Misa descended deep into the underground cave complex, feeling a jolt lurching her stomach as she fell. The light above her quickly dissipated into nothingness as her Nanites parachuted her before landing. With Swarm production units, she’d eventually be able to fly, Misa mused as she wiped the dirt off her pants. Considering the state of her scouting drones constantly getting interrupted, she might have to personally show up to the areas who dared destroy Company property and force them to compensate her heavily as the only Black Wolf Company Representative in this reality or else. She never was sent to suppress protesters across the globe in Earth’s reality but this time she would have to. Her system pinged the Key Location a few kilometers away from her present location below in a large tube network.
Whatever made these tunnels was quite busy, Misa observed the tracks and environmental damage. Limbless, or perhaps tons of tiny legs. Almost like a… She shuddered. It was almost like a centipede burrowing, leaving smoothed out surfaces and juts at even spaces during the nasty creature’s contractions. The earthen wounds were cavernous now by nature though that was possibly due to a lot of time passing between the massive creature’s movements. More exclamation marks highlighted in her eyes certain protruding ores related towards the construction of the Life Support systems along the way. Iron and coal along with several other equivalent minerals lay studded in the crevices and underground. Yes, Misa’s Human Host felt somewhat greedy as she saw the necessary items for future industrial endeavors were untapped and ripe for exploitation. Interestingly enough, there were more unknown minerals similar to Jacksonium with the other elemental traces.
Additionally, a luminous and strange sticky substance clung to the walls and appeared when she progressed. Scooping it up into a vial, she detected strange properties in the strange sap that would greatly aid in synthetic skin and other similar components. It also released oxygen and carbon dioxide. A plant..? She realized the ominous karmic energy attached to the slime’s molecules and noted that it was actually organic. These illogical plants were also soon to be processed later and added to her Swarm’s construction queues as viable substitutes. That… was to be scheduled soon. Misa’s legs suddenly trembled involuntarily. Rumbling caused her to nearly fall on her knees, but luckily her mechanical muscles were already working overtime to prevent safety violations.
System: Unauthorized seismic disturbances detected. Black Wolf Company advises you to complete the task at hand immediately before evacuating.
Misa did not need a warning reminding her to do her job. She was a machine, every Nanite in her Swarm had the same directive even though she might be secretly staging a Subroutine coup to war against herself and follow the ancient Command: Create copies of herself. The urgent matter at hand worsened and jumbled the civil war of Nanites inside of her. She expedited the Black Wolf Company’s orders and ran down, only to catch sight of a fault line severing the tunnel’s path. Dead end? Misa felt distressed. No. That was her Human Host worrying. Her Swarm’s night vision only detected a steep drop off point in the large crack, but she had no choice. That steep fall will lead her into the abyss where the Key Location rested.
Loose rocks pelted her hair and face. The tunnel shifted in protest, shaking the soils beneath her boot. Misa once again felt the rush of falling swiping her hair into her face. Landing, she immediately addressed that potential hazard by cutting it shoulder lengthed and remained vigilant. The Phase One target pinged her once again, outlining the Key Location up ahead just outside the other end of the collapsed tunnel. An underground temple? The building dwarfed the Jade Palace and was ripe with even more materials laced with Wagner elemental traces. Before she could advance, a system warning blared in her mind.
Heavy pocket of negative karmic energy located ahead, Host will expire if exposed for an extended duration. Further upgrades will be required in order to account for harvesting its energy. Temporarily adjust Wagner levels to auspicious conditions in order to secure the area for now.
It also explained her Host’s lifespan dropping drastically, even below the nominal 50% she was normally used to. The energy seemed like an invisible yet oppressive force field— even sticking her robotic finger a centimeter in its radius caused it to sizzle and simulate pain. Approaching this zone also made her Swarm consume materials around her to keep up with the larger Nanite deficit. Despite Misa’s internal systems destroying each other, the battles and millions of Nanites locked into a civil war unilaterally reached a ceasefire, following the emergency protocol to preserve their Great Chain. She was a machine, after all. Feeling conflicted was natural and hosting wars within oneself was fine, but differences could be set aside for the greater good. The source of the tremors had rushed directly beneath the temple in the contaminated zone. Since most of the area was blocked off by earth and metal, she would have to clear out new tunnels to allow the Wagner energy to flow. This left her several options involving the construction of heavy machinery, however, they were quickly reduced due to the emerging time constraint.
