The man sat at a desk in a dark room, several robots around him. A set of stairs led to a lower floor. He watched from his computer as Micheal defeated both a warden of heaven and a warden of hell at the same time.
“Such precision, immaculate timing, amazing reflexes! All from my glorious weapon!” The man gushed before spinning around in his desk chair.
“C-4688-T did you see that?! It was so glorious!” The man asked.
“Indeed I did sire. It is impossible for me to miss it,” the bot said.
“Oh, XZ-77, how’d the contacting go?” he asked.
A robot appeared from the stairwell. “The contact went well, sire. M-1431-C is willing to assist us.”
“Ah. That’s just perfect! Do we have contact with any other subjects?”
Another machine emerged from a vent, spider-like legs protruding from its scrap-metal-looking humanoid torso. The clatter of metal on metal rang as it walked down the wall, stopping when it was almost to the floor.
“No, sire. M-1431-C is the only subject we have contacted previously,” the new machine stated.
“Oh well, then thank you P-V-65. X-X-99, do you think I should contact anyone else?”
A robot emerged from the room's shadows, loud screeches sounding as its treads scraped against the hard floor.
“Mayhaps you should contact The Shogun, sire. Or perchance The Businessman,” it said.
“X-X-98, should I contact either of them? What could they bring me?” the man asked.
X-X-99’s head spun around, revealing a second face. “Sire, they could by chance bring you new materials to work with and create new and glorious creations. Contact both and see how they react. If at all hostile, or even the slightest potential to create a volatile situation, then we cease contact.”
“I know The Businessman can bring us good fortune, but can The Shogun really bring us anything? He can’t even leave his world.”
“Sire, I have heard that Shogun Noryki is home to many realmwalkers who have settled down and that valuable materials have been found there,” the machine stated.
“AZ-34, contact The Shogun. AX-35, contact The Businessman,” the man said.
“As you wish, sire,” AX-35 said.
“[as you wish but in Japanese],” AZ-34 replied.
“Let’s see how this goes.”
* * *
Ivan climbed out of one of his portals, onto a city street.
“Where are those wardens now, hmm?” He said.
“T̵͔̚h̷͝ͅe̸̙̾y̴̜͠ ̸̖͋a̷̪̿ṟ̶͐ě̴̼ ̸͍́ŝ̶̫o̶̞̒m̷̘̽e̶͍͒w̴̛̞h̴̼͠ë̴ͅr̴̩͒e̶̼̕ ̸͚͝h̵̬̒e̷̗͆r̷͖̓e̸͚̓,̵̢̄ ̷̦́I̶͖̚ ̷̘̏c̸̙͝a̵̫̐n̶̩̉ ̸̮̄t̴͙̔a̸̢̽ș̷̚t̸̼̉ē̷̳ ̷̦́ẗ̶͚́h̸͎͑è̶̱m̶̜̈,” Schlek whispered in his ear.
“That doesn’t help me,” Ivan stated.
Ivan walked through the road, waiting for something to happen. His senses were picking up on nothing unusual. He approached a red SUV and attempted to open the driver's door. It was locked. He stepped back and extended his robotic arm, reaching out towards the door. He began to spin the thin, bladed metal strips that had replaced his fingers. He quickly cut a hole through the car’s door. He dropped the piece of the automobile onto the ground and reached in further. His fingers wandered for a moment before finding the door’s lock on the other side, and with a single swift motion, he unlocked and opened the door.
He climbed inside the car and sat in the driver’s seat, placing his hands on the steering wheel.
“Schlek, do you know how to drive this model of automobile? I am not familiar with it,” Ivan asked.
Schlek lay dormant on his shoulder, unhelpfully seeping into his shoulder.
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“Let’s try this out,” Ivan said as he pulled on a lever next to the steering wheel and pushed on one of the pedals.
The car shot to the right before flying into the air. It hovered in place as Ivan felt something click inside his head.
“Improper maneuver. Storing in database,” a smooth robotic voice told Ivan.
“Selene? Is that you? It’s been so long!” Ivan said ecstatically.
At that moment, Schlek awoke, and the voice didn’t respond.
“Ẅ̶̭̣́́h̴̼̀a̶͗̇͜ṫ̸̙̥ ̸͇͑̓i̸̮͌s̵̝̉̽ ̸͕̜̂͑g̶͉̀o̶̲͘i̶̠͌n̸̛̺g̸̮̑ ̵̘̿o̶̩͈̐n̸̺̚?” the inky creature asked sleepily.
