He tried to contact Gladious's aide again, but this time he answered, saying coldly, "Keno, well done. You have completed the mission."

"This is no time for praise. I have made a terrible mistake. An army of Gaia's robots is now inside the dome and they are heading toward Atlantis."

Frustration was evident on the Enix member's face. He controlled his nerves and said coolly, "Really! I will send supplies now."

"Hurry, please. They may have already arrived."

"Don't worry, I will. We will get rid of them, and we will be one step closer to achieving our goal."

***

The people were going about their normal day in Atlantis, between going to work, cafes, or strolling, or spending time at home, talking about state affairs and the poverty that had befallen it, the endless calamities, the danger of the robots, and their hopes of eliminating them permanently. It was a normal, boring day, like most days.

But something happened that added some excitement to it. As people were walking normally around, they saw three crimson beams shooting into space, followed by strange objects falling—towers—that resembled the energy towers that formed the dome that protected them. Suddenly, the barrier rose and headed toward these towers.

The news was announced of the success of the thirteenth mission in expanding human control and eliminating the damned robots in the surrounding area. This meant more wealth and many good things, and the problem of resource scarcity would be solved, and Atlantis would return to its old prosperity. Humanity had survived the great crisis.

The people were happy and began to cheer in the streets and celebrate this great achievement, as it was humanity's first victory over the robots. The cheers and joyful screams filled the air. More people took to the streets, carrying the flag of Atlantis, and began to roam the streets, singing the national anthem of humanity and saluting the great heroes who had sacrificed their lives for this victory.

The celebrations spread throughout Atlantis, and everyone was happy with each other, despite their different colors, shapes, religions, and tongues. But in the end, they remembered that they were human and that they were not each other's enemies, but that their enemy was common, which made them open-faced as a spirit of brotherhood spread among them.

But in the midst of this great celebration, which pervaded all of Atlantis—as millions of people rushed in all directions—they heard the alarm bell ringing throughout Atlantis, and the voice of a woman speaking in a hurried tone:

"Please proceed to the shelters. I repeat, please proceed to the shelters. There is a breach in Atlantis. There is a breach in Atlantis."

Suddenly, anxiety and fear replaced happiness and victory. People whispered and talked among themselves about what was happening. Many warplanes flew over them, heading east. Panic spread everywhere, and screams, terror, and question marks shot from every human tongue.

The voice of the woman who was speaking shocked them with the bitter truth:

"A large army of robots is approaching Atlantis. I repeat, the machines are approaching Atlantis. Please head to the shelters on the west coast. Please head to the shelters very quickly."

The women screamed, and the men ran, carrying their children and everything they could carry. They began to run in the streets like madmen, pushing and trampling each other because of their huge numbers. Atlantis turned in a few minutes from an atmosphere of happiness and celebration to a hell on earth.

Cars blocked the road with their large numbers, so people got out of them and ran on their feet, while some people ran over those in front of them so that they could pass and escape the imminent death.

If you want to see the truth of the human soul, bring death close to it, and the peaceful man will turn into a merciless killing machine that cares only for its own self-interest.

And so, as they pushed and shoved each other throughout the city, the armies and war machines began to head east, asking the people in the streets to make way for them. Some people screamed at them with pleas, wails, and prayers, to save them and to eliminate the machines. The frightened soldiers gave them false promises that everything would be alright and cut their way through the huge, panicked crowds.

Suddenly, the people heard the sound of gunfire and shells from the east. The terror spread more than it had been, and the people pushed with greater force. The children around them were screaming and crying, and the men were pushing to make space for their families so that they could pass.

And quarrels began to occur between people, and they cursed each other for their appearance, their religion, their faith, their color, or their nationality, and they began to decide who deserved to live and who did not.

And during this, they saw a swarm of robotic bees flying above them and sending down shells on them to hit the buildings and the crowds, turning them into pieces. The robot armies were now behind them, their eyes shining with a red color, as they marched in regular order and rows, their iron feet striking the ground, shaking the earth with them in the symphony of death that would begin.

They had no goal in life other than to eliminate the humans, so they began to fire at everyone they saw. The screaming, wailing, fear, and pushing increased. The soldiers tried to pass through the raging crowds to repel the aggression, but passing was an impossible mission for them.

The bodies began to fall one after another, as they screamed and ran over each other. But the robots were keeping a distance of twenty meters from them and firing at them, and they were like locusts in front of them because of their large numbers and the ease of hunting them.

The children began to suffocate from the pushing, and with them some people and the elderly, and many of the dead fell, lifeless bodies, to leave behind this conflict and suffering forever and rest from the hardship of this cruel world.

The humans will remember this day, if they are destined to survive, as the day of the fall of Atlantis.

Keno set off, cutting his way through the trees and the plains, until he reached the passage. He knew that he was very close.

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