(Gohma's Castle) (4 Years ago)

The strange King sat quietly in his throne room, a chilling ambience was his only company. He stared blankly at the doors on the opposite side of the chamber, considering something for a moment. Gohma got up from his chair, and walked out the room, not even acknowledging the two guards on the other side.

The interior of the palace was definitely otherworldly. Each and every corridor was pitch black, with white outlines being the only sign you weren't stuck in an infinite space with no entrance or exit. On the far right of the hall was an elevator. Inside, the buttons were labeled 1-11, with a small hole next to the tenth floor. He inserted a red key, and within a few seconds, the lift was on the requested floor.

/(♪)\

The 10th floor had a dark green hue, and a chilling atmosphere. The main room had a row of 10 refrigerators, each holding test tubes and syringes filled with a number of chemicals. He opened one, and took out two items. A ball of some type of white clay, and a syringe filled with a glowing red liquid.

He then took these to a counter on the left side of the room, and proceeded to mold the clay into a humanoid figure. After its form was completed, he injected the liquid in the clay model's chest. Within a few seconds, the sculpture sprang to life, bumbling about like a newborn deer. After falling off the desk, it soon got the hang of movement, and began to hug his ankle.

(Gohma)"...Disgusting."

A red aura surrounded his entire body, and an arm formed to crush the clay figure into red paste. He didn't even bother to clean up the mess, and headed to the next room.

This was seemed to be a workshop. Multiple tools and metal pieces littered the area. One side of the room had a large blue print for some kind of android. And on the other side, he saw a familiar face, working on an endoskeleton.

(Gohma)"Proton."

(Dr. Proton)"Hm? Oh, I didn't hear you come in, what are you doing down here?"

(Gohma)"I want to see how the current project is coming along."

(Dr. Proton)"Oh! I had just finished upgrading the machine, I think it'll work this time."

They both moved on to the next room. The long corridor had dozens of prison cells, with glowing blue rods attached vertically to keep whatever was in then from leaving. The cell's lights weren't on, but Gohma could see several eyes, glowing a multitude of colors in each one.

Finally, at the end of the hall, there was a sign indicating where to go.

[←DT Extraction Room/Birthing Chamber - Testing Chamber→]

They went to the left room. The chamber was massive, with many tubes lining the ceiling, and lead to an intimidating machine in the center, with a gray, featureless figure affixed onto a tilted surface below it.

(This is the best angle I can get!)

(Dr. Proton)"I already have the Vessel in position, so everything is basically ready to go."

(Gohma)"Begin the extraction."

The scientist walked over to a massive shelf with containers holding small hearts of many colors.

(Dr. Proton)"I think this cyan soul will be good for this test."

He took the container, and placed it into another machine.

Within seconds, a liquid similar to the one in the syringe was sucked out of the cyan heart, leaving it as a gray husk. The liquid flowed into the larger machine, and the needle stabbed into the lying figure.

At first, there was nothing. But in an instant, a sudden burst of energy came from this new creature. It was powerful, the two could feel it. And for this creature, a mouth and two large, black eyes forced themselves open.

(Gohma)"It kept its physical form stable throughout the entire process, an accomplishment from last time."

The restraints opened, and the being fell to their knees, soon figuring out how to keep its balance.

(Dr. Proton)"A quick learner, too. Maybe this'll be the one.

(Gohma)"Perhaps. Keep a close eye on it, and write down anything that happens to this thing. I want to know every detail of its potential."

(Dr. Proton)"Understood, I'll place it in the special holding cell right away."

(Gohma)"Good. Now, I'll leave you to your work, I'm expecting a call from Dol any time now."

(Dr. Proton's Research Notes)

Entry #1: It's been six hours since its creation. It has surprisingly adapted to the concept of walking and basic speech much faster than any other subject exposed to such large amounts of Determination.

Entry #2: His eyes are already starting to glow. Normally, it took the others months, even a year to activate their latent powers. Strangely enough, they glow bright red, instead of cyan, being the Soul used. This could be promising, but I've said that too many times for that word to mean anything to me anymore. He should be able to use magic attacks soon.

Entry #3: Gohma said to treat the subject like my own child. In any other world, scientist like me would normally try to keep special biomechanical experiments emotionless, but it seems that we're the only smart ones around here. I've had him participate in activities such as reading, cooking, and basic education. And each time it succeeds, I am to reward it, as to build a stronger bond for the future...if he even has one.

Entry #4: The Soul. The very culmination of our beings. Determination, that is the spiritual blood of the soul, the will to live. Even without a Soul, even a drop of Determination is enough for inanimate objects to gain sentience.

Entry #5: It's been three months now, and his development has been rapidly advancing. He can now use magic both offensively, and defensively. Around his time, his gray skin began to shift into cyan. Also, I've decided to name him Zahraan, which translates to "Hollow". It represents the nature of his existence, being soulless after all.

Entry #6: Zahraan asked me a series of questions the other day, so I've decided to put the transcript in my notes.

Zahraan: What is that purple heart on your chest? I always see it when you use magic.

Me: It's my Soul, it can be seen by our kind when our magic is activated.

Zahraan: Why don't I have a heart when I practice it then?

Me: Your a different type of being, one without a Soul, but with the will to live.

Zahraan: Like those other ones we bring food to?

Me: Yes, just like your...I guess you could call them your brothers.

Zahraan: What's 'brother?'

Me: A term used by a number of siblings who are male.

Zahraan: Are you my brother, too?

Me: No, the correct title would be Father, since I created you all.

Zahraan: Father? Then who was that man with a spike on his head?

Me: That's Gohma. If you're going to ask, he's not my father, or my brother. He just gives me the resources to do my work.

Zahraan: Um...I have just one more question. Why do I exist?

Me: A number of reasons. But the main reason is to fight off this army, who plans to destroy everything he's built.

Zahraan: Then, they're bad people?

Me: If you ask me, there's no such thing as a bad person. Everyone simply wants to do one thing, and someone else wants to do another. And then someone will do whatever it takes to make sure they get their way, just like animals.

Zahraan: How?

Me: Some animals like to have a certain amount of space to live in the wild, so they hunt down and kill other animals to claim their territory. That goes for people as well, you see.

Zahraan: Hm, I think I understand now.

Me: Good, cause all those questions were giving me a headache.

At least his vocabulary is increasing.

Entry #7: Nothing much has happened with Zahraan for the past few years since my last entry, just some boost in his intelligence. I was just told by Gohma that Dark Soul is heading to Qomorah's island in a few days, so it'll give me some combat data to study, got nothing else to do except for that robot. Who knows what will happen, if that comes out again, I wonder...