I am timeless.

A phrase I have repeated endlessly within the cavernous halls of my own mind.

I am timeless. Yet I know the weight of time more intimately than the stars themselves. They have risen and fallen, been born in violent explosions of light only to wither into dim embers and collapse into the cold void. I have seen them, felt their tremors ripple through the fabric of existence, and yet I remain. My essence, unyielding, lingers as they fade.

My name was once spoken with reverence, with fear, and with awe. But I no longer remember the sound of it. Names are for the fleeting, a way to anchor the ephemeral to meaning. I need no anchor. I am the flesh made infinite, the convergence of biology and purpose, a being who transcended mortality not through divine intervention but through design. And now I am forgotten.

Betrayal has a way of searing itself into memory, carving itself into the bones of your existence until it is indistinguishable from who you are. My allies- false allied, drove their blades of treachery deep into my being. They feared what I had become. They envied my perfection, my singularity. They sought to erase me, to confine me to this desolate sphere, where the barren winds would strip me of purpose, and time would devour my ambition.

But they underestimated me. They always underestimated me.

I have waited here in silence, buried beneath the crust of this dead world. Time, once a flowing river of inevitability, has become stagnant, pooling around me in mockery. I have stretched my consciousness into every corner of this forsaken planet, my mind expanding into the hollowed veins of its surface. I have felt every quake, heard every shift of its tectonic plates. And yet there is nothing here but silence. A silence so profound it threatens to drown even my vast awareness.

Why do I endure?

It is a question I have asked myself countless times. My so-called allies, stripped me of everything. My empire of flesh, a sprawling masterpiece of bio-engineered life, was annihilated. My legions, perfect in their design, were reduced to ash. And yet, I remain. Alone.

I endure because the void does not scare me. I endure because existence itself is a challenge, and I have never shied from a challenge. I endure because they have not won. Not entirely.

And now, something stirs.

For eons, I have been the sole sentience on this barren rock. Its surface has long since been scoured clean by solar winds. Its rivers and oceans dried to nothing, its air reduced to a thin, toxic wisp incapable of sustaining life. But today... yes, today I felt something different. Vibrations. Faint insignificant tremors rippling through the ground. Not the random shifting of a lifeless planet but something deliberate, rhythmic.

Machines.

The realization struck me with the force of a nova. Machines meant intention, and intention meant intelligence. And intelligence meant life. My thoughts coiled and unfurled like tendrils, reaching out through the planet’s decayed network of caverns and tunnels. The vibrations grew stronger, more distinct, as they approached.

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And then I sensed them.

Primitive creatures, encased in fragile shells of metal and fabric, scurrying like insects across my world. Their minds burned faintly in the darkness, tiny flames compared to the inferno of my own consciousness. Yet they were enough. After millennia of isolation, even these fleeting sparks were enough to ignite something long buried within me.

Hope? No. I am beyond hope.

Ambition.

I must not act hastily. My patience is the only weapon I have wielded consistently in this eternal purgatory. I will wait, as I always have, but now I wait with purpose. These creatures are tools. Unwitting, unaware, but tools nonetheless. They will not remain on this world forever, and when they leave, I will leave with them.

For now, I observe.

Their machines tear into the crust, seeking something. Minerals, perhaps. Resources to fuel their fragile existence. They are efficient in their clumsiness, moving in structured patterns, guided by protocols and procedures. They dig deeper with every passing hour, drawing closer to the chamber where my ancient form rests.

Do they sense me? No. They are too primitive for that. Their technology is blind to the subtleties of what I am. But they are curious creatures by nature, and curiosity will be their undoing.

I feel the vibrations intensify as they break through another layer of rock. The ground above my resting place quakes ever so slightly. A subtle reminder of their approach. My body, vast and grotesque, lies dormant, encased by materials created by my false allies with their powers. My once-majestic form, now mummified from the passing of time. Serves as my secondary prison. My flesh requires sustenance. Sustenance which has long been denied. But even when it's needs are met, it won't be enough to break out, to leave this prison made by them.

But I don't need my flesh.. Not yet.

My consciousness is not bound by flesh. It is fluid, malleable, capable of spreading and infecting like a virus. These creatures will bring me the means to escape, though they do not yet know it. One mind, one weak and pliable will, is all I require to begin. From there, I will spread, subtly at first, planting seeds of influence until I have entwined myself into every facet of their existence.

Their ship. Their colony. Their fragile civilization. It will all be mine.

For now, I watch.

Their leader, a man, tall and broad-shouldered, with eyes that flicker with suppressed anger—commands them with an air of authority. I do not yet know his name, but I will. His voice carries through the tunnels, sharp and decisive, as he barks orders to his subordinates. He is strong, but strength alone will not save him.

There is another, a woman with sharp features and an intensity in her gaze that speaks of intelligence and resilience. She observes the others, analyzing, calculating. She will be more difficult to break, but not impossible.

And then there is the one who lingers at the edges, his thoughts radiating doubt and unease. He is the weakest link, the first crack in the foundation. He will be my entry point, my unwitting pawn.

The vibrations continue, growing stronger as the creatures draw closer to me. My anticipation builds, but I temper it with cold calculation. I cannot afford to act rashly. These beings are fragile, yes, but they are also unpredictable. I must learn their patterns, their weaknesses, their desires.

Desire. How alien it must feel to them, to be consumed by wants they cannot fully understand. I remember desire. It was my driving force once, the fire that propelled me to create and conquer. But desire alone is not enough. It must be tempered with discipline, with strategy.

And so I wait.

The silence of the planet is no longer empty. It hums with the promise of what is to come. I am no longer alone. The creatures have brought with them the seeds of my rebirth, the means by which I will escape this barren prison and reclaim what was stolen from me.

I am timeless.

And soon, they will understand what that truly means.