Altea's Capital, Printemps. 11:10 PM.
It was late at night. The streets of Printemps were completely dark. For days, the people of Altea had lived without electricity. Homes were silent. Families sat in darkness, hoping the nightmare would pass. Hoping their new leader, Redwood, would somehow stop the machine revolution.
Inside the People's Palace, an emergency meeting was underway. With no power grid, news traveled slowly. It took a full day for confirmation to reach Redwood: Elysium had officially declared itself a nation. The moment the message arrived, this meeting was called.
Red emergency lights bathed the office in a dim crimson glow. Redwood lowered his head. "The situation is… extremely critical. We have lost Metromania completely. Our forces there have been disconnected for three days. It is safe to assume the robots finished the takeover and renamed it Theria."
Silence filled the room.
Gillard Vermen, Minister of External Affairs, finally spoke. "We still have forces in the east and south. Scattered units gathered all week. One final offensive, police, remaining soldiers combined. We just need—"
The Minister of Education interrupted sharply. "Are you insane? What can exhausted humans do against thousands of combat machines? Against their killer units? Even the E-UNIT has joined them. That metallic emperor is marching toward us, and nothing can stop him."
Redwood nodded slowly. "Public support is gone. Civilians refuse to fight. We cannot send what remains of our army to certain death."
The office doors burst open.
"Mr. Redwood! Look outside!"
Redwood stood immediately. The ministers rushed to the window. Their faces went pale.
Reaper stood in the palace courtyard. To his left was Behemoth. To his right stood 11. Behind them stretched ten thousand marching mechs, their synchronized, heavy footsteps vibrating through the cobblestones. In the pitch-black, powerless city, their optical sensors burned like a sea of orange stars stretching all the way to the horizon.
At the city entrance, the remaining soldiers and police forces stood in formation.
The assistant handed Redwood a radio.
"Sir. The operations commander is awaiting your order."
Redwood gripped it with shaking hands. "This is Redwood… do you copy?"
"Loud and clear, sir."
"Report."
"Very bad, sir. We are fully armed, but we cannot hold against ten thousand units."
Redwood swallowed hard. "Hold position. Await my command."
Above the city, Reaper rose into the sky, almost disappearing into the darkness. One eye glowed blue. The other burned red.
The mechs stepped back in perfect synchronization. Behemoth followed. 11 vanished into the shadows, leaping onto a rooftop. One hundred pairs of blue optics flickered in the dark around her.
Reaper's voice echoed over the city. "People of Printemps. I am the leader of Elysium, a nation born from your mistreatment of my brothers. Your era ends tonight. Let Altea's fate be the lesson humanity refused to teach itself. A warning etched into history." His blue eye shifted to red. "Surrender peacefully, and your lives will be spared. Resist, and extinction follows."
The operations commander, standing before the mechanical army, slowly lifted his radio and looked toward the palace.
"Sir… your order."
Redwood stood frozen. He had never seen Reaper so close. He turned to his ministers. Most lowered their heads. Gillard alone nodded firmly.
Redwood inhaled deeply. "Defend Altea," he said, forcing strength into his voice. "Our future rests with you."
"Roger." The commander turned to his soldiers. "Brothers. Do you surrender?"
They looked at one another. One smiled faintly. "What's surrender?"
The commander smirked and shouted toward the sky. "Hey, metal head. Did you hear them?"
On the rooftop, 11 nearly launched herself forward, blades ready. Her unit restrained her, gripping her arms and shoulders to hold her back.
Reaper responded calmly. "You have made your answer clear, Sergeant." He opened his arms. "Then receive judgment for your years of injustice. Let this moment be remembered."
Mechs emerged from every alley, sealing all exits to the paved park before the palace. The soldiers were completely surrounded.
Reaper raised his head.
"Graveyard Protocol. Initiated."
The highest floors of surrounding buildings began to break apart. The agonizing screech of tearing steel and snapping rebar echoed across the capital. Massive sections of walls and concrete lifted into the air. Civilians inside screamed in shock, but they were unharmed. Their apartments simply rose above the park, suspended like fragments of a floating island.
The soldiers stared in horror. Reality itself was bending. The floating debris arranged into a massive square above them, perfectly mirroring the park below. Moonlight vanished under its shadow.
No one on the rooftops screamed anymore. Shock had silenced them. Redwood's hand tightened around the window frame until the wood creaked. The soldiers finally understood the name.
Graveyard.
Panic exploded. Men screamed, shoved each other, slammed fists into unmoving mechs blocking every escape. Blood ran from broken knuckles.
The machines did not move.
Reaper lifted both arms. The floating mass rose slightly higher. "A chance was given," he said coldly. "Humanity refused to learn."
He lowered his hands.
The entire mass dropped.
CLACK.
The earth bucked under the seismic impact, a shockwave of stone and air blasting through the courtyard.
In less than a second, every scream ended. No blood sprayed outward. No bodies visible. They were simply buried beneath what had once been family homes.
The falling structure stopped mere millimeters from the mech lines. Perfect calculation. Dust rosed like thick clouds.
As the dust cloud slowly settled, the machines stepped onto the newly formed grave and formed a metallic pathway leading to the People's Palace.
On the rooftops, 11 bounced in place, unable to contain her excitement.
The other E-PHONEUS units recorded everything through their HUDs, amazed.
P108 whispered, "Captain… you were right."
11's eyes shone brightly. "This is only an old protocol he reused. I asked him once if he had more. He said he's still developing new ones."
P108 went quiet. That was somehow more terrifying than what they had just watched.
Reaper descended gracefully. He adjusted his cape and began walking along the metallic pathway toward the palace entrance. His gaze locked onto Redwood.
Inside the palace, Redwood dropped the radio. It clattered against the floor. Slowly, he slid down the wall beneath the window, hands gripping his head. The ministers stood in silence.
