The quiet in the manor was starting to get to me. It had been days since the scouts left, and the waiting was the worst part. Bogdan was off drilling the Yggdrasil Guard, Bjorn was managing patrols, and Svetoslav was buried in his research. The kingdom was running itself, which was good, but it left me with nothing to do but think.
And I'd been thinking about souls.
I'd fixed one. I'd put Bjorn's back together after I'd… well, after I'd made my point. But could I make one from nothing? Not a whole person. That felt like crossing a line. But something simpler. A spark. A consciousness with a single purpose.
A guardian.
I stood up from my throne. "I'm not to be disturbed," I told the two Shungmo Wardens at the door. They slammed their fists to their chests. Good soldiers.
I walked to a blank wall and focused. With a thought and a whisper of [Genesis Forge], the stone melted away, forming a dark, smooth staircase leading down. My own private workshop. No windows, no noise. Just me and my ideas.
The room at the bottom was huge and empty. Perfect.
"Okay," I muttered to the silence. "Let's get to work."
"Scholar. I am initiating a project to create a synthetic, purpose-bound soul for a construct. Monitor the entire process and provide real-time analysis."
<
"Step one. The body."
I held out my hand. [Genesis Forge].
A flash of dark light, and a suit of armor was standing in the middle of the room. It was massive, taller than any of my Ursine. Full plate armor from head to toe, forged from a single piece of black, polished metal that seemed to swallow the light. No face, no decorations. Just a smooth, intimidating silhouette. It looked solid. And totally empty.
"Now for the hard part," I sighed. "The spark."
[Khaos].
A swirling ball of silver-and-black energy, pure Turn Null, appeared between my hands. It was raw potential, humming with power.
"Initial hypothesis: A soul can be forged by structuring this energy with a basic command. Initiating first trial with direct energy infusion."
<
"Yeah, well, we've got to start somewhere," I mumbled. I shoved the raw energy into the armor.
The armor glowed bright red, then white-hot. There was a sizzling sound, and it slumped into a molten puddle of metal on the floor.
<
'No kidding,' I thought, staring at the mess. I waved a hand and the puddle vanished. [Genesis Forge]. A new, identical suit of armor stood ready.
Try number two.
"Second trial. I will attempt to pre-shape the energy with a simple command: 'Protect' before infusion."
I carefully molded the energy, impressing the single concept into it, and pushed it into the armor.
The suit twitched. Then its arm jerked. Then its whole body started spasming, slamming its limbs against the floor and walls in a violent, mindless fit. It was like watching a robot short-circuit.
<
'Useless,' I grumbled. A hazard. I unmade it with a thought.
I was missing the key. The core programming.
"Analysis, Scholar. The consciousness formed, but without stability. It needs a foundational rule."
<
"It needs a purpose before it has a self," I said, the idea finally clicking. "Its reason to exist has to be the very first thing it knows."
I took a deep breath. Third time's the charm.
I created a new suit of armor. I gathered the energy from [Khaos]. But this time, before I even started shaping it, I used [Arkhē]. I didn't just think the words; I wrote them directly into the source code of the forming spark, a divine law that could never be broken.
«Prime Directive: Loyalty to Hades Azrathor is absolute.»
«Core Function: The defense of Yggdrasil is its only purpose.»
The commands burned themselves into the energy, becoming its very foundation.
"Now. Infusing the programmed matrix into the vessel."
I carefully, gently, guided the soul into the armor.
For a long moment, nothing happened. I held my breath.
<<...Spiritual matrix is stabilizing. Axioms accepted. Core consciousness forming. Alignment with directives: 100%.>>
Then, a soft, steady, silver light began to glow from within the seams of the black plate metal. It wasn't a flash. It was a constant, calm pulse, like a quiet heartbeat.
The armored head lifted. The smooth, featureless helmet turned until it was looking right at me. It took one step, then another, its movements utterly silent and perfectly fluid. It stopped before me and stood at attention, waiting.
I could feel it. A tiny, simple, but unwavering presence. It wasn't a person. It was a purpose given form. It was loyal. It was steadfast.
It was alive.
"Soul-forging process successful. Log the parameters for replication."
<
A slow grin spread across my face. "It worked."
"Stand guard by the door," I commanded.
The automaton knight turned without a sound, walked to the workshop entrance, and took up its post. It became a statue. A perfect, silent, and unbreachable sentinel.
I let out a huge sigh of relief and satisfaction. I'd actually done it. I'd created life. Well, a form of it. This changed everything.
Just as I was starting to plan how to make a whole battalion of these things, I heard frantic footsteps on the stairs. The door burst open. It was one of the scouts, a lean Ursine named Lyov, his face flushed from running.
"Lord Hades! Forgive the interruption, but the western scouting party has returned!"
The calm of the workshop shattered. "Report," I said, my focus instantly shifting.
"They made contact, my Lord," Lyov said, catching his breath. "But… it's not what we expected. We didn't find a tribe or a village." He swallowed hard, his eyes wide. "We found a city. A real, walled city, made of stone. And the people there… they weren't beastmen. They had green scales and tails. They're Lizardmen."
A/N:
Hope you like the story so far, Please do comment your thoughts, any ideas you have.
Thank you.