With his visual receptors glitching out and all other systems shutting down one by one to save on power, Diggix pushed on. It was not far; the little Robot had pushed on for more than an hour, with the end being far out of reach for most of the journey. However, the stones in his storage encouraged him to push on; their vibrations gave him a simple reason not to just stop and rest.
It must have been somewhere past midnight; he had to switch off his spotlights to preserve energy. All around him, there was complete silence; not a single sound could be heard. His thermal sensors picked up that it was only a very few degrees above freezing point. Diggix tried hard not to make the forest defeat him; according to the entity, it was not too far away.
As Diggix approached the sheltered area, he noticed many glowing creatures flying about, not the same as those he witnessed the previous day. These ones had various different colors, though Diggix did not have the time to observe them. Beyond the creatures within the mist, there was a building, its silhouette darkening the rest of the forest.
In front of the building what seemed to be the door was an old thin stone laid against the arches of entryway; it seemed like someone had been there at some point not too long ago. The little robot pushed the rock just far enough for him to slip into the building; the stone fell back into place, sealing the little robot inside. His energy was depleted; he had only a few minutes left on his crystal; he did not bother to explore the ruin first, he found a corner to sit down and finally shut down all his systems to rest.
The signal went off to indicate that his crystal was fully charged; slowly, Diggix rebooted all his systems until he could bring his visual and audio receptors back online. The little robot quickly ran a diagnostics check to make sure all systems were still working as expected, and then he searched his systems for any new functions that might have been created during his rest. None were detected.
His audio receptors came online, and with it, the loud noises of the forest filled the room around him. It was deafening. With his visual receptors focusing in, he realized he had made it to safety just in time before he shut down. The room was small, it had no furniture, and the walls had various engravings on them. It was written in a language Diggix could understand.
Diggix stood up from the ground with great trouble, his joints felt rusted, or dust prohibited it from moving smoothly. Though in no time, the little robot stood to his feet. Fascinated by the writings on the wall, Diggix searched for the beginning of the scripts to make out what it was saying.
Power comes to those who seek it. Those were the first words he could find, reading on Diggix wondered who had written them on the walls. The phrase was one Diggix was familiar with; it was the Order's motto; it was the words Thanatos used when he tried to emphasize the need to give your best.
Coming to this world has given me new hope that by seeking power, I shall find it; here on Dessix, the power of all humankind rests, waiting to be rediscovered. Although I have been on Dessix for five years after the Citadel’s completion, I have learned so much already.
Mankind is a tool; their suffering strengthens the power I seek; their suffering forms a unique bond between the Nihil and those who wield its extraordinary powers. Unfortunately, I have yet to discover the power for myself. But, I've been brought closer to enlightenment by killing all the slaves who had built the Citadel.
Diggix realized these were the words of his master, words that had been written on those walls centuries ago as a journal to his search for this mysterious power the little robot heard about on numerous occasions on his journey so far. It speaks of death and killing innocent people; it speaks of lust for power he could not find. Diggix’s insatiable need to gather information took over him and read further.
Their torturous deaths taught me that mankind is fragile and that they need supernatural leadership, something the Order of the Ipsimus can never offer. Thus I surrendered my life to the Nihil in hopes of acquiring these powers to guide my people to complete rebirth. But, unfortunately, it has not presented itself to me yet though I shall not give up.
I have found the stones Nivshevus had told me to seek; there are mysterious teachings of far-gone times. Though I do not understand how these stones can teach me anything through re-telling history. All I could find in the old narrative was destruction, rivalry, betrayal, and death... It is far beyond my understanding why I am to learn these things.
Nivshevus had shown me a vision; it tells of a powerful being that will one day destroy the universe. I am to believe this person is me. I see the need for the destruction and rebirth of this universe; the people who occupy it are not worthy. Though for me to reach that level, I have been istructed to start bringing to life the first of the Epsimusses, a man even my father worshiped. Primis.
Through the pure blood of Primis, we can summon the Nihil to grant me these powers. It eludes me, however, the understanding of what the Nihil is. Sometimes Nivshevus refers to as the power of the galaxy, and at other times there is a faint hint that the Nihil is an entity much like Nivhevus himself.
There was a pattern emerging from the writings of Thanatos; Diggix realized that he was only on the planet to find and wield this ancient and mythical power. He wanted to destroy the universe just to rebuild it. However, thinking about everyone in the Citadel and knowing that there are countless souls on various other worlds in the cosmos, he could not process the unfathomable amount of power Thanatos must come to possess to wipe out everything in existence.
Diggix’s apprehension grew within his circuits; his master was planning on doing something he could not allow to happen. Though he had been instructed not to act against Thanatos before the time was right and that he needed to obey his commands until such time presented itself.
Diggix thought about his mission when he was sent into the jungles; he had to place the ruins on their places before time ran out. The little robot scanned the rest of the walls into memory for him to read on another day. There were many writings and stories that Thanatos had written on those walls, Diggix wanted so badly to stop and read it all, but time was running out fast.
Many more inscriptions were moving through the old ruin, though all the rooms seemed empty. Diggix never realized how deep he had traveled into the forest to find a place to rest; his crystal must have made him hallucinate his arrival and subsequent entry to the ruin.
Reaching the stone door, he pushed it one side with way less effort than the previous day, though he looked up and noticed the sun was already high when he got outside. There were many more ruins around him between the trees and around the building, some seemed like small platforms for someone to stand on, and others resembled old, dilapidated walls. But, fortunately, the plants and the trees had not had the chance to overrun this area just yet.
Everything he saw had engravings on; it was difficult for Diggix to process that it was his master who wrote all of it. Even though it was written centuries into the past, his master would still be very advanced in age and would not have the ability or patients to stand or sit and write things onto the walls. So some other power, perhaps this Nivshevus he kept on hearing about, had handwritten these inscriptions.
Diggix looked around and saw nothing else; he had to make sure he memorized that place unless he got lost again. He had a mission to complete, something he seemed to try and avoid throughout his journey. The time had come to a stop and look at everything around him, it was time for him to complete his primary goal and get back to the Citadel before his journey ends the same way his last did.
The little robot opened the map given to him; he tried to see if at all the map could show him where he was. The ruin was a pretty prominent feature in the forest, and indeed it would have been displayed on the map. After much inspection, to the little robot's satisfaction, he found the ruin on the map and noticed he was not too far from where he was meant to go. So, with reluctance, Diggix looked at the misty forest and pushed on ahead.
