The group stared at the door. Its surface was a labyrinth of mechanical gears and geometric grooves, acting as massive conductive circuits. Though it had been silent for eons under the lunar dust, this artificial titan proved one thing: the Infinite Land was not just a wasteland. It hid a world-shaking secret.
"Behind this metal door lies the origin of those space-rats," Jeno muttered, laying at the edge of the crater, his eyes burning with a mechanic's lust. He touched the rusted gears. "But the door has a gravity lock. Without a key..."
Before he could finish, Enel silently bypassed the group and leaped into the pit.
Standing before the magnificent alloy gates, the former God of Thunder closed his eyes. An indescribable palpitation revived in his chest. The "Kingdom of God" was a lie, but something here was calling to his blood. Without needing Jeno's guidance, Enel pressed his hands onto the two prominent metal spheres on the door.
"Let me see what is buried here," Enel whispered.
Tens of millions of volts surged from his body into the receiving circuits like a bursting river.
HUMMM.
A low-frequency metallic roar made their teeth ache. The very surface of the moon seemed to tremble. Then, the massive doors—sealed for a thousand years—slid open along their tracks. An ancient, cold draft, smelling of millenia-old dust, rushed out to meet them.
The Underground City.
The passage was bottomless. Jeno turned on his high-beam searchlight and led the way, the others following close behind. When they reached the end, the view opened up into a staggering sight.
Beneath the moon's crust lay a massive ancient mechanical city. Towering metal buildings stood in silent rows. But in the central square, there was no divine light. Instead, there were hundreds of small robot soldiers—barely half a meter tall, with cylindrical bodies and handlebar mustaches. They looked like shoddy tin toys, lying dead in the dust, their shells orange with rust.
"Is this it...?" Enel stood at the edge of the square. The grand faith that had sustained his tyranny turned into a bitter, sorrowful absurdity. There was no omnipotent power. No infinite wealth. His lifelong pursuit was a lifeless junkyard.
"GO TO HELL!! ALL OF YOU, DISAPPEAR!"
Disillusionment turned into manic rage. Enel raised his gold staff, and 200 Million Volts erupted from his body. He roared, swinging a pillar of lightning into the city wreckage, trying to blast the dream that mocked him into nothingness.
Lightning rained down on the square.
However, the city didn't melt. The moment the lightning touched the structures, blue electrical patterns lit up on the walls. The ancient materials acted like a dry sponge, absorbing every volt Enel threw.
Clack. Whirr. Click.
The red eyes of the "tin toys" lit up simultaneously. Borrowing the heaven-sent energy, they regained life. Hundreds of small robots stood up, turned to Enel in mid-air, and performed a uniform military salute, emitting a harsh electronic screech:
"Thank you, God, for the charge!"
Enel's brain went into a complete crash. He looked at his sparking palms, then at the saluting tin dwarves. His "Divine Punishment" hadn't destroyed them—it had just refueled them.
The Truth in the Murals.
Jeno ignored Enel's crumbling worldview and rushed to a wall, wiping away the dust.
"Look at this!" Jeno translated the ancient pictographs. "Hundreds of years ago, the winged people on this planet weren't gods. They were refugees! The resources of the Infinite Land ran dry, so they took balloons and fled to the Blue Planet to survive!"
The Sky Islanders and Shandians were just cosmic castaways.
This was the last straw. Enel's gold staff fell to the ground with a heavy clang. The destination he had sacrificed everything for was just a barren camp his ancestors had abandoned. He was a clown who had dreamed a fool's dream.
Ace's steady footsteps echoed in the square. He walked to the center, his broad shadow falling over the dazed God of Thunder.
"It's not too late to wake up," Ace said, his voice low and steady. "Do you want to stay in this junkyard and be a 'God' to these toys, or follow me back to the sea of monsters and stir up some real trouble? Choose."
Enel lowered his head. After a long silence, he let out a frantic, self-mocking laugh.
"Ye-hahahaha... Infinite Land? What a joke! Let's go! Take me to that sea where the strong are 'numerous as clouds.' I'll blast every high-and-mighty bastard I find to death!"
Enel had finally let go of the void throne. He found a new anchor: the pursuit of pure, chaotic power alongside equals.
Preparation for Departure.
Ace looked at the little robots running happily around his feet. "Take ten of them on board. They can sweep the decks and wash dishes. They'll be Buggy's helpers."
He turned back to Jeno, who was already obsessed with the ancient mainframe. "Jeno, take everything useful for the Eclipse. Bring back the power arrays and circuit logic. We set sail as soon as we have the tech. Don't waste another minute in this graveyard."
Ace turned toward the exit, his eyes burning with ambition.
"This world—the era that belongs to us—has only just begun!"
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