Every person had their own unique taste. Not taste as in artistic preference, but taste as in actual texture or flavor.

  It was how Tim viewed his “healing.” It was never a natural part of his skillset. His Blackblood was, at its core, meant for regeneration. A substance with the property to absorb and purify. After thousands of years, it had turned black from all the damage he had been taking, doubling as a weapon with just how toxic, corrosive, and now, alcoholic—it had become.

  Healing others only came later in life. It wasn’t as simple as putting his hand on someone, focusing his magic, and calling it a day. That was closer to Vita’s alley. He had to know exactly what damage had been taken, isolate it, then transfer it over to himself; none of which had anything to do with his Gift’s innate properties. Without an intimate understanding of the patient’s physiology, he would only accelerate their death.

  In essence, each time he healed someone, he performed surgery via synesthesia in real time. Heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen, temperature—everything had to be correctly assessed to ensure the physical trauma or failing organs were transplanted to him. The sheer speed at which he could bring someone from the brink of death back to full health was only possible through years of medical and magical practice.

  It was through all this healing that he developed a taste for those he healed. Each person’s vital signs had their own sensation to them. His “sixth sense of taste” was so refined, he could tell exactly how many milliliters of blood someone was missing, or how many micro-fragments of bone were not where they were supposed to be. While the exact methodology of how this worked was a point of contention in the medical community, both past and present, nevertheless, the countless lives he had saved were proof that it worked. And not all of those “lives” were human.

  Even robots had their taste. Damage transfer still worked as long as he understood the patient’s physiology. Or in this case, mechatronics. While it paled in comparison to his medical knowledge, he had successfully healed robots in the past. They were far more complicated than the car he was driving, but back then, he was also a lot better at what he did.

  He had his medical license.

  While a piece of paper was not a solid indicator of his skill as a field medic, he was healing a lot more often during the Aberration War. His younger self would probably rebuke him for how out of practice he had become. But upon sampling the liquid Mia collected, it was as if all those memories came flooding in. The taste of déjà vu. The flavor. The nostalgia. He felt the presence of a long-lost friend after almost an eternity. But there was no relief to be found in this revelation.

  That friend could not possibly be “alive” anymore.

  Left with a conflicting taste in his mouth, the leather on the steering wheel felt warmer as he tightened his grip. Warmer, but less comfortable. More friction. He kept his thoughts from gnawing at the back of his mind by pouring even more attention into where he was going. Occasionally, he would see the figure of a large robot in the corner of his eye, only for it to vanish along with the trees as he got closer. He had to focus.

  The car he was driving wasn’t the only thing moving in these woods. The entire forest moved along with him. It was slow, almost unnoticeable, but the ground underneath the tires was shifting. Some areas faster than others. It was as if each section of the rainforest was its own tectonic plate, drifting around with a mind of its own. This was how the campsite he remembered had “relocated” after so many years. It probably wasn’t even next to the cave anymore.

  But having dealt with more… unreasonable spaces in the past, his mind began to adapt to the unseen signs planted by nature. The cloying stench in the air. The reaction speed of the trees. Even the unevenness in the ground. Each piece of the geographic puzzle fell into place, forming a map that only he could see.

  Before long, they arrived at the “campsite.” A full-blown village. Almost medieval in its appearance, except for the imposing guard standing in front.

  “Stop right there!”

  Towering over the car at about 15 feet in height was a veritable iron giant. An actual, bona fide robot. Yet, nothing like the ones Tim remembered from the last Age. This gatekeeper looked like a child’s depiction of a robot. The kind that was drawn with an assortment of colored crayons and pasted on the walls of soon-to-be-outgrown playrooms.

  “State your ID number.” The mechanized gatekeeper boomed through its speakers, complete with flashing lights on top of its head. Its wrecking ball-like arm raised midway, the tiny index finger at the end pointing straight at the car.

  “So there’s a whole village of them now?” The princess’s voice was headache personified. “Is this… thing the robot you saw?”

  “No, that one was smaller. More damaged. Not as shiny as this one.”

  Lynn asked Tim instead. “A friend of yours?”

  Forget the robot; even this entire village didn’t exist in his memory. For once, he was as confused as the other two.

  “No, doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “What are you whispering to yourself for?!” The modulator of the robot guard boomed. The palisades behind it, a mix of wood and steel, vibrated in place. “ID number! Now!”

  “Let’s turn around,” Tim suggested. “The cave should be somewhere el—”

  “I have a better idea.”

  But Lynn didn’t share it. She showed it. Stepping outside the vehicle, she shut the door behind her with a slam.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Tim felt his heart sinking as fear washed over him.

  Please god, don’t let there be any killing.

  Subject: Terilynn Veranos | Classif.: Barzakh

  Can’t kill something that isn’t alive in the first place.

  This entire excursion into Mount Harlow was a mistake. The skittish trees. The air that smelled of diabetes. And now this walking tin can in front of her. Enough is enough.

  Lynn left the car with an aching desire to break something. This robot in front of her was the perfect target for stress relief. Its shape just so happened to be the exact size needed to fill the destruction-shaped hole in her heart.

