The Mech Touch

Ves definitely smelled a plot.

For whatever reason, both Director Samandra Avikon and the Vulcanites wanted to convert more people into worshiping Vulcan.

No matter whether this took place through the Creation Association or the Eternal Vulcan Church, the fact of the matter was that they wanted to hoodwink a lot more people into dedicating their lives to the God of Dwarves, Mechs and Craftsmanship!

Ves would be lying if he said that he remained unmoved. Ever since Vulcan started to practice the Metal God Method, deity cultivation became an explicit part of his progression.

The more people revered him as their deity, the more spiritual feedback he would receive.

All of these worshipers also formed the basis of Vulcan's progression after he ascended to a True God.

Once his incarnation gained the qualifications to harvest the power of actual faith, then he would definitely appreciate the luxury of having a large base of faithful people at his beck and call!

Yet... Ves did not like this at all. He had witnessed too many cases where blind belief and superstition caused people to degenerate.

The example set by the Vulcan Empire stood out the most in his memories!

Ever since he witnessed how a stupid religious argument about Vulcan's race directly triggered the demise of this once-great state, he firmly became convinced that he should never do anything that would lead people down the same path!

This belief and conviction warred against his obvious self-interest in allowing Vulcan to gain more influence among a greater share of the population.

As Ves looked at Director Samandra Avikon and High Priest Joja Firebreath, he suddenly had an awful feeling about their plans. Neither of the two had been forthcoming about their motives and their own intentions.

The two certainly did not convey enough honesty and sincerity to earn his trust and ease his doubts.

Ves eventually resolved his internal conflict.

"I do not speak for Vulcan." He lied to the two. "I can only share my own opinion. As far as I am concerned, red humanity needs to look to each other to survive this dangerous new age. While it is possible that belief in certain deities such as Vulcan may give them the strength to do better in these turbulent times, I do not think that our society should become slaves to them. People are free to believe in whatever they want, but that does not mean I want to push this along."

Neither of the two visitors were pleased by this response.

"The Creation Association has already done much good to the craftsmen who have come to appreciate Vulcan's blessings." Director Samandra Avikon spoke up. "The relationship between a god and his worshipers is anything but one-sided. In fact, compared to other faiths, we are much more benign to our flock. If you wish to prevent people from going astray, then it is better to convince them to pray to Vulcan rather than a more nefarious god."

That argument sounded pretty logical to Ves, but it was unfortunate that he still had no enthusiasm for this entire business.

"I cannot speak for the Eternal Vulcan Church, but what I can do is set the direction of the Creation Association. The reason why the latter has adopted its current form is because it promotes clear and transparent transactions that benefit both sides. There are no traps or additional obligations that Vulcan imposes onto the craftsmen that make use of his services. I think this is the most suitable way for people to interact with their 'gods'. This is my stance."

The two religious leaders tried to sway Ves a few more times, but he stood his ground the entire time.

Seeing that no progress could be made on this issue, the two eventually gave up on this cause.

"There is nothing more that we need to discuss with you together." Director Samandra eventually said. "I would like to speak to you in private in order to discuss a topic that is particularly sensitive."

Ves nodded in understanding. "We can continue our discussion in a secure chamber that is built underground. Let us go. I can guarantee you that no one will be able to overhear our discussion."

They took an elevator that took them straight to the underground complex of the branch headquarters.

A secure chamber was a standard requirement to every branch of the Larkinson Clan.

Though Ves did not have total confidence that it was secure enough to prevent any form of monitoring, that was fine.

"Meow!"

"I know that you have been enjoying a nap, but I really need your sensitive nose. Now go sweep up all of the bugs!"

A disgruntled Lucky wearily started to sweep up all of the hidden and dormant bugs and listening devices.

Compared to a year ago, the cat's ability to detect the tiniest and most hidden bugs had improved once more.

After his metallic body incorporated archetech, Lucky's sensitivity towards any form of technology had grown once more!

The cat was not the only one to conduct a thorough inspection. Ves utilized his spiritual senses as well as his spatial manipulation abilities to detect if anything metaphysical was amiss.

Nothing seemed out of place, but in order to be sure, Ves utilized his phase lord abilities to form a special spatial barrier between himself and Samandra.

The woman clearly sensed that the air had changed around her. Perhaps she was able to perceive more, but she kept her gaze low in a sign of restraint and respect.

After activating a powerful jamming device, Ves brought out Blinky who promptly established a small design network.

The spiritual connection that tied Samandra's spirituality to the design network was not too strong, but it was enough for him to get an impression of what was on her mind.

Her mental activity was... confusing.

