The night came at last, and Avi could direct their spaceship to Axshirris' nests. One after another, the mechanical jellyfish emerged from the quicksand holes in Goliath's hull. They headed towards the north, forming captivating lines of pink lights.

Avi kept her distance to ensure that the creatures weren't bothered by their presence and accelerated. When she noticed more pink lines far away, she guessed that they might be close to their destination and united with her multitask cell.

Once Avi was in the depths of the dark ocean, she could notice the light of jellyfish pointing the way into a black, abysmal pit, where the brightness of their colors became dimmer, until they disappeared completely.

---

Avi exited the spaceship, climbing down into the darkness and followed by Luna, who extended her hand, summoning a sphere of light, which immediately revealed scattered and unmoving jellyfish bodies.

“Do they come here... to die?” - Charlotte uttered.

Luna scanned the corpses. - “Anaari's plague devastated their systems.”

“Is it... dangerous to us?” - Avi asked, a bit afraid.

“It mainly affects cybernetic beings, but you can catch it, too. However, when I was healing Emily, I developed preventive measures. If we don't split up, nothing will happen.” - Luna explained.

“Okay, can you lead the way?” - Avi asked, and Luna nodded in response.

As they traversed the spiral staircase, Luna's light revealed more and more of the primitive paintings that depicted Axshirris' journey across the desert. Above it, there were repeating phrases – No reply. The words and pictures twisted, soon forming vertical lines and disappearing deeper inside the pit.

“I think we need to fly down now.” - Luna said and summoned a flat disc under her companions, then slowly descended.

On one of the walls, there was a lamp marked by '9-X' surrounded by a pink, fluorescent paint shaped like a large anglerfish that devoured all of the jellyfish. Luna paid the most attention to it, while others were silent.

On the very bottom of the pit, in a ring of dead jellyfish, there was a fourteen-meter-tall robot with a scrawny frame and sixteen arms attached to it. All of them held a scepter with a pink crystal on its upper end. The machine knelt, immobile, its body covered in spiderwebs and discolored with white spots.

Luna landed next to the robot, and Avi hurried to it, removing spiderwebs in her path.

“Is it... dead?” - Avi asked.

“No. It's hibernating due to the severe damage, like Emily was.” - Luna stated.

“...but ...you can help them, like you helped her?” - Avi wondered.

“I can't promise anything, but I'll try.” - Luna said, then approached the machine and encompassed it in her white light.

All over the mech's body, diagnostic LEDs began to brighten up, until the process reached the protruding, elongated cube that was the mech's head. The left of its three eyes lit up and rotated to examine Luna.

“This one... is not fully functional.” - The robot spoke. - “Leave him to die.”

“R-421? Is that you?” - Avi asked.

“The name... sounds familiar. It's part of the registry.” - The hermit replied.

“You have to help us!” - Avi pleaded. - “We need to find a way to cross the fallen lands to the Soul Forge!”

“I... he... R-421.” - Robot repeated a word after word. - “...knows the path... but...” - The light in his eye died. - “Restart... restart...”

“I can always get our answers using a more invasive method.” - Luna suggested.

“No, Luna. It would be unethical.” - Avi protested.

The robot creaked, its legs started quivering, and it slowly stood up, removing the dust from its giant torso. He raised his scepter, and the gem on its upper end brightened up.

“Not here... it reeks of White Devil.” - The robot stated.

Luna rolled her eyes.

“Are you speaking about Luna? She's not dangerous, I promise.” - Avi tried to calm him down.

“No, she's not the danger. They are coming, the fallen ones.” - The machine creaked again and spun its staff above itself. There was a loud sound of impact, and the scepter stopped, hitting an invisible torso that now materialized before everyone's eyes.

A tiger-like machine with two guns mounted on its back dropped to the floor.

Luna was shocked. - “I wasn't able to detect its energy signature at all...”

“There is no time. Run, to the top.” - The hermit said. - “I... will hold them. You must live.. and forget.”

“Luna!” - Avi exclaimed. - “We can't just return with nothing! Please, tell him to transfer the data.”

“Our lives are more important!” - Nicolas protested. - “Get us out of here right now!”

“I'm sorry, but neither of your suggestions increases the chance of the mission's success, nor our chance of escape.” - Luna stated, and in a flash, teleported to the tiger and scanned the corpse. - “Four... they are approaching.”

Luna's light flashed, and she teleported again, this time to the hermit's skull. She pierced its eye with her hand and tore a cybernetic brain from the inside. The hermit fell face to the ground, deactivated.

Right afterward, Luna summoned four lances of light and sent them into the vents in the pit's walls.

