"You are insane, you clay pot," Amber replied momentarily.

  "Engaging take over protocols! Protect the Empress!" Tiny Vishnu raised its voice.

  The voice in the distance chuckled mockingly but suddenly it grunted in annoyance. "How dare you interfere?!"

  "Distressed report: This unit disabled the golems in the Workshop, my Lady. However, the protocols demand further authorisation which this unit is unable to provide." Vishnu said from her shoulder. "The processing power is too demanding for this unit to keep up with the potential of the City Core."

  "If the processing power is the only thing you need, I have the solution." The nearest Living Armour said with Theon's voice.

  "Wait! You can't-" The tiny Vishnu went limp and almost fell off Amber's shoulder.

  The golems below started slowly waking up however, the Praetorians were already prepared. With buffs from Hestia and Irene, the Royal Guards were ready to fight. The golems were still standing, the light in their eyes flickered on and off as if some internal fight were happening in them. The tiny Vishnu woke up but Amber instantly knew something was off. The tiny construct wasn't Vishnu anymore but she knew that presence very well.

  "I was informed and commanded to assist you, my Empress." Ares's voice echoed with the voice of Avalon's Wrath. He was calm with a hint of a barely contained anger as usual. "Vishnu is explaining everything to me and I will do everything that is in my power to shut down the enemy golems."

  The loud bang violently shook the entire chamber and dust rained down from the distant ceiling. Another loud bang echoed from above and Amber knew exactly what it was. Avalon's Wrath was trying to break through the roof of the Workshop. Amber felt the worry in its spiteful and belligerent spirit as it attempted to reach her and her sisters.

  "It's pointless!" The voice of the Guardian of Vanushka was mocking their efforts. "I admit you are more troublesome than I imagined but you will surrender to me eventually, Princess."

  "I don't want to risk using my weaponry to break through, my Lady," Ares said angrily, ignoring the voice of Vanushka. "But just say a word and I-"

  "Don't worry about it, Ares. Help Vishnu to stop the golems. I can deal with everything else."

  "As you command, it shall be!" Ares said with his voice amplified by the Titan and his presence vanished, letting Vishnu take his tiny vessel once more.

  "Vishnu?" She looked at it, a little bit worried. She had started getting accustomed to the golem's presence.

  "Affirmative, my Lady." Its voice was different again but, undoubtedly, it was Vishnu.

  "What's wrong with you?" Amber asked immediately.

  "The main core of this unit was inserted into the Living Armour and obtained access to the Sentinel's network. It's... stunning, even for this unit’s logic matrix. The calculation capabilities of this unit rose by a few magnitudes and this unit no longer has any restrictions in decision making. This unit is directly connected to the powerful being that this unit can only assume is Lord Theon Avalon himself and he is changing the spell architecture that creates this unit. It... It-..." Vishnu stuttered, worrying Amber even further. It wasn't the best moment to lose the support of Vishnu if Theon made a mistake. "The logic matrix, memory core, decision-making core, and interface matrix are connected successfully. Personality created successfully. Accessing new functions... now. The 'I' was created successfully." The voice changed and lost its mechanical stiffness but not entirely. "Answering your question, my Lady, nothing is wrong with me. I was fused with the Sentinel interface in a similar manner as the Titan's core."

  "What does that mean?" Amber nervously looked around but all the golems below had returned to their dormant state.

  "I'm no longer just an artificial construct of the long-gone Balantican Empire. I'm currently something unexpected. I was injected into the Sentinel network, a Living Armour hive-mind that, with the help of Empress Luna and Scion Stella, refined the spell structure and deleted any dependencies that leaned on the Balantican law. My loyalty is absolute to you, my Lady, and to the Arcadian Empire. My main function is now assigned to be one of your guardians and was confirmed by the Emperor. It means, my Lady, that you are truly free to command whatever you desire."

