《Re: Metal Skies》 Prologue - Metal falls Something happened that night; the light was fading after a long day at school, I was catching a train back home from school as we live in a far district of the city it¡¯s necessary to spend long hours getting anywhere of importance. Thinking about the mountain of homework and chores to do and how best to spend the time I was supposed to be doing them; my thoughts were interrupted by my friend Cale. ¡°Jayce are you gunna watch the robot fights this afternoon? I heard that sweet dragon will be fighting again¡±. The ¡®dragon¡¯ was the current champion of the robot fights which were organised by ShinTec Technologies. By using its talons which produced jets of white hot plasma it could cut through the hard alloy of even the sturdiest fuselage its mouth also emitted a laser that would melt a hole in concrete. Responding to Cale I told him about the ¡°mountain of ¡®homework¡¯¡± I had to do with a sarcastic grin implying that I would probably see the fight anyway. Emma who was sitting opposite us on the train just looked at us with a reproachful look as only an honours student could. She was several months older than us and is every bit the serious person you would expect but at the same time pulls off a wonderful take no prisoners attitude when it comes to certain issues. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you guys be studying for exams?! Especially you Cale you got terrible marks in the last midterms. Jayce too even though I have no idea how you get good marks shouldn¡¯t you be studying?¡± I never had a problem following the standardised content of the high school curriculum and had even done some extra study on the side to secure more time for procrastination. Pulling into the next station the train ground to a steady stop at 3:30 on the dot with a synchronous precision of a computer controlled system; trains always arrived on time within the second even as had come to be expected of the public transport system. People start standing to get off ¡°talk to you tomorrow Jayce¡± said Cale as he and Emma also begin disembarking among the jostle of passengers moving toward the doors. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to study!¡± Emma announced before leaving the train dragging poor Cale after her, I watched them go in a humorous mood as I thought that Cale looked like a dog that REALLY DID NOT WANT TO GO WALKIES. After the passengers disembark and new passengers enter the train a pre-recorded electronic voice warns everyone to clear the doors before the doors seal with a mechanical hiss and the outside is once again a speeding blur. The city skyline breaks the sky into a line like a buzzsaw out the window as the train shoots past the eyrie like towers. The sun is now at the top of the window making its way steadily towards the horizon multiple levels of highways criss-cross and leave shadows that flash over the window as I focus on my destination; the train curves towards the industrial side of town. Aircraft dot the skies overhead like swimming black starfish in a light sea of blue each seeking its own eyrie. People are chatting in the train mostly about the bot fights happening in the industrial area but a few are discussing issues like the terrorist attacks on the battle scarred moon or the fact that fuel has become cheaper than milk, conversation settles down with the sound of frictionless brakes emitting a hum. The train begins to decelerate as it arrives at the station forcing me to vacate my seat and start moving towards the door. Wiping my hand across the biometric sensor I exit the train and start walking down the steps away from the station. People are everywhere but not many students come to this part of town as it is so far removed from the educational district. Most families would not have reason to live out here however as I live mostly alone except for the carer that comes 5 times a week I don¡¯t mind. My parents are constantly busy with work for ShinTec in the medical division one as a biochemist and the other as a lab assistant for said biochemist. Needless to say my dad is the lab assistant my mother fell in love with and thanks to the company¡¯s new allowances for co-worker relationships everything turned out perfectly fine; something about declining birth-rates quoted by the government (which I think is personally a load of crap as it happened when the CEO fell in love with his secretary and it became public). Coming to the intersection I make my way along the sparsely crowded street toward the busy industrial park with cars whizzing overhead and an ever increasing number of work uniforms as I move further. Passing a sign for a robotic cleaning company I enter into the building next door again swiping my hand in front of the biometric scanner as I enter the ShinTec sponsored house. Upon entering I am greeted by the projected face of the houses AI made of millions of pixels it states in a soothing voice that a message has been left for me. Telling the AI ¡°play message¡± I grab a soda out of the fridge and settle on the couch ¡°hi son¡± Elaine (my mum) says ¡°We have been invited to watch the dragon fight at the arena tonight so order up something for dinner, I¡¯ve transferred the money to your account.¡± Sighing slightly I head upstairs to my room dumping my bag on the floor I boot up the computer in my room. The computer is one of the few commercial quantum computers available which I got courtesy of the technology department at ShinTec after I did a little work as pocket money for them. I order dinner then spend the rest of the night catching up with people online before turning in for the night. [Some indeterminable time later] I awoke during the night to the sound of computers and other devices with speakers or screens emitting a noise both visually and audibly. The sounds coming out of my computer which was most assuredly off at the time were completely freaky something that sounded like a cross between all languages and some crazy blue and white trashcan shaped robot having intimate time with a live toaster. All the machines and appliances in the house were the same however one of the few analog devices left in the house was an old wall clock which was from several great grandfathers ago and it seemed perfectly fine. Whatever was causing all the devices to go haywire was probably electromagnetic in nature which means that technically shielded military devices would be fine; nice bit of trivia to know when you don¡¯t own any military grade tech. As I stepped into the lounge room I decided to look outside the window to see if it was just me experiencing this. