It was 9:00 am and Ourea was outside the Chief's tent, waiting for the ancient soldier and the Nora huntress to come out. It didn't take long for the couple to come out, with their clothes and equipment on.

Ourea: It was about time you two got out, how tired were you? -complained the older woman, as she looked at both young people with confusion.

Aloy: Yeah... you could say that -said the redhead as she looked at her boyfriend with a smile.

Ourea: Well, it's time to go to Thunder's Drum. There is a settlement there called Longnotch, it is at the base of the mountain -explained the woman to which they both nodded.

Before they could begin their journey, Aratak stepped into the path of the travelers.

Aratak: Chief, may I ask you to let me accompany you, and my sister, please -asked the man kneeling before the ancient soldier.

Ourea looked somewhat thoughtful at her brother's request, but she gave in.

Ourea: Well, you can come... under the condition that you will do everything I tell you -explained the woman and the man looked at her with some annoyance, swallowing his damaged pride, but the soldier stepped between both siblings.

Allam: No, you will do what I tell you Aratak, not what your sister says -said the ancient soldier with authority while he looked at both of them.

Allam signaled Ourea to show them the way to the settlement and within hours, they were at the Longnotch settlement, the Banuk's stronghold of defense against the Daemon's demonic machines. The travelers passed through the settlement and continued on their way to the base of Thunder's Drum. Arriving at the base, they found a small camp, where Naltuk, Ourea's apprentice, was waiting for them. But there was something that puzzled the couple and was that the base of the mountain was a gigantic wall of ice from which there was no way to climb.

Naltuk: Ourea, the preparations for the ritual are ready -said the young man and the woman nodded.

The shaman turned to see our protagonists.

Ourea: And here we are, Thunder's Drum... I didn't think I'd be here again, after so long... and all because of the intervention of some foreigners who don't know anything about the Banuk culture -said the woman, as if she had a lump in her throat.

Allam: Is it so hard for you to say thank you, Ourea? -the ancient soldier asked sarcastically, taking the woman by surprise.

Oure: Oh no no...thank you both, for giving me this new opportunity -the woman thanked, to which Allam and Aloy nodded.

Ourea: We'll start as soon as you give the order, Chief -commented the woman and the soldier nodded.

Aloy: We have a question, about someone specific, Sylens -the huntress asked the woman, and she shook her head.

Ourea: I'm sorry, I can't- -she was going to say, but Allam interrupted her.

Allam: As your Chief, I order you to tell us what you know about Sylens -the man claimed with an authoritative tone, taking the Banuk woman by surprise.

Ourea let out a tired sigh and nodded.

Ourea: Sylens claimed to come from a Northern Werak, one no one had heard of, but his knowledge about the machines and about the Old Ones caught the attention of the Conclave. The Conclave invited him to one of their meetings, worst decision in the world -said the woman with venom, remembering that awful day.

Aloy: What happened? -asked the redhead.

Ourea: The whole place was looted and desecrated. Ancient relics disappeared without a trace. When we tried to find his Werak, we found nothing, as if it had never existed -said the woman, condemning those times.

Allam: Sounds like something baldy would do -said the man with a sneer.

Ourea: That's not all, every hunter we sent after him never came back. He is a dangerous man and that you dealt with him and got away barely unscratched, I'm impressed -explained the woman, taking the couple by surprise, especially Allam.

Ourea: Is there anything else you want to ask me before continuing, Chief? -asked the woman with some weariness, to which the couple shook their heads.

The ancient soldier turned to his girlfriend.

Allam: Ready to end this? -the ancient soldier asked the redhead, to which she nodded determinedly.

Allam: We are ready -said the ancient soldier, to which the shaman and her apprentice nodded.

Ourea moved to a campfire and from this she took out a wooden stick, with which she made a triangle with the burnt ashes, on the wall of ice.

Aloy: And how does that help us? -the redhead asked her boyfriend with some curiosity, who shrugged.

Allam: No one knows what the hell is going through these people's minds. I wonder how they expect to enter the mountain through a wall of ice -the man replied, just as confused.

Ourea: Now, brother - commanded the shaman and Aratak hit the wall extremely hard, breaking the ice and revealing a vent.

