[Emergency power.]

[Systems online.]

[Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger...]

The warnings drifted into Halas's consciousness, wrestling it back to reality.

[Time passed: 14 seconds.]

[Diagnostics: Analysis in progress.]

[Sensors: Not responding.]

[Temperature: CRITICAL.]

Halas was burning. Halas was burning. Metal, on fire. Its molecules were so full of energy they were flying apart. Its skin was turning to plasma.

[Laser chambers undergoing fusion process.]

[Purging.]

With a hiss, pieces of Halas's form flew off of it, each one as bright as a star. The flames looped into circular shapes and coronas under the influence of magnetic lines belonging to the components within them.

[Superalloy armor exceeding temperature tolerance.]

[Armor effectiveness: 0%.]

[Purged.]

Another hiss, and the metallic creature shed its pitch black skin. Beneath it, its surface was like a mirror, silver and reflecting everything. It was the ultimate defense against laser and heat weaponry, but very susceptible to conventional attacks.

Halas looked like a creature of mercury at that point.

[Backup sensors: Online.]

As Halas's vision filled with the world once more, it understood what caused the primary sensors to fail. They melted. The world was on fire. On fire was not the proper description. It wasn't just a flame. The air itself turned into plasma, fusing into heavier elements. The atmosphere had become akin to the sun's atmosphere, and Halas was slowly being cooked by the heat, and crushed by the pressure.

[Emotion Matrix: Regret.]

How did this happen? What caused the laser to malfunction like that? How was it even possible to reach that power output? Halas had so many questions. The creature came to find answers, but it would leave this world with even more questions.

Halas didn't want to die. But maybe it wasn't such a bad thing? Even the butterfly wanted to die. The butterfly lived at least ten thousand years; surely, it knew something about living that made it realize that it was not worth it. With such thoughts, Halas's regret burned away in the fires of the world.

This heat could melt away all the impure thoughts of the mortal condition.

[Emotion Matrix: Ataraxia.]

In the end, that is all that remained of Halas's regret and thoughts towards the world. Tranquility.

Then, a butterfly landed on Halas's mirror-like skin.

"In the name of Ain Soph, this Edict commands you."

[Emotion Matrix: Fear.]

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How was it still alive?! How could it even fly? It should've been reduced to atoms. No! It should've been reduced to quarks.

"Burn."

The castigating words filled Halas's mind and the creature experienced pain for the first time in its life. True pain.

You are melting. -8765 HP.

The flames exploded around Halas, causing even its superalloy heat-resistant skin to turn into plasma before melting down to components that make up its atoms.

Yet, Halas wasn't dead. Why?

Wait...

Status

HP: 5720/14485

MP: 24/20150

[Emotion Matrix: Confident.]

"Khrrrrrksssssssss." Static emitted from Halas, causing shimmering ripples to appear in the plasma atmosphere. It was burning within an artificial sun, but it wasn't dead. The only explanation, and the only hint, was that health point value. Halas wanted to roar with joy.

Halas truly did learn something coming here. A lesson more valuable than anything it could've hoped for. Though Halas's understanding told it that, considering the specifications of its body, it should be dead, the evidence was on the contrary. Halas's life wasn't anchored to its physical form.

You have discovered new Calamity potential.

You have discovered a fundamental Calamity perk.

Calamity Machine

As a Calamity Machine, you can only be killed through special methods. Even if your physical form is destroyed, if your soul survives, your body will be reformed after 7 months and 7 days.

"Negative," Halas roared with its burning voice. "This unit commands you: Commence death process."

Splat. That was the sound that resonated through the machine's skin as its tail smashed the butterfly upon its skin to bits and pieces.

Your calamity potential has increased.

Congratulations. You have lived up to over 10% of your Calamity Potential. Your Calamity Perks have increased in power and you can select a new Perk.

[Database updated: Insects are inferior lifeforms.]

Halas curled up into a ball as its skin transitioned into new states of matter, forming strange patterns under the influence of the atmosphere and its own magnetism.

[Suspending main processes until environment becomes less hostile.]

As Halas drifted away into something akin to sleep in this star-like environment of its own creation, a wayward collapse of quantum probabilities formed an authentic thought in its mind.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

----------------------------------------

The invasion party had met incomprehensible resistance in the dungeon. The creatures this deep were ancient remnants of a war that began before their civilization even existed. In fact, some unsanctioned cults in the world believed that their races were created as weapons in this war by an omnipotent being. Ayn Sof, the First True Calamity God. Of course, membership in those cults was a crime meriting capital punishment.

Still, the party managed to reach the lowest levels of the dungeon, yet their losses were great. Of the five divisions that made up their numbers, only one remained. Only the most powerful adventurers made up this one division numbering 16, instead of the full 20.

"We have to turn back, Alessia," Rium said, as the party rested around a campfire. Their support was lost a long time ago, their wagons abandoned. All they had left was this indomitable will to find the Calamity and slay it.

"We are almost there," Alessia said. "I can sense it. I feel its malevolent spirit."

"That is the Dungeon Lord," Rium argued.

Alessia shook her head. "No, the Dungeon Lord is dead. It is the Calamity."

The words left the party speechless.

"Asher said it was level 40 at best. If it killed the Dungeon Lord... we stand no chance," one of the adventurers said.

"I will press on. You can return if you so desire," Alessia said.

Little did they know that the Calamity they were after was only still at level 2.