** Ghost Archipelago: the fall and the gray **
** Single Chapter: The Ruin Cycle **
The air in Ghost Archipelago carried the weight of a thousand eras collapsed. The Museum Island, a precarious sanctuary of ancient Apis mellifera civilization, rose as an oasis of memory in a world drowned by sea and war. His ruins, meticulously preserved, were a testimony of lost glory, before the level of the ocean swallows almost everything. But now, even this refuge was under threat. Steterszowiczan, perfurates of metal carapaces and predatory instinct, emerged from the depths, hungry for destruction.
Olevan Atewood, veteran pilot of a warrior, watched the irregular horizon of the historic district. Her eyes, hardened by countless battles on alternative timelines, settled in the old structures-polished stone roads, gleaming bronze ornaments, relics of an era where beauty still had space. He squeezed Meka's controls, the tinnitus of the machine echoing his own determination. "Let's defend this timeline at all costs," he murmured, the severe voice cutting the silence of the cockpit.
Beside her, Airilee Singh, the young pilot prodigy, piloted her own Meka with almost feverish energy. "Let's turn the steterszowiczan into relics!" She exclaimed through the communicator, confidence overflows in her voice, but with a touch of anger that Olevan recognized well. It was the kind of bravado that preceded tragedies. Leo Kirk, the third of the squad, grunted in response: "My Meka won't bear much more!" His tone carried the weight of someone who already felt death prowling.
The voice of the communications operator, Ilona Ferry, burst out the channels: "Threat Steterszowiczan detected! They are emerging in the West Sector. Protect the structures and keep their civilians safe!" Olevan felt the familiar tightness in the chest. Museum Island was not just a history deposit; He was the last bastion of refugees Apis Mellifera, the few survivors of an almost extinct race. Losing there would be to lose everything.
The plan was risky but necessary. "Destroying the dam of this region is a necessary evil," Olevan announced, the fixed eyes on the tactical map. "This will create a natural barrier between us and the steterszowiczan excavators." The dam, an old structure that still held the waters of the invading sea, was the key. Its destruction would flood the tunnels of the enemies, but would also risk damaging the relics they protected. It was a price that Olevan was willing to pay.
The battle began with a seismic roar. The floor trembled when the Steterszowiczan, with their metal claws and bright eyes, broke the surface. Olevan's Meka advanced, firing gusts of plasma that incinerated the nearest enemies. Airilee was a blur of motion, his meka dancing among the perforators with a lethal grace, while Leo struggled to keep his machine damaged standing. "Remove them from the structures!" Olevan shouted, diverting a blow that would have crushed a centenary statue.
But the Steterszowiczan were relentless. A group of them converged to Airilee, their claws cutting the air with mechanical accuracy. She fought with ferocity, destroying several, but a precise blow hit the core of her Meka. The explosion was blinding, and when the dust dropped, Airilee's Meka was a steaming carcass. "No!" Olevan roared, the anger replacing the shock. "I'll make them pay for it!"
He redirected his whole power, crushing the Steterszowiczan with a blind fury. Leo, despite his damaged machine, held the line until the last moment, but a perfurator hit him hard. Leo's Meka collapsed, and with him, his life. Olevan had no time to regret. He fought, blow after a blow, until the last Steterszowiczan fell, some destroyed, others fleeing to the tunnels from where they came.
The silence that followed was oppressive. Olevan descended from Meka, his body exhausted, his eyes fixed on the dam. Her destruction was still an option, but now it seemed unnecessary. The Steterszowiczan were defeated, at least for now. He looked at the horizon, where the dam still rose, an impressive view against the gray sky. "At least that's still standing," he murmured, but the words sounded empty.
Your communicator screen blinked with a cold message:
** deceased: Airilee Singh died after suffering serious injuries in the fight against creatures. **
** Decreased: Leo Kirk died after suffering serious injuries to the fight against creatures. **
Olevan closed his eyes, the weight of the losses crushing him. He had promised to protect this timeline, but at what cost? The civilians were safe, the relics preserved, but their companions - their anchors amid chaos - were dead. He looked at the ruins around him, the old statues now marked by battle scars, and felt the emptiness grow.
A new message shone on the screen:
** Promoted: Olevan Atewood **
** New skill unlocked: Increases network defense by 3. This affects the chance of resisting damage to the combat structure. **
He laughed, a bitter and humor sound. A new skill, another tool for the next battle. But the war in Ghost Archipelago never ended. Each victory was just a break before the next attack, each timeline a repetition of the same cycle of destruction. He was a soldier stuck in a loop, sentenced to fight, lose and start over.
Olevan walked to the edge of the museum island, the salty winds of the sea invading his lungs. Somewhere, on another timeline, he knew he would be back to the cockpit, listening to the same orders, facing the same enemies. Perhaps with new allies, maybe with old promises. But the result always seemed the same: the gray, the fall, the void.
He looked into the sea, where the waves licked the submerged ruins of the Ancient Archipelago Ghost. "This timeline will be a Steterszowiczan cemetery," he whispered, repeating the promise he had made himself so many times. But deep down he knew: the real cemetery was that of his hopes, buried under the weight of a future that never arrived.
**End