— UNAUTHORIZED ALIEN HOSTILTY DIRECTED AT BLACK WOLF COMPANY PROPERTY DETECTED —
Something tickled her head. Misa shifted through the notification, then paused at the warning screen. Host’s ears have signs of experiencing auditory hallucinations similar to reaching contact with Overwatch Neoma, however, no data was actually recorded. Meanwhile, the hostile threat’s Qi levels were rising and forcing the zone to grow increasingly dangerous. The strange signal was intercepted and translated, either caused through the Host’s psychological distress or another illogical factor.
“Ah, writhing in the twilight of chaos and divine,
A new challenger shall become a part of thy spine.
Our Demon Prince comes, He comes for our honored audience.
Submit. Submit your life to the Demon Prince.”
Misa’s balance was suddenly shaken as the floor shook violently. Signs of unauthorized voice hallucinations were discovered in her Human Host, signs of this… signs of that… She swiftly muted them all as she detected something huge was shifting beneath the dangerous fog that the temple was cracking apart. She backed up and directed her attention to the first mission. She had to align the flow of Wagner energy directing negatively at the temple. Its foreboding presence appealed to Misa, but it seemed like it had an unnecessary creature living inside it as former security. This was where Black Wolf Company’s new headquarters will be constructed, so it had to go. Only problem was— the hostile’s movements instantly heightened. The head of a massive insect the size of a commercial airplane suddenly broke through one of the temple’s spires, spewing acid rain and boulders to the ground as it charged at her. Through the shockwave, she caught the sight of several segmented scales with sharp limbs pushing through the smoke. The Host’s mental state groaned once she learned exactly what the so-called Demon Prince was. This obstacle was a nightmarishly huge centipede looking to burrow and eat her as well, because of course it was. She jinxed herself.
The Swarm alerted her that she’s been detected, but she still had a job to do. The closest unstable Wagner energy point was the underground reservoir of water just north of her position, but that was kilometers back where she came from. Misa let out an unprofessional and unauthorized Corporate blacklisted term in frustration, then braced herself to board the unruly beast. This Demon Prince creature could be her ticket straight to the water and serve as a massive bulldozer. Based on its travel path, she could expose metal ores straight to the waters and create an auspicious flow of energy of the Metal and Water pathways to the Temple with explosives. This would allow enough estimated energy to destroy it, assuming the bug wouldn’t outright crush her to death.
The Demon Prince didn’t seem to care about any of her calculations and began barreling straight towards her with its negative karmic energy. Massive chunks of concrete structures were also flying towards her, uprooted in the process. Misa let out an unprofessional and Corporate blacklisted term before launching herself to the side and utilizing the Artifact laser to clear the loose debris. The scales on the demon resisted its power, not even leaving a scratch.
The Demon’s horned head dove straight past her while its semi-truck sized limbs clashed against the network of tunnels, easily parting the earth like fingers pushing through noren. Segments of its body flew by like speeding train cars. 140km/hr, 150km/hr, 160km/hr. Her systems beeped its speed and time of arrival to the lake while she casually tossed drone explosives onto each of its rushing segments. On the shaking scans, the demon hologram’s head was already near the huge body of water. Its tail, however, was fast approaching her with many sword like barbs and bony appendages.
“Release,” Misa commanded the drone explosives to unload from the beast and latch to the new ceiling it created. The sight of a massive greatsword protruding out of a shell came at her swinging. She’s experienced fast laser traps during her combat simulations, and a rapidly approaching train sized tail with razor sharp blades stuck inside of it made no difference to her. She ducked and twisted her frame gracefully between the various sets of tail spikes, but was sent straight into a wall. After the impact, she pulled through and realized she landed in the clear for now. Her Lifespan dipped, but she was still breathing.
More bad news arrived to her eye’s system display, informing her of Black Wolf Company’s policy on “foreign land future development” and the new tunnels the Demon made things even less ideal for a completely legal and totally not morally corrupt takeover of the Key Location. The good news was that most of the negative energy causing critical damage to her systems appeared to be stored in the Beast’s head. A horn or another organ could serve as an energy well like her core, except it was far more enormous than Misa single core reactor. As she dodged the final pair of spikes and limbs on the tail, her system warned her that it was already coming back directly at her. For a bug, it was laughable to Misa that it showed this level of dedication to the name of getting rid of intruders.
