Chapter 1004: The Dragon Heart.
In a completely futuristic room, two women who looked like exact copies of each other with minor differences in height, eyes, and haircut stood side by side, gazing at a constantly shifting screen.
Although the two appeared to be sisters, they were actually mother and daughter.
The taller woman's name was Velnorah Xyphora Elderblood Thaloria II, a former Overlord of a ruined Empire, while the shorter woman, standing at approximately only 2 meters tall, was Velina Velnorah Elderblood Thaloria III.
It was a custom in the ancient royal family of Velnorah's society for descendants to inherit their mother's name and the surname of the first empress, who was Velnorah's mother.
As a tribute to her destroyed empire, Velnorah decided to continue this naming tradition for her daughter. This gesture was merely a way of asserting to herself and everyone else that the Thaloria Empire was still alive. After all, the royalty of this dead empire was still thriving.
"Hmm, the data is perfect, Mother. The margin of error is only 2%, something we can address once the device is online. It seems we've succeeded," Velina spoke.
"Indeed," Velnorah nodded as she waved her hand, causing the screen in front of her to disappear, and they both looked at the floating power sphere.
This artifact was a divine creation that blended Technomancy, runes, and the skills of a divine smith. It was a masterpiece that would serve as the core of the empire.
"With the device complete, we need to work on countermeasures in case of failures. There are 3,245,344 possibilities of errors occurring. I want to reduce that to zero," Velina said.
"Creating a complete countermeasure is impossible. After all, we don't possess all the knowledge of the universe, so we have to update as we discover things."
"But with just the draconic runes and our Technomancy, the number of possible failures can be reduced to 3,200,000 results... That's if we don't consider what we don't know, of course..."
"... It's still not enough," Velina narrowed her eyes.
"My dear daughter, a piece of advice I learned from my mother is to never pursue perfection, because such a thing does not exist."
"... But is Daddy perfect?"
Velnorah chuckled softly. "Believe me, he's not."
Velina merely looked at her mother with an incredulous and somewhat scandalized gaze for her own mother to say such a thing about her Daddy. But unlike Yuno, she wouldn't insult her mother; she's too intelligent for that. Instead, she decided to use arguments.
"If Mother presents evidence of an existence that could eliminate this thought of mine, I will believe you."
Seeing her mother in silence, she said: "If you have no counterargument, I remain in the mindset that my Daddy is perfect." She nodded satisfied as if she had won something.
Velnorah rolled her eyes; she knew this tactic well. She used the same thing with her mother when she didn't believe her words. She sincerely was surprised at how much her daughter resembled her when she was younger, not in appearance, but in attitude.
Seeing her mother in silence, she said: "If you have no counterargument, I remain in the mindset that my Daddy is perfect." She nodded satisfied as if she had won something.
A life-size hologram of Victor appeared in the middle of the room, and Velina began to speak.
"His body is perfect, every cell in his body has as much energy as a small nuclear bomb, his beauty is something that not even Mother Aphrodite can surpass, he is the greatest genius that has ever existed in all of existence, a being that has left the level lowest point of existence, and became what it is today."
With each feature she spoke, Velina's eyes became even more intense as data and more data from Victor appeared on the screen.
"Even with all our technology, we can't even discover 1% of all the information on his body, Daddy's body is like the ever-expanding cosmos, there is always something to discover, something that will definitely break common sense... Haah... Haah... He's perfect!"
"Velina, you're drooling."
Cough.
Her suit moves by itself, and wipes her face, and with a dignified expression, she says: "I'm sorry for this sight." With a wave of his hand, Victor's hologram disappears.
Velnorah rolled her eyes. 'I take back what I said, she's nothing like me... If it were me, I wouldn't show such a vision in front of everyone, I know how to completely hide my inner desires, and show it only when I'm alone, she needs it more self-control.'
Velnorah absentmindedly thought about whether or not to show her 'research' that she did with her husband in their intimate moments to her daughter, looking at her daughter for a brief moment, she decided that it wasn't the time yet, her daughter needs more self-control to be worthy of being called a fellow researcher.
For now she is just an apprentice.
"I see you guys are having fun."
