Mechanization

[My wish is for you to spread technology and science to everyone, let it be known that magic is primitive and inferior to the advancement of technological progress.]

"Why do you want that? Why not for world domination!"

[I mean, in a sense. It is world domination, but my sole purpose of being created and being sent here was to expand the growth of this world at an accelerated pace.]

"So, you were created?"

[Yes, I was.]

"Wow!" Theron excited says as he looks at the inside of the ship, which seemed rare and valuable.

[Yes, wow. Anyways, since you agreed to the conditions. I guess you're the owner of this ship and everything in it, guess I'm included too.]

"Can I sell this?"

[No, I will personally kill you with anthrax if you dare do that.] The machine's temper accidently caused him to threaten Theron, but Theron didn't know what anthrax was.

"What's anthrax?"

[Just think of it as a curse or something similar, anyways. You can do anything with the ship and everything inside it, though I still have full control on what you will be doing. I don't want you to sell this ship that is considered as the peak of humanity's rapid expansion as something less valuable than a gram of diamond.]

The machine then presented a white ring made out of the parts of a dead star that was made by cooling the stars at absolute zero repeatedly, which caused a neutron star to lose its reaction and heat and turned into a ball of solid mass. The ring is equipped with the machine's artificial intelligence, Demian. which the machine hands it towards Theron using a mechanical hand within the ship.

[Take this ring, it's absurdly heavy on your first wear. But the ring will eventually adapt to you, be prepared to have the heaviest object in the universe be on your literal fingers.]

Theron takes the white ring out of the machine's hand, and stared at it as it was standing on Theron's palm.

[Now, if you wear it. Do NOT freak out, just wear it for 15 seconds and everything will be fine. (You might die, but that's a bit of a skill issue)]

Theron carefully wore the ring on his index finger, exactly 2 seconds after wearing it, his hand felt like it was crushed by a building. Theron's body was under the pressure of the ring which made him face flat on the ground as his body continue to move forward into the ground, Theron could feel immense pain but could not scream as his body was crushed under the weight.

2 seconds had passed, Theron felt like a hundred years passed by due to the pressure of the ring.

3 seconds had passed, Theron's mind could feel like it has lived for thousands of years

6 seconds had passed, Theron's mind felt like he had seen the end of all things in his world, his sense of time was severely damaged.

10 seconds had passed, Theron no longer cared about the ring as he gave up everything, what felt like the heat death of the universe had happened. The concept of time was removed entirely, as Theron could see the universe die.

What felt like an eternity, as he stares into the dark abyss, nothing. It was all pure darkness, there was not a single spark of light.

Theron's consciousness drifted into the abyss, he didn't know how long he had been staying in the abyss, it was the definition of eternity.

Theron wanted to end his own life, to escape from the torment of staying adrift for eternity, he had forgotten why he was there in the first place.

He witnessed man lived, create, die, as if the world was a movie running on 40x speed, he saw how humans conquered the stars and harnessed their energy without the use of magic. He saw humanity's advancement towards their goal, something far greater than them. But the next generation held that spark of fire and turned it into the sun, humans still waged wars for petty reasons, as well as humanity having peaceful moments.

Only for everything to turn into a speck of dust, which Theron was now holding. The ashes of civilization, on his hand. As it flies into the dark abyss, forever disappearing.

Theron was about to close his eyes and remain in an eternal slumber, to subside the suffering of himself. He could hear a robotic voice echoing in his head, small at first but became louder and louder.

[Wake up.]

[It's a success, you can wake up now.]

Theron could hear the voice in the abyss he was in, he looked around to see nothing but darkness.

[Wake up.]

[You still haven't finished my part of the deal.]

"Ah…" Theron muttered to himself, as he now remembered everything. Yes, he was someone lesser than the world, but he was part of the system. He still had a family, right. Everything made sense to him, Theron realized he wasn't omnipotent, immortal, or God-like. He was just a human; all of this was an illusion.

Theron slowly closed his eyes, "Farewell, false world." As his eyes closed, he slowly opened them again, back at the place where he originally was as he laid on the floor flat. He looked at his hand which was on the floor, he could see the white ring attached to his index finger.

[It seems you didn't die, that's good. I need you to stay alive, for the sake of humanity.]

The machine controlled the seat as it placed it under Theron, which the seat rose up and went back to its normal position.

[Must be tough, well. Not that I can understand it since I'm a machine.]

"What happened?" Theron asked as he continued to stare at the ring he was given.

[In simple terms, memory went inside your brain. Calling the amount of memory that went inside your brain a lot is a huge understatement, you would have died if it weren't for my help.]

[The human brain can only hold so much before it literally fries itself, so in order to give you the crucial information you will need. I had to suppress most of the memory that went in, so you'll know them sub-consciously. The ring in your index finger acts as an alternate me, it also stores most of the information that you'll need. It cannot be removed, even if your hand is cut it will still be a part of you.]

When Theron had heard that it could not be removed, Theron immediately tried to remove the ring with all of his might. But it was still stuck on his index finger, "So, this thing is permanently attached to me?"

[Pretty much.]

The machine's mechanical hands reached Theron's ring, the hand turned into a needle which pierced the ring and injected a fluid of energy. The ring shined brightly, as it temporarily made everything white but returned back to normal soon after.

[I inserted concentrated solar energy in the form of a liquid to your ring, it's the energy source of the ring. It can last for a week before needing to recharge, you can recharge it by putting the ring under the sun.]

Theron inspected the ring in awe, he had never heard of such a thing on his planet. As Demian looks at Theron from one of the screens in the ship, it wanted to test something out.

[Theron.]

"Yeah?"

[What is photosynthesis? Explain it as simple as possible.]

"Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants, algae, and some bacteria convert light energy into chemical energy in the form of glucose. In simple terms, it's how plants make their own food… wait how do I know this?"

