The battle between Myelian Blue and A.R.M. raged, with each move calculated and executed precisely. A.R.M., despite its durable platinum body, found it challenging to match Myelian's incredible speed and power.
Myelian Blue stared unmoved at his opponent, studying him from afar. He pointed his blade towards A.R.M., who was expecting him to unleash a wave of plasma.
However, instead of a wave, a concentrated beam resembling a laser beam shot from the end of Myelian's blade. The concentrated plasma burst hit A.R.M. directly, creating a powerful explosion, sending him flying.
True platinum was incredibly durable, and its surface remained unscathed after the attack. It was only glowing brightly orange from the intense heat.
Myelian, relentless and determined, pursued A.R.M. as it was sent tumbling backward by the force of the explosion. Myelian aimed to cut A.R.M. in half with a quick and powerful blade swing.
However, A.R.M. displayed remarkable agility, contorting its body like an acrobat, narrowly avoiding the potentially devastating blow. Despite its evasive maneuver, Myelian was too fast and swung its blade again, finding its mark and leaving a deep gash on A.R.M.'s left arm.
Although it didn't sever the arm completely, A.R.M. was sent flying like a baseball being struck by a bat, bearing a deep gash on its left arm.
A.R.M. grunted in pain, the sensation foreign to the machine, but it quickly assessed the damage.
The I.P.S. painstakingly placed each platinum molecule in perfect positioning. It had taken almost 2 decades to create the 7ft true platinum avatar for A.R.M, which was one of a kind in the entire world. Now, it had a giant gash on its left arm. Who knew how long it would take to repair it?
Its determination remained unwavering as it calculated its next move, fully aware that it needed to adapt to Myelian's incredible speed and strength to stand a chance in this battle.
Myelian, fueled by determination, continued to press his advantage. He thrust his sword forward, aiming to pierce A.R.M.'s chest. A.R.M. acted swiftly, clasping its hand around Myelian's blade, preventing it from penetrating its platinum frame. As they clashed, the air around them crackled with energy, and the ground bore the marks of their intense combat.
Although their strengths were nearly equal, Myelian's relentless assault slowly began to overpower A.R.M.
However, the entire sky darkened abruptly in an unexpected turn of events. A colossal dome materialized around them, encapsulating A.R.M. and Myelian.
This dome was constructed from A.R.M.'s nanomachines, manipulating the water molecules inside to retain hydrogen while venting oxygen outside.
As the dark dome sealed them off from the outside world, a reddish-orange glow emanated from Myelian's peculiar gem.
Instead of releasing a point-blank plasma beam, the hydrogen ignited, creating a massive explosion that enveloped them both and shattered the dome.
The sky seemed to weep, raining down fresh water despite the absence of clouds.
A.R.M. emerged from the explosion, glowing red-hot but relatively intact. Its left arm, already injured, now bore additional damage from the explosion.
The battle showed no signs of slowing down as both combatants continued to push their limits, determined to emerge victorious.
Despite sustaining significant biological damage from the explosion, Myelian quickly recovered and was ready to counter A.R.M.'s, who used its surrounding nanomachines to turn its right arm into a sharp blade.
As A.R.M. lunged towards Myelian with his transformed arm-blade, Myelian's gem flashed, and the rain around them was instantaneously frozen. The result was a thick, spherical shell of ice into which A.R.M. impaled his blade.
Myelian moved faster than before, breaking through the icy barrier, and struck A.R.M. on the left shoulder. Activating his other gemstone, Myelian triggered a point-blank plasma explosion, causing further damage and ripping off A.R.M.'s left arm.
In a calculated move, A.R.M. sacrificed its left arm, realizing that Myelian aimed for a more critical target—its head. By pre-releasing its left arm, it could use the explosion to propel itself away, creating some distance between them.
A.R.M. had used the time it bought itself with the dome. A small nanomachine resembling a mosquito had taken a small blood sample from Myelian Blue. The mosquito returned to A.R.M. and connected to its quantum mind, working rapidly.
Stolen story; please report.
The battle had intensified, and neither combatant was willing to yield.
Myelian Blue suddenly realized that it could sense a wavelength controlling A.R.M. He looked towards the direction of the I.P.S. base. “The real you is actually over there.” Myelian turned away from the battle and began heading in that direction.
Seeing it had found its true location, A.R.M. thought about Loh' and Robert. He had sent the two back to the I.P.S. when he detected Myelian. It thought they would be safe, but now they were in danger, and it was because of it. “We're not finished here, you cowardly abomination,” A.R.M. shouted, holding its severed arm and pointing at Myelian.
Despite A.R.M.'s provocations, Myelian didn't engage further in the battle. Instead, he continued towards the I.P.S. base, covering miles with each stride. A.R.M., however, possessed the advantage in flight and rapidly caught up to Myelian.
