With a silent breath, Altair slowly opened his eyes once more. Along his eyelids, a single tear escaped. He clenched his fist and tightened his jaws, eyes forward, and eliminated all unnecessary thoughts. Once done, he took a deep breath and exhaled it to calm down his system.

  Now finally relaxed, he straightened his body and slouched back into his seat, silently observing the interface. Then, with a single snap, his forlorn expression disappeared like a gust of wind under a morning breeze.

  "Are you alright... Lieutenant?" Vigil zoomed in and out, recording and observing every single detail of the action that Altair took.

  Along the ley lines of his code, numbers and words were being added, modified, and removed. He was deciphering, categorizing, matching data, and leading to results. Once done, it was compartmentalized along a data node that was continuously being formed, rebuilt, and expanded.

  "I'm... I'm alright." Altair said, his mind focused on more important matters instead.

  Realizing what was happening, Altair shifted his body and moved into a more comfortable position. "I'm alright now." Altair reassured his newly sentient companion, Vigil.

  "I understand, Lieutenant." Vigil said, though within his systems, doubts and errors were being formed.

  "Facial expressions and his words don't match... Reevaluating..." Vigil hummed through the communication interface. "Error... Further analysis is required." He continued singing in a melodramatic echo.

  Altair smiled pleasantly, placed his right arm beside his seat and on the recliner, raised it upwards, and rested his chin along it. He found the eccentric personality that Vigil was emanating amusing.

  "It's like seeing a child growing up." He thought to himself.

  Just as things were taking too long, the interface in front of him suddenly lit up with a new notification. Along the screen, new instruments were embedded.

  "This would serve to be an important factor in the coming years." He said as he gazed at the interface, and along the lines were written, "Atmospheric Particles Detector," which acted as some kind of sensor and radar for the strange particles that they had been exploiting.

  Along its bright sensors, it could also act as an infrared light type of mechanism for the so-called Stygians surrounding the Ironside. However, that was not his main focus, as the detector received a massive amount of atmospheric dispersal and notified him.

  As he gazed around at Mira and her companions, he could see or perhaps sense that the strange atmospheric particles that were blocking out their voices had disappeared. He wondered how it functioned.

  "It would be beneficial for me if we could bypass such things that rebel against physics itself." He murmured to himself.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Nevertheless, he braced himself for the coming questions.

  "May we know what your name is?" Mira's voice was soft but cautious, without any ounce of hostility.

  The red glowing eyes pivoted at each of them, as if it were thinking, and with a sudden hum, the Ironside buzzed.

  "My name is Altair, named after the eleventh brightest star under the heavens." The machine whirred, proud as if it were its name.

  Upon hearing the name, she became flabbergasted. "Eleventh brightest star?" She muttered under the silent air.

  Lyria, who was listening intently, came forward. "What do you mean?" She beckoned. "What do you mean?!" she repeated.

  With the pestering of Lyria, she turned and answered. "The ancient construct's name is Altair; apparently, it is the eleventh brightest star under the heavens."

  Lyria widened her eyes, contorted her expression, and with both hands desperately grabbed Mira's right arm. "What?!" she spoke, and then continued, "But the North Star is the only star under the sky?" She mumbled as she looked down, lost in thought.

  Brennan, who was listening intently, stood up and came forward.

  "Then, it must be a relic from before the Kingdom of Babel?" he interjected, his curiosity growing exponentially.

  Lyria's eyes twinkled as a slight greed formed in her eyes. "Then..." She paused. "Could we study it?" Her eyes sparkled with life.

  Mira merely averted her eyes. "I don't think so..." she said with an exhausted voice. "It doesn't seem to be the same as the other golems; it seems sentient?"

  Lyria deflated upon hearing the answer, but she never gave up and continued to hold on to her thoughts. Once done, she sat back from where she had sat a while ago and began to think.

  Brennan only smiled but then immediately reverted back. He moved beside Mira and opened his mouth. "We shouldn't assume too much." He paused, then continued. "There is only one way to find out." He stayed and gazed up in fascination at the Ironside.

  "Such magnificent craft." He thought to himself.

  Mira only chuckled as she looked at Brennan admiring the craft. "There goes our artisan!" She beckoned. "Well, let's have the Ironside ask us a question then."

  Brennan nodded, still lost in fascination.

  "Lieutenant, it's making me uncomfortable." Vigil said, his voice cracking.

  Upon hearing Vigil, Altair averted his eyes from the interface. "The what?"

  "Being stared at..." Vigil hummed in a low voice, which Altair chuckled at.

  After letting out a laugh, he switched back into a poker face as Mira signaled for him to ask.

  Altair, without a single thought, finally asked what he had been wanting to ask for a long time.

  "Where do the 'Stygians' come from?"

  Silence befell Mira, to the point it was deafening. Nevertheless, she straightened her body and began to narrate.

  "They are the nightmare creatures spawned from the eternally dreaming citizens of the Kingdom of Babel." She paused, then continued, "Not many records have been recovered, but it is traditionally known that the kingdom sank after a never-ending black rain befell the nation." She narrated, paused, then breathed and continued once again.

  "The kingdom now lays deep within the black lake now called Styx." She paused as she gazed with a forlorn expression, then continued. "The black lake is connect—" She was cut off, as the Ironside began to suddenly move, numerous compartments opening, and a loud whirring sound echoing through the entire place.

  All around the interface were the crimson hue of alerts.

  "Lieutenant! Multiple Stygians rapidly heading our way!" Vigil said with a loud tone in desperation. "Their biological signatures don't resemble any of the Stygians we have encountered earlier!" He continued.

  Altair, who was already maneuvering the systems, bit his lip in frustration. Both his hands and fingers moved reflexively across the console like those of a conductor in an orchestra.

  "Damn!" He growled in frustration.