As I was hurriedly carried through what seemed to be the streets of the slums of the place I found myself in, I took in a variety of sights around me. Human children ran through the streets, some slumped in the corners, foraging through green bins. The woman that seemed to be the more knowledgeable one cast an occasional greedy glance at me. I seemed to be a rare find in the piles of trinkets they searched in. We soon reached a market, where the woman and her protege jostled and pushed through a bustling crowd.
We stopped at a stall in one of the corners of the market, where shady folk roamed. The woman excitedly placed me on the wooden stand, and exclaimed to the vendor. "My endless searching finally paid off, Victor! I found a half-robot, with functioning electromagnetic emitters, and even a microchip!" The vendor, whose name seemed to be Victor, leaned forward. "Let me verify your claims first, Maria. If it is as you say, then you brought a goldmine to me. These emitters are quite expensive."
The man brought a detector that seemed to be more advanced than Maria's, and carefully scanned my emitters. It produced a beeping sound, with a green light. The man's attitude immediately changed. He started grinning, with hints of greed on his face. Maria recognized this, and snatched me away. "Now that you have verified the goods, state a price. Do not try to fool me." The man responded grudgingly. "I'll give 5,000 Prima for it."
The woman responded angrily. "Do not take me for a fool, Victor. I'll sell it for 7,000 Prima and not a single credit less." They started haggling, and decided on 6,500 Prima in the end. "Now for the microprocessor. It may be functional, but there is a very small chance that it is so. For the base value of the metals making up the chip, I will give you 900 Prima." The woman, Maria, agreed without much protest, and thus I was sold. After she left, Victor lifted me up and stored me in a drawer.
I spent around an hour in the cupboard until I was pulled out and heard a conversation between Victor and a man whose face was covered by a hood. Victor boasted about me in a victorious tone. "I acquired a very rare piece of machinery today. It's an electromagnetic emitter! In this area! Unbelievable." The man replied. "Oho. Let me take a look at it. The design is quite intriguing. This type of fine marksmanship only used to exist in the Era of Prosperity. Nowadays everything is much more practical and much less intricate. The emitters seem to be very rudimentary compared to what we can do today, though. You would be much better off selling it to a collector of historical items than a technology shop."
Victor replied gratefully. "Thanks for the help, Kyle. I owe you one." As the hooded man nodded appreciatively and turned to leave, he noticed something. It was something he missed while examining my functioning. He noticed a strange crest imprinted on both of my emitters. It was the crest of the most prosperous company back in the Era of Prosperity. His eyes widened slightly, as he seemed to recognize the crest. He turned back to Victor, and calmly spoke, without betraying any intense emotion. "Victor. Let me cash in on that favour. I will buy this item from you right now for 10,000 Prima." Victor was momentarily stunned, and so was I. Why would this mysterious man show interest in me? He seemed to be linked with my, or rather my alter ego's past.
Victor regained his bearing, and replied. "Are you sure? You aren't a collector. This can only mean that this item seems to be more expensive than you thought, huh? Alright. I'll sell it to you for 11,000 Prima. Take it or leave it." The mysterious man argued. "I said 10,000 Prima, which is way more than you would have gotten even from a renowned collector. I know this is a large profit for you anyway. Don't try to push your luck." Victor stared at the man intently for a few moments, then sighed. "Fine. 10,000 Prima it is, since you did me a favour before." Ten minutes later I found myself in a lab of sorts, with all types of machinery laying around, all seemingly with the same crest that I had.
The man connected a large piece of polished glass to my microchip, which he had extracted carefully. Suddenly my consciousness shifted, and I could see a different point of view- I had been transferred to a different device. The man seemed to be aware of this, as he lifted up his hood and looked directly at the glass.
Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head. My alter ego was speaking to me. What kind of mess did you get yourself into now? I protested. I didn't even do anything. This man seemed to recognize your crest, and bought us from that vendor. The robot then exclaimed in my mind. Wait! That face- it bears similarities to my creator! How? I was flabbergasted. This was an unexpected turn, to say the least. It was at that moment that the man spoke to me. "You… you are him, aren't you? How did you even survive the massacre? Both sides hated you, yet you are the only one from 'there' to survive. Haha! How fitting!" The man laughed hatefully, while I seemed to get even more confused.
He continued. "You know what? You are in luck today. It seems I can finally take my revenge. I, Verenus, will build you a new body, and in return, I need you to promise me one thing. You must bring our former glory back. We two are the only ones who survived that massacre, and I am an old, decrepit man. I'll make you my greatest masterpiece, the culmination of my life's, and our clan's work. You will carry on our legacy, and unite this world, no matter the cost. Do you accept this deal?"
I was awed by the implications of his statements and his identity. Then, the one who took a backseat suddenly surged. Let me take control for a moment. This is important. I, or rather my alter ego, spoke. "I accept your deal, The Last Descendant. Give me the tools to achieve greatness once again, as your ancestor had done once upon a time. I shall rise once again, beyond what I once was."
Verenus replied with a nod. "The First Creation. I welcome your return… "