Number 7

Number 7 was taken to a small cave where other —chipped and broken— golems were being held. It was chained to the wall, and as the larger golem left, a section of the ground rose to seal the entrance.

'Hmm, I think I understand it now. The strength of the magnetic push and pull intuitively depends on how hard I think about it,' Raddan thought. Meanwhile, Number 7 was tugging at its chains, trying to break itself free.

"I can't be reforged, I won't allow it," Number 7 whispered desperately. Unlike it, the other golems seemed disoriented, whispering random nothings. This place was more like an asylum than a scrap yard for golems.

'All this clanging is messing with my train of thought. I wish I could tell it to keep quiet,' Raddan thought.

Number 7 reached into the crevice and pulled Raddan out, placing him on its lap. "That was your doing, wasn't it?" it asked.

However, Raddan had no way of answering.

"You were using magic, right? That's the only way you'd be able to move me," Number 7 continued.

'Magic?' That intrigued Raddan. Back on earth, those of lower understanding often viewed advanced technology as magic. However, something about the floating screens and talking golems told him that this was different.

"I knew I was right in picking you up," Number 7 whispered, looking at the other golems suspiciously. Everyone else seemed to be in their own crazy world.

"I had a dream about you yesterday. A dream about a new god falling from the skies," he continued, almost excitedly. "You came to free us, didn't you? We're your kin."

'What's this about dreams? Could this thing know how and why I'm here?' Raddan thought. That was perhaps what he was most interested about. If a being capable of transporting people across worlds existed, then it was bound to be a bounty of knowledge.

Raddan thought for a moment, about how best he could communicate with this creature. He felt around to detect iron in the vicinity and found that most golems had small traces of iron dust still on their bodies.

He reached out, and began dragging the dust towards him.

It felt like pushing a small car with its handbrakes still on. And by the time he had collected all the dust near the golem's feet, he was tired.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" Number 7 asked excitedly. "But first, can you free me?"

It tugged at its chains once more. "They'll melt and re-pour me, if I remain here."

Raddan hadn't been too inclined to help the creature before. But if it had really dreamt about him, then this might be his only chance at figuring out the truth.

'Hmm, even if I can use the iron dust to communicate with it, I highly doubt that it will understand English,' he thought. He could understand the language the creature and the guards spoke, but it was completely different from the languages of Earth.

'Perhaps...'

He mustered the strength to move the iron dust and spelled out [My name is Raddan].

[System has converted user language to default.]

Number 7 looked at the writing. "Raddan? My name is 7. Can you free me?" it asked.

[No. Not yet. Need rest.] Raddan replied.

[Tell me about your dream.]

[Who brought me here?]

Number 7 took a moment to ponder, once again looking at the other golem suspiciously. "It's not safe here. I don't trust them."

Raddan thought it was absurd to be talking to a magical rock while worrying about revealing information. However, he also understood this was a different world, so perhaps his logic was the one that was flawed.

[New Quest Available: Upgrade Stone!]

[Reward: 50% progress towards next evolution.]

[Quest timer has begun!]

[48:00:00]

'Evolution? This strange voice keeps mentioning exciting things.' More than anything, Raddan was a bioengineer at heart, he wondered what sort of evolution a rock could possibly go through.

Perhaps he would become like the golems?

Number 7s clanging chains tore Raddan from his thinking. "Please, Raddan. I know you're powerful, I need your help," it said. "If a contract is what you need, I promise to offer you my core if you help me out of here."

'Core? I suppose that creatures like this would need something like a heart and brain to function. Do I have a core as well?'

Number 7 took Raddan's silence as hesitation.

"S-So you're one of those gods?" Number 7 said. "It's okay, it doesn't matter," it quickly added. "I've already thought about what I'm willing to do for my freedom."

Number 7 picked Raddan up, and placed him close to his mouth. "I'll give you all the cores here, all the hearts as well. I'll give to you everything this mine has to offer, if it means I'll be free."

Those words had an odd eeriness to them, coming from a child-like voice. 

However, they didn't impress Raddan too much. How could this golem possibly attain all that? No, its core would be enough for study. And paired with the fact that it had knowledge of whoever had sent him here, it was a fair enough trade.

[I'll free you. Just give me a few moments to replenish my strength,] Raddan spelled out. 

7's shoulders relaxed, and the red hue of its eyes went mellow.

"Thank you. I will be forever grateful to you... my lord."

'I know I said I would free it. But I don't think my control of magnetism will be enough to break chains that thick,' Raddan thought.

'But there is always a way.'

He inspected his system interface to see if there was anything to help him. During this, he noticed that there were a lot of 'blank spaces' and empty boxes. He could tell at a glance that there should've been something in these areas.

Regardless, that knowledge would not help him now. 

'Hmm, but this latest "quest". Upgrade rock? How exactly does it expect me to do that?'

Raddan thought back to Earth, and all the ways that humans had 'upgraded' rocks.

There was stabilization and sealing, annealing and tempering, refining and purifying. However, using the system as a clue, it probably wanted him to reinforce the rock somehow. Most likely with his magnetic powers since that was all he had at this moment.

And so, the answer came to him. Metallic reinforcement. However, that was easier said than done. He gave himself a few minutes to organize his thoughts and regain his strength.

[I have a way to set you free,] Raddan spelled out on the ground.

"Anything," Number 7 replied desperately.

[Fine. But it might hurt.]

[Where is your core?]

Number 7 hesitated for a bit.

[I need your core for this to work,] Raddan reassured.

7 quickly shook its head. "It's not that I don't trust you. My core, and my life are both yours, my lord. Even without a contract, I've already decided."

"But it's just that my core is... it's cracked," it continued, looking away in shame.

[Show me.]