After talking to Burgrend, the pair went to talk to Aratak, but they hadn't gotten any important information out of him, just "nonsense talk" as Allam would say.

Leaving the settlement, the couple came across one of the many thermal pools of the old national park. Said natural pool was being used by the Banuk to dye clothes, judging by the color pigments in the water. As Aloy gazed in wonder and curiosity at the colors in the boiling pool of water, Allam gazed at the Banuk women in surprise, wondering how their hands didn't ache from being submerged in such hot water for so long.

During the outing, they spoke with a Banuk woman who asked for help draining a lake to get her "musical tubes" working, and also, with a Banuk shaman who offered to teach Aloy how to modify his spear with a drone rail. Which Allam guessed upon hearing the term "metal birds", as it was reminiscent of the drone hangar that was built in the area in 2056...he wasn't supposed to know about that, but he and his friends found the hangar by "accident"

Speaking of Allam, the ancient soldier's armor stood out among the locals like a fish out of water. Attracting unnecessary attention to the travelers. Although none of the Banuk asked him directly where the armor came from or what it was made of, he already knew that it was only a matter of time before some curious enough Banuk asked him.

Currently, our young couple was on their way to the place where Ourea's apprentice, Naltuk, was. Both were mounted on Chargers, on their way towards the famous river that the Oseram trader spoke of. Allam had been very quiet for a long time; thoughtful about what they had just discovered about the Daemon.

Allam Pov

So, this "Daemon" drives the machines crazy, and it took refuge in...what is that mountain called?...Thunder Drum! Yeah, no I remeber...it reminds me of Hades...perhaps we are facing another of GAIA's subordinate functions...? But which of them all?

General pov

While the ancient soldier was lost in thought of him, he did not notice the call of his girlfriend.

Aloy: Allam! -the redhead yelled almost in his ear, causing him to fall off his mount onto the snowy ground.

The young man stood up and looked at his girlfriend with surprise and curiosity.

Allam: A-Aloy, you scared the shit out of me. What happened? -Asked the soldier standing up from the ground and saw how his partner was pointing at something in front of them.

Allam walked to where she was pointing, exiting the forest and entering a clearing, where they came across a Longneck frozen in a glacier, with several Scrappers and Glinthawks surrounding the corpse of the ginormous machine.

Allam: Woah -said the ancient soldier surprised.

Aloy: That's what I said. Do you think we can reactivate it? -the redhead asked her boyfriend, he shrugged.

Allam: Why do you want to reactivate it? -The soldier asked his girlfriend with curiosity.

Aloy: Not all of us have a Focus with maps from 900 years ago -the redhead told him with her characteristic sarcasm.

Allam: Oh ha, ha -laughed the soldier sarcastically.

Aloy: I know, I'm very funny -she said with a smile on her face.

Aloy: Well, do you think we can reactivate it? -She asked her boyfriend again.

Allam: There is only one way to find out -said the ancient soldier as he unfurled his retractable bow.

The Nora huntress understood the message and they began to approach the machine in the hope of reactivating it. They walked at a silent and fast pace, to later remain behind some rocks.

Aloy: There are so many machines here...they all have these purple veins around them like that machine on the mountain. We should be careful -said the redhead as she analyzed the situation.

Allam: So, we will do this defensively? -asked the ancient soldier.

Allam could see four Glinthawks on the ridge near the Longneck's head, and five Scrappers around the legs of the machine.

Allam: Aloy, what do you think if you throw an incendiary bomb at those Scrappers and then I finish them off with the arrows? - The old soldier proposed, and she nodded.

Aloy grabbed her slingshot and firebombed the machines, Allam put two arrows on his bow and shot them at the first Scrapper, but the machine didn't fall destroyed, which surprised the pair, since they usually fall with that combination.

Allam shot two more arrows and was still on his feet, Aloy shot three and finally fell, but the second Scrapper activated his radar and got the position of both youngsters. The machine howled to draw the attention of other robots in the area, making the pair's presence recognizable.

Aloy: They know we're here -said the redhead as she put three iron arrows on her bow and stood ready to fight.

Allam: Well, to hell with the defense then -said the ancient soldier as he switched from his bow to the Gauss rifle and reloaded his flamethrower with another fire cartridge.

Aloy fired her three arrows at the still burning Scrapper, damaging him more. Allam fired at a Glinthawk that was starting to close in on his position.

The bullet from the gun hit near the left wing of the machine, nearly blowing it to smithereens. The machine lost its balance and fell to the ground, the ancient soldier wasted no time and tore the head off the fallen machine with ease.

Allam kept firing at any machine that got in his way, while Aloy fired arrows and bombs at any nearby machine.

A sneaky Scrapper tried to lunge at her, but the redhead spun out of the machines' line of attack. When she pulled herself together, she put an arrow through the machine's eye.

The huntress nocked three more arrows to fire at him, but the Scrapper started to close in on her quickly. The machine lunged forward and opened its serrated jaws to try to snap at her, but Aloy was more agile and she leaped high and landed on top of the machine. Aloy used the back of the machine as a spring and in the air turned and fired her three arrows at the machine, destroying it.

Aloy went to help his boyfriend, who was roasting alive a Scrapper who had the misfortune to get too close to the ancient soldier. While the flamethrower was active, Allam rammed his blade under the Scrapper's jaw, killing him instantly.

The Glinthawks began to descend, but they were not a problem for the couple. They approached the Longneck and saw that it was missing three pieces to be able to reactivate it.

Allam: Great, the Scrappers took the one thing they shouldn't take. Let me see if I can trace the signals of the components -said the soldier while he fiddled with his Focus.

