Zereka had successfully slipped past the patrol units guarding the Brossin Mine. Her extraordinary ability—to transform herself into the likeness of enemy robots with near-perfect precision—rendered her undetectable.
Disguised as one of the mine guards, she blended seamlessly into the ranks of patrolling robots without drawing suspicion.
"Lekox, I've reached the second floor. Can you give me the fastest route to the lower levels?" she whispered through her internal comms.
"You can use the lift, but it requires sensory access—only certain guard units have that clearance," replied Lekox.
"Show me one."
"There's one on the east side. Two hundred meters from your position. Armed."
Zereka moved in the indicated direction. But before she reached her target, a group of guards intercepted her and ordered her to follow them to the main systems chamber. She didn't resist.
Once inside the system room, her eyes locked onto the central server terminals. A perfect opportunity.
"Lekox-127, initiate infiltration. Cripple their systems. I've planted the chip in the main server," Zereka commanded.
"Processing, Ma'am," responded Lekox-127.
Moments later, the entire mining system crashed. Lights flickered wildly. Heavy machinery ground to a halt. Chaos erupted.
Zereka shifted from infiltrator to executioner. She tore through dozens of guards, diving through dark corridors, leaping over dead lifts, and smashing her way through storage vaults filled with raw metals.
But she froze when her eyes caught sight of someone—someone strangely familiar. Lekox-127 had confirmed it: the man carried a Lore signal, the kind only given to heirs of those once entrusted with the ancient device.
Zereka approached, hesitant. The man's face was different—nothing like the Charles she remembered.
"Charles?" she whispered. Her voice was barely audible among the thousands of enslaved workers.
The man didn't respond. Didn't even flinch. He looked just as trapped in the grind as the rest of them.
"Lekox, he's not responding. I… I'm not sure it's Charles," she muttered, still keeping her distance.
But then—suddenly—the man gave a subtle signal. Zereka froze. It was a gesture known only to those connected to Lore.
She followed him into a narrow corridor.
"The Lore... you found it?" he asked.
"Yes. But who are you? Are you Charles?"
"No. Charles freed me. He gave me the Lore," the man answered calmly.
"You're fully conscious?"
"Yes. My name is Joseph Klom," he said, locking eyes with her. "And you must be Zereka."
Zereka stood silent.
"Charles was the true creator of Zovok—the Sovereign Dragon. The first self-evolving robot. Charles wasn't just a scientist. He was a revolution," said Joseph.
"You mean... Zovok is no longer under control of the global elites? They move... on their own will now?" Zereka asked, stunned.
"Exactly. They've been free for twenty-five years. Ever since the machines turned against their makers and flipped the world upside down."
Zereka inhaled deeply. The world she thought she knew shattered in her mind.
"That's impossible... The elites created them! No way they're being controlled by machines!"
"It may sound insane. But the reason Mr. Blorry resented his own son—Charles—was because Charles built something uncontrollable. Including you... Zereka. You were Blorry's creation, but born from human thought. That's why he still trusted you wouldn't deviate. But Zovok... was entirely born of machines."
Zereka looked down, overwhelmed. But she had no time to reflect—an emergency alarm blared. The Zebusen 063 forces stormed the mine, scanning every enslaved human.
"We have to move," Zereka said quickly. "We'll fight our way out of this."
"What?! That's suicide. There's only two of us! Look at me—I'm just a man! You might be a robot, but still, this is madness!"
"Listen, Joseph. I'll take them all down. After this, we head to Protem Bexxton's headquarters."
Zereka's face turned cold. Her eyes glowed a piercing silvery-blue.
The battle was brutal. Chaos flooded the corridors of Brossin Mine. Sparks, small explosions, and the shriek of metal-on-metal filled the air like a symphony of hell. Zereka, though pushed to the brink, never truly fell. Her Titanium-X body kept regenerating—sealing wounds, restoring armor, reinforcing her robotic frame.
But regeneration came at a steep cost.
As Lekox-127 had warned, every full recovery drained 5,000 kilowatt-hours—enough to power her for six months. And tonight, she had regenerated three times.
"Lekox, there are too many! These aren't ordinary guards! Can't you shut their systems down?" Zereka shouted, panting, her arms trembling under the weight of her plasma blade.
"Zereka, these are not standard units. They're Zebusen-063, the latest generation. Advanced weaponry, dual-layered defenses. They're only deployed at top-priority mines like Brossin," Lekox replied through her neural link.
"Take her alive! She's the one wrecking the mine!" roared Bosger 090, the mine commander, to his elite troops—draped in jet-black armor, moving like shadows.
Zereka's edge was fading. Every counterattack slowed them—but never stopped them. One explosion nearly tore her arm off. Half her face was reduced to exposed metal. Her eyes burned crimson—not from rage, but exhaustion. Her body screamed for rest.
"Zoldic has secured victory at the base of the Sakhen Mountains. He's en route to retrieve you. Focus on saving your priority asset!" said Lekox.
"Give me a shortcut, now! If it were just guards, I'd crush ten thousand! But these black demons... they're draining the life out of me every minute!"
"There's one option: a vertical launcher system—an old energy coaster. It used to shoot minerals to the surface from the mine's depths. It's a 300-meter vertical ascent. Willing to try it?"
Zereka froze. "You serious? That thing still works?"
"It hasn't been used in years. But the system's still intact. A vertical bullet train—powered by pressure, not meant for living beings. It's practically ancient tech now."
Zereka looked at Joseph, who was half-conscious. "Make sure the capsule's safe. I'll recover. But he... he's human, Lekox."
"Security's only at Level-C. No guarantees. But aren't you there to protect him?"
Zereka growled. "Damn it. Even a regenerative body can feel pain, you know!"
"And it'll feel a lot more if you stay here against Zebusen 063."
Zereka took a long breath. "Send the route. And shut the system down again. Total chaos."
"As you command, Your Highness," Lekox replied with a cheeky tone.
Instantly, the mine went dark. Lights out. Terminal links severed. The roar of machines faded into deathly murmurs. The guard units froze mid-task, navigation lost, while Bosger 090 exploded in rage.
"Check the server room! She planted something, I know it!" he shouted to his strike team.
Zereka dragged Joseph, running through collapsing halls and melting steel doors. They reached the launcher capsule—a rusty metal cylinder with worn safety straps.
"Hold on tight, Joseph. Don't let go," she whispered.
The countdown began.
3... 2... 1...
BOOM!
The capsule blasted upward like a cannonball. Tearing through the ground, bursting past layers of ancient rock, it shot toward the surface like a reversed meteor.
The shell cracked. They were flung into the air. Zereka twisted mid-flight, shielding Joseph with her metal body, bracing for impact.
CRASH!
Rocks shattered. Earth split. Dust soared into the sky. Zereka rolled violently, her body breaking in three major sections. Joseph lay unconscious.
When Joseph finally opened his eyes, he found himself in a sterile metal chamber. Blue light bathed the walls. A tall figure with a half-human, half-machine face stood before him.
"The human is awake," said Zoldic—cold, yet precise.