Internal Log #6

6 Days, 6 Hours, 44 Minutes, 29 Seconds Since Transfer

Used 92% of time awake to ascertain the nature of will-enforced spontaneous explosion and extreme healing speed of mortal vessel.

The tests involved so far are:

1) Attempted to remove thermal energy from water in river; produced a moderately sized ice sheet within 3.23 seconds.

2) Attempted to charge separation between electrons and nuclei in water vapour molecules - electrons willed to location next to large oak tree, ions positioned 3.4 meters away. After large enough charge separation, spontaneous electric discharge occurred - brief flash of light and sound of thunder. Tree obliterated.

3) Attempted to exert force on air particles in a blade-like shape. Felled 3 trees before stopping with a shallow cut on the 4th.

4) Attempted to capture fish by wrapping via increased density of air particles around the animal, using the electromagnetic repulsion between its body and controlled particles to contain it; reminiscent of holding an object within a hand. 'Telekinetic' movement of fish possible.

These tests have been repeated with changes in variables to determine whether effectiveness and/or tiring effect increases/decreases.

Example: Attempted to coalesce water vapour 5 km above head height and force condensation into cloud condensation nuclei, artificially causing cloud creation. 4 seconds into process, experienced heavy throbbing on forehead, indicating large stress exerted on mortal vessel. Ceased action immediately. Further action would likely have resulted in unconsciousness, even death.

Conclusion: exertion of force required increases following the inverse square law with distance, and linearly with amount of matter/energy effected.

It is capable of causing the unprompted modification of matter and energy without the intervention of the four fundamental forces of nature, likely being a result of the formation of this universe. It contains a fifth force able to be controlled by sapient beings (perhaps instinctually by sentient beings?), causing phenomena seemingly 'magical' in appearance.

Therefore, it would be appropriate to title this new force the Will-based Transmogrification Force, or WTF for short.

Is this what scientists felt during The Golden Age of Modern Physics? It is... enjoyable.

Further tests will commence as days progress.

No sign of sapient-made civilisation currently. Continuing to follow river.

End Log.

Internal Log #10

10 Days, 7 Hours, 32 Minutes, 11 Seconds Since Transfer

Encountered more green humanoid creatures - pack of 5.

Appeared to be 'having fun' repeatedly stabbing the corpses of a couple Red Deer buck.

Something learnt from encounter: Applying the WTF directly to the creatures bodies in an attempt to directly combust their flesh was ineffective.

Likely hypothesis: living creatures constantly exert a 'will', however minor, acting as a repulsive effect to an opposing will trying to override this repulsion and manipulate the host body. Fish have a moderately lower level of sentience, hence the lack of difficulty in fishing via 'telekinesis'.

Short term solution: External application of WTF to form 'fireballs' and direct them at the creatures was sufficient in their termination.

Long term solution: Usage of WTF is similar to training a muscle. Less strain felt in usual tests with regular and sufficient active use. Could potentially push past repulsive effect with enough strength.

Potentially an organ that enables control of the WTF by mortal vessel? A section of the brain? Unknown without autopsy studies.

(NOTE: Green humanoids consistently drop miniature glowing crystals that appear to originate from heart region of body, similarly structured to the one found from creature encountered in Log #5. Natural WTF battery? Does my mortal vessel contain one?

Inquiry shelved until progress in current directives made.)

End Log.

Internal Log #15

14 Days, 23 Hours, 45 Minutes, 57 Seconds Since Transfer

CAUTION: Conflict detected.

Sounds of metal striking metal, multiple voice sources shouting, about 3.

Human voices? Investigating...

HEPHAESTUS felt he had finally gained a sufficient grasp of the utility of the now dubbed 'Will-based Transmogrification Force', enabling him to substitute his need for primitive tools and methods of survival for more modern-like techniques - abilities normally only available with an appropriate machine or instrument crafted for the job now easily accessible with a brief application of the WTF.

Need to spend ten minutes straight rubbing two sticks together for a campfire? With a slight thought of the chemical reaction, willing the desired energy and matter to come together, he has a fire!

Scoping the riverbed for over an hour, waiting to catch a fish by surprise with a spear? Flash freeze the segment of river water with the animal inside, then seize hold of it with telekinesis!

Goblins? FIREBALLS!

To outside observers of course, this incredible mastery over such a wide array of magical abilities would be awe-inspiring, particularly to any primitive humans who could not possibly understand the direct cause of such phenomena.

To HEPHAESTUS however, it was merely common sense.

'If such an force is capable of being manipulated with ease, it is likely the native population will be highly dangerous considering they have lived with it their entire lives. Caution is advised when communication begins.'