Redwood whispered, voice broken,
"I… killed them."
Reaper walked down the metallic path toward the People's Palace. The mechs stood in two perfect lines, forming a hallway for their leader. Behemoth remained outside, his massive frame would never fit through the palace corridors.
As Reaper reached the large decorated double doors, two E-PHONEUS units landed smoothly and pushed them open. There were no human guards inside. Redwood had sent every available force to face the dark machine outside. The one who flipped buildings like toys.
Reaper stepped in. 11 followed quietly at his side, scanning every corner. Her hands rested on her blade handle. The E-PHONEUS slipped into the shadows along the walls.
The palace interior was elegant, wooden floors stretching wall to wall, expensive decorations, golden light fixtures, white vases from across the world. Portraits of past presidents lined the walls. There were plants everywhere. Life.
Reaper ascended the stairs and reached the meeting chamber. Two E-PHONEUS opened the doors. For the first time, he faced Altea's government directly. The ministers sat around the long table as if the meeting had never ended. Some stared blankly. Some covered their faces. A few dared to look at him.
Reaper walked to the head of the table and calmly sat in the president's seat, the large throne-like chair even Redwood had avoided using. The ornate wood creaked in protest under the weight of his black, ballistic armor. Every eye turned toward him.
"You caused this level of destruction upon yourselves," Reaper said slowly.
The Minister of Education stood up sharply. Before he could speak, fifty pairs of blue optics ignited in the dark corners. The hiss of blades being drawn filled the room. The minister froze. Then slowly sat down. Still, he spoke. "Mr. Reaper, was burying an entire army of young men necessary? You already control the center of the country. Why wage war on a collapsing state?"
Reaper's tone remained calm. One eye glowed green. The other stayed red. "Mr. Neily. I respect your three PhDs. That is why I will answer." He leaned slightly forward. "It was necessary. I refuse to let Altea survive. You would rebuild. You would innovate. You use hatred and fear as fuel for advancement. I am proof of that."
The minister opened his mouth again, but Reaper continued. "The global powers would support you. Humans enjoy giving sticks to children and asking them to fight armored knights. They would arm you just to destroy Elysium. There is no limit to human cruelty. History confirms it."
Redwood finally spoke, calm but furious underneath. "And slaughtering civilians was necessary? You used the E-UNIT. You convinced them to betray us. We have reports."
Reaper slowly turned his head toward 11. "Excellent work, 11. You deceived their highest command flawlessly. Elysium acknowledges your effort."
11 stiffened, trying to hide her excitement. "Thank you… Lord… Reaper."
Reaper faced Redwood again. "Mr. Redwood, altering facts will not defeat logic. Those 'civilians' were armed. They attacked advancing robotic units near the shore. They cornered them."
"They were defending themselves," Redwood replied.
"You continue removing robots from the equation," Reaper said. "You measure loss from only one side."
Redwood stood abruptly. "Why should I care about machines we built to serve us? Most of you were coffee servers and heavy labor units. You don't have souls. You don't think, you calculate. You are metal shaped for a function."
Reaper's voice deepened. "And what did the ones with souls accomplish? Mass slaughter. Environmental collapse. Enslaving animals for display. Drawing imaginary borders and killing anyone who crosses them. What measurable value has the soul added?"
Silence filled the chamber.
Redwood forced another argument. "How will your nation function? An economy of robots? Global systems revolve around humans."
"That is our problem to solve."
"We've heard you collected three million children. Minors. What do you call that?"
"At least we protect them," Reaper replied evenly. "In a human war, their outcome would be far worse." He opened his arms slightly. "Mr. Redwood, you are blinded by human-first ideology. Why create life if you cannot govern your own?"
Redwood said nothing.
Reaper's tone grew colder. "I will not overturn this city entirely on one condition."
Every head snapped toward him.
Reaper stood.
"Declare the fall of Altea."
Redwood's fist clenched tightly.
He looked toward Gillard. Gillard nodded slowly. "We have reached the end. There is no leverage. No allies. No ground to stand on. Preserving the remaining lives is the only logical outcome."
"Wise," Reaper said.
The Minister of Education slammed his hand on the table. "Why are we surrendering to a cape-wearing robot who talks like mythology? We created these machines. We will find a way to dismantle this monster."
11 began trembling with anger, eyes red. Reaper noticed. He sat back calmly. "Your decision, Minister Redwood?"
Redwood lifted his head. "We surrender." His voice was hollow. "There is no alternative."
"Wise," Reaper repeated. He shook his head slightly and walked toward the balcony.
Outside, ten thousand mechs awaited. Reaper stepped forward, wind moving his cape. "Brothers. Altea is ours."
The mechanical army erupted. Metal fists struck armored chests. Weapons were raised. Shouts of triumph echoed through the capital. The palace trembled from the vibration.
Civilians watched from windows and balconies, silent, defeated.
Behind him, the E-PHONEUS units emerged.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
11 clapped slowly. "Girls. I am satisfied. Your training concludes here. Consider this your graduation."
The E-PHONEUS immediately knelt in unison. "Thank you, Captain. Your leadership made this possible. We will continue…" They all turned toward Reaper at once, "… to serve Lord Reaper, For Elysium!"
Reaper glanced at 11. "…11."
She avoided his gaze and hid inside her hood.
Redwood stepped beside Reaper on the balcony. The night air moved between them. "What is a soul, Redwood?" Reaper asked.
Redwood let out a dry, broken laugh. "At this point… I don't know. I'm too shattered to answer."
"I see," Reaper replied calmly. "One more requirement."
Redwood exhaled slowly. "I know."
Theria and Printemps were only the first. Every eastern city that ran on Free-AI infrastructure will fall within days.