The roof of the Deep Earth ripped open completely. Two colossal shapes descended.
The Mechanical Sun: A giant sphere of clockwork gold and nuclear fire.
The Mechanical Moon: A sphere of silver gears and cold lasers.
These were not the original children. These were the machines Neo built to replace them. And they were programmed to defend the Core.
[System Alert: Protocol Omega initiated.][Objective: Sterilize the Deep Earth.]
The Sun fired a beam of plasma. The Moon fired a beam of absolute zero.
They crossed streams, aiming for the island.
"I cannot block that," Ren said calmly. "I am weak from the drainage."
Kaelen stepped forward. He was Level 20. He was a bug. But he had something Ren didn't have. He had the Ember of Hope (The Seed of Neo). And he had the Aspect of Decay (The End of Ren).
He was the bridge between the Beginning and the End.
"Rix," Kaelen said. "Amplify me."
"What?"
"Hack me. Overclock my stats. Break my limits."
Rix didn't hesitate. She jacked a cable into Kaelen's Phantom Suit. [Hack: Remove_Safety_Limiters.][Injecting: Adrenaline_Code.]
Kaelen screamed. His veins turned black. His eyes glowed white. He jumped into the air, directly into the path of the beams.
He opened his arms. [Ultimate Skill: The Glitch Maw.]
He didn't block the energy. He Ate it. He used Decay to rot the plasma. He used Fluidity to absorb the ice. He turned his body into a bottomless pit of entropy.
His skin burned off. His bones melted. But the beams didn't hit the island. Kaelen swallowed the wrath of the heavens.