Ryan slammed the workshop door shut and secured it from the inside with a heavy iron beam. The city's cacophony died at the threshold; inside, there was only the lingering chill of the stone walls and the sharp, metallic scent of iron. Ten Soul Shards lay scattered across his workbench, their rhythmic azure pulsations serving as the room's sole source of light. As the shards were brought closer together, their vibrations intensified, as if seeking to transcend their individual forms and become a single, unified system.
Ryan took a ragged breath. He was exhausted—his arms were crisscrossed with scratches, and his palms were stained with dried blood. Yet beneath the physical ache, a more potent sensation stirred: a heavy pressure born of equal parts terror and hope. He moved to the inner sanctum of the workshop and tore away a dust-laden shroud in the corner.
A silhouette of iron was revealed.
An android.
A metallic frame in a feminine likeness, boasting a complex network of joints and a hollow chest cavity where a core was meant to reside. Ryan had spent three years piecing her together, using fragments salvaged from the Black Zone, parts of discarded combat units, and shattered mechanisms. He was a mechanic—and this body was his silent rebellion.
But until now, she had been nothing more than an exquisite shell. Without a power source, iron was merely iron.
Ryan laid the android upon the workbench and activated a custom-built conversion mechanism. At its center sat a crystal chamber, designed to channel soul energy without causing it to fracture. He placed the first shard inside with trembling precision. A blue radiance bloomed within the chamber.
The second. The third.
By the time the tenth shard was seated, the air in the workshop had grown dense. The hair on Ryan's neck stood on end. Metallic surfaces began to thrum with a faint, sympathetic resonance.
The crystal display flickered to life.
Soul Integration initiated. 10 fragments detected. Checking core compatibility.
Ryan pried open the android's chest plate. Inside lay a semi-finished core—mechanical, yet empty. He connected a specialized conduit from his own ERTA vein to the core.
It was a reckless gamble. If the soul structure proved unstable, the excess energy would backflow, potentially incinerating his own vein.
Integration: 12%.
The shards began to pull toward one another. Their vibrations shifted, oscillating as they sought a precarious balance. Through his mechanical intuition, Ryan sensed the uneven ripples in the energy flow. He manually recalibrated several contacts, his fingers moving with frantic grace.
Integration: 37%.
The android's fingers twitched. A faint grinding sound echoed within the metal frame. The souls were no longer separate entities; they were attempting to fuse into a single matrix.
Integration: 61%.
A violent jolt racked Ryan's body. He clutched his chest. The souls had collided during the fusion process, and the azure light bled into an angry crimson.
Discrepancy detected. Warning: Structural instability.
Ryan immediately throttled the energy flow. If he rushed now, the entire process would shatter. He visualized the soul structure—geometric patterns and interconnected nodes. His mechanical sense acted as a guide; he didn't see souls, he saw a mechanism.
He shifted the central crystal by a single millimeter.
Integration: 79%.
His breathing grew heavy, and his ERTA vein burned as if filled with molten lead. He was forced to maintain the energy in a perfectly steady stream. The android's body began to vibrate with increasing violence.
Integration: 93%.
The solitary candle flickered out. Darkness swallowed the room, leaving only the cold blue glow reflecting off the metallic surfaces. Ryan closed his eyes and poured his entire will into the flow. This was no longer a mechanical process—it was an act of pure intent.
Integration: 100%.
A moment of absolute silence descended.
Then, the core in the android's chest ignited with a deep, radiant sapphire light.
Her eyes snapped open.
At first, the light in them was unstable, but it quickly settled into a steady, soft blue glow—behind which lay the glint of cold, analytical calculation. The android rose slowly. Her movements weren't yet perfect, but they were mechanically precise. She scanned her surroundings until her gaze locked onto Ryan.
"Identification complete. Primary power source: Creator."
The voice was metallic, yet fluid.
Ryan realized his throat was bone-dry. He checked the core's diagnostics.
Energy Capacity: 82%. Soul Matrix: Stable. Autonomous Decision Level: Minimal.
Minimal? That was for the best. Too much consciousness was a danger he wasn't ready for.
"Test your mobility," Ryan commanded softly.
The android lifted her hand. The movement was sharp, though it carried an underlying weight. She took one step, then another, her mechanical systems adapting in real-time.
"A name is required," Ryan said, his voice barely a whisper.
A brief silence followed.
"A name increases functional identification," the android replied.
"Aegis."
Her eyes flickered. "Aegis accepted."
Ryan checked the core consumption and frowned. The soul matrix was powerful, but the energy flow was still tethered to his ERTA vein. If he severed the link, Aegis wouldn't be able to function for long. The power source problem remained unsolved.
"Aegis, possibility of independent energy production?"
"Insufficient data. External ERTA collection required."
That meant returning to the Black Zone.
Ryan stepped back, surveying Aegis. She wasn't a simple machine following orders. The structure formed during the soul fusion had instilled in her a unique kind of loyalty.
"Aegis, what is your primary directive?"
The android responded without hesitation: "To protect the Creator."
This wasn't just an algorithm. It felt like a choice.
Ryan exhaled, a wave of relief washing over him. He had succeeded. But this was only the beginning. If the Kingdom ever discovered what he had done, he would be branded a heretic. Fusing souls into a mechanical matrix was strictly forbidden.
And at that exact moment, a heavy thud echoed from the other side of the workshop door.
Heavy. Authoritative. Official.
Aegis turned her head, her glowing eyes narrowing.
"External presence detected."
Ryan's heart hammered against his ribs. He wasn't ready.
But the battle, it seemed, had already arrived at his doorstep.