Chapter 1: Hope of the Gods

These people. It is always these people she dreams about.

A knight bathed in crimson blood. The stench of death reeks from her body. Energy radiates from her body; she is summoning something. A giant form, one made of steel. It seems built from the same material as her armor. Foreign, alien metal.

Behind her, there are several beings standing. They are as mighty as the machine that stands in front of her.

A mighty roar is heard, stretching and distorting space itself. The cracks are visible to the naked eye. This place will soon collapse into the void. A giant, colossal snake eye all of them down, like a predator eyeing down its next meal.

It lowers its head and opens its mouth, spraying a large amount of acid from its throat.

The knight and the warriors move in sync.

They fly into the sky, dodging the venom with ease. The snake narrows its eyes, springing into action. Large, mechanical ribbons break off from its skin and fly into the air. These slithering mini serpents are numerous, there are hundreds of them. They all converge on another similar, yet just as lethal looking, machine. A dark silverfish, blue knight.

She greets them with a smile. “Infernal Edge!” A large energy blade is deployed from her steel puppet, slashing the small beasts in half.

It rises into the air, raising its palm. Energy is gathered and expelled, vaporizing the rest into atoms.

Suddenly, more of these humanoid steel puppets appear. They have arrived through the cracks in space, heeding the call of the snake.

The beings behind her have been patient. They move together in a formation. A star rotates underneath their feat, the proof of their bond, their connection. Forged from many battles.

Star Formation! We are not afraid of you, Bringer of the End!”

They yell with conviction. With spirit, with soul. They were not afraid of death or failure. They had come too far.

She wakes up. She stares around blankly. Seems like she fell asleep in a chair.

She does not see anyone in the room. She was eating dinner with some of the local lords in the town she was staying in. They must have left her once they finished dinner. Their plates have wiped clean of food.

“The cleaner has not arrived yet; it must be waiting for me to finish.” Her plate is full; she did not eat much.

“I was too busy. Diana must have forgotten to wake me up again, I’ll have to remind her again.” She sighs. Sometimes, her servants forget things. It was not the first time. It cannot be helped, she thinks, they are old. They were some of the first machines she built, after all.

She yawns. It was no wonder she fell asleep; she had far too much work for one person. Being the “Builder” of worlds kept her busy. She often gets different names.

The Great Architect. The Ancient Constructor. Personally, she preferred the title “Divine hammer.” It was the nickname given to her by her peers. They had their own little functions, little quirks. They loved giving her affectionate names.

Mostly, since she could not remember her own name for some strange reason.

“But enough of them!”

“Off to find my old droid.” She focuses on her task.

“She was the first one I built. And Diana is the one I feel the most strongly about.” She doesn’t know how to express her feelings towards her, but she does not want to lose her. Or lose track of her. Diana loves to wander about and lose track of what she was doing. She was a bit dated, compared to some of the other bots in town. She was a version one model, after all, she thinks to herself.

“Every time I try to improve her short-term memory circuit, she refuses.” She sighs, resigning herself. She will have to search for her, as usual.

“Where the hell did she wander off to this time? I hope she didn’t fall somewhere again. Last time that happened, I had to calm down the people in that city.” She recounts the unfortunate event of a twenty-thousand-year-old robot smashing through the center of an island and nearly breaking its flotation device.

Impressive strength for something that wasn’t even designed as a combat model.

She gets up, grabbing her plate. She stuffs that food down in a hurry and throws it back on the table.

Off she goes into town.

The builder walks out of the room and walks through a long hallway, with several murals and paintings on them. Some of these paintings depict a great battle before her birth, a time before hers. She scoffs at them.

“These people, they still believe in it. The war before time. Something that never happened” She mutters. She remembers when she was younger. The tales the older folk would tell her, over and over.

There was a great warring time where a mighty chaotic god slaughtered countless people. It took the bravery of countless souls to not only subdue her but to seal her away in a great magical seal.

The ones who sacrificed their lives sacrificed their flesh, their blood to preserve the seal around her. When she asked her elders who they were or the names of these fighters, the only response she received was.

That they were Star Warriors.

Warriors that came from different creeds, backgrounds, places. All united in one goal to protect their home.

A tale she enjoyed greatly as a child.

But as an older adult, she found this idea silly. She spent much time trying to find the location of this “god” to no avail. Instead, she spent more of her time creating. Engineering improvements and improving the quality of life for the people that live in her realm, as well the other sister realms. Her mind was distracted by these thoughts.

