An uncountable amount of machines filled the castle's guts like vermin that ate away at one's body. Hungrily, it fed off steam, coal, and nethicite to fuel the horrifically large machines that cut and polished the compartments of the Spheres. Containers higher than Yunho's head rowed the monstrous symmetrical machines that reached around with metal arms to reform unsuspecting brass into the pieces needed for automatons. Arms, legs, weapons, spherical balls, and an endless amount more that Jongho wouldn't be able to name for the life of him. As much as he wanted to dwell on this place and look at everything in detail, they were not alone.

A few workers had remained down here, but they didn't take notice of the newcomers through the clouds of yellowish hot steam. Down here, the deafening screeching and crashing of the machines were loud enough that they might have missed the collapse, too, so they rushed around as usual. Further down a seemingly endless hall of suffocating air and agonising heat, Jongho spotted a platform where multiple people worked on piecing together a Bishop on a wooden cross.

Everyone in the factory wore their masks, and Jongho didn't regret donning his either. Ir protected him from the hot air that filled his itching lungs to tickle coughs out of him even now.

On the opposite side of them, the blue hues of nethicite lit up a whole corner of the room with their eerie glow. No doubt, the riches gathered in this very place would be enough to sustain Zey without troubles. Nobody needed to question the king's greed anymore.

Seeking eyes searched their surroundings for the body of the king they had hoped to find.

With a beckon of his hand, Hongjoong motioned the group behind one of the machines next to them that had been partially buried under the rubble. Most of the falling rocks had slid off the metal arm that grew from the ground like the hand of a corpse, but some had landed behind it and scratched up the polished brass. Its movements hitched sometimes, but they all still avoided the huge metal arm above their heads with great respect.

Stones and dust slipped underneath Jongho's feet as he made his way over. One of his hands rested on his weapons at any time, while the other one led Yeosang over the debris. The librarian stumbled on the uneven ground, but he found his balance once they got over the worst.

With a little noise of alarm, Seonghwa pointed at something at their feet. A dark line that was too black for blood but too red to be grease led from the drop towards one of the many tunnels that spread from the hall. It travelled alongside the trails that transported the containers between places. No doubt, someone or something that was bleeding had pulled its body alongside the tracks over the rough stones.

As the group followed the evidence slowly and with constant glances behind their shoulders, the scale of the breeding ground caught up with Jongho. While the centre laid beneath the castle, it spread its arms much further across Asora. Like tendrils, they crawled through the earth to reach the docks, the cliffs, and possibly far land inward. Would the king attempt to send his troops this way to attack Gizfall from beneath?

The number of automatons probably hidden within these tunnels was inestimable. The Spheres had patrolled the streets for two hundred years, and they rarely shrunk in number. Ever since then, the king's might had grown gradually. Had the war three years ago been a test? Or a mere attempt to get rid of a few of Zey's people? Maybe losing for now and making the enemy think that they were far weaker only to return in a moment of surprise was a method that war strategics recommended.

The tension within the group was palpable in the air. All of them brimmed with questions, and with the cacophony of machine noises gradually growing quieter within the echos, their minds went into override.

Yeosang was the first one to speak up about it. His scratchy voice carried the doubt that they all shared.

"Seonghwa... Did you know of this? All this?" He gestured down the way they had come from. Dull, the hammering and cutting of metal underlined his words. The machines acted like a lifeform of itself, independent and unstoppable. Creating more and ever more robots to kill with.

"I didn't." Seonghwa grimly shook his head. "I knew that he had to build them somewhere, but I never suspected it to be this near. I figured he might outsource his productions somewhere in Zey and disguise it as a different institution. Compared to what I imagined, this is far bigger." Searching, his eyes found Yunho's tall figure.

"But you knew. Have you ever been here?"

Without lifting his eyes off the trail on the ground, Yunho gave an approving hum.

"I was. I only saw bits of it initially when I hijacked one of the Bishops, but once I had been around for a while, I explored as carefully as possible. It's a huge net, and finished machines that wait to be powered are everywhere. Not just Bishops and Spheres, too. They built killing machines of all kinds, and they all just anticipate one order."

"So the expansion of the manned soldiers was only a front. A front to put on for Gizfall's spies, too," Wooyoung finally concluded, too. When everybody's faces darkened further, Jongho formed his hands to fists at his side.

"Correct. Mechanics, people like Jongho and Mingi, are everywhere here. From Zey, from Asora, from countries far away that came to aid in this case. They all plan for the big coup, and compared to Jongho; they aren't just creating braces for their bones or little birds." When the corridor lost all light along their path, Yunho reached into his bag to grab a little lantern as well as a piece of nethicite he carried. With nimble fingers, he fiddled the stone into the lamp. When he was done, the barest bit of light palely lit their way. It reminded Jongho of Yeosang's moon lamp. He had wanted to build him a new one if he ever got his fingers on some nethicite, too.

