Angela's eyes widened as she stepped inside the room.
Eve's body lay in pieces across the floor. Sparks flickered from torn circuits, synthetic skin ripped and shattered.
The robot beside her moved closer to the broken figure.
"Her Synthetic Soul is missing… interesting," it said in its dull, emotionless voice.
Angela frowned. "Synthetic Soul?"
"Some robots have a Synthetic Soul," the robot explained, kneeling to inspect Eve's body. "It gives them self-consciousness, the ability to think and act like living beings. Others, like us, have only a core. It keeps us functional, but without awareness or free will."
Angela's jaw tightened. "So that's why she… why she protected it?"
The robot nodded slowly. "Exactly. She listened, she learned… she felt. All because of the Synthetic Soul."
Angela clenched her fists, burning with determination.
The robot glanced at her. "I may inform S.O.W."
"S.O.W?" Angela asked.
The robot's eyes, dull and distant, met hers. "All I know is they protect robots and make peace."
Angela said nothing.
Meanwhile, above them on the rooftop, the figure appeared, holding Eve's Synthetic Soul tightly in her right hand. She smiled faintly, looking at the core.
"You will save all the robot cores… and make them alive," she whispered to herself as she prepared to escape.
Suddenly, two figures appeared before her: a short girl with brown hair in a scientist's coat and a man with black hair and red eyes.
"Well, well, well… it seems you took one of our robots," the girl said, her smile chilling, predator-like.
The figure tightened her grip on the core. "I don't give a damn about your introduction," she said. She tried to flee, but the girl's smile widened.
"Don't try to mess with us, or your life will be hell," the girl said, her gaze sharp.
The figure paused, faintly smiling. "I already have Abyss surrounded me."
The girl looked at the man. "Well, well… looks like we got someone to mess with today, right William?"
"Perhaps lady carmilla," he replied.
"Then we should start our fight. You have 8 seconds to play and get the core," Carmilla said, checking her watch.
The Fight Begins
1 second:
Their swords collided with an ear-splitting shriek. Sparks exploded into the night, burning the cold air. The rooftop tiles cracked, dust and fragments raining into the alley below. The shockwave rattled the building, the clash ringing like a church bell of war. The smell of hot iron and scorched oil filled their lungs.
2 second:
Flesh met steel. The figure's ear split away in a spray of crimson, the warmth running down her neck. William's pinky finger spun off into the void, blood dripping onto the rooftop in sharp, wet splatters. Neither screamed. Neither slowed. Their eyes locked like predators that had forgotten pain existed.
3 second:
Their blades shattered. Steel fractured into jagged shards, one fragment slicing across the figure's cheek, another embedding into William's shoulder. No pause. They lunged bare-handed, fists colliding with bone-crunching force. Each blow sounded like thunder striking meat. The rooftop groaned under their ferocity.
Carmilla licked her lips. The raw violence, the brutality of hope and despair intertwined it's a spectacle, and she is the only witness worthy of watching.
4 second:
The figure's fist slammed into William's stomach. His body bent, hot blood bursting from his lips. The copper taste flooded his mouth as he spat crimson onto her face. In the same instant, his counterpunch cracked into her skull. Her vision went white, ears ringing, the world tilting sideways. Her grip on the glowing Synthetic Soul almost loosened, but her fingers clawed tighter, nails digging into her own skin.
5 second:
His next punch caved into her eye. A wet, tearing sound followed by the splatter of blood. The eyeball burst free, bouncing across the rooftop until it stopped at Carmilla's boot.
Carmilla crushed it beneath her heel, the sick pop echoing. Such chaos.
6 second:
Carmilla's presence pressed, her smile widening. William lunged blindly, his movements guided by raw instinct, his fists slicing the air. The figure ducked low, shoving two fingers deep into his sockets. The squelch of bursting flesh echoed, hot blood spraying against her cheek like rain.
7 second:
William reeled back, his empty sockets dripping rivers of blood. The metallic stench mixed with the night air, suffocating. Yet he did not fall. He advanced again, unflinching. The figure's chest heaved, breath sharp, her body torn open, but she still curled herself around the glowing soul as if it were her last heartbeat.
8 second:
His boot crashed into her wrist. Bone snapped with a sickening crunch. Her fingers bent backward unnaturally, skin tearing open. The Synthetic Soul flew into the air, spinning like a falling star. She screamed a wordless cry of loss as William's blood-soaked hand snatched it from the night. His grip was calm. Absolute. The battle was over.
Carmilla exhaled softly. The chaos, the brutality, the hopelpatienc they were all sublime. But now… now I must repair her. Patience, always patience
The figure staggered, broken, drenched in blood. With no strength left to fight, she turned and fled.
"Interesting… I won't let this happen again. I will get my soul back. I promise."
William held the Synthetic Soul tightly. "Lady Carmilla, what now?"
She smiled creepily. "Now… we repair her."
The floor door opened. Angela and the robot arrived.
"Thanks, S.O.W, for helping us," the robot said.
"No problem," Carmilla replied, still smiling.
Angela's gaze fell on William. "What happened to his eyes?"
Carmilla tilted her head, a sinister grin spreading across her face. "Long story."
Angela shivered slightly.
The repairing process began. Slowly, Eve's systems rebooted. Her crimson eyes flickered open.
She whispered a single word:
"Tree of Hope."