At the peak of the majestic mountain, the earth began to tremble, opening up in a ritual of rebirth.
Iron arms emerged one after another, like mechanical appendages rising from the mountain’s womb. The dirt was then thrown into the air, creating a fleeting curtain of dust. When the dust settled, an imposing presence was revealed.
It was a metallic and grotesque creature, composed of two circular structures, each several meters in diameter, forming its base. Dozens of robotic appendages, mimicking legs and arms, extended downward, creating a structure reminiscent of a metallic spider. At the top, sharp blades, spears, and other cutting appendages protruded, resembling threatening horns. It was a peculiar creation, marked by an aesthetic of questionable taste.
There was a noticeable diversity of parts from that place as if various robots had been created for different purposes. Some were clearly designed for combat, with reinforced limbs, others for speed and lightness, and, of course, some intended for smaller tasks like cleaning and other chores.
Alm and Bruno couldn’t find singularity and balance among the parts. So, they gave up on aesthetics and created a monster that had a bit of everything. It wasn’t beautiful, but it was the best they could do with the available resources.
The place where they were before lay beneath this mountain. As they observed the surroundings from above, they could calmly sense and understand that world. The first thing that caught their attention was an immense black tower, the size of several planets combined. Around the tower, in all directions, they noticed the existence of a circular force field separating the interior from the exterior.
In this Universe, Qi seemed to be much scarcer than usual. Alm and Bruno had lived on Earth, where Qi was virtually nonexistent within their Universe. Then, in the Queen’s world, they experienced the opposite extreme, where everything overflowed with Qi. Now, in this place, it seemed to be a middle ground.
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"It must be challenging to reach the last stages of the divine realms here. Well, the heavens aren’t unfair, and the existence of this soul gem here gives them other kinds of benefits," analyzed Bruno, then focused on the gem, which was their core.
A dense aura of Qi emerged around that robotic chimera. The aura became increasingly thick and powerful. Minutes passed, and that power seemed endless, which startled Alm and Bruno.
Bruno then spoke, "Qi is scarce, but the level of Qi inside this gem is very dense and pure. Perhaps that is the greatest wealth of this place; it’s both frightening and enviable. Someone can certainly break through the higher realms by cultivating with these gems."
"Hmm, if it were me, I would have monopolized all the gems for myself slowly. Without the gems, other forms of life would never get very far, relying solely on free absorption," pondered Alm.
Bruno then replied, "That Demon Lord must have a disturbed mind like yours. Now we have an idea of what his evil plans were."
"I am you, idiot. We’re both disturbed. But the Queen is controlling everyone here, forgot? We were also called demons, villains, evils of the world, or whatever back in our Universe," Alm spoke sharply.
Bruno immediately understood. "Is that so? The Queen controls everyone, so this demon... he must be someone who wasn’t being controlled."
They became evil in their Universe since the Queen couldn’t control them. Here, there was a ’Demon Lord,’ which shouldn’t be necessary if the Queen could control it too. Perhaps that Demon Lord was in the same situation as Alm and Bruno were back in their Universes. At the very least, he shouldn’t have been under the Queen’s control.
"Got it now? This gem can perfectly keep our soul inside, so these robots inside this place also have a soul. They’re alive and are the last form of life not controlled, according to the system."
Alm then laughed wickedly and full of ill intentions. "Everyone out there is our enemy! We have to get out of this force field and start a universal massacre again. We have to brutally oust the Queen from here."
Bruno sighed heavily. "Again, a massacre, you... Well, I also want to oust this Queen. But there must be another way." He then began to think deeply.
Alm cut through his thoughts. "You’re overthinking it. Everything inside this force field is machinery. The system already said, if we lead them as their emperor and leave this place, how do you think the flesh and blood races will survive?"
"They’re robots. The soul gem is what gives them life. As long as the Universe exists, there will be Qi, and they can absorb it and stay alive. They don’t die of old age, and although their bodies can be destroyed, they can simply build others."
Bruno then understood. "It’s an unwinnable war if we set these robots free. The apocalypse will begin. Well... we won’t kill everyone directly, shouldn’t be a problem." Bruno then resigned himself to his fate.
***
A few days passed. Within the force field were dozens of solar systems and hundreds of habitable planets. However, only half a dozen of them harbored life, and all of them were robotic entities.
On that day, floating in space, Alm and Bruno’s robotic chimera arrived at the main planet, which was very close to the black tower. They quickly learned to harness the full potential of the soul gem. With its manipulation, they could merge with Qi and move in space effortlessly. The main reason for this feat was that they didn’t need to worry about an organic body. After all, they were robots.
As they approached the planet, they saw a single large city of robots. Contrary to expectations, this city resembled a medieval European human city, with hundreds of giant castles. The only difference was that everything there was made of chromed metal, making everything strange and exotic.
But, as they floated high above the robot city, they noticed a great commotion outside. It looked like an anthill with millions of robots together, and they quickly realized that all the city’s inhabitants were outside, gathered in an area several kilometers wide.
They observed calmly and attentively for hours. Then, suddenly, all the robots moved together, shouting something. Alm and Bruno focused their minds and managed to understand the robots’ language, as if there was a language program within their circuits and chips.
"LONG LIVE THE AWAKENING NIGHT!!!"
"LET THE CYBERNETIC BIRTH BEGIN!!!"
Then, astonished, they witnessed the beginning of something they judged to be an ’Extravagant celebration.’ The robots bowed, shouted, and laughed. Everything was strange coming from robots. ’What the hell is this?’ Alm thought, incredulous.
Suddenly, from the sky, a cosmic fluctuation immediately caught Alm and Bruno’s attention. Then, the laws of space began to distort, and a crack opened. Soon, they felt the connection of that phenomenon with the black tower. It was a distortion of something coming out of the tower into the force field.
From within the crack, dozens of metallic robots emerged, falling from space directly onto the planet, attracting hysterical cheers from the exalted robots.
Alm and Bruno still observed in amazement, concentrating on the words of that population. Slowly, they began to understand what was happening.
The robots believed that the tower was the epicenter of their creation, and from time to time, new robots were launched into their world from the tower. They celebrated this event as "The Cybernetic Birth," a kind of robotic birth and ceremony.
Bruno couldn’t help but find it funny. "Look at that! This is a robot religion, and the tower has become like a god to them. Everyone is celebrating and seeking an intergalactic blessing?"
Within the force field, it was a small world separated from the Universe; the robots had built a society and a religion around the tower. They were an entire civilization of very confused robot people with their own crazy religion.