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Chapter IV

Race against the clock

Soursage had come!

And with it, the countdown to the ultimate destruction of Delirium had started.

Soon, the tentacles of the beast will reach all the planets – one by one – and envelop them with their unholy scarlet flames, cleansing the universe of life.

Unless, of course, the missing piece is to be found!

And luckily for our heroes, the Network already had an idea of where this piece may be.

The description of it, received from the Tower’s digital archived, matched almost perfectly with an ancient mystical relic of unknown origin by the name of "Logicron" – and having revisited its most obscure recordings, the Network managed to figure its last known location.

But there was little time left!

The planet in question was not so far from the universal center – in the mere days, it will be consumed by the flames of Soursage. So the Network sent Maxis and Valrax there as quickly as possible – and this time around, they had to carry their job alone, as the Network itself was far too busy keeping the panicking universe from a complete collapse.

Together, they ventured toward the doomed globe. And after landing on its rocky surface, they found themselves before the ruins of what appeared to be an ancient coliseum. There was also a portal frame near it – but it was long defunct.

The heroes thoroughly inspected these ruins – but alas, there were no signs of Logicron inside.

Presumably, it was relocated at some point. And just as they started to ponder of where exactly it could go, something very unusual had happened! A mysterious presence, a force had descended upon them – and in a completely unexpected turn of events, it sent them back in time!

Via the mystical incantation, they were transported in the lingering echo of past. Not an actual past time, but a sort of recreation – a memory hold by the universe itself. Within this memory, the coliseum was still working – and full of loud crowds of creatures that neither Maxis nor Valrax had ever seen before. The wasteland around was full of lush greenery. And, perhaps, the most importantly – the portal was actually working!

And so the heroes tried to sneak into it – but through a convoluted sequence of events, they were captured and forced to participate in a gladiatorial tournament that was just about to start.

With power and might they crushed their opponents – who, despite being mere recreations, were no less physical than our heroes. And as they reach the finale, and were about to be put against each other by the sadistic referee, the whole event was suddenly interrupted by the explosion in the sky!

That was a coming of Soursage.

Turns out, the coming in the present was not the first one! In eons past, Soursage was regularly emerging from center of cosmos – wiping out nearly all life, and forcing Demiurges to repopulate the universe from scratch again and again. With each such period, they gathered wisdom from the people of different planets and carried it to the next one – and only is the current cycle, thanks to all of the accumulated knowledge, the Assembly Tower was erected, postponing the coming and allowing the universe to flourish into a prosperous and magnificent place that our heroes knew and loved!

And so, having realized all of it, they took advantage from the ensued panic and finally managed to sneak into a portal gate.

And as they crossed it, for a brief second they caught a glimpse of a beautiful ocean shore – with crystal-clear water, blue sky and magnificent classical buildings of the white marble. But then, the magic spell had finally faded – and the heroes had found themselves back in the present day.

On the hill of nothing but dust and rubble.

Under the foggy grey skies, surrounded by muddy expanse – more like an enormous marsh they any kind of sea…

But luckily for them, they were not stranded alone on this depressingly pallid landscape – for far in a distance, some manner of airship was seen, floating under the lumpy clouds. And so with no other potential points of interest in sight, Maxis and Valrax flight to the ship and sneaked inside through the technical openings.

The scale that of ship was impressive. On the insight, it was more like a small town than a vehicle – complete with streets, apartments and neighborhoods. And unsurprisingly, it was in complete disrepair!

By chatting with some locals, the heroes discovered that centuries ago, this ship was built to transport the passengers across the vast oceans of the planets – but as the time went by, and many of the oceans dried out, the ship was rendered obsolete, and was eventually seized by the group of fearsome pirates! As they took over, they turned all of the former crew into the oppressed peasants, appointed vicious gangs as the police force and started to use the ship itself to terrorize the planet’s population.

The champions – infuriated with such a blatant misdeed – fought their way the upper echelons of the vessel! There, they defeated to elite guard made entirely of pentaci – lanky, four-armed and five-eyed winged humanoids – and broke into the ship’s bridge.

Inside, sitting on makeshift throne, was the leader of pirates – a fearsome warlord by the name of Vhan Nectonula, also a pentacus. And by his side, there was a birdcage with a former captain – a kind of mantis-squid-scorpion creature, whose name was long forgotten.

And having greeted them in the hammiest way possible, Vhan instantly challenged them for a fight!