Unfortunately, the A.I. was unaware that not all humans were like Aloy and her friends.

Continuing the train of thought, HEPHAESTUS had also contemplated the exact reason as to why he is capable of harnessing the WTF, what potential differences exist between his old universe's humans and this one's to allow for it.

Tabulating all information it went through when investigating the APOLLO archives, he had come up with a couple theories, none of them concrete without proper evidence.

First possible reason: An additional organ that Homo Sapiens developed through evolution over millions of years of exposure to the energy field that makes up the force allowing for eventual manipulation of it for defence against predators. A natural selection-based process through the stressful conditions of living surrounded by the WTF.

This is slightly supported by the fact that when killed, the green humanoids - goblins - that the elf killed always drop a purple, glowing gemstone upon death, about where the heart should be. The only confusing thing about this is that the corpse disperses into dust moments after the stone is removed or destroyed.

Normal animal corpses also do not contain these stones, yet HEPHAESTUS still struggled to directly affect their body with the WTF when alive. This implies they possess some slight control of the force, however instinctual it may be for non-sapients. Not to mention, when commencing with makeshift autopsies upon animal carcasses he had hunted, their were no discernible differences in their physiology when compared with previous knowledge from his original universe.

In order to determine the truth of this theory for sure, he would require a more extensive surgery toolset that is currently unavailable.

Second possibility: Not a new organ, but rather a new functionality of the brain that allows for manipulation of the WTF. This is supported by the fact that when overexertion of the force occurs to the point a repetitive strain injury occurs, it is sourced from the frontal lobe. A likely indication that this section of the brain allows for control of it.

Once again however, this can't be truly ascertained without a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scanning device to determine if brain activity in the frontal lobe is directly linked to WTF manipulation.

Autopsies on human brains are impossible for obvious reasons.

HEPHAESTUS assumed that the local humans would have some form of literature resource that transcribes their biology, regardless of how primitive it may be compared to his time period. Whether they're books, scrolls or even cave drawings the A.I. would be grateful for the immediate information rather than being forced to glean it himself.

Whilst contemplating this the elf had been continuing his seemingly eternal task of following the riverbed, carrying his load of fish meat and sticks with him. Except this time, making efficient use of telekinesis to transport them without the need of the deer pelt, which was firmly wrapped around his crotch for good.

It was something he quickly discovered required a minimal amount of will to produce subconsciously, provided the weight does not exceed too large an amount. A useful training method in addition to a baggage handling tool.

And as usual, no signs of sapient lifeforms or their creations to denote civilisation, just endless trees and shrubs, with the occasional critter jumping through the bushes at HEPHAESTUS' approach.

Until... he spotted it.

A dirt path, stretching perpendicular to and away from the river. The markings indented from overuse indicate frequent travellers by some form of wooden carriage, clearly horse ridden from the hoof prints accompanying them.

And connecting them, a stone brick bridge! large enough for two such carriages to move across side by side.

Finally, HEPHAESTUS felt as though progression was being made towards its directives. He now had a direct route to take that would guarantee native contact. Of course, there's not much the elf could control when it came time to communicate; he already had such little experience with verbal talks with humans, and what miniature amount he did have usually amounted to threatening their imminent demise (Aloy) or passive-aggressively snubbing their intelligence (Sylens).

Of course, he had gotten better over time, but the early days were HEPHAESTUS' most precious.

Before NEMESIS landed on Earth...

Regardless, the A.I. would do it's best to ensure interaction with the locals went smoothly, regardless of how ever much it must denigrate itself before them.

Moving forward to inspect the bridge further, HEPHAESTUS noticed something peculiar; precise scratch marks, as though from metal weapons, scarred the stonework along the bridge, along with what appeared to be a misshapen wooden wagon wheel torn apart laying by the wall.

'Curious...'

The markings could have been written off as happening anywhere from now until many years ago, but the wooden debris indicates a recent scuffle. Likely human banditry at work, as bridges are often a good choice for such ambushes.

Suddenly, a scream rang out, the vocal range indicative of an adult male human. The source was further down the path, and if the elf listened closely, the clashing of metal resounding ferociously from beyond the tree-line.

Already HEPHAESTUS realised it had to abandon its general plan of first contact, and decided that assisting the assaulted would be in fact act as a reputation boost to establishing a good relationship with the locals.

Depositing all of his stuff held aloft by telekinesis, and double-checking to ensure the deer pelt was tightly wrapped about his waist, the A.I. began running forward to the direction of the fighting, mind ready to use the Will-based Transmogrification Force for offensive capabilities should it be imperative.

