Halvek ordered the three to follow him.
His voice carried easily through the immense chamber, sharp and controlled, cutting through the low mechanical hum that filled the space. Youri, Kess, and Adin exchanged brief glances before falling into step behind him. As they moved forward, the sheer scale of the chamber began to reveal itself.
The room was colossal—far larger than anything they had seen within the academy. The ceiling vanished into darkness high above, crisscrossed by massive support beams and suspended gantries. Floodlights bathed the chamber in pale white light, illuminating six towering shapes aligned in perfect symmetry along the chamber's length.
The God Units.
All six of them stood dormant yet imposing, restrained by enormous holding mechanisms and thick magnetic clamps embedded into the floor and walls. Each one was a titan of metal and unknown materials.
Helios stood first—tall, radiant, its armor etched with glowing lines that pulsed faintly like the surface of a star. Next was Sirius, broader and heavier, Perciosa followed, elegant and sharp-edged, Montern loomed next, dense and brutal, its structure built for raw force and endurance. Barken stood fifth, compact compared to the others but radiating a predatory stillness.
And at the far end of the chamber stood the Altopereh.
The same unit they had glimpsed upon entering, yet now revealed in full. It was unlike the others—darker, its surface not metallic but almost organic, as if forged from condensed shadow.
The three recruits slowed unconsciously, awe and dread tightening their chests.
Halvek led them past each unit, his measured footsteps echoing across the floor as he spoke. He explained their designations, their combat roles, their destructive capabilities. His tone was professional, almost clinical, as if he were discussing ordinary war machines rather than instruments capable of erasing civilizations.
Then, abruptly, he stopped.
He turned to face them, his expression hardening. The faint light reflected off the scar that ran down the side of his face, making it appear deeper, older.
"These machines you see before you," Halvek said slowly, "are not merely machines."
"They are sentient beings," Halvek continued. "Deep within each core lies a consciousness. A will. A mind."
Kess's eyes widened. Adin stiffened beside him.
"There have been only two recorded cases in the entire history of the God Unit program," Halvek went on, "where a unit took control of its own mainframe body."
He paused, his gaze drifting back toward the towering Orbitons.
"And when they did…"
His voice trailed off.
The silence that followed was heavy, oppressive.
Kess swallowed hard before breaking it. "What… what happened, sir?"
Halvek turned back to them, his eyes cold. "They reverted to their original shape."
The words settled slowly.
"Monsters," Halvek said. "Of unknown origin. Capable of erasing sections of the universe by themselves."
Youri felt his breath catch. Adin clenched his fists. None of them spoke.
Halvek straightened, adjusted his uniform, and cleared his throat as if forcibly pushing the memory aside.
"Today is your first day," he said briskly. "And you will be assigned your respective units."
He pulled a datapad from his coat and glanced down at it, his fingers moving swiftly across the screen. After a moment, he lowered it and turned back toward the line of Orbitons.
With a deep mechanical groan, three of the holding mechanisms activated. Massive hydraulic arms extended forward, slowly pushing Helios, Montern, and Altopereh closer.
Up close, they were even more intimidating.
Halvek gestured toward Helios. "Kess Pert. As of today, you are assigned to the Helios unit. Testing and neural link dive will begin once the research crew arrives."
Kess straightened, saluted sharply. "Yes, sir."
Halvek turned next. "Adin Roe. You are assigned to the Montern unit. Your testing and link dive will follow shortly."
Adin nodded, jaw tight. "Understood, sir."
Finally, Halvek faced Youri.
"Youri Kronos," he said. "As of today, you are assigned to the Altopereh unit."
Youri felt every muscle in his body tense.
"Your testing and link dive will begin now."
Youri said nothing. He simply nodded.
As if responding to the command, the Altopereh's cockpit began to open. A metallic screech echoed through the chamber as a suspension line descended from the ceiling. Youri grasped it, and the mechanism lifted him smoothly upward, carrying him toward the open cavity in the unit's chest.
The cockpit was dark.
Strange insignia lined the walls—symbols unlike any Terrian script, etched deep into the surface. At first glance, the controls looked impossibly complex, alien in design. But as Youri stepped inside, dim lights flickered to life, one by one, as if acknowledging his presence.
"Connect your neural link," Halvek's voice echoed through the comms. "Once synchronization begins, all cockpit data will be transferred to you."
Youri approached the seat at the center of the cockpit. It was a deep brown, almost organic in texture. He sat down slowly and connected the neural link at the base of his neck.
He closed his eyes.
The world vanished.
When he opened them again, he was floating.
A vast, dark abyss surrounded him—an endless underwater expanse. Panic seized him instantly. He flailed, instinctively opening his mouth, only to release a cloud of bubbles that drifted upward.
He waited for the burning sensation in his lungs.
It never came.
Realization dawned slowly. He could breathe.
Youri calmed himself, turning slowly, staring at the faint, piercing light far above him. Then something moved behind him.
He turned sharply.
Nothing.
Again—movement. Closer this time.
He turned again. Still nothing.
Then the water behind him darkened.
A colossal silhouette emerged, rising silently from the depths.
Youri froze.
The being before him dwarfed anything he had ever imagined. Giant wings unfolded from its back, Its limbs were massive, elongated, ending in jagged, horn-like protrusions. Its body was pure black, not metallic but viscous, like living darkness, streaked with faint crimson light beneath the surface.
But its head was the most terrifying.
Arrow-shaped, crowned with twin horns curving upward, it tilted toward him slowly.
A sharp, piercing scream ripped through the abyss.
Youri clutched his head as pain exploded behind his eyes.
Then a voice struck his mind.
"So you are the newly sentenced one."
Youri staggered backward, heart pounding. "What are you!?" he shouted, though no sound escaped his lips.
A cruel laugh echoed through the abyss.
"To your kind," the voice replied, "I am a being beyond comprehension. An anomaly within existence itself."
The figure loomed closer.
"Altopereh," it said. "The Vanisher."
Youri remembered Halvek's words—the sentient cores, the monsters beneath the machines.
"What do you want from me?" Youri demanded, forcing himself to stand his ground.
The creature flexed its wings slightly, the water trembling around it.
"I like your thoughts," Altopereh said. "I will be taking some of them."
Youri frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Each time you call upon my power," Altopereh replied, "I take a part of you. Memories. Instincts. Organs. Anything that is yours."
Fear surged through Youri. "You'll drain me of my life!"
Another laugh. "You are not the first. At most, you will use me twice."
Youri let out a bitter smile. "So I'm just a lamb for slaughter."
Altopereh drifted closer still, its presence suffocating.
"This is the path before you," it said. "Live as a monster of mass destruction… or die as a coward."
The abyss trembled.