The sound of battle from the ruined control room actually was heard through the vast metallic corridors of Skyreach Tower. The clash of Aerchon's blade against Laston's cybernetic body, the sound of unstable Magic energy, and the distant crackle of failing electronics filled the air.
In a dimly lit chamber on the other side of the tower, two figures stood side by side.
The woman was tall and dressed in sleek reinforced tactical gear leaned casually against a console, her expression relaxed. Her silver visor reflected the flickering holographic displays around her.
However, beside her, a young man was seething. His posture was rigid and his lone remaining hand clenched into a trembling fist. His other hand haven't been finished fabricated yet.
The battle's distant sounds filled his ears like a taunt and a bitter reminder of his past failure. The ones who attacked this tower was the Elves.
His masked face tilted slightly toward the source of the commotion and for a brief moment the cybernetic enhancements in his body pulsed with a faint crimson light.
The last time he had set foot in the Elf Palace, he had arrived with confidence, with the assurance that Laston's creation would prove its superiority.
But that certainty had been shattered the moment that man, or beast, interfered. The moment the Dragonborn had entered the fight and torn his arm from his body like it was nothing.
The masked man's fingers twitched at the memory. It was a painful ghost of sensation where his missing limb should have been.
He had been humiliated and now, standing here in Skyreach Tower, listening to the battle unfold, that rage boiled over. He eanted to challenge that beast again!
The woman beside him sighed, tilting her head slightly.
"Relax, Dredge," she murmured with amusement in her tone. "You're getting all worked up again. Your time will come, jeez."
Dredge let out a low growl. "Shut up, Veyna." His voice was filled with frustration and distorted slightly by the modulator in his mask. "You heard what's happening out there. Those Elves is putting up more of a fight than Laston expected." He turned to face her. "And you're just standing there like none of this concerns you?"
Veyna smirked and folded her arms. "Because it doesn't."
She gestured lazily to the surrounding room, filled with darkened holo-panels and complex machinery. "Our job isn't to protect Lord Laston. He can take care of this problem. We have our own objective."
Dredge exhaled sharply, his rage simmering just beneath the surface.
"You're right. Lord Laston will never be defeated just by those Elves. The Dragonborn however, its different matter."
Veyna tilted her head, her smirk unwavering. "So, how strong is this Dragonborn anyway? Is he really like what depicted in the stories?"
Dredge's masked face turned toward her, his lone hand tightening into a fist.
"He's strong, Veyna. Stronger than you can imagine." His voice was low, filled with restrained fury. "He tore through the bird mechs Laston and I created like they were paper. And he did it in his human form. My device detected a massive power inside him. Something beyond what should be possible in a human body.".
Veyna let out a short chuckle. "And he cut your arm off. Haha."
Dredge's head snapped toward her, his red cybernetic eye glowing intensely. The room's dim light made the metallic lines across his body shine ominously as his anger spiked.
Veyna raised her hands in mock surrender. "Whoa, whoa. Calm down, man. No need to get all worked up. Your new arm will be done in a few hours, and then you can have your revenge."
Dredge exhaled slowly, his rage still simmering beneath the surface. He knew she was just teasing him but that didn't change the deep humiliation and hatred burning inside him.
He would get his revenge. He would make that Dragonborn suffer.
Saeldir and Vael moved swiftly through the corridor. The heavy steel door they had found moments ago had led them out of the sealed chamber and now they navigated through the labyrinthine halls of Skyreach Tower.
Saeldir had already cast another invisibility spell, wrapping them both in a veil of undetectable Magic. It was a high-level enchantment suppressing their sound and heat signatures as well, making them completely undetectable to both cameras and sensors.
Vael remained close behind him, his sharp eyes scanning their surroundings, his hand still gripping his bow and arrow.
As they moved deeper into the tower, Saeldir closed his eyes for a brief moment, activating his Magic Sense. He extended his awareness like an invisible wave, searching for the largest concentration of Magic and energy within the tower.
It was a delicate process. So much of the tower pulsed with technological energy and he had to filter through the interference to pinpoint what they needed.
Then, he found it. A massive, dense cluster of energy beneath them, far larger than anything else in the tower. It was an unmistakable signature. This had to be where Laston stored his greatest weapon or army.
"There." Saeldir whispered, opening his eyes and glancing at Vael. "Below us. Whatever Laston is preparing, it's in a chamber deep inside the tower."
Vael nodded without hesitation.
They hurried through the corridors, bypassing security checkpoints with their invisibility and evading patrolling drones with precision.
Finally, they found a locked passageway leading downward. An elevator shaft reinforced with layers of security barriers.
Saeldir placed a hand on the control panel, his Magic flowing into the system. The mechanisms whirred faintly as he overrode them with a subtle spell, and within moments, the barriers disengaged. The doors slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a descending platform.
The two Elves stepped inside, and the platform carried them downward, deeper into the heart of the tower.
As the doors opened once more, a vast chamber stretched before them, filled with an eerie mechanical hum. Their eyes widened in shock at what they saw.
Rows upon rows of metal constructs lined the chamber, illuminated by flickering crimson lights.
Hundreds of them stood in perfect formation. Humanoid machines with reinforced plating, cybernetic enhancements, and weaponized limbs designed for war.
Their hollow eyes stared forward, lifeless for now but they certain this army could be ready to be activated at any moment.
Vael clenched his fists. "Damn it… There are more of them than we expected."
Saeldir's expression darkened.
The realization settled over them like a heavy weight. If these machines were unleashed on their Palace, they would be facing an entire mechanized war machine built for destruction.
"Let's destroy them," Saeldir said.