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Outside the street lighting was strobing in no particular pattern and the cleaning robots on the street seemed to be unable to decide which direction to move in (picture hundreds of disc shaped cleaning robots running into each other and then deciding to randomly clean flower beds and other bots). People were coming out of their homes looking confused and some were visibly worried as they held pieces of misbehaving tech. The lights and objects for as far as you could see were all suffering from the same effects of whatever was causing the disturbance, cars in the sky were falling and doors were opening and shutting. Wondering what to do when all of technology seems to be against me I heard screaming from outside and rushed through the lounge room and out the dangerous opening and slamming shut front door to see the horror evolving in front of my eyes. The Dragon was a purpose built killing machine made by ShinTec industries to win the robot death match for years to come. From study and actually being involved in its development I knew how deadly it was I helped design some of its system architecture and components back at the start of my high school days which is one of the reasons I was able to ace high school exams. The machine could cleave through a steel block 6 inches thick without losing momentum so when faced with something like flesh there is no chance of survival. Why would a genius company make a robot this deadly and not put in safety mechanisms? Answer: they did there were both software and hardware fail safes wired for exactly this situation but upon looking at it none of them seem to have worked. The robot was clearly out of control and coming towards me cleaving a trail through the people leaving a wake of red. Surprisingly one of the cleaning robots saw this as an opportunity to clean and started mopping up the blood trail. A girl ran towards my end of the street vaulting over the cleaning robots trying to outrun the mechanical death machine but tripped over a piece of scrap twisting her ankle and sprawling across the ground. The Dragon was moving ever closer with its core glowing bright in short bursts with jerking movements, the only way to stop it now was to remove the power source; the core from its body. The power source is encased in a solid covering to prevent accidental destruction of the highly volatile core, as the safety protocols had engaged to some extent the core was no longer protected by a metal plate and say halfway out of the dragon. A cleaning robot had run over the girl¡¯s leg that was injured and as she tried to crawl away screaming in pain the robot would not budge; I could see her death was now an almost forgone conclusion if the dragon kept its advance. Seeing that something needed to be done I steeled my resolve and assessed the situation. The Dragon had the potential to kill a lot more people if left unchecked and with the absence of any military the only option would be to remove the core however that is too dangerous for me. I decide to shift the 200kg cleaning robot off the girl¡¯s leg and drag her away from the Dragon¡¯s advance. No sooner had I started enacting my plan then the dragon moved closer and swung its arm in my direction throwing me and her to the ground a few feet away. The robot moved to trample the girl and I switched priorities from moving her to removing the core, as I approached the robot from the side it swung an arm towards me at insane speed as it twisted its entire torso I dodged reflexively at the last possible moment and jumped on its back closing my hands around the core. The core was never meant to be left half hanging out of the slot it was installed in and as a result the protective casing had become cracked. Because the casing was cracked the core released masses of energy into the air and made touching the core similar to touching an electrical outlet. Upon contact with the core every second was killing me as energy in the form of radiation and lightning bolts coursed through me and as the core separated from the chassis it used me as a lightning rod to reach the ground. Hair burning, skin blackened and consciousness fading I used the last of my strength to place the core on the ground bearing the unimaginable pain of 80% of my body being burned I was thankful for the respite unconsciousness gave me from the most painful experience of my life. The girl was crying over me as everything faded to black. I awoke to find myself in a hospital ward with someone in a green robe standing at my bedside. I did not understand what they were saying however as I looked into their eyes I felt the meaning of their words conveyed into my mind. The person conveyed that they were the messenger of another world¡¯s god one of many gods that ruled their world and that he had come to extend an invitation to me to come to their world. As a person from this world I would die here and be reborn in the other world leaving my family behind; he also told me that my body in this world will not live and that it is only alive now because the god wills it. I ask him only one question in my weakened state ¡°can I say goodbye?