The auburn haired artificial life form stared blankly at the wall of the quarters she had been given as a member of the new Neutral Guild, Cor Draco. Despite her comprehensive and logical arguement and extensive dissertation about why she did not require private quarters, the Guild Master had seen fit to assign her one all the same, simply stating that "Everybody needs privacy now and then." His reaction confused the Technological Lacrima Mage Replacement Unit Prototype, but it could not be helped. Organic life was ever a contradiction of confusion.
Although she now found herself... fearing that the same confusions were settling themselves into her own software. Prior to her introduction to the world beyond the laboratory where she had been created, she could only synthesise an emotional response. Fake it, to use colloqueil terminology. But since then, she'd been... feeling, and found herself running more and more self-diagnostics, trying to locate the source code error in these experiences. Yet no matter how many diagnostics she ran, she could not locate any errors. She did locate however a rather disturbing error in her magical subroutines.
T'Lem Rupee could not progress any higher than the D-Rank stage of an organic magus... the potential was there in her Lacrima power source to expend further energy, thus empowering her magical output to such ranks... but in doing so would shorten her own existence. Her physical frame could not be adapted as the technology and means to do so were all virtually gone, and so was the means of replenishing the energy within her Lacrima Core. Then there was also the nature of her own "spell" library. Her creators had only programmed her with the four spells she knew. There were none hidden behind safely guarded firewalls, no hidden programs...
In short, T'Lem Rupee could not advance her own magical capabilties or increase her magical repertoire... not without "killing" herself in the process. The android peeled back her synthetic flesh to look upon the truth of her being beneath the skin, her own image reflected back at her in her metallic hand. She began to "feel" something again... a new sensation that when her memory core cross-referenced it, she discovered it to be... frustration. "There must be some method of... regenerating magical power." she vocalised aloud, another idiosynchrisy she'd picked up from the organics. With her objective decided, the android made her way for the Cor Draco library, and began to consume all the knowledge within its collection that pertained to magical energy, restoration, and rejuvenation.
Precisely two hours, thirty nine minutes and fifty two seconds later, the android discovered a source that may hold the answer she sought. The tome was old, approximately ten thousand years old if her analytical instrumentation were to be any judge and jury. Written in an ancient language that held similar roots to the currently accepted written and spoken word, it took T'Lem a further thirty three minutes and thirty three seconds to translate its contents. Within its leather bindings, upon the papyrus pages, the android found a possible scenario that she deemed plausible to solve her situation.
Slayer Magic.
It began as some form of old religious text, but then after cross-referencing the information, specifically for any similar terminology or depictions in other works, it turned out that the tome was actually explaining the process for becoming what modern magii would refer to as an Earth God Slayer. Of course there was the problem inherent in her own physiology, or lack thereof, but the ritual required to initiate the process was something she could accomplish... T'Lem found herself experiencing another sensation, one akin to hope... Hope that the entity this tome discussed would be able to somehow imbue her with this power... to somehow save her from her own end... to help her stay functional and operational... to remain "alive".
Twenty four hours, twenty two minutes and forty six seconds later, T'Lem was standing within the Ancient Ruins just south of the Mountain Village, with six urns filled with various stages of earth ranging from stones to dirt. They were arranged in a hexagramic formation, as per the rituals directions. The android checked her internal chronometer before beginning to chant the Spell of Calling in the ancient dialect. She could begin to feel the effects almost immediately as her energy reserves began to drop... almost alarmingly so. Just as she was about to reach the critical levels that would put her out of function, the magical drain stopped. T'Lem Rupee observed the area... but nothing had changed. Nothing had been altered or appeared.
She had used up ninety four percent of her magical energy... and for nothing. "Perhaps this unit's analysis and cross-references were inaccurate and incomplete." the android muttered aloud before a chuckling reached her auditory sensors. "My my my... what is this I see?" came a voice that appeared to sound from all around her. "A puppet without a puppeteer?" the voice called out, making T'Lem once more experience the sensation known as frustration, only with a far greater intensity. "I am not a puppet!" she bellowed back, clenching her fists before she began to analyse what she had just done.
"Oh? Not a puppet? Then perhaps little metal doll, you can explain what you are then, and why you called to me." the voice inquired, taking on more of a gender specific tone this time, sounding far more feminine. The android looked around herself once more. "This unit-" she began before a tutting sound came forth. "This unit? Please... I thought you were speaking in the first person earlier... or can the puppet not use its own tongue?" the voice chided, mocking her. "Stop calling me that!" T'Lem cried out, clenching her fists once more. "And what will you do about it hmm? You are a puppet of metal, forged by toymakers of flesh. You have no goals of your own, you only want to dance to the tune of your strings, each foot stepping in place as your masters will it." the woman's voice called out, slowly coming from a single direction now. "A mere puppet of metal, glass and false flesh..."