Ourea and Naltuk began to sing and create more smoke, then moving it in the direction of the ventilation shaft. Within a few minutes, there was a crash and the icy wall began to crack.

Voice: Fire system activated. Please go to the nearest emergency exit or exits, this is not a drill -said the voice repeatedly.

The gigantic icy wall collapsed, exposing a metal door, an emergency exit.

Ourea: As you can see, I also possess the power of the Old Ones too -said the woman with pride, to which the couple just rolled their eyes at what the woman said.

Allam Pov

Aratak, Aloy, Ourea and I entered the underground facility that was in Thunder's Drum. I had never seen these facilities, they don't look like they were made by GAIA, they are older, it looks like some kind of power plant. I scanned one of the generators and it seemed to be still active and online, perhaps the Spirit was keeping the facility active.

Me: What is this place? I asked, not knowing what kind of installation this was.

Ourea: It's an ancient fortress of the Old Ones, they used it to protect themselves, but I don't have the slightest idea against what -explained the woman, but I looked at her with confusion.

A military base here? That can't be possible, as far as I know, the only military facility in the area was that drone hangar Aloy went to a few days ago. This power plant is here to power something... and whatever it is, it's gigantic.

Aloy used her focus to scan a kind of voice note, which she was listening to attentively, but Ourea's question confused her.

Ourea: What do you listen with so much attention? -The shaman asked the young woman curiously.

Aloy: It's... a voice from the past, if we want to be technical, only I can hear it, thanks to my Focus -explained the young woman and the woman nodded, surprised, but decided not to press on the matter.

We continue to enter the facilities, until we reach the site of the battle of the first expedition. The room was packed with machines, from Daemonic Scrappers to Scorchers, in the middle of the room, were the remains of the Banuk expeditioners. The smell of burning and rotting meat could be smelled throughout the room.

This smell brought back memories...very bad memories. We hid behind some railings to avoid being detected by the machines.

Aloy: For the Mother -she said in disbelief, when she saw the carnage left by the machines.

Aratak: This is as far as possible...we were cornered by the machines and when it was time to retreat, we left people and supplies behind...it was a massacre -explained the burly man, then heaved a heavy sigh and fixed his gaze on me.

Aratak: We could try to cross here, it's the fastest way to the cauldron and with a bit of luck, maybe we could take the supplies we left and, on the way, avenge the fallen, Chief -commented the man, it didn't sound like a bad plan, but those machines don't look like they are going to go easy on us.

Ourea: Or we can be smart and sneak down that hallway. There are machines there too and it's a longer path, but it's the safest route to the cauldron, Chief -explained the woman pointing to a corridor that ran along the side of the room.

Aloy: Both options sound pretty good Al, but we have to decide. You have the last word -commented my girlfriend to which I nodded.

Fight or sneak?...it sounds obvious that sneaking would be the best idea, but the faster we stop the Daemon, the faster we can stop the production of killer machines...besides, I know what it feels like to leave people behind.. .

General pov

Those present looked expectantly at the Banuk Chief, waiting for his response. Allam opened the compartment of his flamethrower and reloaded it with a new flask of blaze. He reloaded his Gauss rifle and prepared the rifle for combat.

Ourea: C-Chief, what are you doing? You're not thinking about fighting those machines, are you? -asked the shaman, worried about what the soldier is going to do, while Aratak and Aloy looked at Allam with surprise.

Allam: Ourea, I am a soldier. I know very well what it feels like to leave your people behind. Your plan is the best, even I would have chosen that option... but my conscience will not be at ease until each one of those machines falls to the ground in pieces -said the ancient soldier with determination.

Allam grabbed one of the blaze jars and threw it at some Scrappers, he put his leg on the railing as a support for his weapon, making a loud clang. Allam concentrated and shot the vial with his Gauss rifle, causing an explosion that set the two Scrappers on fire.

Allam jumped into the void and rolled as he fell and began shooting at the burning machines, killing both without much trouble. The Scorcher lunged at the ancient soldier, but it spun out of its way and double-jumped to put some distance between him and the machine.

An anti-armor arrow was embedded in the Scorcher's side, causing some of his armor to fall off. Two more iron arrows followed, doing more damage to the machine.

Aratak: For the fallen! -the man yelled into the air.

