Somewhere in the Void Dimension, in a factory run by the Foundation. Before the start of the Guardian Program.
The clangor of steel and metal sounded from all around him, but the man's focus was unwavering against the many distractions in front of him. Other members of the organization shot the man a glance or two, but never more than that, their mind glazing over the man's existence. Eventually, his presence would be forgotten all together, nobody paid him enough attention for him to play a significant part in their memories.
That would be the cause of their undoing.
Before the Program started, the factory was tasked with supplying the Foundation Logistics department on Earth with enough golems to take the place of every Opfer they brought to the Program. The requirements weren't too difficult. The flow of time within the Void dimension was shifty at best when there wasn't a stable connection to the outside world, so scientists within the organization were ale to discover a way to control the flow of time using various tools.
The Iron Fist was one of such tools, meant to control the flow of time within a certain radius inside the Void Dimension whenever there was not connection to Earth or any other planet, with several of such tools being supplied to any factory to increase production speeds. Named because of it's ability of absolute control within an area, the instrument was a tool that any large organization would be jealous of, instantly capable of catapulting their production efficiencies sky-high.
After a few days passed on Earth, a couple months passed within the factory inside the Void. Manipulating the speed of time to that level didn't consume too much energy, making it an acceptable cost to the Foundation. The cost of energy was one of the reasons why the Foundation only had one chance to succeed with the Succession; they wouldn't be able to afford another Program if they failed. The energy cost of controlling the speed of time to a year inside the Void for a day on Earth took an unimaginable amount of energy, a sum that the Foundation wouldn't be able to put together twice.
In those few months, the golems the Foundation required were all completed, a feat accomplishable only because of the amount of resources every golem needed.
Creating a high-quality golem wasn't cheap, but it wasn't very expensive either; the golems the Foundation needed were in no terms 'high-quality'. At most, they were expected to last a day, which meant that the factory didn't need any fancy material to build the body of the golem, and could use a cheaper Class four or five material.
So, the Foundation used plastic. Even with the modern advances with magic, plastic was a cheap resource, the only difference was that it became much more sturdy and was able to be recycled. The Foundation mixed small amounts of silver with the magical plastic to create Yurviam, a sturdy and still cheap material that was able to conduct magical energy and store limited amounts of it too. Being a Class four material, Yurviam, when supported by the imbedded power core, would power the spellworks engraved into the golem's structure by conducting Mana.
The core itself was built using the Class five material Ravron, a reddish metal that could store magical energy when combined with power-storing array formations. Ravron, being of higher quality, was naturally more expensive but it wasn't as hard to obtain as some of the higher Class materials and so was sold at an acceptable price to the Foundation from other civilizations.
The main cost of constructing the golems was the Mana used to create the spellworks, but because ingraining magic into a golem didn't require a Mage to use their own magical energy, the only real cost of implanting the numerous spellworks was the focus a Mage used, and their time.
After a day passed after a golem was activated, their core would run out of energy and implode in on itself as the spellworks engraved into it desperately searched for energy, leaving an empty husk of Class four and five metal that could later be recycled for further use.
The man walking through the facility was in charge of the construction of several golems, being a talented magic engineer who also possessed the ability to manipulate magical energy and cast spellworks, although his talent with magic wasn't as significant as his skill with engineering. The man had mastered mechanical engineering to the point where he could no longer make advances in that subject with just machinery, and depended on his advances with magic to grow.
His skills gave him the isolation he needed at first, not needing anyone to come and check his work because of his qualifications for the job. Over time, the people he met forgot his name, and he didn't bother to introduce himself again. The isolation he had now was because of his status as a social outcast, no longer recognized for his talent.
Being unknown and alone didn't bother him. He didn't want their attention anyway, they would only become problems for him if they began to notice what he could do.
His talent for magic engineering was in no terms small. In fact, even in Stellar Cluster Grade civilizations, he'd be considered a genius. But did the Foundation care for his skills? No. They didn't need people like him, who had the ability to make his dream of seeing the Fallen races come true.
The Foundation was influenced to ignore his talent by the powerful families in control of the organization's power.
