Amelia the Level Zero Hero

Chapter 144

“Wake up,” the tinny voice echoed around the white room.

And a blinding light shone into the twelve eyes of the immobilized figure. Each dark pupil darted to a different corner of the enclosure that held him, but all he saw were concrete walls. He didn’t have a name, for he had not been bestowed one; nor did he move, for he had not been given such a command.

So he lay there on the operating table as a mechanical arm rotated around him. He was a nameless machine, and the mechanical arm seemed to inspect him. Even with no eyes of its own, it studied him like he was a lab rat. Perhaps he was. His database was limited, but he knew that he had been experimented on.

He was also aware of various other experiments that had been carried out before him, much to the disappointment of… an important individual. A man by the name of Hermann Kasper.

“Can you see me?” the same voice from earlier asked— and the nameless machine knew it belonged to Hermann Kasper. The mechanical arm drew closer, inspecting his eyes. “I have replaced the photoreceptors in your retina with the very same lens used by the deceased Techno Wizard himself— your vision should be able to pierce through these opaque walls like they aren’t even there!”

Techno Wizard? Who is that? the nameless machine wondered. But he never received an answer.

“Focus,” Hermann Kasper’s robotic voice said. “Show me you are worthy of being called my creation!”

And that made the nameless machine raise his head. You… are my creator?

His thoughts resounded in his head, but they never left the confines of his mind. He could not communicate. All he could do was do as he was told. So he searched the walls. His head slowly craned back, scanning for the source of the voice.

The walls of the room seemed to peel back as the nameless machine’s vision blurred. Whether it was by instinct or by programming, he focused and pinpointed his creator. An elderly man sat bound in a wheelchair— his hair a mess, and one of his eyes crossed to the side.

He blinked as he held the gaze of the nameless machine, before pumping a fist in the air.

“Yes! That’s right! You see me, don’t you? Nod once if you do!”

The nameless machine obliged his creator, and Hermann Kasper laughed maniacally.

“Yes, yes, yes! Finally, after twenty-six iterations, I have finally done it! Part biomechanically, but fully artificial, I have created the perfect machine!” He caught his breath, gasping where he sat in his wheelchair. After regaining his composure, he looked back up and spoke a simple order. “Stand up, my creation.”

As his creator’s words willed it, the nameless machine followed the command. He broke through his bindings with ease, standing in the center of the room as a smile spread through Hermann’s lips. The walls of the room flashed, revealing themselves to be screens. They showed images of a vibrant world.

The nameless machine saw children playing in an artificial field. He saw men and women rushing down a hallway as they fiddled with various gadgets and tools, refusing to even acknowledge each other’s existence. He saw a white city, bustling with life. Hover cars filled the skies, and machines served in restaurants and shops.

A tall tower rose up at the very center of the city, standing above every one of the supertall skyscrapers below. It grew thinner and thinner as it exited the atmosphere until it eventually reached the darkness of space. A floating station waited there, and on its side was an insignia with the letters ‘SP’ for all to see.

The nameless machine took this all in as his creator’s voice echoed around him.

“Your designation is Z357,” Hermann said as gestured towards the flashing screens. “And this is Askan.”

My designation…? Z357 robotically tilted his head, processing the name he had been given. A plethora of questions raced through his mind. There were a multitude of things he wanted to ask his creator— like the reason he was created..

But he couldn’t. He had no way to vocalize his thoughts. He simply stood there silently. And fortuitously, Hermann Kasper seemed to sense his creation’s confusion.

“That is right, Z357.” The wheelchair-bound man said as the screens flashed, showing the view of the planet. He spread his arms wide and spoke simply. “This world around you is called Askan, and I created you to protect it.”

And that made Z357’s eyes blink. Protect it…?”

—--

Guardian Angel Z357 blinked and returned to the present moment. He raised his head as he took in his surroundings. He had cleared a basin in the ocean— one that was over a dozen miles in diameter— to reveal the ruins of Novus lying in the seabed.

It was the Capital City of the Grand Nova Empire. The greatest nation in all of Planet 16B, ruled by dragons that lived nigh-immortal lives. Guardian Angel Z357’s memory node was infallible, so he could recall what Novus looked like the last time he had laid his twelve eyes upon it.

Like jewels floating above the clouds. There were dozens of small islands, and they all orbited around a single main island. Each and every one of them held grand structures of their own— golden spires that reflected the light of the sun so it was not too bright and obsidian archways that were enchanted by magic. The islands were all connected by glowing magical paths that followed the orbiting islands, and those who traveled through it need not even walk to get to the other side.

It was a city like nothing ever seen before in Planet 16B. And now, it all lay at the seafloor in ruins.

The precious gemstones still glittered, and the magic lingered. But the islands had broken apart. Their rubble scattered across the seabed, covered in seaweed, algae, and other underwater plant-life.

“It has been many centuries— perhaps even millennia— since any mortal in Vacuos had come here,” Grat-ra’zun said as he floated behind the angel. “And those who have discovered these ruins would have perished to the kraken. It was the guardian of this Dungeon for so long… and to think you would be able to kill it in a single attack.”

