The Mech Touch

If Ves happened to be a True God, he had a suspicion that he could leverage his current level of fame and adoration among the second-raters a lot better!

It was a pity that he was far from reaching the level of a True God. Despite undergoing two sublimations, he was nowhere close to becoming a Star Designer or anything comparable.

His various incarnations were also far away from reaching this powerful state. There was no way that Vulcan and Blinky could reach the finish line quickly given that they were practicing extremely advanced cultivation methods that promised huge payoffs at the end.

All of this meant that the literal and figurative worship of the masses had no use to him at all. Ves was not even able to sense the power of the faith that his most ardent and most loyal fans must be transmitting in his direction.

Ves knew that the story would become completely different once he or any of his incarnations broke through the ultimate threshold and reached a much higher state of life.

However, that was way too far away from him. His mother had already warned him plenty of times that he should not try to overreach and dabble with forces that he was not qualified to handle.

He quickly shoved the matter of his rising popularity out of his mind and focused on more immediate concerns.

In the final day before the product reveal, Ves spent much of his time meeting with different people.

A lot of important acquaintances and officials had arrived from afar. Each of them deserved a small moment of his time.

Though Ves found many of the talks to be tedious, Gavin advised him that this small gesture could mean a lot to the Larkinson Clan.

It would become a lot easier to obtain permissions and sign favorable deals if Ves showed that he cared.

Ves met with Hexers, Davutans, business executives and scientists.

The only people that he refused to meet were the envoys from religious organizations.

He could already predict what they wanted to ask from him. Ever since the Age of Dawn had brought the extraordinary to the forefront of people's minds, a lot of religious institutions experienced a resurgence in followers!

E energy radiation might as well be magic or the manifestation of divine power from the perspective of those who believed in gods or other supernatural forces.

Naturally, anyone who seriously studied Ves' background knew that he was able to bring people closer to their supposed gods through his living mechs.

The Ylvainans and the Hexers clearly benefited from his targeted works!

Though it was not strictly necessary to rely on this gimmick to sustain a faith, having lots of mechs around that exuded the glows of certain divinities would make it a lot easier to expand their flock!

Faiths were not exempt from competition. In this new era where belief in gods provided a lot more reassurance than before, many cults and churches began to compete with each other in order to capture the devotion of a limited pool of humans that were prone to worship.

Ves did not want to get involved in these messy fights. Wars between conflicting religions featured prominently throughout human history. Getting dragged into these mudfights was an easy way to tarnish his current popularity!

Right now, he already felt it was enough for him to meddle with the Ylvainans and the Hexers. He would just get entangled in a host of other historical grievances if he became involved with another religious group!

As much as Ves did not want to have anything to do with religion, Ves could not avoid a meeting with the people who were intricately involved with one particular faith.

That was the worship of Vulcan, who happened to be his own spiritual alter-ago!

Ves continued to stand in front of the high windows that granted him a view of Bortele's urban sprawl.

While it looked like he was placing himself in open view to any assassins who wanted to claim his bounty, he knew that the mechers had arranged a lot of protective measures to guard against a strike.

Anyone who was remotely intelligent could easily deduce that as well, so if there were any killers in the city, none of them were stupid enough to take a shot under the current circumstances!

"Oh well."

He turned around and faced his latest two visitors.

Though Ves had a hunch that he would be meeting these two figures sooner or later, he never expected that they would come together!

The woman garbed in sacred purple-and-gold robes possessed a complicated background. Ves could somehow perceive a strong spark of piety in her reptilian orange eyes, though he never had the feeling that she was as selfless as she appeared.

No matter what, Director Samandra Avikon knew her way around religions and had done an excellent job at expanding the reach and following of the Creation Association. Vulcan gained a lot of influence among second-class and third-class artisans throughout human-occupied space under her leadership!

What Ves did not expect was that she would come in the company of a much shorter, stockier and more muscular man.

He had never met this heavy gravity variant human in person, but Vulcan happened to possess a distinct impression of this bearded fellow.

The man was one of the high priests of the Eternal Vulcan Church, which happened to be the only state religion of the Eternal Vulcan Empire!

Though Vulcan already possessed a decent understanding of Joja Firebreath through the latter's prayers and other interactions, Ves did not really have a good impression of this dwarf.

Though the man obviously received a lot of social training, the man's respectful facade could not hide the greed and ambition inside his spirituality.

The way the two stepped forward and stopped in front of Ves suggested that the two were clearly familiar with each other, but did not know each other too well.

That should not be a surprise as Ves never intended for the Creation Association to get mixed up with the Eternal Vulcan Church.

Even though they ostensibly worshiped the same 'god', he did not want the Creation Association to get contaminated by the idiocy of the Vulcanites!

