Sobek stared in shock at the robotic monstrosity in front of him. In his old world, that could have been considered nothing more than science fiction. Instead, in that world they had come to build it. He tried to yell an enormous: "What the fuck does this mean!?", but no sound came out of his mouth.

The huge robot seemed to laugh. "You forgot? There is no air here. You can't use your voice" he said. "In case you haven't noticed, we are communicating using the same psychic waves you use to communicate with your subordinates"

Evidently he was referring to the [Contract's] mind-sharing ability. Sobek decided to follow his advice. "Why can't I communicate with my companions? And why can't I teleport?"

"A simple block" the robot replied, then pointed to a point in the distance where the structure that Sobek had seen earlier was located. "About ten kilometers away from us right now there are eight special devices that form a perfect circle within which we find ourselves. These devices are responsible for our teleportation here, but are now also blocking the psychic waves and space-time fluctuations needed for teleportation. You can't leave this place unless you get past the block, but since it's a long way off, I advise against trying to escape: I'll catch you long before you can reach the border."

Sobek grit his teeth. "Why did you take me to the Moon? Who are you?"

"Why, don't you recognize my voice?" the robot laughed. "Evidently you don't care much about politics. Emperor Wafner, much pleasure"

The spinosaurus' eyes widened. "You?"

"Yes and no. In fact, I'm safe a long way from here". The robot raised an arm and pointed at Eden: "I'll give you a hint: go straight ahead for the next 384,000 kilometers and you will find me"

"I see. You're just connected to this… thing" Sobek growled.

"Exactly. It's like a video game to me"

"You didn't answer my question. Why did you bring me here?"

"It seems obvious to me. To kill you"

Sobek narrowed his eyes. "And for this you would have taken me to the Moon?"

"Of course. This is the only place where there is no risk of anyone interfering" Wafner replied. "No one knows you're here and even if they did they could hardly help you. It's just you and me… I'll take the privilege of killing you personally"

Sobek stared intently at his opponent. The robot was at least two hundred meters tall and appeared to possess several weapons. If they fought, he would be forced to use the [Ultimate mutation], which meant that he could not hold the fight for more than twenty minutes. Furthermore, he knew nothing of his adversary. Victory looked hard and uncertain.

He decided to try one last time to reason with his enemy. "Look, it doesn't have to end like this" he said. "I know this seems like the only way to you, but it's not. Let's assume for a moment that you kill me: do you think that will change anything? The Eden Union and my people will only be more pissed at you. You will continue to fight until our world is left with nothing but a pile of rubble. We can avoid it, we can be better. Why don't we lay down our weapons and talk about it like..."

"Oh, poor good fellow Sobek" Wafner laughed. "Haven't you figured it out yet? Seeing the world reduced to a pile of rubble is exactly what I want"

The spinosaurus froze. "What?"

"Why do you think we spent all this time studying you and your abilities? To steal your secrets? To fight you? Tsk… the goal was another. We wanted to make sure we had the means to leave a ruined planet and restore it as soon as it was habitable again"

"What are you saying? Do you realize how crazy that sounds?"

"Crazy? Not at all! It is exactly what humanity should have done from the beginning. The scientists were right, they had always been right: humans couldn't win, not without exterminating every single animal on the planet. We couldn't do it with conventional weapons, and in fact we just kept losing… but now, we have the means to wipe you out permanently. As soon as I kill you, I will give the order to drop all nuclear, thermonuclear and Hellfire bombs as well. Eden will turn into a radioactive wasteland where the sun will never shine"

"You are crazy! You will die too!"

"No, instead. My loyalists and I have an escape route. You gave it to us"

"What are you saying? Where would you like…?" Sobek froze as the revelation shot through his mind like an arrow. "The colony of Davis?"

"Exactly! By now that planet is ready to welcome a large number of people. My subordinates and I will just have to fix it a little. We have already selected 3,000 people absolutely loyal to the Empire who will find refuge on the red planet. We will thrive there and wait for Eden to become habitable again. After that, with the knowledge at our disposal, we will go back and build a new planet. One where humans will be the undisputed dominant species and no animal will ever lift its head again, ever again!"

Sobek felt the urge to jump on the robot and tear it apart. It had been a long time since he had felt this furious. "So this is your plan?" he hissed. "Take the lives of billions of humans and trillions of other living beings, destroy an entire planet, and then hope to come back centuries later and take it all back?"

"Exactly"

"And is there really someone who followed you in this crazy plan?"