¡± Next Chapter ------------------------------------------ Please give me some constructive feedback on my first fanfic/thing ive written ever. Vol 01 Chapter 01 - Flaming Steel Flaming steel [Sorry for taking so long with my chapters but I am making them as I go and I have lots of commitments.] ---------------------------------------------------- The Rage of a forest fire The Stillness of a lake The Strength of a mountain The Agility of a breeze The vision of daylight The stealth of night The knowledge of the stars The emptiness of the void The beginning of life The ending of death ---------------------------------------------------- The surroundings blurred as I came back to the painful reality of my fatal injuries. Following asking to say goodbye to my family the green robed stranger pressed one hand onto my chest and I felt some strength flowing into me. ¡°This is all the time I can give you so say your goodbyes¡±. Upon regaining consciousness I became aware of other people standing in the room around my bedside. I say ¡®became aware¡¯ as I could feel their presence but could not see due to the severe burns and the worst pain I have ever felt racking every cell of my body. My strength was already fading from the amount I received a moment ago so I decided to keep my farewell short. In a moment of pain filled clarity I could feel a small delicate hand on my own (probably the girl I rescued) and I uttered out a few words to the effect that I was happy she is alive and she gripped my hand tighter in response. Someone was stroking my hair and drops of liquid were falling on my cheek who I can only assume was my mother with my father possibly gripping the other hand on my left. With everyone here I said the most inspirational last words ever which were to the effect of ¡°Procrastination produces 9/10 of ideas; the rest is inspiration¡± what can I say I was delirious and my philosophical words obviously had nothing to do with dying but who wants to talk about the obvious. As far as goodbyes go I have no regrets left except maybe not having a girlfriend even though I had plenty of opportunity to. As my consciousness pulled away from my body I felt a floating sensation and a sudden tug as my essence was pulled towards a green light in the darkness. The same room as before appeared minus the hospital bed of before and instead a 2 seater table setting was there with the stranger in green sitting on one side. He picked up his cup of tea and gestured for me to take a seat as I found I had legs again walking over to the table I sat down on the table opposite the man in green. He produced his hand from his side and gestured for me to do the same, I held his hand as the conversation began. ¡°I am a shepherd of souls between the world some call me ¡®god¡¯ others call me a gatekeeper to the afterlife point is you are now dead. By the grace of your new world¡¯s god you were able to say goodbye to your family and now you are here at the crossroads of rebirth. I will give you a gift to make it easier to talk to me.¡± As the bearded stranger transmitted these thoughts I also received knowledge of the language he was speaking and our conversation continued without telepathy. ¡°As you will be reborn in a new world there are some inconsistencies that need to be fixed with your soul to adapt to the new world. The world you are going to is Cendari a world that exists next a star that radiates an energy specific to that reality, that energy is called mana. All living things on the planet absorb mana as it permeates the planet and mana is able to pass through and be absorbed into all things. Living beings are able to control mana with their affinities to certain substances as an extension of their soul. You are being given a choice of what affinities your soul can attune to so choose wisely although everyone on the planet can attune to all affinities to varying degrees by default.¡± ¡°Can I keep my memories from my past life?¡± ¡°As you are being given affinities I can let you choose between having all elemental affinities or having one god level wish and only 2 elemental type affinities. You can use the god level wish to keep your past memories but the limitation is only being able to use 2 elemental affinities with only one subclass from each. What would you like to do?¡± ¡°If I can use my knowledge from my past life in the new world I would sacrifice power, what elemental affinities can I choose from?¡± ¡°Elemental affinities refer to natural phenomena on the planet that can be controlled so they are categorised into 5 main classes: Earth, water, fire, wind and lightning each of these is then divided further into subclasses which you can choose one of, which affinities do you choose?¡± ¡°Earth and lightning¡± ¡°The subclasses for earth are Metal, Plants, dust, soil and for lightning there is only movement of electrons. Which subclasses do you choose? Keeping in mind that you can still get every attribute and its subclasses if you sacrifice your memories¡± ¡°I will choose Metal and electron movement because they are what I am familiar with the most; also I wish to keep my memories¡± ¡°Very well you will be reborn from the beginning, here we go¡± ¡°Wait! What do you mean ¡®from the beginning¡¯?!¡± ¡°Well you know ¡®the beginning¡¯ tell you what I¡¯ll let you skip the first 9 months of boring stuff¡± (I can write this part if you¡¯re into that 0.o lol) Still not fully understanding or wanting to understand what was meant by the beginning I was started on the path of reincarnation which is quite a drawn out process so let me summarise. The new powers were attached to my soul which feels sort of like being forced to drink water but never becoming too full to drink more. In this stage I tried to drink in as much of the power as possible to help me on my next life up until the limit for a human soul. Following this there was the time where the soul journeys between worlds which actually takes several days of gateways and side passages moving mind numbingly slowly through the outside of reality until reaching the new reality. When the stranger in green sent me off he told me he would help by making me skip the first 9 months so when I reached the gateway to my new reality I entered a slumber. After 9 months I entered life screaming, ¡®why¡¯ you might ask? Because being born freaking hurts! Not that anyone would remember that normally... Anyway I managed to stay awake long enough to have my first meal and view the small candle-lit room I was in with a dark haired person I assume is my father and a light haired woman who is my mother as well as a midwife. A man in armour stormed into the room just as I was slipping off to sleep, as I tried to stay awake to hear the conversation. ¡°Asdcbjajnd! Sdfncd dfjs dfkam!