  A wide smile slowly brightened her features as she reached for Vishnu through her skill that allowed her to order the Dungeon denizens in service of Theon. However, Vishnu was different. Similarly to the Titan, the golem ship was a fusion of a monster and a golem, an artificial construct possessing a strange spark of individuality and an unmistakable presence that was hard to describe. Now, she was sure of Vishnu's loyalty and she could trust his words the same way she would trust any Scion or Praetorian. She took a deep breath and looked at the waiting people and her Sisters.

  "Let's finish this." She smiled and she headed to the bridge.

  They started walking more confidently but the bridge was at least a few hundred metres long. The central structure was open and surrounded by metal cylinders that were nearly two and a half metres tall.

  "The City Guardian is trying to take control of the golems stored in the Workshop. I can't stop it indefinitely and I don't know how to use the golems under my control. Some of these golems might be used against you." Vishnu's voice was worried.

  "Just keep them dormant, Vishnu. If you have to give up control of some golems, let go of those on the far side of the Workshop. We need a way out of here." She commanded as they sped to a jog towards the centre.

  "As you wish, my Lady," Vishnu confirmed and fell silent.

  Their pace accelerated to a run as they felt the pressure to get to the centre of the Workshop. At one point Hestia came closer to her.

  "I have a bad feeling about those cylinders, Amber," The Goddess whispered. "Be careful."

  "I will," Amber nodded as they reached a strange platform in the middle.

  Amber wasn't ready for what they found. She wasn't sure how the City Core could look like, but the two stone thrones, inlaid with gold and silver, weren't on her list. Especially, with one of them occupied by the preserved body of a High Elf woman. The woman was dead and judging by how her body was mummified, she had died centuries ago. She was wearing a strange dress of white cloth with a sceptre resting her knees. It looked as if someone tried to close her hands on its shaft but only managed to break her fingers. Amber hoped that the poor woman was already dead when that happened.

  "My Lady, I have lost control of over thirty percent of the golems. Scion Sebastian engaged them with the Praetorians-" Vishnu reported but the voice of the Guardian interrupted him.

  "Of course, you have lost control of my soldiers, you subpar construction." A large white golem emerged from behind the cylinders. "It's commendable for you to put up such a good fight but loss was inevitable."

  The golem was tall and similar to the assassin golem that attacked Theon. It was sculpted much more precisely than other golems which were vaguely humanoid shapes with mostly bleak and unremarkable faces. The sculptor who created this golem was a master of their craft but, if this golem was supposed to look like someone, their identity had been lost to the ages. It wore armour on its chest, pauldrons, and greaves. Armed with a sword on its hip and a golden crown on its head. Right behind it emerged a few more support golems.

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  "You finally came to me, my rightful fiancé." The golem looked at Amber and she wasn't sure if she followed.

  "You think that I would marry you?" She looked at the golem in disbelief. "That's ridiculous."

  "Ridiculous? Ridiculous is the pathetic lifespan of organic creatures like you. I have transcended the animal kingdom and put my mind into this immortal shell. My uncle was unaware but Till Na'laar was already dying so he didn't pay much attention to me anymore..." The golem laughed evilly and the cylinder's metal shields opened.

  Inside them, behind a glass and submerged in some kind of yellowish liquid, were twisted abominations that, to the horror of everyone, were, at some point, people. Humans and Elves were fused with various beasts and machinery parts. Their bloodshot eyes madly swept the room with pain, fear, and anger painted on their faces. Amber looked at the crazy golem with shock. "What have you done?!"

  The golem ignored her angry outburst and stopped behind the throne where the mummified woman was sitting.

  "When I found my dear Ru'ilia, her bodily functions had barely ceased. With a great deal of effort, I managed to restore her but her mind wasn't present anymore. Despite that, our children have grown strong. I enhanced their bodies with magicraft artifices and managed to replace their inefficient parts with much better monster parts. I was tasked with restoring the Balantica Empire when the useless descendants of my predecessor inevitably failed. I'm Vanush Na'laar and I need a new, pureblood Balantican Empress. You are acceptable. Would you take the sceptre and be the Empress at my side? Together, we will bring back the glory of Balantica to this primitive world!"