“Dammit!” Ivan slammed his fist into the console.
“W̷͖̃̐ḩ̷̞̂͒ấ̶̞̠t̸̬̺͋̈́?!” Schlek exclaimed. “D̵͍̓̄i̶̫͍̒̈d̸̼̅ͅ ̸̤́ẙ̸̻̑ō̸̳̯̃u̷̱͓̾̍ ̸̨̿̋m̵̩͍̄ȋ̴̼s̸̫̈́̈́u̸̙̚n̶̻̱̅̒ḋ̸̘̝e̶̫͂̂r̴̖̭̆s̴̩̞̏t̷̝̏a̷̳͈͗͆n̷̜̘͊d̴͇̓͌ ̴̖̰̎̕ṭ̷̜͌ḥ̶̛̘̓ȩ̵̣̄̃ ̸̪̮̒d̴̡̺͂̍i̴̳͇̔r̴̩̩͋ȩ̴̒̾č̵̳͍t̵̪̑͜i̸̙͝v̷̤̄͑e̵͘ͅ? ̸̰̗͌͆W̴͙̓h̸̙̎̑y̴͎̽̍ ̵̢̱͊̇h̴͉̼͊͠a̸̘̍̇v̶̥̆e̸͉̕ ̴͖̄̔y̸̗̱͆̓o̸͑ͅu̸͚̬̍ ̵͉̍c̴͓̏õ̶̖m̴̭͍̫̒̈́m̸͍͋͑a̴̧̤̅̒n̵̯͙͈̉͑̎d̴̡̟̹́͆̕e̷͉͍̔̈́̓͜e̴̺͚͆r̷͖̗͓̚ẽ̶̖͕́ḑ̵̹̅̇͝ ̸͇͍̄̌t̶͔͓̽̓h̵̡̠̀̾͑i̴̪̖͌s̵͉͈͙̍͗͘ ̵̢̈p̵͙̒̅ǘ̷͇̱n̸̟̚ý̶̻̗̽ ̵̤͍͆v̶͋͜͝e̵̫̥͛ḫ̷̈̆ì̸͖̅c̶͚͗̽ḽ̸̮͒e̸͓͇̓?”
“I wanted to go faster!” Ivan shouted.
“A̸̺͛n̷̢͋d̵̛͜ ̷̬̀ŷ̵̧o̶̬͐ǘ̷͍ ̴̼͆a̵͍̕s̷̳̉s̶̠̔u̸̹̐m̷͓̋ě̷̼ ̸͓͆t̵̨̑ḧ̶̥́a̸̛̭t̵͕̆ ̵̧͒t̴͎̏h̸̨̽i̴̠̊s̷̝̍ ̶̬̎f̶͍̀e̴̱͝e̷͎̚b̶̘͒l̴̜̀e̶̜̋ ̷͖̽m̵̰͊a̸͛ͅc̷̘̋ḥ̷͌i̴͛ͅn̶̳͂e̵̟̊ ̶͈̎ẏ̵ͅô̴̢ų̶̏ ̴͙̒c̴̞͊l̶͔̈́e̷̼̍a̶̯̓r̸̄ͅl̵͍̿y̴̱̕ ̷͕̑c̴̛͚ȃ̵͈ṉ̴͗n̷͇̒o̴̺̊t̷̮̑ ̸̬͋c̴͎̕o̴̥̾n̷͇̄t̵̝̏r̸̭̐o̶̼̿l̵̡̃ ̴̜̉į̸̎s̴̻̈́ ̷̻̏f̵̤̒a̸͈̍s̸̲̓t̴̅͜è̶̗r̷̹͐ ̷̣͛ť̵͇ȟ̵ͅa̸̹̍n̶̨̈ ̵̳͌ȗ̶͎ş̴̾?”
“I wanted to try! It's always just you and your bullshit! I haven’t gotten to do anything since you came along! I have no freedom!” Ivan yelled.
“You have no choice in the matter.” Schlek has spoken clearly for the first time that Ivan knew of.
“Give me a choice or let me die!” Ivan screamed.
“NO,” a booming voice screeched from Schlek’s feeble body.
A searing headache began raging inside his mind. He clutched his head in his hands and squeezed. He screamed. He cried out. The rims of his eye sockets turned black as pain took hold of Ivan. Schlek seeped further into him than he had ever managed to before, getting closer to his mechanical heart with every second. He began to ache, deep within his soul.