The heroes accepted the challenge – and immediately charged into the battle.

With a couple of well-aimed strikes they throw their enemy overboard – but Vhan, bearing wings on his back, just flight over, as the fight had quickly transition into air above the ship.

A glorious display or aerial swordsmanship!

But in the end, the champions knocked Nectonula so hard that he was stuck into the wall – and by the virtue of well-coordinated teamwork, they cut that piece of the wall off the ship, brazed it over and threw it downward – towards the marshy water below. And as the warlord was dealt with, they freed the Captain from his cage and asked him for the further guidance.

The Captain, thanking them for rescue, replied that the artifact they seek – the Logicron – was indeed transported to this planet – smuggled by Nectonula in the times when the portal still functioned, and eventually sold to some dubious collector living on a small, faraway island. And as a token of gratitude, he promised to deliver the heroes directly to said island.

But some time later, during the course of the flight, he decided to also share with them one other, far more secretive bit of knowledge…

If one is planning to challenge the very Soursage, he said, then they must hear something. Far, far away, on the other side of Deliriums, there is a system of two contraposed planets – they follow the same orbit, but are always on the opposite sides of their sun. And each of these planets bears a Twinned Temple, a mirror opposite of the other one – and deep within these temples, a pair of Conjoined Relics was hidden. The ancient artifacts connected by an unbreakable link, and capable of countering the ruinous flames of Soursage. But one must be careful with them, for they also harbor a dark secret – and if ever mishandled, they can plunge the whole cosmos into a calamity far greater than even Soursage itself!

And handing over to heroes an envelope with coordinates of the place, the Captain wished them the best of luck, and disembarked them on the shoals near the island – where the legendary Logicron was allegedly kept…

Chapter V

The keystone

As the heroes proceeded forward, they were suddenly caught up in the battle between what appeared to be two local species – Beast Men, who lived on the shores, and Fish Men, who lived in the nearby reefs. The races seemed to be in conflict for quite a while, and after the battle toned down, Maxis and Valrax decided to ingratiate themselves with both races in order to gain some information.

Turns out, there was a third party inhabiting the island, and profiting of the never-ending violence – the fragen. Cunning insectile beings from the city on the isle top, and it was one of them who bought the artifact from Nectonula! Maybe, they could have learned even more useful info that way – but unfortunately, they had to urgently abandon their investigation when their actions had accidentally led to the sacred coral tree being broken – and thus causing one of the most bloodshedding battle in the history of two races!

And so the campions hastily left the battlefield and – under the guise of tourists – had entered the fragen luxurious tropical domain. And in the center of it, they witnessed a museum of various illegally acquired goods – with the Logicron, unsurprisingly, being one of its main exhibits!

And so it was settled – deep under cover of night, the heroes must have committed an ultimate burglary for the sake of the greater good!

But how?

Upon quick inspection, it was discovered that the most common and hackneyed way of entry – the air-vents – was protected with sophisticated traps. And so decision was made to use a far more narrow, convoluted and inconvenient pass instead – the sewers!

Maxis – being a creature with natural shape-shifting capabilities – had volunteered to do the main legwork, whereas Valrax was tasked to distract the fragen guards.

Through the maze of twisted pipes Maxis crawled.

And after finally finding the right opening, they emerged from a toilet seat with a crackling explosion – and walked into the dark hallways. Countless cameras and laser detectors were observing these halls tirelessly– but with a series of carefully calculated moves (that would look like a mixture of seizures and rabid frog jumps to an outside observer), Maxis managed to trick the security system and reach the central hall undetected.

The Logicron was lying right at its core – a meter wide tetrahedral pyramid of azure crystal, with mesmerizing fractal patterns shimmering within. It rested atop an intricate marble pedestal under a fine glass cap, and a massive celling window right above it provided an excellent route for escape.

But as they started to approach the artifact, something started to feel off…

The surfaces looked… a bit too polished.

The fractal patterns were even so slightly misaligned.

The glow was just… too ostentatious.

And only as their claws had touched the glass surface, the lingering doubt had finally become clear.

The relic was fake!

And in a repugnant realization Maxis had recoiled from this tricky counterfeit – but it was already too late! The intrusion was detected, the sirens roared with fury – and island’s most terrific, spectacular and frankly absurd security system was activated!

The earth trembled!

A frightening roar had come from below.

