Noor ignored his words, the thoughts clashing violently in his mind. He voiced a few of them, saying, "So the bastard who attacked us was from a group called the Enix, and they work for Gladious. They're also the reason Jean is gone and her body was taken, and the reason for my memory loss and for me having these weird powers. I don't feel like this Gladious's intentions are good at all, and I don't understand what he wants from all this, but I know very well that he's not doing this for us, but for something else."

Keno patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure she's not dead. She might still be alive somewhere. After we finish all this, we'll look for her!"

Noor didn't respond to what he said, but suddenly an idea and a memory from a long time ago flashed in his head, though it was missing some forgotten details.

"By the way," he said, "doesn't that name, 'Enix,' sound like the names of the two ships that the CITRA agency launched into space and never came back? And as Leonis mentioned, we were transported here on the third ship!"

"Yes, there's no doubt about it. I remember the CITRA agency too. It looks like your memory is starting to come back again. A little more time, and everything will return."

Noor's head began to throb violently, causing him severe pain. He remembered something else, but the image was vague, and he didn't know what he was seeing. He put his hand on his head to stop the pain. Keno grabbed him by the shoulders. "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know, I feel like I remember something," Noor said after his head had calmed down. "But the connection between the names of the two missing ships and the name of the group founded by the so-called Gladious seems controversial. Could he be the one who kidnapped them and conscripted them under his command? The person I met seemed somewhat human, not from space, even though I didn't see his face!"

"My brother went on the second CITRA trip and disappeared. Maybe this Gladious has him, or he's somewhere on this planet, who knows."

"That seems logical. He must be somewhere nearby and not dead yet. We'll look for him after this dilemma is over."

Keno produced a holographic image of his brother from the palm of his hand. "By the way, this is his picture. If you happen to run into him anywhere, tell him I'm looking for him."

Noor looked at the picture. He felt that he had seen him before, and some pain shot through his head. Keno noticed his look. "What happened, do you know him?"

"No, I don't know him," Noor said, trying to hide his tension. "But I feel like I've seen him before."

Keno laughed. "Of course you know him. He's the one who established Asimov's Three Laws for controlling robots and harnessing them for humans before what happened, happened. And now, let's go. I've located the first tower. We're going to carry out the mission."

Noor nodded in agreement, and they started heading toward their target. Keno said jokingly, "Wait, we're not going on foot. That would require walking for a very long time. I have a car nearby."

Noor raised his eyebrows. "A car! How did you get one?"

"You know, I'm a cyborg. I can hack into some systems and access them, including car systems. So I borrowed a car, since this is an emergency."

Noor didn't want to bother him, so he didn't comment on the matter. "So what are you waiting for? Let's go to it. We don't have all day."

Keno agreed. They headed toward the car, crossing the narrow alley until they came out of it. They saw the car parked in front of them, waiting. It was a modern, white car, curved at the front and looking a bit small. Its black glass looked like dark space, and it was the type whose wheels rise a few centimeters off the ground, eliminating friction with the ground, which makes its speed enormous. Keno opened the car door and motioned for Noor to get in. He, in turn, opened his door and threw his body into the seat next to Keno, who was starting the car and activating all the necessary systems for movement. He pressed a screen located next to the steering wheel, and a map appeared. He pressed on the location of the eastern white tower, and the map began to determine the route he should take to get there quickly and safely. He pressed the accelerator and told Noor to hold on tight. The car shot off at a terrifying speed, cutting its way between buildings and trees. Keno turned right and drove straight on the highway, speeding along, then turned right and left to pass through some side streets and other main ones, as the map told him, while he surveyed the destroyed buildings and the black smoke rising from above them into the sky. He saw some roads were destroyed, which made him take other routes to reach his destination.

"So this Gladious has the knowledge to create a super soldier that challenges and surpasses normal human abilities?" Noor said, looking out the window, lost in thought. "And what does he look like? What's his story?"

"Well, we've arrived at the first tower," Keno replied, putting all his focus on the road. "Save the questions for later. We need to focus on our mission right now. The survival of humanity depends on us."

Noor looked at the tower extending majestically to the sky, from between the destroyed buildings, squares, and trees.

"It's funny," Keno said jokingly, "returning to where you came from."

***

Back to Ares, Sairi, and Ivanov

The elevator reached the top and the doors opened. They found themselves inside a building with magnificent architecture, as if they were inside a giant sphere. They saw panels flying ceaselessly near the walls, drawings, and engravings everywhere, while sunlight streamed in through a small oculus in the ceiling. But more important than all of that was the horde of robots standing at the end of the room by the exit, their weapons aimed right at them.

Ares asked one of the young men to take the elevator back down, tell the others what was happening, and rally them to come up and fight for their survival. The young man agreed.

Everyone else exited the elevator as its doors closed on him and it descended once more.

They looked at each other. Ivanov smiled arrogantly and said, "More robots for me to smash. This is great."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.