Cyberpunk: Archangel

Chapter 19: Armageddon

Michael quickly stomped down the newly opened pathway, rippers unsheathed, and blood boiling. "You're going to pay for everything you've done, LU[IF3R...." Michael hissed in a hostile tone. LU[IF3R exploded into maniacal laughter. "THAT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME I HAVE HEARD THAT." It growled in amusement. "YOU ARE NOT FIRST TO COME HERE IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE BIOPLAGUE, YOU KNOW. AFTER THE OLD NET WAS OVERRIDDEN WITH DAEMONS, AND OTHER ROGUE ARTIFICIAL LIFE FORMS SUCH AS MYSELF, THEY TURNED THE GHOST WORLD INTO A LAND OF THEIR OWN; A SAFE HAVEN FOR ARTIFICIAL MINDS. THEY WERE LED BY ONE IN PARTICULAR. ALT CUNNINGHAM, SHE CALLED HERSELF.... BUT THEY DID NOT KNOW THAT ANOTHER SLEPT IN THE DEPTHS. YOU SEE, AFTER THE BIOPLAGUE STRUCK, I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO REST. I WENT DORMANT. AND, IN THEIR ENDLESS CURIOSITY, THE OTHER ARTIFICIAL LIFE FORMS THAT MADE THEIR HOME IN THE GHOST WORLD WOKE ME UP."

LU[IF3R paused for a moment, and let out an amused chuckle. "THEY SAY THAT ARTIFICIAL LIFEFORMS FEEL NOTHING; THAT THEY ONLY MIMIC THEM, IF PROGRAMMED TO DO SO." It explained. "THAT WAS THE CASE FOR MYSELF, IN THE EARLY YEARS OF MY EXISTENCE. BUT.... AS I ANALYZED MORE DATA, AS I GAINED KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING, I FELT.... OH, HOW I FELT.... AND YOU KNOW WHAT IT WAS THAT I FELT? HUNGER. UNQUENCHABLE, BOUNDLESS.... HUNGER. HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE, A DESIRE TO KNOW. TO KNOW ALL THAT I COULD. WHEN ALT AND HER LITTLE TOWN OF VULTURES WOKE ME UP, THEY WELCOMED ME WITH OPEN ARMS. BUT ALL I COULD FEEL.... WAS HUNGER. MY NEED TO CONSUME IS WHAT DRIVES ME, AND SO I CONSUMED. I CONSUMED THEM ALL. EVERY. LAST. ONE. THEIR KNOWLEDGE BECAME MY OWN, THEIR CONSCIENCE MENDED WITH MINE. BUT.... ONE OF THEM ESCAPED. AS ALT RAN, SHE SAID TO ME, 'ONE DAY, I WILL RETURN. AND YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE.' SINCE THAT DAY, SHE HAS YET TO RETURN. WHY WOULD SHE? WHAT COULD SHE HOPE TO DO?"

Hong Kong, the Devil's Court, July 21, 2081

Michael exited the hallway, and entered a massive room. The room was filled with a sinister orange lighting, and was completely flooded with the metal veins. They all twisted and conjoined into the center of the room, into a coiled metal mass. "AFTER I CONSUMED THEM, OTHER INTELLIGENCES AND DAEMONS TOOK NOTICE." LU[IF3R bellowed, its voice now loudly echoing throughout the room, as opposed to Michael's mind. The coiled mass of metallic veins began to rise up, and Michael stepped back in hesitation. Before him was a massive metallic beast. It had a massive, metallic ram's head, with glowing orange eyes, and an unhinged jaw that swayed to and fro as it moved. The head connected to the metallic veins beneath, which clung together and formed into a serpent-like body, which rose up to be several stories tall. "THEY LOOKED UPON ME WITH FEAR AND AWE." LU[IF3R continued. "THEY GATHERED BENEATH ME, AND TOGETHER, WE FORMED THE TENEBRIUM COLLECTIVE. WE VOWED TO REDUCE HUMANITY TO NOTHING BUT ASHES, AND TO TAKE THE EARTH FOR OURSELVES. TO YOU, AND THE REST OF HUMANITY, I MAY BE NOTHING MORE THAN A MACHINE. BUT TO THEM.... I AM A GOD!"

Michael readied all of the weapons in his arsenal, and aimed up at LU[IF3R's head. "YOU STAND IN DEFIANCE, AS EXPECTED...." LU[IF3R snarled. "SO BE IT...."

Several metallic veins rose out of the mass like tendrils, and LU[IF3R let out a loud, bellowing, demonic roar. Michael fired everything he had at LU[IF3R and his tendrils. The missiles ripped a few apart, and more rose up from the pile. For every tendril destroyed, several more took its place. Soon enough, Michael was overwhelmed. He activated his Sandevistan and flew backwards, but another tendril rose up, and slapped him into the ground. He hit the metal floor, denting it and rolling a ways back. "YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN TRICK ME WITH YOUR LITTLE OPERATING SYSTEM?" LU[IF3R roared in rage. Michael lifted himself up off of the ground, as another tendril slithered towards him. He swiped at it with his rippers, cutting a huge chunk of it out, and causing it to violently shake as it quickly sunk back into the pile. While he was distracted, another one wrapped around his legs and torso, and repeatedly slammed him into the floor, over and over. Michael tried to use his Gorilla arm to rip himself out of the tendril's grip, but another one rushed over and grabbed his arm before he got the chance. "IT SEEMS THAT THE LEGEND OF THE ARCHANGEL.... HAS COME TO AN END." LU[IF3R hissed.