Unexpected Encounter

Crac... Crunch...

Kraynnor couldn't help but make each of his steps resonate with the ominous sound of bones being crushed under his feet.

The silence in this place was so deep that any sound, no matter how faint, echoed and reverberated through the dark corridors. As he advanced, he was mentally mapping out the intricate underground facilities of Caelum.

Being a city dedicated to technology and research, most of its activities took place underground.

There were six immense levels, and at this moment, he was on the first level, which housed the subway stations and state-of-the-art technology research laboratories.

As he delved deeper, he would encounter levels dedicated to a wide range of research. The second level, for example, was home to the city's Data Library, a treasure trove of scientific and technological knowledge. The third level was filled with specialized laboratories in areas like biotechnology and medicine.

The fourth level housed factories and workshops dedicated to creating artificial intelligence, from androids to cleaning robots and electronic pets.

Finally, on the fifth level, were warehouses that guarded valuable technology and resources, while on the sixth level were the power facilities that provided life to the city.

"Wow... what memories," Kraynnor whispered as he looked at the subway tracks. This subway was world-famous, known for its cutting-edge technology. However, what really set it apart was its antigravity propulsion system, a technology that humanity was just beginning to understand at that time.

He remembered vividly how antigravity-powered trains moved at speeds that made Maglev trains seem slow in comparison.

Sadly, now everything was marked by rubble and charred human bones.

Kraynnor continued to advance cautiously, his thoughts torn between exploring the nearby laboratory or finding the stairs to the second level. However, he knew that time had been relentless in this place, and most of the technologies must have become useless.

Crac... Crunch... Crac...

The constant crunch of bones under his feet grew louder.

"They're getting more numerous," Kraynnor muttered as he watched the piles of skeletal remains multiply and grow larger as he approached the stairs to the second level.

Chrrrch!

Suddenly, while struggling to make his way through a small hill of bones, something sprouted from among the remains and firmly gripped his leg. It was a rusted and partially decomposed hand that held him in a place he had assumed was completely devoid of life, not even robotic!

[S-sir... D-do you want a t-ticket?]

The metallic and distorted voice of an android startled Kraynnor, who couldn't understand how this automaton continued to function after so many years.

[D-do... do you need help?]

The android asked again, while its hand continued to grip Kraynnor's leg.

"What...?" Kraynnor stammered, bewildered by the situation. But what happened next left him even more astonished!

Krrrrraaang!

A head partially covered in torn synthetic skin rose from the bone pile, with eyes that gleamed with a faint, eerie blue light that flickered. Without warning, the android lunged at him with astonishing ferocity.

Looking at the android's other hand, Kraynnor realized it held a long, rusty metal blade!

Slash!

Kraynnor felt the shocking force of the blow in his stomach, which sent him flying several meters backward. However, instead of falling helplessly, he gracefully regained his footing in mid-air.

His new body was no joke; it possessed a dexterity that far exceeded the capabilities of his old self, even when he was in his twenties.

He examined his abdomen, but his exoskeleton had withstood the cut.

"Now I really don't understand," Kraynnor murmured as he watched the android emerge from the bone pile. It was a horrifying sight; its face was contorted, with half of its jaw hanging eerily, exposing exposed circuits and twisted wires. Its body, covered in rust and missing parts, was impossible to overlook.

Crunch... Crunch...

[D-do you need help... with your luggage?]

The android's steps only added to the eerie atmosphere of the place, but Kraynnor didn't back down. Without wasting a moment, he lunged with force!

Slaash!

Craaaack!

The rusty blade came at him, but he easily dodged it. In a swift motion, he grabbed the joints of the arms of this horrible machine and, without hesitation, tore them off with sheer brute force!

[Exter... external d-damage detected. Missing arms...]

The android's legs tried to kick him, so without hesitation, he snapped them in two.

Crunch... Crunch... Crunch... Crunch...

"Let's see what the hell is going on with you," Kraynnor was about to check behind its head, looking for its control panel, but suddenly, he heard more bone-crushing noises.

