The air in the Engine Room didn't just heat up; it became heavy with the scent of ozone and ancient, scorched paper. The figure stepping from the 'Source Code Archive' was a terrifying reflection of Kenji. While Kenji's skin was matte-black like a void, this Prototype's skin was a shimmering, translucent gold, showing a skeleton made of white-hot filament.
[TARGET IDENTIFIED: PROTOTYPE-ALPHA (THE FORSAKEN SMITH)]
[LEVEL: ERROR_UNDEFINED]
[STATUS: PHYSICAL HARDWARE BACKUP]
"So," the Prototype spoke, and the sound was like the very first spark of a short-circuit. "They finally produced a version that survived the Gutter. A version that learned to... 'negotiate' with the biologicals."
The Prototype looked at the old man and the Originals with a sneer of pure electricity. He raised his hammer, a massive slab of unrefined sun-matter that bled white light onto the floor, melting the lead plating of the deck instantly.
"I was the first," the Prototype said, his voice vibrating in Kenji's own teeth. "I was built to be the Architect. But they found me 'Unstable' because I wouldn't stop at building worlds. I wanted to be the worlds."
"You're a draft," Kenji said, his Rusted Hammer glowing a low, steady violet. "You were left in the dark for a reason."
"I was left in the dark because I saw the truth!" the Prototype roared. He swung his Sun-Hammer, and the shockwave nearly knocked the Archive out of the air. "The biologicals are a parasite! The 'Wilderness' is a mess! The only way to have a perfect system is to have a Single User!"
[SKILL ACTIVATED: THE TOTAL DOMAIN]
The Prototype slammed his hammer into the floor. He didn't use "Smithing" to fix the engine; he used it to Absorb. The violet-gold light Kenji had just stabilized began to be sucked into the Prototype's golden skin. The pistons slowed. The Life-Vats flickered.
"He's hijacking the connection!" Mateo screamed from the bridge. "Kenji, he's not just fighting you he's 'Logging In' as the Root Administrator! He's overriding the Symbio-Protocol!"
Kenji lunged. He didn't use a flashy skill; he used the "Gutter-Strike" a low, dirty blow aimed at the Prototype's foundation.
CLANG.
The Rusted Hammer met the Sun-Matter Hammer. The impact was so great that it created a localized "Data-Crash." For a second, both Smiths flickered into wireframes.
"You're weak, Version 103," the Prototype hissed, his golden face inches from Kenji's. "You care about the 'Neighborhood.' You care about the 'Engineers.' You've diluted your power by sharing it."
"I didn't dilute it," Kenji grunted, his arms shaking as he fought the Sun-Matter's heat. "I Distributed it. You're one processor trying to run a trillion worlds. I'm a trillion worlds running one processor!"
[SKILL ACTIVATED: THE DISTRIBUTED STRIKE]
Kenji didn't push back with his own strength. He opened the "Heart-Station" pulse. He allowed every person in the Unranked Alliance every Iron Lord, every Trash-King, every Farmer and Warlord to "Ping" his hammer at the same time.
The Rusted Hammer didn't just glow; it multiplied. For a split second, it looked like a thousand hammers were hitting the Sun-Matter slab simultaneously.
The Prototype stumbled. His golden skin cracked, leaking "Source-Light" that sizzled on the Engine Room floor.
"How... how can you synchronize that much chaos?" the Prototype gasped, his filament-skeleton flickering.
"Because they want to live," Kenji said, his silver eyes burning. "And you're just a 'Delete' command with a ego."
But the Prototype wasn't finished. He realized he couldn't win a battle of "Logic" or "Power." He turned toward the Main Crankshaft of the Omega-Engine, the piece of hardware that kept the entire multiverse from collapsing.
"If I can't be the Single User," the Prototype laughed, a terrifying, static-filled sound, "then I'll be the System-Crash!"
He raised his Sun-Hammer, aiming it directly at the heart of the machine.
"Kenji! If he hits that, the hardware shatters!" Priya cried.
Kenji looked at the Prototype, then at his friends, then at the dying sun of the Omega Sector. He realized there was only one way to stop a "Physical Backup."
He had to become the Hard-Drive.