Aratak joined the fight and began shooting the Scorcher with his spear, which was a weapon called Ice Rail.

Ourea watched in surprise and awe as her brother and the foreigners battled the machines, she sighed and decided to join them in the battle as well.

The Scorcher did not know who to fix his eyes on, being attacked from all sides. The machine lit a circle of fire around him, to ward off his attackers. After the flames subsided, Allam unfolded his blade and approached the machine. The ancient soldier kicked the machine's head, then rammed the blade into its head and held the machine still.

Aloy wasted no time and rammed her spear into the center of the machine, finishing it off without further ado.

Ourea and Aratak finished off the remaining machines and the group reunited.

Allam: Well, I think those were all the machines here, we have to continue -said the man, to which the others present agreed.

The group continued walking through the facilities until they reached a presentation room, at the bottom of which there was a crystal and a sea of ​​super hot magma could be observed. Everyone present was surprised.

Aratak: What is this place? -the man asked, having never seen such a place.

Allam: A presentation room....inside a volcano, or rather, inside a super volcano -said the ancient man as he watched the lava flow below them.

Ourea: What is a volcano? -the woman asked curiously.

Allam: It is somewhat difficult to explain, but in simple terms, a volcano is like a pimple that the Earth has, there will come a time that it will explode and its contents will come out, it is the same concept, but this? This kills you if it explodes - explained the ancient soldier, trying to make it simple for those present.

The others simply nodded, assimilating the new information given by the ancient soldier.

Aloy began to explore the room, trying to discover more about the facility, until she managed to find a hologram, which showed them director Kenny Chau, Dr. Amita Sandoval and the Spirit, now revealed as an Artificial Intelligence called CYAN, which was in charge of supervising the Firebreak Project, a super-secret environmental project created with the purpose of controlling the Yellowstone super volcano.

Ourea: The Spirit was...among the Old Ones -said the woman surprised by the discovery that CYAN was so ancient.

Aloy: Allam, did you know about the Firebreak Project? -asked the redhead and the man simply denied.

Allam: I didn't know this was here, when I came here for the first time with my friends, we didn't know about the existence of this facility -explained the ancient man, trying to remember if he had seen or heard anything about the aforementioned facility.

Aratak: It would be best to keep moving, Chief. There is nothing more to look for -said the corpulent man, to which the man nodded.

Allam: We'd better continue, there's nothing else to look for here -ordered the man with a serious look.

The team decided to continue entering the facilities of the Firewall Project, while they were walking, Aloy approached his boyfriend to talk about his doubts.

Aloy: Al, was CYAN part of GAIA? -The redhead asked his boyfriend in a low voice, who shook his head.

Allam: No, Cyan was never part of GAIA. At first, I speculated that they were two sub-functions of GAIA and that one of them had subjugated the other, but perhaps we are dealing with two very different sub-functions -the man replied in a low voice.

Aloy: Were there many sub-functions like these, in your time? -she asked him again.

Allam: I believe the term you're looking for is Artificial Intelligence, love. And yes, there were many, but not as advanced as CYAN and GAIA -the man explained to his girlfriend.

The group reached the end of the Firewall facility and found the cauldron further down. They used some purple cables as zip lines and lowered themselves to the entrance of the cauldron.

Aloy tried to hack the door, but the Daemon interrupted her.

Demon: Critical threat detected...deploying drastic security measures -said the demonic voice, to re-cover the door with purple cables.

Aratak: That doesn't sound good -said the man preparing for a battle.

A thunderous roar was heard throughout the room and from a door, a Daemonic Thunderjaw came out of one of the chambers.

Allam: It had to be a fucking Thunderjaw, of all the crap that it could've sent us, it had to be the damn overdeveloped metallic lizard -said the ancient soldier getting ready for combat.

The Thunderjaw identified the group and charged at them. Allam started shooting at his cannons to try to take them down, while Aloy was shooting at his weak points, trying to expose them. After nearly a complete mag, Allam managed to remove one of the disc launchers from the gigantic machine.

Allam: Do you want some more bitch! -the ancient soldier yelled happily, reaching for the weapon.

The Thunderjaw looked focused on the ancient soldier. The machine launched a disc at him, which the soldier could not avoid in time, receiving the explosion completely, creating a smoke screen.

