The galaxy trembled beneath the expansion of the Thokt Dynasty.
Entire sectors had already fallen silent beneath the dynasty’s advance.
Forge fleets consumed worlds while harvest moons stripped planets to their cores using enhanced Seeds capable of converting entire celestial bodies into raw metallic resources.
And now
Mike turned his attention toward the birthplace of the Cybertronians themselves.
Cybertron.
The cradle of living machines.
The source of the technology he sought to surpass.
Within the command chamber of his flagship, Mike stood towering over assembled crypteks and generals in his newly forged body.
Emerald light leaked from the cracks in his armor while trillions of nanites shifted endlessly beneath the surface of his necrodermis frame.
Behind him, enormous holographic projections displayed Cybertron.
The planet was dying.
Its surface was scarred by endless warfare between the Autobots and the Decepticons.
Entire continents had collapsed inward while energon shortages crippled infrastructure across the world.
Without the AllSpark, Cybertron could no longer heal itself.
One of Mike’s generals observed the world silently.
“What a foolish species,” the cryptek said coldly.
“So much technology… yet petty conflict and resource dependence destroyed their own home.”
Mike said nothing.
But he agreed.
The Cybertronians possessed immense potential.
Yet their emotional instability had crippled them for millions of years.
Their weakness would now become his strength.
Mike looked toward the planet.
“Begin planetary assault.”
“At once, my phaeron.”
Reality split apart above Cybertron.
Thousands of dimensional fractures opened simultaneously as immense Necron warships emerged from hyperspatial corridors.
Blackstone pylons unfolded from their hulls while entire moonsized forge-vessels descended into orbit.
Then came the armies.
Millions upon millions of Necron warriors poured from dimensional gateways onto the surface below.
The war for Cybertron entered its final phase.
Across ruined metallic cities, Autobots and Decepticons abruptly ceased fighting one another as emerald beams annihilated entire battle lines indiscriminately.
Necron legions advanced with horrifying precision.
Gauss fire stripped Cybertronians apart molecule by molecule while scarab swarms consumed fortresses, factories, and defensive positions within minutes.
The planet itself screamed beneath orbital bombardment.
Autobot commanders attempted emergency regrouping.
Decepticon warlords scrambled to establish defensive formations.
Neither side understood what they faced.
And by the time they did
It was too late.
Mike descended personally into the center of the conflict.
His immense winged form landed amidst the shattered remains of an ancient Cybertronian city while anti-gravitic thrusters shook the ground beneath him.
Autobots froze as he emerged from smoke and burning debris.
Jagged black armor leaking emerald energy.
Massive necrodermis wings are shifting behind him.
A living machine-god forged from Necron science and Cybertronian evolution alike.
Then another figure stepped forward.
Optimus Prime.
The Autobot leader raised his weapon slowly while damaged Autobots gathered behind him.
Mike observed him calmly.
Then, without a word
He threw something forward.
A severed head rolled across the battlefield before stopping at Optimus Prime’s feet.
Sentinel Prime.
Silence spread instantly.
Optimus stared at the remains of his former mentor.
“You…” Optimus said quietly.
Mike’s voice echoed like metallic thunder.
“He was useful.”
Rage ignited across Optimus Prime’s optics.
Then the battle began.
Optimus moved first.
His energon blade struck with enormous force, capable of cleaving battle tanks apart.
Mike blocked it one-handed using the Staff of the Fallen.
The impact shattered nearby structures.
Optimus attacked relentlessly, transforming between combat forms fluidly while firing integrated weapons at close range.
Mike countered effortlessly.
His Fusion Gauss Cannon unfolded from his arm before unleashing emerald beams that vaporized entire sections of the city.
Optimus barely avoided destruction repeatedly.
Yet despite his skill
He was completely suppressed.
Mike moved faster.
Stronger.
More efficiently.
AllSpark-enhanced nanites adapted continuously during battle while the knowledge of Megatron, Jetfire, and the Fallen flowed through his combat calculations.
Then more Autobots arrived.
Ultra Magnus led reinforcements directly into the battle while other Autobot elites charged beside him.
Behind Mike, Necron royal guards intercepted them instantly.
The battlefield erupted into total war.
Ultra Magnus destroyed multiple Necron constructs with heavy energon fire before a towering destroyer construct tore through him from behind.
Autobots fought desperately.
Bravely.
But bravery meant nothing against overwhelming superiority.
Mike struck Optimus directly across the chest, sending the Prime crashing through several ruined towers.
The Autobot leader rose again slowly.
Damaged.
Burning.
Still defiant.
“You fight for nothing,” Mike declared.
Mike looked around at the dying world.
“Freedom destroyed your species.”
Then he attacked again.
This time, the battle ended.
Mike’s nanites erupted across Optimus Prime’s frame while Blackstone energy destabilized the Autobot leader’s spark containment systems directly.
Optimus roared as Mike forced his hand into the Prime’s chest.
Then
He extracted the spark.
A blazing blue core of life pulsed violently in Mike’s grasp.
For several moments, Optimus Prime stared silently at the light within Mike’s hand.
Then his body collapsed lifelessly onto the ruined ground.
The leader of the Autobots was dead.
And with him
Autobot resistance shattered.
Elsewhere, the Decepticons fared no better.
Without Megatron, their forces devolved rapidly into chaos and fragmented command structures.
Only Soundwave and Starscream attempted meaningful tactical coordination.
Soundwave utilized infiltration units and electronic warfare to disrupt Necron communications while Starscream organized aerial assaults against harvest fleets.
It achieved nothing.
The Necron numbers were endless.
Entire Decepticon armies vanished beneath overwhelming orbital firepower and dimensional reinforcements continuously pouring onto the planet.
Starscream was eventually torn apart mid-flight by interceptor constructs.
Soundwave survived longer.
But even his advanced tactical calculations could not overcome the dynasty’s technological advantage.
Mike personally destroyed him during the final assault on Kaon.
Within days
Cybertron fell completely.
The planet entered the full harvesting phase immediately.
Forge complexes spread across the surface while trillions of scarabs descended upon ruined cities and battlefields.
The corpses of Autobots and Decepticons alike were gathered endlessly.
Mike stood overlooking the burning remains of Cybertron while crypteks approached, awaiting instruction.
“What shall be done with the bodies, my phaeron?”
Mike observed the dead silently.
Then he answered coldly.
“Toss them into the forges.”
The crypteks bowed.
“And the sparks?”
Mike’s glowing eyes narrowed slightly.
“Do not damage them.”
The sparks mattered.
More than ever before.
Because now Mike possessed something unprecedented
The spark of Optimus Prime himself.
And with enough study
He intended to understand the true secret of synthetic souls completely.