"You'd be surprised to find out how many there are. I'm not the only one who wants humanity back its supremacy"

"I'm starting to believe that Carnopo and Snock weren't so wrong about humans and their insanity" Sobek thought as his eyes flashed. "Do you think it will be enough to detonate all your bombs to exterminate us? Have you forgotten the mangers?"

"Yes, the same ones that work only with sunlight. We have ascertained it. How do you think you can make them work as soon as the sun is covered by a cloud of dust several kilometers thick?"

"Do you think other humans will just sit around and die? Don't you think they could take refuge underground or something? Do you think that when you return they will welcome you with open arms?"

"Of course, but my scientists have predicted that the first consequence of the detonation of all my bombs will be a megaquake of magnitude 11 or 12, sufficient to wipe out all human infrastructure, even the most specialized bunkers. Furthermore, an electromagnetic pulse of unprecedented strength will fry any electronic circuit. With no communications, no shelter, and no food, how do you think the remaining humans on Eden will fare? They will end up slaughtering themselves within a few months to grab the few resources left. This is without counting all the other catastrophes that will follow the detonation. Within a few years, any trace of human presence will be erased. And the same goes for animals. Most of them will die within a short time, and the others within a few years. In the end, only a few mice will survive. However, we have assumed that some small communities miraculously manage to get away with it… for this we have also studied your war skills". The robot spread its arms as if to embrace the world: "Don't you understand? The war in Sinar before and the current world war after, were nothing but tests. We evaluated whether our current knowledge of warfare was sufficient to cope with it. Now that we know that, we are certain that when we return as soon as Eden is habitable again, we will be able to effortlessly wipe out the last remaining living beings. At that point, we will be able to build a new planet as we want it"

Sobek was angry, mostly because he knew what Wafner was saying was true. Had the force unleashed by the bombs been sufficient, there would have been no chance for life on Eden.

"However" Wafner continued. "There is still one variable that risks ruining everything… you. Your ability to continuously evolve is really annoying. If we let you live, you might find a way to survive and make my job useless. Therefore, you will have to die today. Without you, there will be no chance of a game-turning…indeed, your death will wreak further havoc on the planet, as your pack will break from within and your subjects will tear each other apart, ensuring their extinction more quickly"

If he hadn't been in a place without air, Sobek would have started to gasp. Never in his life had he felt so disgusted. Finally, he could understand the pattern behind the Empire's actions.

First, they had created weapons powerful enough to destroy the entire world. They had recruited every possible scientist needed to carry out this task.

Second, they had studied them. They had captured every single feature of them, taking advantage of their presence in the human territory thanks to the Eden Union. That is why they had done so little to hinder the rise of the Eden Union: they had already decided that it would be destroyed…

Third, they had waited until a self-sustaining base on Davis had been established, and thanks to that they had learned every secret concerning terraforming. Terraforming Eden after it was destroyed was much easier than terraforming Davis. The modified plants had solved the food and oxygen problem in the blink of an eye.

Fourth, they had tested their new knowledge of warfare. They had created several battlefields to be able to test themselves, and thanks to this they had obtained the confirmation they wanted: with their new technology, they could defeat any enemy… if they did not possess an armament equal to theirs.

Fifth, they had started a world war. Thanks to this, they had lured him into a trap to kill him. And once they killed him, they would permanently wipe out all life on the planet.

Eden would be transformed into hell while the Imperials fled to Davis. There they would clear the settlers already there and then wait. On Eden, nearly all living species would have gone extinct. After decades or even centuries, when the dust cloud settled, the Imperials would return and using new warfare technology they would track down and kill the few surviving life forms. There would have been remain only mice, small birds, fishes, insects and little else. No tyrannosaurs, no allosaurs, no huge predators that could actually stand up to them. It would have been as easy as doing a pest control. By then, the Imperials would restore the plant biosphere and recolonize the planet.

It was such a damn simple and efficient plan that it had a very good chance of working. Sobek was surprised he hadn't figured it out sooner. Wafner had been very good at covering his tracks… or perhaps, more likely, Sobek didn't possess a mind twisted enough to think that a human would go so far as to destroy his own planet to win.

"Why…" he whispered. "WHY!? Why go that far? We have never done anything to you, all we asked from you was a little understanding and tolerance! Is it so hard to accept that the world doesn't revolve around you? Is it such a terrible reality? Look!"