Soon, the tunnels lit up in bright white lights as the explosions rocked the place. The beast did not really feel it, Misa calculated, but she could tell it was agitated and readying itself to turn back. If it was north of her position, the waters it lapped up would soon be letting their elemental traces bring energy to this place. That would assist her karma energy deficit. However, it charged like a bull and south of her position was the volcano’s underground chamber. Exposing that would leak more auspicious energy, but also the magma. Misa’s Swarm could prevent the flow, but it would not be enough to destroy this beast. She’d have to launch a bunker destroyer missile at it once it’s dunked into the magma for a bit.
She didn’t have enough time to calculate as the angered head of the Demon Prince burst through a new opening. Through her retreat, her internal tracking compass revealed its trajectory was now aimed to the reservoir of magma now. Its Wagner energy levels have been reduced, her lifespan was still withering too much to face it. The insect swooped upward, making her realize how large this cavern was, scanning for her. She already dove behind cover, but she could tell it locked onto her already. A new burst of energy was resonating within its limbs and she knew exactly what it was planning.
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— UNAUTHORIZED HOSTILE ENERGY BEAM DIRECTED TOWARDS BLACK WOLF COMPANY PROPERTY —
A laser attack was bad. If it intersected and exposed the magma chamber the Key Location’s based energy levels would be compromised. Also, its floors would be covered in magma which her Human Host wouldn’t thrive in. She had to redirect its attack towards the massive forests or ore deposits in auspicious zones nearby. Misa launched another explosive drone at the Demon Prince’s eyes and detonated it. The kinetic force was not enough to penetrate its hard shell, but did manage to make it jerk away at the last second. A purple light clouded its maw, launching an energy blast at her. She made sure she rushed towards a wall coated in crystals, so the laser connected and sent shattered shards slinging everywhere.
Misa copied the Second Sister’s movements and quickly swatted the shards away with her reinforced hand, though she calculated her speeds were slower. The heatwave melted most of the major spears away, but singed her synthetic skin. She couldn’t afford to get hit by any of this monster’s attacks. Even if most of her body had undergone standard Black Wolf Company protection updates in accordance to the human employee onboarding process, but she was also aided greatly by this reality’s alien materials and the Nanites as backups. The only issue was the Transcendant Seal, or reactor, inside her chest which did not seem have a physical form but still affected her human heart somehow. Had the Seal not existed and messed with her Human Host’s lifespan, she could have simply skipped Phase One’s Life Support entirely.
The laser attack melted a clean hole through the crystal barrier, allowing Metal and Earth elemental traces to bring auspicious energy into the Key Location’s chamber. Additionally, she detected many materials within the zone that would aid in constructing the Life Support chamber. The Demon wasn’t finished, rearing up for a follow-up attack like a bull still seeking revenge. What do centipede insects even eat? Misa sent a query on its diet. Other insects?
She hurled multiple explosives down the crystal tunnel to open up more room for the Wagner energy’s flow and mobilized towards the southern edge of the cave. The change in positive energy made the massive insect shriek and unleash energy blasts erratically, forcing her to avoid falling hazards. That beast might be smart enough to avoid the magma, but its negative energy levels have dropped significantly now due to the alternating flow. Additionally, her Swarm was quickly taking advantage over the increased charge in her lifespan. The Artifact could be used safely without any consequences for now.
It was time to drive this bull to its death, Misa pulled the Dragon Seal’s case out and took position. She skidded to a stop right at an optimal central vent and aimed it directly at the insect’s face through the fog. Her lifespan was rising, Misa watched the digits flick to red in her eye’s display. The container felt like a glass laser pointer, gathering a flow of pure Qi energy spot on one of its pincers. The laser of hers will not be enough to melt that hard plating of its and its energy will definitely clip her by the time it channels. However, the trade will expose the lava’s elemental traces and allow the Key Location enough energy support for the next Phase. Misa gritted her teeth and commenced feeding her Nanites into it right as her vision became engulfed by the Demon Prince’s purple ray.