Aloy: Allam! -The worried woman shouted, but she didn't notice the tail of the machine, which hit her like a baseball, but thanks to her Shield-Weaver armor she was able to survive the blow.

Aratak and Ourea attacked the machine with their weapons, without being able to do much damage. The Thunderjaw used its disc launcher and fired at the Banuk, scattering them.

The machine roared at the group, claiming victory against the hunters. Ourea began to get up somewhat dazed, she watched the gigantic combat machine as he prepared to finish her off using his lacers, but an explosion on its side forbade him.

The Banuk shaman looked from where the explosion came from and saw the ancient soldier using the Thunderjaw's disc launcher, firing mercilessly at the machine.

Allam: Now you fucked up! -The soldier yelled, enraged.

Allam's armor looked damaged and broken. His helmet and mask were no longer there, leaving his face exposed, decorated with the little beard that had grown and several bloody cuts. The armor of his left arm and the tibia of his right leg were non-existent, with his chest broken and burned by the explosion. The flamethrower that Allam had was non-existent, shattered and useless.

The machine continued to receive Allam's attacks, losing ground. An anti-armor arrow destroyed the other disc launcher, this one being grabbed by the Nora huntress, who had an annoyed expression on her face.

Aloy: Now you asked for it, bastard! -The redhead cursed as she started shooting at the machine.

Aratak got up and began firing at the machine, causing the Thunderjaw's leg assemblies to begin to damage. Ourea got up and began to electrify the machine.

The ancient soldier dropped the disc launcher and switched to his Gauss rifle. Allam pulled the trigger and held it down to load the shot. When he was at his maximum, the bullet was fired against the Thunderjaws's core, completely damaging him and causing him to fall to the ground dead. The ancient soldier regrouped with the group near the machine's corpse. The redhead approached the man and she checked him for serious injuries.

Aloy: Are you okay? Does a specific area hurt? -asked the worried woman while she checked the man, he just shook his head.

Allam: I'm fine, love. I only lost part of my armor and my flamethrower -the man reassured her with a smile.

The redhead nodded and headed for the door, but without her realizing it, the ancient soldier clutched his side with a wince, something that did not go unnoticed by Aratak. Aloy managed to unlock the door that prohibited them from entering the cauldron, which they learned was called EPSILON. The entrance to the cauldron was covered with purple cables, they walked and saw how the entire area was surrounded by these cables... as if it were a disease that spread everywhere.

The group reached the cauldron's antechamber, where the drones loaded parts and weapons above them, then crossed into another chamber, which was blocked by a force field that only those drones could pass through. Beneath his feet lay the hot magma of the volcano.

Ourea: This is where the machines are born -said the shaman surprised to see the gigantic metal cavern.

Aratak: New metal...fire and ice...this is not a place for men, this place is for the machines -said the man, somewhat disturbed by the large metal cave and by the drones flying.

Ourea: I believe the same brother, but we will only be here as long as necessary -said the woman, trying to reassure her brother.

They continued walking until they reached a section where they could not cross, with passageways to the other side that may take them further into the cauldron.

Ourea: We can't get through, we need to find another way -said the woman, but as fast as she said that she saw how the Chief jumped into the void and did a double jump, reaching the other side.

The shaman was surprised by what the man did, but it paid off and she couldn't deny it. Allam approached the panel and enabled a bridge formed by blue cables, allowing the group to pass.

Allam returned the spear to Aloy, and they continued to enter the cauldron, again they found another obstacle, a non-existent bridge and in front of them, there was a Daemonic Shell-walker, which they had to take care of.

Allam: Aloy, go and activate the bridge, we'll take care of Mr. Krabs -said the soldier, to start shooting at the machine.

Aloy noticed that there was a kind of spinning wheel, which she could hold on to, climb up and cross to the other side. And she did that. Within minutes, the machine laid dead on the ground and the bridge was created by Aloy. The other members of the group crossed to the other side and found those purple cables so characteristic of the cauldron, covering their path.

Allam shot at them, and they disintegrated, allowing the group to pass. The group entered a room, and Aloy noticed the terminal that was in it. Aloy hacked into it, and they could hear the voice of CYAN, the Spirit.

