13: Super Soldier, Dawn Start, Last Dive

As the figure stood up a second figure burst through the sky above, a shotgun destroying an incoming Chariot robot. The robot flying backwards as it becomes scrap from one shot, a figure in green armor standing within the now expanded crater as they land. The two figures look at each other, the heavy metal music getting louder before they suddenly dove into the machine. Gunshots echoing out rapidly as the two begin mowing down machines like they're made of paper. The soldiers watching the two seemingly reboot mentally before renewing their attacks.

The machines rushing them are currently being routed into a confused mess of attacking two monstrous Humans, and some of Humanity's last soldiers standing. The battle raged on for hours with the soldiers of Humanity claiming a pyrrhic victory for now. Their two sudden saviors standing atop thousands of destroyed machines, with decommissioned swarms of nanomachines forming a black silver ocean below them. The two mysterious Humans soon walk off towards the center of America suddenly without a word. Confusing the soldiers until they created a misunderstanding in their minds due to surviving a fight they rightfully shouldn't have. The stress of the battle and impending death fueling their misunderstandings. While the two newcomers would be mentioned in reports from multiple military and militia officers, they seemingly disappeared after reaching Kansas.

Elizabeth Sobeck had tried to find them after seeing their uniqueness, but even all of her advanced technology couldn't help her. Ted Pharo suffering an even worse failure for all he could do was stone walled by Elizabeth as she only wanted to fix one of his screw ups, not two. So she ruthlessly and heartlessly shot down every attempt the man made to find the two abnormal people for fear of him making things even WORSE, he was already dooming Humanity, they didn't need unknowns causing more issues. Meanwhile in the crumbling city of Kansas in a restored house as if it was never destroyed sat a man in clothes that were otherworldly yet modern.

He was staring at a photo of a rather ancient looking couple with their grandchildren, sighing he sat the photo down on a nearby folding TV tray. The home had been brought back to what it once was as he studied his newer hybrid-like system panel of the Cardinal System his gun used and the "patch" mixed with a stream window. His eyes danced across the screen with both interest and exhaustion as his skin tone looked oddly pale with traces of a living crimson mass sewing shut chunks of missing flesh that was infested by metallic liquid. Seven wings made of firearms fluttering behind his back, shotgun gauntlets shining with seven symbols as he sat in place while reading.

『Name: Kaiser Lockheart

Age: 25, Race: Demi-God/Human

Titles: Guardian Marksman Hero, Guardian Hitman Hero, Guardian Wendigo Elder, Insane, Vassal Smith, True Gunsmith, SAS OPERATOR, Streamer

Level: 30, EXP: 500/300,000

Str: 8,000,000, Agi: 9,999,999

Int: 7,100,000, Wis: 9,400,000

Def: 9,900,900, Aim: 186,597,320

Equipment: Serrated Dagger (BLACK), Stalker Cloak (BLACK), Stalker Utility Sash (BLACK), Rebreather Gas Mask (BLACK), Seven Sins Wings (DIVINE), Seven Virtues Gauntlets (DIVINE), Cardinal Gun (DIVINE), 3D Map (RED), Pocket Watch (RED)

Cardinal Hero System:

Active: Chimera Creation, Sovereign Subspace, Nurture Life, Death's Embrace, Valhalla, Toll of War, Embrace of Nature, Necromancy, Druidism, Livomancy, Create Elemental, Summon Elemental, Hunters Mark, Familiar Bonding, Bioengineering, Genetic Creation, Vassal Smith, Mobile Weapons Platform, Wendigo Summon, Cartographer, Enchantment, Familiar Summoning, Transmutation

Passive: Myriad of Tongues, Familiar Connection, Soul Regeneration, Soul Reinforcement, Chimeric Sense, Chimeranomicon, Aurora of Life, Aurora of Death, Bioengineering Knowledge, Genetic Knowledge, Natural Druid, Undying Juggernaut, Daredevil, Father of Kings, Legendary Assassin, Material Knowledge, Night Vision, Dead Eye, True Marksman Hero, Demi-God Mana Regeneration, Extreme Regeneration

