The room was too vast and luxurious to be lived in alone.
Frey, pacing anxiously in the center of the room, frowned as he stared down at the phone in his hand.
‘There’s nothing I can do by myself.’
It had been two weeks since Zion alone had defeated the Cocatrice.
Since then, Frey had been trying to fully understand the Pendant’s functions and remove unnecessary restrictions to prevent a similar accident from happening again.
But there had been no progress.
Frey wasn’t a professional engineer, and, more importantly, the Pendant’s core was located in a distant alien Dimension.
No matter how hard he tried alone, he couldn’t solve it.
For three weeks, Frey had forced himself to ignore this reality, but eventually, his desire not to let Zion fall into danger again overcame his urge to escape.
[It’s been years since I last did this. They’ll pick up, right?]
With a desperate expression, as if swallowing poison, Frey made the call.
Contrary to his worry, the signal rang three or four times before connecting immediately.
[Huh? Uhh~? Well, well, who is this? Apocalypse! I thought you’d died somewhere, no news for so long.]
A high-pitched, cheerful voice came through the speaker.
The tone was casual, as if teasing an old friend lightly.
Frey swallowed a sigh that rose to his chin and stammered as he spoke.
[Are you busy right now?]
[Ha ha ha. Busy? Of course! I’m swamped, no time to breathe! Unlike someone who just ditched his responsibilities and vanished, I have a lot on my shoulders.]
Though it was a sharp rebuke, the voice carried undeniable joy.
Frey hesitated, unsure how to respond, when the voice spoke again.
[Are you doing better now? If you’re the one reaching out… can I assume things are getting better?]
[Maybe.]
[Heh. The fact you can answer like that means you’re definitely better. Have you contacted the others? Am I the first? If so, I’m kinda happy…]
[Sorry. I know what you mean, but this is urgent. It’s something only you can handle.]
[Just say it. Anytime.]
Taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts, Frey spoke calmly.
[The Pendant has reactivated.]
After a moment, loud crashing and tumbling sounds echoed from the speaker.
***
[Zion, stop for a moment.]
Zion, striding confidently along the road cutting through the recording-covered plains, halted and asked internally.
‘What is it?’
[I have someone to introduce.]
Thrown out without context, Zion couldn’t understand the words at first.
After tilting his head several times in confusion, a blank expression spread across his face.
‘Uh… my uncle? Suddenly, someone?’
[Remember the stories I told you about Earth before? Besides Naia and me, there were three more Awakened who helped with the final operation.]
‘The God of Engineering, the Colossus, and the Saint, right?’
Deus Machina, Atlas, Saint.
With no English or Latin terms, and unrelated to Earth mythology, these three words automatically translated into terms Zion could understand.
Of course, Frey, who was listening, received a real-time translation into proper Earth-side terminology.
Frey nodded approvingly at Zion’s accurate recollection.
[Yes. It’s sudden, but we’ll have to meet them eventually anyway…]
[Um, can I come in now? Can I? I’m coming in.]
[What? Hey, man, if you’re going to ask, at least listen to the answer first. No, wait a moment!]
[But I already opened the door and halfway came in. Should I go back out? That might be even more awkward?]
[…Damn, I’m already getting a headache.]
Frey shook his head, unconsciously rubbing his forehead.
The person who had barged into the luxurious room without permission was completely unlike what Zion had imagined about them.
For one, their gender was the opposite.
Because of Frey’s blunt attitude and the crude jokes he freely made whenever they came up in conversation, Zion had assumed a man, but instead, it was a tall woman dressed in a white outer robe resembling a burial shroud.
And yet, despite the absence of makeup, disheveled hair, and glasses carelessly perched on the bridge of her nose, she exuded a unique charm—a stunning beauty.
Frey also looked remarkably young for his age, but she could easily be mistaken for someone in her twenties.
Zion wondered silently if Awakened did not age.
[I was an idiot to believe you’d act as planned. Sorry, Zion. I wasn’t going to introduce you like this. This idiot is just…]
[Zion! My son! When did you grow up so handsome?!]
‘What? Uh… what?’
Zion froze, unable to understand the meaning at first.
“No?!” Alone in the middle of the road with no one around, he jumped up and shouted.
“Wh-what son? Me? You’re saying I’m your son?”
[Yeah, that’s right! I’m your mom! Oh my, that blockhead didn’t tell you anything?]
“Huh? But my mother is Naia Alkoth…”
[Naia’s actually your foster mother.]
“Whaaat?!”
