100 Days Until the War of Soldam
Ark ship operator communicating with headquarters.
— T34, ready for deployment.
Authorization confirmed.
— Deploy the Immortal Knight!
A meteor streaked across the sky, carving a fiery path. It was no longer just an object; it was me. A force that would level all in its wake. To some, I was a savior, a deliverer in the chaos. To others, I was an omen of annihilation.
And yet, there was something unsettling.
The smoke from the impact dissipated, revealing a strange battlefield.
Where were the machines? Why were there only... people?
Had they miscalculated the coordinates?
Screams and orders crashed into my thoughts, swirling in a sea of panic and fury.
— There! The Immortal Knight! Kill him!
What was happening? Why did they want to destroy me? No... I wouldn't let this happen.
A sharp pain pierced my skull, a drill boring into the core of my mind.
I had to defend myself.
Blood. My eyes bled.
When my vision returned, the battlefield was unchanged… except for one thing.
Something—no, someone—was writhing, impaled in my arm. It wasn't the familiar synthetic fluids of mechanical enemies. This was different. Red. Hot. Human.
The sound of flesh being pierced vibrated in my ears. I could hear it all. Every second.
My armor moved on its own, a synchronized death machine. My blades emerged.
A military truck barreled toward me.
I hesitated, if only for a moment. But... I had no choice, did I?
With the speed of a predator, my body tore through the vehicle like it was paper. It split in two with the ease of cutting through butter.
"This is... fun," I murmured, my voice foreign, hollow. "Flesh tears so much faster than cold metal."
The once serene landscape was now a warzone. Soldiers emerged from small buildings, armed, desperate, their eyes filled with hatred. They came to erase me, to destroy the light of the Empire.
A blast of energy surged from my hand. The soldiers fell like insects, their bodies nothing but broken, bleeding husks.
But then I saw her.
A little girl. A stuffed animal clutched in her arms.
I froze.
She's just a child...
For the first time, a flicker of doubt clouded my mind. What was I even doing here? Why was I killing them?
But then—the pain.
It exploded in my head again, a sharp, suffocating agony that drowned out everything.
The stuffed animal detonated.
The girl—she was gone.
The shockwave rattled my armor. A deep, mechanical hum emanated from within me.
I needed to repair the armor, but it would take time... time I didn't have.
The enemy approached. Their shouts burned in my ears.
— We will protect our land from the Empire! We will not fall! We will kill you to prove our sovereignty!
Together, they shouted in unison:
— Death to the Empire!
They aimed their weapons at me. Not ordinary rifles. These were designed for bigger prey.
Inside my helmet, a red flash blinked.
Pain flared behind my eyes.
But then… something else.
A rush.
I felt free.
The pain melted into exhilaration. The armor hummed, more alive than ever before.
I had never felt so alive.
I stood in the center of the battlefield, an invisible smile curling beneath the helmet.
"Everyone is my enemy now," I thought, the bloodlust coursing through my veins.
Then, the slaughter began.
It was effortless. A massacre.
A tidal wave of violence.
The Immortal Knight obliterated everything in his path.
When the killing stopped, a sea of blood stretched before me.
Tears mingled with the crimson around me. I wasn't sure whether they were my own.
Something cracked inside me.
What have I done? I thought. No... this can't be real. I was supposed to protect them…
99 Days Until the War of Soldam
What had I done?
The pain didn't end.
The machines that kept me alive—no, forced me alive—thrust needles, tubes, and harsh metals into my body, extracting data, injecting serums, keeping the rhythm of my suffering. But none of it compared to the agonizing pulse in my chest.
It was heavy. Unyielding. A heartbeat that refused to be silenced.
They had families. They had children...
Mother... I whispered to myself in the dark, broken corners of my mind. I will purify those who oppose the Empire, just like you wanted.
I will cleanse their souls with the fire of my armor.
I was the Immortal Knight. I had a mission. I was born for this.
Laughter bubbled from my throat, dry, hollow, uncontrollable. It was no longer laughter. It was a cackle. Something darker. My body trembled as I embraced it.
When I opened my eyes, I realized the mask had fallen away.
The broken room around me was silent. Metal walls, crushed machinery. Nothing mattered.
All that mattered was the euphoria.
I couldn't stop laughing.
I was born for this.
80 Days Until the War of Soldam
— Kekeke... T34, tell me, did you feel anything different today?
The voice crackled from the speakers. It was mocking, distorted, as if enjoying my torment.
— You felt it, didn't you? That thrill. The sensation of becoming the Empire's hero...
— Your medal shines brighter than ever now.
Now, I understand.
I was made for this.
To purify. To protect the Empire from its enemies.
Long live the Empire.
— Kekeke... Looks like you finally get it.
— You're just a thing now.
— My masterpiece.
— So you won't die in the battle... I'll make you stop being human.
The machines stirred. The mechanical shadows loomed over me.
But I didn't flinch.
I welcomed them.
I wanted to transcend.
I wanted to keep cutting.
I wanted to protect the Empire.
They approached with precision. Needles. Scalpel-like arms. They were insects—mechanical insects—hungry to reshapeme.
Then, the first incision.
Clean. Too clean.
My skin opened effortlessly, as though it had been waiting for this moment all along.
There was no heat. No cold. Only a steady, unbearable emptiness spreading from the incision.
A red line appeared on my chest.
The hooks dug deeper.
They tore at my body.
They expanded me.
70 Days Until the War of Soldam
My muscles trembled under the pressure, but they could not resist.
The blades descended.
The first layer of my humanity—gone.
The sound... it tore through my thoughts.
A wet, fibrous tear.
I was the one being torn apart.
60 Days Until the War of Soldam
My nerves burned. Every fiber of my being was cut with methodical precision.
I felt it all.
But there was no pain.
Only the growing pleasure.
The satisfaction of being used.
50 Days Until the War of Soldam
The machines devoured me.
My muscles, my tendons, were no longer flesh. They were paste.
I was nothing but pulp.
Dehumanization.
I should hate this.
I should fear it.
But I didn't.
I was happy.
I had fulfilled my mother's wish.
I had become something more.
40 Days Until the War of Soldam
The rebirth began.
New muscles were implanted.
Black fibers.
Alive. Hungry. They moved before they were even attached to me.
And when they joined with me...
It was ecstasy.
I was no longer human.
30 Days Until the War of Soldam
My fingers twitched.
My legs shook.
My jaw snapped shut with a cold, mechanical click.
I was something more.
Something broken.
Something better.