She paces past these with great speed. She can’t waste time. She is looking for her servant.

“No matter what I tell them, no matter how much I searched, I can’t find anything. Nothing of value was found when I searched.”

She discards those thoughts and focuses on finding Diana. She reaches the end of the hallway; it has one last large mirror. She stares at herself. In the mirror, she sees a metallic visor covering her face as well her long blond hair in the mirror.

A large crystal is embedded in her skull, on her forehead.

She is wearing an old class II kinetic armor, equipped with an automatic energy defense field.

Modified to her liking, of course. She did think that she needed to make a new one but.

“Nah I will just wait. No need for a new one, yet.”

She dashes outside and leaps into the air. She ascends past the dining hall she was in, into the heavens. The android goes higher and higher, seeing the small town fully she was staying in.

It was not a large island, but it was sufficient.

It was mainly used for meetings between the local lords of the island. They often traveled by airship or teleporter to this place. It makes sense. This was close to the heart of the realm but not the center of it.

“Perfect for small talk but nothing else. I would just yell at them if they pushed their luck like...that upstart Darius.”

She does not think fondly of this new lord. He has caused her only headaches.

“A new island lord but not so able minded. I will have to teach him some sense. For now...”

Her visor initiates its scanning mode, finding her lost lamb, after a couple minutes of searching.

There she is, skulking about in the orphanage. She is talking to the children.

“I don’t mind your sharing, but we do have a schedule to maintain,” comes a booming voice from above Diana. It comes closer.

The builder teleports behind Diana, surprising her. Diana was surprised, causing her to fall over. Her giant melons tumble and smack her in the face.

“Can you stop just appearing behind me, god, you do that every time you find me!”

“Maybe if you didn’t get distracted so easily, tits for brain.” Truly the size of her bosom was one of her greatest attributes. Diana seemed a little peeved, she was in the middle of telling the children a story. Diana wanted to get angry, but the stoic face told her not to. She gets up and dusts herself off.

“I heard there was an orphanage of lost ones, so I had to—”

“I know, I know. Just finish what you were telling them. We are leaving afterwards.” She sighs; she indulged her way too much. It can’t be helped. The divine hammer halfway-listened to her servant as she turned her back away from the children, who were watching the entire spectacle unfold.

“And that’s how the great mighty hammer forged the capital! Every day, for ten years, she laid the foundation for the city. She took a great empty mountain; she smashed it to bits with her bare hands!”

“She punched the lights outta the local mountain beasts! The first one she met, she just socked it to em realll good!” Diana adopts a stance and raises her two fists, swinging wildly into the air. The children laugh and giggle, feeling engaged.

“Oooh ohhh did she win?”

“How big was the bear?”

“I bet all she needed was one hit and she sent that bear flying” The children were getting rowdy. The blond woman lets out a sigh, then laughs.

“You know, that definitely is not what happened. My first fight was not with my bare fists, I used a shoddy weapon, one of the first ones I built.” She remembers that day fondly, challenging an elder beast and being beaten up badly. It was eye opening and instructive for her, surely. She was now friends with that bear.

“As always, so stoic and methodical. Lighten up will ya! It’s always a little more fun to spin the truth, just a little.” She kind of smirks happily then proceeds to finish her story.

“After throwing the beasts out, she claimed the land as hers! Every day she toiled; walking up and down.” Diana picks up two rocks and struts, walking back and forth with passion. “Day by day, she would toil. Sweat, bleed, cry. She built that land with all of her effort. She created a place where we can all call home. She stayed with her subjects, ensuring they learned the knowledge they needed...and here we are!” Diana yells with passion.

“Proof of her existence.” Diana stares humbly but respectfully at the creator of worlds, of their realm.

“I have always done my best, to treat all of you as my friends. You are not wrong, Diana.”

“See what I mean, my lord?” Diana cackles and the children seem content. They start running towards the two of them, surrounding them on all sides, pulling at their clothes.

The builder shrugs and she picks one of them up, putting them on her shoulder. She can see a little bit of herself in this one. The child gazes towards the heavens with wonder and awe.

“My lord, I want to see this city. And many other places. I want to experience things, like you have.”

“If you live long enough, you too can go on an adventure. Like the ones me and Diana have gone on.” The child responds.

“Can I join you? Can I go to a place beyond this land?”

“Of course you can. What is your name, young lady”

It is Amber. That is all I can remember.” The little girl seems a little sad.

