1 The Last Request

Horns. Blood red eyes. Pale hard skin as white as snow.

In front of me was the face of a demon feared by the villagers.

But I was not afraid.

After all, he was my only home.

"Aliciel, are you certain about your request?" Master asked. The furnace fire behind him blazed as he spoke in a deep voice.

I nodded with conviction.

"If you wish this, you won't be able to feel even joy," he warned.

"If I can escape from sadness, it is worth it," I replied.

"You will become less human."

"Being human has brought me only pain."

He stared back at me with his blank face, a fearsome front that is forever frozen in a single unreadable expression. "Your memory of your early days will be hazy. You might even forget it completely."

"But will I remember you?"

"You will."

I closed my eyes. "That alone is enough."

After a long pause, he finally agreed with my decision. "Very well, I will do as you wish. You have learned the consequences of such a request but still decided to push through with it. "

"Thank you."

He moved me from the couch to the operating table, where numerous surgical tools were lined on a smaller table beside it. In a corner was a round machine that glowed red in its center, a product of both machinery and magic. It rhythmically expanded and contracted like a palpitating human heart.

Master took the mysterious machine in his hand. "You will live for a long time. This mechanical heart will sustain you for centuries and your new body will keep you from degradation. Don't lock yourself away in this small village. Go see the world and observe conflict with your very own eyes."

"Yes, Master."

"Farewell, Aliciel. May good fortune always find you on your journey." He placed a mechanical ventilator over my nose and mouth.

My eyes shut tight effortlessly as the sleeping gas began to take effect. I didn't want to sleep yet. I still wanted to spend more time with Master. I wanted our quiet days together to go on forever. I tried hard to fight the urge, but failed and drifted into a deep sleep, soon waking up to a world in which he was no longer present.

That was the last I saw of Master. And how I came to be what I am:

A half-machine.