Synthetic Survivor: Machine Age

"What do you think?" Hailey asked.

"Let them come to us," One replied.

The two powerful monarchs of the Machine Empire were standing over a hilltop. It was way past dusk but the fires continued to rage and illuminate in the distance. The strong nightly wind blew from the north this time, signifying a slight change in the weather. It's been weeks since the last storm, it was only a matter of time before the next one arrives and extinguish the fires.

But it wasn't a normal storm. Although the empire's weather surveillance systems have not been fully activated, the instruments that have been activated are transmitting unsettling results detected from the north from which the winds were coming from.

The two of them were well aware of what was happening, there was a literal storm brewing in the horizon. Although strong storms and weather systems were more than common to experience back on Earth, the current data for the storm approaching from the north was unlike anything they've ever seen before back on Earth.

One and Hailey were more than convinced that the storm was no ordinary storm system. The sudden evacuation of several Yuhin villages to the north also reinforced this presumption. Looking back, One did not gain any information about unusual storms but he knows of spells that could change and control the weather.

There was still no satellite data since One hasn't issued the order to do so. Moreover, the Satellite he wants to be sent up the atmosphere was to assist in military and covert operations, also he wanted it equipped with an experimental death ray. But it seems like he should have prioritized weather forecasting after all.

Hailey was no different to One in many aspects but they differ with their goals. One yearns to bring back life to the Earth and restore the planet to its prewar glory, and quite possibly restore humanity by breeding the humans inside the Utopian Territory, the promise of Utopia for qualified humans was also up on his agenda.

Hailey, on the other hand, has had thoughts of abandoning Fiorg and seclude themselves. She could not see One's logic, why rebuild an already dead planet just because a voice in your head told you so? If the voice had told him to kill himself right after he awoke from his coma, would he do it? It was frustrating but she had no choice.

One gave her a bit of trust, it was the only reason keeping him from turning against her. There were no romantic feelings, One didn't have the capability and Hailey only viewed One as a friend she failed to save completely.

No matter what happened back then, before the war, after the decimation, are kept deep inside the ravines of Hailey's fragile memory. A human consciousness stuck in a machine and a machine stuck inside a human.

As they stood and watched, the fires continued to rage and the voices of thousands of crusaders echoed through the scorched lands. One, using his night vision, used them as mere entertainment. He was fond of their hardwork in burning the forest, it gave him the impression of ants, specifically army ants.

Army ants that specified on destroying their own habitat. The scorching of the forest has damaged the ecosystem within to an astonishing extent, it was only a matter of time before it completely falls apart as the fires and the crusaders go deeper.

"Do you think they're trying to choke us out?" Hailey wondered and asked One. She could see the yellow light from the fires reflect on One's eyes. It reminded her of the past.

"Stop!" She thought to herself, "Not now!"

There was no time for emotion, no time for regrets, she must focus on the now!

"Choking us out, probably, but I have an idea who's behind this stupid crusade," One suddenly replied, churning his jaw.

"Who,?" Hailey asked politely.

"Before you came, before you met Vilvintine, she and a few others went and attacked me," One explained briefly.

"Yes, I know that, what does it have to do with the cause of this mess?" Hailey didn't understand.

"Somebody took control of one of her former allies, he glowed blue and his sword glowed as well, same color,"

"Hm?" Hailey was finally forming a picture.

"She told me, that we won't last long, I knew that it was a she judging by the sudden change with the man's voice and the womanly movement the man showed when he glowed,"

"A deity?"

"Maybe, but personally, I hate calling beings like those deities, It is more befitting to call that incident a sudden possession of a weak soul by a greater soul,"

"You hate calling them deities but believe in souls? Isn't that actually worse?" Hailey teased as she leaned her head towards her right shoulder and smiled.

"Hm, I believe that there is a human soul but I don't believe in deities, goddesses and such,"

"To be perfectly honest, Johann, you only believe in yourself most of the time," Hailey slightly raised her eyebrows and leaned forward against One's right cheek.

"Is that a problem," He replied. He remained stoic and vigilant, Hailey didn't need a visual aid to see that he was processing gigabytes of information and scanning their surroundings. This little chit chat with One made her distracted of what was coming.

One and Hailey stood there for hours, after 3 hours of blank staring, the two finally agreed to sit down on the grass as they awaited results from their atmospheric instruments.

20 minutes after they sat, the first data received by the instruments were relayed to Hailey and Hailey immediately told One.

"The storm system is no ordinary system, it's a literal hurricane, a very small one at that but this data shows that it is expanding exponentially," Hailey relayed.

