[Multiversal Empire] 6 – The Light and The Dark

Once again, I found myself looking over the great ruins of the city before me, and I couldn't help but imagine. What did this city look like before it was turned into rubble by the Faro Bots? How many managed to flee from the bots, if any? Shaking my head, I pushed away those distracting thoughts and looked down.

With a deep breath, my aura flared to life and turned pitch black, coating my form in what looked like black flames. From beneath me, a beak followed by a rather large avian Grimm clawed itself out of my Aura. The avian creature was a Nevermore, a mere chickling compared to the older Nevermores if its size was anything to go by, only being large enough to carry my weight during flight.

Luckily for me, Grimms do not tire, nor do they fear. They are simple beasts who are drawn to negative emotions, though none of mine have done so yet. While I call them beasts, they are not really. The Grimm do not bleed; instead, when killed, they merely fade from existence. 

My...semblance was certainly unique, I thought as I ran my hand through the hard metal-like quills of the Nevermore before me.

I decided to call it The Light and the Dark.

Just as the Faunus call me the Brother's Chosen, it seems that even my Semblence decided to take shape as the Brother Gods.

On one side, I had the Dark. I could summon Grimm to do my bidding, feel the negative emotions around me, and feast on them. I could also sort of shapeshift, donning draconic features, even if I could only summon claws at the moment. The last aspect of the Dark that I knew about was Destruction. From my Aura, I could throw out waves of energy that were highly destructive yet tiring.

The other, brighter side was the Light. I could create water, nurture life, call upon animals, summon light and light constructs, heal, sense the life around me, and a bit more.

One thing was certain: the Brother Gods were both Creators and Destroyers. They were cruel gods that left Remnant to its fate, leaving a destroyed moon as they left to create other worlds. I did not understand why so many worshiped the Brother Gods, but I, for one, refused to do so. Sure, they may be Gods, but I would never put my faith in them. My people were free to worship so long as it didn't become a problem. I will not have Zelots threaten our survival. Though if Warhammer 4ok was anything to buy, removing Religion was futile. After I was gone, it was bound to return, as people needed something to believe in. Others could use that to take advantage of those seeking a higher power.

However, while they were the most prevalent Gods on Remnant, there was one other: the Animal God, worshiped by only a few of the Faunus, though said God could also be the Brother Gods in disguise. There was also the Mother Tree, Blacksmith, and Ever After, the home of the Brother Gods, but they were not important.

Sighing, I grabbed onto the Nevermore by my side and mounted the large avian Grimm. From my hands, black tendrils sprouted from everywhere my body touched the Grimm, anchoring me to its body and preventing me from ever falling off of the Nevermore unless I wanted to.

Letting my mind connect to the Grimm, I found my senses expanded to that of the Nevermore, allowing me to see and feel everything it felt while also allowing for more direct control. With a single thought, the Nevermore leaned forward and dived off the cliff before taking flight.

As we flew over the ruins' outskirts, I realized the city was far larger than I had thought, though much of it had been overtaken by nature. Despite that, I could see thousands of smaller buildings intact and not scattered for what looked like a dozen miles around the Horus. Not far behind the Horus seemed to be a rather large lake.

As we flew over the ruins, I noticed quite a few Scarab units still peaking out from the rubble and plant life, making me wonder just how fast could the Horus units pump out Scarabs and Khopeshes. How long did it take for a Horus to produce, let's say...a hundred Scarab units? A day? A few days? A week?

There was no telling just how many Horuses were scattered around the world, but if they could pump out an entire army within a month, then all the more reason to find and disable or cripple all the Horuses I can find, especially if Aloy fails to disable HADES who decides to reactivate the Faro robots in the first game to wipe out Humanity and fulfill its purpose.

Nearing the Horus, I glanced at the skyscrapers the Horus had lodged itself into; most seemed to be on their last legs but holding strong. Hundreds of years of erosion would do that, though whatever they used to construct the buildings must have been better than what we were using on my Earth if the buildings proved to last this long.

Flying to the top of one of the skyscrapers, I had the Nevermore gently land upon the roof before taking off again and keeping a bird's eye view of the area and the building itself. Following the Horizon logic, I was willing to bet there'd be something of note or worth at the top of the building, whether it be old data points, items of worth that could probably be sold for a decent amount of shards, or if I am lucky, a Focus.

Focuses are small triangular 3D augmented reality devices that act as the phones of Horizon; they can call, connect with the internet and other networks, compute and store data, and so much more. Aloy finds an intact and functioning Focus in her childhood, which helps her throughout her journey, proving to be a useful device for surviving in the Machine-filled world, especially since it helped by giving her a map, a scanning feature that cant track the paths of Gaia's machines, show the Machine's weaknesses, and so much more.

So, obviously, I wanted one, which means I have to find an intact one. Some of our gatherers found a damaged one a while back, and my people were currently dissecting it. Still, without an intact Focus, progress was slim and likely wouldn't bear any fruit. We frankly just couldn't understand how the device worked, not to mention that the Focus was damaged and had faced the elements after centuries.

Finding a vent to climb down through, I tore off the grating and climbed through, sliding down the ventilation shaft to the floor below. Busting through another grating, I climbed out of the ventilation shaft, finding myself in a long corridor lined with the strange holographic automatic doors that were common across the games, doors that I'd either need a focus to be open or peel open.

However, I had a better idea.

With a simple flex, my aura burst to life as I reeled my fist back and, with all of my strength, punched straight through the door.

Well...shit. I meant to knock the door down, not punch a whole clean through it.

Trying something else, I decided to pull a Wolverine, causing my hands to morph, taking on a draconic appearance, and with a few swipes, I cut a hole through the door, large enough for me to fit through.

One door down, probably dozens, if not hundreds, more to go.