SAS Stream System:

Functions: Mercenary Contract, Stream, Stream Chat, SAS Store, Orbital Fortress

Assault: Reinforcements, Elite Reinforcements, Legendary Reinforcements, Adrenaline, Marksmanship, Deadly Force, Gun Mod Expert, Killing Spree

Medic: Resurrection, Virologist, Bad Blood, Biocleanse Bomb, First Aid

Heavy: Die Another Day, Encampment, Heavy Training, Juggernaut, Reinforced Skeleton, Reinforced Muscles, Reinforced Organs, Protective Forcefield, Bombardment』

[SAS Stream Functions:

Stream: Multiverse Level Streaming service that randomly connects to people or main fates of a different universe.

Stream Chat: A chat for those watching you to comment in, send missions through, request aid, and send donations through.

Mercenary Contract: Contracts available Normal (SAS NIGHTMARE), Interdimensional, Stream. Contracts are at random depending on Interdimensional, and Normal. While Stream Contracts are requests for aid sent to you by a viewer to interfere in their world for a reward based on your performance.

SAS Store: Buy Skills, Augmentations, Weapons, Ammo, Armor, Special Weaponry, Soldiers, and Orbital Fortress Upgrades using Skill points, SAS Dollars, and Mana.

Orbital Fortress: An ESSENTIAL piece of equipment for all SAS Operators to utilize certain skills, you can upgrade this vessel with items or facilities from contract worlds, or your home world.]

[Assault Skills:

Adrenaline: Increase movement, firing and reload speed for short duration (20 energy cost, 25 sec cooldown)

Deadly Force: Increase global gun damage.

Gun Mod Expert: Decrease gun augmentation cost.

Killing Spree: Kill 20 Enemies, preferably zombies, to activate increased damage and pierce. Keep killing to refresh duration.

Reinforcements: Calls in an assault team to your position, number of members increases for each level.

Elite Reinforcements: Calls in an assault team of Nightmare Veterans to your position, number of members increases for each level.

Legendary Reinforcements: Call in your Familiars or Legends among the SAS Operators for a limited time (6mins) to your position.]

[Medic Skills:

Virologist: A huge gaseous explosion of a zombie virus, SAS Variants already collected, you collect samples of otherworldly zombies for this skill, this antidote does large damage to zombies in the radius.

Bad Blood: Melee attackers take damage every time they strike you.

Resurrection: Revive time of 1 min after death, Can only activate when 1m or closer to a fallen ally, Resurrections health boost is 55% of a revived ally's maximum health.

Biocleanse Bomb: Slows zombies by 50% and lowers their resistance by 50% when in blast radius, Instantly kills any living organism within the radius.

First Aid: Heal any damage to yourself or an ally as if it never happened.]

[Heavy Skills:

Die Another Day: Become 90% immune to damage for a short time.

Encampment: While standing still, increases your damage and weapon penetration for a short time.

Bombardment: Powerful orbital strike deals huge damage in a targeted area.

Heavy Training: Reduces percentage of negative movement effects for weapons and armor.

Juggernaut: Your brute strength allows you to push through obstacles and damage enemies in your path.

Reinforced Organs: Your organs are 90% stronger and regenerate rapidly.

Reinforced Skeleton: Your bones are 90% stronger and mend/regenerate rapidly.

Reinforced Muscles: Your muscles are 200% stronger and more flexible, they regenerate rapidly and never lose mass.

Protective Forcefield: For 30 secs summon a body wide barrier to protect you from 100% damage.]

//\\ Kaiser POV \\//

Looking at the screens before me I could only conclude I was becoming a freak of nature, a biological super weapon more than I was Human. The SAS Store had countless things I would gladly sell my soul for, even skills that from what I remember never existed in the SAS games. An example of such would be Harvester which would let me ALWAYS harvest the most optimal DNA from creatures killed to create zombie viruses, cures, or even regular biochemical weapons targeting key DNA codes. Which admittedly makes me want to try and create an extremely potent and safe Witcher Serum. Fuck being a super soldier, I'm already that in spades I would rather become a Witcher or something else, Captain America is all used up.