[I’m your real mom. Due to unavoidable circumstances, I entrusted your upbringing to Naia.]
“L-language, uh uh uh uh…”
As shocking truths were revealed one by one, Zion momentarily forgot how to speak.
The woman, who had been keeping a gentle expression, couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
[Hey, you idiot!] At that moment, Frey struck the back of her head hard.
[You gotta know what jokes are okay and what aren’t! he’s pure compared to us, so he believes everything you say!]
[Ouch! Zion, your uncle’s bullying me~.]
“Wait, if you’re my mom, then uncle has no relation to me… no, that means I shouldn’t call him uncle, and uh…”
[Hahaha! Cute! How can every reaction be so adorable? Anyone can tell you’re Naia’s son.]
Wiping tears from her eyes, the woman continued laughing.
[That was a joke just now. We can’t do a DNA test, so I can’t be sure, but the circumstances say your mom is definitely Naia. No one but Naia or her descendants could handle the Pendant.]
“A joke…”
Zion repeated the word dumbfounded.
Only then did he realize the entire conversation was a ruse.
Yes, he had been completely fooled.
‘…Uncle.’
Zion gave Frey a sulky look.
Frey waved his hands as if innocent, but it was a belated self-defense.
Zion’s trust in Frey dipped a little.
***
[Believe it or not, this idiot is Deus Machina. When it comes to living without a care, she’s as reckless as Naia. Usually, to distinguish her from Naia, we call her ‘Idiot Number Two.’]
[Hey, isn’t that too harsh to say to a lady? Don’t you think so, Zion?]
Zion couldn’t honestly agree and only gave an awkward smile.
Deus Machina, who had been staring at him, suddenly smiled softly—a completely different atmosphere from her cheerful laugh earlier.
Calm and embracing.
[A son, huh… I never imagined Naia would leave such a wonderful gift.]
She murmured dreamily, then smiled brightly and introduced herself.
[As you said, I’m Deus Machina. Earth’s greatest dimensional physicist, artifact engineer, and, by the way, I also have a medical license. I’m the mother of the Pendant you’re holding… Uh, can I say my real name here? Will it break security?]
[Hmph. Your instincts are rusty after so long. This room, this entire building, is my territory. No one can enter or do anything without my permission. I am Apocalypse.]
[You’re still deep in your chuunibyou phase. Yeah, it’s important to never lose your childlike heart.]
[It’s not chuunibyou. It’s the dignity one must have at the peak.]
Shaking her head as if she couldn’t help herself, Deus Machina looked at Zion again.
[Apoca… if Frey’s okay with it, then I guess it’s fine. Even if he’s a bit lacking, I trust his skills. My real name is Arcsiana. Call me Aunt Arcs… no, that sounds weird. Call me Sister Arcs.]
[Hey, half a century old. Six years older than me. Don’t you have any shame?]
[A woman’s heart shines bright, so she’s always a girl. And I’m not half a century old, I’m forty-nine! A sprightly forty-nine!]
[At forty-nine, you’re just rotten and shriveled!]
A flash-like body blow struck Frey’s side.
He let out a strange shriek and collapsed onto the bed.
Zion was a little surprised by the way they bickered like close friends.
It was a side of Frey he had never seen before.
Without realizing it, he burst out laughing.
‘They really get along well.’
[Doctor, it looks like Zion’s having vision problems. Give us your professional opinion.]
[Our Zion has an eye for this!]
[You’re crazy… but why do you keep saying ‘our Zion’? You two aren’t related.]
[Jealous, huh? How cute.]
[Haha.]
Frey denied it, but Zion thought they really did seem very close.
[You’ll talk nonsense all day until sunset. Hey, engineer, if you came to work, get to work. Stop playing around.]
[That’s true. There’s plenty of time ahead anyway.]
Arcs, who had been relaxed and smiling, pressed her brows tightly, closed her eyes briefly, then opened them.
In that instant, the atmosphere around her shifted.
The face of a scholar armed with sharp intellect, endless curiosity, and ceaseless self-doubt appeared.
Zion couldn’t help but swallow.
[Starting the process.]
As Arcs spoke mechanically, the metal backpack she had been wearing emitted complex mechanical sounds and unfolded.
Components inside appeared, joined, and connected, rapidly forming an entirely different shape.
Once the transformation was complete, it resembled the legs of a spider made of metal.
Each of Arcs’s subtle movements caused the mechanical legs to trace complicated trajectories.
Zion had no idea how the phenomenon worked.
[You only brought one of those?]
Frey, arms crossed and looking indifferent, spoke casually.
