The Mech Touch

The atmosphere in the illusionary starship compartment started to become a little more serious.

Even Lucky and Emma no longer made as many noises as before. The larger and much more powerful spiritual cat pressed onto Lucky and kept him in her grasp as if the gem cat was just a kitten.

"Meow..."

"Miew."

Ves continued to gaze at the human manifestation of the Destroyer of Worlds in a speculative and evaluating gaze.

This was the first time he had come face to face with a god pilot.

One of his purposes as a mech designer was to help the users of his products reach the same height one day.

The more he understood how god pilots worked, the better he could design his products to facilitate their ascension to the ultimate rank!

Yet... the rank of god pilot was clearly not the limit of this profession. Even if the road ahead was shrouded in fog, the Destroyer of Worlds and all of her peers did not want to rest on their laurels!

Ves could not imagine what the next rank could possibly look like. Even though Divine Irene Mox had suppressed her incredibly powerful presence to a level where she could comfortably speak with others, the destructive potential of her willpower was so great that she could easily wipe out the entire capital city of Bortele III in an instant so long as she released her restraint!

It was far too difficult for Ves to assume that Irene still retained large parts of her humanity. So much of her had morphed into extraordinary power that he suspected that she was largely simulating her own emotions.

Of course, he kept his ideas to himself. He had no right to judge a god pilot. He did not even understand them all that much. Whatever he and Blinky were able to glimpse was only a fraction of Irene's true majesty. He hadn't even seen any sign of the Ragnarok!

Right now, the conversation between Ves and his latest Mastery experience host had taken a momentous turn.

"Do you see the Red Ocean over there?" Irene asked as she pointed at the distant view of the dwarf galaxy through the illusionary window. "This is our home now. Red humanity has no way of going home again. The nearest galaxies are Messier 87 and a collection of other dwarf galaxies that have bathed in the supermassive galaxy's light for eons. We are surrounded by enemies who have acclimated to exotic radiation over a much greater period of time. We are incomparably weak compared to all of our new neighbors."

Ves grimaced. Everyone smart enough could figure this out as well. Most people tried not to think too hard on this as it would only lead to despair.

Rather than think about how red humanity was hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, it was better to focus on more immediate concerns that they still had the ability to change.

If people wanted to solve all of these crises and ensure their own survival over the long run, they had little choice but to take this step by step.

Naturally, the more powerful leaders had to undertake more responsibilities. This meant that much of the future of their entire civilization rested on the shoulders of the Destroyer of Worlds!

It was not a comforting thought. Even though god pilots should never be prone to doubt, Irene clearly conveyed the impression that she was not certain about her own future direction.

Too much had changed in just a single year.

Irene sighed yet again. "To you, our first encounter with each other must have happened just before the end of the Age of Mechs. Despite all of the events that happened since then, your memories of that instance should still be fairly recent."

Ves nodded. "This reunion feels kind of odd to me. Not that much time has passed between then and now, but while I have aged for a year, you have experienced more than 200 years of life. Our generational gap has magnified so much that you could easily pass off as my great-great-great-grandmother. You must have waited for a long time before meeting me again."

"More than you know." Irene said while her burning eyes conveyed a complex emotion. "I have examined my memories of that time over and over again. I already deduced that you were fairly young at the time. As the years passed, I always held the expectation that I would meet you again. I had no proof to back up this assumption, but my intuition constantly validated my hunch. The urge to meet with you again has driven me forward so many times. How long do I need to wait to see the man who has given me a new life and a stronger pathway to power? As decades and centuries passed by without even a hint of your existence, I began to fear that it may take centuries or even longer to hear your voice again."

Ves sensed a strong conviction in her tone.

"Wait... is this the source of your motivation?" Ves asked in a perplexed tone. "You worked so hard to undertake so many risks and break past your limits just to live long enough to see me again?"

"There is more to it than that, but I admit that the desire to speak with you again has given me the urgency to keep working harder." Irene responded. "The more time had passed, the less I wanted to present myself to you as a pilot who hardly accomplished anything with the opportunities that you have granted me. I tested and exceeded my limits because I would rather die as a woman who has put up a good fight than turn into a zombie who barely did anything meaningful throughout all of those years. This is my pride as a soldier."