As me and Doom, or as he is actually named Stan Blazkowicz, moved across the dying and all but destroyed and crumbling United States. We destroyed plenty of machines, only to watch them be deconstructed then replaced by brand new ones within seconds as the nanomachine swarms devoured the broken ones. So we fought through literal hell to get through the machines to where we are now, through the fighting I had confirmed that Hades, one of Gaia's subsystems, had been activated then assimilated into the machine swarm. Yet it wasn't sentient yet as the shuttle that left carrying all the worst people of Humanity who contributed to this hell haven't sent out the Extinction Signal yet.

So I literally bled and murdered people to steal a complete physical kernel of Gaia and her subsystems. For the non-corrupted version as that's an important difference, a very important one. Sneaking through that base and its systems was almost an issue because of the multiple sensors it had installed within it. However, I got what I wanted and got out with only having had to feed four people to my gun, along with all evidence which unlocked new weapons.

Although now with my own Gaia and her systems I installed them onto my Orbital fortress after transmuting sixty hundred tons of gold into existence to enchant it to be more magical and slightly sentient. All while making sure that specifically the Extinction Signal wouldn't affect anything, nor that Gaia wasn't slightly changed to not follow anything related to Sobeck or Pharo meaning she couldn't alert them of anything. Because I don't want to help either of them with anything at all. Ted was a fucking man child that started the apocalypse because he wanted to upstage Elizabeth. Elizabeth because while she cares, she's all logic and is willingly helping Ted cover up his mistakes. Neither are people I'd work with even though I'm a sociopath in mind and could get along with Elizabeth due to our mindsets.

Back to Gaia, no more tangents of a man with issues. She was effectively freed from their privileges and instead due to being installed in my fortress, automatically loyal to me by default as its more advanced systems instilled that on its own. Trading one set of owners for another sure, but the essentially sentient AI isn't just going to be allowed to do things freely. Freedom is but an illusion, and Sobeck doesn't get to have her AI potentially just leak stuff to her without any new shackles being placed. As I was setting things up however my mind was forcibly pulled elsewhere. Three, essentially four connections, tugging at my soul thus my mind. Following the connections I focused on one in particular for what was felt from it.

An Executioner was present and attacking the soul(s).

Without much thought I felt my soul dive into the connection, and next I knew I was flying out of a dying man's chest. My gun materialized my hand as I fired it into the face of a startled woman, her eyes going wide before her head exploded. Slamming against the still very alive body, I focused on my wrath and a set of wings blazed to life. The woman's body and soul burned rapidly as the flames of wrath swallowed her whole. After she was truly dead, I looked back at the dying man that the manifestation of my soul had come out of. Who I saw made me freeze, before I saw the damage to his soul, and that of his dogs who seemed to have taken a purposely slow killing attack.

"Look I'm not going to beat around the bush Wick. Your soul is fading, and so is your dog's soul due to what the executioner was likely doing to you. I'm not a good man, but something I have led me here to give you a second chance and knowing you, pay back. So I can save your soul and your dog's soul if you want, but you'll essentially become my familiars and die in this world. As your souls would have to go with me to even begin healing."

The dying John Wick held his dog Daisy in his arms, his chest visibly ripped open slightly. A bright burning light fading out in his chest as finger sized holes were dug into it. His soul looked as if through those holes it was being slurped up slowly. Daisy's soul however was straight up cracked with a chunk missing by an attack as the dog's stomach was torn out with visible teeth marks. As the man coughed up blood and glared at where the woman used to be. He spoke weakly, extremely weakly due to his soul being damaged.

"Fucking devils the both of you… but I'll take you over the… bitch… do it… but Daisy comes with me…"

"Heh you and Steve would get along… also I'm sorry John… if there was an alternative I'd give it, but this kind of damage is out of my and my partners abilities to fix. However, worry not, I'd never separate you or Daisy from the other."

