A machine's guide to Divinity

TREACHERY /// ACT 3 Crescendo: War With All Reason

Limbo's mask of divinity burned down as it collapsed.

The prospering cities of lust decayed away like its once beloved ruler.

Gluttony dissolved itself as no more sinners were there to be punished by the never-ending lakes of acid.

Like the failed insurrection ions ago, Greed crumbled, under the weight of gold.

The ocean of Styx dried up as the sinners died out, leaving behind an uninhabitable wasteland in Wrath.

Heresy fell into eternal darkness with the husks that resided there.

The blank walls of Violence were painted red by countless hands.

Fraud had no one left to cheat and trick.

Only Treachery remained, its icy walls preventing the bloodthirsty machines from entering.

Hell was dying out and it could no longer sustain the machines that longed for blood. It was going empty. In a desperate attempt to survive, the machines breached the walls of Treachery and entered inside, killing anything they could find to survive. Carnage ensued. As the billions of machines fought for salvation, the lakes of treachery ran red with their blood.

The war went on for years as the countless machines killed and killed and killed, only to find another wave of machines just like them, longing for blood and fuel. It was the climax of everything. The last bang before it ended—a final act of violence, fraud, and treachery before the ultimate stasis. Amid the chaos, there was V1, a machine built specifically for war. An incarnation of the reaper it seemed to be. It had destroyed everything that it encountered, and it was decimating the machines nearby, showing no mercy. When the carnage was finally over, It still stood in perfect condition. around it were the remains of sentries, swordsmachines, and all the other machines that dared to cross its path.

V1 looked around. Its optical sensor detected no immediate threat. Retracting its golden wings, it decided to locate an exit that would lead him deeper into the center of hell. Even after years of violence, it still needed blood. Realizing that it was getting low on fuel, V1 sped up its search. After coming across a lone Cerberus, V1 was satisfied to see the number '100' on its heads-up display.

Hours passed and V1 finally found the red door that would lead him deeper into hell. Entering the familiar room, V1 jumped down into the elevator shaft.

9-1: WAR WITH ALL REASON

TIME: UNLISTED ---S

KILLS: ULTRAKILL ---S

STYLE: ULTRAKILL ---S

Rank : P*

The ranking screen flickered by as V1 entered the shaft. Nodding to itself, V1 would've smiled if it was capable of doing so. It had bested every single entity that dared to attack it, be it a demon, an angel, or a supreme machine. Truly, it was the champion of all machines. The travel through hell and the decade-long battle royale had changed the once-awkward prototype into a brutal reaper among machines. Ready to fight its rival for the last time, V1 landed in the terminal room. V1 then heard his voice.

"Machine, I can feel your presence below. Come to me and we shall dance again."

It was Gabriel. Somehow, the angel was still alive, even without his holy light. As V1 exited the terminal room, it saw a staircase leading up, surrounded by a black void. Ascending the staircase, it heard the angel speak again.

"I once thought that the father's will was absolute. I believed that blindly following the so-called holy light was righteous. But you, machine. You have shown me that the fires of his world were long gone."

V1 climbed the staircase and entered a long hallway. the interior reminded him of the halls of Limbo.

"The murder of Minos, the execution of Sisyphus, and the damnation of countless souls. All my sins were disguised as an act of god. All for naught. The holy light didn't matter because there was no one holy anymore. "

Gabriel continued as V1 entered a door made of stone. It reminded him of the door at the gate of hell. V1 remembered the time when it first entered the layer of Limbo. It seemed so far off now.

"All those heinous acts that I committed without remorse. All those times that I spent as a puppet of the council. The agony, the horror of being severed of the holy light."

Gabriel spoke as V1 once more, ascended a tall staircase. Ahead of it stood a great building. It was made with intricate marble. The stained glass windows shined brilliantly as it rapidly approached the cathedral.

"They told me I was going to die. Once, I thought so too. They thought I was the sinner, the heretic, the backstabber. But here I stand, still alive. I have shown the masses that there was no need to be afraid. No need to be fearful."

The door to the cathedral slowly opened, letting V1 enter inside. Ahead of it was a long hallway. At the end, V1 saw the terminal. Soon, it will face Gabriel for the last time and only one of them will prevail.

"Now they know how to stand strong together, even without the father and his divine light. I thank you for this machine. for it was you who enlightened me. Because of you, Heaven and all its denizens shall live on with hope."

'Maybe Gabriel has truly gone mad without his holy light.' V1 thought as it exited the hallway. It could see the archangel, waiting for it to approach him. Gabriel stood up. Even without the holy light, he seemed to emit a radiance brighter than the sun.

"However. I am aware of the atrocities that you committed. Destroying the layer of Wrath, Killing the giants in Fraud, and the massacre at the gates of Treachery. Maybe the father or his son would've forgiven you for your sins, machine. But I am neither of them."

Gabriel seemed to float in midair as he talked. His wings were the color of gold and his blades shone, glowing with newfound purpose.

"Machine, I will cut you down with all the justice and with all the splendor. As your executioner, I shall judge you for your sins. And maybe... You'll be the one to judge me too."

V1 barely had time to prepare itself as Gabriel lunged at him, swords outstretched.