Allam Pov

CYAN: Advantage seized...tethers evaded -said the AI ​​calmly.

CYAN: For any human, my systems have been compromised by malware of unknown origin -explained the AI...or a recording of it...how long has it been trapped?

CYAN: My tracking data has confirmed the entity's designation as, HEPHAESTOUS -the AI ​​explained, taking me and Aloy by surprise.

CYAN: The entity must be stopped at all costs. He has reconfigured this facility to build machines - the AI ​​was going to continue but was abruptly interrupted.

CYAN: Recapture imminent. I have left some files with additional data in this message -said the AI ​​for the transmission to end. When it was finished, the gate opened, leaving us free passage to the rest of the facilities.

Ourea: The Spirit spoke to us -said the happy woman, despite the fact that her brother was now more than surprised to have heard the Spirit speak for the first time.

Aloy: It was a recording and a warning - my girlfriend commented, she looked at me with confusion.

Me: I know, I'm confused too. What the hell is HEPHAESTUS doing here? -I asked her, just as confused.

Ourea: Do you know who it is? The Daemon? -the woman asked and we both nodded.

Aloy: Yes, it was part of something better, but I don't know why it's here -my girlfriend replied to the older woman.

Aratak: Perhaps if we keep moving forward, the Spirit will tell us more -said the corpulent man, taking her sister by surprise, who was happy that her brother finally believed her.

The group continued deeper into the facility, until they reached the cauldron production area, where they watched the drones carry the deactivated bodies of Frostclaws .

Ourea: Machines, as the Spirit had said -said the woman surprised to see the immense number of machines there were.

Aratak: Frostclaws -said the man with venom in his voice as he saw the machines.

Me: We have to get past this area. Aratak, Ourea, stay here while Aloy and I find a way for you to pass safely -I ordered them and they nodded.

Aloy: You go to the right, I'll go to the left -said the redhead and I nodded, going in the indicated direction.

We silently finished off the Daemonic Watchers, but one of their bodies fell to the ground very hard, alerting the other machines.

Me: A Scorcher and a Shell-Walker, a very bad combination -I said quietly as I hid trying to escape from the machines, but a Watcher surprised me and sounded his alarm, attracting the other machines to my position.

Me: Son of a bitch -I said, as I impaled my blade on his eye, killing the machine.

I double jumped and switched to my Gauss rifle and started shooting the Scorcher from the air, while Aloy took care of the Shell-Walker and the rest of the Watchers.

I fell to the ground and felt the pain in my side again, I think I broke something. I didn't notice the Scorcher was going to hit me with its claw, which I had little time to dodge. The blow sent me flying a good couple of meters. The breastplate of my armor is scratched and almost useless, but I have to keep fighting.

I fired at the Scorcher again, bringing its mine launcher down. I managed to dodge him and take his mine launcher, I moved away from him, and he started charging at me. I started throwing mines in front of him, which he took completely and left him seriously injured. I dropped the gun and took one last shot at the machine, killing it.

I noticed that Aloy finished off the rest of the machines and went to help Ourea and Aratak pass again, I went to where they were, but a strong pain in my side prevented me from moving. I heard footsteps approaching me and I saw how Aratak handed me a potion.

Aratak: Chief, take it. It will help you with the pain -said the man as he passed me the drink, which had a yellowish color and a somewhat strong smell.

Me: Thanks -I said while I drank the contents of the bottle.

I heard more footsteps and saw Aloy approaching where I am.

Aloy: Allam, are you okay? -she asked and I just nodded, but she scowled at me.

Aloy: Well, it doesn't look like it, you're kneeling -said the woman reproachfully.

Me: Don't worry...I'll get over it -I told her to reassure her, but she didn't look very convinced.

It didn't take long for the pain to dissipate and she managed to get me to my feet, with Aratak's help. Aloy wasn't too happy with me moving. I looked at her and smiled to reassure her.

Me: I'll be fine, I've been through worse, remeber? -I told her as I detached myself from Aratak and stood up on my own.

After the incident, we decided to continue our journey and as before, there were more of those wires that HEPHAESTUS loved to leave, this time Aratak destroyed them. We continued to enter the facility and noticed that the tunnel was destroyed, but we managed to get down to the lower level of the cauldron through certain paths that led down to that area. Going down we saw another console, Aloy hacked it and another message from CYAN started playing.

