In a workshop no different from any other day, the partially processed armor components lay silently. A large plasma cutter followed its programmed trajectory, methodically slicing through adamantium.
But everything was, in fact, different.
The figure that often moved among the machines was now standing still in the center of Hades’ workspace. The electronic screen that usually displayed a variety of expressions was now dark and lifeless.
The frayed edges of Jin’s golden robes floated aimlessly, some threads falling to the ground.
Hades shifted his gaze to him—there was no sign of struggle or resistance.
Jin-306 had locked most of his joint engines, opened his base-level code, disabled his firewalls, and stood quietly, awaiting judgment from Hades.
The weak are like this.
When faced with an insurmountable power gap, surrender and submission become a pragmatic choice for self-preservation.
Hades blinked and scanned Jin again, ensuring he wasn’t carrying anything like self-destructing melta charges.
Then he looked at Jin.
The servant of the Machine God stood there like a frozen machine, lifeless. Yet, through the imaging in his helmet, Hades could see the currents coursing energetically through Jin’s cables—a clear testament to this being’s vitality.
Hades sighed.
“What’s your plan, Jin-306?”
Hades had used Jin’s connections to backtrack and expose Magos Lanzer, turning the tables. He didn’t feel betrayed—in fact, he had suspected Jin’s duplicity from the start.
Compared to Jin's apparent indifference, every time he contacted the Magos, he was very cautious and careful, and at the same time there was a mixed feeling of urgency and fear.
When the Magos casually offered Jin’s execution as an apology and immediately handed over Jin’s control codes to Hades, it became clear: Jin was just a coerced laborer.
In their time together, Jin had worked well with Hades. Though their camaraderie was feigned, Hades didn’t feel inclined to execute this servant of the Machine God.
He still needed an assistant.
As long as he held Jin’s administrative codes, there was no cause for concern.
The Magos implanted highly restrictive and dominant codes into their subordinates’ mechanical systems. These codes ensured loyalty, preventing betrayal by their apprentices.
Why make life harder for a fellow laborer?
Jin’s electronic screen remained a dull black, but his speakers activated. A cold, piercing mechanical voice echoed.
“Jin-306 awaits your decision, my lord.”
He had known this would be his fate all along.
An individual cannot determine their destiny—it is decided from the very beginning.
Jin-306’s life began with the natural birth of two low-ranking Servitors. But as an unfiltered and unmodified natural being on Mars, his only futures were destruction or servitude as a Servitor.
But Magos Korklan found him—abandoned and on the brink of death—and took him in.
According to Magos Korklan, when he discovered Jin-306, the Servitor’s soulwave fluctuations were so faint that the Magos mistakenly believed he had found an Untouchable.
But in truth, a defective product is just that—a defective product. His weak soulwave fluctuations were merely the result of prolonged starvation.
The Magos originally intended to destroy him. However, Jin managed to catch the Magos’s attention with his careful demeanor and ability to read the situation. This earned him a second chance: his body was integrated with numerous mechanical components, transforming him into a servant of the Machine God.
And so, Jin-306 found himself standing here. As part of an initial analysis, Magos Korklan equipped him with an electronic screen capable of displaying a wide range of expressions and the most advanced simulated voice module.
Yet, over time, as Jin interacted with his target, Hades, he began to realize that there were... others in this world. Beings entirely different.
“Strange.”
It was the most frequent word that appeared in Jin’s logic templates during his interactions with Hades.
Thinly veiled egalitarian views, an overly optimistic demeanor, and a habitual tendency to encourage others—Hades was utterly unlike the Magos or the bureaucrats of the Imperium.
He was more akin to what could be called, in traditional terms, a good person.
Jin found himself thinking that perhaps what he was doing was wrong.
But he had no choice. Not everyone has the power to do what is right.
And so, Jin silently planted detonation codes in the engine of Hades’ motorbike, then stood in place, watching Hades drive away.
No further instructions came from the Magos. Jin understood what that meant—he had been abandoned.
Escape was impossible on his own.
The remnants of his organic glands secreted a surge of hormones. Was this regret?
If he had already been sentenced to death, why hadn’t he altered the orders?
Jin-306 didn’t know.
He simply returned to the assistant’s workstation where he most often stood and entered low-power mode.
But then Hades came back, holding his control codes in hand.
Ah, no wonder Jin-306 had felt something was off. The target had known his true nature all along.
Hades approached, bringing judgment with him.
At least before death, he could know the reason for his end. That alone would suffice.
Yet—
“Do you have nowhere to go now?”
“If you promise not to betray me, you can continue to be my assistant. I’ll let the past slide.”
?!
Jin spoke. If he had a proper voice module, would his tone have trembled?
“Why, my lord?”
“Jin-306 doesn’t understand.”
Hades scratched his face as he often did.
In Jin’s database, this behavior signaled that Hades was aware of the full context but was pondering how to deflect the question.
“Maybe it’s because I only have one assistant right now. If you leave, I’ll really be on my own.”
Through logical deduction, Jin filtered out Hades’ strange phrasing.
His circuits flickered as he analyzed the situation. According to the rules of the Techmarine Training Base, even if Jin-306 were erased, another servant of the Machine God would immediately replace him.
They both knew the truth.
Jin’s electronic screen lit up. Familiar blue dots danced across the display, forming a small, primitive, simple expression—
“Understood, Lord Hades of the Death Guard. Jin-306 will serve you from this moment on.”
The symbol represented the earliest expression of goodwill in human history:
:)