Lind's heart pounded like a war drum, and his blood surged and roared in his veins.
The secrets of ancient civilizations! The cornerstone of the world! The countdown to the end! The mech soldier's intermittent words, filled with taboo and lament, acted as the strongest catalyst, igniting and detonating his long-held desire for exploration and his yearning for the truth!
He took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement that was about to burst out of his body, his eyes sharp as a hawk, staring intently at the mech that called itself "the remnant of the Watchers".
"lead the way."
Linde's voice was deep and firm, carrying an undeniable power. He did not flinch, even though what lay ahead might be an abyss of no return.
The mech's single eye flickered, seemingly sensing a fluctuation... incomprehensible to the program, in response to the "outsider's" resolute stance.
It turned silently, its metal feet clicking crisply on the cold alloy floor, and walked toward an inconspicuous passage at the edge of the spherical space.
Linde followed closely behind, his [Deconstruction Halo] operating silently, alert to any subtle energy changes and potential traps around him.
The passageway was not long, and at the end was a relatively small cabin.
In the center of the cabin stood a device!
Its base is composed of several nested metal rings that shimmer with a deep blue energy circuit, interlocking and rotating slowly.
Above the base are two twisted, upward-facing, dark silver metal pillars that resemble giant pythons coiling around each other. The top of these pillars is not a solid object, but rather a swirling, collapsing, and expanding deep blue energy vortex that floats above them!
The center of the vortex is as deep as a cosmic singularity, and its edges exude a strong sense of spatial distortion, subtly drawing in the surrounding light.
Around the vortex, countless fine, lightning-like energy streams leaped and connected in the void, forming a stable and mysterious force field structure.
Buzz—!
A deep and steady spatial fluctuation, like the breathing of a sleeping giant beast, continuously emanated from the device.
"Deconstruction!"
Linde's pupils contracted sharply, and he unhesitatingly pushed the halo's analytical power to its limit.
> **Target: Spatial coordinate positioning/folding jump device**
> **Status: Low-power standby (stable power source)**
> **Materials: Astral Phase Alloy (body), Void Essence (core), Stabilized Energy Conduction Crystal...**
> **Functions:** Hyperspace positioning and anchoring, interdimensional folding and transmission of matter/energy, and stable maintenance of the space bubble.
> **Note: Target coordinates have been locked - [Encryption Protocol: Watcher's Bastion - 'Iron Sky']**
> **Warning: Residual energy fluctuations in high-dimensional space detected. Strong spatial distortion and unknown energy obscuring exist in the target region.**
Portal!
A real, still-functioning space portal!
Lind's breath caught in his throat; a tremendous shock swept over him like a tsunami.
He had only heard of similar existences in the most bizarre ancient legends and the wildest science fiction concepts!
In this fantasy world where magic and martial arts prevail, witnessing and about to step into such a portal is far more impactful than seeing a hundred dragons!
“Target… Steel Sky… Authorization… Identification approved…” The mech’s cold voice interrupted Lind’s shock.
It walked to the portal base, extended its metal arm, and pressed it against an authentication platform that was flashing green light.
The buzzing suddenly intensified, the deep blue energy vortex spun faster, and the light spot at the center became dazzling!
"Outsider... High-level privilege fluctuation... Confirmed... Entering... sequence..."
The mech turned to Lind, its one-eyed eye locking onto him.
There is no way out, nor is there any need to retreat.
Linde suppressed his turbulent emotions, his eyes regaining their composure, though a burning desire for the ultimate secret remained deep within.
He took a step forward and stepped into the dark blue vortex that was spinning violently and emanating terrifying spatial fluctuations without hesitation!
Buzz—!!!
The world spins! The concepts of time and space are utterly shattered, stretched, and distorted in an instant!
Linde felt as if he had been thrown into a kaleidoscope of pure energy and crazy geometric shapes.
Countless bizarre and fantastical scenes flashed before my eyes:
Shattered stars, distorted spiral galaxies, inverted mountains, rivers flowing with liquid flames... all that's in your ears is a sharp, soul-tearing spatial shriek!
I don't know how much time passed; it might have been a moment, or it might have been eternity.
That violent spatial tearing force suddenly disappeared!
Thump!
Linde crashed heavily onto the cold, hard metal ground, the immense inertia causing him to roll forward several times before regaining his balance.
A strong wave of dizziness and nausea surged up his throat, but he forced himself not to vomit and quickly mobilized his internal energy to calm his churning blood and qi.
The salty, damp wind, carrying a strong smell of rust, violently rushed into his mouth and nose!
Linde suddenly raised his head, and the sight before him made him instantly forget all his discomfort. His pupils dilated abruptly due to extreme shock!
He was standing on a metal platform of unimaginable size! The platform had no railings at its edge and was suspended in mid-air!
Below the platform lies a churning, roaring, boundless, dark blue ocean! Towering waves, like enraged beasts, crash violently against the fortress base, also made of cold metal, which is almost invisible in the distance below, producing a muffled, thunderous roar and stirring up a sky full of pale white water mist!