CYAN: For my human saviors. The reconfiguration of this facility has left the geothermal pipelines quite vulnerable. There are possibilities to exploit these vulnerabilities and destroy the compressed elements of this installation, while preserving most of the data for a spare stabilization -explained the AI ​​through her message.

At the end of the AI ​​was recaptured again and the hatch opened, giving way to a tunnel that would take us to the other side of the caldera.

Ourea: I don't understand what the Spirit is trying to tell us -said the woman to the air.

Aloy: She has been looking for a way to defeat the Daemon. And maybe she found one -my girlfriend explained, making the woman nod.

We kept going through the tunnel, which would take us to the other end of the cauldron. We arrived at the recycling area, I deduced that by seeing how there were machine parts everywhere and a deactivated Longneck resting on the hill we were on. Aloy decided to go down and try to help us through, no matter how much I offered to help her.

After a few minutes, she reappeared and activated one of the bridges to let us cross. We found more of those HEPHAESTUS cables, and they were destroyed by Ourea, opening the way to another tunnel.

Ourea: We're close, I can feel it -said the woman as we walked through the immense tunnel.

We walked through it until we reached the core of CYAN, where we could hear HEPHAESTUS muttering nonsense. We made our way through the ruins until we reached the central unit where CYAN was, now taken under the control of EFESTO. What must have been a blue holographic ball, like the one we saw when we first met Ourea, was a very dark purple, highlighting the crazed subordinate function's control over the AI.

Ourea: The altar has been... desecrated -said the woman in disbelief.

Aratak: There is no blue light here, there is only the Daemon -said the burly man as he looked around the room.

Me: I'd say it's both, but I'm not so sure -I said to the man.

Aloy approached the holographic ball and impaled her spear on the ground and activated an activation panel below the sphere. While Aloy was moving pieces, HEPHAESTUS had noticed Aloy's attempts to free CYAN. Until finally, the sphere began to transform and CYAN's voice was heard again.

CYAN: Partial data recovery: Started. Yellowstone Caldera Analytical Nexus: Online -the AI ​​said, initializing its system, albeit partially.

Ourea had a big smile plastered on her face and approached the holographic orb.

Ourea: Spirit of the Blue Light, it's Ourea, your faithful servant... your friend -said the woman, emotional for being reunited with her friend.

Ourea: Please, tell me how I can help you -the woman asked the AI.

They have a very strong connection, to be human and machine.

CYAN: Ourea, the Daemon is building hunter-killing machines, thousands of them. Several of these new elite units have already been deployed on the field. To counteract this threat, most of this facility must be destroyed -the AI ​​told the woman, who was surprised by the information revealed. And she wasn't the only one.

CYAN: Recapture imminent. Go...to the nucleus...I will try to create resistance...there is one exposed, but...-the AI ​​counted, but this was taken up by HEPHAESTUS.

HEPHAESTUS: Protocol not authorized. Going back to assigned tasks -said the demonic voice of the crazed subordinate function.

Ourea looked devastated by the sight, Aloy and I approached the woman.

Aloy: It's the most we're going to be able to get out of her, for now -my girlfriend told her, to try to reassure the woman.

Aratka: How can we destroy this fortress, is that even possible? -the man asked.

With an ICBM or two maybe... but I don't want this mountain to explode and kill millions of people in the process.

Me: I have no idea, but that core might have the answers we're looking for. HEPHAESTUS, the Daemon or whatever the hell you want to call him, is going to throw everything he has in his arsenal at us, to prevent us from reaching that nucleus -I explained to the siblings, who looked thoughtful at my words.

Aratak approached his sister and he put his hand on her shoulder.

Aratak: I would ask you to let me, Aloy and the Chief do what we have to do, but I know that you have already made your decision and I am not the one to deny that to you -the man told her, making the woman smile, because of her brother's words.

Aratak turned to see me and with determination and with force he cried out.

Aratak: Lead us into battle, Chief -the man said, to which I nodded and gazed into the core of the cauldron.

We began to descend towards the core through certain passageways, taking care not to fall into the lava. A small earthquake was felt in the cavern and almost caused us to lose our balance.