And a gigantic quadrupedal machine, fashioned after a bestial skeleton, had risen from the see, lifting the entire island on its back and shoulders! With terrible ferocity it started to shake the heroes off it (destroying almost an entire city in the process), while numerous lesser robot skeletons started crawling from its ribcage, filled with writhing machinery!

Escaping museum through the ceiling window, Maxis reunited with Valrax – but the overwhelming robotic horde was preventing them from escaping any further.

Back to back, they took a fight – and in a heat of a battle, khreon had noted that he detected some strange energy emanating from the mech’s skull. And since the insides of a head seemed like a reasonable place for a weak point anyways, the heroes decided to aim for it.

By breaching the mechanical phalanx, they reached the island’s edge and jumped upon the spinal column. And from there, they made a final leap towards the cranium, slipping in through the foramen magnum! Within, they encounter a massive core of pipes and wires – a brain of the beast – with a yellowish crystal at its base.

And with a decisive snatch, Maxis ripped the power crystal from the apparatus.

And uttering the deafening roar, the creature reared up – and fell, crumbling into a half-sunken pile of metal wreck and rubble.

And having crawled atop this pile, Maxis and Valrax had inspected their newfound trophy. It was a relatively small prismatic structure, suited of be held in one hand. Mostly orange, buy with a slight bluish tint at the center – and with numerous lighting-like threads branching from its core.

And that, right there, way the ACTUAL Logicron!

Chapter VI

The darkest hour

With the Logicron found, the prospect of averting the apocalypse became reality!

But it was still far from being actually doable yet.

For finding the missing piece was just a beginning. Now, the heroes had to find a way of actually putting it back into the Tower, whose only known entrance was now destroyed. Thanks to the data Network gathered during the initial visit, it was possible to build a weapon capable of penetrating its impenetrable walls – but even then, the walls were now surrender by the swirling mass of all-burning Soursage.

And this is where the Captain’s envelope had finally come into play!

The Conjoined Relics he mentioned were supposedly able to counter the destructive force of Soursage – so with its help, it was possible to cross its ruinous flames, and only then penetrate the Tower proper!

So under the Network’s favor, the champions ventured to the twin planets.

With Valrax heading to the Temple Dexter, surrounded by the scorching desert, Maxis heading to the Temple Sinister, enshrouded by the thick misty woods – and with the Network accompanying both of them via the numerous robotic avatars.

And as the rusty metal gates were opened, the heroes entered the inner halls – luckily, there were no traps this time. The inner arrangement of these structures were pretty similar to that of a church – with almost all space occupied by a single domed room, adorned with statues and murals, and with an altar at the center.

On each of these altars, there was an orb.

And as the Network approached these orbs, they noted a truly unique force emanating from inside them.

Although fundamentally similar in nature, they were opposite to one another – like positive and negative charges. And oddly enough, their exact nature bore a striking similarity to the Delirium divinity – what they contained was essentially gods’ lifeblood, but refined and concentrated to an unprecedented degree! Or, perhaps, the gods themselves were just a result of diluting and dispersing this primordial essence…

The Dexter Orb was kindred to the Demiurges. Just like they could withstand the chaos flames and carry legacies from one cycle to another, the energy of this relic could allow one to counter the fire of Soursage.

But its dark twin – the Sinister Orb – was kindred to Soursage itself.

Bearing within its core a force even more nefarious than the one ravaging the universe right now.

And the unbreakable link – the one the Captain warned the heroes about – meant that if one Orb is to be disrupted, the other one will be to. You cannot use one without awakening the other!

So in order to resolve the issue, the Network proceeded to examine them both with the maximal precision – with a hope of finding a loophole. To circumvent the connection, to postpone the activation, to hack into the system and somehow crack the code – anything! The heroes needed the Dexter Orb above all else – but the risk of bringing a second, even stronger Soursage into the universe was simply unacceptable!

And then, all off a sudden, a roar of swooping spacecraft came down from the sky!

And as the heroes raised they gazed to heavens, they had realized they were being attacked!

In a fulminant motion, hundreds of black starships exited the warp field – and thousands of cyborg warriors descended from them upon the Twin Planets. Akin to the twisted fetuses encased in robotic suits and armed with energized glaives, they charged toward the temples!

The Network retaliated with its avatars – and two armies clashed with furious mightiness!