She didn’t even look back as she replied.
[It’s enough.]
[Is that so? If you say so, it must be.]
Arcs pulled a device identical to Frey’s communicator from her white coat’s inner pocket.
One of the legs took it, and work began immediately.
Dozens of legs touched the communicator repeatedly, sparking pale flashes at times, displaying holograms filled with complex formulas that appeared and vanished.
Arcs’s eyes captured and processed everything without missing a beat.
[This is going to take a while.]
[Since the Pendant’s core is in an alien Dimension, we’re using the communicator as a relay to break down the security layers and attempt remote access. If the actual device was here, it would have finished in under 30 seconds.]
[Then it can’t be helped. Zion, you should go on your way. This isn’t something you can understand just by watching. Even if you watch, you wouldn’t grasp the principles.]
Only then did Zion snap out of his daze and resume walking.
But his mind was fully focused on the scene playing out in his head.
As Frey said, he didn’t understand Arcs’s work at all.
So at the very least, he had to memorize every detail of the process and catch every word she uttered.
When he grew and someday reached even their level, what he saw and heard now would surely help.
[Oh.]
After some time, Arcs blinked and let out a faint sigh.
The scholar’s expression vanished, replaced again by her earlier dubious demeanor.
Frey, holding his breath while waiting for the work to finish, furrowed his brow.
[What are you doing stopping work?]
[Well… uh~? Sorry, something must have gone wrong.]
[What?]
At that moment, the Pendant hanging around Zion’s neck trembled violently.
A translucent message box appeared before the three.
[*Warning*]
[*Unauthorized access attempt detected on the core management area*]
[*Cease all access attempts immediately*]
[*Continued attempts will trigger the device’s self-destruct sequence*]
The three froze simultaneously as if on cue.
[Hey, you incompetent junk.] Frey was the first to speak.
Arcs, frozen and shocked, whipped around.
[Junk?! That’s too harsh!]
[You made the Pendant. If you can’t even handle your own creation and nearly triggered the self-destruct, then yeah, you’re junk.]
[No! It’s not my fault! The Pendant’s acting weird!]
Unlike her usual playful demeanor, Arcs began whining like a child throwing a tantrum.
Apparently, disparaging her knowledge or skill was taboo… or so Zion thought in disbelief.
[Stop whining and tell me the cause. You don’t know? If you don’t, give Deus Machina back.]
[Someone completely modified the Pendant. From the terminals to the core, everything.]
Arcs answered smoothly and decisively.
Zion admired her sharp insight, while Frey merely nodded with indifference.
[I thought so.]
[If you know, you should say something!]
[I figured it wouldn’t make a difference even if I did.]
Unable to answer further, she pouted at Frey but soon sighed deeply and waved her hand grandly.
The complex mechanical legs instantly folded back into the shape of the backpack.
Staring sulkily at the communicator in her hand, she said: [Naia did it.]
[That figures. The others barely understood half of your technology.]
Frey shrugged carefreely.
Arcs shot him a resentful glare.
At that moment, a message box appeared for both of them, excluding Zion.
[*Safety Supporter ‘Deus Machina’ will overlook this once*]
[*If any such unauthorized actions are attempted again, this device will blacklist Deus Machina and block all direct and indirect access*]
[*Please act wisely going forward*]
[Huh…?]
Momentarily speechless, she looked at Frey. Frey was equally baffled.
The message box itself was a function that hadn’t existed in the Pendant before.
In fact, it wasn’t surprising that a new feature had appeared.
The Pendant was the result of astronomical luck and unlimited resources given to the world’s greatest artifact engineer, Arcs.
Even she didn’t fully understand all of its capabilities and openly declared she couldn’t reproduce the same process under identical conditions.
It was truly over-technology.
So it wasn’t too strange for a new function to appear after a few years apart.
Not strange, but…
[Why is it acting so arrogant? Like it has a will of its own.]
That was the problem.
A fully autonomous AI—an ego artifact—was a dream no Earth technology, even after the monster disaster, had reached.
Yet it was realized inside a Pendant no bigger than a palm.
Frey just slapped his forehead instead of answering.
Arcs frowned at his irresponsible gesture.
Zion, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, suddenly stopped walking.
[Hm.]
Frey, scanning the surroundings in parallel thinking, narrowed his eyes.
[It’s noisy. Did a fight break out?]
“Sounds of metal clashing…” Zion muttered with concern.
Monsters don’t use metal weapons.
If Zion’s knowledge was correct, the sounds were definitely from humans fighting.