"That's not true!" screamed T'Lem, falling to her knees as her systems automatically diverted power to ensure her Mind Lacrima and critical systems remained functional. Her magical energy was slowly dwindling. A figure came into her optical view, slowly striding towards her with all the grace of a queen, if not more so than that. They appeared to have green tinted skin, their form vaguely female. Her fingers were far more elongated than any normal humans, and her hair appeared to be formed from vines and branches. Her eyes held no pupils, but the android could feel they were upon her. A smile played across the woman's face, one devoid of true warmth, filled only with a cruelty that only a being such as her could have.
She slowly trailed a finger through T'Lem's synthetic hair. "The humans certainly outdid themselves with this little doll... one could almost think it was a real human girl... but I suppose that entertainment these days relies on the doll being more life-like." the being mused as she circled her, her elongated fingers tracing over the synthetic flesh. "I am not a doll!" snarled the android, blinking at her own vocal emitters. The being pushed her head forward, forcing her to the dirt below. "You are what I say you are, doll." sneered the being, before taking her foot and putting it on the back of T'Lem's head, pressing down slightly so that her face remained in the dirt.
With her diminishing motor functions, the android was powerless to resist. "I am not a doll!" protested T'Lem once more, the being sighing from above. "You were made by mortal flesh to serve them. Those you call humans in turn serve me. You are not even alive little metal puppet. And it looks like whatever spark brought you into this world, is almost gone." she mused before T'Lem felt something plunge into her back... and wrap around her Lacrima Core! "NO! STOP! PLEASE!" she begged, trying in vain to twist free of the woman's foot. "Oh ho, so this is what makes you tick tick tick." the being stated as she carefully brought it around so the android could see it for herself. The Lacrima orb was connected by a multitude of wires, but it was growing dimmer with each passing moment. "You get to watch your existence slowly dwindle into the darkness... if you were alive, you'd certainly be dead from the shock alone." the being mocked, pressing her foot harder into her head, even as T'Lem became aware of something going on with her ligaments.
Slowly she found herself being suspended in the air, her limbs being held up by vines that were coming from the woman's back. "Now then little puppet... watch as I make you dance your final dance in this world... And I hope your masters are watching through your eyes. Their little toy succeeded in calling me forth... but sadly, the strain was too much. Oh well, maybe the next one will succeed in its task." the being cooed as she made T'Lem move in a macabre parody of a marienette's dance. "N-Nobody s-sent thi-is unit..." the android slowly stated, her vocalisation capabilities slowly diminishing. The woman arched a brow. "Oh? Are you trying to tell me that the puppet came here without someone tugging on its strings? I doubt th-" she said before T'Lem interrupted her. "I-It's th-the tr-truth! M-My cre-creators a-are all d-dead... I a-am all th-that re-remains..."
The being slowly brought T'Lem closer to her, almost nose to nose as she peered into the machine's eyes. "I see... then why did you come?" she asked of the android. "...T-To l-live..." was her answer before her eyes faded and her head hung loosely on her neck. The goddess looked at the depleted machine hanging from her grasp curiously. "Interesting... a puppet without a puppeteer, that sought out divine intervention in order to continue existing, without anyone prompting it to..." the goddess mused before she tapped the Lacrima Core with a taloned finger. The orb glowed for a moment, energy flowing through the wiring and soon T'Lem's eyes sparked back to life. She took in a long breath before looking at the being in confusion.
"I've decided to accomodate you little doll." the being stated, placing a finger on the androids mouth to stem any speech from her. "However, don't be mistaken... I do so only because you have intrigued me puppet, and I find myself in need of a new toy to play with. You will be my doll now since you find yourself without an owner. You will dance when I tell you to dance for me puppet. The rest of the time, you can be about your business as usual... but when I pull your strings, you will obey." the goddess said, tugging on T'Lem's limbs for emphasis and tapping her Core. "Or else you'll once more be lying on the ground, as lifeless and immobile as a lump of scrap. Just as I have given you "life", so too can I take it away. Understood?" the goddess asked. T'Lem's processors went through the computations and logic routes in a brief second before coming to her conclusion. "...Understood." The goddess smirked. "Good~" she purred. "Now then... let's make you a little more... accomodating for the power you are about to receive. I wonder... how fully articulated is my new doll?" she asked before forcing her lips upon hers, vines and earth forcing their way into the machine from every orifice as she began to repurpose the android, preparing her to transform into her new power.
