The Mech Touch

Chapter 7581 Yearning for Humanity

"Are you truly… serious?" The Dark Apostle asked despite the fact that he could feel his original self's sincerity.

Blinky nodded with his feline head. "Yes. I have already considered this matter many times in the past, but I never dared to move forward on this issue. Your ultimatum did not change my mind. It has merely pushed me into action. When it comes down to it, our situation is not sustainable. We are too greedy and ambitious. We may share the same root, but we have our own goals and passions. It is only logical for us to seek physical separation from each other. The biggest issue with that is who is entitled to retain our current true body. After a lot of thought, it makes a lot more sense to entrust it to you. As you have said before, I am not a fighter. You can make much better use out of its superior physique."

The Dark Apostle genuinely did not expect for Ves to concede on this matter so quickly and decisively.

Even if his logic was sound, he still lost out immensely from this decision!

"If you are willing to abandon our current form and go your own way, how will you proceed? You still need a body of your own. Will you split your soul from me and transplant yourself into one of your humanoid constructs?"

Blinky shrugged. "I just made up my mind on this issue. I haven't thought too far ahead. My general plan should not be much different from your brief proposal. There should be a way to separate our Spiritualities from each other without incurring damage in the process. However, it will take time and effort to make that possible. You may have to wait for a couple of years before I can get it done. Right now, I have already created so many incarnations that my soul will suffer irreparable damage if I cut into it again. Once I advance to the rank of Master Mech Designer, my Spirituality will not only grow so much stronger, but heal much of the scars and other hidden wounds in the process. Once I have attained this state, it should be safer for the both of us to separate from each other."

Though the Dark Apostle immediately grew disappointed when he heard that he would not be able to gain a full monopoly on their current true body right away, he quickly smoothed his expression.

He could be patient. A couple of years was not a lot of time.

The giant leader knew how brilliant Ves was and how he was on the fast track to realizing his design philosophy.

The mech designer just needed to complete his initial set of 5 elemental Carmine mech designs.

"I can tolerate the wait." The Dark Apostle said as he tried to suppress his impatience as much as possible. "As long as you are sincerely working to promote yourself, I am willing to hold myself back and cooperate with you for the time being. That will no longer be the case if I sense that you are deliberately stalling your progress."

The Star Cat snorted. "Trust me, I want to become a Master more eagerly than you. You can definitely rest assured that I will maintain a brisk pace. As for my new corporeal form, I still want to be a human. Occupying a completely mechanical body is too alienating for me. I will only consider this option as a last resort."

He already constructed a number of high-quality mechanical avatars and spread them around for the express purpose of establishing his presence at distant locations.

For example, Aureus, which took the form of a golden version of Vulcan, remained stationed aboard the Spirit of Bentheim. This allowed him to initiate direct contact with Ketis and the other second-class members of the Larkinson Clan.

A more suitable mechanical vessel was Argent, a silver humanoid avatar that he had deposited inside the Astral Octagon.

He had already used it a number of times to correspond directly with his chief of staff Eliza Mo Ragadan and other senior officials of the Red Collective.

Ves favored Argent the most as he had designed it with elegance in mind. It was an excellent platform to engage in both art as well as E energy manipulation.

Then there was Aes, a bronze Vulcan mechanical avatar that he parked over at the Eternal Vulcan Empire.

In order to fit in with the Vulcanites, Ves had deliberately designed it with a brutal flair in mind.

Although he had hardly ever used this expensive gadget, it still gave him the option to talk directly to the Iron Emperor if the need arose.

Then there was Ferrum, but Ves automatically skipped it because it was a feline mechanical avatar. He already had enough of living like a cat through Veronica!

Though Ves did not find it unacceptable to occupy any of the first three magnificent constructions, one of the issues that bothered him the most was that they were all dwarven in shape and statute!

He had never designed them with this particular contingency in mind!

Even if Ves could modify his own mechanical shell and convert it into a more human form, he still felt that it was fundamentally wrong to repurpose these unique creations.

If Ves truly had no choice but to occupy a physical avatar, then he would likely spend a bit of time and effort to develop a full superdimensional humanoid shell.

A lot of time had passed since he personally created Aurus, Argent and Aes. Much of their tech and materials had already become dated in his opinion. He could create a much better product with his present knowledge and resources.

However, Ves yearned to occupy an organic human form so much that he was willing to consider much more dangerous or convoluted plans in order to satisfy his desires!

"How will you make a human body for yourself? How can you guarantee that you can transfer to it without any problems?"

"Transferring one's spirit from one organic body to another is not simple at all." Ves acknowledged the daunting complexity behind this task. "There is much I do not know about it. However, I doubt it is as simple as cloning a human body from my DNA and stuff. For one, my original human DNA no longer reflects my evolved self in the slightest. Any human body derived from it will probably explode or mutate beyond reason. As for cloning a body using our current DNA… that is even more unacceptable to me. I absolutely do not want to become a phase lord if I can help it. Besides, even if everything else works out somehow, an exact copy will just end up spawning a separate consciousness like you. I will go right back to square one. No. The best solution is to spawn a pure human body that has nothing to do with phasewater."

The Dark Apostle reacted with mild shock. "You… are willing to abandon everything that makes our current true body strong?"

"Without hesitation." Ves spoke with genuine conviction. "I never asked for this. The Red Ocean imposed all of this crap on me without bothering to obtain my consent. While I cannot deny that I have enjoyed the benefits of being strong enough to fight against other champions with my bare body, I would gladly relinquish it all if I can become a pure human again. I am a mech designer. I have no need for a giant's stature or exotic phasewater organs if I just want to design my mechs. Instead of fighting all of my battles in person, it is much more appropriate for me to leave this responsibility to others."

He would be lying to himself if he claimed that he would not miss his powerful true body.

However, Ves tried to remain focused on his overarching goals. None of them demanded that he possess the physique of a native god. He could already design fantastic mechs with a somewhat ordinary human body!

At most, he would miss the enhanced spatial senses and other small benefits unique to phase lords.

Missing out on them would make it more difficult for him to design transphasic and superdimensional mechs, but that was a price that he would gladly pay to restore the missing pieces of his humanity!

"Do you have a specific approach in mind?"

"Nothing too specific, but I do have a couple directions that I intend to investigate in further detail after our current ordeal is over. Do you remember the lesser Collie organ that we have obtained through a transaction in the past? Its ability is quite strange, but I still valued it because of its versatility. The phasewater organ can enable a phase lord to split a small amount of phasewater-infused biomass into a small-sized clone of himself. This clone can act as a remote avatar with a maximum range of around 17.2 AU. I figure with a bit of research and modification, we can transform this Collie organ into a solution that can produce an authentic human body that possesses the traits I desire while leaving out the stuff that I do not want."

It may be challenging for them to decipher and make proper use of the lesser Collie organ, but it may be the best hope for Ves and the Dark Apostle to achieve a clean and problem-free separation from each other!

They just needed to understand the phasewater organ just enough to alter some of its functions.