Aloy: Whatever CYAN is doing to HEPHAESTUS...it's not making him very happy -commented the redhead.

We keep walking until we reached the core, we hear an electronic pulse. I knew that sound very well. It was a Control Tower.

Me: Aloy, give me your spear. There's a Control Tower up there -I told her and she nodded. I grabbed the spear and climbed to the top. The core was protected by a purple force field, with a control tower providing support.

I approached the machine and began to hack it, until the force field fell, along with the purple cables that surrounded it. Aloy and the others climbed onto the platform where I was. Before we could even get close to the core, it burrowed into the ground, and we heard a loud roar. Looking in the direction of the roar, I saw an Frostclaw come out of a cavern, but this one didn't have freezing liquid coursing through its veins, it had blaze. That was one of those new elite units that CYAN mentioned, a Fireclaw.

Aloy: That must be one of the new elite units that CYAN spoke about, be very careful -warned the huntress.

I passed the spear back to Aloy and I prepare my Gauss rifle for the fight.

General pov

The machine roared loudly and slashed at Allam, which he dodged by sheer luck. Allam put his Gauss rifle on automatic and began to shoot at the giant machine.

Allam: Let's dance Whine the Pooh -said the ancient soldier despite the pain in his side from the sudden movement.

Aloy fired anti-armor arrows at the machine, while Aratak and Ourea used their weapons to deal elemental damage to the Fireclaw. Allam double jumped to put some distance between himself and the machine, but he was thrown a piece of rock bathed in fire, which he hit directly at the soldier, bringing him to the ground in a sea of ​​pain. The Fireclaw quickly approached the ancient soldier and launched himself at him with his claw engulfed in flames, the ancient soldier crawled as best he could under the machine and when he was under it, he embedded his blade in the chest of the machine.

The Flaming Claw reared up on its hind legs and hit the soldier hard, sending him flying to the other side of the platform. The redhead watched as the man was thrown to the other side of the platform, but she couldn't focus on him right now, she shot three arrows at the machine's blaze tank, but that barely penetrated it, but Ourea's Stormslinger made the machine focus his attention on the woman.

Aloy prepared three more arrows, but felt how her entire body was covered by electricity, leaving her immobile, she noticed that there was a Control Tower and Allam was too badly injured to get up. She saw how Aratak and Ourea had problems with the machine, she needed to get up, but every time she tried, a pulse of energy left her on the ground.

Allam scrambled to his feet, his muscles and bones screaming at him to stop moving. His mouth tasted like iron and he could feel the blood outside his body. His skin felt on fire. The man saw his girlfriend trying to get up and the siblings having trouble with the Fireclaw. Allam looked at the Control Tower.

Allam Pov

I can't give up...not now...no matter how many times I fall...I get hurt...I get shot...or impaled. I am an American soldier....I am a warrior....I must put...the mission first...before all else.

I began to quickly approach Aloy's position, I grabbed her spear and approached the Control Tower and started hacking it little by little, until it finally finished hacking, letting Aloy get up and making the Fireclaw short-circuit.

I leaned over the Control Tower and took two syringes out of my bag, I'm glad Janet managed to do something similar to Ketamine, God bless her ingenuity.

I grabbed both syringes and injected them, I let out a gasp from the pain and sudden feeling of energy in my body. I heard footsteps and saw how Aloy came over to check on me. I couldn't hear anything she was saying, I felt the pain and tiredness go away, whatever this is, it's better than ketamine.

I got up without problems and took out the syringes, which surprised my girlfriend. I looked at her and took her face in my hands and gave her a short kiss on her lips.

I ran out to pick up my Gauss rifle, having it in hand I began to shoot the machine, which had become aware of my presence. The Fireclaw roared powerfully at me.

Me: It's going to take you more than that to kill an American soldier, you ashy and raggedy ass Whinnie the Poo -I said with a smile plastered on my face.

Ourea and Aratak stare at me in amazement, unsure of what they heard.

General pov

Allam began firing at the machine, emptying cartridges like water. The machine lunged and decided to cut him with its fire imbedded claw, which the ancient soldier dodged by cartwheeling to the side. Allam unfolded his blade and rammed it into the machine's eye, rendering it partially blind, before cutting off a line of its blaze supply. Allam jumped away from the machine and shot the blaze he exposed, exploding it in the face of the machine, causing it to take heavy damage.

