As Maximilian sat on the seat, a few particles shifted from the metallic surface of the sphere, taking the form of a plate before his face. It was as if the entire sphere was formed of nanoparticles that could take different shapes.
Please enter the key.
A mechanical voice echoed.
"Who is there?" Maximilian demanded, his head snapping around as he looked for the source of the voice.
Please enter the key.
The weak mechanical voice echoed again. On the silver screen that had appeared before Maximilian, two rectangular-shaped openings appeared on either side.
"Is this the artifact speaking to me?" Maximilian raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Who are you?" he asked.
Please enter the key.
"What is your name?"
Please enter the key.
"Does it only know one sentence?" Maximilian released a long sigh. He decided to focus on the screen before him. The shape on it looked somewhat familiar. "Wait... could it be..."
From his storage pouch, he drew the two dragon and phoenix tokens that his father had given him. He simply moved the tokens toward the screen. They hovered up and fit themselves into the openings.
From the tokens, numerous veins of blue energy emerged, spreading across the entire screen. Its color changed from silver to translucent blue.
In dragon tongue, symbols formed on the screen as the mechanical voice spoke again, reading the symbols aloud.
Booting the system...
"Booting? System?" Maximilian’s brows furrowed in confusion. "I have never heard of these words before."
5%... 6%... 9%... 13%... 21%... 35%... 98%... 99%... 100%
Suddenly, both the blue screen and the thin line around the sphere turned red.
Warning! The spaceship is severely damaged.
Warning! Dangerous Death Energy detected inside the control room.
Warning! Not enough energy to activate the automatic repair system.
Activating the emergency safety mode!
"Hey, speak in words that I can understand!" Maximilian demanded, completely confused by what was actually happening.
Suddenly, the entire room began shaking. The only opening through which Maximilian had entered the cave closed as a gate ascended from the floor, meeting the wall and sealing it completely.
On the dark metallic surface of the curved walls of the room, several capsule-shaped poles emerged. They began absorbing the Death Energy from within the room while simultaneously releasing an aura of rich Soulforce.
Once all the Death Energy was gone, the capsules moved back, becoming one with the walls. The screen’s color changed back to blue.
The Death Energy has been successfully removed!
"I have no damn idea what exactly happened, but that was so cool," Maximilian gasped, his eyes widening. "Now, could you tell me who I am actually speaking to?"
Error! The voice isn’t recognised. Two tries remain.
"Eh? What does that mean?"
Error! The voice isn’t recognised. One try remains.
"Hah... it is not listening to me at all," he sighed.
Error! The voice isn’t recognised. Zero tries remain.
"I should bring Evangeline and ask her to look into this."
Alert! Potential intruder detected in the control room!
The screen turned red again. Suddenly, from the inner surface of the sphere, a flexible rope of silver metal emerged, shooting toward Maximilian.
He dodged it and tried to move away from the seat, but it suddenly grabbed him by the waist from behind.
"The fuck?" Maximilian muttered, his wings spreading on his back. Before he could fly away, the metallic rope around his waist expanded around his body, reaching down to his legs and covering his wings while extending upward until it reached his neck. "I-I can’t move."
He tried to channel his Soulforce, but the moment the Death Lightning was released from his body, it was immediately absorbed by the silver metal covering his silhouette.
The intruder is successfully captured. Contacting the master...
No response received...
Contacting the Vice-master...
No response received...
Searching for the protocols to follow in case both master and vice-master are unreachable...
Protocols found!
Check the bloodline of the intruder. If DNA is similar to either master or vice-master, accept them as the new master. If not, eliminate the intruder.
"Do what!?" Maximilian shouted. Although most of the terms the strange voice spoke were alien to Maximilian, he still understood what it meant by eliminating.
His vertical pupils shrank as he began accumulating his Soulforce in his throat. He was about to release the attack when he felt a stinging pain in his finger. A needle stabbed his index finger from inside the silver metal that bound him.