Turning her into an Earth God Slayer.
Although she now found herself... fearing that the same confusions were settling themselves into her own software. Prior to her introduction to the world beyond the laboratory where she had been created, she could only synthesise an emotional response. Fake it, to use colloqueil terminology. But since then, she'd been... feeling, and found herself running more and more self-diagnostics, trying to locate the source code error in these experiences. Yet no matter how many diagnostics she ran, she could not locate any errors. She did locate however a rather disturbing error in her magical subroutines.
T'Lem Rupee could not progress any higher than the D-Rank stage of an organic magus... the potential was there in her Lacrima power source to expend further energy, thus empowering her magical output to such ranks... but in doing so would shorten her own existence. Her physical frame could not be adapted as the technology and means to do so were all virtually gone, and so was the means of replenishing the energy within her Lacrima Core. Then there was also the nature of her own "spell" library. Her creators had only programmed her with the four spells she knew. There were none hidden behind safely guarded firewalls, no hidden programs...
In short, T'Lem Rupee could not advance her own magical capabilties or increase her magical repertoire... not without "killing" herself in the process. The android peeled back her synthetic flesh to look upon the truth of her being beneath the skin, her own image reflected back at her in her metallic hand. She began to "feel" something again... a new sensation that when her memory core cross-referenced it, she discovered it to be... frustration. "There must be some method of... regenerating magical power." she vocalised aloud, another idiosynchrisy she'd picked up from the organics. With her objective decided, the android made her way for the Cor Draco library, and began to consume all the knowledge within its collection that pertained to magical energy, restoration, and rejuvenation.
Precisely two hours, thirty nine minutes and fifty two seconds later, the android discovered a source that may hold the answer she sought. The tome was old, approximately ten thousand years old if her analytical instrumentation were to be any judge and jury. Written in an ancient language that held similar roots to the currently accepted written and spoken word, it took T'Lem a further thirty three minutes and thirty three seconds to translate its contents. Within its leather bindings, upon the papyrus pages, the android found a possible scenario that she deemed plausible to solve her situation.
Slayer Magic.
It began as some form of old religious text, but then after cross-referencing the information, specifically for any similar terminology or depictions in other works, it turned out that the tome was actually explaining the process for becoming what modern magii would refer to as an Earth God Slayer. Of course there was the problem inherent in her own physiology, or lack thereof, but the ritual required to initiate the process was something she could accomplish... T'Lem found herself experiencing another sensation, one akin to hope... Hope that the entity this tome discussed would be able to somehow imbue her with this power... to somehow save her from her own end... to help her stay functional and operational... to remain "alive".
Twenty four hours, twenty two minutes and forty six seconds later, T'Lem was standing within the Ancient Ruins just south of the Mountain Village, with six urns filled with various stages of earth ranging from stones to dirt. They were arranged in a hexagramic formation, as per the rituals directions. The android checked her internal chronometer before beginning to chant the Spell of Calling in the ancient dialect. She could begin to feel the effects almost immediately as her energy reserves began to drop... almost alarmingly so. Just as she was about to reach the critical levels that would put her out of function, the magical drain stopped. T'Lem Rupee observed the area... but nothing had changed. Nothing had been altered or appeared.
She had used up ninety four percent of her magical energy... and for nothing. "Perhaps this unit's analysis and cross-references were inaccurate and incomplete." the android muttered aloud before a chuckling reached her auditory sensors. "My my my... what is this I see?" came a voice that appeared to sound from all around her. "A puppet without a puppeteer?" the voice called out, making T'Lem once more experience the sensation known as frustration, only with a far greater intensity. "I am not a puppet!" she bellowed back, clenching her fists before she began to analyse what she had just done.
"Oh? Not a puppet? Then perhaps little metal doll, you can explain what you are then, and why you called to me." the voice inquired, taking on more of a gender specific tone this time, sounding far more feminine. The android looked around herself once more. "This unit-" she began before a tutting sound came forth. "This unit? Please... I thought you were speaking in the first person earlier... or can the puppet not use its own tongue?" the voice chided, mocking her. "Stop calling me that!" T'Lem cried out, clenching her fists once more. "And what will you do about it hmm? You are a puppet of metal, forged by toymakers of flesh. You have no goals of your own, you only want to dance to the tune of your strings, each foot stepping in place as your masters will it." the woman's voice called out, slowly coming from a single direction now. "A mere puppet of metal, glass and false flesh..."
