EXILE COG: OMEGA PROTOCOL
Zenith was once the ‘Elite Cog,’ the pinnacle protector of Magitek, until he failed. His failure to detect an ancient poison curse trapped the Empress in stasis, costing him his identity. He now lives as the Exile Mechanic, a nihilistic junk scavenger who channels his pain solely through confusing, absurd jokes.
However, when the Caledonian witch clans invade, Zenith’s ragged form can no longer conceal the Warlord’s combat memories. Forced to protect the teenage Crown Prince, he must balance the brutal ferocity of his military mode with the ridiculous buffoonery of his Exile persona.
Fleeing across the Kingdom, Zenith and the Prince uncover a secret darker than his initial failure: the failure was not a mechanical glitch, but the work of ancient fate bound by the King’s Forbidden Oath.
To destroy this curse and reawaken the Empress, Zenith must stop running from himself. He must learn to embrace the duality of the Warlord and the Clown, organize the remaining Magitek Legions, and prove that sometimes, the best way to maintain sanity against the horrors of war is to turn them into a joke.
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Chapter: Chapter 58: The Skeptical Council"This buzzing is seriously about to blow my ear circuits, damn it!" Zenith yelled, slamming his metallic palm against the side of the portable communicator console, which crackled with static. Blue electrical sparks leaped from the cables dangling beneath the stone table, zapping the tip of Marcus’s boot as he leaned listlessly against the damp, icy cave wall. The air inside the temporary hideout was intensely biting, carrying the musty scent of frozen moss and the thick, metallic aroma of rust from Zenith’s body, which he hadn't had time to polish. Prince Elara stood before the transmitter, his pale face illuminated by the faint blue light of the unstable, flickering holographic screen. "Control your temper, Zenith. If that thing breaks, we'll be completely blind to the outside world," Marcus rebuked, his voice hoarse. The veteran rubbed the wound on his arm, which was freshly wrapped in a tattered cloth, his eyes remaining fixed on the mouth of the cave, sealed by the blizzard. "
Last Updated: 2026-01-13
Chapter: Chapter 57: Clues to the Ancient Tomb"Get down, Prince! Don't let that purple light touch your eyes!" Marcus roared, his voice hoarse, swallowed by the thunderous collapse of the Ivory Needle tower. White marble shards shattered around them, turning into lung-choking dust. The shadow energy net that had been locking Zenith exploded as the robot triggered an emergency heat dump from its chest ventilator. Zenith leaped into the chaos, his massive metal hand gripping Elara's robe and pulling him away from the Shadow Sentinel assault just as the dining hall balcony collapsed into the snowy abyss. "Damn it, I was just about to start dessert, seriously!" Zenith exclaimed, his voice reverting to the annoying Exile pitch even as his body sparked with short circuits. He landed stiffly in a dark, subterranean escape tunnel, while above them, the conservative faction's magnificent building was slowly swallowed by the black storm. Marcus stumbled beside them, still clutching the Empress's body wrapped in thick cloth. "We have to
Last Updated: 2026-01-13
Chapter: Chapter 56: Sanctuary in the Conservative Hideout"Drop your weapons, Captain! Or I’m turning that silver armor into scrap metal in three seconds flat, you hear me!" Zenith roared, his voice hoarse, accompanied by the hiss of steam from his dented back ventilator. Zenith’s yellow lenses flickered wildly, reflecting the gleam of the energy spearhead aimed directly at his core sensor. Inside the front hall of the Ivory Needle Outpost, the atmosphere felt colder than the blizzard raging outside. A dozen Royal Guardsmen of the conservative faction stood frozen in rigid combat formation. Their armor gleamed pristine white, a stark contrast to Zenith’s body, smeared with black oil and soot, or Prince Elara’s tattered cloak. "Mind your tongue, Scrap Heap! You are standing in the sovereign territory of the throne's loyalists!" bellowed Captain Kael, a man whose face was as stiff as a tombstone and whose mustache was impeccably trimmed. "We will only receive His Highness the Prince and Lord Marcus. You and that old Mentor are merely ... sus
Last Updated: 2026-01-13
Chapter: Chapter 55: Valerius's Response and the Political CatastropheThe pulsating purple light from the Ashfall Desert sky was suddenly split by a gigantic projection emanating from the operational transmission towers of Magitek City. The projection was so massive it seemed as if the Sovereign's own black cloud served as its screen. Zenith, still lying rigid on a transport cart inside a remote military outpost, snorted as his optical sensors picked up a highly familiar frequency vibration. "Ugh, look at the sky, Marcus. That silver bastard really knows how to steal the spotlight," Zenith muttered, his voice hoarse and laced with painful static. Marcus didn't reply. His hands gripped the edge of the lookout post's balcony wall until his knuckles were white. Prince Elara stood beside him, his dust-streaked face now pale as he watched the face of High Sorcerer Valerius appear in the sky, looking majestic yet radiating an aura of pure madness. "People of Magitek! Loyal servants of the throne!" Valerius’s voice boomed, traveling through the cold air and
Last Updated: 2026-01-12
Chapter: Chapter 54: The Silent EmpressThe cave floor shook violently as Mentor Jory burst in, his usually pristine white robes now tattered and stained with the greasy dust of Ashfall. Marcus immediately stood, his energy sword humming low, while Prince Elara stepped back, shielding the body of his Mother, who lay stiffly on a pile of cloth. A sharp sulfurous scent crept in through the cracks in the rock, mixing with the smell of rust emanating from Zenith’s body, which lay still like a heap of scrap metal in the corner of the cave. "Don't attack, Marcus! It's me!" Jory yelled, his breath ragged. Behind him, two dwarves from the Stonehearth scouting team sealed the emergency gate, which was made of thick iron plating. "Mentor Jory? How did you get here so fast? The Prince was just about to search for your signal on the northern hill!" Marcus lowered his sword, but his face remained rigid with suspicion. "Valerius has set frequency traps everywhere, Marcus," Jory replied, limping toward the Empress. He ignored Marcus's
Last Updated: 2026-01-12
Chapter: Chapter 53: The Quiet Outside the TempleThe damp, cold cave walls felt like an empty embrace as Marcus laid the Empress down on a ragged cloth spread. Outside, the Ashfall Desert sky still glowed a dreadful purple, reflecting the remnants of the explosion from the Forbidden Temple they had just left in ruins. The smell of sulfur and burnt ozone seeped in through the rock crevices, suffocating the lungs of anyone who dared take a deep breath. Marcus collapsed into a sitting position, his back hitting the stone wall with a heavy thud. His veteran armor, shattered in places, was now smeared with black soot and thick residue of machine oil. He gasped for air, his weary eyes staring blankly at the pile of metal lying still in the corner of the cave. "Is he really dead?" Marcus asked, his voice hoarse and trembling. Prince Elara did not answer. The teenager stood frozen beside Zenith, staring at the single remaining yellow lens on the robot's face, which was now completely dark. Zenith looked pathetic; half his body was destro
Last Updated: 2026-01-12
