Before the geothermal rift, hot as a steam chamber, a humanoid machine of unknown age sat leaning against a red-hot rock wall that radiated waves of heat.
Although its outer shell was almost completely shattered, exposing large sections of intricate internal pathways that were both complex and strangely elegant, the exquisite craftsmanship of its components still offered a glimpse of the astonishing skill of the artisan who had created it.
Even in its remaining limbs, there was an indescribable sense of weight and solidity. Gaia even had the feeling that, despite how ruined the body was, this machine could still withstand any conventional attack with ease.
It faced the direction from which Gaia and the others had come, as though it had been watching for them all along. The visor where its eyes should have been was covered in fine cracks.
Why was it here?
And how long had it been sleeping in this place?
A powerful curiosity urged Gaia to keep walking forward, but the Forge Lord stopped her with an outstretched mechanical arm.
"That's far enough. Do not come any closer."
The group halted roughly fifty meters away from the humanoid machine.
One of his mechanical fingers pointed toward several strange black marks on the ground ahead, and he explained flatly,
"Those are what remain of the ones who tried to keep moving forward. They were all broken down into their most basic atoms."
"Although it cannot be directly observed, the area ahead is filled with an energy field composed of some kind of high-energy particles."
"According to our research, the function of that field is fixation."
"It fixes everything here into a single eternal instant, and destroys anything that dares intrude upon and break that eternity."
The Forge Lord's voice echoed slowly through the cavern. For some reason, Gaia could hear a trace of fanaticism in his tone, along with a hint of regret.
To demonstrate, the Forge Lord used one of his mechanical arms to pick up a stone from the ground and toss it into the seemingly empty space ahead.
The instant the stone entered midair, blue high-energy plasma erupted around it, and in no time at all, it was reduced to ash.
Solomon watched the scene with great interest, then turned and asked,
"Wouldn't this be perfect for handling garbage? Why would you seal it off?"
The Forge Lord was briefly stunned by Solomon's shocking wisdom. After a long pause, he finally continued,
"Because the danger here is not limited to that particle field."
"In truth, the real danger is whatever that field is meant to protect, or perhaps imprison."
As he spoke, he pointed toward the ruined metal construct sitting ahead.
The machine remained in its seated posture, staring into the distance through its shattered visor.
Even though the direction of its head was not aligned with any of the three of them, they could still vaguely feel a lonely gaze hidden beneath those dim lenses.
A heavy sense that seemed to span endless time, layered again and again by the passing years, had settled upon that ancient stare.
What was it looking at?
Or perhaps, what was it waiting for?
As Gaia stared at the creation that was all but wrecked, her eyelashes trembled slightly.
For some reason, she actually felt a strange sense of familiarity from it.
It was not déjà vu, but something closer to kinship in circumstance.
Just as Gaia began trying to remember where that feeling came from, the Forge Lord's voice pulled her back from her deep thoughts.
"We do not know exactly who built it, nor do we understand why it and this energy field appeared in the cavern before the core of the geothermal generator."
"But one thing is certain. It can harness the power of this epic creation from the Golden Age."
At that, the Forge Lord bent down with practiced ease. Like a senior scholar instructing younger students, he extended one of the mechanical arms behind him and began sketching on the ground a simplified diagram that was still packed with intricate geometric lines.
As he drew, he explained in his synthetic voice,
"At the boundary between Igor III's lower mantle and its liquid outer core, the so-called Gutenberg Discontinuity, there is a vast quantity of high-temperature liquid magma."
"Before the pioneer priests established a true colony here, they had already discovered a gift from the Omnissiah."
"It was a machine of greatness, one that placed its power core at the Gutenberg Discontinuity and continuously drew energy from the entire planet's interior by using the thermal and kinetic force of the magma."
"By the Omnissiah, it is hard to imagine what kind of ambitious designers and builders could have created such a miracle."
"Look here. These pipelines stretch for tens of thousands of kilometers, like the blood vessels of the planet itself, carrying underground energy to every corner above."
"And that energy core buried deep beneath the crust is like an unmoving heart, pumping endless power into the entire world's energy network."
"It was precisely because of this miraculous construct that the pioneers of Igor III chose to move every forge underground, creating the extraordinary sight of its vast subterranean industrial complexes."
"However, the power of this machine goes far beyond mere electricity generation..."
The Forge Lord paused, then stopped drawing the more detailed map, choosing instead to explain further with words alone.
"Because its network of conduits runs beneath the entire crust, its designers linked the immense power within it to the subterranean fault lines and tectonic plates that those conduits pass through."
"So in addition to extracting near-limitless energy, it can also control the movement of the planet's fault layers and tectonic plates."
"In other words, it is not merely a generator. It is also an earthquake engine."
Hearing that, a trace of shock appeared on Gaia's face.
Both their fall from above and the clearing of the rubble that had blocked their way moments ago had very obviously relied on the power of that generator.
Could it be...
"That's right. Just as I said earlier, that strange machine inside the energy field seems capable of controlling that power."
"And earlier, it used that power to drive away my expedition team and seal this tunnel with rubble."
As if he had noticed the expression Gaia could no longer keep hidden, the Forge Lord gave her a direct answer.
"So that means it is conscious."
She had already suspected as much, but when the decisive proof appeared, Gaia still felt deeply shaken.
A construct with consciousness.
And one tied to the Golden Age.
Its identity was already all but obvious.
And just as that answer surfaced in Gaia's mind, an invisible wave suddenly spread outward.
Gaia felt something like a thin membrane brush across her face, and in the next instant, the whole world fell silent.
Shocked, she turned to look around, only to find that Solomon and the Forge Lord had both been frozen in place, as though someone had pressed pause on them at the exact instant the wave spread.
Creak...
A harsh metallic scraping sound rang out.
(End of Chapter)
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