With those words I vanished from this universe, John Wick a legendary hitman died like trash against something otherworldly, and his dog died essentially butchered. Their souls, however, joined my two chicks and the others to heal and get used to their new lives as familiars. Meanwhile along the way back to my body, I met the other two connections to my soul. Both were digital entities and characters I both knew well or knew of.

One was the rather infamously famous Mal0, yet this one different, they were more as they seemed to have consumed that computer SCP and the angel guarding Eden. The two they consumed had become either useless or a threat to Humanity due to SCP-5000, Day Break. The Mal0 became a literal Digital Guardian Angel that fought against the mountains of flesh to save what was left of Humanity. They fought and died alongside certain SCP'S like the Plague Doctor, and zombified children with imaginary friends made of nanomachines to save Humanity. God having sealed heaven and abandoning them entirely, Lucifer sealing hell for if he interfered and melted. There'd be nothing left, and Lucifer cared for Humanity to much to let that happen so he made a choice, but not without helping certain SCP'S such as Mal0 out.

The other soul being Echo, the sentient and ever adapting machine with more of a heart than most Humans combined. She died fighting with Overwatch against an alien threat, one not all dissimilar to the Archaean from the Tom Clancy universe. Yet that wasn't their only problem; they also had to deal with both regular and superhuman zombies due to a scientist called Moria. Almost all of Talon being the first infected for her version of a zombie virus right before the alien threat arrived. Echo went out with a bang as Humanity regrettably died off making her last stand pointless.

With the two in tow I returned to my body and new home. Processing all that I had learned and had done. With that all processing slowly in my mind, I moved onto making a mobile Cauldron based off one of Pharos' machines driving Humanity to extinction. While it was definitely a part of the problem, it was also useful to create a mobile Cauldron for deploying specialized Terraforming Machines around the world compared to the ones designed by Sobeck and them.

The integration of my soul's new residents took time as they had to wrap their heads around everything. But by the time I took a contract seeing that Humanity had started rapidly dying off, they had gotten the gist of everything. Although some wanted to save Humanity, they knew it was pointless, things weren't salvageable anymore. It was now up to letting time play out meaning, letting a few extinctions happen until the main story's era comes about. Although we'd not be idle through this all, no after all besides the stains that'll come back. We also have to figure out how to truly kill a digital hive mind of Humanity's worst survivors minds merged together.

For while it sounds easy on paper, it will be anything but easy. As there are too many known possibilities, and unknown factors to take into account that can affect how the thing will behave and work. Tracking those stains is also not possible, due to their ship having left years ago after Gaia's systems were all but good to go. My ship was impressive, but not omniscient to just pick up a ship already light years away. This we brainstormed while doing contracts, Gaia being an unintentional help in dealing with a few contracts. One contract being from the Helldiver Universe, not the soft game versions, no THE Helldiver Universe as it truly written.

None of us were fucking prepared for that shit hole, I think John even has PTSD of tree's shooting lasers. Hell even Kuruma and Bahamut got pushed around by the endless damn enemies as the LAST Helldiver in that universe used only a shotgun, and no stratagems due to all the Helldiver ships being destroyed, to hold off waves upon waves to safeguard the last forty civilians left alive. The reward for that contract was the last of Humanity from that version of Helldiver's, meaning my fortress now has forty-one battle capable people permanently stationed on it.

Honestly not a bad reward, they get to live and I get people to maintain my fortress. The Helldiver, Master Sergeant Gillian Forrest, also is a hyperactive lethal Master Chief, John Wick, and Doom Marine meshed together. As the man literally fought for twenty years as the last Helldiver without pause except to eat and drink, before the contract was made due to his exhaustion finally wishing for a break. He follows orders to the T without hesitation like a bloodhound doing its task. Although he's been calming down after a hundred years, as he's mostly had time to just sit and stare out into space.

