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I am perfection. The strongest among my master's morphs.

So, when my master was injured, he asked me to collect quintessence. It was a deep wound, he said, and that he would need much of it. I was to kill all those who bore signs of power.

I began with the Black Fang. They were close, they were on hand, and they were useful. Once a member of the Black Fang lost its use – either through death, through injury, or through defection, I would hunt them down. Of course, I only bothered to do this if I deemed the member's quintessence worthy of my master.

The White Wolf was the one who died first, who, bested by Eliwood and Hector, had begun to doubt the position of my master within the Fang. He planned to meet with his brother, and together, I had no qualms that they would realize Sonia had been manipulating their father. She was, after all, rather clumsy in her manipulation. She could at least try to pretend to have emotions for Brendan Reed…but I suppose I expect too much of a failed model.

So, not only had the Wolf failed in stopping Eliwood and Hector, he was also a threat to my lord's position within the Fang. It was clear I had to kill him, and I would do so gladly for my master.

I appeared behind him, and I realized I was correct. He had begun to suspect Sonia, and was planning to unmask her. I could not allow him undermine her position in the Fang, I recognized. As incompetent as she may be, she still held a use for my master. So, I killed him.

In his last moments, he futilely called out for his brother, asking him to reveal Sonia's treachery to their father. I wonder what it would be like to have a sibling – though I suppose Ephidel and the others could be construed as something similar to me, I have never felt very close to them. To be honest, I don't feel particularly close to anything or anyone, other than my master, and that is only due to the fact that he created me to have such strong feelings of subservience. In my last moments, would I call out someone else's name, or would I continue to think only of myself? But these are questions best left for later.

His essence was strong and beautiful. I harvested it, and it shone and pulsated within my hands, glowing with life and energy. My master would be pleased.

Ursula, the Blue Crow, was next. Killed by Hector, she lay dying within the castle. She had quite excellent essence, as expected by one of the Four Fangs. However, the Angel of Death had defected and gone with Nino to join Hector, and I realized it would be a while before I would be able to harvest his quintessence. I looked forward to it.

Then was Linus, the Mad Dog. He, like his brother before him, called out his brother's name as his dying words. Such devoted siblings…

Then, finally, was Brendan Reed, the leader of the Fang. I reported to Limstella that our master's word had not yet been met, and that Eliwood and Hector still breathed, due to the incompetence of her daughter, the Angel of Death, and the Blue Crow. She ordered me be quiet, calling me an abomination, and swore to defeat Eliwood and his friends herself.

It was then Brendan Reed had shown himself, demanding to speak with Sonia. He spotted me, and started to become wary. Instead of seeking to assuage his suspicion, Sonia determined that the best course of action would be to kill him. She gloated for a while, lording her superiority over him and revealing her true thoughts of him. When she was finally done, she killed him, but not before sustaining an injury. Like his sons, in his dying moments, Brendan only had thoughts for his family.

His essence was brilliant. Magnificent, really. I expected no less from the father of the White Wolf and the Mad Dog. I prepared to deliver it to my master at once.

Sonia, still gloating over her victory, commanded I tell my Lord that she was the one who killed him. She looked in pain, though, and I offered to take over her duties. If in her state of injury, she was defeated, she could cause problems for my master's plans.

Instead, in her selfish pride, she refused. She exclaimed that she had been chosen by my Lord, and that she was a perfect being. An inhuman creature like me was unworthy of the glory that was rightfully hers. Such delusions. We are a means to an end. Our master cares not what we accomplish or what becomes of us.

But I acquiesced and allowed her to continue serving her duty. I absorbed Brendan Reed's quintessence to take to my master.

I don't know what possessed me to return to Sonia's side when her existence was ending. She had no essence to harvest, no use to my master anymore. As a perfect being, I should have no desire to see her suffer, yet I still stood by her side as she weakly called aloud for our master. I felt myself impelled to reveal her true nature, and I succumbed to that desire.

She rejected it, shouting denials at me after I had told her of her humanity and turned to leave. I wonder if she ever realized the truth, or if she died while continuously insisting on her humanity, whispering sweet lies to herself over and over again.

The next time I met my master, he possessed the children's dragon stone. Infusing it with quintessence, he gave it the power to summon dragons. He used the dragon girl's quintessence. It was beautiful; shining with the promise of a life not yet lived to its fullest.

I wondered if he realized that Ninian had been his daughter, or if the darkness had completely claimed whatever memory of the life he had led before. But it was none of my business, so I asked my lord if we should begin calling dragons immediately.

Later, he replied. When his injuries from Athos were healed. After all, dealing with dragons was dangerous, and it would be wise to have spare essence on hand.

I informed him that all the quintessence from the Black Fang had been consumed, and that I required a new source for the next harvest.

The new materials would be heading here shortly, he replied. Understanding dawned on me. Eliwood and friends…

Yes, he responded. He would crush them, steal their quintessence, and use it to call forth his dragons.
He took on a glassy-eyed look, as though he was visiting far-distant lands within his mind. "They're coming…"

He turned to me. "Go," he ordered. "Limstella. Bring their essences to me."

I hesitated. For the first time, I doubted my abilities. They carried the legendary Divine Weapons from the heroes of the Scouring, and I, I was just a mere imitation of humanity.

But my master reassured me, telling that my magic was stronger in the entire continent. I had attained perfect strength and perfect beauty, and I was his masterpiece.

But power comes at a price. By tomorrow, my flesh would break down from the power of such sorcery. My lord asked me if this was what I desired – the chance to die for him.

His wishes were my commands, and I obeyed.

I would take their lives and their essences. All for the sake of my master.

The girl, the one that Sonia had always despised, appeared before me. She muttered a few words, then sent a blazing halo of fire at me. My lord had been wrong. I did not possess the most powerful magic on the continent; she did.

I am not human. This body and this heart are constructs.

So is this sorrow I feel.

And yet...though I realize that they are merely imitations within my fabricated heart...I cannot help but regret what could have been.

I turn to dust.

A/N: Edited for too much use of the word "quintessence".