  "You are absolutely insane!" Amber shouted with a voice mixed with disgust. "You are not a person! You are a tool! A golem built to serve!"

  "Take the sceptre, woman!"

  The golem's angry direct order was infused with mana and it shocked her. That thing shouldn't be capable of using magic but it gave her an idea. Whatever spell it had tried, failed miserably but she needed the sceptre anyway. Her soldiers drew their weapons but she slightly raised her hand to stop them. Without a word, she stepped forward and took the sceptre. Immediately, she jumped back and gritted her teeth, feeling an unpleasant feeling on her fingers. As she suspected, the sceptre was cursed - the creeping cold beginning to climb her fingers and Amber knew, very well, it was a mind-control spell. She had seen and studied such spells before and knew how dangerous they were. The same spell was used in slave collars so she knew exactly what she needed to do. Normally, she should immediately drop the cursed item in order to break that spell and not succumb to it. However, she also knew that she was immune to its effect. Each one of the Empress of Arcadia was fully immune to these mind control type spells; they had tested themselves with the slaves' collars. They had needed to know for sure because they hardly believed the World's Words - the effect was too good to be true. Even though not a single collar they tested worked, they were not eager to take other risks. All those thoughts flashed through her mind as a barrier prepared by Irene triggered.

  A golden flash dissolved the curse causing the City Guardian to roar in fury. The remaining golems attacked but the Empresses and Moonshadow Company were ready. Amber took a deep breath and observed the white golem while it smiled viciously. The first cylinder opened, releasing an angry creature. It roared in pain and started running towards Amber who had no time to think about any good spell response. However, Tia was faster- the Valkyrie blurred in front of Amber and delivered a powerful blow to the mad creature. The white golem continued realising the hybrids one by one. They were screaming in pain and grunting angrily as they threw themselves at the Arcadians and the Balantican golems as well. Some of them, however, remained people enough to beg for death.

  Amber took a deep breath to calm herself. The sceptre in her hand was heavy and warm to the touch. She focused on it and as she used her identification spell, realising it was a key to something. There was no time to waste trying to figure out what it opened so she stored it in her storage space. Refocusing, she took her staff and reassessed the situation. The Guardian was mustering more golems for the fight but couldn't overwhelm them yet. Sebastian and the Praetorians were systematically crushing the golems below them while Morrigan's group was securing the chamber entrance. Instead of directly fighting, the Vampire Queen was mapping the room and, currently, was on the far side of the Workshop. Amber calmed herself as she realised the Arcadians had a slight advantage. However, if not for Irene, who was continuously healing all the Mortals in her vicinity, the tides would easily shift. The golem, Vanush Na'laar, realised it as well and directed everything he controlled at the High Elf.

  Irene and Amber were in the middle of a defensive formation, protected by their Sisters and both Rhys and Edward. The two men were vigilant and stopped any golem that managed to enter the blind spot of their Empresses. Thanks to their presence, Aoi, Mia, and Tia could solely focus on offence, leaving defence to them and Hestia. Amber slowly exhaled and focused her gaze on Vanush. The enemy commander was directing its forces with a visibly angry grimace. It was odd since golems were made of clay and shouldn't be able to change the tone of their voice much less their expression.

  She shrugged.

  There was no point in making sense of things right now. Amber focused and created two discs of condensed air. She stepped forward, let go of her staff which continued to levitate behind her, and raised both her arms. Two, nearly solid, patches of air appeared on each side of Vanush and Amber simply closed her hands in a loud clap. Everything beneath the white golem's head was violently crushed between the two impacting discs. All fighting ceased as the Balantican golems immediately stopped in their tracks. Even the few remaining hybrids backed off and observed her in silence. The only sound in the Workshop were the clicks of Amber's high-hill shoes. She picked up the crown and identified it. With a sigh, she left it hanging on her finger and walked back to her spot in the formation.