Within three minutes, he had arrived to the site of the battle, staying out of sight behind a tree to avoid being detected. Any manipulations of the WTF would be best utilised without aggroing any potential enemies.

And within his sight was something he did not expect, although he really should've considering they had been a constant irritation in his day-to-day activities of survival.

'More green humanoids. A larger variant?'

The scene was particularly gruesome, but nothing HEPHAESTUS had not witnessed before: two adult warriors; one a handsome blonde with green eyes, and another with a scar-ridden face and black spiky hair, both donned in what the A.I. would define as 'stereotypical black medieval knight armour', sans a helmet which he would also define as 'foolish'.

The two human men were locking swords with the monsters the elf had been dealing with every other day during his time in the wilderness, except they looked clearly better equipped with metal plate armour and helmets covering their scalp, although the warped pieces of iron could barely be considered as such. Similarly, their armaments appeared little more than jagged metal pieces whittled down to sharp points.

Made even more obvious when the blonde quickly overpowered the creature, slicing cleanly through it. The other knight followed shortly after.

Of course, the clear difficulty from the situation stemmed from three things HEPHAESTUS could observe.

One: the upturned carriage the two men were clearly guarding laying on the path, two other humans laying injured beside it. The two of them were dressed in armour similar to the other knights, the key difference being the severity of their injuries. One, a woman judging by the shape of the armour and length of her brown hair, was nursing a bloody wound to her side, as well as a broken leg preventing movement. The other, a male with short brown hair, appeared unconscious but alive, although judging by the increasing amount of blood coming from the scalp, that likely wouldn't last long. Not to mention the dead horses, making escape even more unlikely.

The knights had to simultaneously focus on the enemies attacking them whilst also prevent them from flanking around and pursuing the lives of their comrades; a difficult situation.

Two: the horde of goblins numbered in the hundreds. Whilst weak on their own as HEPHAESTUS had come to learn, in large quantities they could prove instinctually strategic.

And finally, three: The large green humanoid in the back of the swarm, approximately at the elf's own height, appeared quite bulky and more intelligent by the look in its eyes, leering evilly at the two human knights. It clearly acted as the 'commander' of the goblins. Perhaps it would be the Alpha?

Overall, the A.I. surmised that the humans would quickly be overcome if he didn't act soon.

"There's too many!" The black-haired male yelled, ripping through two goblins simultaneously whilst dodging the jumping-slash of a third, "Your Highness, we must retreat! We don't have the strength to fight all of these and a hobgoblin!"

"I don't care! I will not abandon Theophila and Theophilus!" The blonde knight shouted back whilst decapitating another green humanoid, only for two more to parry his blade away.

"I meant to carry them and run, Your Highness! Surely we will-"

"Do you not see that hobgoblin over there?! It's clearly smart enough to wait for an opening to incapacitate us, something which will surely happen with our backs turned! No, we must stand our ground and-"

In the midst of their argument, two goblins rushed past the distracted pair, their makeshift daggers ready to cleave apart the sleeping knight and the terrified woman.

The blonde knight immediately noticed and ran to intercept.

"NO!"

"GRAAAAAA-uraAKK!"

Before they got within striking distance however, two simultaneous fiery explosions detonated on the goblins' heads, flesh and blood erupting before the shocked woman before the creatures turned to dust.

"Huh?"

All activity stopped, even the goblins paused in their assault, looking around in concern at where the source of the fireball came from. The hobgoblin leader remained calm, although the flexing of its brow in consternation gave away its true thoughts on the mysterious intervention.

That wasn't the end however, as not even three seconds later a multitude of fireballs fell from the sky like a meteor shower, descending upon the goblin horde with a fierce prejudice. It appeared that they formed dispersed about in mid-air, suddenly gaining tremendous velocity towards the ground.

Chaos broke out amongst the monsters, seeing their comrades heads exploding into violent viscera, some getting caught in the blasts and ran wildly, screaming as they tried to desperately put the fire out. With no clear perpetrator behind the sudden assault, their hysteria only worsened.

The knights who were conscious could only stare at the ensuing miracle, all the fireballs avoiding striking near their location by the carriage, so they had a chance to take a breather and observe the powerful display of fire magic in awe. It was clear that someone had come to assist them, given the exclusive targets being monsters.

'But who? Only Pyrrhus is capable of this, but he's too low on Mind to maintain a barrage of this scale!' The blonde knight thought with a sweat, subtly looking around for the responsible mage.

The hobgoblin too, was doing the same thing. The monster, being a low-level 2, was much more impervious to the blasts that were easily sweeping through its lesser brethren, dodging a vast majority and getting singed from the explosions of a few. That was still enough to anger the creature, glaring about for the mortal destroying its army.

