Chapter 53 - The Little Robot

How cruel the world could be.

Perhaps it was the Gods, if there were any.

Or perhaps it was it's creator, playing a prank in the making for the last thousands of years.

It did not know, and it could not laugh.

It voice box barely worked anymore.

Before it, was a man covered in dried up blood, with eyes of obsidian and cobalt instantly zeroing in on it.

A predator of a man. 

Somethings never change.

Humans had always been savages. But, they also had heart. Something it did not understand. But knew very well from it's learning modules.

A woman stood opposite of him. She was tall, for a lady of their race in it's memory. Very tall. But, she was also very strong for their race.

She could not hide her power from it's sight. A power that was reminiscent of those that laid within these flowers. Was she hope? Was she... her creators legacy?

It quietly cataloged her. 

A girl stood between them, peering up at it, hiding a dagger in her clothes that had seen more blood then most, it was still dirty from it's last kill.

But she appeared innocent... though it could sense her fear. A constant, all encompassing fear. She grabbed the mans leg, staying close. Though she showed no outwards signs, she was both terrified and looking for an opening at any moment.

A brave, fearsome girl.

Though it seems she was calmer with him. Her heart beat was slowed, in his presence.

It raised a hand, and the lights from the rings of plants cleaned all three, taking away the dried up blood, turning them into flakes and devouring them as fertilizer.

It briefly looked up.

There was a massive presence above the ground that was bearing down, trying to see into the chamber behind it now that the seal had been broken.

Another power equally as large and encompassing if not more so, was about to go critical some distance away, but this place had been built to withstand worse.

...But given the nature of time, and the ruinous debilitation of the foundation as well as the seals breaking, it was likely the last moments of this place, would go alongside the explosion to come from that magic signature.

The flow of time in the world would begin to move in this place once again as well. Which meant that everything that was built, would crumble away to dust.

The end was close, though which would arrive first, it did not know.

"I... am... Care...taker. Welcome... to... Terrarium..."

It did not have time, to be slow with these three. It could not allow them to know, that it had free thought, and it did not wish to burden them with knowledge beyond what they should know.

It's creator had made it, and instilled it with language modules, one of which was the current language state.

Creator had seen this far ahead into the future... and yet... they could not prevent this fate.

It turned around.

It's mechanical voice rang with the clashing of gears, "...Follow..."

The Terrarium was a massive underground structure, that had several facilities and connected around everywhere, but it was also not built for the creators, much to their surprise at that time.

It was small humanoid sized.

It had often wondered, if there were other such terrariums like this one somewhere else out there, that were bigger, and able to keep safe the creators, but... it could not know.

And it was futile to waste what precious time was left, on such regretful thoughts now.

"What is this place? What are you?" The injured woman, with a bright golden light in her eyes, spoke fiercely in contrast to her current health state.

That too had not changed, amongst this lower species, even after thousands of years, that spirit still continued on.

"This... is... terrarium... I... am... Care... taker..." 

They did not need to know more. If they would find it out, then so be it. Fate has it's place. But it was not interested in playing a role past what it's Creator had given it.

The woman seemed unsatisfied if not angry at the response, but it did not care. The man appeared interested in the flowers rotating in the rings around the floating walkway.

It reached into it's throat, and tinkered about with it's voice box, it still remembered how to fix it, but, it needed better tools to do so, and so it could only do mild repairs, it's voice a little more smooth.

"...Sky Lillies... Brave Fin... Sun Seed... Cold Rock... Spirits..." It listed off the names of the flowers.

They had been brought here alongside it, from all across the world, to be used and preserved in this time capsule of a place.

"What are they for?" The man spoke at last.

His voice was baritone, it didn't have any emotion that it could recognize, and it showed no pauses or hesitation.

A question was not how it sounded, but the words would suggest such.

It's mind churned for a moment.

"Terrarium... built for... research," It pointed to the rotating rings, specifically at the small lining between each ring, where something murkish existed, "...Corruption... death... Cure."

With the seal broken, it could feel the flow of time accelerating in this place back to where it should be.

The world was forcefully adjusting this place back into the fold. Like magic is broken, and aura is resisted, time too is constant.

And the time in this place had long been overdue.

It's wings were chipping alongside it's gears rather quickly.

But it managed to make the turn at a crossroads, to the place they needed to go.

"Was it the Corruption that destroyed everything here?" The woman this time, with a difficult look on her face... she seemed conflicted.

Was this places existence opposite of one of her beliefs, or a belief of this time?

It was possible, that over the years, all history was lost, forgotten or perhaps tampered. Such was the nature of things.

"...I ...don't ...know." It looked at the great archway in front of it.

There was a time when it too was a gate to be opened and closed, but, that time seemed to have already broken apart, the area behind where they'd come from, was already falling to pieces as well.

It wouldn't be long, before it too, was turned into a broken shell.

They weren't speaking.

Was it so stunning to see this?

It was a laboratory, an experimentation area, to be precise.

Dozens of people, were in giant tubes of multicolored light, the roots of the different plants were connected to each tube, taking nutrients from their rich blood before then healing them back again, to do over and over.

But they were ageing rapidly.

At the very least, this horrifying sight had the silver lining of them being put to sleep, before being put in there, so they did not have to suffer the thousands of years awake.

But alas... their dreams would have to come to an end now.

Everything had it's end.

"What is all of this?" The woman had her sword in her hand.

It could not blame it.

It was a terrible sight to behold.

It could only imagine how it might have reacted, if it was in their shoes, and in the tubes were not humans, but it's creators.

It may have destroyed everything in sight.

It sat upon one of the tubes, they could not see it, for they were focused on it, but it could see the lights dimming quickly in the passage from where they came.

Everything was dying, as it should have, so long ago.

"...We wished ...to save ...everyone ...But we ...failed." 

It had researched diligently, over and over for all the time it had spent in this place, for a cure to the corruption that had ruined the world.

"...I ...failed." 

It could not bring together a real cure for it. Only a preventative measure, given the recourses it had in the time that it had.

It had surmised, that this day would come, though it never knew when and had prepared in accordance.

For though it had not emotions ...it did not mean, it was going to simply roll over and give up.

"...Take my ...research ...do what ...I could ... not." It raised a finger, it's joints in it's arms and wings could hardly move anymore.

There was nothing left of it's body to feel anymore.

The man followed it's finger to a research bench, with notes written in stone for the propagation of the special flowers here. How they are bred. How they come about. How to care for them.

Everything was written there, in great detail, such that even a fool try to grow these flowers.

It knew, that given the difficult nature of growing them, that there was little chance of them succeeding in the open air world, where they would be sought after, but it ...it had hope.

If they could be planted in areas affected by the Corruption, allowed to feed on it, as it had been allowed to do here, then perhaps, there could be a fighting chance.

To cleanse the earth that it's creator had given their life to protect.

It couldn't feel it's arms anymore.

The man had the packet of seeds that it had sealed so many years ago. And the instructions now.

It's voice box didn't want to turn on. It's finger was jammed inside.

But still it spoke.

"...Gate ...ahead."

It's small head fell backwards as it's body rusted to dust. It's eyes widened and narrowed, readjusting a few times, unable to figure out which was which, only a blur left of the beautiful light above, rotating in the rings.

It did not know if there was an afterlife waiting for it.

It did not know if it had all been in vain after all this time.

It did not know if ...what the feeling rising in it's nonexistent chest was.

Perhaps, it's first emotion....

"...Run."

...though certainly it's last.