They walked in a large building that appeared to be spherical in shape, its dome rising high, and around it were some strange panels containing unknown drawings.

The panels were moving and rotating as if in an endless race around themselves, but in a system without colliding with each other. In the middle of the building was a large crystal radiating a pure blue energy that looked like a stream of water, and this energy descended into a tube below it and extended through pipes connected to the ground to go outside the building to the rest of the city. But what made them even stranger was that it was hovering without anything helping it, as it floated freely in the air. Their confusion and turmoil grew from what they saw. They looked at Leonis, waiting for him to explain the strange things that were happening around them.

"This is one of the crystals of Atlantis that supplies it with pure energy," Leonis said in his lifeless tone. "These crystals are connected to the Crystal of Life, or the Crystal of Pure Energy, and derive their energy from it. Its story is a bit long, but you can explain it by saying that it might be the cause of what is happening to you."

Leonis told them everything. After he had finished, Yousef stood before him, his arms numb, and he was lost in dark, dangerous contemplations, while Yousef's face turned red, his features tightened, and his eyes flashed. He said in a decisive, urgent tone, "Please... tell me... that you are lying! I beg you not to let this be the truth! How will I be able to live another minute if this is the truth?"

Leonis replied with coolness and indifference, "Please, you must calm down. From what I see, there is a solution to get out of this predicament, because planet Earth has not been destroyed. This is confirmed with a high probability. That is why all you will need is an advanced vehicle to return to your homeland. And if you help me in this mission, I promise to return you and all the other humans to your planet. But this mission will not be easy at all. In fact, I doubt our ability to finish it. But if we succeed, everything will return to its rightful place."

"And what is this mission?" Akira said, his face dark.

Leonis was silent for a moment and looked at them with a challenging gaze, which made them even more anxious. Then he broke the silence, saying, "We will take down Gaia."

They screamed in anger at the same time, "Whaaaat?!"

"As you have heard. But we will not defeat him, because that is impossible, as he will crush us like insects without any effort."

"So how will we defeat him?" Akira urged. "He has crushed everyone who stood in his way!"

"We will take his crown from him. I am sure that this crown is the reason for his madness, as has happened before. And the crown was forbidden because it controls the mind of whoever wears it."

Yousef felt the blood rush to his head, and sweat poured from his forehead like a waterfall. "How will we take the crown from him? Don't you see that this is an impossible mission?"

Leonis sighed. "It is indeed difficult. But we are three, and I know how to get to him! We will sneak into his palace at night and take the crown from him while he is asleep. And if he wakes up before we take it from him, I will ambush him for a little while, and you will pounce on him to take it from him. And if this happens, I am sure he will come to his senses."

Akira furrowed his brows, saying with doubt, "And why are you helping us?! Aren't you one of his loyal soldiers? Despite your different color, you look... you know... like a robot."

"You will know everything when we get to his palace. But I am not one of his loyal soldiers."

Yousef urged with great passion, "Tell us now, what is your secret?"

Leonis's expression changed, and his face contorted. "This is not the time for such long stories. We must go to his palace now before he wakes up."

Akira stood erect, with darkness, turmoil, and illusion in his soul, while Yousef felt like a leaf in the wind. Leonis, feeling what was going through their minds, said, "I told you that this is my condition for getting you out of here. You would have died anyway. So why not risk your lives for a mission that could save everyone? It will save you and the Astra race, and we will avoid a lot of destruction and pain. And this plan will succeed with a high probability, because Gaia trusts me."

They stared at him with greater astonishment. Yousef said in a choked voice, "What? How does he trust you?"

"I told you, this is not the right time to tell another story. But I promise I will tell you if we succeed in this mission of ours."

They agreed with him, despite their fears, and they decided to carry out this mission, perhaps they would be the last light left in the eternal sea of darkness. They walked out of the building with walls containing many strange engravings, such as some symbols and several shapes of various creatures. As soon as they came out into the city, their astonishment grew even more.

The city looked like a fantasy world they had set foot in. The towering silver buildings stretched majestically to the sky, and the billboards flew and crossed the streets to make all the robots in the city see them. They also saw many billboards flying above them; from advertisements for programs and household supplies, news, trips, and other strange things, all in an unknown language. And they would not have understood anything if it were not for the pictures attached to the flying holographic panels. And above the panels, they saw cars flying in the air, in huge numbers, crossing the city back and forth in all directions in the sky. And they saw that the large building they had come out of extended to the sky in the middle of the city in the shape of a strange planet with a mixture of red, blue, and green, and from its top, a large transmission device extended to the sky, its base circular. It was clear that it was the largest and tallest building in the place, while the rest of the buildings did not exceed one hundred meters, but they were characterized by a strange architecture. Some were spiral-shaped, and others circular like a coffee cup, and some were triangular in shape. There were buildings that extended high in an undulating manner, and some looked like a glass sphere, while the colors of the buildings were vibrant and very beautiful. They were a mixture of all the breathtaking and bright colors. They felt as if they had entered a dream world.

They continued their walk behind Leonis, their eyes turning, staring in amazement at all these amazing things they had never seen in their lives.

They stared for a long time in overwhelming fascination and wished that there was someone else with them to share this wonderful and extremely beautiful sight. And the headquarters looked like a large disk in the sky, and it was so close that it was as if you could touch it if you rose a little.

The city was teeming with life, despite containing only robots. But they looked alive in a frightening way, as their shapes, ages, and sizes differed, although they had a gray face.

Their clothes and hairstyles differed from one to another, and they were joking, chatting, and talking about several things in their strange language, displaying their goods, sitting in cafes, enjoying their time, and doing their work to the fullest.

And the dazzling city with its strange design was impossible for any human to create something similar to. Akira said as he stared at everything around him with a mixture of admiration and fear, "I forgot to ask you, how did they become alive like this?"

Leonis replied with severity and without interest, "Gaia gave them what resembles life, so that he would not feel that he was alone in Atlantis."

Yousef intervened, asking, "And how did he do that?"

"Very simply, he programmed them to act like living beings. But it is just programming, nothing more, as they do not perceive reality and do not have any independent feelings or thoughts."

"This is amazing. So did Gaia take the power of immortality?"

"Maybe, who knows."

They continued their walk in the city, fascinated by all its breathtaking landmarks. Akira said with a sarcastic accent, "I envy these Astra. They were living this comfortable life and left us to suffer on planet Earth."

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