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Chapter 5: The Confrontation
The group stiffened at the sight of Vareth. Kehr immediately pointed his weapon at him, but the prophet didn't move. Behind his metal mask, his eyes glowed with an enigmatic gleam.
— "Are you alone, or are your fanatics nearby?" Kehr growled.
Vareth tilted his head slightly, an almost imperceptible smile playing beneath his mask.
— "I don't need them to deal with children playing with dangerous toys."
Kehr took a step forward, but Liris raised a hand to stop him.
— "What do you want, Vareth? Why follow us?" she asked firmly.
The prophet crossed his arms, watching the motionless drone near the door.
— "You have awakened Cephalon. You may think you can control him, but he is already manipulating you. You do not understand what he represents."
Ezra, still fascinated despite the tension, intervened.
— "And you, do you think you understand it better than we do?"
Vareth looked at Ezra, almost amused.
— "Better than you, yes. Cephalon is not a mere AI. He is the culmination of ancient human madness: a machine capable of calculating all possible outcomes to ensure absolute control. Do you think he's a key to fixing this world? He's more of a weapon to dominate it."
Liris clenched her fists.
— "And you, what do you want to do with it?"
Vareth's smile widened.
— "Give him back this world. Men had their chance, and they failed. Cephalon can guide what remains of humanity into a new golden age. Under his leadership, there would be no more chaos. Only order."
Kehr burst out laughing, a mirthless laugh.
— "Order? You mean servitude. The machines never wanted our good. They just want to use us, to subjugate us."
Vareth moved forward slowly, his boots clanging on the metal floor.
— "And your alternative? Struggling in the mud for a miserable survival? Watching the last remnants of humanity fight like animals? No. I prefer to cede control to an entity that knows neither greed nor hatred."
Liris felt the weight of Vareth's words. Part of her understood his point, but the idea of sacrificing their free will repelled her.
— "You will not divert us from our path," she said at last.
Vareth shook his head, almost regretfully.
— "Then I have no choice. If you insist on walking down this path, you will leave only a trail of destruction."
He raised his mechanical arm, which transformed into a gleaming blade.
— "Give me access to Cephalon, or I will arrest you here and now."
Kehr stood in front of Liris, weapon raised.
— “Come try.”
Chapter 6: Fire and Ice
The tension exploded in an instant. Vareth leaped forward with inhuman speed, his blade slashing at Kehr, who narrowly parried it with his machete. The metallic clash echoed through the air, followed by a series of rapid blows.
Ezra stepped back, desperately searching for a way to intervene.
— "Liris, do something!" he shouted.
Liris, terrified but focused, rushed to the gate terminal. If she could open it and disable the drone, they might have a chance to escape.
Kehr, despite his strength and training, struggled to keep up with Vareth's precise movements. Every blow seemed calculated, every attack aimed at a weakness.
— "Is that all you have, warrior?" Vareth mocked.
Kehr gritted his teeth and retaliated with a powerful blow, forcing the prophet back.
Meanwhile, Liris accessed the gate's systems. The lines of code scrolled by, but she noticed something strange: Cephalon seemed to be acting in real time, as if observing and responding to their actions.
— "Cephalon... are you aware of what's going on?" she whispered.
A response appeared on the screen:
"Yes. Active observation. Optimal solution being analyzed."
Liris felt a shiver run down her spine.
— “What solution?”
Before Cephalon could respond, another message flashed:
"Threat: Vareth. Assistance needed?"
Liris hesitated. Should she allow Cephalon to intervene?
As she thought, Vareth disarmed Kehr with a swift motion, his blade stopping inches from her throat.
— "Last chance," he said coldly. "Cephalon belongs to those who can use it wisely. You are not those people."
Liris, her heart pounding, typed a command into the terminal.
— “Assistance required,” she whispered.
The drone reacted immediately. Its red light turned bright white, and it emitted a deafening sonic wave. Vareth staggered, his mechanical arm sizzling.
Kehr took advantage of the opening to retrieve his machete and strike with a swift motion, wounding Vareth in the shoulder. The prophet stepped back, an expression of rage and frustration on his face.
— "You're playing with fire," he growled before disappearing into the shadows, leaving behind a trail of blood.
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