After the Soul Theory's invention, humans had modified themselves to such a degree that they were essentially very little tht could kill them. The exceptions were special weaponry, which very heavily regulated in both fabrication and distribution, and some of the many new abilities that humans developed as a result of these modifications.
But after the first invasion, the Starless were added on to the list. They radiated an energy that interfered with the connection between body, mind and soul. So while a human could easily survive a decapitation, if it were done by a Starless, that would be game over.
Gears didn't escape that rule. They might be stronger than those who created them, but they still operated like them on some points. That was why Kuyo could feel her force waning rapidly, and while she still could see, her vision dimmed significantly. Soon, she would die.
She didn't have any expectations since her creation. She was an average Gear, created in an average production zone. Even if she didn't die right then and there, she probably wouldn't have lasted long anyways. The mediocre and average never made it far, they would be recycled and made into a new Gear, one that would not remember anything of the previous one or any other experience.
It was the reality they lived in. "Still... That sucks..." Kuyo muttered, the light of life finally leaving her. Her last sight was the Starless walking away.
"How unfortunate."
The Gear's eyes sharpened in an instant. The verdant forest brimming with sunlight she had grown used to had been replaced by a void devoid of light, life and sound.
"Well, that is how things are. You do not always get to accomplish something. But you were especially unlucky."
"Who are you?" Kuyo asked.
"You will know soon enough. How about a little chat?"
***
The Gear Bases of Operation was located underground. Established since the death of the last humans, these bases had been launched into deep into the Earth's crust. They deployed and monitored different regions of the planet, upgrading their defensive and offensive measures to help in their fight against the invaders. New Gears and existing ones of a certain grade were positioned under the known continent that was New Pangea.
A week had passed after the beam of light. The ninth squad had suffered enormous casualties, from the thirty one Gears deployed that day, only four—the leader, an Accelerator, a Constructor and an Executioner—had returned.
And from these four, two of them were in Recovery Pods. The Accelerator, because he had exhausted all of his spare body, and his current one had been destroyed, leaving him in the metallic sphere that contained his mind and soul. The Executioner... was a more curious case. Usually, when a squad uses their recall, their bodies get destroyed but the soul returns to their assigned recovery pod, waiting to be installed into a new body.
But the Executioner's soul hadn't returned for some reason. If she had died, then it wouldn't have been a big deal as the procedure was to recycle the spare bodies of the dead Gears to make new ones. The issue was that she wasn't dead, her soul simply didn't return, which raised another problem.
The door to the squad's barracks slid open, the leader walked, his step echoing in the room, the air seemed to warp around him. "Bunch of incompetent fools..." He muttered as he sat down heavily on the bench, his tone filled with barely hidden anger.
"What did they say?" The Constructor inquired, her eyes fixed on the Executioner's Pod. Arms crossed below her chest as she leaned against the cold metallic, gray wall.
"These Operators assholes are pinning the blame on us, saying that we went off course and it's my fault for bringing my squad into an ambush..." He rubbed his face with his palm.
"Just a load of bullshit..."
"... I see. What about her?" Her eyes remained impassible but her hands squeezed her elbows as she listened to the leader.
"They can't find her soul. She isn't dead, that's for sure but we don't know where she is... It has been an entire week already, you know what that means."
The Constructor's eyes left the pod for an instant as she looked at her squad leader. "...Yeah."
Silence filled the room for a moment, neither of them had anything to say. Until the leader spoke, "This is the squad's third failure, we are probably getting disbanded next month."
When a new squad was established, it was given three failures before disbanded. If the squad managed to accomplish their missions for a year without failing, then the three failures conditions would be revoked, and the squad would then be dismantled only by catastrophic failure or by the decision of a higher up. The rule had been established to keep squads at a manageable number and avoid to disperse resources uselessly. The ninth squad had already suffered two failures, this recent mission marked their last failure.
"Well, we had a good run." Max said, his voice coming out of a speaker attached at the bottom of his Recovery Pod.
"...I guess," The Constructor sighed.
***
"That's about all I know." Kuyo said. She had been recounting the tale of humanity's end to the voice.
"I see." The voice replied calmly, its tone unreadable. Ever since the first time, the Gear had difficulty distinguishing where the voice came, it was a voice but that was all she deduced.
"I suppose I can answer your earlier question now. But before that, answer me this. Do you know where the souls of the dead end up?" Kuyo was brought out of her thoughts by the voice, one eyebrow raised at the question.
"According to the recorded beliefs inside the database, heaven, hell or purgatory... or some the many interpretation that are in there."
"I am not asking that database, I am asking you, do you know where the souls of the dead end up?"
"...Personally, I don't know." The Gear admitted.
"I won't fault for not knowing. After all, you are new to the world. I'll help you a little, take a look around."