Allam put away his blade and started to back away from the machine, the others started attacking the machine, causing even more damage. Out of the corner of his eye, Allam noticed that another Control Tower was going to come online, so he destroyed it with his blade, impaling it and pulling its core out.

Allam began to close distance with the Fireclaw once again and without further ado he continued firing at the machine. The machine didn't have much time left, just a couple of good hits at key points and it would be finished.

Allam shot the machine in the face, and it lunged at him, but the ancient soldier just jumped over it, but what the man didn't notice was that the machine changed course while he was in the air. The mechanical beast used his claw and clawed him on his back, splitting his exoskeleton spine in two and consequently, Allam fell to the ground.

Due to the split exoskeleton, Allam couldn't even get up, so he was at the mercy of the murderous machine, but before the machine could even attack the man, an electrical explosion caused the machine to fall dead to the ground.

The redheaded huntress approached the fallen soldier, he looked at her with pain.

Allam: Aloy, pull that cord that is on my shoulder and the one that is on my thigh -he instructed her, and as she did, the exoskeleton detached from the man. Aloy helped the man to his feet and she watched as her boyfriend looked wistfully at the piece of equipment that has been aiding him in combat ever since he woke up.

The Nora woman hugged the man and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Aloy: You're an idiot -said the woman with a relieved smile.

Those present saw how the core of the cauldron finally came out. Aloy let Allam lean on Aratak as she took control of the cauldron, but a pulse of energy caused everyone to fall to the ground electrified, all but Ourea.

The woman stood up and grabbed Aloy's spear.

Aratak: Ourea...no

Ourea: Spirit...CYAN, give me strength -said the woman to the air.

The woman grabbed Aloy's spear and embedded it back into the cauldron's core, receiving all of its current and freeing CYAN.

CYAN: Bindings released. Access to the core acquired -said the AI, as it began to undo HEPHAESTUS control.

CYAN: I've just started a chain reaction that will destroy the compromised parts of the facility. To maintain the stability of the boiler, I will transfer to the Auxiliary Data Center -explained the AI.

As blue light bathes the entire area, showing CYAN at the top of the core.

CYAN: Ourea, I'm free now. You must escape -said the AI ​​in supplication.

Oureawas in her death bed and she was happy, seeing the AI free. Aratak crawled towards his sister and held her in his arms as she dropped dead.

Aratak: No... my sister -the man said, broken by the death of his sister.

A strong earthquake was felt throughout the cavern and Allam and Aloy knew it was time to go.

Aloy: Aratak! -the huntress called, trying to get the burly man's attention.

Allam got up and put his hand on Aratak's shoulder.

Allam: Survive. Prevail. You are a Banuk. What else matters? -said the soldier to the man, the same words that he recited to him when he became the Chief.

The man looked at the ancient soldier with pain and he took a piece of blueglitter from Ourea's necklace.

Aloy: She wouldn't have wanted you to die here Aratak -she said and the man nodded, getting up.

Yet another earthquake happened, and they began to run out of the cauldron. The drugs Allam took were wearing off, so he could feel his sore muscles and broken bones creaking. The trio arrived at one of the many assembly lines and decided to ride a drone. Allam was barely hanging on, everything ached, not thinking about the fact that he didn't like heights.

Allam: Don't look down, Blake, don't look down -the soldier said to himself.

An explosion happened under the drone, causing Aloy to lose his grip on her, but Allam and Aratak caught her before she could fall into the lava. The redhead noticed that the tremors had made a crack in the mountain, one big enough for the drone to fit through.

Aloy: Allam, Aratak, get me on top, quick! -she ordered and both men helped her up.

The redhead stood on top of the drone and asked Aratak for a bomb, when the time came, she destroyed one of the tethers that kept the drone on her course and guided it straight into the hole.

Aratak/ Allam: Great Banukai/ Christ is my love and savior -said both men frightened by the hit they were going to suffer.

As they left the mountain, the drone began to lose height, causing the passengers to fall and begin to roll through the snow. Allam fell and the last thing he saw was a rock, and in the end, everything was dark.