The woman possessed a strong devotion to Ves as well as other entities.

For whatever reason, she saw no contradiction between her abnormal beliefs in multiple different 'gods'!

Ves did not know how she could be so sick in her mind, but he wanted nothing to do with her madness. He only formed this design network so that he could communicate with her in the most secure method possible.

"Tell me what you wanted to convey to me. I hope your need for caution is justified."

The woman suddenly grew a bit hesitant as she was about to reveal her purpose for approaching Ves.

"When are you having your next child with your wife?" She conveyed over the spiritual connection as if she was already proficient with this method of communication.

"Pardon?" Ves blinked.

Of all of the topics she could bring up, why the hell would she want to bring up this topic?

Ves did not see how this was relevant to a woman like Samandra Avikon!

"To be honest, the topic of having more children has slipped from my mind." He replied. "I think Gloriana has paid less attention to it as well. We both want more children, but so much has happened as of late that our lives have become busier than ever. It has become a significant burden for us to raise Aurelia, Andraste and Marvaine. Though we do not begrudge their entry into our lives, it is difficult to give them the attention they deserve while also freeing up enough time to do our work. Neither of us are eager to cut our work time further by raising another batch of children. This is why neither of us have really brought this matter up, especially now that our workload has ballooned."

The former priestess frowned. "Your responsibilities may have grown, but so have your capabilities. You are a much more powerful mech designer than before, and your wife should be able to complete her work much faster once she has completed her implant upgrade."

"That may be true, but once we start to work on first-class mech design projects, the amount of work it takes to complete them to our satisfaction will definitely explode as well. I simply cannot imagine that we can reserve enough time to raise an additional bunch of brats."

"You should have been raising your fourth child by now." Samandra conveyed. "Your second son would have had a bright future ahead of him. He would have been our savior."

That sounded weird!

Ves immediately raised his guard against the woman. "What are you talking about?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, but she eventually shared what was truly on her mind.

"You may not believe me, but... I have been receiving oracles from Ylvaine for a number of years. Several of them speak of the importance of your fourth offspring. Before the Age of Dawn, Ylvaine predicted that your wife would have given birth to another baby boy at this time of year. That promised child is of great importance to us all. Despite the unexpected upheaval caused by the Great Severing, Ylvaine's prophecies still state that your second son must be born. His birth and growth is of great importance."

Samandra's emotions spiked increasingly more as she conveyed her earnest feelings about this sketchy prediction.

Ves narrowed his eyes. He hadn't interacted much with Ylvaine as of late. What the hell had this design spirit been doing all of this time?! Why did the Great Prophet become so fixated on a son that did not exist at this time?

"Can you tell me why my supposed second son is so important?"

"I cannot tell you that because I do not know." Samandra sheepishly responded through the design network. "Ylvaine has made this claim, and I believe he is right. I cannot tell you what will happen if your second son never has a chance to come to life, but Ylvaine believes that it will be detrimental to you and the rest of the people that you care about. The window of time is closing. You only have a couple of years left. You MUST conceive a son right away, if not with Gloriana, then another woman. The Great Prophet has never been particular about this requirement..."

Ves loudly coughed. "Let's not wade into this particular topic! While I can believe that you and Ylvaine think this prophecy is legitimate, that does not mean that I share the same opinion. What you are saying is way too dubious. How can a single child save everyone's lives? Why does it have to be my second son? Can't someone else fulfill the same role? There are so many talented and capable humans in the Red Ocean that they can also bear this burden. In fact, why don't you leave this matter to me? I do not think I am worse than any of my offspring."

Samandra firmly shook her head. "As much as I respect you and believe in your ability, you cannot replace your second son in this matter. It is impossible for you to take over his mission. It is even more unthinkable for others to fulfill his purpose."

"What? Why not?! You are withholding way too much information. You need to share something concrete if you want to convince me to take this prophecy seriously."

The robed woman looked conflicted. She clearly did not feel that it was the right decision to share what else she had on her mind, but Ves' obstinacy clearly left her with no other choice.

"Please do your best to keep yourself under control. What I am about to reveal to you will undoubtedly affect our future, which is not conducive to fulfilling Ylvaine's vision."

Ves let out an impatient growl. "Just spit it out. What is so important that you cannot wait to urge me to have another son?" "

"The truth is... the fourth child that carries your bloodline will carry the name of... Ylvaine." !! !l

The secure chamber started to shake. Though Ves completely fell silent, the fact that his spatial abilities grew out of control was an ominous sign that he was struggling to control his emotions!

There was no way he could maintain his composure after this explosive revelation!