The temperature in the heart of this Legacy Core is completely off the charts, damn it! Zenith plunged into the roaring purple energy vortex, like a tornado tearing through a steel foundry. Every inch of his Stonehearth bronze armor screamed, glowing white-hot from the friction of the incredibly dense mana atmosphere. His visual sensors flickered wildly, projecting thousands of red warning codes that obscured his view. The Dark Magitek current here felt like thousands of leeches trying to forcibly drain his remaining logic circuits. "System status: Slow-roasting," Zenith muttered, his voice cracking with audio static. "Shit, if I’d known this, I would’ve asked Borin for extra AC units." Ahead, at the center of the energy storm, the Legacy Core stood as a colossal heart, woven from crystal piping and ancient black metal. The machine pulsed, sending out shockwaves strong enough to rattle Zenith’s bolts loose. High Sorcerer Valerius stood in the middle of it, half his body already swa

Deep purple electrical sparks crackled between Zenith’s metallic fingers, creating a sound of tearing air that resembled millions of shards of glass shattering simultaneously. In front of him, High Sorcerer Valerius stood, his breath ragged, his silver robe now torn in several places, revealing skin that was beginning to transform into a network of pulsing black veins. The entire inverted cathedral shook violently, as if the foundations of the Magitek Prime mountains were being squeezed by a colossal hand from the sky. "You’re crazy, Boss! Are you seriously going to merge with this apocalypse machine?" Zenith roared, his voice wavering between the cold baritone of Omega and the ragged, flawed tone of Exile. Zenith shot forward, his feet slamming into the obsidian floor until it shattered. The thermal drill on his right arm roared loudly, radiating heat capable of softening steel. Valerius did not dodge. He raised his staff, creating a wave of shadow gravity so heavy that Zenith's ch

The roar of the Ancient Tomb's destruction sounded like the screams of a thousand giants being flayed alive. The obsidian ceiling that had sheltered King Aethelred's foul secrets for three centuries now cracked, dropping chunks of rock the size of carriages onto the collapsing floor. White dust from pulverized stone mixed with the mana vapor escaping the ruins of the Legacy Core, creating a thick, acrid fog that stung the lungs. "Zenith! Wake up, damn it! Don't you dare fall asleep now!" Elara screamed, her voice hoarse and swallowed by the roar. The teenager crawled over the pile of debris, her bloody fingers gripping the remnants of Zenith's still-smoldering shoulder plate. Behind her, Marcus struggled to his feet, supporting the Empress, who was slowly beginning to breathe despite her extreme weakness. Marcus's armor was completely destroyed, leaving only tattered military fatigues soaked in oil and blood. "Prince! We have to go! This place is coming down!" Marcus roared. He gla

The flapping of the mechanical dragon's wings outside the cave sounded like a giant mill grinding the sky, creating a static resonance that made the snowflakes on the cave floor jump slightly. Marcus immediately took a defensive stance in front of the Empress, his broken energy sword emitting a faint, trembling blue light. Prince Elara wasted no time; he lunged toward Valerius's rigid body, then roughly tore open the hidden pouch beneath the sorcerer's silver robe. "Got you, you bastard!" Elara pulled out a small crystal orb pulsing with dark purple light, the signal emitter that had just summoned death toward them. "Destroy it, Prince! Quickly!" Marcus roared, his eyes fixed on the cave mouth, which was beginning to fill with shadow mist. "Hold on, Uncle! If we just smash it, the static energy could fry us all!" Zenith yelled, his voice hoarse and accompanied by the sound of grinding metal from within his chest. His yellow lenses blinked wildly, emitting a purple fringe due to the

BOOM! Chief Engineer Borin’s gigantic sledgehammer slammed down onto the slab of Void-Steel covering Zenith’s chest, triggering an explosion of orange sparks that flew in every direction. The smell of sulfur and boiling oil vapor filled the stale air of the secret Stonehearth workshop. The booming sound echoed between the stone pillars, drowning out the relentless roar of the steam engines working in the background. Zenith flinched, his stabilizing circuits vibrating violently on the now-cracked granite operating table. “Whoa, take it easy, Chief! This is a robot body, not a dented steam train exhaust pipe, damn it!” Zenith yelled. His voice cracked, distorted by static, yet his annoying Exile tone was already starting to return even though the cables on his neck still dangled wildly. Borin wiped the sweat that drenched his red beard, which was braided with iron chains. He snorted roughly, his stiff hands raising the hammer again with arm muscles tensed hard as steel. “Shut up, Scr