“Then I will remember you, Amber. Remember my face, my presence.” She stares deeply into Amber’s eyes. For a moment, she removes her visor letting the child see her properly. Amber gazes into the brilliant turquoise eyes that the Divine hammer possesses.

“I feel we will meet again.” She puts the child down, smiling a little. She always feels connected to the places she built, the people she created. It was her duty to take care of them, to guide them. The builder puts her visor back on and returns to her business; she motions the children away. Then her eyes glance up towards Diana, who is walking towards her.

She gets closer to Diana and was not as kind as she was to the child, grabbing her arm. She begins dragging her away against her will, but not with much force.

The two walk away from the orphanage. The caretaker, who was watching quietly, waves at them, and gathers the children.

“It is time, Diana. We have work to do, places to return to. You can visit them later but now we must go.”

“Such a mood killer. But it is you, I expect nothing else from my lord.” Diana turns and waves before being picked up. An energy circle surrounds the two of them. They are transported to another place. The two travel through space in an instant. They arrive inside of a ship, a star ship. A massive blue and black ship, forged from steel not found on the island.

It was capable of traversing different realms, different places, different worlds.

This was their home. Well, home away from home. Her actual home was a planet near this floating island, only a couple days away by travel.

“The Dreadnaught, I recently finished building this.”

“It is quite impressive my lord.” Diana smiles as she gazes at her creator. She moves her face a little closer to hers, but she doesn’t get a reaction. Or the reaction she wanted.

“You are no fun!” The Divine Hammer shrugs. “Was I supposed to react giddy, like a child? You should know better by now, Diana.” Diana huffs then shrugs. The servant knows what her creator is like. Duty bound and focused on managing the realm. She wishes she was a bit more affectionate to her, though.

“You know me too well, Diana. You should have expected this kind response from me.” The Divine Hammer looks around, seeing her mechanical crew, which are happy to see the two of them. The mechanical servants whirl to life, greeting them.

“Our lord, the Builder has returned. Is it time to plot a course?” a black-haired android walks towards them. She has a pretty, womanly face and has some makeup on it. Black hair and golden eyes and is about the same height as Diana. Her name is Liz, a subordinate to Diana, she is.

Diana walks off, through the metal door. They arrived on the main deck. The black droid is one of the pilots of the starcraft. Liz looks at them, waiting for instructions.

“Yes, plot a course. Heading north at 9391, we are heading back towards the capital planet.”

“Estimated arrival time, three days.” The builder nodded.

She did not have to travel via ship, but the sight of her flying battleship brought comfort and safety to her subjects. So, she bent a little to their desires.

She stares at the windows, above the many consoles and terminals. This great ship needed many, many beings to run it, so the builder spent a lot of time upgrading and refining her servants.

“Alert me once we have reached the outer perimeter of the planet, Stella. I will be engaged in training, I do not want to be disturbed while doing so, unless it is important.” The pilot nods in agreement and walks back towards her seat, sitting down. She directs the other machines to turn the ship and slowly but surely. The Dreadnought engages, its large repulsor engines turn on. Energy accumulates and the ship begins to move, soaring through the sky.

The island they were once on becomes distant and the vastness of the open sky can be seen from the main deck. The ship rises from the sky into the edges of space and moves towards its destination.

The Divine hammer looks somberly at the sight, then turns around. She walks through the same door Diana had earlier. She walks towards an elevator, and it opens automatically. She flicks a button, and the elevator closes its doors; it now is moving towards the training room.

The doors open, the training room can be seen. A floating orb stands in front of her.

“Welcome back my lo—”

“Save the pleasantries. Activate the level 2 combat exercise. I need to warm up a little.” She stretches.

“Before I meet my sister, hopefully.” The builder scowls, she has never had a good relationship with her sister. Every meeting with her only resulted in trouble.

The orb hums and spins, materializing metal debris. It further creates other smaller drones that are flying around the large space.

“Why is she so hellbent on fighting me? I do not know but I do know I must prepare myself.” She cracks her knuckles and stretches her legs.

“I will be ready for her when she comes.”

“Engage combat!” The drones respond and gather energy. A beam of light shoots forward. The visor wearing woman leans her neck to the side, just barely dodging the attack.

More beams were shot by the drones in succession, each one was easily evaded. The intensity of the beam barrage increases, forcing her to jump into the middle of the flying pieces of space rock.

Two drones move quickly behind her and continue their attack sequence.

She responds by jumping into the air, bouncing off a rock with her foot. She spins and twists, using her centrifugal force from her motion to deliver a heavy spin kick into one of them. She smashes it into pieces, sending chunks of circuitry flying. The other moves backward, moving back towards the main orb. The woman lands on a piece of floating debris, then jumps off, evading more energy blasts.