The pain was too little for Maximilian to actually obliterate the entire room, which held countless secrets about his bloodline. Nevertheless, he remained prepared. After a few seconds, the mechanical voice spoke again.
Analysing the DNA sample...
Maximilian’s lips parted, the Death Lightning dancing inside his mouth.
99% of the collected DNA matches the master. The title of intruder has been changed to Master.
The silver layer of metal that covered his body moved back, absorbing itself into the sphere again.
Welcome, Master! How may I help you?
"It seems I’m finally out of the immediate crisis," Maximilian released a sigh as he rubbed his index finger where the needle had pierced his skin. Afraid of getting captured again, he decided to move away from the seat, reaching the other side of the screen while hovering in the air with the help of his wings.
"Who are you?" he asked again.
I am the Artificial Intelligence Nano Operating System, also referred to as AINOS, designed by Arcturus Éclair and responsible for the management of the spaceship.
"Arcturus Éclair?" Maximilian murmured. "Was he the black dragon from the memories?" he wondered.
"Why won’t you come in front of me, AINOS?" Maximilian asked. "It would be better for both of us if we could talk face to face."
AINOS is already in front of the master.
The screen rotated, facing Maximilian as he reached its opposite side.
"You mean this strange thing is you?" Maximilian asked, pointing at the display.
AINOS is not a strange thing. It is a highly advanced Artificial Intelligence that can control an entire spaceship, predict its route, and scan for any nearby star suitable for habitation.
"Hah... Again, you’re saying words that I can’t clearly understand," Maximilian said, shaking his head. Although he was getting the gist of it, he could only make sense of so much. From what he could gather from the situation, the artifact in which the dragons and phoenixes had arrived at Vyoman was called a ’spaceship.’ It must be a Heaven-grade artifact that had developed sentience and named itself AINOS.
"AINOS, now that you’ve acknowledged me as your new master, could you tell me where the treasures your previous master kept are?" he asked with a weary smile. He felt a bit shameless asking such a question, but it was worth a shot. He might get some information on the materials he needed to reach the Celestial Realm.
Error! The control room is detached from the main spaceship. AINOS cannot access the previous master’s room and therefore cannot provide you with the information.
"Hmm, as I thought, this room is part of the artifact that broke away from the main body when it crashed into Vyoman," Maximilian said, rubbing his chin. "Do you know where the remaining part of the spaceship is?"
Error! The control room is too far from the spaceship. AINOS does not possess enough energy to scan the wider perimeter.
"How can I provide you with energy?"
The spaceship can be recharged by Eternal Stones.
"Never heard of that," Maximilian shrugged. "I only know about Soul Stones."
Maximilian took out a Grade One Mid-Tier Soul Stone from his storage pouch.
The Eternal Stone has been detected. Please place the stone on the platform to recharge the control room.
The silver metal from the sphere moved forward, taking the shape of a bowl before Maximilian.
"So, Soul Stones are called Eternal Stones on the planet they came from."
Maximilian placed the stone into the bowl. Several thin threads emerged from the bowl, piercing into the stone. In just the blink of an eye, the stone was completely gone.
0.001% energy has been restored.
"It devoured a Grade One Mid-Tier Soul Stone and only this much energy was restored," Maximilian scoffed. "This AINOS is a glutton!"
He couldn’t just feed all the Soul Stones he possessed to it when they were needed by his beloved wife to restore her energy.
"Hey, now that you have some energy, could you open the remaining chambers?" He pointed at the chambers of the room. There was only one opened among them, and the Ape was still sitting before it, oblivious to all the chaos that had happened outside.
With the current energy reserves, AINOS can open one chamber. Which one would you like to open? The one belonging to the previous Vice-Master or the Master?
"The Master," Maximilian’s answer came without hesitation.
A moment later, followed by a buzzing sound, the door of the chamber next to the already opened one shifted upward, retracting into the upper wall.
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