The road to destiny. Draped with traps and iron.

Once, in what felt like a lifetime ago, this tower was the center of all. Communication, logistics, technology, bureaucracy, support, justice… now, it was merely a shadow of a shadow. The pristine halls of wonders were gone, replaced by rubble and screaming wires, spitting out sparks of lightning and fire out to the open.

He could still remember it all like it was yesterday, in its prime. The days he spent lounging in here, walking in and out with new documents to fill in and the work he had to do. Countless hours staring at the bright monitor of a laptop or a PC—fingers locking on a black ink pen, scribbling lines, curves, and loops on repeat.

Perhaps a part of him would like that again. Just doing the mundane everyday task with Ayumu and Rin, with the occasional Aoi coming by as well to review his finances.

Life was good back then.

But for the entity of pure spite and will, it doesn't matter. Nothing mattered in this place anymore. The inhabitants were long gone, either dead, missing, or resting safely thanks to his and Shiroko's efforts.

The only thing that mattered to him was the bastards coming right at him, and the strength surging through his pulsing crimson veins.

Fists raised and foot stomping as waves and waves of those pathetic bots screeching in fucking zeros and ones came running at him and his beloved student in reckless abandon.

Shiroko couldn't see it, but she swore he was smiling in his featureless, shining face.

"CRUSH!"

Sensei unleashed a powerful dropkick at a chromatic monstrosity of forgotten, ancient machinery, CRUSHING its armor as it crumpled it down upon itself. Multicolored fire and sparks erupted like a geyser as the machine fell into a heap of burning steel.

This piece of shit wouldn't stop them. Not this, not the nameless bastards, and not even this near endless tide of even more of shitty small fry spherical machines screeching at him.

Deep in the heart of the Sanctum Tower, on top of the highest tower, and the machine floating above it. A fortress. The staple of lost technology, symbol of the powerful thing that was the mind of mankind

,

Ark of Atrahasis.

Waiting for the moment where it could ascend.

"This shit is getting real old." Sensei cracked his knuckles as a machine screeched, and punched into oblivion. Acting as a makeshift cannonball into a large chunk of the incoming horde.

"Nevermind, that is not getting old." He laughed before glancing at his student. "Shiroko, how's the flank?"

"Nn. All good." Shiroko tossed her empty magazine aside, reaching out into the void as a fresh magazine came to her hand conveniently.

"That should catch her attention."

The building shook underneath their crusade—derelict, shattered screens suddenly sprang to life in a hollow pink hue.

Digital eyes lit up, all staring at them like a predatory hawk assessing its next meal.

"There it is…"

ENTITY.

YOU'LL NOT INTERFERE IN OUR PRINCESS' ASCEND.

Like a swarm of ants, the insignificant machines came pouring out of every shadowy corner of the tower. A wave of machines came stampeding towards the duo, wanting nothing else but to tear them from limb to limb in the name of the colorful black ball in the sky.

Drones, automatons, spherical machines all came together in front of a hulking four-legged war machine.

Another annoyance. Pathetic.

Wave after wave after wave, and all of it are-

"NOTHING BUT SCRAP!"

Blackened rockets flew vigorously out from a crackling, smoking drone barely could be called as one at this point. The once blue paint had long been peeled off, new and old dents on the armor, stained by the fruits of the wolf's sins.

KABOOM!

RATATATATATATATAT-CLICK CLICK CLICK-

"Tch." Shiroko clicked her tongue in mild annoyance. She had no time to reload, she had to support sensei as fast as she could. He was holding the big one by himself, and the least she could do was to clear out the small fries coming right at them.

Tossing her gray rifle away into the pocket dimension, Shiroko raised her hand as a new firearm took its place.

She wished it still kept its green tint.

The rotors of the modified M134 minigun spun harsh and fast, pushing 7.62 bullets up and up until it sprayed out of the rotating barrels in a harsh, ear-piercing grinding of rotors and bullets.

Droves of the nameless machines fell clattering. Circuits torn apart, and armor marred with so many holes, someone would have mistaken it as cheese.

"Nnn!"

Behind her, Sensei's laughter and screams could be heard bouncing in the walls. With the war machine destroyed, he was now happily using the barrel as a makeshift baseball bat. It was too big, too heavy to be called one,

but damn it was fun to use.

"HOOMMMEEE RUNN!"

Sensei shouted at the top of his lungs as he descended into the chaos, unleashing his strength without a care in the world, driving head first into pound town. He felt utterly powerful, unbeatable, as they climbed higher and higher through the desecrated tower.

Floor after floor after floor of the same shit on repeat.

He genuinely felt like he was trapped in some kind of shitty video game—the kind girls from GDD would obsess over. No matter how often he and Yuuka begged them to touch some grass, they just wouldn't listen. Well... except for Yuzu, even if she would dwell in that locker she called home.

Did you know that Yuzu actually plays chess from time to time?

...Enough reminiscing for now.

