Craving

Krave eventually returned carrying a harness with several obsidian orbs; he paused seeing the doll-like golem and Valentina sitting on the couch reading but shrugged it off. "Alright, just put this on and get used to it; you funnel energy in and speak with it," he explained as he handed the harness to the golem.

The golem nodded and took the harness, but instead of putting it on, they just pressed it into their chest and moulded the stone to pull it inside. Krave opened his mouth but was cut off by the golem.

"Thank you for your assistance, demon," it said in a smooth and cold androgynous voice.

"Ah, you're welcome," he replied, taking a seat in his chair, "My name is Krave; do you have a name?"

"I am Ad Omne Argentum, you may call me Omni, or by my previous alias, Atlas," the golem offered.

"Atlas?" The old demon pondered, "Hang on, wasn't Atlas the golem that was born from the first energy river phenomenon?" he questioned.

The golem shook its head, "While the Labyrinth technically activated me, I did not originate there; my core was made in the Phycaster Kingdom. The forceful activation of the Labyrinth caused a discrepancy in my memories. Thus I made a new name; however, I was 'deactivated' after the Labyrinth deemed me a threat."

Krave took a moment to process the information while Valentina piped up, "When we found you, you were all cracked and dim. Are you talking about when the Labyrinth was quaking? Ah, I'm Valentina, by the way; nice to meet you, Omni."

The golem nodded, "The Dungeon Core had expended the energy to create an avatar to control by hand, though I will say it was a terribly inefficient use of energy to create what amounts to a large golem." It explained, standing from the couch.

Elizabeth remained silent while Christoph furrowed his brows, "We found your core in a chest in the Labyrinth. Shouldn't the Dungeon Core have ground you to dust if it deemed you a threat?"

The golem spun on its heel, turning to face Christoph, "That would be due to my nature; I was made using a very peculiar soul, so long as I do not exert any energy, I will be completely invisible to magical detection. And thank you for extricating me from the Labyrinth."

Christoph shrunk back slightly, the small smile on the golem's face as it talked in that cold tone got under his skin a little, "And what about your reaction in the church? You seemed to react to Twilight's name."

Omni tilted its head, "Church? Ah, you must be confused, I was not awake until today, any reactions thereof would have been protocol or instinctual, as for 'Twilight'... He may or may not have a hand in my creation," it explained, then turned to the door, "I wish to go for a walk, will you stop me?"

Krave snapped out from his thoughts, "No, no, feel free, may we follow?" He asked, his tone much nicer than before, grinning from ear to ear.

"Do what you will," it said, then looked down at itself and began to mould stone 'clothes,' a robe similar to that of Elizabeth's and a hood, so it didn't have to make hair. Under its influence, the stone clothes acted just like cloth while energy ran through it, and the golem had more than enough energy to affect its entire body.

Krave and the trio followed it out the door, and the golem began wandering without a direction.

"Hmm, the architecture is actually quite similar. Is the Phycaster Kingdom still around?" The golem posed to no one in particular.

"Sadly, no, it fell a few centuries ago. This city, Formeldr, was built on top of one of the city ruins, and we rebuilt the less damaged ruins, the style of building spread from there," Krave explained, "I must say though, you must have been quite important to them given the materials of your core, surely you could share your knowledge with us?" He asked hopefully.

The golem turned a corner and replied, "I will not disclose my purpose, though you could equate me to a 'golem core,' but I'm capable of far more. As for knowledge, Phycaster fell, I see no reason to give information which may lead to Formeldr falling as well."

Krave looked a little hurt, "With your help, we wouldn't make the same mistakes, I-"

The golem cut him off, "I was not present during the fall, I cannot help beyond advice," then it paused and looked up slightly, "I can smell high-quality organics; will you acquire some for me?" It turned to look at the old demon.

Krave looked confused while Christoph sniffed the air, "You mean food? There's a restaurant nearby, but... Can you eat food?"

The golem nodded, "I can; I can also cook."

Elizabeth shrugged, "Sure, Christoph's paying again, right?"

Christoph sighed, "Fine, let's go," he said, then took the lead towards the restaurant.

Valentina's eyes sparkled, "If you can cook, then you can work in our store!"

The golem tilted its head, "Hmm, I do not require currency, but I suppose I owe a little to you for extricating me from the Labyrinth, are the four of you a group?"

Valentina lost a bit of the pep in her step, "No, when we went into the Labyrinth, it was me, Christoph, Ace, and Toki, but Toki... passed away."

"I see, my condolences," The golem replied.

The mood soured a bit, and they were quiet until they reached the restaurant; it was an open outdoor place, a popular style for the city. Tables and chairs are set out in a fenced area, with the building having only the kitchen and a restroom area. It wasn't too busy, but the few people there looked at the extravagant golem with interest.

Christoph went to a table with five chairs and sat down. The rest followed suit, and soon after, a beastfolk waitress came over. She paused, looking at the golem, but seeing the old demon mage Krave, shrugged and continued, "Welcome to Bushy Tail Barbeque, whaddya folks want?" She asked with less enthusiasm than you'd expect; she didn't seem to like the name of the restaurant.