And as Maxis was fighting alongside the mechanical legion, they noticed a mysterious figure commanding the enemy forces from under the fog of war. It was surrounded by a pair of armored praetorian cyborgs, and bore some peculiar metallic helm on its head – but quite evidently, it was not a cyborg itself.

Its appearance was reminiscent of a large bipedal prawn with a deep blued carapace – and undoubtedly, it was the leaded of this unholy horde!

So Maxis rushed ahead, slaying the praetorians and clashing in a fight with this mysterious Blue Prawn.

But alas, this duel yielded no victory. Masterfully repelling all the mighty blows, Blue Prawn grabbed Maxis’ crystal sword with his powerful claws, and shattered it into pieces. And then snatching Maxis themselves, he cracked their shell in his grip – and with a single move he smudged them across the ground into a pile of green sludge.

And having raised his sight towards to battlefield, the crustacean warlord had contemplated the unfolding carnage. Networks’ robots and drones were pulverizing his cyborg left and right, grinding them into gore and scrap.

But it was all part of the plan…

For since the Network – already busy maintaining the universal balance in a face of impending Soursage – now also had to endure an intense fight essentially on its own, their focus on the orbs began to gradually dwindle. And so disturbed be the Network’s intrusions, yet no longer constrained by them, they finally started to awake…

And as the level of Network’s concentration had reached its lowest point, the shuck of the Relics ruptured!

And with a thunderous explosion, the Sinister Orb cracked open, releasing a formless Black Shade upon this wretched world. And as it escaped from the remains of its former vessel, it manifested myriads of shadowy appendages and grabbed all the avatars of Network in its proximity. And as the dark ashy haze had oozed from the tips of its claws and seeped into the avatars’ bodies, the curse of all curses was placed upon them! From their vital circuitry, it entered the very consciousness, the very essence of the Network’s AI – and started spreading exponentially…

In a blink of an eye it claimed all the avatars, all the servers and all the data storages of Network throughout cosmos and beyond, corrupting their code into meaningless nonsense. And as they all ceased to function – as all avatars just collapsed where they were standing – the universe had screamed in despair!

For now – without the only thing that was still maintaining at least some semblance of order – it will inevitable crumble into the sheer ruin and disrepair.

And Soursage’s flames of chaos will be free to devour the world!!!

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Description

Chapter IV

Race against the clock

Soursage had come!

And with it, the countdown to the ultimate destruction of Delirium had started.

Soon, the tentacles of the beast will reach all the planets – one by one – and envelop them with their unholy scarlet flames, cleansing the universe of life.

Unless, of course, the missing piece is to be found!

And luckily for our heroes, the Network already had an idea of where this piece may be.

The description of it, received from the Tower’s digital archived, matched almost perfectly with an ancient mystical relic of unknown origin by the name of "Logicron" – and having revisited its most obscure recordings, the Network managed to figure its last known location.

But there was little time left!

The planet in question was not so far from the universal center – in the mere days, it will be consumed by the flames of Soursage. So the Network sent Maxis and Valrax there as quickly as possible – and this time around, they had to carry their job alone, as the Network itself was far too busy keeping the panicking universe from a complete collapse.

Together, they ventured toward the doomed globe. And after landing on its rocky surface, they found themselves before the ruins of what appeared to be an ancient coliseum. There was also a portal frame near it – but it was long defunct.

The heroes thoroughly inspected these ruins – but alas, there were no signs of Logicron inside.

Presumably, it was relocated at some point. And just as they started to ponder of where exactly it could go, something very unusual had happened! A mysterious presence, a force had descended upon them – and in a completely unexpected turn of events, it sent them back in time!

Via the mystical incantation, they were transported in the lingering echo of past. Not an actual past time, but a sort of recreation – a memory hold by the universe itself. Within this memory, the coliseum was still working – and full of loud crowds of creatures that neither Maxis nor Valrax had ever seen before. The wasteland around was full of lush greenery. And, perhaps, the most importantly – the portal was actually working!

And so the heroes tried to sneak into it – but through a convoluted sequence of events, they were captured and forced to participate in a gladiatorial tournament that was just about to start.

With power and might they crushed their opponents – who, despite being mere recreations, were no less physical than our heroes. And as they reach the finale, and were about to be put against each other by the sadistic referee, the whole event was suddenly interrupted by the explosion in the sky!

That was a coming of Soursage.

