The Mech Touch

The Nyxian Gap. Known as a tumor that intruded upon multiple star sectors, this anomalous region of space was the home to many pirates and malcontents.

The same properties that made it so difficult to navigate through it also provided every wanted criminal a safe haven from persecution!

Filled with asteroids in every direction, the space inside was both chaotic and perilous. Though the amount of asteroid impacts was surprisingly rare, there were plenty of other hazards that made it dangerous to traverse.

Aside from the space warping that spanned the entire Gap, there were many localized hazards that regularly swallowed up unknown passerbys.

Some originated from the combination of strange and powerful exotics interacting with each other.

Others came about due to calamities that happened in the past.

Regardless, the deeper someone traversed the Gap, the greater the risk of entering a localized hazard. These hazards also grew in strength and lethality, making it increasingly more perilous to travel to the core regions of the Gap.

Right now, not even the Oblivion Hand escaped this fate!

Its enormous fleet, which consisted of over forty carriers and other starships, had been traversing deeper into the Gap. Though it had appropriately scattered its elements, the fleet abruptly lost contact with a pair of light carriers along with a number of mechs on patrol!

The entire fleet halted. The remaining members of the dark mercenary corps took up battle stations and guarded against every possibility.

Perhaps the Oblivion Hand might have stumbled upon an ambush!

Yet as hostile attackers never showed up, the dark mercenaries started to dispatch some scouting parties.

When a number of short-ranged drones began to investigate the site where the two carriers disappeared, they suddenly vanished as well!

"It's a hazard zone!"

The entire Oblivion Hand, which had razed and plundered over a dozen well-fortified bases, suddenly became as timid as a mouse. The fleet quickly turned around and distanced itself from the presumed hazard zone.

There was a good reason to do so. When faced with the unknown, the denizens of the Gap had all learned the hard way that curiosity often killed the cat!

Pirates had little reason to investigate the localized hazard zones. None of the pirate leaders were scientists, and even if they employed a bunch of intellectuals, it was not for the purpose of scientific exploration.

Nonetheless, the Oblivion Hand didn't intend to give up on its missing assets and personnel. The Dark Cleaver may have acquired an aggressive reputation, but he was also loved by his men!

The care and attention he put towards the wellbeing of his followers was one of the many reasons why the new expert pilot attracted such a large following.

A strange mech emerged from the flagship of the Oblivion Hand. Every other member of the Oblivion Hand reacted with awe and worship at the machine that flew towards the site of disaster.

"The Devil Tiger!"

The landbound tiger had become the iconic mech of the Dark Cleaver. After every battle, it grew stronger and more magnificent. Many people guessed that the Dark Cleaver managed to enter into a partnership with a rogue Senior Mech Designer or something.

The mercenary commander never confirmed anything, but the fact that the Devil Tiger was slowly morphing into an expert mech lent a lot of credence to this rumor!

Right now, the bestial mech propelled itself effortlessly through space despite the fact that it was a landbound mech.

Those observing the machine would easily be able to spot the wings mounted on the back of the mech.

The wings were part of an improvised flight system that had been built to allow the Devil Tiger to maneuver in space. The best part of it was that it had been built like a backpack module and a harness, allowing the Devil Tiger to mount its wings only when needed.

Just like the mech itself, the detachable flight system had been upgraded continuously. After incorporating stronger, more resilient and more potent exotics, all of its attributes had slowly increased in order to catch up with the performance of the Devil Tiger.

In the past, it had been fairly easy for enemies to damage and cripple the large wings.

Now, it was as tough as the chest plating of a defensive mech! Anyone who thought that the wings of the expert mech could be plucked so easily would be making a crucial error!

Inside the cockpit of the mech, a dark helmeted figure sat confidently in the piloting seat. An aura of restrained aggression coiled around the mech pilot.

This was the Dark Cleaver distinctive force of will!

What was odd about his force of will was that it did not remain still. Instead, it began to spread to the Devil Tiger, integrating in its frame and empowering it through mysterious means.

The compatibility between the mech pilot and the expert mech was exceptionally high! Only capable expert mech development teams could achieve this degree of integration between expert mech and expert pilot!

It was incredibly odd to encounter such a high degree of compatibility in a poor and chaotic environment like the Nyxian Gap.

Only a couple of individuals knew there was a price for this high compatibility.

A small, hand-sized crystal figure of a woman floated alongside the helmet of the expert pilot.

"Does it hurt?" She asked, her voice ringing in the cockpit with an ethereal echo.

"That hasn't been a problem anymore for a long time, Cynthia." The helmeted man replied. "It's just.. I can't get rid of the restlessness and irritation inside of me. It's been weeks since we last raided someone. The hunger.. it's growing again."

The face of the miniature crystalline figure grew concerned. "You are capable of handling this. I know it. I'm very impressed with how you have overcome your hurdles and grew into an expert pilot so quickly."

"You never warned me of the side effects!" Ryncol Larkinson complained. "In fact, you didn't even bother asking for my permission before you stuffed something weird in my head! Now, half my dreams consist of living as a giant cat preying on mechs!"

Cynthia's crystal body gently patted the side of her husband's helmet. "It will fade over time. Your willpower still requires a lot of time to erase all of the remnants in your mind."

Her husband had already overcome the most lethal hurdles. Now that he successfully advanced to expert pilot, he was no longer at risk of losing his personality and identity. Whatever lingering effects that remained would slowly turn into a non-issue.

