Altopereh erupted out of Kalian's domain like a black comet.
The endless forest of metallic spears vanished behind them within seconds as the restored god unit tore across the crimson desert at impossible speed. Waves of sand exploded beneath its thrusters, scattering across Tartarus like blood-red oceans caught in a storm.
Inside the cockpit, every system glowed at maximum output.
The deep hum of the restored main core echoed through the chamber like the heartbeat of a living god.
For the first time since arriving in Tartarus—
Altopereh was complete.
The machine no longer limped forward through the wastelands held together by fractured armor and desperation. The damaged limbs were gone. The instability was gone.
Now there was only overwhelming power.
Outside the cockpit, antimatter energy flowed across portions of the black armor in shifting streams of dark crimson light. The giant wings behind Altopereh's back distorted the air around it with every pulse, creating ripples through the desert itself.
The speed alone was monstrous.
Entire mountain-sized dunes vanished behind them in moments.
The desert stretched endlessly in all directions, yet Altopereh crossed it like a predator finally unleashed after ages of confinement.
Lea stood behind Youri silently, one hand gripping the rail beside the cockpit wall as she watched the crimson world streak past the screens.
Even she looked uneasy now.
Not because of where they were going.
But because of what was taking them there.
Youri sat firmly at the center seat, his eyes fixed on the horizon ahead.
For a while, no one spoke.
Only the sound of the engines filled the cockpit.
Then finally—
Youri broke the silence.
"Almosis."
Altopereh immediately responded.
"What about him?"
Youri leaned slightly forward.
"What exactly is his power?"
The moment the question left his mouth, the atmosphere inside the cockpit shifted subtly.
Even Lea looked toward the core behind them.
Altopereh was silent for several seconds.
Longer than usual.
Then finally—
Its voice echoed through the chamber.
"Infinity."
Youri frowned immediately.
"Infinity?"
"Yes."
The giant machine accelerated further.
Outside, the desert distorted under the pressure of its speed.
"No one truly knows what power Almosis holds," Altopereh continued. "Not even among the originals."
Lea crossed her arms slowly.
"That alone should terrify you."
Altopereh ignored her.
"There are powers in Tartarus that belong to what we call the infinite category."
Youri narrowed his eyes.
"Infinite category…"
Altopereh's voice deepened slightly, almost as though it was teaching an ancient truth.
"There are powers that can be measured."
The cockpit screens flickered as streams of antimatter calculations scrolled endlessly.
"And then there are powers that fundamentally cannot."
The halo behind Altopereh pulsed once.
A shockwave tore across the desert beneath them.
"My antimatter abilities fall into that category."
Youri remained silent as Altopereh continued.
"Antimatter is destruction without limit. It is the negation of existence itself. As long as energy exists, antimatter can continue to consume."
Lea looked toward the core.
"Infinite destruction…"
Altopereh laughed softly.
"A fitting title."
Youri stared ahead quietly.
Then Altopereh continued.
"Matter energy also belongs there."
"Meaning?" asked Youri.
"The endless creation and conversion of physical existence."
The machine's voice echoed heavily.
"There are rulers capable of endlessly producing mass, endlessly generating worlds, endlessly reshaping environments."
Youri immediately thought of the domains.
The endless deserts.
The volcanic worlds.
The frozen kingdoms.
Entire realities created and sustained by singular beings.
Then Altopereh spoke again.
"And finally…"
The cockpit lights dimmed slightly.
"…there is light."
Lea's posture stiffened.
"The Sacros."
"Yes."
Altopereh's voice carried unmistakable hatred now.
"The power they wield falls into the infinite category as well."
Youri remembered the visions.
The golden circles.
The cages of burning light.
The knights descending from the sky like divine executioners.
"What exactly is their power?" he asked quietly.
Altopereh answered immediately.
"Divinity."
The word echoed heavily through the cockpit.
"Light expands endlessly. It spreads. Consumes. Controls."
The giant machine's fists clenched slightly.
"The Sacros learned how to weaponize that principle."
Youri remained silent.
Then finally he asked the real question.
"And Almosis?"
The desert outside suddenly became darker.
Not because night had fallen.
Tartarus had no night.
Something else was changing.
The crimson sky above them slowly deepened into darker shades of red the farther they traveled.
Even the storms around them seemed quieter now.
As though the desert itself had started listening.
Altopereh's voice lowered.
"With Almosis…"
Even the ancient ruler sounded uncertain.
"…we only know one thing."
"His domain is endless."
Lea looked toward the horizon uneasily.
"And that alone places him within the infinite category."
Youri frowned.
"That can't be all."
"It is."
The answer came immediately.
"No one knows where Almosis begins."
The cockpit became quieter.
"No one knows where his domain ends."
The wind outside howled violently now.
Sandstorms rose across the horizon like living walls.
"And no one…"
Altopereh paused briefly.
"…has ever truly fought him."
Youri turned slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Altopereh laughed softly.
"Think carefully."
The machine pointed toward the endless desert ahead.
"You have walked through his domain since the moment you arrived in Tartarus."
Youri's eyes narrowed.
"That doesn't explain anything."
"No," Altopereh replied.
"It explains everything."
The cockpit screens suddenly flickered violently.
Warning signals flashed briefly before stabilizing again.
Lea immediately looked toward the sensors.
"We're entering deeper territory."
Outside—
The desert was changing.
The dunes no longer looked natural.
They moved strangely.
Like waves.
Like breathing flesh beneath endless layers of crimson sand.
Youri noticed it too.
"The ground…"
Altopereh responded calmly.
"Yes."
For the first time since entering Tartarus—
Youri felt genuine unease.
Not fear.
Something worse.
The sensation that the world around him was alive.
Altopereh continued speaking.
"Infinity is not merely power."
The machine's voice echoed deeper than before.
"It is a concept."
Youri listened carefully.
"Antimatter represents endless destruction."
"Matter represents endless creation."
"Light represents endless expansion."
The crimson storms ahead slowly parted.
Far in the distance—
Something enormous loomed beneath the sky.
Still too far to fully see.
But massive enough to distort the horizon itself.
Then Altopereh finished.
"And Almosis…"
The giant machine slowed slightly.
"…represents endless existence."
Silence followed.
Lea looked toward Youri.
Even she seemed unsettled by those words.
Youri stared toward the distant shape ahead.
"What does that even mean?"
This time—
Altopereh did not answer immediately.
For the first time since meeting the ancient ruler—
It sounded serious.
Truly serious.
"We are about to find out."
The metallic wings behind Altopereh ignited brighter.
The machine accelerated once more.
And ahead of them—
The endless crimson desert finally began to change.