During the fight, A.R.M. had learned from the mosquito-like machine that Myelian had specific vulnerabilities. Armed with this knowledge, he used his flight capabilities to catch up to Myelian, surprising the Rakh-ahtan warrior.
A.R.M. launched his severed left arm, constructed from true platinum, like a spear. Myelian had no choice but to turn and defend himself, freezing the projectile in mid-air and then blasting it into pieces with a plasma beam.
However, A.R.M. was relentless and launched a powerful stomp, directly hitting Myelian and throwing him off balance. A combination of elbows, punches, and kicks followed, but despite the barrage, Myelian remained undeterred.
It became apparent that Myelian was gradually going to overpower A.R.M., who seemed to have accepted his impending defeat but continued to fight.
After a few more seconds, Myelian seized A.R.M. by the head, a grip that could potentially spell the end for the machine. The battle hung in the balance as the two combatants struggled for supremacy.
In the heat of the battle, Myelian Blue had A.R.M. in a powerful grip, raising his blade for a potentially fatal strike.
With a swift thought, A.R.M. initiated a newly formed satellite, which delivered a massive electrical beam that descended upon them, a brilliant and blinding burst of electromagnetic energy.
It was an EMP detonation, and both came to an immediate halt as their systems were disrupted.
It was a moment of stillness. While Myelian was a biological entity, he was deeply intertwined with non-autonomous artificial intelligence. His entire constitution was merged with machinery. A.R.M., being 100% machine, anticipated that Myelian would come online faster after the E.M.P. burst.
However, A.R.M. had a plan. He had people he could rely on. Deep underground, miles away, Robert and Loh' were staring at everything that had occurred through a screen that had gone offline. Swiftly, they worked to reboot A.R.M., bringing him back online despite the E.M.P.'s effects.
A.R.M.'s plan had worked perfectly.
A cloud of nanomachines emerged behind him, carrying a strange handle that A.R.M. quickly picked up with its good arm. It activated the weapon, forming a long, spinning green blade that vibrated intensely, creating a deafening buzz. A.R.M. wasted no time and shot toward the paralyzed Myelian.
With remarkable speed and precision, A.R.M. cut through Myelian's Rakh-ahtan biology, splitting him from head to toe, and tagged it with repeated slashes until nothing was left. His blade seemed to dematerialize the atoms that made up Myelian's being, leaving nothing behind.
The battle ended, and A.R.M. emerged victorious, though he was left significantly damaged by the encounter.
Far away in an unknown cave a skeleton figure, dressed in Taoist robes, enthusiastically applauded A.R.M.'s victory, and said “Very good little one, very good.” It then beckoned over a woman, her eyes covered by bandages and with disheveled black hair. She, too, wore Taoist robes in shades of purple and black.
“Go and introduce yourself on my behalf. Let the little one know that the one to whom the Dark acolytes bow down looks forward to working alongside it.” With that command, he dismissed her and continued looking at his cauldron.
Meanwhile, a meeting was underway on a mountain unknown to the world but not in physical reality. Instead, it transpired in the subtle astral realm that overlaid the fabric of reality.
The mountain peak was bathed in a brilliant display of six unique colors, each radiating its luminescence in response to a voice that seemed to emanate from them.
"It wouldn't last three seconds against me or Solar Goddess! At best, it's comparable to the peak of someone in the Spiritual Domain of the Immortal Chasm," a voice from the azure blue light said.
Another voice chimed in, this one originating from the green light. "That might be true, but it will only grow stronger. Eventually, it will have its seat among us,"
"Evergreen Goddess is right. After all, none of this is unprecedented. Let's send one of our Immortal disciples and extend our knowledge to the I.P.S.," stated a voice emanating from the red light.
"We can invite them to the 301st Immortal Rings Tournament. It's only a few years away," added a woman's voice from the yellow light.
"So, it's decided then. We shall send one of our Immortal students to introduce themselves on our behalf and formally invite the I.P.S. to the 301st Mortal Rings Tournament," confirmed another woman's voice from an orange light.
With that decision made, a blinding flash covered the sky as the six colors dispersed, marking the conclusion of their meeting.
That same day, A.R.M., still bearing the consequences of its intense battle with Myelian Blue, introduced itself to the world, inviting everybody born from the earth to New Ark City, New Ark. Cloaked in a robe to hide its missing left arm, A.R.M. exuded an almost palpable excitement. Its encounter with Myelian and the brush with "death" shortly after its creation left it with profound gratitude for the experiences, encounters, and knowledge it could still gain.
Meanwhile, seven figures embarked on separate journeys, unknowingly converging toward the same destination. The first figure was half a day ahead of the rest. The remaining six were close behind.