"adkaehnnga, wongn, aeangnad, aa, eaonedng ae aakeng......"
The lodious music drifted throughout the grand hall, where a solitary figure moved back and forth like a wandering ghost.
Sotis he would close his eyes and embrace emptiness, sotis spin in a continuous motion, and sotis throw back his head in silent song, his ghostly eyes closed as he enjoyed his solitary isolation.
In this vast, enormous hall stood many machines of various forms, with life present in only one being - himself.
"Ah, Angie, how are you? Do your joints still hurt? I patched you up with Hurricane Gilding last ti, you should be better now."
"Oh, it was just a bit too expensive. Be good now, or I won't treat you so well anymore."
"Hmm, Park Dong-jung? What's wrong? Why are you bent over? Is the spear too heavy? Don't worry, hold on a little longer, it'll be fine soon."
"Hi, Great Emperor, hello there. Still so tall, I see? Let
check... oh dear, your teeth are a bit rusty. I should give you so maintenance, yes, so maintenance. But no ti this round, maybe next ti."
"Big Leopard, Big Leopard, you're the best. I love your tal armor the most - full of power and beauty. How about I choose you as my mount?"
"Oh, right, I almost forgot you, Little Wild. You're my real mount, I'm just a bit tired of you. I feel like so close-quarters combat this ti, what do you say?"
The man kept talking to these machines throughout the music. Strangely, whenever he spoke to a machine, lights would activate on its body as if responding.
Thus, the man continued - talking to machines, dancing by himself, playing obscure songs in unknown languages.
Monts later, sothing lit up on a crystal screen at the hall's center. The man slowly walked over and saw a mountain peak glowing on the display.
He chuckled, patting the head of a chanical rabbit that only reached his knees.
"Ah, it's beginning!"
His face broke into a long-awaited smile.
..........................................................................
In a dense forest, several kiloters of vegetation had been completely cleared.
In Alaska's climate, few plants could survive naturally, making such deforestation highly unusual.
In this clearing, a moderately sized but extrely sturdy camp had been erected at so unknown ti.
The camp buzzed with activity as people drank and feasted. Several massive bonfires roasted mutated creatures. Being farther from the Pole than the Bering Strait, the winds were milder here, allowing the aroma of alcohol to perate the camp.
In this post-apocalyptic era where everyone was an evolved, alcohol could no longer intoxicate.
Around the central bonfire sat six or seven individuals. One large man in white fur gulped down a 700ml bottle of liquor in one go before tossing it behind him, where dozens of empty bottles already lay.
"Hey Dru, trying to drink yourself to death? We ca here with a purpose, not for your binge drinking," said a green-eyed man disapprovingly, his dagger deftly slicing uniform pieces of at from a mutated creature's leg. He coated a piece in red pepper and popped it in his mouth.
"I can't get drunk," the large man grunted in reply.
Though evolveds couldn't get drunk now, excessive drinking in short periods could still cause dizziness and slowed reactions. The duration varied by individual - those with higher evolution levels recovered faster.
"Governor gathered us here. You got so problem with that?" asked an extrely thin man with a third eye on his forehead - clearly an ocular-type evolved. As he spoke, his central eye occasionally opened, revealing a ghastly white pupil.
"Shut up, damn thief! Dirty liar! Disgusting beggar! You Gypsy son of a (whore)!" Dru roared, hurling a bottle with such force that it whistled through the air. Yet when it reached the three-eyed man, it suddenly stopped, twisted unnaturally, then vanished into nothingness.
After nullifying the attack, the Gypsy said coldly, "You want to die?"
Just as conflict seed imminent, both suddenly fell silent.
A figure was erging from a nearby tent, lifting the flap. Through the opening, the group glimpsed several bizarrely shaped female corpses inside.
When the flap fell back, the mountainous figure blocked both the interior view and the escaping blood scent.
"No good. Too low-level. Broke during play. I still prefer Ella," the figure said.
The bonfire group all stood to greet him.
"Governor!"
Governor nodded, walking with difficulty due to his imnse obesity.
Clad only in a loincloth like a sumo wrestler, but far more massive. His sagging flesh hung grotesquely from torso and limbs, creating a nauseating visual effect.
Yet none dared underestimate him - this wasn't ordinary fat, but a result of his unique job and bloodline. He was universally recognized as one of North Arica's most powerful beings.
Governor Spade.
"Sit, sit," Spade rumbled, his landing shaking the entire camp as he took a seat. Soone imdiately offered him the choicest cut of at.
As he ate, Spade's nearly invisible small eyes scanned those involved in the earlier conflict. He smiled: "No need for hostility, friends. We're all here for this special roulette space. We've got plenty competition - like the Won Camp, those troubleso females. And that chanical Prodigy will surely co too. Heard there are people from other continents, too, like those yellow monkeys from Asia. So we must stay united."
The group listened in silence.
"While the Mountain Crown will be mine, the roulette space holds other excellent rewards. You won't leave empty-handed, plus the paynts I promised. All good stuff, no? So let's keep things civil." T??e sourc?? of th??s content ??s novel????re
Suddenly, his expression turned as cold as his voice:
"Otherwise, I won't hesitate to eat you all."
The others shivered involuntarily. Governor's cannibalism was well-known.
Governor pulled a watch from his loincloth, checked it, then looked toward the distant mountain, murmuring: "It's ti."
The next instant, the mountain erupted in brilliant light!
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