"Your… teleportation thing would be nice to do now, Shiroko."

"Nn. But I can't teleport us into the Ark yet."

"Ugh. How many more PCs do we need to smash?"

"Three more, Sensei," ARONA chimed in. "I advise we keep moving before the Ark reaches one hundred percent functionality. Based on my calculations, it is nearing seventy percent. Please proceed to the next marker directly ahead."

"Aye." He replied.

ENTITY.

YOU SHALL NOT PASS!

Heavy emergency doors slammed down right on their faces as a single, hulking chromatic machine emerged to stand on their path.

And atop of its head… was a halo.

Probably a former Decagrammation prophet now taken over by that fucking ball of light.

Yet that was not his focus right now. It was the girl standing on top of it.

Pitch black clothes as dark as her hair. Piercing pink colored irises stared into his featureless smooth face, but somehow he could feel her staring directly into his nonexistent eyes.

"Bastard who wore Aris' face…"

"Aris? No… Aris is a mockery for our princess. That is why she entrusted herself to be carried by me for the Nameless Gods." She scoffed. "But that is unimportant right now."

She pointed a wrathful finger at him and Shiroko, her lips curling to contempt matching sensei's own.

"You… sensei of SCHALE. How? How did you decline the will of Chroma?" The thing wearing his precious student's face asked robotically. "How dare you spit on the deal that had been forged?"

Sensei's hate grew for that thing.

"I'm talking to you, entity."

It took every fiber of his transparent being not to smash that thing's face in. He took a deep breath… somehow, and nodded.

"You really want to know?"

Key folded her arms. "Pray tell, I'm waiting."

"Really?"

"Affirmative."

"Rreeallly?"

"Speak it, sensei of SCHALE. You are testing my patience."

"Fuck you, that's why-"

A death ray came at him at lightning speed, if he hadn't sidestepped, that thing would've melted him.

He doesn't actually know what will happen. But he doesn't want to find out.

"Sensei!" Shiroko snapped into action, swapping her arsenal for her drone and original rifle.

"Heh. Struck a nerve, did I?"

"…Vulgar, insignificant lout."

The princess snarled and raised her hand. "Destroy them, Kether. Divi:sion. I trust you'll destroy these heathens."

AFFIRMATIVE.

With a sudden flash, Aris… or whatever was wearing her face teleported away. Leaving them alone with the chromatic machine, humming and preparing itself for assault. Its guns were raised and surrounded by the same otherworldly strength Chroma had corrupted it with.

"Shiroko, ARONA. Both of you are still up for a one-two?"

"Nn."

"Analyzing weaknesses."

"Mwaha! Let's show this soup can HELL!"

Kether stood mightily against the Prime Soul and awakened, incomplete God of the Dead. Mechanical legs tucking and curling, sparks of shining, multicolored electricity and metal from creaking joints and horribly mismatched wires trickled like a broken faucet.

Black tinted rockets struck the armor, followed by an explosive ball of strength and spite and an uppercut on what could be said as its head.

SCHREEECHHHH

The transparent entity leapt from the machine's tantrum, dodging the machine's arsenal without any struggle. Bullets ricochet, rockets flew and erupting in fury—doing naught but furthering the tower into the brink of utter destruction.

The putrid, arid stench of blood and ash followed the howling, twisting wind coming from the ventilations and the many new craters on the side and on the floor. The tower further creaked on its foundations, groaning in protest for the new wounds it had received.

The panels still lit up with eyes watching intently, even through shattered screens long and newly broken apart.

Key scanned the sight from her pale pink eyes. Numbers and code spitting itself out, tracking body movement—and the swirling vortex of energy flowing from his beating heart, down to the very tips of his fingers.

Punches that could dent iron, super-powered leaps and kicks, and this time… even a blast of energy coagulated into a heavy spherical mass that had the force of a missile.

The princess narrowed her eyes. As far as she knew, this entity that was once sensei had spit at Chroma's gift, murdered the priests, and even… deceiving the avatar of Chroma, the will engraved on the God of the Dead for its own crusade against the end of the world.

An idealistic fool. A pathetic, pathetic fool fighting against what had been written in stone. No matter. This was just… a minor setback.

He would fall, and the Wolf God of the Dead would be back under The Chroma's will.

It was just a matter of time.

MYSTIC

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MIRACLES

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Author's note:

Heyo! It's back baby!
To be honest with you, it is shelved because... I have no idea on what do to. What else I can add to make things more interesting, though thankfully, after some moments of brain storming, and reigniting the fire, there it goes.
Maybe it's a little short, but again, this small quick fic is only 5 chapters long, even in my new rehauled outline.
Oh and, I may had gave the previous chapters a little touch up. Heh. Try re-reading em

Anyway! I'm going to work on Re:membrance and Gordon later, then I'll continue on with Hans' Abydos rehaul.
See you!

You can follow the progress (and chat with me) on my Discord
Join for funky, sneaky sneaks, memes, or... cunnies.