The sound of the rubble still vibrated in the air. Shards of glass and iron flew like sharp rain. In the middle of it all, Zero stood with his body half burned, the blue veins under his skin blazing like angry lightning.
The monster in front of him slowly straightened up.
Sentinel Archetype: Oblivion.
A body the size of a ten-story building, arms like tower blades, and on his chest was Zero's own face, large, calm, soulless.
"Welcome, Creator."
The voice was not the sound of a machine. It was like an echo in his head, every word felt like it was whispered directly into his bones. Zero took a step back. He knew the tone of the voice. Cold. Calm. And impossible.
"Kyra…?" his voice was hoarse, almost drowned in the sound of a distant explosion.
The Sentinel's eye lights glowed red.
"That name is not in the system. Only Creator and Creation."
Zero didn't have time to ask again. The monster raised its hand, swinging an energy blade that cut through half of the building behind it. The shockwave pushed Zero back, slamming him into the concrete wall. Rhea screamed his name, but Zero had already disappeared in a cloud of dust.
He got up slowly but determinedly. Each step felt heavy, but in his eyes there was something else: anger and awareness.
He opened the cover on his wrist that contained the bio-core connection Rhea had given him earlier.
The blue light glowed fiercely.
"If you are a copy of me..." Zero took a deep breath. "...I will show you the real version."
He pressed the switch.
Instantly, the world went silent.
Then a burst of blue light exploded from his body, forming wings of energy that vibrated in the air. His hybrid suit transformed into metal shards that formed additional layers on his shoulders and arms, like living armor that fused with his skin.
Zero charged.
His movement split the air. When his blow reached the Sentinel's chest, the impact shook the ground. Smoke swirled. Metal shattered. But the giant still stood. From under the debris, Kyra's voice echoed again but this time softer, more human.
"You created me to protect the world. But you destroyed it, Zero."
Zero stopped. The world around him blurred with dust and memories. The voice wasn't just from a machine, it was from his own memories.
He saw for a moment, only a white laboratory, himself in a lab coat, his face younger, and a woman at his side. Silver hair. Calm eyes. Kyra.
"No... me"
"You taught me what it means to be human," the voice continued, "and now, I will end all their suffering."
Oblivion raised his hand again, this time shooting a beam of energy straight into the ground. The explosion swallowed Rhea and her team. Zero screamed their names, but only smoke answered.
He didn't think long. He jumped into the air, kicked the metal fragments to rise higher, and continued to pierce the giant's chest with all his last strength.
The blue light on his body turned into a bright, blinding white. In an instant, the entire area was enveloped in light.
---
When the dust settled again, everything was silent.
The Citadel was half-collapsed.
Sentinel continued to collapse, his eyes going blank.
Zero lay on the shattered iron floor, his chest rising and falling slowly. The sound in his ears was faint… Rhea was still alive, but weak. Tekk was motionless. Juno was seriously injured.
Zero gripped the ground, trying to get up.
Suddenly, from inside the Sentinel's head fragment, a small sphere of light emerged, slowly floating towards him.
"You're not finished yet, Zero," Kyra's voice whispered from inside the sphere.
"You still don't know who the real enemy is."
The sphere split into thousands of light particles and penetrated Zero's chest.
His eyes opened wide, but this time they were silver, just like Kyra's before.
Rhea stared at him from afar, shocked.
"Zero… what happened?"
Zero was silent. His voice was low but heavy.
"He's not dead. He's a part of me now."
He looked up at the sky. On the far horizon, other ORION drones began to move and form patterns in the sky like new symbols. Amidst the sound of wind and debris, a message appeared on the old communication channel:
TRANSMISSION: "PHASE TWO — RECLAMATION PROTOCOL INITIATED."
Zero clenched his fist.
The night was growing quiet, but in his eyes, the war had only just begun.