I think the Techlich is trying to build his own apotheosis machine.

(Imperfectman)

A long time ago, I fought a mad scientist that built a machine that was going to turn him into a god. And I smashed it to pieces, chucked it into the Sun, and destroyed the blueprints.

That mad scientist was working with another one: the Techlich. Whose minions have all been asking around about where to find Deadlink (is the right spelling not to capitalize it? I dunno).

Techlich knew how to build several of the components. And, back during that cyborg zombie events, there were a few undead unaccounted for. One of them being Mad Mat, the scientist who tried to build the machine I destroyed. That event was caused by the Techlich.

Of course, none of the cyborg zombies retained their memories. Well, except for one.

Poker tells me that demons can't just throw someone back to the world of the living willy-nilly. They can barely escape the bowels of hell on their own. They need agents in the world of the living, the mostly-intact body of the deceased, and a place to hold the ritual where the barriers of reality are weak. Usually, they'd come back as a zombie just long enough to do the demon's bidding before they fall apart.

I think the Cyborg Zombie outbreak had two purposes: distract the super hero community, and a test run of the ritual to bring souls back to bodies. Far as we know, Skullcrack was the only success.

I do not think he successfully reclaimed the soul of Mad Mat. He'd be on a fast track to being God now if he was, and I doubt he'd be sending his minions after Deadlink.

Just look out for another player trying to get the parts.