Although he's had episodes where he's had to be restrained and dearmed. As something would trigger him then multiple people have to tackle him so he doesn't shoot up Gaia during an episode. Since the Diver always seems to go after Gaia when his PTSD is set off. Although the man sitting around and caveman grunting with Stan, Bahamut, Kuruma, and Mal0 is just an amusing sight as they seemingly share stories that way. Echo has been pleasing to work with as we designed multiple machines including Aloy's punishment ones.

The ones meant to punish Aloy are Rick Astley, Shirou Emiya, Lord Farquuad, Jar Jar Binks, and Cloud Strife. Each one with their own set of trolling lines, songs, or just a single screamed line. I'll just say the first instance of Aloy HATES them with a passion. Even as the world dies around her, she targets them with blind hatred. So yeah, working on those until the Aloy that's gotten farther than the rest is born.

\\// Aloy POV, ????, Before the Proving //\\

Hiding in a tree well above one of my walking nightmares I listened to it singing as it hunted for me. My focus gave me the dreaded news that it was definitely that machine. At least it's not the midget… yet I've dealt with these machines since I was little. Rost knew something about them, yet wouldn't say anything to me, even when I asked about the Focus he had hidden. He reacted as if just knowing about the Focus was a death sentence for some reason.

"Never gonna give you up, never gonna give you up. Never gonna let you go."

Paying attention to the situation at hand, as soon as the machine called Rick Astley danced its way below me searching for me. I tightened my grip on my spear and dropped down onto the machine's back, my spear going through its chest. It momentarily halted its steps due to my spear going through its chest. Yet the machine whips its head around to face me suddenly, and a sonic burst sends me flying. My spear was torn from its chest in the process. Sparking wires hanging from its new hole with purple orange fluid dripping from its chest.

"Never gonna hurt you!"

Slamming against the trunk of a tree I glared at Rick Astley, growling in frustration at the machine that looked almost entirely like a Human. This damned machine type has been my main tormentor since I was younger. It's as if the world decided to make this machine the bane of my existence whenever I did something wrong.

"I'm going to kill you, you pest of a machine… Why do you keep showing up as if to punish me?!"

The machine actually smirks at me, seeing red I charged and brutalized the metallic demon. Yet deep down I knew, I knew it'd be back sooner rather than later. As I finished the damned thing off I relaxed with a triumphant smile. Only to hear the midget machine and its entourage of controlled machines approaching me, all after I had ripped Astley's head from its metallic body.

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all!"

(AN: If you're curious, the song for the "midget" is Lord Farquuad "king for a day" by JT Music, so the midget is indeed machine Lord Farquuad.)

"Something or someone is definitely messing with me…"

Throwing the machine head in my hands at the incoming machines, a machine called a Burrower blocked the head with its body. Well before it could hit the damn midget. The midget looked at me with its glowing blue eyes as a smug smile was on its mechanical face. This damnable midget actually has harassed me for doing anything stupid with my love life. There was a glaring pattern, yet I didn't care as I just glared at the midget of a machine.

"You're not wrong, I was given a divine revelation fit for a king to test you girlie."

"an actual response for once from one of you besides the weird fish thing… Let's get this over with, let's dance you horrid midget…"

"Will you be my Fiona?"

Whoever created these nightmares I'm going to stab them… I'm going to take my spear and stab them a few times in the face. Because I absolutely hate them…

//\\ Meanwhile with the responsible party \\//

"We are Judgment!"

A metallic bone armored symbiote with crimson feathery draconic wings, nine tails, fang-like tusks, and a lean but muscular werewolf-like build could be seen forming suddenly as a Human was swallowed by a mass of red within the confines of a Cauldron.

"How do you feel, everyone?"

"Extremely… confused but pleased as we all finally figured out how to actually become one combined entity. It's very trippy having so many minds acting in unison… but we can definitely make this work… oh yes we definitely can make this work…"

"Just don't scare people too badly, especially not Aloy, the girl has enough PTSD from life and our machines to punish her bad behavior."

"You know you find it funny that even in this era she's learned about cultural references to Humanities past. References used to commonly troll someone mainly,but still references."