¡± I could not understand and eventually succumbed to sleep. (Note: Above is gibberish) This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The first morning after being born I awoke in a crib with soft sheet coverings unable to move because I still have no muscle mass as a child to even tilt my head I simply laid there listening to my parent¡¯s voices. From what I can tell I am human and unlike before I could now understand my parents to a certain degree as the gift of speech I received earlier now came into effect. When I say I could understand the words my parents were speaking I actually meant that I could get only the implied meaning and tone from the words putting together the different emotions expressed in the words I could glean that there is a problem and given the soldier returned again the problem was military in nature. My father and the soldier had several heated discussions it reminded me of the few times I had seen superiors addressing a subordinate at work. As my mother picked me up and brought me to the window I saw for the first time the world I have been re-incarnated into. The sky was painted a vibrant blue with still a tinge of mid-morning light sneaking in. People were rushing about down the street with worried looks on their faces and soldiers prepared weapons shouting their orders to the other lower ranked soldiers and townsfolk. The weapons soldiers carried looked to be a type of bladed staff like a glaive with several decorations down its length. As a cart was approaching down the street I was turned around from the window my father came in yelling repeatedly about the ¡®Carrok¡¯ or something similar and I was quickly bundled into a cloth by my mother. Upon catching a glimpse outside the cloth bundle as we rushed out the door I saw black smoke and flames back down the street and what I can only describe as a dust explosion destroyed three houses spraying bricks and roof tiles everywhere. A large brown lizard like creature emerged from the wreckage crushing several soldiers underfoot and uttering a deafening roar it was by far the most powerful thing I have seen in my memory, its powerful muscles tighted as it prepared its onslaught. The men in armour moved to engage what I can only guess was the Carrok while unfastening their weapons a hum of power was heard from the staves they carried. The captain had moved forward with his weapon and then slashed downward diagonally in the creatures¡¯ direction emitting a glowing line of fire from the end of his weapon which flew forward with great force towards the enemy which had now increased to two. Impact from the explosion pushed the air outwards as the searing hot wave of heat impacted the Carrok. My mother shielded me from the blast as we moved towards the now slowly rolling carriage, men continued to fight and fall from the onslaught of the Carrok which had now increased in number despite the one taken out by the Captains attacks. As we got on the carriage my father along with the other men continued to hold off the advance of the enemy and they also boarded carriages behind ours. We exited through the city gates continuing to fire out burning crescents of flame as we made our retreat. Several groups of soldiers stayed behind at the city gates to give us more time however thankfully father was not among them, because they were quickly overrun. After travelling down the road several miles I could see people in the carriage and other carriages were in varying states of sadness, shock and injuries but the most prevailing emotion I could feel was fear. My mother who I found is called Rin was stroking my head and staring back towards the burning city. After several minutes she was joined by my father and they talked worriedly with occasional glances to me as well. At this point in time I felt that sleep was impossible to avoid and it was really a miracle I had stayed awake this long through the ordeal so I quickly succumbed to the gentle rocking of the carriage. Riding along the road for hours the light began to dim and we came to a spot where we would camp for the night. I was awoken by the stopping of the momentum of the carriage and my father who is called Abram helped my mother who was holding me from the carriage. After setting up the tent I was again fed and then whilst sitting around the campfire with the other villagers felt sleepy once more. Looking up at the sky that had two moons of white with a blue tinge and foreign constellations I went to sleep in my mother¡¯s arms until very early in the morning. ---------------------------------------------------- Shadows shifted under the moonlight as we slept in the camp terrifying predators stalked beyond the light of our torches. A pack of wolf like monsters hid outside of the camp waiting for the right moment to strike. The creatures were called Argent and are able to channel torrents of ice through their almost white pelt. The leader sensing the time was right gave a low growl to signal the attack to its brethren leaping for the nearest sentry. The icy cold chill of the Argents fangs deprived the sentry of the ability to cry out however the impact from the leap knocked also over a sack of equipment causing the large sound to alert the camp. The leader of the pack finished with the sentry then let out a blood chilling howl which literally froze its immediate surroundings it moved forward and engaged the warrior who approached it. ---------------------------------------------------- I was awoken by the sound of fighting and shouting outside while lying in my crib, my mother and father were already up and my mother was helping him with his armour. Suddenly the side of the tent ripped and a large paw with razor icicle like claws entered in which was first parried by my father and then sliced off causing frost to spread up his glaive however this was quickly defrosted. My father exited the tent outside with the sounds explosions of flame and cracking of ice coming through the tent my mother bundled me into a sling on her back as we waited out the battle raging outside. ----------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading my fanfic so far please leave some constructive feedback :)