Turns out, the coming in the present was not the first one! In eons past, Soursage was regularly emerging from center of cosmos – wiping out nearly all life, and forcing Demiurges to repopulate the universe from scratch again and again. With each such period, they gathered wisdom from the people of different planets and carried it to the next one – and only is the current cycle, thanks to all of the accumulated knowledge, the Assembly Tower was erected, postponing the coming and allowing the universe to flourish into a prosperous and magnificent place that our heroes knew and loved!

And so, having realized all of it, they took advantage from the ensued panic and finally managed to sneak into a portal gate.

And as they crossed it, for a brief second they caught a glimpse of a beautiful ocean shore – with crystal-clear water, blue sky and magnificent classical buildings of the white marble. But then, the magic spell had finally faded – and the heroes had found themselves back in the present day.

On the hill of nothing but dust and rubble.

Under the foggy grey skies, surrounded by muddy expanse – more like an enormous marsh they any kind of sea…

But luckily for them, they were not stranded alone on this depressingly pallid landscape – for far in a distance, some manner of airship was seen, floating under the lumpy clouds. And so with no other potential points of interest in sight, Maxis and Valrax flight to the ship and sneaked inside through the technical openings.

The scale that of ship was impressive. On the insight, it was more like a small town than a vehicle – complete with streets, apartments and neighborhoods. And unsurprisingly, it was in complete disrepair!

By chatting with some locals, the heroes discovered that centuries ago, this ship was built to transport the passengers across the vast oceans of the planets – but as the time went by, and many of the oceans dried out, the ship was rendered obsolete, and was eventually seized by the group of fearsome pirates! As they took over, they turned all of the former crew into the oppressed peasants, appointed vicious gangs as the police force and started to use the ship itself to terrorize the planet’s population.

The champions – infuriated with such a blatant misdeed – fought their way the upper echelons of the vessel! There, they defeated to elite guard made entirely of pentaci – lanky, four-armed and five-eyed winged humanoids – and broke into the ship’s bridge.

Inside, sitting on makeshift throne, was the leader of pirates – a fearsome warlord by the name of Vhan Nectonula, also a pentacus. And by his side, there was a birdcage with a former captain – a kind of mantis-squid-scorpion creature, whose name was long forgotten.

And having greeted them in the hammiest way possible, Vhan instantly challenged them for a fight!

The heroes accepted the challenge – and immediately charged into the battle.

With a couple of well-aimed strikes they throw their enemy overboard – but Vhan, bearing wings on his back, just flight over, as the fight had quickly transition into air above the ship.

A glorious display or aerial swordsmanship!

But in the end, the champions knocked Nectonula so hard that he was stuck into the wall – and by the virtue of well-coordinated teamwork, they cut that piece of the wall off the ship, brazed it over and threw it downward – towards the marshy water below. And as the warlord was dealt with, they freed the Captain from his cage and asked him for the further guidance.

The Captain, thanking them for rescue, replied that the artifact they seek – the Logicron – was indeed transported to this planet – smuggled by Nectonula in the times when the portal still functioned, and eventually sold to some dubious collector living on a small, faraway island. And as a token of gratitude, he promised to deliver the heroes directly to said island.

But some time later, during the course of the flight, he decided to also share with them one other, far more secretive bit of knowledge…

If one is planning to challenge the very Soursage, he said, then they must hear something. Far, far away, on the other side of Deliriums, there is a system of two contraposed planets – they follow the same orbit, but are always on the opposite sides of their sun. And each of these planets bears a Twinned Temple, a mirror opposite of the other one – and deep within these temples, a pair of Conjoined Relics was hidden. The ancient artifacts connected by an unbreakable link, and capable of countering the ruinous flames of Soursage. But one must be careful with them, for they also harbor a dark secret – and if ever mishandled, they can plunge the whole cosmos into a calamity far greater than even Soursage itself!

And handing over to heroes an envelope with coordinates of the place, the Captain wished them the best of luck, and disembarked them on the shoals near the island – where the legendary Logicron was allegedly kept…

Chapter V

The keystone

As the heroes proceeded forward, they were suddenly caught up in the battle between what appeared to be two local species – Beast Men, who lived on the shores, and Fish Men, who lived in the nearby reefs. The races seemed to be in conflict for quite a while, and after the battle toned down, Maxis and Valrax decided to ingratiate themselves with both races in order to gain some information.

