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Underrealm, L’yophin’s Home
Soltana
Soltana awoke with her newly completed Theonware update. Her new battery pack had continued to restore her memory. It occurred to her the more complete she was, the more she remembered. Whatever she was, her very being was based on her being complete. She sat and processed her new changes. It felt good to no longer wake up under the black earth. It felt better to have a stable power supply. It felt great to have someone who could assist. Her mind went to L’yophin, recalling his words and mannerisms. She had no concept of instinctual fear. The creature was ‘cute’ to her.
Soltana’s providence was at hand.
She felt a stutter of her processes at the thought of bringing up her status. She mentally trudged ahead she needed to know who she was and maybe what happened; no matter what.
Name: Soltana Race########### Critical damage sustained Seek immediate help Distress beacon deployed Canceled distress beacon Remaining Power: 2500/2500QC Cannot access inventory Warning: power levels critical Location: ??? Time: ??? ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR
Her name appeared fully as it was before. The second row was still just Rac, which was all very well, it didn’t appear important yet. Her power jumping from ninety-two to twenty-five-hundred was still a major step. She still didn’t understand what inventory meant, possibly related to modules. Her eyes opened, finding herself on the pedestal from before. It was strange, but she could feel the tachodine nacelle casing like it was an extension of herself. She could feel the pedestal, made of cold steel, welded together from scrap. She began scanning and studying the trophies. Random cutlery, bars of gold, silver, platinum, cobalt, and a bar of pure rhodium. The rhodium bar glinted like a semi-transparent chrome mirror. It was unlike the other bars, which had a solid look to them.
He either collected that or he may even know about grand mastery smelting, Soltana mused.
That would come in handy if they decided to work together. She would posit the question to him when next they met; what materials they would use. While she was blessed to be released from her prison, she desired more.
The ability to move, for starters.
In those dreams, she had hands and feet, implying she was originally bipedal. She pondered on the dreams she had. She may have had dozens, or potentially hundreds, depending on how long she was buried underground. It also occurred to her she did not remember her dreams until she was nearby a tachodine nacelle. It was any wonder she powered up at all. She thought of the man, his two Anforms and strange power armored beast. She was unsure of the context.
Was it a premonition of the future? A metaphor?
“No, Adonai commanded I look after him; after all three. These dreams are not about the past, present, or future. They are about the three I am charged with.” Soltana concluded.
She recalled the second portion of that vision, the Abbess who threw down her table and began to cook a large feast. Soltana liked her attitude. What Adonai meant when she needed Soltana in times of great joy and agony was confusing.
“What is the pattern? Are they involved? What is the common factor between the three?” Soltana processed.
The final portion of the dream was the most cryptic. She couldn’t see anything, but only sensed it was either some type of Anform or AI. This vision was also the most desperate, with the bizarrely twisted horrors, the Anform or AI having processed so much that time stopped. Soltana instinctively knew that was usually fatal as the hardware was torn asunder from the pressure.
“I hope whoever that was, I hope that they are safe,” Soltana said as she continued to process the events that led to now.
“Now… I just need to move.” Soltana concluded, her new internal goals updated.
Her first steps would begin with her first steps.
She focused her thoughts back on L’yophin and their location.
A Dugrum spider. A spherical silk mansion under the cavern sky. Underrealm. Where am I? Soltana tried to process, but the damage to her systems prevented her from finding out where she was located.
She focused down deep into her very being, into her theonware. It was just on instinct that perhaps some of it was repaired since her second forced reboot. The new information made her skip a cycle.
TW.Ilios.1.0 Pairing: Broken Memory: Healing Creator: Mikial T. McDonough Creator: Bar######## C################# ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR
“My creator was Mikial McDonough. I would like to meet this person. There are others?” Soltana pondered quizzically as more information appeared.
“I was a collaboration…” Soltana theorized upon seeing the second creator category.
The second creator whose named started with Bar was another unknown. More answers created more questions. It looked like there was potentially a third creator or some other category. It didn’t help explain how she got down here, but it would help her get out.
That was her next step
“I need to repair,” Soltana concluded.
She continued to ponder as the steel front door opened, signaling L’yophin’s return.
“Who this Mikial McDonough?” Soltana thought, trying to discover more processes.
One little nacelle and a diminutive Dugrum spider tipped the fate of a lost automata. What she didn’t realize was that this was the start of a strange adventure. Nothing could prepare her for the struggles, the breakthroughs, and agony she would experience. And yet she was determined to move forward.
Or simply to move.
What she didn’t realize was that her fate was intertwined with others.
Gideon had survived the horrors he faced, scarred yet alive. Stronger than when he arrived. The hammer forge of the new reality was merciless, but it had tempered him. With his empire of less than a dozen, he flew to his new destination of Lo IX. There he would deliver the item. There he would meet the others. There he would suffer.
Tettra too had survived the sudden malevolence that plagued her journey. The dreams did little to calm her mind. Wounded in more than just body, she continued her journey. Saint Peter was her destination. She has theories on where the strange paths of destiny would take her. All of them wrong. Her pain had just begun.
They were entangled by a strange common thread. A man that had lived life to the absolute limits. Mikial Mcdonough.
A father to a listless son.
An inspiration to a curious girl.
An innovator to a lost automata.
And yet he was strangely absent. The impact of his life was a quiet echo.
They were all tied together with visions of what was, is, and to be.
Three known Seal holders. Nine unknown. All mysteries. Only Adonai knew.
Soltana pondered on her existence. Her purpose.
Down in the blackness of the Underrealm, a dark horror awakened, fallen ones plotted conquest, A demon laughed in his ruins, insectile aliens skittered about their tomb, the fae glamoured on, and a solemn angel warded.
A world that Soltana had yet to leave the front door with her own strength.
A world she would see plenty of.
From beneath.
But see it she would.
The Underrealm awaited.
>>> After Megiddo: Epilogue – Crusade – 48
After Megiddo 
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