"Fuck living like this" — Once on the grass, I felt the smell of the forest hit my nose, and bright sunlight from behind the trees hit my eyes. And even though the filters in the implants immediately darkened the picture, the sensory shock imposed on the general weakness did its job: my head began to spin, and nausea came to my throat. — "Why is it so bad…"

While I tryed to get up, someone's hands gently pushed me from behind.

"Get up carefully." — Having collected my vision in a heap, I turned to the sound and saw that it was Olga, in whose gaze a lot of different emotions were mixed. Well, you know, when people admire you at the same time, and doubt your mental abilities, and think a lot of other things about you, sometimes diametrically opposite in meaning. Only women can do that. — "You have earned exhaustion and you need rest, sudden movements are contraindicated. Who is so sloppy with magic anyway? You almost dried yourself out! And you said it was the first time you heard about magic!"

"And I didn't lie." — I slowly got to my feet and took a step away from Olga. — "Somehow I didn't realize before that I could do this and acted as my intuition told me. You don't to worry. I'll be fine soon.

"Mistress, where are we going?" — Chloe asked as she came up to us.

— "Nowhere, we are exactly where we need to be."

It really didn't take long to go. We found ourselves in the forest at the bottom of a small ravine about three meters deep near the same pillar as in the Tower. Only this one was covered with moss, which was now slowly smoldering, spreading a woody smell around. One of the walls of the ravine is completely earthen and covered with grass and bushes, but the second is a piece of rock. There was a masked door turned out to hide a narrow tunnel leading somewhere deep into the rock. There was no lighting inside, of course, but I had a flashlight on the riffle, with which I lit the road, again catching the interested glances of my companions. At the other end we were met by another door, which opened as soon as Olga touched it.

"I didn't think I'd ever use this place, but make yourself at home." — The queen said and was the first to step inside. A second later, the light came on, coming from metal-framed crystals hanging on the walls, revealing a view of something like an entrance hall. Here we threw off everything superfluous and went further into a room with a table and chairs, as well as a single bed in the corner, near which a small closet was huddled. Minimalistic, but you shouldn't expect much from a spare bed.

"We are sincerely grateful to you for your help." — Olga said, pretending to bow as we sat down at the table. Chloe silently repeated her gesture. — "But we have nothing to give you in return."

"A simple "thank you" will be enough." — I smiled, accepting the gratitude. — I didn't think about the benefits at all, it was enough for me that these freaks put me in a cage and the way they treated Chloe when they came. Good never acts like this.

"And more, we have a debt now. It's scary to think what would have happened to us if you hadn't intervened." — Olga insisted. — "I can't just ignore such an act. I promise I'll find a way to thank you."

"If it's important to you." — I didn't argue, seeing how determined she was. — But it's premature to think about it yet.

"Yes, you're right." — The girl sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. — "Now we are facing some more pressing issues. Banal survival is the main one. But not the last one. What you did recently in the tower…"

"Let me explain." — A new interlocutor, who spoke in a synthesized female voice, cut into our conversation.

"Damn it!" — I reacted to her appearance, and the girls, hearing him, jumped to their feet and turned to the exit, looking for an unexpected intruder there. In the hands of one, a sword was instantly in the hands, and electric discharges sparkled on the fingers of the second. But there was no one at the door. And I just forgot about her, and she's right there. Filth.

"Did you really have to do that?! You could have warned me first." — I asked with displeasure, putting my wrist computer on the table. Its display showed a sound scale.

"I'm sorry." — She answered me through the speaker, and the scale swayed in time with the words.

"We're actually here after the fight and a little nervous, and you're not contributing to calmness with your antics." — I said with emphasis. — "Don't do that anymore."

"A talking handcuff?" — Chloe asked, nervously twitching her shoulder, not letting go of the weapon and squinting at my hand. — "What the hell?"

"Who are you?" — Olga was no less tense than her assistant, but she removed the lightning anyway.

— "My name is Martha — virtual assistant of the first class. Embedded in the body of the GUARDIAN protocol unit to assist in the protection of the functionary known to you as Olga Discordia."

"Explain." — Olga demanded in an imperious voice. This is familiar to me, this is how a big commander should talk to subordinates. — "What does all this mean? Why am I a functionary? What is the protocol and how is it related to this person? Is it related to the Tower?"

— "Correct. The Dark Citadel, as you call it, is a legacy of an ancient civilization that existed tens of thousands of years ago. There is no information in my memory what exactly caused its fall, but as a result, the remnants of its representatives degraded to the state of wild tribes and subsequently settled around the world, dividing into two separate branches."

"Light and dark elves." — Chloe suggested.

— "Correct. The Dark Citadel is a fortified research center and archive of your ancestors and was preserved by the creators in order to transfer knowledge to the surviving descendants when they can find a way to use them, but as a result of unknown events, an emergency deconservation occurred, accompanied by irreversible damage to critical internal systems, which is why when you, Olga Discordia, found the object, the central computer could not contact you and transfer full control."