Alas, it appeared that the two had already reached out to each other. Any form of cooperation between the two distinctly different non-profit organizations would cause them to converge to an extent.

Ves did not bother to hide his displeasure. "Why are you here? If there is anything you need, you can communicate your requests through the regular channels. My assistant Gavin can decide whether your petition is worthwhile enough to bring to my attention."

Director Samandra Avikon and High Priest Joja Firebreath both swapped glances with each other.

The female leader spoke first.

"I urgently wish to bring a matter to your attention, but only in complete privacy. This is not a subject that should be overheard by anyone, particularly your current protectors."

Though Ves did not think that a person like Samandra had anything important to say, her demeanor indicated how much she cared about this issue.

"Okay. We can talk in private if that is what you want. We can retreat into a secure chamber so that we can speak in confidence." He told her before he turned to the dwarf. "What about you, Mr. Firebreath? You have come a long way. How is the Iron Emperor doing these days?"

The high priest smiled and bowed like a diplomat. "His Majesty is doing well. He has embraced this new era as it has brought all of our people closer to our god!"

The dwarf eagerly stared at the Hammer of Brilliance that hung on Ves' toolbelt.

The soft glow that exuded the purest presence of Vulcan signified that whoever possessed this relic would enjoy the blessing of this supposed god!

As Ves studied the dwarven high priest closely, he was pretty sure that Joja Firebreath remained ignorant about Vulcan's true identity.

An incredibly clever and cunning dwarf like Rion Aaden had to know the truth, but there was no benefit for him to share it with the rest of his dwarven subjects.

"So why have you come?" Ves impatiently asked.

The high priest reluctantly shifted his heated gaze away from the Hammer of Brilliance.

"I have come for multiple reasons. First, I would like to congratulate you on behalf of our eternal sovereign for your recent successes. Your defiance against forced unity has saved our culture and state. We have brought a gift in order to convey the appreciation of the Eternal Vulcan Empire, which I can introduce to you later."

The mention of a gift did not particularly move Ves that much.

He had received 'gifts' from numerous other visitors. They either amounted to forgettable souvenirs or outright bribes!

"Is this a gift from the Iron Emperor or your dwarven state as a whole?" Ves asked.

The high priest smiled and made a gesture of respect. "There is no difference between the two. The will of our eternal sovereign represents the will of our Eternal Vulcan Empire. He is the Chosen of Vulcan. He is the savior of the dwarven race. He is the light that will lead us out of the darkness."

Ves had a strong hunch that this gift was anything but simple. From what little Ves knew about his old buddy Rion, the Iron Emperor was not the sort of dwarf that engaged in pointless pageantry.

Perhaps this gift came with an obligation or another thorny entanglement. Ves wasn't sure, because his relationship with the head of the Eternal Vulcan Empire was not exactly harmonious.

"Okay. I am glad to accept this gesture. Is there anything else that either of you wish to bring up?" He asked.

The two shared another glance before the taller woman spoke up again.

"We would like to receive your opinion on how aggressively we should spread Vulcan's name within our society."

Ves immediately frowned. "What do you mean by that, Samandra?"

"Vulcan deserves to be loved and adored by far more people than the craftsmen and the dwarves that are most likely to come in touch with him. The mandate of our Creation Association is too limited at the moment."

High Priest Joja Firebreath added his own words.

"The Eternal Vulcan Church has a near-total adherence among the citizens of the Eternal Vulcan Empire, and though we would like to keep our god to ourselves, we believe it is better to convert as many humans as possible. The more humans have in common with dwarvenkind, the less likely it is for us to suffer persecution."

There was likely an ulterior motive behind these words. Ves knew quite well that Rion Aaden had always been plotting to break away from human civilization.

However, how could it be so easy for him to completely cut off ties to red humanity and form his own independent star nation?

There was no way the Red Two with all of its god pilots and dreadnoughts would allow the upstart dwarves to fracture their civilization in a time where every human needed to stick together!

Though Ves had no idea how the Iron Emperor intended to solve this seemingly impossible hurdle, the old dwarf should definitely have a plan in mind!

Perhaps hoodwinking more humans into worshiping Vulcan was an important component to the grand plan. Ves could think of several ways how this could help the dwarves escape the shackles of the tall folk.

"Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you pray to Vulcan instead?"

The dwarven high priest pointed directly at the Hammer of Brilliance.

"You are his envoy and his favored subject. Your opinion carries great weight among our adherents. We do not dare to make a decision as important as this without consulting you first."

"I see."

Ves was not sure what he should say in response. Vulcan could clearly benefit from having more worshipers, but he felt more than reluctant to spread his belief beyond the groups that he had already defined!