“Proceeding to phase 2,” says the larger orb. The smaller orbs converge on the main and now form a circle.

They surround the Divine hammer.

They are now fighting coordinated rather than individually. Numerous beams of light lit up, blasting down upon her with increased ferocity. She raises both of her hands, gathering her divine energy.

She reaches out her hands, deflecting the ongoing barrage, at inhuman speeds.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you activated your defense field?” The mechanical orb asks, curious why this woman is holding back.

“The point of training is to improve yourself. How can I improve myself if I constantly rely on one thing?” She sweats a little from the effort, but this isn’t enough to make her tired, yet.

“Besides. Don’t lecture me, machine.” Her visor glows yellow and makes the combat orb falter.

“Merely a suggestion.”

“I suggest proceeding to the final phase. Now.” She gathers energy in her hands and punches the ground. An energy shockwave is dispersed, destroying the miniature drones. Explosions can be heard all around the room as their parts fly everywhere, colliding with the wall.

“Proceeding to the final phase. Commencing heavy laser attack.”

“Finally useful for something.” She flips into the air and begins jumping off some of the floating debris in the large room. She jumps in between them effortlessly with the swiftness of a ninja and with the grace of a dancer. She lands on a large chunk of rock and raises her right hand into the air and begins bracing herself. She is preparing for a stronger attack.

The giant orb rises, not too far from her. It has nearly finished its charging routine.

“Commencing heavy laser beam attack in 3,2,1.” A giant laser beam emits from its mechanically drone middle, firing straight forward. The energy emitted is immense, shaking the entire room violently.

The builder merely unleashes her technique, in response.

“Divine Strike!” She moves at superhuman speeds. Her charged attack strikes at the center of the blast, the instant it fires.

The two energies collided, but not for long. The strike is far more potent than the beam. It easily slices through the energy. She moves quickly, striking the drone ever so slightly. The drone is damaged, crashing into the wall. It does not explode, however.

“W-well D-done, final phase completed. Perhaps next time you will start with a higher combat level, my lord?” The drone murmurs out. It has been damaged, but it is still functional.

“Most likely. This was just a warm-up, after all.” She waves her hand, the materials and broken bits in the room vanish.

It was merely a holographic training room. She did not need actual people to train with. At least, all the time, she thought.

“Knowing my luck, she will show up soon. I can always feel her presence before she does.” The blond woman shrugs and walks out of the room. She knew her sister. She knew what that bitch was capable of. Star Breaker always had a knack for showing up at the worst possible moment.

“It can’t be, that she does this on purpose? Not that she ever tells me anything.” She shrugs. She walks towards the elevator and takes it, arriving at her room.

“It is time for a nap. A short one, hopefully.” She falls on top of her bed and dozes off.

Two more days pass uneventfully.

“My lord, my lord!” a screen turns on. The blonde woman stirs from her rest, on her large bed.

“What is it?”

“A woman! She is in front of us!” The droid seems fearful of even mentioning her name. The builder, however, is not afraid of her sister. More worried about what she will do to everyone and everything else around her.

“She always shows up like this.” She sighs.

“Put her on comms, I’m sure she’s been dying to talk to me.”

And there she was. Her bastard of a sister, one that always wanted to prove her strength.

“We meet again. O Divine hammer of the realm! Is that what they call you know?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why else? To fight you.” The silver haired women cackles. She is floating in the air, in front of the Dreadnaught.

Seems like she forcibly stopped it.

“Typical of my sister.”

The divine hammer groans internally. She always gets in the way. At the worst possible times, too. Star breaker has little regard for anyone else but herself, which frustrates the Builder.

“And if I say no?”

“Then I’ll tear down your little ship, the home for your ‘friends.’”

“Then I will crush each one of their skulls. One by one. Until you decide to fight me again.” She moves closer towards the ship in the air, digging her fingers into its bow. She was serious.

“This is why we can’t get along; you are always like this!” The blonde woman gets off her bed, mildly annoyed.

“You are always treating these people as if they were the dirt beneath your feet.”

“And? So what? What will you do, my sister?”

“I will remind you what they mean to me.” She grabs her armor and switches her visor to combat mode.

“I will remind you why we are here. We are not merely fighters, we are protectors. We protect the things we hold dear.”

She rises and turns off the terminal. The time for battle has once again risen. She walks out of her room and quickly heads towards the cargo bay.