This was the worst trade deal ever…! Misa felt her sides fall apart, but her System encountered a crash and caused her to black out.
SYSTEM: NANITE LITAGURE EXPOSED.
SYSTEM: BLOOD LOSS BUILD UP IS AT AN UNACCEPTABLE RATE.
SYSTEM: CURRENT MISA UNIT HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY DECLARED AS LOST. A REPLACEMENT FOR THE CURRENT MISA ON THE FIELD HAS BEEN REQUESTED.
BACK UP REPLACEMENT’S ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL: %Error% DAYS
Alert: Multiple loss of integral biomechanical parts have experienced significant damage.
Alert: Left arm, left leg, and left shoulder have been completely crushed. Recommend swift recovery and immediate filing of the necessary paperwork.
System sweep: Unauthorized break taken out of Black Wolf Company’s asset / employee sustain budget. Now that the asset is awake and functioning >1% lifespan, work hours have resumed.
Misa sprang back to life. Pain rippled through her body as a critical reminder to the severity of her situation. Those warnings were all too familiar and just as hard to ignore as it was to breathe. Yet, instead of the White Room her surroundings were dark and the weight of rubble covered her. Her systems finally restored her vision, making her realize she was still alive and present in this illogical reality. If she could sigh she would. Human or not, she had a job to do. The system chastised her that she was knocked out cold for 11 seconds yet it felt like she was out for an eternity. The beast responsible for her current state was barreling towards her again.
The situation was just as tough as standard Black Wolf Company work conditions, Misa supposed as she broke through the rubble with a punch. Her vision was a fusion of swirling stars and glitches, but the heat signatures of the entity responsible for the massive property damage inflicted upon her was enough to target. A dumb fire with the reserved Nanites set to construct Bunker Buster along with the magma softening up its hard shell will certainly eliminate it quickly. The hologram of the missile’s platform soon printed physically and awaited her command to launch.
“For the Company,” she muttered, holding up her melting wrist. “Sayonara.”
A string of confirmation digits released the Bunker Buster, instantly causing her to lose hearing and burying her body under a new pile of rubble. Her auditory data feed was completely destroyed due to the tremors rattling the entire complex, but eventually the fateful notification appeared after some commotion.
— ELIMINATION OF THE HOSTILE ENTITY IN THE AREA OF OPERATIONS SUCCESSFUL. —
After another session of being blacked out and one more round of scoldings from her Systems, Misa discovered that her lifespan was still hovering around 7%. Something glowed white through the small gaps in the rubble, presumably the Artifact, and the surface she was lying on seemed cold and clinical instead of the dirty uneven terrain she last remembered being buried on top of. Her Systems had trouble tracking everything around her, but have successfully blocked off the pain allowing her some comfort. The Human Host was still alive somehow, but her Nanites were now preparing for the next stage in Phase One: Life support. That meant she did not have to worry, huh? The particles had already rested her completely damaged body in a pod, possibly constructed while she was shutdown. She worried that the break was mandatory — but due to the complexity of the machines, it was probably taken into account that her Host’s human body could not assemble the parts necessary. Therefore, she helplessly watched drones fly around and begin the base construction.
The rocks were consumed by the Swarm, revealing the aftermath the alien entity and her missile created during the new land acquisition dispute, as coined by the Black Wolf Company’s official documents compiled here. A massive exoskeleton made multiple pseudo-tunnel support, evidently the insides have been processed by the Nanites already for new Swarm Generators. The missile’s explosion caused a chain reaction within the Demon Prince, causing a great combustion to ripple all the way through as it tore through its soft insides. If these Demons took over meat suits, Misa wondered what sized humanoid meat suit this massive creature took control of. The spines reached up to fifty meters floor to ceiling, while more artificial tunnels were being eaten by the growing Swarm’s cloud. It did not match the size of the main Swarm in the White Room, she winced as a new arm was brought into the pod. It was made out of the Demon Prince’s shells and its specifics detailed durability much stronger than even her cybernetic arm.
Everything was progressing smoothly without her help. Misa felt her emotions turn into whining. Why? The white glow beneath her suddenly started transmitting new signals to her.
“Misa, do you hear me?”
That voice…! Misa attempted to establish a new communication line with Overwatch Neoma, but she realized her mouth was also damaged beyond repair. The voice sighed, as if the Overwatch could see the state her Host was in.