Just as the Devil Tiger was just about to reach the edge of the presumed hazard zone, the crystalline form of Cynthia suddenly jerked.

"Huh?"

Her small head turned into a direction that led directly away from the center of the Gap.

"What's going on, Cynthia."

"I don't know.." She narrowed her eyes. "I sense.. that something is brewing. It's unsettling me. Each time I feel this way, something drastic happens."

The Devil Tiger slowed down its forward traversal. Its flight system started to propel in the opposite direction, causing the mech to slowly come to a stop relative to the fleet.

"Is it the hazard zone?"

"No. The threat is not in front. It's in the rear."

"What?!" Ryncol stiffened his back. "Are there any enemies approaching from the rear?!"

"Nothing of the sort. Instead.. I feel that something is happening light-years away. Possibly outside of the Nyxian Gap."

"Is it our son?" Ryncol suddenly asked in concern.

"Maybe.. I can't judge.."

Several tense minutes passed by as the Devil Tiger froze in space. A few officers of the Oblivion Hand contacted the Dark Cleaver in concern, but Ryncol quickly ordered his subordinates to stay put and remain on guard.

Just as Cynthia was about to dismiss her ominous feeling, a sharp crack suddenly struck her mentality!

"AHHHH!"

Her intangible form suddenly separated from her avatar! The crystal body suddenly dropped onto the floor as a transparent form suddenly emerged and expanded to full size!

"What's going on?!"

"It hurts!"

No matter what Ryncol tried to do, he could do nothing to relieve his wife's pain!

His hands went straight through her body as if she consisted of air.

At this moment, Cynthia Larkinson suffered a sudden ache in her mentality! Strange visions assaulted her as she felt as if she was being invaded by something far away.

The most frustrating part of this ordeal was that she wasn't able to defend herself against this attack! Whatever external influence managed to reach her had slipped right past her formidable defenses and acted straight onto the core of her existence!

"How can this be?! This is impossible!"

As the pain began to reach an unbearable level, a loud explosion suddenly shattered her perspective in half!

On one side, her consciousness was still alive and present inside the cockpit of the Devil Tiger.

On another side, she suddenly began to gain a view of an entirely different location.

The pain that struck straight to the core of her being had subsided a bit, allowing her to observe this strange new location.

Her perspective wasn't limited to a narrow field of vision. Through some indescribable senses, she slowly gained a sense of the second environment.

"Land. Clouds. A.. hexagon? People. Lots of people. What is this..?!"

Had her enemies performed some sort of ritual to draw her out?!

"Wait! This isn't their style!"

As Cynthia bewilderingly looked around, he immediately spotted some familiar forms floating in the air. Her eyes grew red as she realized who was responsible for her odd state.

"VES!" She angrily boomed!

No one heard her spiritual voice. The thousands of people who knelt in front of the statue as it attracted lightning bolt after lightning bolt continued to look at the statue with awe even as their minds all experienced some form of pressure.

Surprisingly, Ves, who was floating in the air at a healthy distance from the lightning-struck statue, cringed as soon as she conveyed her displeasure!

"I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, VES!"

"..Mother?" Ves communicated back with a reluctant spiritual response. "I thought you were in the Nyxian Gap!"

"OBVIOUSLY THAT IS NOT ENTIRELY TRUE ANYMORE, AND YOU ARE AT FAULT!"

"I-I-I didn't mean to! You aren't supposed to be here!"

"REALLY?"

"I was just performing an experiment, that's all!"

Cynthia cast her senses around her yet again. She contemptuously noted the giant ritualistic hexagon, the thousands of kneeling worshippers and the statue her second perspective inhabited!

Her fury built up even as her mental strain began to grow more unbearable.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE A MECH DESIGNER, VES. I EXPECTED YOU TO GO ABOUT YOUR LIFE SURROUNDED BY MACHINES AND MECHS. HOW COME I FIND YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF A RITUAL CENTERED AROUND A STATUE BUILT IN MY LIKENESS?!"

Her son's jaw shook as he struggled to offer a reply! The little weasel was too afraid to explain himself!

A different voice suddenly butted into their private conversation.

"Who.. who are you?"

Both mother and son reacted with surprise!

Ves turned to the woman floating by his side. "Gloriana? You can hear all of that?"

"Yeah. Who is she, Ves?" Gloriana asked with wide eyes. "Is she.. truly your mother?"

"She is."

"I thought she was dead!"

"She is."

"What does that even mean!?"

"It's complicated, okay! How can you even talk to me this way?!"

Cynthia studied the woman carefully. She quickly understood the truth of the matter.

"You put a piece of yourself inside of her, Ves. Do you know how dangerous that is?! I'm surprised she is still fine!"

"Ah."

"I'm surprised her mind isn't fighting back. She must think very highly of you."

"She's my girlfriend." Ves lamely replied.

"I see."

Cynthia peered at the woman. Her anger subsided a bit. "You chose well. At least you did one thing right, Ves. I approve."

"You do?"

"The love you share for each other is very real!"

Gloriana smiled with pleasure at the compliment! Her boyfriend's dead mother approved of their relationship! This was the happiest day of her life!

As for Ves, he wanted to scratch his head. How come this weird turn of events turn into a meeting between his girlfriend and his mother?