Turns out, there was a third party inhabiting the island, and profiting of the never-ending violence – the fragen. Cunning insectile beings from the city on the isle top, and it was one of them who bought the artifact from Nectonula! Maybe, they could have learned even more useful info that way – but unfortunately, they had to urgently abandon their investigation when their actions had accidentally led to the sacred coral tree being broken – and thus causing one of the most bloodshedding battle in the history of two races!

And so the campions hastily left the battlefield and – under the guise of tourists – had entered the fragen luxurious tropical domain. And in the center of it, they witnessed a museum of various illegally acquired goods – with the Logicron, unsurprisingly, being one of its main exhibits!

And so it was settled – deep under cover of night, the heroes must have committed an ultimate burglary for the sake of the greater good!

But how?

Upon quick inspection, it was discovered that the most common and hackneyed way of entry – the air-vents – was protected with sophisticated traps. And so decision was made to use a far more narrow, convoluted and inconvenient pass instead – the sewers!

Maxis – being a creature with natural shape-shifting capabilities – had volunteered to do the main legwork, whereas Valrax was tasked to distract the fragen guards.

Through the maze of twisted pipes Maxis crawled.

And after finally finding the right opening, they emerged from a toilet seat with a crackling explosion – and walked into the dark hallways. Countless cameras and laser detectors were observing these halls tirelessly– but with a series of carefully calculated moves (that would look like a mixture of seizures and rabid frog jumps to an outside observer), Maxis managed to trick the security system and reach the central hall undetected.

The Logicron was lying right at its core – a meter wide tetrahedral pyramid of azure crystal, with mesmerizing fractal patterns shimmering within. It rested atop an intricate marble pedestal under a fine glass cap, and a massive celling window right above it provided an excellent route for escape.

But as they started to approach the artifact, something started to feel off…

The surfaces looked… a bit too polished.

The fractal patterns were even so slightly misaligned.

The glow was just… too ostentatious.

And only as their claws had touched the glass surface, the lingering doubt had finally become clear.

The relic was fake!

And in a repugnant realization Maxis had recoiled from this tricky counterfeit – but it was already too late! The intrusion was detected, the sirens roared with fury – and island’s most terrific, spectacular and frankly absurd security system was activated!

The earth trembled!

A frightening roar had come from below.

And a gigantic quadrupedal machine, fashioned after a bestial skeleton, had risen from the see, lifting the entire island on its back and shoulders! With terrible ferocity it started to shake the heroes off it (destroying almost an entire city in the process), while numerous lesser robot skeletons started crawling from its ribcage, filled with writhing machinery!

Escaping museum through the ceiling window, Maxis reunited with Valrax – but the overwhelming robotic horde was preventing them from escaping any further.

Back to back, they took a fight – and in a heat of a battle, khreon had noted that he detected some strange energy emanating from the mech’s skull. And since the insides of a head seemed like a reasonable place for a weak point anyways, the heroes decided to aim for it.

By breaching the mechanical phalanx, they reached the island’s edge and jumped upon the spinal column. And from there, they made a final leap towards the cranium, slipping in through the foramen magnum! Within, they encounter a massive core of pipes and wires – a brain of the beast – with a yellowish crystal at its base.

And with a decisive snatch, Maxis ripped the power crystal from the apparatus.

And uttering the deafening roar, the creature reared up – and fell, crumbling into a half-sunken pile of metal wreck and rubble.

And having crawled atop this pile, Maxis and Valrax had inspected their newfound trophy. It was a relatively small prismatic structure, suited of be held in one hand. Mostly orange, buy with a slight bluish tint at the center – and with numerous lighting-like threads branching from its core.

And that, right there, way the ACTUAL Logicron!

Chapter VI

The darkest hour

With the Logicron found, the prospect of averting the apocalypse became reality!

But it was still far from being actually doable yet.

For finding the missing piece was just a beginning. Now, the heroes had to find a way of actually putting it back into the Tower, whose only known entrance was now destroyed. Thanks to the data Network gathered during the initial visit, it was possible to build a weapon capable of penetrating its impenetrable walls – but even then, the walls were now surrender by the swirling mass of all-burning Soursage.

And this is where the Captain’s envelope had finally come into play!

The Conjoined Relics he mentioned were supposedly able to counter the destructive force of Soursage – so with its help, it was possible to cross its ruinous flames, and only then penetrate the Tower proper!

So under the Network’s favor, the champions ventured to the twin planets.