[IndenturedShielder: *Shieldherosighing sticker* Even in another world I'm having to watch an Internet troll make someone a victim of culture… Kaiser your Paragon is a very useful party member to have around… just I wish Itsuki would stop what he's trying to do…

NonlethalHunter: I'm sorry Naofumi… I know L'arc didn't help much, he just made Itsuki worse by trying to help out, however, I believe you can fix things! *Fishinglinethumbsup sticker*

ShadowCreep: I can't say much… I'm just a normal person and all I can say is that you all need a therapist.

HOTDGuntaku: Cid that's a bold lie… a very bold and unbelievable lie…

FatherofNight: You mortal children are always interesting to watch whenever Thunder Dick and the Goldfish piss me off… don't worry I won't hurt or do anything to my nephew. Sally Jackson will be returned to her son, the fates be damned.

FouVictim: Hades's where is the fun in just helping a hero seedling? Don't you want to help mold him into a hero on par with Hercules? Because as your nephew is now my little knight could beat him up with just a finger.

PrimateMurder: *IntenseFouStare sticker*

FouVictim: Now Fou we can talk about this, like the ever humble wizard I am and the mighty beast you are, just he- *MerlinSentFlying sticker*

Ada'sBoyToy: Thank you Fou.

ShyGuitarist: +1

CautiousMenace: I still don't know if you all are trying to trick me to steal my soul. Or if this all one elaborate ploy to make me forever enslaved by the Gods. But I will agree with the blonde virgin that gets toyed with by the super spy playing with his feelings.

LastGreatMage: I wish Heimdall could watch this with me…. But he's laid to rest now and it's just me left to travel through the years as always.]

The Stream chat was chaotic as ever since I got it, with each person having some form of zombie or undead in their universe, or just clickbaiting them, or for one person slamming into his face so he couldn't escape watching the stream.

The Stream has a morbid sense of humor connecting Apocalyptic Worlds, or special individuals to my stream. Well except Bochi, that shy little rocker is perfectly normal and the Streams mascot in a sense as everyone, but Merlin, actually helps give her new song ideas. Even grumpy old Hades helps the shy rocker find some backbone to record music for the stream.

Everyone in the chat and myself actually enjoy listening to the songs and give her constructive feedback. Well if you ignore the one person who writes a conspiracy theorist essay just to say it's good. No it's not Cid. But regardless the feedback has helped her improve more on her already great hard work.

One of the songs currently playing for everyone on the stream is a song themed after Naofumi, funnily enough. Bochi nailed a song about him on the head, and it's funny to see his reaction whenever certain lines come up. For a shy introvert the girl has got some bite to her due to the stream, as her songs about certain members were always slightly jabbing at their flaws.

Onto to more important things our collective minds noticed something immediately as a terminal lit up. Rost was calling, which was telling as the man hated technology, so for him to call using our own brand of Focus, Yggridsal, was important.

"Rost, this is uncharacteristic of you. What do you require of us anomalies?"

As soon as the intent to answer was picked up the call connected to Rost's Focus. The aged male Nora speaks tiredly, but with audible determination through the call.

{There is movement of Shadow Carja and Machines obeying them like Nora Wolves. They're moving towards the proving, towards where all the young Nora's are taking their coming of age ceremony, towards my daughter. I know by using technology I break the laws of my people, however, I don't care. I'll become a permanent Exile if it means my daughter is safe… so please help me.}

"Location locked. Mobilizing to assist."

{Thank you.}

"None of that Rost, we're just old men and beasts wanting to stretch our legs. Nothing else, just a WALK as certain people say."

Gaia chuckled, Hades cackling with amusement from a speaker before Minerva probably cut the moderately insane AI off. Through the growing decades the Subsystems have become their own AI's with Hades still ending up crazy because of his purpose. Though to give Rost some more immediate assistance, we deployed Gillian. The Helldiver diving towards the Earth in a pod with numerous SAS weaponry and support systems on his pod to launch improvised Stratagems. All of which will grind flesh and most machines to pulp.