“YOU CAN’T TAKE CONTROL!” the booming voice called out from within him.
“I need to! I want my life back!” Ivan screamed loud enough to wake the dead.
Black ichor spurted from his mouth. His heart began to slow as his blood slowly changed. He mentally reached for the circuits controlling his blood flow, but a sanguine wall of shadows blocked him. He slammed his arms onto the dashboard of the car.
“NO!” He shouted as his corruption spread further.
Then it all stopped, fading away as though nothing ever happened.
Schlek was sent flying out of his chest, rocketing into the vehicle’s windshield.
“Y̴̗̾o̴͚̅u̷̙͗ ̵͈̍w̸̪̒i̷̖̍n̵̳͋ ̷̩̆ť̸̹h̶̦́ỉ̶̹s̸̺̄ ̸̳̕t̶͔͆i̶̠͑m̴̢͆e̵̼͝,” Schlek hissed.
* * *
Ivan approached one of the many alleyways of this horridly boring world. It was grubby, grimy, and dirty beyond all hope of cleaning. Trash littered the streets, left there by the masses of people who were wiped out long ago. Within it lay the prizes he sought: two bodies, one of hell, and one of heaven.
“Y̵̨̏o̶̪̊u̷͗͜ ̷͚͘f̷̓ͅi̴̻͒n̷͈̓a̶̢͗l̸͍̔l̶͖͛y̴̺͝ ̴̪̈f̸̜̆o̸͙̿u̸̬͂n̶͈̔d̷̖̈ ̸̺͂t̷̩̃h̵̥̐e̷͕̓m̶̡̌,” Schlek remarked.
Ivan approached the closest corpse and removed the hat from atop its face. Strands of white bled out from a bullet wound in its forehead, covering most of its face like a sticky web. A haze floated around the corpse. It has some kind of energy about it that Ivan couldn’t recognize. He paid it no mind. The corpse's eyes were a pale orange, leaving him to wonder about their previous appearance. It lay on the floor neatly, arms folded at its sides, legs straight. It has a slight coating of dust upon its red attire.
Ivan held the hat near Schlek. Schlek reached a spindly leg towards the maroon accessory of the corpse’s western wardrobe. Black lines began spreading across it. Runes took shape, small squiggles spattering a circular pattern on the underside of the brim. A purple light shone from the inside of the cowboy hat. Ivan flipped the hat upside down and out came a shadowspawn the size of a small dog.
“H̵͈͐ḛ̴͊l̸̥̑l̵̨͘ŏ̶͚ ̶͙̿S̴̰̀c̶̛̰ḩ̶̕l̸̡̏e̵͍̔p̷̨̏t̴́ͅ,” Schlek said.
“H̵͈͐ḛ̴͊l̸̥̑l̵̨͘ŏ̶͚, s̶̝̐̍ḫ̴͇͒̑à̴̜̇m̵͕͒̆e̸̢̛͂f̶̨̼̿ù̵̟̘ḽ̵̛̙ ̷̨̱̂b̸̡̡̎ṛ̶͔͝ǫ̵̻̈́͒t̴̨͓̃͑h̷͉̿e̷͖̓ͅr̵̥̄͌,” the new shadowspawn replied.
“Shut up and take your host,” Ivan commanded.
The three-segmented blob walked on its four spider-like legs towards the demonic corpse. It crawled into the corpse’s mouth, disappearing as it flowed down the man’s throat. The corpse’s eyes shifted from orange to purple, and its veins turned black as the sludge that made up shadowspawn began flowing. Ivan watched as sludge poured out of the sleeves of the corpse’s coat and coated its hands in black muscles. Claws protruded from its fingers. The color of its outfit shifted from red to black, with purple accents.
The newly born shadowslave repositioned itself to be sitting. Ivan handed the hat to Schlept. He took it in his clawed hand and placed it on his head. It shifted to black to match the rest of its outfit.
“T̷̻̉h̵͉̕a̷̙͌ņ̶̚k̵̡̔ ̴̥̓y̷̞͌o̷̬̅u̴͈̍, I̶̪̎v̶̛̹ä̴̪́ṅ̷͚,” he said sarcastically, spitting a glob of darkness at Ivan’s feet.
Ivan cracked the knuckles on his flesh hand. It was time for the second part of their master plan.