Somewhere in Solari-2, a ruined area stretched across the land—filled with piles of old robot parts, broken vehicles, and crumbling buildings.
Inside one of those buildings, a dark room stood cluttered. One wall was lined with active computers flickering with data. The walls were painted in faded green and blue, covered with dust and scrap. Robot limbs, tools, and a wrecked car sat scattered across the floor.
Suddenly, the door slammed open as Arka walked in.
"Lisa, where is that bastard hiding?"
A scanning light projected from the device on his chest, sweeping across the room. It paused as it hit the space beneath the broken car.
[MR. MEHRA IS INSIDE THAT CAR. HE MIGHT BE TRYING TO FIX IT. CAN'T YOU GO HELP HIM?]
Arka waved the suggestion off.
"I'm not a damn mechanic. Don't order me around. I'm here to repair you—so try shutting your mouth."
[HMPH! DON'T ACT SO ARROGANT JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE FIXING ME! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO NEEDS ME AFTER THIS, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! SO STOP ACTING LIKE I'M IN YOUR DEBT!]
Arka's eye twitched, but he forced a smile.
"My bad."
If you were real, I'd break your damn nose, he thought.
Arka tapped his left earbud, causing the AR glasses to retract back into the earbuds. The sound shifted from his ears to the external speaker. He took out the earbuds and placed them back into the chest device, then unlatched the device and removed it.
With a tired sigh, he started walking forward.
Mehra was lying beneath the broken car, completely focused on whatever he was fixing. His eyes were glued to the machine's underbelly, completely unaware that Arka had even entered the room.
Arka stopped beside the car, staring down at the man working underneath.
"Hey, scientist. I want you to repair Lisa. She's broken."
No response. Mehra kept fiddling with wires and tools, lost in his own world.
"Scientist? Are you listening? Hello? Hey, bastard?"
Arka's patience began to wear thin. His eye twitched, and a vein popped on his forehead. Without thinking, he raised his leg and kicked Mehra right in the butt.
The man let out a surprised yelp as he rolled out from under the car.
"What the hell was that for?!" Mehra shouted, rubbing his backside as he stood up. He was a man in his late twenties, wearing a lab coat that was so stained with dirt and grease it barely resembled white anymore. He had bold, rectangular glasses and messy black hair styled in a weird, uneven way that looked like he cut it himself.
Arka glared at him and raised the device.
"I was calling you, and you weren't answering! I'm asking you to fix Lisa—she's broken!" he shouted.
Mehra snatched Lisa from Arka's hand and held the device gently, cradling it like it was a baby.
"Oh, my little pitiful girl... this man would've molested you."
Arka's eye twitched in disbelief.
"Shut the fuck up! She's an AI!" he snapped, yanking Lisa back from Mehra's hands.
"Why'd you take her back? How am I supposed to fix her like that?" Mehra asked, raising an eyebrow.
Arka sighed and handed the device back to him.
"Fine. Just don't start being weird again."
Mehra walked over to the table in front of the computers and placed the device down. He connected it to a mess of wires and got to work, starting with the internal systems. He carefully repaired the damage inside, focusing on stabilizing the core functions first.
While at it, he upgraded the communication system, adjusting the voice patterns and emotional responses.
"There. Now when you talk to her, it won't feel like you're arguing with a robot anymore," he muttered to himself.
Once the internal work was done, he moved on to the outer shell. He changed the casing, reinforced the guards, and patched up every broken or cracked area until the device looked completely new.
Mehra handed the device back to Arka with a proud smile.
"Now it's completely new. I repaired everything and even improved the communication system. From now on, your conversations will feel like two actual humans talking."
Arka facepalmed.
"Why did you have to improve it? Now she'll just get more annoying."
He placed a wad of money on the small desk beside him.
"Here. The charge for repairing it."
Mehra, still busy working on the car, didn't even look back.
"You know I do this for free."
"And you know I always pay," Arka replied.
Mehra smirked a little.
"You and your 'taking nothing for free' habit..." He glanced over his shoulder.
"Want me to repair or modify your sword too?"
Arka turned to look at the sword on his back and shook his head.
"Honestly, no. It didn't even need the last modification. It's already perfect—and indestructible. Ancient weapons are a thousand times better than what we have now."
Mehra stared at the blade with curiosity.
"You always say it's an ancient sword. Whose was it? Do you know its origin? I'm really interested in hearing about it."
Arka rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment.
"The little I know is that the sword is called Nandaka. It was once wielded by... someone... I forgot..."
"By who?! Don't give me a cliffhanger!" Mehra yelled, eyes lighting up with interest.
Then Arka snapped his fingers.
"Oh yeah. The one who wields Nandaka is called the Lord of the Universe. That's what I read in some old paperworks back on Earth. They called them 'ancient scriptures.' Some of those even praise a being called God. They say He's the one who created everything. He's immortal, and He's omniscient—knows everything that was, is, and will happen. My granny used to tell me stories about Him."
He paused for a second and scratched his head.
"People call Him by different names… but I don't remember any of them."
Mehra looked genuinely impressed.
"This God you're talking about… sounds like an overpowered alien from old movies. I like the concept."
He leaned on the car and glanced at Arka.
"You said your granny and some people praise Him. So… do you believe in God too?"
Arka scratched his head, thinking for a moment.
"Hmm… I don't know. I've heard a lot of stories about different gods, and most of them were said to be parts of one supreme being."
He shrugged lightly.
"I don't think I directly believe in God… but I really liked the stories. They were awesome."
---
Arka placed the device back on his chest and powered it on.
[HEY! ARKA, HOW ARE YOU?!]
He raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"She removed her intro line… no more 'This is your personal AI'?"
[BECAUSE THAT WAS CLICHÉ, AND I WANTED A MORE HUMANOID GREETING] Lisa replied with confidence.
---
"So, I'm leaving. You enjoy your time with the car," Arka said to Mehra as he exited the room and made his way out of the building.
Outside, he got on his bike, placed the earbuds back into his ears, and the AR glasses formed in front of his eyes once again.
"Lisa, what's the latest and most suitable mission for me on the bounty hunters' site?"
The AR screen scanned and processed data quickly. A mission popped up with an image of a gang of bandits. The bounty was listed as 500 stellars.
[THIS IS THE MOST SUITABLE MISSION I FOUND FOR YOU.]
Arka looked at the photo and smirked.
"They look too easy to handle."
[THEY ONLY LOOK EASY, BUT IN REALITY THEY ARE HIGHLY STRATEGIC. THEY HAVE ALREADY KILLED SIX BOUNTY HUNTERS—EACH WITH OVER FIVE THOUSAND BOUNTY ON THEIR HEADS.]
Arka's smirk widened.
"They're strategic because they've never met the old player of this game. Time to show them how the game's really played."
He revved up the bike and shot forward into the sky.
[JUST DON'T GET TOO HURT.]
"Don't worry. I'm strong," Arka said confidently, as he left the ruined zone behind.