Allam: Okay, there's two near here and there's one in that cavern, maybe if we're lucky the pieces weren't destroyed -said the soldier with some hope.

Aloy: Okay, I'll go to the cave, and you'll go get the other two pieces -said the hunter, but the soldier shook his head.

Allam: No, I'll go to the cave, you go get the other two pieces. They're close to here, the cavern is a good walk from here. Also, I have a flashlight in my helmet and night vision in my mask, I can see better in the dark -her boyfriend told the hunter, she nodded, seeing no flaws in his logic.

Before they both parted ways, Allam grabbed the redhead's arm and spun her around to where he was, until she was in his arms, taking her by surprise at his sudden romantic move.

Allam: Be careful, okay? -Said the soldier as he removed his mask and looked Aloy in the eye. She simply smiled, lovingly.

Aloy: I will. I know how to take care of myself, I'm a big girl -she said with a smile as she stood on tiptoe and gave the ancient soldier a tender kiss on the lips.

The two parted ways, and Allam just looked at her lovingly.

Allam: You should've been a stand-up comedy woman instead of a huntress, suits you more -he said with a smile, letting go of her an going on his respective way.

 Aloy just laughed at the man's antics and continued on her respective path.

Allam walked through the frozen valley, Gauss rifle in hand and quite attentive to his surroundings. The ancient soldier found the change in temperature in the region, from temperate to arctic, very strange, indeed.

Allam began to see the entrance to the cave, and he decided to lie on the prone and hide his presence in the snow. He activated the mask's infrared vision, and he could see the heat signatures of two Scrappers. Allam aimed at the radar and with one shot destroyed it, he did the same with the other machine.

Thanks to the mist, the camouflage of his armor and the environment, Allam was practically invisible. The ancient soldier kept firing at both machines and after several well-placed shots, both machines collapsed to the ground.

Allam disabled his infrared vision, reloaded his rifle, and headed for the cavern.

The cavern was made mostly of ice and stone. It wasn't as deep as he thought it was. Allam opened the two Scrapper's junk box and in one of them he found the piece he needed, which was quite heavy indeed.

Allam: Damn...this shit is too fucking heavy -said the ancient soldier as he carried the big piece of metal.

Allam grabbed some cables from the Scrapper corpses and made a leash out of them. He tied said cables to the metal piece and placed it on his back as if it were a bag.

Allam came out of the cavern and in front of him was a Scorcher waiting for him, ready to fight.

Allam: Your bitch ass again? -Said the soldier as he aimed his rifle at the machine.

The machine roared at the ancient soldier.

Allam: And with that mouth of yours, you kiss your mother? -Said the ancient soldier while he pressed the trigger of his rifle, and the bullet was fired towards the face of the Scorcher.

The machine roared and lunged at the soldier with a fiery swipe, which Allam narrowly avoided by rolling to the side.

When he pulled himself together, the ancient soldier double-jumped and fired at the Scorcher's mine launcher. Due to the weight of the metal piece, Allam didn't go up as high as expected on his double jump, leaving him vulnerable to a kick attack from the Scorcher.

Allam collected himself and continued firing at the machine. The Incinerator is closing the distance between them at an incredible speed, Allam knew that if he stayed in its path, he would be sliced ​​like ham at Christmas, so he double jumped over the Scrapper, continuing to fire until the minesweeper finally fell.

Allam tried to get the mine launcher, but the machine got in the way and prevented him from reaching it. The machine lunged at the ancient soldier, but he was too slow, and the machine pinned him down. Allam kept the jaws of the machine away from his face with his hands. He felt a pressure on his chest and saw the Scorcher claws scratch at his armor.

Allam moved his left hand to close the Scorcher's jaw so he could free his right arm from it. The ancient soldier unfolded his blade and slashed the machine across the face. The Scorcher began to lose itself from the soldier's grip and open its jaw a little, Allam tried to impale the blade on its eye, but the machine broke free and bit Allam's right arm.

Allam: Agh, you son of a bitch -the ancient soldier shouted in pain, and then punched the machine, making it drop him. The soldier put his legs on the stomach of the machine and pushed it with a double jump. Allam clutched his arm and watched as blood dripped from it, his bracer protecting it, but not enough.

The Scorcher quickly closed in on the soldier, but Allam wasted no time and plunged the blade into his forehead, killing the machine instantly.

Allam: Rot in hell, bastard -said the soldier with venom as he picked up his things and went back to his girlfriend.

Moments later...

Allam arrived at the Longneck a short time later, his girlfriend putting on the pieces she brought. She saw her boyfriend approaching her and waved at him, but she noticed that his armor had taken damage and his left arm looked a bit red, upon closer inspection she noticed that it was blood.

Aloy bolted in the direction of the ancient soldier and went to check on his injuries.

Aloy: What happened to you?! -she asked, worried about the state of her boyfriend.

Allam: A Scorcher surprised me when I came out of the cave, it's nothing serious. A Band-Aid and I'll be like new -joked the soldier with a smile on his face, despite the pain.

Aloy just looked him in the eye and gave him a tight hug, as if she was afraid that once she let him go he would disappear.

Allam: I'm alright 'Loy, I'm still alive. It will take more than a bite to kill me -said the ancient soldier with a smile to the young woman.

She simply flashed a small smile and gave the ancient soldier a kiss on the cheek. She then took the last piece of the Longneck and reactivated it. Aloy stared in wonder and pride at the revived machine. Then she began to run to be able to climb to the head of the Longneck before it gets away from the ledge.

Allam: You're amazing Aloy -said the ancient soldier with a smile, looking at his girlfriend climb the antennas of the enormous machine.