Holy shit. This is no longer the Middle Ages, but some kind of post-apocalypse. Involuntarily, I remembered my home where humanity is fighting for its existence and risks sooner or later sharing the fate of the creators of Martha. The faces of my brothers floated before my eyes and in my heart and I felt longing. How are they there now, without me? I hope I managed to make become a good people and they won't eventually turn into soulless biorobots like others. We crossed paths a couple of times with other detachments, and the sight, to put it mildly, is depressing. After all, no one bothered to socialize, in fact, live weapons, fucking state property. Except of me. It's strange that I wasn't taken by the ass and disassembled into components in order to find out the causes of deviant behavior, although without this, both I and the guys had to repeatedly go through upgrade procedures and experiments to improve the quality of consumable, material. I would like to crush all those freaks who were doing this with a great pleasure, but the fact that I understand, how important it really was stopped me. I understand everything, we were needed to kill. But who prevents us from giving, in fact, children something other than ephemeral motivation in the form of the good of humanity? Nobody. Didn't they see that me and the guys always showed the best results and compare two and two? I do not believe. Olga, who had been listening attentively to Martha, noticed something and looked at me, voicing a dumb question. I caught her eye and shook my head, saying that everything was fine. The Queen nodded curtly and continued to listen carefully to the AI.

"The creator gene is very strong in you, so you were automatically assigned the position of a functionary, but, due to breakdowns, the only function available to you was access to an energy source." — AI continued to explain.

"That is, not everyone can manage the Citadel?" — Olga asked the question.

"Correct." — AI replied. — "The technology of the creators is tied to their genetic material, and in the time since the disaster, their blood in the descendants has greatly weakened, today only one in a thousand is able to interact with the creations of their hands. You are one of them."

"Well, what about me?" — In principle, I already understood how I got here, but I had some idea and I have to find out if it's true. — "After I died at home, this Tower of yours recreated my body, somehow captured and placed my mind or soul in it, right?"

— "Correct." — AI replied again.

"And you were introduced to help me and I was, so to speak, aware of events?" — With every word I said, confidence grew stronger, although the answer has not yet been announced.

— "Correct."

— "And also, as a control tool, right? Well, you know, so that if I suddenly kick up, boil my brains. Well, or take control."

"..." — There was no quick response this time. Squinting at the elves, I saw them tense up. I can't blame them for this, but what if I start destroying everything here with a psycho?

"I'm listening." — I hurried my, now for sure, supervisor.

— "... correct. But only about the elimination. I can't take control of your body."

"Yeah. I believe it willingly." — I wanted to laugh, but I restrained myself. He just leaned back in his chair, put his hands behind his head and looked at the ceiling. — "Shine. I don't belong to myself" again.

"AI is not capable of lying. I really can't do that." — Martha retorted resentfully. Is she really offended? Or only imitates emotions? It doesn't matter, trust in her is still zero, because who knows when she decides that I'm not following the task and will arrange a cardiac arrest for me.

"Even so, it's a small consolation." — I asked.

In fact, I just changed one leash for another. Again, it makes no sense to be offended by this, and I fully understand the motive of this central computer of theirs. No one needs an uncontrolled extra-class combat unit. But this is no reason not to be angry. On the other hand, thanks to him, I'm alive again. And who knows what to think about it, but with this Martha you have to be as alert as possible, that's for sure.

"Kay... we..." — Olga started to talk, but I interrupted her.

"So, let's decide. I have no complaints about you two". — After my words, both girls noticeably relaxed, though not completely, and I tried to calm them down completely. — "It's not you who put me in here. I am sure that what I have just heard is as much a revelation for you as it is for me."

I returned my hands to the table and looked into the eyes of the elves in turn. — "Besides, even if I knew everything from the very beginning, I would have done exactly the same. My sympathies are still on your side."

"Mistress..." — Chloe began cautiously, seeming to have completely calmed down. Unless it seemed to me, of course. — "It seems that our debt to Kay has become even greater."

"Yes..." — the queen answered distantly, looking at the wall opposite her with unfocused eyes. Then she shook her head, coming to her senses and continued. — "I think we all need to rest a little and think. And also to clean up, there is a shower room. However, there is only one bed…"

"Don't worry, I have a sleeping bag." — I said and got up from the table.

The weakness had already passed and I felt quite well. Physically. But not very mentally. The euphoria of realizing that I survived (as it turned out, not quite) ended, as did the fever of the fight after. I began to fully realize that "we are no longer in Kansas." Well, at least it's not the first time, otherwise I really could have done something stupid.

"I'll be in the hallway. Taking care of my gear." — Picking up a chair, I went to the exit. — "If anything happens, call me."

It really doesn't hurt to think, left alone with myself. As far as it is now possible for me.