Sobek pointed to the blue-and-green planet hanging overhead. It was such a wonderful vision that it seemed impossible that anyone would want to take it away. "Look up there! Why destroy this magnificent pearl? Why don't you just TRY to get along with us? Think what we could achieve! My people and the Eden Union have been friends for less than four years, yet that was enough for us to make enormous leaps forward in the scientific, medical and astronomical fields! There is no goal that together we couldn't pursue! And you, lunatic, would like to destroy everything just for… for what? Why don't you like the idea of going out on the street and seeing dinosaurs walking around? You don't like us? All right! I also don't like some living beings, there are a lot of insects that I hate! But that doesn't mean I spend my days trying to destroy them! Nor would I try to destroy everything to get them out of the way! That's psychopathic! You are condemning billions of human beings, your own kind, to die just to win! To win a war that you started, a war that may never exist if it wasn't for you! Why, why, why!? WHY!? Answer me! I want to know! I have to know!"

The robot had no facial expressions, but when Wafner's voice reached Sobek, he seemed tired. "There is no reason for me to answer you, you would not understand. We have studied your personality and therefore I know for a fact that you would not be able to understand my motives. You are not interested in things like tradition, superiority, faith, the will of our ancestors, the nature of things… you do not understand the very cornerstones of human society. All you care about is survival"

Sobek narrowed his eyes. "Why you conservatives, when you have no way to argue back, are always reduced to talking about tradition, faith, family and money!?" he roared. "These aren't the cornerstones of human society! Human society is founded on science. Science is always evolving, as it progresses it recognizes its mistakes, and works to correct them. And the same humans! Your society has changed many times over the centuries, but has always managed to improve in one way or another! THIS is the very essence of humanity! Improve, progress, aim higher and higher! Not get stuck in false beliefs, in BULLSHIT!"

Wafner was silent for a moment. "See? You don't understand" he finally said. "It makes no sense to talk about it"

"Oh, don't try that! I've had enough of you dickheads trying to flee as soon as the conversation gets prickly!" Sobek shouted, while all the poison he had accumulated inside during all that time emerged like a raging river: "Give me an answer! And if you don't have one, at least have the courage to admit that you're doing all this only for your stupid pride, because you aren't able to admit that your power doesn't have to be absolute, that others exist too and that actions they have consequences! Admit it, damn it!". The spinosaurus' eyes seemed to have turned into balls of fire with rage. "Do it, and maybe you'll realize how ridiculous you are! Say it and you will understand that you are just a fool!"

"If you expect me to say something like that, you're crazier than me"

"I doubt I can reach such a milestone. This is my final warning, Wafner! Forfeit right now, take me back to Eden, and I'll be willing to put an end to everything you've done and start over. It's your only chance to be better, to prove that maybe you're not completely out of your mind! Refuse, and you have my word that I will first tear your toy here to pieces, and then I will return to Eden and annihilate you and all who were foolish enough to follow you! And believe me, you won't like where you end up after I kill you, I know it for sure!"

For a moment Sobek was tempted to reveal everything: that he was a reincarnated human, that he knew that God existed, that Hell also existed. He was held back by the knowledge that Wafner would surely not believe him and would only pass for delusional.

In any case, the emperor reacted exactly as Sobek expected: like all powerful men who were confronted with their mistakes… he refused to accept them. "I have no interest in being better. I just want victory, and I'll get it by killing you"

Sobek closed his eyes for a second, then snapped them open; within them, Wafner saw no more signs of hesitation. A deep anger dwelt in them, and even though he was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, the emperor felt an ancestral survival instinct activate and send a shiver down his spine. "It will be war, then!" the spinosaurus roared, then began to grow larger.

As soon as [Supreme mutation] had done his job, a titan 600 meters long and 186 meters high had appeared on the lunar surface. An instant later, gleaming armor covered him from top to toe, a gigantic sword appeared in his right paw, and two portholes bearing what appeared to be missiles formed on the sides of his back.

The robot leaned slightly on its paws. "So be it. So let me show you the power of human ingenuity!" Wafner shouted. "Prepare to be squashed like the lizard you are!"

"Bring it on then!" Sobek yelled. Wafner didn't have to repeat it and the giant robot started running at the spinosaurus, which started running at his opponent in turn. In less than four seconds, the two giants had zeroed the distance between them.

There was no air on the Moon, so there could be no sound or shock wave; but as soon as the two titans collided, the power of their blows was still such that the ground around them began to deform, opening deep cracks in the ground and raising clouds of lunar dust.