  But as much as her body desired some “exercise,” her brain craved for something even greater. She finally had the opportunity to assert dominance. To take over the steering wheel of this journey from Tim’s hands.

  It was time to show those two commoners the real power of a noble Executrix.

  “Listen closely, rob—”

  “Eeek!”

  Did the robot just squeal?

  Lynn doubted her ears, but not her eyes. The gatekeeper raised one foot and pulled both its hands to its chest as if it saw a mouse. Its two reddish-brown camera-eye lenses seemed to wobble slightly as its mouthguard dropped in shock. How in the king’s name did this bot get appointed as the village guard?

  She always wanted those before her to tremble in fear of her presence. Just not like this. She hadn’t even gotten the chance to display her Noble Crest. This was not what she planned.

  “Y-Y-You just gave b-birth to a f-flesh baby…”

  “What.” Lynn was so confused, she forgot her question mark.

  “AH!? It s-spoke!”

  It? A light bulb turned on in her head. Conjuring a pebble in her hand, Lynn lobbed it at the hood of the car, light enough not to dent it, but just enough to piss off the driver.

  “HEY!” Tim’s muffled yell was loud enough to shake the entire vehicle. He got out, seething and bewildered, his widened eyes demanding an explanation.

  “Oh my god,” the gatekeeper uttered, before turning around and shouting into the village. “Someone get Doc, quick! There’re twins being born at the gate!”

  It dawned on her that the gatekeeper wasn’t talking to her. It was talking to the car. In the eyes of the robot, the car was one of its own, having “given birth” to two “flesh babies.” Just how dumb could it be? She felt like she was on some kind of prank show, just waiting for someone to point out the hidden camera somewhere.

  Not having enough brain cells to deal with this, the princess sighed. She ignored the angry Tim and the terrified gatekeeper, walking right past it and into the open gate of the village.

  “S-S-Stop!” Demanded the oversized guard as it slid over to the entrance, arms outstretched in an attempt to block her. “Stay here! The Doctor is coming!”

  “Step. Aside.” She froze the bot with her glare, causing its springs to recoil in terror.

  “I-I c-can’t let anyone p-p-pass, not even f-flesh babies.”

  “What did you call me?

  “Aieee!”

  Caught between panic and duty, the guard shrieked as it threw a sissified punch at Lynn. There was no form to it. But the immense size and weight of its fist still carried the force of a moving truck. It slammed into Lynn. But she didn’t even budge.

  Receiving the full impact through her open palm, the ground beneath her feet cracked. Leaves were blown away as the wind escaped in fear. The sound of the collision could be heard for miles, echoing into the rest of the woods.

  And yet, Lynn smiled.

  She turned to face Tim as she uttered:

  “Self-defense.”

  “That’s trespassing, you idio—”

  But before he could even finish, the robot’s face warped in abject horror. Lynn grabbed its finger with both hands and, in one fell swoop, hoisted it over her shoulder. Several tons of steel flew overhead as the gatekeeper quickly found itself at the mercy of gravity. She knocked the lights out of it with one swift, surgical judo slam into the ground.

  The earth deformed from the ferocity of the counterattack. The entire village shook as a crater was left behind at its entrance. Dusting her hands off, Lynn wore a satisfied smile that looked like she had just been crowned as the new queen.

  “There. Problem solved.”

  “You’re impossible,” Tim muttered.

  He approached the out-of-commission robot. Lynn’s chest swelled with pride as he examined her handiwork. But the delight she just found evaporated the moment he placed his hand on the robot.

  “You’re healing the damn thing! WHY?!”

  The trauma from the Holographic Sea resurfaced. First Glacies. Now this. The hard work she put in each time almost seemed like it was fated to be undone at every corner. Because of one, treacherous, damnable healer.

  “Is it so hard to try communicating instead of combat, for once?!”

  “Why is it always old people like you ruining everything when I solved the issue?!”

  The words “old people” staggered him. He would not be regenerating from that any time soon. Struggling to compose himself, he blurted:

  “You need to think and calm down!”

  “Calm down?! This tin can called me a ‘baby’ and you expect me to calm down?!”

  “Well, you’re acting like one!”

  The Immortal approached him with murder on her mind, only to be stopped by Mia’s hand on her shoulder. Through pure reflex, she grabbed the girl’s arm, flipping her over like the robot, but it was like grabbing air.

  Mid-flip, Mia transformed into and out of her child form, her arm slipping through Lynn’s grasp. Landing gracefully right in front of the princess, she merely shook her head. The condescending look in her eyes was a warning. Cut it out.

  But before Lynn could give the girl a piece of her mind, the gatekeeper sat back up. In full alert, but dumbfounded.

  “T-T-Triplets?!?!”

  But the surprise on the robot’s metallic mug was nothing compared to what came from inside the village. A small, stubby robot, about Mia’s height, stood absolutely flabbergasted as it saw the three strangers surrounding the gatekeeper. But it quickly became clear that it was Tim who was the target of its astonishment.

  Shivering, the new robot raised its hand, pointing its finger at him. Uttering its next few words, Tim was killed on the spot.

  “You’re old…”

  He fell to his knees, the light fading from his eyes as it almost seemed like his bones were crumbling to dust.