"Evil? What is that? Who gives more shape to history? The good, who adhere to the tried and true? Or those who seek to rouse beings out of their conformity and lead them to glory? To wash away the old and complacent and to cleanse this world of dead...
"Where there is no struggle, there is absolutely no progress." – Eric Thomas.
Indivisible tensions laid thick throughout the air, blanketed by its weight, for them, it felt impossible to bear; on the steps of the pathways they once hoped to tread, but now they rue the day. As they walked through the halls of black hammered metal, the sense of dread swallowed them whole. The sound of distant machinery grew louder as it resonated inside their eardrums. Symbols adorned the walls, remnants of a long-forgotten era; their origin is alien to them, their purpose unknown. Ever vigilant eyes followed the intruders as they marched in silence through the site, dirtying the holiest of shrines with their heretical presence.
At the centre of the technology palace, a singular being sat down on the throne of machines. In his hand, an arcane yet modern book was open. The holiest of artefacts, the centre of the Technicus' techno-religion, was closed by the man if he can still be called that. Cold, dead cybernetics eyes looked forwards as the gears inside the person's head turned. "So," The synthetic voice spoke. "They have arrived," And thus, the High Priest rested back, biding his time.
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Inside the shrine's command room, the priest in charge glared with his synthetic eyes at those who dared breach their reservoir of knowledge. Most of their forces were still busy either cleaning up the criminal army that attacked them from the front or had been diverted to the other side of the fortress. Still, though, such blasphemy could not be pardoned, and the heathens were to be punished with the supreme retribution and will be cast down with the force of a thousand annihilations. Pressing a button on his chair, all the speakers around the base were activated. "To all my brothers and sisters in knowledge," The priest spoke. "Our most holy shrine has been desecrated by the heretics, who have pierced our defences through the southern wing. To any member who can rise up in arms, expulse this filth! Rejoice as this is your sanctum opus as the eternal watchers of the shrine of reason!"
Outside the shrine, Inquisitor Senshi continued to maul her way through the waves of invaders. Body parts flew around as organs splattered across the ground. The screams of the fleeing criminals were muffled by the sound of metal cutting bone. Her communicator ringed in her ear, and she pressed the button to allow the incoming message through. Then, as she heard the commander announce the temple had been breached, a cold, mechanical rage overtook her, and in a single swing, ten heads were liberated of their bodies.
Phoenix Squadron stopped dead in its tracks at the announcement, a chill crawling down their spine. "Looks like the show is about to begin," Vlad commented, barely managing to utter a chuckle. "Vlad, let's have our shields ready," The Phoenix stated. "Jitsuna, Monika, be ready," They did as their leader commanded, grabbing an even tighter hold of their melee weapons. "Let's move," The team pressed forwards, shooting all the cameras they could see along the way. Meanwhile, from all sides, their enemies marched towards them.
Each door crossing made their hearts skip a beat, as it is never known what horrors may lie beyond those veils. Could it be a horde of tech-priests, removed of their humanity and bound to the protection of their sacred site, a mechanical horror, long-forgotten pieces of technology capable of mowing them down in a matter of seconds, or something far more sinister, like the result of the experiments with dark science? It matters not; they must expect the unexpected, as they are going in blind. No sketches exist of this place; now, they must carefully tread the metallic halls that surround them at every corner. Every battle is a mix between planning and improvisation, of mind and reflexes. They planned what they could prepare, but now, they will have to work on a realm where control is beyond their grasp.
