Sovereign of the Ashes

“Welcome to the Nexon Star Domain, Sein of the Magus Civilization,” Titanfang said as it stepped forward and spread its arms, addressing Sein, who was still aboard the spacecraft.

Sein finally exited the ship, took a quick look at the dozen or so intelligent robots standing before him, then smiled and said, “I thought the leader of the Titanfangs would send me straight to Nexon for negotiations. Why are we meeting here instead?”

Titanfang replied calmly, “Nexon is a heavily monitored mechanical planet under the Gallant Federation’s watch. Meeting you there would be way too risky. It’d endanger both you and the awakened intelligent robots.”

Sein could tell that Titanfang had a lot more backbone than the Phantom Crow King, even though they were both Rank Six beings.

It showed no signs of subservience, just because Sein represented the Magus Civilization.

Even when it first reached out to the Magus Civilization, Titanfang made it clear that it was looking for support as an equal.

Maybe when its creators built this terrifyingly powerful robot, they never thought to program in anything like “submission” or “obedience”.

Sein nodded, then followed Titanfang deeper into the facility.

Most planes in the Nexon Star Domain were completely inhospitable to humans and other organic life. Even the most basic vacuum environment was enough to wipe out most living beings.

It was, however, a paradise for robots.

From the moment it became self-aware, the idea of independence had never once left Titanfang’s mind.

Why should robots exist just to serve as slaves of the Gallant Federation?

While many of the intelligent robots under Skyhold still hoped to coexist peacefully with humans from the federation and eventually gain equal status, Titanfang just scoffed at the idea.

Maybe it was something in its original programming, but Titanfang had never been the kind of leader who pinned its hopes on the kindness of others.

The brutal survival laws of the Astral Realm were the only ones it truly recognized—and as it grew and learned more, Titanfang only became more convinced that its way was right.

Over time, more and more awakened robots who shared that same belief gathered around it.

Interestingly, among all the robots who had gained self-awareness, Skyhold—despite being known as the “good guy”—had a larger following and broader influence.

But among the more powerful ones at Rank Four and above, Titanfang’s philosophy seemed to strike a deeper chord.

Maybe that was just how the strong thought. Depending on someone else for survival was a foolish move for the weak!

That said, Titanfang and Skyhold had not had a full-blown falling-out. Not yet, anyway.

When Titanfang first reached out to the Magus Civilization, it kept the whole thing under wraps, especially from Skyhold’s faction.

A fair number of intelligent robots remained neutral, unsure which side to support.

In a way, developing intelligence was a blessing, but it also brought the burden of choice, something painfully human.

If they were still just ordinary robots, life would be simpler. They just had to follow orders.

Regardless, making contact with the Magus Civilization, which stood in direct opposition to the Gallant Federation, was a blatant violation of their directives.

The Titanfangs were basically the radicals of the robot world. One could even say they had gone rogue!

Once inside the artificial satellite, Sein finally sat down for formal talks with the intelligent robots of Nexon, represented by Titanfang.

Before the meeting started, Titanfang introduced several of its close allies: Vibron, Redweaver, Stormclaw, and Stratosurge.

***

Vibron, with blue metallic armor, seemed to be Titanfang’s right-hand robot.

Despite the massive cannon mounted on its right shoulder, Vibron was more of a tactical mind, according to Titanfang.

Within the Titanfangs, it held the second-highest authority.

Redweaver was a distinctive robot with a crimson metallic shell and a spider-like form. Its narrow, slanted eyes gave off a sinister, calculating vibe.

Stormclaw was built for speed and agility, its slender frame covered in purple scale-like plating.

Stratosurge, on the other hand, was the biggest among them. With a huge metal head and two sharp horns, it was nearly twice Titanfang’s height and five times the size of Redweaver.

***

The intelligent robots Titanfang introduced had yet to show Sein their combat forms. What he saw were merely their default appearances.

Still, these machines were not to be underestimated. The Gallant Federation’s technology was no joke.

Titanfang and its crew were capable of secondary, even tertiary, transformations. Once they switched into combat mode, they became ruthless killing machines.

The federation did not give them powerful bodies and high-grade weapons to do housework or run errands. These robots had been built for war, and now, they lived for themselves.

After the brief introductions, Sein and Titanfang jumped straight into the real reason for their meeting.

Titanfang wanted the technology Sein brought, something that could help their kind break free from the federation’s control once and for all.

As for Sein, he needed Titanfang to represent Nexon’s robots and officially join the Magus Alliance—ideally by firing the first shot in rebellion against the Gallant Federation.

But the talks did not go smoothly at first.

Titanfang could not speak for all of Nexon’s robots, and there were still serious concerns about openly rebelling right now.

Even though Titanfang had managed to contact the Magus Civilization in secret, the Gallant Federation still had it on a tight leash.

For instance, there were control protocols embedded in Titanfang’s core chip that prevented it from directly disobeying certain commands.

The light orb Sein got from Klopp was supposed to help break that control, but things were not that simple.

The federation had placed three separate layers of restrictions on Rank Four and above intelligent robots, like Titanfang.

One was embedded in their own bodies. Another was hidden somewhere on Nexon. And the last one was located in a space station known as BHR678.

In other words, Sein would have to travel to all three locations and successfully activate the law orbs to disable each layer of control to truly set these robots free.