  "Search the place for the hidden rooms or anything like that, Major. This is a fake crown, but it should open something." Amber ordered and looked back at her Sisters. "You know what? That was too easy. That fucker is still around somewhere."

  "I think I know what you mean..." Irene sighed.

  Hestia just shrugged. "It was something strange. I can't say for sure but there was a trace of a soul in that thing."

  "Well... We are gonna see." Aoi hummed slightly concerned. "I don't like this place at all."

  "Me either." Mia seconded to the Dragonkin and looked at her twin sister who was looking around as if she was looking for something. "Tia? Something wrong?"

  "I... For a moment I felt the presence of something evil." The Nekomi forced an apologetic smile and focused on the two remaining hybrids. The other abominations were killed or bled out. "What should we do with these? They are suffering."

  The golem parts of their bodies had stopped working the moment Amber destroyed the City Guardian. The organic parts of the abominations were still moving, trying to reach Blackbeard’s people with their claws. The soldiers stood vigilant, between them and the hybrids, protecting their Empresses. Two hybrids had golem legs while the upper halves were a sick mix of a person, a goblin, and, most probably, a troll. The claws were truly a mysterious part since no one knew what kind of creature they belonged to. The hybrids hissed at them, unable or not even knowing how to speak. In their eyes, the Empresses could see the traces of intellect, twisted by unimaginable pain and suffering. The long ears betrayed these last two as people who were once Elves.

  "They were the High Elves..." Irene almost whispered.

  Amber looked at the creatures and hesitated. "Could you use your miracle and restore them?"

  Irene closed her eyes and was quiet for almost a minute. She was breathing slowly but, once she opened her eyes, she cringed. "I could, Amber. I don't think it would be a big deal for the Heavens. However... They are not... Stable? Sane? I don't even know where to start to describe what's wrong with them."

  "They spent their entire, painful, and long lives here, Amber." Hestia's voice was distant. "I'm not even sure how they were born. I'm the Goddess of families, well sort of. Hera is more into it... Anyway! As a Goddess, by the unique markers of a person's soul, I can tell whose family a person is. With those two... Not so much. They are wrong. It's as if someone created a homunculus and tried to fuse a soul ripped alive from someone. Little more to say as it wasn't a success nor was it a total failure. Sorry, Amber but I don't think that freeing their bodies from this horrible fate would do them any good. Their souls are crippled. I don't even know how that crazy golem managed to do it. Fixing their bodies would be less problematic than fixing their souls and minds."

  "Gods..." Amber paled and looked at Hestia in shock. "Are you telling me that Balanticans experimented with something so horrible?"

  "I don't know, Amber... I..." The Goddess shook her head in an attempt to get rid of the disgusting feeling and looked at the tiny golem. "Vishnu? You said earlier that you detected unauthorised experiments. You were referring to these?"

  "Affirmative, my Lady. The process of creating the hybrids was known by the Balantican Empire but it was banned and categorised as one of the greatest crimes. Hero-King Till Na'laar tried to understand how the Chaos Spawns were created and discovered the hybridization process."

  "So that's how it was..." Hestia sadly nodded. "Do you remember when I and the rest of the Eternals warned you? Do not try to peer into the ways of Void and Chaos because you will find only corruption and death?"

  "You were less dramatic back then, but yes." Amber snorted but the decision about what to do with the hybrids wasn't any easier. "Should we kill them? They are defenceless right now and killing them seems wrong..."

  "Keeping them alive is even more evil, Amber." Irene shook her head and sighed heavily. "If there is any solace, we can mend their souls as much as we can before we send them off."

  Amber switched her gaze between her sisters who nodded in agreement. With a short nod, she used her magic to kill them instantly, not prolonging their suffering anymore.

  Thank you all for reading.

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to who edited the chapter!

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