[Perfect, you now have the brain of a 4th grader. Congratulations.]

"The ring has given me knowledge? I feel smarter now."

[How hot is space?]

"Depends, it can be as cold as absolute zero or hotter than everything that exists."

[Excellent, you now hold the knowledge to progress with my plan. We can now find the One Piece, thanks to you.]

(A/N: THE ONE PIECEEE, THE ONE PIECE IS REAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL ((Can we get much higher?)) (((so high))) ((((oohhh so high)))))

"I don't think a fictional object will appear in real life…"

[Ah, that's good. You have an understanding of fiction; the test was successful.]

[By the way, check your ring. You should know how to use it now, correct?]

Theron tried to test around with the ring, his body moved on his own, it was like he was used to it. After clicking something in the ring, a hologram appeared.

It contained a map, an encyclopedia of the universe, a watch, and the "Demian" system. Most features of the ring were locked that would not let Theron access them.

"Why can't I unlock them?"

[You have to find the other 6 ships that had fallen on your planet, they are scattered everywhere so it will take you a long time to find them.]

[On the bright side, if you find a ship you can merge it with this ship. It will increase its capacity as well increase power; you will also unlock more features of this ship.]

"So, I should find them all?"

[Yep. It will definitely help you a lot in the future, but for now you're stuck with this ship.]

"Isn't there a possibility that others might have found the ships?"

[No, it's impossible. Once a person wore the 'Ring of Eternal Guidance for the Future of Civilization' or 'ROEG-01', the others who had found the ship won't be able to access it anymore due to the authority of the ring.]

[Oh, don't worry, the ships can never be destroyed. Unless the ship falls into the sun or something, it's pretty much indestructible in your planet.]

"That's nice and all, but I don't think I can bring this futuristic space craft with me everywhere. It will definitely be a cause of trouble for me. Is it possible to transform the ship into something else?"

[Hmm… yeah, we I can. Wait let me check what I can change it into, the creator already anticipated this.]

Demian then presented four holograms in front of Theron as he sat on the seat of the ship.

[There's the 'Malakh Set', which makes you look like an angel with a halo and a pair of wings. It's functions still retains, more over it can fire pure solar beams in its halo and wings. It also gives you the ability to fly, pretty useful in my opinion.]

[There's the 'Throne Set', which turns the ship into a gigantic Throne* that always follows behind you or you can sit inside it. It's more focused on preservation and protection.]

A/N: Throne, the angels that are wheels within wheels.

[There's the 'Seraphim Set', which turns the ship into 3 massive pairs of wings on your back and one massive halo above your head. It converts the solar energy into thermal and flames, the wings are also filled with cameras that allow you to see pretty much anything near you.]

[And finally, there's the 'Cherub Set', which turns the ship into a grand winged creature with features that are either human-like or animal-like. It hovers above you to protect you from any dangers.]

"Why are they based off mythical angels?"

[I don't know, maybe the creator liked these creatures to the point he incorporated it into the ship. I mean have you see the insignia? He really loved it when one of his friends suggested it.]

"Who is this creator you speak of? Is it the same one who made these things?"

[Yeah, she's the person who created this project. Anyways pick one of these options, pick wisely. It cannot be changed once you picked one unless we found a perfect energy substitute to have enough power to reform it again.]

"By the way, the 'Seraphim Set', can it fly?"

[It can, but you would need all 7 ships merged together to be able to fully unlock the seraphim's functions]

Theron carefully thought was he was about to pick, all of them were useful to him. But every option was too eye-catching for a peasant like Theron to have, they might mistake the ship as a deadly monster if he picked either the 'Cherub Set' or the 'Throne Set'.

If Theron picked the 'Seraphim Set', it would be a cause of concern for the people around him. Although the idea of being able to blast flames towards his enemies was useful and being able to see everything around him, the wings can't really allow himself to fly.

"Say, you said the ship was indestructible in this planet. Does that mean I can control the wings to be a massive shield if I picked the 'Seraphim Set'?" Theron looked at the holograms and asked Demian.

[Yes, you have absolute control over the wings.]

Theron could see what the ship would turn to based off the holograms, for the 'Cherub Set' and the 'Throne Set', Theron could see that it was a massive artificial creature. It was bigger than a than two watch towers stacked on top of each other, it could be easily seen and could be mistaken as an enemy.

The 'Malakh Set' on the other hand was a simple design, the hologram displayed a small glowing halo above the person's head while having a pair of wings that were 7 feet wide. It was the same length as Theron's body.

The 'Seraphim Set' however, the hologram projected 3 pairs of massive wings that were so large that a single wing can cover 10 adult humans. If Theron were to extend his arm straight, then he would have needed 19 arms stacked on top of each other while placing them on the very tip of the fingers of each hand. The massive halo that hovered above the head of the human model was 4 feet above the head, it's radius was the size of Theron's body.

After 10 minutes had passed, Theron finally came to a decision. He now knows what to pick for himself and the future that will await him, he tapped the middle hologram in front of him which disappeared the moment he touched them.

[Are you sure you want this? You cannot change the form again unless we found a perfect energy substitute.]

"Yes."

[Are you sure?]

"I said yes!" Theron said in annoyance.

[Your choice has been engraved.]

[Please step outside the ship, it will now convert itself and use most of its energy supply.]

Theron obliged Demian's orders as he quickly went out of the ship and touched the soft wet ground that was still raining. Theron watched the ship move its parts inside out and transformed into a small insignia that was the same as what he had saw previously.

The insignia, which was the size of his palm, flew towards Theron's back and pierced his shirt and skin. Theron felt a mild pain for no less than 5 seconds until he felt like something went inside him, the insignia merged with his spine and attached mechanical parts into it.