"That's not true!" screamed T'Lem, falling to her knees as her systems automatically diverted power to ensure her Mind Lacrima and critical systems remained functional. Her magical energy was slowly dwindling. A figure came into her optical view, slowly striding towards her with all the grace of a queen, if not more so than that. They appeared to have green tinted skin, their form vaguely female. Her fingers were far more elongated than any normal humans, and her hair appeared to be formed from vines and branches. Her eyes held no pupils, but the android could feel they were upon her. A smile played across the woman's face, one devoid of true warmth, filled only with a cruelty that only a being such as her could have.
She slowly trailed a finger through T'Lem's synthetic hair. "The humans certainly outdid themselves with this little doll... one could almost think it was a real human girl... but I suppose that entertainment these days relies on the doll being more life-like." the being mused as she circled her, her elongated fingers tracing over the synthetic flesh. "I am not a doll!" snarled the android, blinking at her own vocal emitters. The being pushed her head forward, forcing her to the dirt below. "You are what I say you are, doll." sneered the being, before taking her foot and putting it on the back of T'Lem's head, pressing down slightly so that her face remained in the dirt.
With her diminishing motor functions, the android was powerless to resist. "I am not a doll!" protested T'Lem once more, the being sighing from above. "You were made by mortal flesh to serve them. Those you call humans in turn serve me. You are not even alive little metal puppet. And it looks like whatever spark brought you into this world, is almost gone." she mused before T'Lem felt something plunge into her back... and wrap around her Lacrima Core! "NO! STOP! PLEASE!" she begged, trying in vain to twist free of the woman's foot. "Oh ho, so this is what makes you tick tick tick." the being stated as she carefully brought it around so the android could see it for herself. The Lacrima orb was connected by a multitude of wires, but it was growing dimmer with each passing moment. "You get to watch your existence slowly dwindle into the darkness... if you were alive, you'd certainly be dead from the shock alone." the being mocked, pressing her foot harder into her head, even as T'Lem became aware of something going on with her ligaments.
Slowly she found herself being suspended in the air, her limbs being held up by vines that were coming from the woman's back. "Now then little puppet... watch as I make you dance your final dance in this world... And I hope your masters are watching through your eyes. Their little toy succeeded in calling me forth... but sadly, the strain was too much. Oh well, maybe the next one will succeed in its task." the being cooed as she made T'Lem move in a macabre parody of a marienette's dance. "N-Nobody s-sent thi-is unit..." the android slowly stated, her vocalisation capabilities slowly diminishing. The woman arched a brow. "Oh? Are you trying to tell me that the puppet came here without someone tugging on its strings? I doubt th-" she said before T'Lem interrupted her. "I-It's th-the tr-truth! M-My cre-creators a-are all d-dead... I a-am all th-that re-remains..."
The being slowly brought T'Lem closer to her, almost nose to nose as she peered into the machine's eyes. "I see... then why did you come?" she asked of the android. "...T-To l-live..." was her answer before her eyes faded and her head hung loosely on her neck. The goddess looked at the depleted machine hanging from her grasp curiously. "Interesting... a puppet without a puppeteer, that sought out divine intervention in order to continue existing, without anyone prompting it to..." the goddess mused before she tapped the Lacrima Core with a taloned finger. The orb glowed for a moment, energy flowing through the wiring and soon T'Lem's eyes sparked back to life. She took in a long breath before looking at the being in confusion.
"I've decided to accomodate you little doll." the being stated, placing a finger on the androids mouth to stem any speech from her. "However, don't be mistaken... I do so only because you have intrigued me puppet, and I find myself in need of a new toy to play with. You will be my doll now since you find yourself without an owner. You will dance when I tell you to dance for me puppet. The rest of the time, you can be about your business as usual... but when I pull your strings, you will obey." the goddess said, tugging on T'Lem's limbs for emphasis and tapping her Core. "Or else you'll once more be lying on the ground, as lifeless and immobile as a lump of scrap. Just as I have given you "life", so too can I take it away. Understood?" the goddess asked. T'Lem's processors went through the computations and logic routes in a brief second before coming to her conclusion. "...Understood." The goddess smirked. "Good~" she purred. "Now then... let's make you a little more... accomodating for the power you are about to receive. I wonder... how fully articulated is my new doll?" she asked before forcing her lips upon hers, vines and earth forcing their way into the machine from every orifice as she began to repurpose the android, preparing her to transform into her new power.
Turning her into an Earth God Slayer.
