frank, his very 'soul' shattered, desperately fled from the pursuing Abyss entities.
The surrounding darkness shifted, morphing into a terrifying face attempting to consume the entire ship.
But with the Automata race's astounding technological prowess, a powerful energy cannon fired, dispersing the Abyss's darkness momentarily.
Frank knew it was futile.
He had no idea how much longer he could withstand the relentless assaults of the Abyss creatures.
Hope was nowhere in sight.
Clutching a pendant containing a beautiful gem, Frank held onto it tightly.
This gem held the entire legacy of the Automata race.
Neither the Divine Court nor the Abyss knew that the true heritage of the Automata was stored within what seemed like an ordinary pendant.
Frank intended for this legacy to vanish forever.
Before he could destroy it, a hand, covered in broken gears, stopped him.
It was Argenta, her body almost entirely ruined.
"Don't… destroy… it…"
Frank looked at her with sorrow.
"Argenta… The Abyss corruption in your body has reached its peak. There's no hope left for the Automata race. It's better to die than let our legacy fall into their hands!"
Argenta interjected, her voice distorted.
"I have a—#&-27;$-#... way… -#&3-"
"I'll detonate myself with a spatial bomb, creating a dimensional rift. You must escape."
Frank was stunned.
"Wait! A spatial bomb!? How could you have one? Weren't they all used up in the war!? Besides, we don't even have the proper catalyst; otherwise—"
Frank shuddered, noticing the sincere look in Argenta's eyes.
He realized she was ready to die.
Clutching the pendant tightly, Frank relented.
"Alright. Let's do this."
Argenta moved to the ship's storage bay.
The spacecraft, now barely functional, had lost nearly all its systems—even the AI meant to manage it was gone.
They had to rely solely on manual control.
Sifting through piles of gears, Argenta retrieved a small, blackhole-like object.
A spatial bomb—such an unassuming name for a weapon capable of collapsing an entire World Dome—was now stored here like ordinary cargo.
All that remained was to manually activate it without remote control.
RUMBLE!
A violent tremor shook the ship.
The massive vessel was being lifted by a hand formed entirely of pure darkness.
The terrifying face materialized again.
"Shall I speak in your language, or will you welcome us first?" the face sneered.
Frank, trembling, shouted a telepathic warning to Argenta.
BOOM!
The spacecraft exploded, scattering debris through the darkness.
After a moment…
A glowing red light floated amidst the void.
It was Frank, his mechanical body encased in an energy shield.
He darted forward, a crimson comet hurtling toward the horrifying face.
A mighty fist flew, met by the surrounding darkness.
BOOOM!
K-KRACK!
The shockwaves unraveled the space around them, resembling a powerful supernova that erased entire star fields in an instant.
"KHIKHIKHIKHI…"
An eerie laugh echoed from the horrifying face.
"Impressive… Impressive! You're only a Legendary-Tier Rank 1, yet your strength is extraordinary. I'm quite impressed."
Thousands of mouths emerged, blanketing the darkness around them.
Frank clenched his fists.
"HAAAAAA!"
A massive mecha-like silhouette manifested behind him, mimicking his movements.
BOOM! BOOM! KUANG! DUM! DUM! DUM!
No matter how many blows he landed, the result was the same.
Defeat.
Time passed—how long, Frank couldn't tell. Exhaustion took hold, his body battered from the prior battle.
The Abyss corruption within him had reached its peak. Death was only a matter of time.
Frank decided to retreat, the surrounding darkness seemingly observing him like prey trying to flee its predator.
"KHUKHUKHU, trying to run? You're nothing but an insect to me. Why not surrender and join the Abyss?" The countless mouths taunted him mockingly.
With the last of his energy, Frank opened a small, isolated domain, completely hidden from outside interference.
The darkness loomed outside, enveloping the domain entirely.
Inside, Argenta's worried voice echoed.
"Frank! Are you okay!?"
Frank fell to his knees, his robotic legs buckling.
The energy within his body was in utter turmoil, as if it had been violently stirred.
Argenta helped him up, her concern evident.
"What about the spatial bomb? Did you manage to activate it?" Frank asked.
"I've successfully activated it. Now it just needs—"
Before Argenta could finish, Frank pulled out the pendant he had been safeguarding.
He handed it to her.
"Frank, this…" Argenta knew what this meant.
"Now, it's your mission."
Frank stood, gripping the spatial bomb Argenta had prepared.
Moments later, the domain opened.
"KEKEKEKEK! So, you've finally surrendered! Now, it's time to join the great Abyss army—"
CRACK!
The sound of shattering echoed across the Automata race's World Dome.
Everything was consumed by destruction.
No—what had once been a World Dome containing millions of galaxies was now reduced to a chaotic, lethal void.
Billions of light-years from the blast site, Argenta awoke.
[Repairing mechanical functions: 90% complete.]
"Ouch…"
The excruciating pain roused Argenta as if she had been asleep for ages.
Scanning her surroundings with spiritual energy, she found herself on a desolate planet.
Confused as to how she had survived, Argenta soon realized something.
The pendant containing the Automata race's legacy hung around her neck. She guessed it had saved her.
Saying nothing more, Argenta constructed a simple grave for Frank.
Placing the gift he had given her atop it, she whispered, "Goodbye, my friend. I'm sorry, and thank you for everything."
Argenta soared into the starlit sky toward the other side of the World Dome, leaving Frank's grave to rest in solitude until the end of time.
***
"So, you're the being inside that tube?"
[... How did you know...]
"... You didn't even look at the screen your master was working on... It clearly says there that you're an artificial intelligence designed to awaken Traits systematically," Arov said.
[Ah-hem... I may have forgotten about that detail.]
Arov eyed the prismatic object—the system before him—with skepticism.
[Hey, don't look at me like that. It's true that my purpose is to awaken hidden Traits, but my other mission is to create Heroes to save countless worlds from the Abyss!]
"Let me guess, your Creator abandoned you. Am I right?"
The system was at a loss for words.
"... Looks like I hit the mark."
So, should I say that the interdimensional exploration party just got a new member?
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