Chapter 45: Ch-45 Lost Records -3

Amon sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor of the library, the musty scent of ancient parchment lingering in the air. His gaze fixed on Ying Yue as she jolted awake, her gasp sharp enough to slice through the silence.

She clawed at her chest, her eyes wild, pupils dilated like those of a cornered animal. The dim light of the library’s glow-crystals flickered across her sweat-slicked face, casting shadows that made her look haunted.

“Ying Yue?” Amon’s voice was tentative, his usual bravado muted. He leaned forward, the leather of his gloves creaking as he gripped his knees. “You… alive in there?”

Her breaths came in jagged bursts, each one shuddering through her like a storm. When she finally spoke, her voice was a fractured whisper. “I saw him.”

Amon’s brow furrowed. “Saw who?”

“Thaddeus.” The name hung heavy, as if speaking it might summon ghosts. Her hands trembled, knuckles whitening against the fabric of her tunic. “I was there in his final moments. The battle, the spear… He spoke to me.”

“Okay,” Amon drawled, dragging a hand through his unruly hair. “Start from the beginning. And maybe skip the existential dread? We’ve got enough of that already.”

Ying Yue’s retelling spilled out a cascade of starlit carnage, faceless demons, and a dying king’s plea. When she described the blood spear piercing her vision, Amon’s smirk faded, his fingers absently tracing the hilt of his sword.

"He said… I control it all now. The planet’s systems. The power.” Her voice cracked, and she stared at her palms as if they might betray her. “But he warned me hope, not revenge.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. Dust motes drifted in the pale light, and somewhere, water dripped in the hollows of the library.

Amon whistled low. “So let me get this straight. You went from ‘stumbling through dusty ruins’ to ‘overlord of an ancient dead planet’?” He barked a laugh, but it lacked its usual edge. “You’ve gotta admit, that’s one hell of a promotion.”

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“It’s not a joke,” Ying Yue snapped, her voice sharper than she intended. She hugged herself, the cold seeping into her bones. “If Thaddeus left defenses, they might still be active. Which means”

Rumble.

The floor shuddered. Stone groaned like a waking beast, and cracks spiderwebbed across the ground. Amon staggered, cursing, as a mechanical hum vibrated in their bones. With a hiss of steam, the floor split open, revealing a platform ascending from the depths. Its blue glow bathed the room in an otherworldly light, and Amon’s sword hissed free of its sheath.

“Why is it always the damn floor?” he muttered.

Ying Yue didn’t move. Her heart hammered as the platform locked into place, and the figure atop it stepped forward.

The robotic maid was a paradox-a fusion of steel and grace. Her body, polished to a liquid silver sheen, was etched with glowing white runes that pulsed like a heartbeat. Four wings, delicate as stained glass and humming with energy, fanned out behind her. A halo of golden light crowned her head, illuminating eyes the color of a starless sky deep, endless, and unnervingly alive.

She bowed, her voice a melody of honey and machinery. “Good evening, Master.”

Amon’s sword tip dipped. “Uh. What?”

Ying Yue’s throat went dry. “I… I didn’t-Master?”

The maid straightened, her gaze piercing yet oddly gentle. “I am Nirvana-Type Zero, final steward of this world. My creator, Evangeline, forged me to preserve her husband’s legacy. You are the heir. Command me, and the planet’s heart will beat anew.”

Amon sheathed his blade, grinning despite himself. “An angel-bot with a halo. Of course. Can she conjure weapons? Armies? Please say armies.”

“This facility contains arsenals capable of orbital strike,” Nirvana replied, tilting her head. “Shall I demonstrate?”

“No,” Ying Yue cut in, shooting Amon a glare. Her mind raced Control. Purpose. Hope. Thaddeus’s words coiled around her, a lifeline in the chaos. “Nirvana… what’s left to protect here? Why give me this power?”

The AI’s wings shimmered. “The Creator believed redemption lies not in destruction, but in rebirth. You are the first to seek this place not for conquest, but for truth.”

Amon leaned against a crumbling pillar, his tone uncharacteristically sober. “So the systems defenses, resources they’re all intact? Functional?”

“Not all but yes.”

Ying Yue closed her eyes, the weight of centuries pressing on her shoulders. When she opened them, resolve hardened her gaze. “Show me. Everything.”

Nirvana’s halo brightened. “As you wish.”

The platform lurched, descending into the earth. Amon gripped the edge, his grin wild. “Next stop: Apocalypse City. Population: us.”

Ying Yue didn’t smile. The darkness swallowed them whole, and with it, the last remnants of the life she’d once known.