'No', they said. 'We don't need your golems. Just make these, as fast as you can.' They gave him a damned blueprint, throwing his work to the ground. His design was more complex, sure, but with it the Foundation would be able to spend more time training the candidates, therefore producing much more capable Guardians. And yet, they disregarded his love for the organization.
If it was just once or twice, he'd be able to take it, ignore the gossip behind his back from his so-called friends, and continue his work.
Hell, if it was the twentieth time he'd have been fine with the Foundation's decision.
But it wasn't. He'd submitted countless designs to the organization, and only received a lukewarm reaction at best, a humiliation at worst from his supervising officer.
He wasn't sure when it happened, when his love for the Foundation and how they acted to ensure the return of the Fallen races turned into venom, and hate. Maybe it was when he was humiliated in front of everyone he knew, or when his girlfriend got tired of the countless hours he spent in dedication to his work? Or was it when someone else, a young heir of a powerful family within the Foundation, was rewarded for creating a design that she had stolen from him?
Oh. He knew when. It was when George Urok gave a speech praising the hard work of the woman who stole his design. That was when his love became corrupted, and his dedication, which used to be fueled by love, began to run on spite.
In the latest golem project for the Guardian Program, he submitted his design simply to test the waters. Their response was what finally gave him a direction to direct his venom.
They took what he loved and spoilt it, like he meant nothing to them, causing him to eventually become a ghost everywhere he went. Was it bad to create something better than everyone else's work? No, of course not. Someone had to make progress when the organization was faltering, so why was he punished for working hard?
Engineering was just numbers, right? Calculus, chemistry, physics, all of that just made sense to him. He couldn't control what he knew and understood. And yet, he was being treated as if he had committed some major sin, as if he had killed somebody!
No, he wasn't being treated like that. Killers were treated better, sometimes even rewarded for their work.
If he became a killer, would he also be rewarded? Praised for his work, perhaps?
There was no logic behind his decision, no real motive; all the man wanted was something to put his hate towards, and so when the Foundation assigned him a number of golems, he devoted all the gifts he had to creating a monster. Multiple monsters, capable of bringing the Foundation to it's knees if they were given enough time.
George Urok was a saint in the man's eyes, doubtless, and pure. It was the families that were corrupting Urok's perfect ideals. But even the all-powerful Urok couldn't control those families, so how could he think that he would succeed where Urok didn't?
The man directed his hate towards his plan, plotting and calculating, all just to amass more power so he could challenge the families.
Artificial intelligence existed even in the Magical Arts, functioning just like basic programming in the computer sciences. Arrays could be designed to distinguish between friend and foe, or complete complex equations in an instant to deliver devastating strikes to an area with magic artillery.
These A.I.'s could be used to create butlers, built with the sole purpose of servitude.
In golems, there were as an infinite number of possibilities when using A.I's. But that was too small of an impact. The man wanted to do something unique, worthy of his talents. He would show the Foundation exactly what their mistake was when they rejected his work.
He sought to create artificial life. After building the golems the Foundation needed, he had more than enough time to complete his research into the topic by building off of his previous theories and works. But before he submitted the completed golems, he had to implant something inside them...
In a feat that proved his talent, the man was able to create a prototype artificial life in a few short months. It was just a prototype, but he believed that it would work. Of course, he implanted his own will inside the artificial life to make it completely obedient, not willing to risk the creation of an uncontrollable monster. Even if his actions were driven by rage, the man wouldn't let himself be misguided enough to make mistakes in his work.
For testing, he implanted the artificial life inside one of his personal golems he created from the most advanced machine he had created, not willing to see such a precious project wasted on an inferior machine.
The golem was of his 'Archangel' series, the VI version. He had made various improvements over the years in secret, away from the eyes of the Foundation in fear that his work would be stolen again by some powerful family. It was the only model he had at the moment, and he was only able to build it with the materials he had on hand plus what his meager salary could afford, but its performance far exceeded the limits of the materials used.
The outer body of the golem was completely crimson, dark and pretty like it was meant to be. Standing at 2.5 meters tall (~8 feet), his machine wasn't as tall as some of the other war machines created by the Foundation, but being the culmination of all the man's love and dedication the golem's performance far outclassed those giant war machines in combat abilities.