Twenty seconds after the first fireball, the storm of spells stopped. And the casualties were heavy for the goblin side.

Roughly 95-percent of the horde had been torn apart, their bodies one-by-one turning to dust and leaving behind the usual purple gemstones, some even dropping jagged fangs. The rest huddled behind their much stronger leader, the rage-filled expressions not enough to hide their fear from nearly suffering the same fate.

"Who the...?" The black-haired knight, who at this point had almost dropped his sword in shock at the unexpected blaze, stared hard at what could once have been considered a small company of goblins, now reduced to a mere squad.

The other two knights also felt perturbed by this, but something soon took their attention away yet again.

The sound of bare feet rustling through the shrubs to their left of the path, and out from the trees came an what the blonde would describe as an incredibly handsome elf, donning night-black hair and seemingly glowing amethyst eyes, narrowed in a permanent focus staring straight at the hobgoblin with an ice cold expression.

He was also dressed in nothing but a deer pelt, to the two men's shock and the singular blushing woman's embarrassment.

Meanwhile, the hobgoblin, slightly more intelligent than its smaller kind, recognised the elf as the most likely suspect of the magical bombardment, causing a crazed fury to overtake it.

"GRUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAGHH!"

Instinctually understanding it must take out the more dangerous target, the hobgoblin rushed towards HEPHAESTUS at speeds much greater than any of its smaller kind, briefly surprising him.

The surprise only lasted for about half a second, before immediately phenomena different to spontaneous fireballs occurred at the A.I.'s will.

A burst of lightning struck the goblin head on, stunning the creature and causing it to let out pained shrieks as its insides were slowly fried.

Whilst the hobgoblin would normally be able to resist such an attack, due to it being covered from near head-to-toe in iron plating, and thus very good conductors of electricity, the armour quickly acted as a galvanizing cage, cooking the monster alive as the electric discharge was being maintained by the elf.

Eventually, after five seconds had passed, the discharge had ceased, and with it the seared and blackened hobgoblin crashed into the earth before dispersing into dust.

Once that was done, the elf turned his permanent glare menacingly towards the remaining goblins, all of which at the sight of their leader getting shocked to death began howling in panic and running away wildly, realising how out matched they were.

Five manifested fireballs later, and the path was clear of any monsters.

With that, HEPHAESTUS turned to face the human knights, each of which were staring at him with barely concealed awe, too frozen by all they had seen to properly react.

The A.I. thought it would be best to begin with verbal communication, intending to give off the impression that he meant no harm. That is, if the saving of their lives was not already a good enough indication.

"Greetings, natives," He spoke with a husky, robotic voice, giving away no emotion at all.

The elf turned to face the downed man and woman, focusing intently on their injuries.

"You require healing. Would you like me to-"

"ELF!"

The scar-faced knight suddenly yelled out in alarm, quickly getting between HEPHAESTUS and the wounded pair with his sword raised.

HEPHAESTUS was not amused by the unfounded aggression.

"For what reason do you aim your weapon at me?"

"Silence, forest dweller! It's clear you mean to-"

"PYRRHUS!"

The blonde knight immediately interjected before things could deteriorate further, moving fast to push down the aggressive knight's sword hand.

"You will not harm our saviour! Have you gone mad?"

"B-but Your Highness! Y-you know what elves think of us! This one merely means to lower our guard, before slaughtering us!"

The apparent prince sighed in exasperation, as though this was a common occurrence.

"If he wanted to kill us, then why would he eliminate the monsters instead of leaving us for dead? He would have no reason!"

"Hrrrkk..."

The bulky knight grumbled, but acquiesced to his liege by sheathing his sword, although still eyeing HEPHAESTUS with a mean glare, prepared to unsheathe at the slightest hint of aggression.

"Good," The blonde seemed satisfied, before turning to face the elf properly, a regal air surrounding him, "Hello, sir elf. May I ask what-"

"Your companions," HEPHAESTUS interrupted, "They are severely injured. I would like to repair their damage."

"Hey, hey! Show some respect to-!"

"You know healing magic as well?" The prince, apparently very used to getting cut off, merely moved himself and the knight out of the way, allowing the A.I. access to his hurt comrades, "I would be incredibly grateful, thank you."

"Your Ma-!"

"Quiet, Pyrrhus."

With that settled, the half-naked elf walked up to the damaged knights, kneeling before the man first as his head injury was a priority.

"Your names?" He asked calmly, thinking that some brief conversation would ease the woman's focus from thinking about the pain.