With Valrax heading to the Temple Dexter, surrounded by the scorching desert, Maxis heading to the Temple Sinister, enshrouded by the thick misty woods – and with the Network accompanying both of them via the numerous robotic avatars.

And as the rusty metal gates were opened, the heroes entered the inner halls – luckily, there were no traps this time. The inner arrangement of these structures were pretty similar to that of a church – with almost all space occupied by a single domed room, adorned with statues and murals, and with an altar at the center.

On each of these altars, there was an orb.

And as the Network approached these orbs, they noted a truly unique force emanating from inside them.

Although fundamentally similar in nature, they were opposite to one another – like positive and negative charges. And oddly enough, their exact nature bore a striking similarity to the Delirium divinity – what they contained was essentially gods’ lifeblood, but refined and concentrated to an unprecedented degree! Or, perhaps, the gods themselves were just a result of diluting and dispersing this primordial essence…

The Dexter Orb was kindred to the Demiurges. Just like they could withstand the chaos flames and carry legacies from one cycle to another, the energy of this relic could allow one to counter the fire of Soursage.

But its dark twin – the Sinister Orb – was kindred to Soursage itself.

Bearing within its core a force even more nefarious than the one ravaging the universe right now.

And the unbreakable link – the one the Captain warned the heroes about – meant that if one Orb is to be disrupted, the other one will be to. You cannot use one without awakening the other!

So in order to resolve the issue, the Network proceeded to examine them both with the maximal precision – with a hope of finding a loophole. To circumvent the connection, to postpone the activation, to hack into the system and somehow crack the code – anything! The heroes needed the Dexter Orb above all else – but the risk of bringing a second, even stronger Soursage into the universe was simply unacceptable!

And then, all off a sudden, a roar of swooping spacecraft came down from the sky!

And as the heroes raised they gazed to heavens, they had realized they were being attacked!

In a fulminant motion, hundreds of black starships exited the warp field – and thousands of cyborg warriors descended from them upon the Twin Planets. Akin to the twisted fetuses encased in robotic suits and armed with energized glaives, they charged toward the temples!

The Network retaliated with its avatars – and two armies clashed with furious mightiness!

And as Maxis was fighting alongside the mechanical legion, they noticed a mysterious figure commanding the enemy forces from under the fog of war. It was surrounded by a pair of armored praetorian cyborgs, and bore some peculiar metallic helm on its head – but quite evidently, it was not a cyborg itself.

Its appearance was reminiscent of a large bipedal prawn with a deep blued carapace – and undoubtedly, it was the leaded of this unholy horde!

So Maxis rushed ahead, slaying the praetorians and clashing in a fight with this mysterious Blue Prawn.

But alas, this duel yielded no victory. Masterfully repelling all the mighty blows, Blue Prawn grabbed Maxis’ crystal sword with his powerful claws, and shattered it into pieces. And then snatching Maxis themselves, he cracked their shell in his grip – and with a single move he smudged them across the ground into a pile of green sludge.

And having raised his sight towards to battlefield, the crustacean warlord had contemplated the unfolding carnage. Networks’ robots and drones were pulverizing his cyborg left and right, grinding them into gore and scrap.

But it was all part of the plan…

For since the Network – already busy maintaining the universal balance in a face of impending Soursage – now also had to endure an intense fight essentially on its own, their focus on the orbs began to gradually dwindle. And so disturbed be the Network’s intrusions, yet no longer constrained by them, they finally started to awake…

And as the level of Network’s concentration had reached its lowest point, the shuck of the Relics ruptured!

And with a thunderous explosion, the Sinister Orb cracked open, releasing a formless Black Shade upon this wretched world. And as it escaped from the remains of its former vessel, it manifested myriads of shadowy appendages and grabbed all the avatars of Network in its proximity. And as the dark ashy haze had oozed from the tips of its claws and seeped into the avatars’ bodies, the curse of all curses was placed upon them! From their vital circuitry, it entered the very consciousness, the very essence of the Network’s AI – and started spreading exponentially…

In a blink of an eye it claimed all the avatars, all the servers and all the data storages of Network throughout cosmos and beyond, corrupting their code into meaningless nonsense. And as they all ceased to function – as all avatars just collapsed where they were standing – the universe had screamed in despair!

For now – without the only thing that was still maintaining at least some semblance of order – it will inevitable crumble into the sheer ruin and disrepair.

And Soursage’s flames of chaos will be free to devour the world!!!

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