Two streaks of light — one black, one gold — tore across the skies.
The black one roared with violent force, like an unleashed missile, while the golden one radiated a divine aura.
They moved almost neck and neck, both descending toward a cabin nestled deep within a forest.
BOOM!
SWISH!
Two streaks of light struck the ground — one landing heavy and fierce, the other light and graceful.
Almost instantly, the door creaked open.
From within, Balder stepped out.
"Your Grace!"
The Governor immediately dropped to one knee.
Meanwhile, Sarah Connor practically flung herself into Balder's arms.
Balder gently ran his hand through her hair.
"How is it? Are you getting used to the power?"
"It's amazing! Just— it's not enough. I want more!"
She squirmed in his arms, rubbing against him with an oddly intoxicated energy.
But Balder simply placed his hand on her head, suppressing the little bundle of mischief.
By now, Balder had ascended to Demi-Father rank — a being whose very essence had transcended the mortal concept of life.
Even a single drop of his blood or a strand of his hair carried unimaginable divine power.
By sharing a fragment of that power, he had made Sarah Connor into a pseudo-transcendent being.
Though her strength was temporary — drawing from Balder's shared divine energy — it was still enough to grant her the might of a first-class superhuman, if only for a brief time.
Holding the squirming girl down with one hand, Balder turned his gaze to the Governor.
Understanding the cue, the Governor untied the large sack on his back. Inside were two figures — one tall and rugged, the other flexible and semi-liquid, almost as if his body could melt at any moment.
It was them:
T-800 and T-1000, the legendary Terminators from Terminator: Genisys.
Balder nodded approvingly.
"Good."
"Remove the T-800's CPU chip. Use it to power the time machine. As for the rest — he's yours. Make him part of your forces."
"As you command, Your Grace."
The Governor seized the T-800 and left.
Balder's attention now shifted to the T-1000.
He patted Sarah's head lightly. "Go back to your room. I have a few matters to handle."
"Alright."
She obediently retreated into the house.
Then Balder raised his hand, summoning a pitch-black artifact that pulsed with overwhelming negative energy — darkness, slaughter, and every form of corruption blended into one.
It was the proto-artifact of the "Power of Fear" he had seized from the Chronicle (超能失控 / Chronicle) world.
While the T-800 had been attuned to the Power of Fear, the shapeshifting liquid-metal T-1000 was better suited for the Power of Darkness and Slaughter.
The T-1000, after all, was nearly the perfect assassin.
Balder gestured slightly, and a flood of dark, murderous energy poured from the artifact, surging into the deactivated T-1000.
Then a divine flame of Holy Light burst forth, fusing with the dark energy to reforged the T-1000's form.
Practice makes perfect — this time, the process went much smoother than with the T-800.
After half an hour, the reforging was complete.
The T-1000 stood before Balder once again.
Its silver surface was now pitch-black, emanating a chilling aura.
Moments later, its body began to shift — from black to silver, then into the shape of a human.
Kneeling on one knee, it spoke in a calm yet reverent tone:
"Your Grace."
Balder smiled faintly. "Good. Your synchronization rate exceeded expectations."
"From now on, your name shall be Thousand Shadows."
A thousand forms, ten thousand faces — the ultimate assassin, Lord of Shadows.
That was the role Balder envisioned for this reformed T-1000.
"Thank you, Your Grace."
Balder lifted his gaze, eyes seemingly piercing through space itself.
"You draw strength from darkness and slaughter. Go — grow through killing. That small island nation… leave none alive."
An island nation — Japan, in other words.
The Governor had risen to near top-tier levels thanks to the strength of a single state.
A whole country's worth of life-force would be enough to forge another powerhouse, even if not quite as strong.
In an instant, Thousand Shadows' entire body liquefied, melting into pure darkness and vanishing without a trace.
Balder watched the direction it disappeared, falling silent for a moment.
Of the three most iconic Terminators, he had already secured two. Only one remained — the T-X.
Unfortunately, in the Genisys timeline, no T-X had traveled through the time machine. To obtain one, he'd have to travel to another timeline — or the apocalyptic future itself.
"In Genisys, before the story even begins, Skynet had already been defeated by John Connor. Forced into a corner, Skynet descended in person — becoming the T-5000 — ambushed John, and turned him into the only T-3000."
If even Skynet itself had to personally intervene, it meant the Terminators were nearly wiped out.
Finding a T-X in this world would not be easy.
"Looks like it's time to visit another timeline."
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