Zodiac High: Broken Memories

Chapter 13| »Virgo 1«

........Unless I undergo an illegal operation that I have no control over, I will never be able to be a true Maiden, never able to show face to others. The illegal operation is nicknamed as The Mechanical Heart, making a constellation, sorcerer or star into an automaton. It's my only chance to gain wings and it's my only chance to make my family proud. Of course, that doesn't mean I'll have life easy.

...Talos wasn't made by Vulcan for nothing, there's a purpose for his existence after all.
Mythology is nothing but the embodiment of our lives. Cosmetics is a world far far away that existed because of everyone's beliefs and hopes.

"Is everything prepared?"
"Yes madam."
"I see, start the project."

PRΩJΣCT MΣCHΔΠICΔL HΣΔRT: STΔRT

"Madame Mujer Maiden affirmed for the two scientists to commence the ultimate project; The Mechanical Heart Project, good luck." A voice said. She then left me there, strapped in chains and sitting around candles and ritual circles. I widened my eyes in fear and horror as tears streamed down my pale, cold cheeks. Mother left me. I struggled, fumbled and trashed around, screaming nothing but muffled sounds because of that darn piece of cloth on my mouth as the cold chains held me in place.

There are a number of progresses to being an Automaton. The first step is to corrupt your victim and their soul. They need nothing but a deep void of hollowness, accepting to live their life as a thing, a metal thing. They need to have no will to live, so their bodies and organs would completely shut down and be ripped out and have metal as replacement. If this operation ever fails, I will never feel the pain when I pass on since I'm already unconscious in a way.

I watched as the drawn symbols around me glowed, activating itself. Disgusting rotting clawed hands started to ascend from the ground. I closed my eyes, whimpering softly. At first I felt nothing but the cold but after a while, it started.

The crimson liquid splattered all over the room with a many limbs and bones breaking. All I can hear is muffled screams and begs. That voice..... it's me. The demons are haunting me. Help me please, someone. I slowly close my eyes, loosing my will to live along with my consciousness. I don't want to feel all this unbearable pain anymore. I want to die. Someone please end my suffering. Mother, father, where are you? Am I trapped in nothing but the darkness of this endless abyss?

Because all that's around me is nothing but the dark. That's all. Just the darkness. That void in my heart told me that I was trapped... trapped within my own thoughts....... my inner demons. Trapped within metal and steel. Trapped within the electrolytes and ions. I reached out a hand, wanting someone to hold onto me. But alas, there's no hands except the hand that belonged to no one but myself.

...Suddenly something in the darkness grabbed onto my hands. I widened my eyes a a weird sensation flows through my body and that something which I presume is a hand held onto my own pale hands tightly. The hand dragged me through the darkness and the next thing I know, I was face to face with someone.

An elegant, tall woman smiled at me, her long luscious orange locks plaited nearly into a braid. A single golden coloured primrose tamed her braid at the end. Her red eyes widened at the sight of me before returning to normal. She looks like an elf. "Who are you?" I asked as she lets go of my hand, grinning in mischief. "You're younger than I thought..." she muttered, "whatever. You're still an vessel."

I narrowed my eyes at her as she grinned at me, not hiding anything from me at all. "So anyways I'm Boötes Herdsman. I'm known as Icarus for Westerners and the king's throne or the Blue Dragon's Horn for Easterners. I know what your thinking; 'but you're a girl! You're not the Boötes I know!'. Anyways that's not important." She shrugged. I narrowed my eyes, remembering 'Icarus' from somewhere.