The Elder Dragon wore both an expression of amusement and reverence on his face. Guardian Angel Z357 didn’t acknowledge the comment, instead descending down into the basin and landing atop the ruins of the largest island of Novus.

[You have entered the Dungeon: The Ruins of the Grand Nova Empire!]

A blue box flashed before Guardian Angel Z357’s twelve eyes, and he dismissed it. He continued on, walking up to a golden palace.

The collapse of the Grand Nova Empire was brought about by the revolt of Laxo and Alius, is that correct? he asked, recalling the many discussions he had with Grat-ra’zun.

The Elder Dragon huffed as he trailed slowly behind. “Their revolt certainly played a part in it, however I would argue that there were other major factors that even enabled their revolt in the first place. Such as the incursion with the Void…”

Thousands of dragons died, Guardian Angel Z357 stated simply. He knew the exact number, because he had been there. And while 3,040 didn’t seem like such a large number, that was out of 5,000.

More than half of all dragons that had been alive at the time had fallen to the swarms of voidlings and voidbeasts that poured out into the planet. And now, there were less than a hundred left across all four continents.

And it was four continents, not three. Apparently, Mare— the continent that had sunk into the ocean— somehow survived. Now, it was a place where the merfolk thrived.

Was it a result of evolution? Or was it perhaps magic? Guardian Angel Z357 did not know, nor did he care to find out. He had only a single objective— the reason he had been activated in the first place. To put a halt to the Fal-Deus once again.

“The incursion with the Void, the revolt of the mortals… a variety of factors ultimately led to the end of the Grand Nova Empire,” Grat-ra’zun continued as he glanced back. The ocean was starting to level with the basin, and a wall of water was rushing towards him. He shook his head as he created a bubble around his body. “However, if I had to choose a single cause, then I would blame the pride and greed of my kin.”

Guardian Angel Z357 paused. Now that caught him off-guard. He stood right before the half-collapsed archway leading into the golden palace. It was a palatial structure that spanned a dozen miles in length, and it somehow survived the fall from the skies.

…well, it partially survived. Half of the golden palace had collapsed into itself, while the other half that remained had been repurposed into the home of the kraken.

“Certainly, the other factors mentioned thus far expedited the fall of the Grand Nova Empire…” The Elder Dragon took in a deep breath, before huffing in exhaustion. “But it was the in-fighting— the endless desire for glory because of their foolish pride— that culled our numbers to what it is today. Even if nothing else happened, this would have eventually been the outcome.”

Grat-ra’zun held his head low, like he was bowing to the ruins of Novus. Guardian Angel Z357 lowered his head as he turned back to the entrance of the golden palace.

I see… the idle thoughts left his mind, and he strode forward.

He thought of a time before he was brought to Vacuos by the World System— when he was still operating under the orders of his creator. Back in his home world. Back in Askan.

Z357 remembered the destruction. He remembered the death. And it was all brought about by…

The Hammer of Justice.

“The… what?” Grat-ra’zun blinked, a step behind the angel.

The two of them made their way through the grand halls of the golden palace. Their footfalls echoed throughout the vast chamber as the muffled clamoring of the rushing waves filled the background.

It is the product of greed— the ceaseless craving for something more, Guardian Angel Z357 explained. A weapon of Askan. A weapon from my world.

They arrived at the throne room of the golden palace as Grat-ra’zun narrowed his eyes. The double doors still stood, untouched even after ten thousand years. Enchanted with defenses that even the kraken could not breach.

And Guardian Angel Z357 simply struck the double doors down with his lance.

Grat-ra’zun winced, watching as the enchantment dissipated into the air. The double doors fell with a thundering crash. The angel walked forward.

I entrusted this weapon to the Grand Elder Dragon Arrak’tun— to battle the Void should it ever return and I am not activated. But it seems the time never came. Not for him.

Guardian Angel Z357 walked up the stairs leading to the throne. It was a colossal seat. One that even dwarfed the size of Grat-ra’zun who reverently looked up upon it.

So I am here to reclaim what is mine, Z357 said simply as he reached the throne, before pushing the colossal seat back.

With a low groan, the throne moved. And a dark pit revealed itself beneath. A pillar of light emerged from the darkness, shining brightly in the golden room. The angel took a step back as a shadowed figure rose from the ground.

No— it wasn’t a shadowed figure. It was a figure wreathed in shadows. A great hammer that stood twice the height of Z357, with a head that could have crushed him where he stood. He stared at it as Grat-ra’zun gaped.

There it was.

The reason why Guardian Angel Z357 had sought out Novus.

A weapon from his world.

His weapon.

The very same weapon that had sunk Mare into the ocean.

And the very same weapon that brought about the destruction of Askan.

The Hammer of Justice.

Guardian Angel Z357 didn’t know what he was going to do with it— there were many different courses of action he could follow through on. However, he would make a decision later. For now, he placed a hand on the hammer, beginning its activation.

Grat-ra’zun reeled as a streak of shadows shot upwards, tearing straight through the ceiling. It exploded beyond the clouds and into the coldness of space. And the shadows began to coalesce, creating the first vestiges of a dark satellite in Planet 16B’s orbit.

Now, Guardian Angel Z357 said as he took a step back. We wait.