The waitress passed a single worn papyrus menu around, the choices ranged from meat skewers to fried vegetables, and a few of the names tried to be cute. Krave ordered a large steak while Elizabeth, Christoph and Valentina ordered skewers. Valentina passed the menu to the golem, and it looked through, sighing internally.

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦? 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨.

"Five meat skewers," The golem spoke, handing the menu back at the waitress. She furrowed her brows and looked to Krave, he nods, and so she takes the menu back, "Okaaay~" She responds flatly, goes back to the kitchen.

"So, Omni, can we be friends?" Valentina chirped.

The golem turned to look at the sheep-woman and stared for an uncomfortable amount of time, then responded with a question, "Why?"

Valentina fidgets a bit, "Well, uh-"

"What is your fascination with me? I am essentially an ancient weapon, yet you keep sitting next to me," Omni cut her off, trying to dissuade her with a little fluff.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥? 𝘈𝘮 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵?

Valentina closes her mouth, twiddles her thumbs, then opens it again, "I think your core is pretty, and you seem like a person, not a weapon. Is there a reason we can't be friends?"

. . . 𝘏𝘢𝘢𝘩, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵... 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦? 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵... 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

"Hmm," was all it responded with, then looked forward and deactivated the vision from its faux eyes and moulded its insides. It used energy to create enough light to see inside the tiny cavern and linked its sight to newly formed eyes on the inside with its core between stone spindles. What greeted it was its core, a fist sized-marble with a silver branching nucleus mottled with pinpricks of light scattered inside the glass of varying colour.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵... 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭? 𝘏𝘮𝘮, 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩?

The golem sighed internally and returned its insides and sight to normal. There were no external changes, so only Krave, who had high sensitivity to energy, knew anything happened, but he didn't really understand what Omni was doing, so he shrugged it off.

Omni turned back to Valentina, who was looking a bit dispirited, "Very well, I shall acknowledge you as 'friend,' Ms. Valentina," it stated, extending a hand to shake.

Valentina inhaled sharply and shook its hand with vigour, "Yay! And please, just call me Valentina," she seemed overly giddy, and a few memories of some rather troublesome women Omni had met in its past life's work resurfaced.

The golem looked around the table, "And what about the rest of you? What social stations do you wish to occupy?" It asked, trying to sound technical and less like a person.

Elizabeth shrugged, "I'll be your friend, sure.

Christoph nodded, "I see no harm in being your friend, just don't get too close to me," he responded.

"Noted," Omni acknowledged. Valentina puffed her cheeks at Christoph but didn't say anything. The golem then turned to Krave, "Friend as well?"

The old demon's cheeks turned slightly rosy, "I- If the other mages find out my only friend is a golem, I'll be the laughing stock of the Mage's Tower!" He stated and turned away.

"Acknowledged, then the price for being my friend is to include Krave as your friend," the golem nodded.

Krave sputtered, and Valentina and Elizabeth giggled, "Be friends with this old coot? Alright, fine, cheers to our new buddy~" Elizabeth said and grinned, happy to tease the old demon.

Christoph smiled, "We've met a few times now; I guess that's enough for a friendship," he then patted Krave's shoulder, "Besides, we're about to eat a meal together. You're not going to say you're not our friend, right?" He had to admit teasing the old man was indeed fun.

Krave's rosy cheeks brightened; he was actually quite shy when it came to proper social interaction, "Fine, fine!" he complained, then gave a toothy smiled, "You better come to visit, friend!"

Soon enough, the beastfolk waitress came back balancing five platters, four with skewers and the fifth with Krave's steak, "Three big copper," she blankly states, holding out her palm. Christoph grabs the three big coins from his pouch along with five copper for a tip. The waitress takes the coins and sniffs, "Thanks," is all she says before checking on a few other patrons then retreating back to the kitchen.

The four turn to look at Omni and its plate of five skewers, curious as to how it's going to eat.

"It's bad manners to stare," The golem states, then picked up two skewers and essentially stabs them into its chest. The stone warps to open and wrap around the skewers, pulling them inside, wood included. Once inside, the golem noticed something interesting; the Hazard Storage activated automatically. The Hazard Storage skill then chained together Vacuum and Energy Manipulation to rend the food shreds before being absorbed into the core.

Omni checked and, instead of being stored inside the skill, the food was directly converted into energy, which didn't actually do anything due to its regeneration being so high. It suspected that enough food would accrue it a point of durability, but who knew how much it would have to eat.

The important part was that the golem could actually taste the food, which meant that it did not care if eating was beneficial; good food was good food.

Again, Krave was the only one who could acutely sense what was going on inside due to the energy fluctuations, Christoph and Elizabeth could sense energy innately due to being elves, but even Elizabeth, who was a mage by trade, didn't have near enough skill to do so.