"This looks like very much effort for just Gizfall, though. I can't remember it being that powerful and large when I visited last time," Hongjoong commented, filled with perplexion. At his mumbled thoughts, Seonghwa slowed his steps until he suddenly stood entirely. Confused, the group halted to stare at him.

In Yunho's lamp, his widened eyes looked haunted in his pale face. As if he had seen a ghost. As if the horrors they discovered at the moment physically had startled him.

"What if he wants to betray them, too? What if father's plans go beyond Gizfall?"

The thought spread stalely in Jongho's mouth. When Yeosang sought protection on his side, he held onto him to calm both of their racing hearts.

"That would be a large step to take so suddenly. Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to take over Zey before he went overseas? He feared a rebellion for many years now." With a wave of his hand, Wooyoung brushed the theory off. However, Seonghwa still stood stiff as a pillar as he got behind the situation.

"But he's doing that already. By letting Zey's people work for him and getting rid of them gradually. I don't doubt that our timing narrowly dodged the first official attack he would have started against Zey. If he has all those fancy machines, no doubt he would have tried them out there and called it an accident towards his allies. An accident that Zey warranted."

Gradually, the puzzle pieced together. Yunho's expression also slipped into shock as he understood.

"For example, by blaming them for killing his son. Blimey... We really came just on time."

Seonghwa had been a puppet. All along, just a puppet to show off to the public and to use as a lethal weapon once the time came.

Underneath his mask, Jongho swallowed his anger with an effort. His arm still held onto Yeosang, his delicate and dear lover who would probably be dead by now by the hands of the king too if he hadn't chosen to free him that night. A night that felt as if it was ages away when really it had just been a few weeks.

Thick silence settled between them. The narrow walls of the tunnel that was tall enough to fit the container and nothing else swallowed the secrets they had discovered for no one else to hear. Once more, Jongho became keenly aware of their surroundings. If they stumbled into a trap down here and were wiped off the face of this earth, then no one would ever hear about the gruesome truth.

"I don't know about you guys, but I certainly feel like getting rid of a certain bastard king now." Jongho grit out between his teeth. Upon his beckon, his friends finally started to move again. Frozen and jerky as if they were wooden dolls whose joints were blocked, they turned to continue down the path they had taken.

Seonghwa didn't comment on the cruel role fate had bestowed on him. The time to be angry about the past had ended long ago. Now, they had to make sure that they twisted their fate around to spare themselves of the same rage in the future.

The trail of blood on the ground helped them find their way when they passed an intersection that spread in three paths next to a points lever. Swerving left, they continued down further into the earth. Back here, the machines in the main room were barely audible anymore, and the wintery coldness of the ground had them shiver. Anticipation crawled down their spines.

Yeosang hadn't let go of Jongho's hand yet. They held onto each other to be anchors in the hours of uncertainty.

When the slope of the path linearly lowered deeper down, Jongho began to wonder just where they were going. Was this a trap indeed? Had the trail been painted to fool them? No, the liquid on the rocks looked fresh.

Tense, he peered around and kept his senses on every possible change of their dull surroundings. Yunho's dancing light cast long shadows behind their bodies that seemed to follow them like enemies to breathe down their backs. Waiting for a moment to attack and drive their weapons in their backs.

"This is leading west. Towards the canyon and Qam," Yeosang muttered under his breath. His quiet voice still reached Seonghwa and Hongjoong, who exchanged a gaze before their eyes darkened with steely determination once more. Jongho helplessly squeezed Yeosang's hand in his.

The assumption that the king might have heard of Qam or at least assumed that something of worth was down at the canyon weighed like a stone in Jongho's stomach. He was glad that San wasn't here. Suppose Jongho imagined the king and his murderous automatons marching into the peaceful village to rip apart their colourful fabrics and send the kids and families running and screaming, the need to vomit clenched all the worse. It had been over a week since they left Qam's safe haven. Depending on how fast they worked...

Jongho refused the thought. If the king so much as laid a hand on the only peaceful spot within their godforsaken kingdom, then Jongho might rethink his plans to kill him quickly and get it over with. If he caused suffering, then he also deserved to experience the same agony.

"We can be glad they didn't find Mingi's hideout and dug deeper. Even though they probably started to send drones by now to explore the canyon and see where it's worth breaking through. They might know of Qam already," Jongho commented sinisterly. Their steps in the dark corridor sped up as if they all needed to check. Even Wooyoung understood the urgency, and he hurried alongside them as they basically ran through the web of tunnels to reach an end. Nobody could foresee what would expect them there, but they all hoped.

Ultimately, the tunnel came to an end, however. A wagon rested on the tracks next to a barricade that stopped it from connecting with the flat wall in front of them. Digging tools and smaller machines laid around, waiting to be used to advance the path at the given time. For now, no worker was in sight. But behind the wagon, they could still hear a rattling breath where Yunho's light didn't breach the darkness.

"Father," Seonghwa called into thin air without bothering to step around the wagon. The group cautiously spread out, and Jongho and Yunho watched the path they had come from for another ambush.

A rough giggle painfully responded.

"Son... It seems we have reached the end of the tunnel. The end of our paths."