Looking around, he realized he was surrounded by androids and small cleaning robots that appeared damaged and rusted.

Kraynnor was truly perplexed at how these machines were still functioning. He had contributed to creating all these machines himself, and he was sure their battery life should have been only a hundred years.

"Unless someone has been replacing their batteries every once in a while..." even though it sounded absurd, if someone or something were responsible for replacing the batteries of all these machines, it could keep them operational despite the deterioration of their structures.

In his youth, when he ran his biotechnology company from the shadows in pursuit of immortality, he had conceived various android prototypes.

At that time, he explored the possibility of extending human life through robotic transplants, although he ultimately chose a different path. In the process, he created numerous innovations, which he decided to sell through his company. Caelum became his primary buyer, and over time, they mastered everything he had conceived back then, applying it to these androids and robots.

While he hadn't specifically designed these machines, they were still part of his legacy of knowledge. But fate had played a cruel trick on him, and now he found himself besieged by what he had once conceived with the purpose of extending human life...

[D-do you want me to r-remove the d-dirt from your cl-clothes?]

[Cl-clean areas are es-essential for a h-healthy environment. C-can I help?]

[We're... approaching A-aurora Station... Please...]

Common phrases that once seemed harmless now sounded like lines from a horror movie as they approached, wielding sharp or blunt weapons in their hands.

He was attacked from all directions, of course, it was impossible for rusted androids and robots that seemed they would crumble with a simple touch to pose a real threat. In a matter of minutes, robotic pieces were scattered on the ground, and oil spilled into puddles.

Without wasting more time, Kraynnor ripped the scalp off the first android that attacked him, revealing a complex structure with an embedded screen.

With a touch of his fingers, he activated the screen, causing it to light up. When attempting to access the most recent commands programmed into these machines, he was prompted for a password.

Fortunately, even though it was a secret known only to a select group of elders and high-ranking researchers in Caelum that he was the owner of the company that had contributed to the creation of these automatons, they had provided him with the master password that would allow him to access the programming of each of these machines.

Had the Caelum researchers been imprudent in sharing this password? Not at all!

In the year 2164, a terrifying experience was lived; a company created robots with highly advanced AI but allowed the AI to expand without restrictions, even connecting it to the Internet.

Eventually, it became corrupt to the core, causing a major disaster worldwide...

Since then, all AIs were supported by a multitude of security systems designed to prevent them from becoming uncontrollable. Therefore, multiple master passwords had also been assigned to important individuals to ensure there was always a way to deactivate these machines if necessary.

"So it was you... You've really done something interesting!" Kraynnor said with a smile.

He examined the last command recorded in this android's database and immediately understood what had happened. It appeared that one of the lead researchers in charge of creating these automatons had issued the order to keep the factories and workshops operational, which also meant replacing the batteries of all these machines every fifty years. Furthermore, he had instructed these mechanical entities to enter a global war mode, specialized in attacking any living being or anything that made the slightest noise.

Kraynnor remembered that on the day of the invasion, numerous service robots and androids had rushed to protect the citizens of Caelum, but in the end, their efforts proved to be insufficient against the enemy ships.

Surely, when Kraynnor fled the city, this man had acted in this way upon realizing that humanity was doomed.

"You did a good job giving them this command, but... now that I need to reach the warehouses, does it mean I have to go through an army of countless killer robots?"

It would be a different story if he could send a different command to the AI of each robot and android, but none of them were interconnected; they were functioning independently. So even if he wanted to, he couldn't do anything. His only option was to advance through it all.

"Fuck..." Kraynnor remembered the electronic pets and realized that the path ahead would be very complicated.

He continued forward, but with extreme caution, making sure not to make even the slightest noise. This frustrated him quite a bit since he expected his exoskeleton to make him practically undetectable to any detection system. The fact that even the slightest sound could trigger the appearance of hordes of killer machines seemed like a load of shit!

Crunch...

Accidentally, he snapped a bone in two, causing dozens of metallic figures to rise around him from the bone piles: "You've got to be kidding!"