And looking around—
The sky was not the familiar blue sky and white clouds, but was covered by a thick, twisted, dark gray structure that resembled a huge metal dome!
The dome is not completely closed; countless huge, honeycomb-like openings are scattered across it, some letting out a dim light, while others spew out scorching air currents, dyeing the sky an eerie orange-red or dark purple.
Thick metal pipes and energy transmission belts, as thick as mountains, extend from all directions of the dome like the skeleton of a dragon, either plunging into the rolling sea of clouds below (composed of water vapor and energy waste gas) or connecting to the metal buildings that stand in the distance like giant obelisks.
The air was cold and damp, filled with a strong smell of the sea, the pungent odor of corroded metal, and a unique smell... like the smell of a huge machine running under overload, a mixture of ozone and hot oil.
He found himself in a colossal aerial fortress, constructed entirely of steel and technology, suspended above a raging ocean!
Steel Sky! This name is absolutely fitting!
"Welcome...to...Watchers Outpost...Iron Sky..."
The mech pilot's cold voice rang out behind Linde.
It seemed unaffected by the teleportation, its single eye steadily scanning its surroundings.
Linde stood up and walked to the edge of the platform.
The wind howled, making his robes flutter wildly, and he almost lost his balance.
He looked down at the roaring ocean below, which resembled an abyss, and at the massive metal base that looked like an island. Then he looked up at the oppressive metal dome that blocked out the entire sky, and a feeling of being as insignificant as dust arose spontaneously in his heart.
Is this the Watchers' last stronghold? A steel island that has been floating alone in the endless ocean for countless millennia?
Without pausing, the mechs strode forward with metallic steps toward a huge, rusty metal passageway connecting the platform to the main body of the fortress.
The passageway was flanked by towering metal walls covered with long-extinguished indicator lights, exposed thick cables, and huge rivets.
The passageway was dimly lit, with only a few emergency lights emitting a pale green or bluish glow, barely illuminating the way ahead.
The air was thicker with the smell of rust and a kind of... almost frozen, deathly silence.
There are no guards, no patrols, only endless metal corridors and deathly silence.
The footsteps of the mech pilots echoed in the empty passageway, sounding particularly jarring.
Linde followed silently behind, his [Deconstruction Halo] operating at full power, scanning everything around him.
He could "see" the energy pipelines deep in the walls that had long since dried up, the outlines of some ingeniously structured but completely broken defensive turrets covered in thick dust, and the piles of rusted and scrapped mechs in the corners.
This fortress, like a long-dead steel behemoth, is nothing but a cold skeleton, emitting a silent lament under the erosion of time and storms.
The passageway was long and oppressive, seemingly without end.
The shock in Linde's heart was gradually replaced by a heavy sense of sorrow.
Is this the end for the Watchers? Guarding a secret powerful enough to shake the very foundations of the world, they ultimately turn into a decaying steel tomb in this boundless, desolate sky?
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the view suddenly opened up ahead.
They arrived at a place that resembled a central hall.
The hall was exceptionally vast, with a soaring dome that reached into the darkness beyond sight.
The walls around the hall are inlaid with countless huge, now dimly lit, circular windows, which must have once offered a panoramic view of the entire fortress and even the outside world.
In the center of the hall is a circular platform with a diameter of over 100 meters.
At the center of the platform stands a massive structure with an extremely complex design, constructed from countless prismatic dark crystals and metal pipes flowing with liquid energy.
It resembles a strange and cold "throne" that has grown from crystal and steel.
Countless energy pipes of varying thicknesses extend from the base of the "throne" like tree roots, deeply penetrating the platform below and connecting to the energy core of the fortress.
At the top of the device, a core crystal the size of a millstone, emitting a deep, dark blue light, floats.
Inside the crystal, it seemed as if a river of stars flowed, or as if countless intricate runes were constantly being created and destroyed.
A vast, ancient energy fluctuation, imbued with an absolute sense of order, emanated faintly from the device, like the heartbeat of a sleeping giant.
Although silent, its mere existence is enough to create a subtle sense of stillness in the space.
"Central hub... control core..."
The mech stopped at the entrance of the hall, its single eye focused on the crystal throne, and its voice seemed to carry a hint of... simulated awe?
"The Watcher...the last...will...and...authority...sleep here..."
It turned to Lind, its single eye's light becoming unusually deep, as if piercing through his flesh and looking directly into certain qualities deep within his soul—the fluctuations belonging to the Oracle, the icy aura originating from the Godslayer Metal, the aura power that dismantles all things.
“Outsider… ‘Key’… Fluctuation… Confirmed…”
The mech pilot's voice became clearer than ever before, even carrying a hint of... urgency?
“Touch...it...awaken...it...or...destroy...it…”
"The truth...the foundation of the world...and...the end..."
"The choice... is yours..."
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