"This is strange, the northern parts of this peninsula is but a small stretch of ocean separating the peninsula, I doubt any hurricane would form at such waters, too small,"

"It is strange, this only reinforces our suspicion, should we send in a recon mission?" Hailey suggested.

"No, wait for further confirmation," One coldly replied. One then laid on his back against the grass and stared at the black, smoke-choked sky. Hailey's eyes were fixated on him, if she had the ability to cry, she would be balling her eyes out at this very moment but she lacks tear ducts. The shortcomings of not having a proper human body.

Why does she want to cry? It's because it was her fault that things went the way they did but for now, she wishes to keep the past from him, hoping that he'd find out on his own in the future, preferably when she had died.

The pair then hear a loud bang and an explosion rocks the forest in the distance. The explosion was large enough for its shock wave to rumble the hill a few seconds after it exploded.

"Mages," One whispered as he watched intently. His eyes were like a magnifying glass, a telescope to the far unknown. He could see them, the people that were called mages casting fire spells and igniting the forest.

In the span of just a few weeks, the Theocracy's crusade has damaged a quarter of the forest and threaten to destroy half, if not, all of it if they continue, the entire sky has been blackened by a cloud of thick smoke. This thick smoke is spreading across the peninsula and speeding up the ongoing ecological disaster.

Trees were choking, plants were dying and without sunlight, no plant life could thrive, let alone, survive. It was as if a repeat of Earth was happening but in a much smaller scale, this world was indeed a new beginning for him.

One stood up and walked towards Vilvintine who was staring coldly into the night, watching the sky and thinking.

"Let's go home," One suddenly said.

Home? Where was that? Up until now, he considered everything as temporary, temporary shelter and temporary abodes, was he getting soft? After the past decade, has One finally regained some form of his humanity? It was something to be celebrated and even Hailey felt so. She was more than happy to see the Johann she knew come back to when she knew him as.

She smiled at One's words and closed her eyes.

One did not quite get Hailey's emotions at that time but he was more than pleased to call their base home and his drones as his citizens. And as the fires raged and the lights of the blaze illuminate and shined further into the darkness, One extended his right hand to Hailey, offering to get her up.

Again, Hailey was the happiest she could be. She accepted One's gesture and placed her hand upon his and One pulled her up from the ground and both of them stood and stared at each other. One always looked cold, emotionless and void of humanity. He was always pale and lacked the glow a normal human possessed but Hailey saw something different that night.

Sure, he still had his terrifying aura that made it known that he was still mostly the same but she saw a shed of light in One's eyes, not the eye of a robot, a machine or a logic processor but the faint light of a human whose mind has finally found its true purpose and will.

Maybe One's returning memories was what's causing the sudden glow up, but he didn't really care that much. Still, he wanted to complete his mission before finally getting the rest he deserves. He will work tirelessly and use any amount of effort necessary to fulfill his goal of rebuilding the Earth.

Reviving the Earth's Gaia will take time, maybe even a hundred years or so but he won't falter, nay, he will press on, with Hailey by his side and billions of machines back on Earth, he will wipe out any who stand in his way and build his human utopia under the foundation and guidance of machines because humans are faulty, careless and most of the time, blinded by emotion, machines weren't and machines shall rule over them.

And the one who will rule above those machines, above the humans and above the world, will be him.

"So, shall we go?" Hailey asked and smiled.

"We shall," One replied.

As the two left the hilltop, their drones who were standing beneath the hill quickly followed behind them, their eyes gleaming and weapons ready. The brewing storm was getting near, the data received has so far been vague but it was only a matter of time before they finally know what it is.

Being careless was a shortcoming One wishes to address, he will now be more careful and not get swayed by arrogance, sure they were basically undefeated but he still needs to remember that magic was unpredictable at times, sometimes, even more powerful and devastating than anything technology could come up with and so, they should be alert.

Everyone was working as intended.

Lily and Vilvintine were caught in a pincer.

The little child was being educated and indoctrinated for her eventual recruitment as Hailey's finest.

Velptis was somewhere in the continent, plotting her revenge against One.

The nine heroes have been chosen and will soon set forth to destroy One.

The queen of Yuhin still laid in her bed, after weeks, she will finally awake and her aides shall sing joyous praises.

Ignis and his student will lead their armies.

And many more will be entangled in this chaotic era, a new chaotic era that would plunge the entire continent into an age of progression and devastation.

The deities will surely go against them and the demons from hell will awaken.

And maybe, just maybe, the monsters who destroyed the Earth, might come back for a second time.

For now, they're on the defensive.