You couldn't quite hit it closer to home, really...
-Pygma continues to move closer-
I used to have a problem. With a being calling itself Bengt Kramerson. He was a witch-hunter. He chased me, and those I considered dear students- for millennia. He would cause witch-hunts in societies, and breed that contempt for magic. In order to flush me out.
It was a problem I couldn't run from forever, for all the times we fought.
I never wanted collateral.
I also don't enjoy a fight. It was always to distract and lead him away- at least for a while.
But... as I said. I couldn't run away from it forever. I had to either change Bengt- or kill him.
Me personally, I chose to reform Bengt. I could see a purpose for him. But this dilemma had haunted me for a while before I made the decision... so much so that- I saw another me. The timeline diverged on that decision.
I looked into a mirror, and saw a broken version of myself. Levack is what he called himself. Paranoid... and killer of Bengt.
He was a man of dual-natures, at both times apathetic and entirely tyrannical over his dominion.
Killing has never been in my nature, and Levack was a me who abandoned his nature, and drove himself mad in doing so. To take anothers' life is to express a dominance in power- an abuse.
Regardless. Levack was the me who killed Bengt. Eventually- a new face rose up to set things back in balance- Apuleis. A being with a Mask of Brass. He dealt with Levack in the way I would have done it.
He turned his nature into that of a mortal human. And then- gave him amnesia. Levack lived as a Watchmaker, until he died.
And what does that have to do with this? Levack may have been the original designer of these units. When he was still a Masked Being.
-he lifts out a stopwatch-looking thing from the Automaton- This is the heart.
-holds up the other watch- And this is the watch. They are both similar. If this heart was set to go like a stopwatch- then it would not move the rest of the body. The souls' connection is what gave this lifeblood and energy.
1.5 imperial gallons of tea were consumed during the writing of this post

-Pygma starts to approach Chester from behind-
-Chester has crouched down to open up the automaton- Did you know? I always liked watchmakers. Their craft is a very intricate one. Lots of small moving parts. Complexities aplenty. Fascinating stuff.
Why do I mention this? Because the original designer... may have been someone like me. Or well- a me in general... the- thing that hit too close to home.
1.5 imperial gallons of tea were consumed during the writing of this post