He used the Class six Orvioulus as the main material used for the machine, making the golem extremely durable, although it was very heavy because of the metal's heavy nature. To make up for it's extreme weight, he used a liquid metal joint bearing system, making all of it's movements quick and agile, with all of the force of it's weight behind every attack.
The Archangel VI had a humanoid shape, but had a pair of limbs constructed from some Class six material Adamant around 3 meters long (~10 feet) attached to it's back. These limbs in their resting form took the shape of liquid metal wings, constantly shifting around, designed to take the shape of whatever tool the machine needed at the moment, be it a weapon or even a versatile exoskeleton made by hardening the liquid metal around itself in the shape of armor.
While Adamant was in the same material Class as Orvioulus, Adamant was considered upper Class six material, and passively absorbed much more Mana over time than Orvioulus. The material was lighter too, and yet more durable at the same time. Using Adamant drained what savings the man had left, but he didn't regret his choice. What was the use of money, if not to spend it?
The head of the Archangel VI was designed purely for the aesthetic of the golem, not holding any significant value to the performance of the machine besides tricking any attacker into attacking the golem's 'vital parts'. It's face was a blank slate, with two yellow slits in the place of eyes. These eyes weren't meant for the machine to see however. The man applied a method of energy transfer that the man had taken months to theorize enough to put into his work.
In practice, the eyes of the Archangel VI would shoot blasts of magical energy at the expenditure of energy in it's power core. That was standard however, the real technological treat were the eyes themselves. The yellow slits held the personal creation of the man, what he called 'Power Orbs', tiny machines that absorbed energy and reflected a much stronger version of that energy outwards, therefore increasing the power of the energy blasts his prized machine could shoot.
The man took the principle of Class six and above materials as his inspiration for the creation of the Power Orbs. Class six and above materials were capable of absorbing Mana from their surroundings and improving themselves over time, and the Power Orbs absorbed magical energy from their surroundings too, but instead of improving themselves, the Power Orbs amplified the energy transferred into them from the machine's power core, creating much more powerful blasts of energy.
The small machine was his pride, but even a tool of such caliber was considered standard equipment for the Archangel VI golem, a testimony to how valuable the machine was to him.
When the extra limbs on the golem's back were activated to create the exoskeleton, the machine closely resembled a medieval knight wearing plated armor, a terrifying image when considering the size of the machine. The armor itself had several bends and twists, adding a blood-red chest piece covering the machine's torso, and shoulder plates marked with black lines. The armor covered the golem's head with a helmet with a Y-shaped slit on it to allow the golem to continue using the Power Orbs in it's eyes even in combat, the helmet adding fearsome blade-like horns to the machine's head as well .
Instead of gauntlets, the Adamant suit of armor could shift to become weapons for the golem to wield, covering the hands of the golem with war hammer limbs or another type of weapon.
The lower half of the golem would be wrapped in Adamant metal, with durable leggings and boots protecting the machine's legs to preserve movement.
The leftover Adamant would shift color and transform into a cloak, to protect the Archangel VI from attacks while also giving it the ability to hide in plain sight with camouflage.
The light nature of Adamant would preserve the Archangel VI's ability to move while still adding extra protection when the golem activated it's armored form.
The golem was perfect, worthy of being granted the gift of artificial life.
After implanting the artificial life inside the golem's power core, which he quickly inserted back into the Orvioulus torso of the machine after was done, the man waited. But, even after a few minutes, the golem still showed no signs of movement, remaining still.
"Fuu..." he sighed.
He didn't expect success immediately, but the man had believed there would at least be some movement. With a heavy heart, the man chalked the experiment to a failure, and went back to working on the artificial life project again.
Whilst he worked, the man failed to notice the fingertips of the Archangel VI twitch. The Orvioulus torso glowed faintly as red veins of energy spread throughout the machine with the power core as the center of the growing mass of energy.
Through his work, a miracle was created, one which would shake the universe.
'Ahh...Hello?' A consciousness was born, created not by a God, but by a mere mortal.