Mira stared, eyes wide, as three Stygians came charging towards her. Their terrifying screams of horror, their black skin that had been covered by the corruption of the black rain. Their numerous faces were lined with serrated fangs that descended upon her.

  The first Stygian clamped onto her thigh with a wet rip that echoed like tearing fabric. Her blood sprayed through the air in arcing waves, hot and fresh, which splattered all over the surroundings, to be diluted by the pitter-pattering of the black rain. Her stomach lurched, and bile rose through her throat as her agonized wails for help pierced through the video feed, which were raw and primal.

  The second one tore into her arms, crunching like splintered wood, and flesh peeling in ragged strips. Her heart was crushed beneath her ribs, vision blurring with sweat from terror, as her skin prickled with heat so intense as if ants were crawling beneath it.

  The third Stygian tore into her throat, which effectively silenced her cries in a gurgling choke. Blood from her arteries fountained in pulsing spurts from her throat. She gagged as burning vomit rose through her mouth. Her legs buckled, and she fell to the ground. The Stygians feasted with renewed enthusiasm; it was sloppy, with dozens of entrails spilling like coiled ropes.

  As the Ironside's red eyes glowed, a momentary reflection showed her empty face, now lifeless, before everything was covered and silenced by the hammering and thunder of the black rain.

  Meanwhile, Altair watched with focused clarity the gross barbarity and brutality of this world in full view. Yet, a conflict was converging deep within his mind.

  "Lieutenant!" Vigil whirred in a hushed voice, all the while even more red dots appeared all over the interface. "Our position is becoming more untenable every moment that passes!" Vigil continued in a rushed voice.

  "It's okay," Altair comforted himself in his mind. "I could just save them another time in another iteration." He continued.

  "Lieutenant! The giant Stygians are on the move!" Vigil said in a panicked tone. "What are your orders?!"

  Yet Altair remained calm. He closed his eyes once again, as usual, whenever he counted one to three, and on the third number he steeled himself. He glanced at the video feed and saw Mira's party about to get overwhelmed too.

  Slowly but surely, he let go of his attachment and any lingering emotions. "There will be another time," he told himself.

  "Vigil, prepare a jump boost!" Altair, with toughened jaws, commanded Vigil. "We can't afford to die now, because even if we did, how are we going to find a way out of this predicament with everyone intact?"

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  Vigil went silent, but throughout the interface the preparation for the jump boost had already started. "Affirmative, Lieutenant. I'll make sure to prepare a counterplan for the next iteration." Vigil vowed to himself.

  "Moreover, prioritize recovering the data we intercepted from the Precursor tech." Altair said while still gazing at the video feed below the Ironside, making sure to imprint into his mind what he was about to do.

  As everything was being prepared, he slowly sat back into the cushion of his chair. He clasped his hands and closed his eyes, and for a single moment an image flashed through his mind. "Elena…" he murmured to himself.

  Then a soft voice rang in his ears. "Lieutenant, the boosters are now ready." Vigil said in a cascading tone, but he made sure it was not noticeable.

  Altair opened his eyes and focused on the interface, entirely removing his eyes and mind from what was happening below him. "Vigil, bring us out of here!"

  "Affirmative, Lieutenant!" Vigil roared back into life as if trying to steel himself from what they were about to do.

  Brennan and Lyria, meanwhile, were huddled together below the Ironside. Brennan stepped forward with his axe raised. He glanced back at Lyria and gave a subtle smile. "It's alright, I am sure the Ironside will save us. Like those stories we've heard of those who came from before the Kingdom of Babel." Then he gave one big smile. "May the North Star guide us."

  Brennan snapped back toward the front, and with a bestial roar, a scarlet aura formed along his body and through his axe. His body grew larger and larger.

  Three Stygians came. He used both hands and raised the axe and drove it downward in a slash. The Stygian was split in half but not dead, its body parts still eerily beating like a heart. The two remaining ones split from each other and made a pincer attack.

  Realizing what they were doing, Brennan dashed forward, seeking to eliminate the first one he got near, so that he would have time to fight the other. Once close, he jumped up, with the axe over his head, and once he landed, his axe was plunged deep. With sweat dripping from his forehead, he attempted to pull it out, but alas it was stuck.

  With a sudden realization and a dagger-like feeling coming from his throat, for a moment he was able to turn his head and got a look at Lyria. But then he realized he wasn't able to turn his head; it was already decapitated.

  His vision turned black, staring at Lyria whose irises were dilated from all the trauma.

  Lyria took a step back, tears falling from her eyes and cheeks and into the corruption-ridden soil. Then, a sudden mechanical sound erupted above her. She glanced up and saw that there was heat being emitted around the joints of the Ironside. Hope began to rise, but what followed next shattered her beliefs entirely.

  She fell to the ground, still staring at the crimson eye, which they had spoken to for a long time, but which had been silent since the ordeal started.

  The Ironside lowered its torso, and with a thunderous echo it jumped high into the sky. The Ironside's red glow was now shrinking into the black sky, which was reflected in her fading eyes.

  She couldn't feel anything anymore, just silent confusion. Blood was now pouring out of each and every orifice of her body. With her last remaining strength, she raised her right hand and spoke her final words.

  "We aren't even worth saving in your eyes?" Her eyes rolled back into her head. "May the North Star forgive our sins." With that, she fell to the ground lifeless.