“Fourteen...” - Luna whispered, then warned loudly. - “Hold on to each other tightly!”

She encompassed everyone with her light like a bubble and shot upward at a maximum speed that allowed them to stay unhurt. Amidst their escape, Luna summoned fourteen lances of light and directed them to other vents.

“One hundred and four.” - Luna whispered again, destroying machine after machine. - “One thousand fourty seven...”

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Shreds of steel poured out of vents like an avalanche, and the heavy scrap pummeled the defensive cocoon until the metal mass completely buried it in the darkness. There was a short moment of silence, after which the sphere of light shot out of the junkyard, seemingly escaping the machines.

Luna landed on a lone platform attached to the walls and deactivated her cocoon to make sure that everyone was okay.

Avi bent her body forward and grabbed her mouth. - “I'm about to throw up...”

“That's because you always eat like a maniac.” - Luna replied without a second thought, while still staying alert. She narrowed her eyes and focused on the upper section of the pit.

Virka sensed that something was wrong. - “Why did we stop here?”

“It's hard to tell.” - Luna replied. - “When I assumed Avi's form, my thought processes were altered to be compatible with a human-like psyche. Sometimes I experience emotional anomalies, similar to this one.”

“A premonition?” - Virka asked.

“If that's what you call it.” - Luna answered.

“...but you have a plan of our escape, don't you?” - Avi inquired.

“Give me five seconds, I must upgrade my outer shell.” - Luna closed her eyes and raised her hands. Flickering lights surrounded the group, moving from their feet to their heads, gradually making their bodies invisible. - “I improved their stealth technology, but we will have to travel via conventional means.”

Nicolas glanced at the top of the pit. - “It's going to be a long climb.”

“That's what Avi's multitask cell is for.” - Luna pointed out.

“Fine, fine...” - Avi extended her hand and formed an invisible bridge to the next platform. - “Uhm... Luna, I can't see the path, though.”

“Trust your gut and just make sure you don't fall.” - Luna encouraged. - “We'll hold each other's hands, I'll lead everyone right behind you.”

Avi hesitantly took the first step, trying to feel the hard surface underneath her feet. As she stood above the dark abyss, her curiosity took over, and she peeked at the depths. Nauseous, she immediately averted her gaze.

“I think.. I don't like this kind of spaces.” - Avi said as she glued her body to the wall.

“Don't complain and keep on moving.” - Luna insisted.

“Don't complain, don't complain.” - Avi muttered mockingly. - “It always has to be me. Why can't you create the bridge and lead us out?”

“Can't you trust me?” - Luna requested.

Avi wanted to reply, but she was interrupted by a heavy thud in the lower sections of the pit. When she turned to check what was happening, she noticed that a few surviving machines began to dig their way out of the junk pile.

“Luna!” - Avi shouted.

“I can see them...” - Luna assured. - “...but I can't deactivate our invisibility field, we have to continue onward.”

The battle tigers began trying to pick up the group's scent and circled around the former battlefield. Unable to find anything, they leaped to the walls and started climbing higher.

“They are coming!” - Avi was slowly losing her composure as she watched sparks fly from the jaws filled with whirling teeth.

“Don't panic.” - Luna tried to calm her down. - “They can neither see nor hear us.”

Step after step, the group traveled higher. The machines soon reached the level where Avi was, and there were hundreds of them, their green, aggressive eyes casting ominous light.

Avi tried to be as quiet as she could, even if it wasn't required due to the way that Luna's invisibility veil worked. Avi tried, at least until one of the machines leaped onto the platform in front of her. It froze in place, observing silently, and it didn't seem like it was going to leave.

“Circle around it! It's easy!” - Luna instructed.

“Easy? Easy to say.” - Avi whined. As she progressed onward, the robot's heavy tail rhythmically pounded against steel, but it immediately stopped once Avi was close to it. The tiger turned quickly, its whirling blades were right next to the girl, who got scared and slipped.

Avi was sure she would fall, but Luna's hands grabbed her quickly.

“Must you be so clumsy?” - Luna commented, pulling Avi up. The tiger's sparks rained above them, but Luna's illusion replicated the visual of the spot where they should fall.

“Uff... thank you.” - Avi scrambled her way up and formed a bridge to the platform on the other side, right above the painting of the anglerfish, to the staircase.

Once they were on the other side, Luna immediately suggested. - “There is no point staying here, let's hurry and run.”

Although they were very close to the spaceship, the path seemed to wind endlessly. Avi could barely breathe and asked. - “Is it far?”

