These are my memories from the time I first became aware of the world.
My mother was a doll-like woman.
She spoke the bare minimum—no, even fewer words than that—and her movements were sluggish. However, she was always kind to me, Golbart.
That changed after a specific turning point.
No, it wasn't just "a certain point." It was the day the man claiming to be my father arrived.
"Divieniunschiavo." The man cast a spell on my mother using that incantation.
From that moment on, she became a woman rich with emotion. she spoke normally, and her movements became like those of any other person.
The man who called himself my father... a man named Raldus... looked at me and seemed to offer a faint smile.
My father, Raldus, soon vanished from the Date settlement where we lived, but he continued to appear about once a year after that.
As for me, nothing much changed.
If anything, I was happier because my mother had become normal.
At one point, I felt as if there were another consciousness inside of me.
"Who... are... you...?"
I tried asking, but there was no answer. After a month, I stopped caring; after a year, that presence seemed to have vanished entirely.
In its place, my mind suddenly felt incredibly sharp. I could understand almost everything I read. I was effectively fifteen years old in mind, even if I was a toddler of five in appearance.
"You have my blood in you, which is why your growth is slow," my father told me during one of his visits.
Indeed, my father looked youthful, even though my mother was aging appropriately for her years.
"Your infancy will be about three times longer than that of an ordinary human. Once you reach maturity, you should have a lifespan four to five times theirs."
The information from my father was a godsend.
I used my abundant time to accumulate knowledge. There were many old books in the settlement, and I read through them one by one, making their wisdom my own. Meanwhile, I practiced by repairing the golems and magi-devices found in the settlement.
"This is so convenient. Thank you, Golbart," my mother said happily.
However, the village chief was far less impressed. "...What is the point of delaying the inevitable collapse? In the end, everything reaches the same destination. It is better not to waste effort on useless things."
I ignored the chief's negativity. I continued to study golems, fixed them... and eventually, I reached the point where I could create new ones.
The people of the settlement began to look at me with eyes filled with equal parts awe and loathing.
I realized then that I was a special human being.
A long lifespan. Incredible memory. Peerless comprehension.
By the time I appeared to be a ten-year-old, I possessed the physical strength of two grown men.
"As I thought, you are my son," Raldus said during one of his annual visits.
He began to teach me things that even I didn't know. Once, he taught me gravita—Gravity Magic. It was magnificent. If I mastered it, I might even be able to fly. I found myself intoxicated by a sense of omnipotence.
Another time, he taught me Divieniunschiavo—Master-Slave Magic. It turned out this was the magic that had been cast on my mother, causing her doll-like state. Since my father was the one who released it, she had returned to normal. I had never respected him more than I did at that moment.
For a month after that, I traveled through the northern countries with my father.
There were people living in regions other than New El.
In a place called Fusou—I couldn't tell if it was a country or a province—my father abandoned me.
"I have nothing more to teach you," he said as he left. He was a ridiculous parent.
In Fusou, I earned my daily bread by repairing golems and magi-devices. This proved effective for expanding my knowledge and honing my skills.
Through that process, I became convinced that my technology was among the best in the world. I realized that with these skills, I could look back and laugh at that madness-stricken Date settlement.
Moving between the settlements of Machiha, Zeoko, Rekai, and Mehira, I basked in my own excellence. Everywhere I went, my knowledge was superior. I was thanked and respected for fixing broken magi-devices.
But the town of Nade was different.
There, a fellow known as "Magus" was the one held in high regard. Along with him, someone named "Nidou Jin" was also revered.
Apparently, this Nidou Jin had brilliantly repaired the relics left behind by Magus.
I had a chance to see those relics; they were indeed precise machines. I developed an interest in this Nidou Jin. At the same time, a fierce competitive spirit welled up within me. I refused to lose to him.
If I recall correctly, I suspect that "Magus" is the same individual who was called a "Demon" and despised across most of New El.
I supposed that evaluation changes depending on one's perspective.
I eventually managed to return to my home in Date, but I felt out of place there, so I decided to set out on another journey. I had no lingering attachments to the settlement.
As I moved slowly from town to town, I continued to deepen my knowledge.
Traveling to the country of Mitsuho was a bit of an ordeal, but it was no problem for someone with my physical stamina.
In Mitsuho, Nidou Jin was respected as the Magi Craft Meister, alongside Magus.
Life in Mitsuho was heavily supported by magi-devices and Magi Machines. To my surprise, almost no one there could use magic themselves. In that case, they had no choice but to rely on tools and machines. It was only natural for such people to respect an engineer.
I visited the Shouro Empire once, toured various other nations, and eventually returned to the Shouro Empire again. Before I knew it, I was over 160 years old. Yet, my appearance was that of a human in his thirties.
It seemed my father's claim about a five-fold lifespan was no lie.
However, because of that long lifespan, I was left with one regret.
Because I had spent so much time taking detours to accumulate knowledge, Nidou Jin had passed away before I ever met him. I bit my lip in frustration. What was the point of all that competitiveness and study?
Then, my attention was drawn to the academy built on the floating island of Avalon, which was said to have been established under the personal sponsorship of Nidou Jin. There, I felt I could finally learn just how great the man had been.
I was told that entering the academy was extremely difficult, but with my abilities, it was easy. I proudly became a resident of Avalon and enrolled.
To put it plainly, I had been a frog in a well.
The level of knowledge taught at the academy was on a completely different plane. The gap was too wide.
I studied there for about three years, and the more I learned, the more I was forced to acknowledge the sheer greatness of Nidou Jin. It was the first setback I had ever known.
One day, I had the chance to inspect the internal structure of a golem built by Nidou Jin. It happened to be time for its maintenance.
I was astounded.
It had a structure identical to a human, durability that seemed like overkill, and layers upon layers of security measures. Compared to this, every golem I had seen until then looked like a cheap toy.
For several days afterward, I shut myself away. I was tormented by a horrific headache. Eventually, I lost consciousness.
When I finally woke up, four days had passed.
I was starving, but my mind was abnormally clear. I had remembered something I had forgotten. Or perhaps something that had been suppressed in the depths of my soul had finally surfaced.
It seemed that in my previous life, I had been some kind of spiritual entity. I hadn't relied on matter; I had done everything through the power of my will alone.
"Material civilization is evil." The words from the home I had discarded echoed in my mind.
"I see... so that's what it means," I whispered.
A world that doesn't rely on matter. A world where everything can be accomplished through spirit. I will recreate that world on this planet.
To achieve that, I must first extinguish civilization and life itself. Once a spirit is liberated from the yoke of the physical body, it can ascend to higher heights.
For the happiness of all life, I will destroy all life.
That is my goal from now on.
To that end, I will use anything available to me. Even if it is not to my liking, I will utilize magi-devices and Magi Machines.
Now, let the work of salvation begin.