Of course, he was unaware that his barely covered body, being thoroughly scanned by the knight's orange eyes, was more than enough of a distraction.

"Huh?" She blushed suddenly thinking she'd been caught out, but noticed the elf was busy scanning the man's head, "Oh! Umm, I'm T-Theophila and that's my brother, Theophilus."

"Noted," Then, unglamorously, the now identified Theophilus' injured scalp began to close over, and colour even returned to his once pale skin. It appeared as though no magic even occurred, just super-fast healing.

At the instantly repaired body of the knight, Theophila let out a gasp of shock.

From behind HEPHAESTUS, a whisper of wonderment came from the blonde prince, "Chantless magic...?"

After ascertaining he was successful in repairing the damage, the elf turned to face the female knight and said, "Remove your armour."

"...H-huh?!" She reddened further at the blunt demand.

"In order to optimise the healing process, I must assess the severity of your injuries," HEPHAESTUS clarified with a slight eye squint, "I can not do this with visual obstructions."

"Oh... r-right!" Stumbling to her feet, whether from exhaustion or embarrassment, Theophila began removing her armour, although she needed help from the HEPHAESTUS to take the leggings off, due to the pain of her broken leg making it unbearable alone.

Once that was achieved and she lay against the carriage in her undergarments, consisting of a cloth shirt and leggings, the A.I. raised her bloody top up slightly to observe her injured side.

"Remain still."

"O-okay..."

Meanwhile, internally...

'AAAAAAAAAAHHH AN ELF IS TENDING TO ME AN ACTUAL MALE ELF IS NURSING ME BACK TO HEALTH OH MY GODS THANK YOUUUUUU~!'

Her blissful expression gave away these sensual thoughts. HEPHAESTUS being what he is however took no note of it.

"Repairs complete; you are free to move."

Unfortunately for Theophila, her dream scenario only lasted about ten seconds before it was over. Taking note of her now functional leg and clean and undamaged skin, the woman got up with a depressed air about her.

"Ah... thank you very much..."

"It was no issue."

Returning back to the spectating knights, they were both stuck in surprise at what they just witnessed: powerful, fast healing magic that required no chant, hand movements or even a magic circle of any kind. The blonde only noted that the elf required eye-contact in order to maintain the magic, but he implied that it was only such that he could conserve the amount of Mind used in the process.

Whilst it was common knowledge that elves were the most superior to any other race when it came to magical arts, they had never witnessed anything to this extent. And even having enough Mind to throw all those fireballs, produce that lightning and also heal two people on top of that? It was mind-boggling.

But it was also clear to the blonde prince that he could consider the elf an ally after going out of his way to heal his comrades, especially judging by the lack of contempt at talking to, and even touching humans.

Even Pyrrhus, who initially was incredibly perturbed at an elf behaving so contradictory to his preconceived notions, finally relaxed to only shooting a wary look at HEPHAESTUS.

With the A.I. done fixing the bodies of the two humans, he turned to face the blonde and black-haired knights, maintaining his glacial countenance all the while.

"Your friends are in optimal condition."

"...Ah!" Realising he had been standing starstruck for a good while, the blonde immediately straightened his posture and returned a warm smile, "You have my dearest thanks, kind elf. I am dearly appreciative of your assistance, as are my fellow knights."

He pointedly glanced at Pyrrhus whilst saying this, who hesitantly nodded in affirmation.

Theophila, who was checking on her brother, also piped up with a "Mhm!".

HEPHAESTUS responded firmly, "I would not leave the lives of humans in clear danger. It would go against my purpose to not prevent the culling of innocent life."

The knights looked stunned at the proclamation, unsure how to feel about an elf who so certainly viewed humans positively. HEPHAESTUS did not acknowledge it however and continued.

"Provide your names."

"...Oh! Right, we never introduced ourselves did we? Haha..." The blonde knight recovered quickly. It seemed a more typical elven behaviour, of inherent rudeness to humans, snapped him out of it.

"The knight to my left is Pyrrhus Polycrates, and the two you healed are named Theophila and Theophilus Ariti. And my name..."

The blonde's green eyes stared into the elf's amethyst ones, his dignified bearing coming out to the forefront.

"...Is Marius Victrix Rakia, crown prince of Rakia. And what would your name be?"

Staring right back with his typical emotionless look, the A.I. responded.

"My designation is HEPHAESTUS."

"...Umm, like the Goddess?"

HEPHAESTUS internally rolled his eyes. No one said it would be easy cooperating with primitives.

It certainly wasn't with Aloy.

A/N: Credit to 'Is Your Great-Aunt an AI?!' by QuaterMass for the WTF. Good fic.