“No... we should've arrived a long time ago.” - Luna stated and leaned over the railing. Her eyes widened – the painting of the anglerfish was still above them, even if they had passed it before. - “Avi... I'm sorry.”

“Luna...?” - Avi whispered.

“It's a spatial anomaly.” - Luna explained.

“Please, speak clearly.” - Nicolas insisted, irritated and nervous.

“We fell into a trap.” - Luna declared. - “We will never reach the top, we are stuck in a loop.”

“There must be an exit!” - Avi added, panicked.

“I'm afraid that I see none.” - Luna replied. - “We could wait until the battery that supports the anomaly runs out, but I'm afraid that I would be the only person who can live until that point.”

There was a grim silence, at least until Nicolas slammed his fists against the steel wall in frustration.

Virka didn't want to give up so easily. - “No, Luna. Your premonition wasn't wrong. There is someone here, observing.”

“Who?” - Luna asked. - “I can't detect anybody.”

“An Astronaut...” - Virka stated. - “...but I doubt they are still sane.”

“An Astronaut? How can you be so sure?” - Luna glanced at the top of the pit.

“It's a hunter from the Anglerfish enclave.” - Virka stated. - “It's how they operate. He must be a survivor of the war against Anaaris' plague.”

“You know a lot, is there anything else that you're not telling us?” - Luna commented.

“If you want to ask more questions, then you should know that I've already said too much...” - Virka replied. - “...but if you want to escape, one of us needs to be bait.”

“A bait?” - Avi uttered. - “If it's an Astronaut, it's impossible to tell what they might be capable of!”

“That's the main issue.” - Virka summed up. - “I'll go. Luna, watch my back.”

“No!” - Avi threw herself at Virka, hugging her. - “It shouldn't be you! I... I'll go.” - She said, even if she was trembling from fear.

“Don't be a fool!” - Virka protested. - “Let me go.”

Nicolas interrupted, adding with resolution. - “Did you forget about me? It should be man's duty.”

“We're living in more progressive times.” - Virka replied, rolling her eyes, but Nicolas didn't notice.

“Luna, you don't have to listen to them.” - Nicolas said. - “Just deactivate my invisibility.”

Luna pondered for a moment. - “Okay. It sounds like it's the best alternative.” - She snapped her fingers, and Nicolas could be seen again.

“Daichi...?” - A mysterious voice echoed from above. - “Daichi... Daichi...”

“I'm heading out.” - Nicolas added, then climbed the ladder to the platform above.

“Just play your cards well.” - Luna said.

Nicolas looked around, searching for the enigmatic person, but all he could hear was Daichi's name, so he took a deep breath and spoke loudly. - “Who are you and what do you want?”

“Daichi... my friend.” - The voice began to sob. - “Why... why... where... who am I?”

“Friend? Fine.” - Nicolas whispered, then added a bit louder. - “You must be someone that I know, show yourself and I might be able to help you.”

“Help?” - The voice cracked for a moment. - “Yes... no... yes... no... yes... no... NO! NO! NO!!!” - It started to scream, like they were being torn apart from the inside.

“Calm down and tell me what happened.” - Nicolas spoke. - “We can help you.”

“NO!! NO! NO... no? Help? Yes, yes...” - The voice continued. - “...but who, who are you?”

“Daichi, your friend.” - Nicolas tried to confirm.

“Daichi?” - The voice was silent for half a minute. - “TRAITOR!!” - That shout could be heard right next to Nicolas's ear, right when the astronaut materialized in front of him. Its three tentacle-like eyes were consumed by yellow growth, and his spacesuit was filled with holes, out of which piled-up tumors were growing, many oozing with purple pus.

Nicolas felt a sharp pain and noticed a primitive blade made of a metal shard stabbing his stomach. He reacted immediately and punched the aggressor, sending him right to the ground, then he almost dropped to the floor. It was Luna who teleported to him in a flash of light, disabling their group's invisibility to catch him before he could fall.

“Dad!” - Avi shouted, seeing what had happened.

“Daichi...? Atala...?” - The Astronaut spoke, beginning to sob again. - “I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry...”

“I have to take him to the spaceship immediately!” - Luna informed. - “Find a way to deactivate the loop!”

Avi ran to the deformed astronaut and noticed a box hanging from their belt, which had the same anglerfish symbol that was painted on the wall. She stepped on it with all her strength and the strength of her multitask cell. The box cracked, spilling a silver liquid.

When the spatial anomaly disappeared, Luna instantly shackled the astronaut using rings of light. - “To the ship!” - She ordered. - “We will grab the astronaut later!”