Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The blacksmith used the morning to finally finish the inlays and reassemble the body. All that was left was the almost as tedious process of fixing the feathers to the body.

Why was he even doing this? He thought to himself and he added feathers one by one, using a small spirit flame to weld them onto the bird’s adamantium shell. He didn’t know what it was, but it felt like he wasn’t making any progress.

Each feather, one by one, made him more and more vexed. He just wanted to be finished with this.

“Okay, off you go!” he exclaimed, almost chugging the golden bird into the waters of Styx, not even a second after he placed the last feather.

~Wait!~ Ceres cried out and Seth barely managed to halt.

~W-Wasn’t there something about a song?~ the elemental asked in a panic.

“Urgh- Yeah, I guess…” he admitted begrudgingly. “Give me a moment to calm down.”

Seth went to have lunch and relax a little before he returned to his workshops.

“Oz?” he asked and brought out the demonic lyre.

“I’m here! Time for a song?” the demon asked, playfully making some sounds with his strings.

“Yes, the soul whispering.”

Putting the bird on the ground a magic circle appeared around it on the ground. Seth sat down to sing to it to Ceres. As Seth had expected, things went a bit little different with the elemental.

Small sparks and lightning arches started wandering across the feathers and their fine bristles. The whole body was enveloped by a dim electric glow. Its empty eyes especially lit up with a bright spark.

No flesh grew on the bird, but its interior was filled by a bright light that shone from the thin seems of its body and started to grow within and fill its hollow body.

~Whoa…what is this feeling..?~ Ceres exclaimed euphorically.

“Haha, this time!” Seth called out and grabbed the bird.

~W-Where are you touching!?~

The blacksmith grabbed the electric bird and chugged it into the waters of Styx. Unfortunately, it did not explode in a ball of lightning. Instead, it floated there for a while, before it sank down and left the bubble accompanied by several notifications.

He had a déjà vu when he looked at Ceres.

Trait: Unlimited Stamina, Tormentor

Race: Sentient Automaton

Age:0

Affiliation: Minas Mar

Durability: 1000/1000

Mana: …>

It was like the time with Python. Seth was unable to see its full status.

“Haha! What do you think of me now?” Ceres cawed and flapped its wings.

It lifted into the air and lightning cracked with every movement. Being illuminated from the inside, Ceres now almost looked like a mass of energy wearing a bird armor, not like a bird-automaton anymore.

“This great!” it cried in euphoria

Seth on the other hand was speechless, as he had a hard time comprehending what was even going on. What exactly had happened?

It was the name that had really baffled him and it was the best hint to make him realize what was going on. Of course, he had been aiming for a synergy with his trait. But the highest hope he had was for the low chance of making a stymphalian bird or maybe the birds of Ares by some stroke of luck.

According to his experience, most of the synergies with Olympian Myths came from the strong connection with Hades. He did not really understand the criteria yet, and there was a good chance he would never completely, but in his mind, it was a simple notion.

Make something with a strong connection or semantic similarity to something that should already be in the underworld, or shares a myth or connection with Hades and hope for the best. It was different this time.

The eagle of Prometheus, that would regularly come to eat the titan’s liver. In some accounts, the eagle was an automaton created by the god of blacksmiths and it would later be slain by Herakles. This meant it was his connection with Hephaestus, or technically both of the Olympian Gods that had come into play this time.

His choice back then in the treasury, to bring the elemental with him had really paid off. He did not just get good info on his skills and was able to aim for the golem forge. He also had a new companion comparable to Python.

Watching the bird happily fly just below the ceiling of his workshop, he finally managed to gather his thoughts. A wave of relief and happiness flooded over him. Those hours and hours of vexing detail work had really paid off. But he couldn’t look uncool now. Hiding his own euphoria behind a smug smile

“I-I guess this means you like your new body?” he asked confidently.

“Yes, I do! You can’t imagine how it feels to finally have a true body without fear of crumbling away and losing oneself at any moment of time.” it cawed in happy relief.

“Whoah,” he thought. Seth reeled for a moment. Didn’t the elemental just say something really dark in a way too happy voice? He cleared his throat to get some time to find his composure again. This was not how the elemental had described it before.

Now the blacksmith couldn’t but feel a little pity for it. He had no idea how the elemental had behaved for Forgebrand to fight it and show it such cruel “mercy”. But he was sure the last millennia as a spear must have done a number on Ceres.

“See, I told you I can give you a fitting body. I’m really glad you like it.” while he was still trying to brag in the first part, he really meant it when he said that he was glad. This was not just about the fact that he got another powerful ally, but that the ally was truly happy about its new lease on life.

He would never say it out loud, but this was the best part about this ability. He still remembered the reaction of the Faer, the people that had begged him on the battlefield to save them. Their reaction when they moved their fingers and touched their faces for the first time.

It was a gratification that made Seth understand why there were people out there that would help others without expecting a gain or something in return. It didn’t mean that he had any interest in becoming one of them, but it was always the best when he was able to help and gain something.

“Now, what should I do?” Ceres suddenly asked.

He didn’t notice when, but the bird had landed on the table in front of him. This was a problem. The same he had with Asterion. Seth had not actually planned a specific task for them. Unlike Python, which was a golem with an ego, the Minotaur counted as a living being and couldn’t be put in his inventory.

As for Ceres, Seth didn’t know whether it was possible or if he even wanted to store the happy bird in his inventory.

“How about you go out and enjoy your new…corporeal existence or something? I will contact you if I have something for you.” Seth suggested.

He thought of bringing Ceres along on his quest, but he wanted to give it some freedom for now. After all, he had roughly 200 golems to make and almost as many rings to finish before he could think of starting the journey.

The bird nodded and Seth watched it shoot off into the hallway.