“You can talk?!” Zan said of the strange golem-like Life Form.

“Of course I can talk!” the machine replied. Around it stood strange equipment with blinking lights, each like a mini torch.

The machine struggled to free itself from the surgical table. Its machine’s limbs wiggled helplessly against the tightly woven straps keeping it secured to the table.

“What the heck are you?!” Zan asked in complete wonder.

“My name is Sigma-Prime, and I am one warden of the Command Center. My former masters put me to sleep as part of operational capacity formations…” the machine spoke, though he understood nothing of it.

“Okay… nice to meet you Sigma-Prime,” he said, still not quite believing he was talking with a pile of gems in human form.

“And you are?” the machine asked.

“Oh! My name is Zan. Zan Chaplin! I am from a nearby town. War graced I and my community with a visit. Ever since, we’ve been barely holding on.”

“That is why you could enter here… explanation confirmed. My sensors are picking up lowly animated beings outside. These are the ‘invader’ you referred to?” it replied.

“Yes? They are made from wood, sometimes reinforced with metals, and sometimes huge battle machines. But all of them are soulless husks!”

"Do you know anything else about these invaders? What kind of magic powers their core, for example?"

"I am sorry. I am only a teenage peasant. I don't know much about... well, anything, really. I think I heard someone say they are powered by spiritual essence, or something?"

Sigma-Prime looked unperturbed. Then again, it also didn't have a face. So, he had no clue what it was doing or if it was thinking on his words. “Necrotonic magic is extremely rare,” the machine replied after a time. “If you do not claim your power, you will probably die.”

Such an answer set him off — “What do you mean I am going to die?! Claim my power?”

“If you don’t claim your power. Yes, you will die. I need you to pull that lever next to the table and release me. I must attend to the state of the command center and awaken all functions. And you, Ranger-to-be, must claim your power as we offer as the Shiv Martial Order.”

He didn’t know what to do. He knew nothing about this command center. He knew nothing about the machine talking before him. He knew nothing about… anything. He didn’t know a single blasted thing! If only Jiehong were here, he would know what to do… he thought.

Overwhelmed and no longer wanting to feel bad about himself, he decided.

He approached the table and pulled the lever. What was the worst that could happen? That all this stuff with the machine and command center was evil? In which case, they would kill him. And it would be up to someone else to handle the threat. From both the Expanse and them, these martial order Wardens. And if whoever would oppose the Expanse had such power in the first place, they would have enough to oppose whoever these people were... which could be beside the point anyway, he reasoned, as this Warden, this precious-stone humanoid, might be as they say, and be good.

Once he pulled the lever, lights sparkled like rainbow sand on a summer day. A sound emerged, not unlike the village horn during a field day. The obnoxious sound temporary deafened him. But it did not last for long. Once the table with the machine stood at full height, and he saw the entire humanoid gem-creature, the sound and lights ceased. With a whipping slap, the straps released, and tubes which plugged into the machine retracted into the walls.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Stepping forward, the machine-person waddled momentarily as it found its bearings.

“Thank you for releasing me… it was very boring being strapped in the darkness for so long! And with no one to keep me company. Aye-aye-aye! But no time for that! Wait here as I activate the systems!” Sigma-Prime told him as it went to the half-circular table and began pressing buttons and keys, which he knew nothing of.

He didn't know what happened as the entire building shook. He watched the machine-person rapidly input commands into mysterious technology.

Realizing it was much brighter in the room than previously, he still could not see the entire room; how he could not see he did not know as from the outside, it seemed impossible for there to be such a large room so close to the structure's entryway, which had not suggested a space so large when he had looked at it from outside. Nevertheless, in space illuminated, he saw near the back of observable space, how outlines of doors appear within the walls. He could not help but wonder where those doors went.

“And now,” the machine said, though to whom he did not know. “It is time for us to return to work! Screen-Master, AWAKEN!”

Though the gem-person's speech gave an over-the-top impression, they ended their exclamation with a mere press of a button. Once they pressed that button, though, the whole wall in front of the half-circular table lit up with light, the source of the light being some kind of large block or engine which overlooked everything in the room.

Zan did not know what he was seeing. At first, the light looked normal. Then it changed. Maybe it was the exotic materials on the walls. Or maybe it was the light itself being under the influence of some strange sorcery he didn’t understand. Whatever the case, what formed before the machine-man and he, was a large face. The face gradually gained definition as it whirled through many color tones before shifting into a dark blue light.

“Welcome! Prospective Ranger-Knights! I am Screen Master Simulacrum. I am here to help you overcome the threats which dare impose themselves on the peace-loving world. Tell me of the trials which have led you to this moment!”

Whoa… was about the extent which went through his mind. What had he stumbled into? Who the heck were these people?!

“Ranger? What? You’re talking about me, right? I guess you have to be… I am the only one here. Are you sure you have the right person? Maybe you mean my friend, Jiehong? He is the blessed and smart one. Not me!” he stuttered as he talked faster than his tongue could handle.

“No one other than people who embody the qualities of a ranger-knight can discover this place. No one other than the worthy become Ranger-Knights. You will believe in yourself in time. Yet for now, you have an important question to answer: young man, will you take up the cause of the Ranger-Knights — which is to spread justice and liberty throughout the world — and defend your homeland from evil?”

The Screen Master's words impacted him and left a feeling like a physic wound. The frankness, how they thought him worthy of something other than a humdrum life, of possible greatness, even? It opened in him a desire he had never felt.

He considered his options. Or tried to, anyway. How could he? What options did he truly have?

Stuttering, he made his decision, and said, “U-uh, y-yeah? Yes! I do…”

“Then welcome to your new life, Ranger-Knight, to your future! Grab hold of your Power Crystal and let the energy of the cosmos flow through you!” Simulacrum said.

The metal person… sigma, alpha, prime something… waddled to Zan and handed him a crystal from one of their interior departments. “Here is your power crystal. Use it carefully, young warrior.”

He looked at the crystal. It was unlike anything he had seen. Rarely, he might see a naturally formed crystal in local caves, especially the deepest parts of said cave. But this crystal was unlike any of those cave-dwelling crystals he saw. This crystal shone with a litany of colors and shimmered like the air during the sweaty summer months. Holding it in his hand, it was cool to the touch -- highly unexpected, he thought. It gave him energy merely by holding it.

“Whoa…” he uttered.

“Cool. Wicked? As you humans say…” the machine person said.

He smiled and said, “Yeah, something like that. What does all this mean? I feel something from the crystal. It’s like a power surging through it and into me.”

“Gradually, you will come to understand the power of the crystal. But you will not understand until the crystal fuses with your body.”

Had he misheard? He said, “Sorry. Did you say, 'I have to absorb the crystal?' Like, what… swallow it?”

The machine man took a moment before replying. Sounds came from its body, though he had no clue what the sounds meant.

Twaddling toward him, the machine lifted his shirt and said, “No. You must place the crystal here. Into your belly-button...”