Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle Chapter 1278: The First One

Within a few minutes, all fourteen War Automata had been disabled.

Several had collapsed completely, while others remained intact but could no longer move. Max had intentionally left the majority of their internal systems undamaged, allowing Cloud and Tieria to continue analyzing them.

Cloud remained silent for several seconds before the AI finally spoke.

[ Analysis complete. ]

Everyone turned their attention toward Shane’s wristwatch.

"What did you find?"

[ The War Automata are considerably older than the Anima technology currently incorporated into the Warden Units and other modern systems. ]

Tieria’s expression became interested.

"So they really are ancient."

[ Yes. Based on their construction, energy system, and internal architecture, I estimate that they belong to one of the earlier generations of Anima military technology. ]

Tundra looked toward the disabled machines.

"What were they designed for?"

[ Their primary function appears to have been security and facility defense rather than open battlefield warfare. ]

Cloud continued as information appeared on Tieria’s mechanical eye.

[ Their external armor is highly resistant to physical and energy attacks, but their joints contain weaker connection points. The optical sensors located within their heads are also vulnerable, and disabling them significantly reduces their combat effectiveness. ]

Tieria nodded as the same information appeared within his vision.

"What about the energy core?"

[ Located behind the central chest plate. The core itself is durable, but the surrounding systems are comparatively vulnerable. ]

Max looked at the disabled machines...

"So they’re basically ancient security guards. No wonder you failed to immediately recognize them."

[ That would be an acceptable description. ]

Max chuckled.

"Ancient security guards. I like that."

However, Cloud wasn’t finished.

[ There is another important discovery. These War Automata were not originally designed to protect the exterior entrance. ]

"What?" Tundra asked in confusion.

[ Their current positions are inconsistent with ordinary perimeter security. Their formation suggests that they are protecting something specific. ]

Everyone instinctively looked toward the enormous metallic doors behind the disabled machines.

For some reason, the entrance no longer seemed like a simple doorway... It felt like a warning.

Shane slowly approached the facility.

"Can you determine what they’re protecting?"

[ Not yet. ]

Cloud’s voice became slightly more serious.

[ However, I have detected a faint energy fluctuation coming from deeper inside the facility. ]

The group immediately became silent.

Then, from somewhere beyond the enormous metal doors, they heard a faint mechanical sound.

Click.

Everyone stopped until a second sound followed.

Click. Click.

Tieria’s mechanical eye immediately activated at full capacity.

Everyone’s expression became serious while Sylas disappeared from sight.

Then, Shane slowly raised his hand.

He kept his hand raised for several seconds, as his gaze fixed on the enormous metallic doors before them. Nobody moved.

Soon, the faint mechanical sounds that had echoed from somewhere beyond the entrance had stopped, leaving the area strangely quiet once again.

Even the wind that swept across the floating island seemed to have died down...

"There’s something happening behind the doors," Tieria muttered.

His mechanical eye glowed brightly as countless streams of information passed through his vision. The artificial eye continuously adjusted its focus, analyzing the faint energy fluctuations that were coming from somewhere deep inside the facility.

Cloud immediately responded through Shane’s wristwatch.

[ Confirmed. The facility’s internal energy output has increased by approximately seventeen percent since the War Automata were disabled. ]

Tundra frowned.

"Does that mean it’s waking up?"

[ I cannot determine that yet. ]

Shane slowly lowered his hand and looked toward the entrance.

"Then let’s find out."

He stepped forward, and the others immediately followed. Nobody rushed toward the facility, however. They had already learned that the ancient structure was still active, after all.

Sylas remained several meters ahead of them, his presence completely concealed as he continued watching the enormous doors.

Shane eventually stopped a few meters away from the doors.

There were no visible handles, hinges, control panels, or other mechanisms that could explain how the enormous structure could be opened.

However, the countless markings or symbols covering the surface formed an intricate pattern that seemed to spread outward from the center of the doors.

Under Cloud’s command, Shane poured his Spirit Energy into the door.

Soon, several of the symbols were beginning to glow.

Tieria immediately focused his mechanical eye on them.

"The symbols are activating."

"Can you understand them?" Travis asked.

Tieria shook his head.

"They’re written in a language I don’t recognize."

Cloud’s voice came through the wristwatch.

[ I may be able to analyze them. ]

Shane glanced at his wrist.

"You can?"

[ I have already begun comparing the symbols against the Anima Civilization’s known records. However, my database is incomplete, so determining their exact meaning may take some time. ]

"Keep analyzing them."

Shane turned his attention back toward the entrance.

"We’ll deal with whatever happens next."

As though responding to his words, another mechanical sound suddenly echoed from somewhere behind the doors.

Click.

This time, the entire entrance reacted.

A faint vibration traveled through the ground beneath their feet, followed by a deep mechanical rumble.

Then the enormous doors began to move, and it was surprisingly smooth.

There was no creaking noise that they had expected before.

Indeed, considering the enormous size and weight of the structure, everyone had expected the opening to produce a tremendous amount of noise.

As the gap between the doors gradually widened, darkness appeared behind them.

Hisssss~

A cold current of air flowed out from the facility and swept across the group.

Soon, they saw a massive corridor stretched into the darkness beyond the entrance.

The ceiling was high enough to accommodate several Mech Frames standing side by side...

Yet what truly caught everyone’s attention was the condition of the interior.

There was almost no sign of decay, the floor wasn’t covered in dust, and no vegetation had grown through cracks in the metal.

There was no rust covering the walls, and none of the exposed machinery appeared damaged by the passage of time.

The interior looked almost untouched.

"Okay... that’s definitely not what I expected." Max muttered.

"Neither did I." Tundra nodded..

At this time, Cloud spoke.

[ There appears to be a system inside the facility that is interfering with external detection abilities. ]

[ The facility is emitting a repeating energy pulse. It appears to function as a form of internal network synchronization. ]

"So the facility is communicating with something?"

[ More accurately, its various systems appear to be communicating with one another. ]

[ We might be seeing more guards soon. ]

"That’s what I thought." Shane muttered.

There was clearly something unusual about this place, and he didn’t mind being attacked.

After all, this was the first genuine remnant of the Anima Civilization they had ever discovered.

After everything they had learned about the Anima Civilization and the technology it had left behind, there was no way he could simply walk away from an opportunity like this.

"We’re going in."

As he said this, a mysterious humanoid figure appeared in front of them and spoke in a mechanical voice.

"Welcome to the First Citadel, Survivors."