Ves looked incredibly impressed at her. Many mech pilots spoke high-minded ideals, but few of them were able to follow through to the very end.

The Destroyer of Worlds was one of the few exceptional mech pilots who stayed true to her word, and she clearly got rewarded for her superhuman efforts.

Her incredible success and achievements caused Ves to feel inferior in comparison. He couldn't help but shake his head.

"It sounds like you have been doing extremely well over the centuries. You have surpassed me and became one of the ultimate powerhouses of the human race. There was no need to look up to me to begin with, because I am not a centuries-old fossil that has accumulated just as much power as you. I am just a Senior Mech Designer who is less than half a century old. I do not see what sort of value I can provide to you at this point. We are so far apart from each other that it isn't even funny."

Irene smiled at Ves. "Do not belittle yourself, Ves. I admit that you are not who I expected you to be, but that does not deprive me of the joy of meeting your actual self. Time has pulled us apart, but it does not have the power to change my gratitude to you. No matter whether you are an all-powerful Star Designer or a simple Novice Mech Designer, it is undeniable that your actions have benefited my life and the lives of many others for the better. Besides, you are mistaken in your words. You do have the power to help me in my present condition."

"How, exactly? I really don't see why you have so many high expectations for me. I never met a god pilot in person before you, and I still don't understand the principles that make you so absurdly strong. I have even less of an idea on what comes next."

The god pilot gazed at him for a few seconds before she accepted his answer.

"I see. Your vision is more limited, but that is okay. I have heard from certain sources that you have access to an ancient and profound inheritance. More than that, you should be in personal contact with a powerful practitioner in those ancient mysteries. You should have a way to consult with her directly. Please call her over so I can borrow her expertise. I have a very strong hunch that you should be able to oblige my request."

How did she know that? Ves was pretty sure that the Rubarthans hadn't figured all of this out. The only possible source that she could have gained this information from was the mechers!

There was no point hiding or denying the truth. It seemed that this secret had spread so much at this point that it was practically public knowledge among the top leaders of red humanity.

"It's true." Ves helplessly let out a tired breath. "I... have long benefited from the guidance and the teachings of my mother. I don't know whether you understand her past and present identities. Even I haven't really figured it all out. What I do know is that she has become a True God and that she is extremely knowledgeable in matters regarding cultivation. I don't think she possesses a thorough understanding of god pilots, though. Her knowledge base is... outdated."

Irene did not mind this fact. "There is a great deal of wisdom to be learned from the ancients. That does not mean that we should blindly follow old traditions and methods, but we can avoid a great deal of detours and dead ends if we learn from the lessons of the past. This is exactly what I seek at the moment."

So this was one of the main reasons why Irene was so eager to meet with Ves in the flesh. She saw hope of figuring out her subsequent advancement so long as she was able to consult with Cynthia Larkinson!

It made a lot of sense even if Ves felt as if he was being reduced to a tool. Though he knew that Irene still respected him a lot, he still became disappointed that he was unable to meet her needs by himself.

If he wanted to live up to his designation as her friend, then he needed to hurry up and become a Star Designer in order to close the gap between each other!

"Alright. If you want me to call my mother, you will have to open up a gap in your god kingdom. The only way I can contact her is through summoning the Superior Mother, who happens to be her incarnation. It is impossible to make this happen when your crushing willpower will shred her apart as long as she comes close. Can you selectively allow her entry into this chamber?"

This was not an easy request. Even though god pilots possessed much greater control and mastery over their own powers, their inherent strength was also vastly greater.

The two properties inherently worked against each other, thereby preventing god pilots from exerting too much fine control.

God pilots were never meant to be subtle to begin with. The Progenitors of Mechs devised them to act as the strongest and most effective counters against True Gods and the qi cultivator variety in particular!

This meant that a pure energy-based life form such as the Superior Mother would have to enter the gates of hell just to be able to interact with the likes of the Destroyer of Worlds!

"You need to tamper down your power a lot more." Ves advised with clear concern in his expression. "Just your voice is strong enough to wipe out her energy manifestation. We need to figure out a way to lower your threat and increase your restraint before a meeting can be arranged. The Superior Mother won't show up otherwise because of all of the risks."

God pilots were never meant to mix with other True Gods. The only ones that could truly get along with these absolute warriors were Star Designers.

"This... may take some time."