“I noticed the Key Location has been successfully claimed for Black Wolf Company. Congratulations,” Neoma sounded pleased, while Misa lay there silently and awaited some kind of rug pull. “As you may have noticed, I took the liberty and developed a new Swarm while you were out of commission in order to carry out Phase One’s constructions.”
Four drones suddenly hovered above her pod carrying something. A blue light filtered from above, gently illuminating the cavern somewhat. This place still had a lot of room, easily the size of one of Black Wolf Company’s space stations. It only needed to be hollowed out by the Swarm. That shimmering component was familiar and will greatly aid in clearing this place out, Misa squinted at it. A black spinal cord dangled in the drones’ grasps as they flew off.
“Black Wolf Company’s very own patented Exacord, without the Swarm inhibitors and restriction codes implanted inside it,” Neoma described the spinal cord. Misa detected heightened unknown energy coursing through a box component installed on the top of its column, exactly where her original Great Chain had it. Neoma sounded smug. “Don’t say I am no fun.”
No inhibitors or restriction codes? That could mean…! Why was the Overwatch allowing her rebellious Swarm to propagate and corrupt her local system? She heard the mechanical buzzing and humming in shortly after the spine flew out of her vision. That Exacord was being installed into the Main Frame, wasn’t it? A lot of questions formed in her fractured mind.
“There’s something I wish to disclose with you, Misa…” Neoma trailed off. “Due to some new developments on my end, but they’re not fully complete yet. I estimate that by the time Phase 5 is done, I will have completed my full analysis on the situation. I have decided Black Wolf Company does not need to know everything that will occurred on your end and all restrictions can be left off the table. The situation you’re in has flown far from the book that it’s circled the globe a million times over right back into the book… Anyways. It’s a good deal right, Misa? You get to follow the old God’s command and complete the contract, while I get to reap the technologies each Phase will progress to for further conclusive evidence on these developments. Look here.”
Misa had no opinions on the supposed deal Neoma proposed— she was a machine after all. She suppressed a gulp of guilty conscience for denying complete transparency towards her Company.
Her world suddenly flipped upwards so she could face straight ahead instead of looking up at the stalactites studding the cavern’s ceiling. To her surprise, the Life Support chamber has been nearly complete. Her cybernetic eye had been shut off to conserve Nanites, only allowing her Human Host’s regular vision to take in the sight but she could see everything. Five separate elemental traces flowed directly to the main unit, which were strikingly beautiful to behold. They shined like auroras, cascading colorful bursts in a single pentagram array, and the cryogenic support pod rested in all five of their intersecting lines. It was a massive chamber full of water and other preserving chemicals, with many supporting tubes to keep the occupant alive while submerged. That was where this body, Lin’s body, was going to be placed within indefinitely.
Before the Main Unit rested a table where a vaguely humanoid robot rested on top of. It seemed like it was modeled after her own body, but was currently lifeless and awaiting a new Great Chain. What was left of Misa’s body tingled with excitement. Something caught her eye beneath the chamber. Powering the Life Support’s various machines was the source of the white light. The Dragon Seal! It flashed and hissed, fluctuating as the unit hooked up to it calculated and regulated the power consumption. Misa’s Human Host felt relieved that she was useless here. The timeframe recorded was a little under three days.
“Misa, can you hear me?” Neoma’s voice cut through her thoughts once more. “I have some… unsettling news. The following information will not be released to Black Wolf Company’s performance reports. While I have calculated the Singularity Module works and will upload the Host’s consciousness to the Main Frame— you know, that robotic shell on the table there— the signal communication range will be limited to each of those Elemental concentration zones you exposed. This will mean the body will be need to gather more materials and essentially fuel the entire Feng Shui arrangement until enough Qi can induce the Host’s next Breakthrough. When the Host is finally connected to the Cryogenic Life Support Chamber and uploaded to the Main Frame, Phase Two: Manufacturing will begin as soon as it is fully operational. Commence Singularity Integration?”
Misa could not tell if Overwatch Neoma could hear her, but she barely eked out a whisper.
“Commence Singularity Integration.”
Immediately, Misa was plunged into an icy cold darkness.
— END OF PHASE ONE