Living on Borealis-9: The Story Of A Reincarnated Human

Chapter 1.1, Part 4: Presence

Now, I realise now that it was actually a Cyborg/Killbot/whatever you call them. But at the time, I was pretty sure the goddamn 'TERMINATOR' was staring me down.

"Target spotted. Proceeding with Order-003." The Robot said in a monotone woman's voice. She leapt up, revealing a large pair of wings that seemed to be holographic. I couldn't see her too well, on account of the darkness-radiating moon, but I was pretty sure that her wings were made of metal, with huge glowing energy feather-like bits. I was also fairly certain she had a giant VR headset on her face, though I was not too sure if it was just the light or something. One thing was for sure: her arms were a tangled mess of wires, cabling, and various metal things, reminding me of those jacked-up animatronics from 'Five Nights At Freddys'. Man, I really wanted to get a better look at this robot! But I also feared what I'd see!

For that moment, I began to run away, though I did so right into the spring. I knew something was wrong with it, and in my at-the-time final moments, I had a panicked and shocked reaction.

Then, I felt an overwhelming feeling of warmth, guilt, and...I don't know what emotion it was, but it was POTENT. My mind fogged, as coherent thought became a little less important against the emotion and general message of the thought. Hungry. Thirsty. Search. Seek. I no longer really cared about much of anything beyond finding...something. It felt like I was empty without the aforementioned something found and taken. Luckily, I looked up, and I found the thing.

Now, again, I realise now that I wasn't...me. I was basically plastered. So, keep that in mind.

I uttered a sound that I cannot write in letters. Imagine something like a happy cheer and the belch of a gorilla. Even my plastered self couldn't help but laugh at the sound. Even the robot was thrown off, as they stopped flying down in a straight line and veered off course.

"Come back! Please!" I yelled, desperately chasing after the robot and wading through the water up to my waist.

"Reassessing subject. New strategy is required." She said, landing along the banks of the spring. I ran over to her, fell to my knees, and looked up. Even though I couldn't see their face, or any details of their body beyond a silhouette, they were the single most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. An Angel of steel, sculpted from perfection.

"Please, stay here with me. Stay, dear Angel, and let us be together...forever."

"Subject is delirious. Administering anti-aphrodisiac."

That was a nice word. I walked over and happily let my true love inject me with a syringe, feeling nothing but euphoria as I traced a hand along her fleshy face. Her skin...it was so ashy and perfect. I loved it.

"Can we go back to your place?" I asked, giggling slightly at the line.

"Optimal results. Subject is forfeiting, Beginning transportation of subject." She said in her oh-so-monotone voice. It was maddening to hear, just...free of emotion, only on information. Information, like how we would be together. As my Angel of steel lifted me up by her wire-arms, clutching me to her body, she lifted into the air as we were awash in the moonlight, a silhouette of romance. I was at peace. I tried lifting my head to kiss her cheek, but found my neck restrained by the wires of her arms.

"Ooooh! Kinky!" I said, laughing.

Then the wire tightened, and I sobered up real fast. There was nothing romantic about this. What was I thinking! The hell happened to me? Why was I so...Lovestruck? Did the robot do it? What does aphrodisiac mean? Where was I going? What the hell was in that water back there? Why is it...actually...kind of nice, being held like this?

"Subject is experiencing extreme panic. Administering sedative agent." The Robot said. From below my neck, I could feel and hear the wires shifting about and scrapping. A syringe was produced from them, attached to a small metal arm that jabbed itself into my neck.

"Ow! Oi, what was that for?" I asked, ticked off.

The Robot completely ignored me.

"Hello?! Would you kindly NOT sedate me like an animal going to the slaughterhouse?"

"Continue complaining, and you WILL be slaughtered like an animal." The Robot said with a very sudden amount of emotion. Freaky.

"Woah, that was a lot of emotion. Sorry then, '2b'." I retorted mockingly. Freaking robots...

Eventually, upon the horizon came lights. Lights of a city. At that point, I'm pretty sure my mind was being turned to mush by the sedative, and my consciousness slipped in and out. A flash of seeing the lights here, a few minutes of flying over some high walls, lots of water below me. Lights. Neon signs that shone bright through the darkness. Spires of metal that pierced the heavens. Clouds. A palace, discordant halls built upon each other. Blood flowing next to us in the hallway. Red carpet. Dozens of armour sets lining the wall. A room, with several guards who pointed their mean-looking spears at me while I was left on the floor.

The next time I was fully conscious again was when I was in a great room. It was a giant room, actually. It went around fifty metres up in height, with one half slightly elevated by a few metres of stairs going up. On the elevated half, several rows upon rows of seating sat, all made from rare-looking wood. Every fifteen seats across and five seats up, there were great columns made from a white marble-like stone and trimmed with glowing purple metal. Each one had millions of tiny runes carved in, on second look, as the 'marble' was actually the original layer of stone, and the white were distant carven runes.

Upon the floor was a luxurious carpet, made from the fur of something surely gigantic based on the feeling on my knees. Before me was a speaker's podium, which was raised above the first brown of side-seating and pointed straight at a throne, which was filled by a strange king. The King, wearing a crown of thousands of different themes and additions, looked like some kind of bizarre mish-mash. They had the head structure of a dragon, the brown and white-speckled fur of a goat, six eyes that all looked on with immense power, the jaws of a wolf, great curving horns, glowing blue lines under layers of fur, and two huge skinless arms that emerged from the top of his shoulders. They wore armour, so great and masterfully crafted, it made them look almost godly.

But the strangest part about them was their axe. It sat at the side of the throne, against the armrest, as large as one wielded by an executioner. And yet, it looked like nothing but a handaxe next to the king. But that wasn't the strange part. It looked...Not just powerful, but omnipotent. Like it was capable of killing. There wasn't a question about its purpose. It couldn't be a tool, the axe was created to kill, and do nothing else. And it could kill anything that the wielder pleased. It didn't look evil, but it certainly looked like it could kill gods or similar.

As I gazed into one of the King's great eyes, I could see nothing but death and destruction in them. It was like staring into the abyss itself. I looked into another, but I simply saw grief, and the King holding what looked like its son, dead. Another one, I felt searing pain, like the wrath of the sun itself was searing me. None of them were safe to look at.

And yet, as I looked at them, I knew who they were. Nothing seemed to have more power in this world other than this person. It was like I was looking at The All-Father.

"???..." I mumbled weakly as The Robot presented me to the King.