These sudden words made the two women have goose bumps in shock, but they didn't scream, they just looked at the man standing in front of a constantly moving screen with data about his current project as he watched the screen as if he was trying to figure it out. the secret of the universe or something.
Realizing that he had their attention, Victor smiled slightly and looked at them.
"Go on, just pretend I'm not here, it's fun to watch you two work."
'That's impossible.' Mae and daughter had similar thoughts, while blushing a little due to Victor's remark.
Velnorah as the oldest was the quickest to recover, and said: "Since when were you here, Darling?"
"Who knows~?" Victor smiled in amusement, he walked towards his wife and daughter, and slowly his body began to enlarge to be at the same height as Velnorah.
"As an Overlord, you should know, right?"
Velnorah stopped herself from pouting in annoyance. Normally, she would feel everything and everyone around her, but Victor was an exception, he is very abnormal!
Velina sneakily walked towards her father, and hugged him placing her face on his chest, she was going to take advantage of this opportunity that none of hers was here!
Victor laughed gently, and stroked his daughter's long blue hair.
Velina took a deep breath, smelling her father, while her analytical brain evaluated all this sensation and stored it in her suit to try to replicate the effects, a goal she never managed to fully do, no technology could overcome her Daddy's presence.
Velnorah narrowed her eyes slightly in annoyance seeing this scene, but that annoyance was thrown out the window when Victou looked at her and made a finger gesture calling her towards her.
Unconsciously, without even thinking about it, Velnorah moved towards her, and before she could process what she just did, she felt her lips being taken.
Her eyes open wide, and she hugs him.
Velina raises her face and looks at this scene with narrowed eyes, a HUD appears in her eyes, and she records this scene.
At least she tries, after all, her costume was hacked and this function became unavailable.
'Stingy Mother!!' Velina internally roared in frustration when she learned who was responsible.
Victor stops kissing Velnorah, and puts his forehead against hers, their two draconic horns also touch, and at that moment, several information was shared between the two.
The same information he gave Kaguya, he gave Velnorah.
Used to dealing with gigantic amounts of information, Velnorah processed everything quickly, and instantly made several plans, and future plans based on what Victor gave her.
"I trust you to pass everything on to the others."
"Yes, Darling." Velnorah nodded, she already knew what to do. "I was wondering how long you would remain passive even though you were so powerful, but you acted faster than I thought."
"Don't get it wrong, I wasn't planning on doing anything, but everything changed when I trained, and I read about our possible future opponents."
"Oh? You read my report, and I thought you didn't want spoilers."
Velina looked up again, and narrowed her eyes. 'What is this conversation? Did Daddy do something?' Suspicion flashed in her eyes.
"Initially no, but I am no longer just a warrior, I am an emperor." Victor moves away from his wife and daughter.
Much to the disappointment of both, he walks towards Velnorah's control center, where a supercomputer was there, along with the artifact.
"As Emperor, it is my duty to guarantee the future of my people."
A dark violet liquid came out of her body and completely covered her body, in the next moment a 5 meter tall man in full armor except for the helmet was standing in front of them.
'Junketsu, the progenitor's sword' Velina thought upon seeing her father's armor, a soul weapon that evolved along with her father, an armor that not even her current technology can replicate.
"Therefore, preparations are necessary." Victor points his hand at the device, and violet slime comes out of his fingers and into the sphere.
Velnorah and Velina did nothing but watch curiously as Victor went about his business, even though he was tampering with something they had spent two weeks stabilizing completely. They didn't mind. Even if the artifact were to be destroyed, they wouldn't care. After all, they could recreate the same artifact in a shorter time now that they had the data.
The artifact began to change upon contact with the dark violet slime, transforming from a sphere into a 10-meter icosahedron, covered entirely with draconic runes.
The sound of a heartbeat echoed, and in the next moment, Victor's entire armor glowed violet.
Draconic wings sprouted from Victor's back, and soon after, the wings began pulsating with violet power.
Badump, Badump!
The sound of a powerful heartbeat grew even louder, and the surroundings became brighter. Throughout these events, the two women never ceased their observation.
Slowly, Velnorah's expression shifted from seriousness to pure disbelief at the absurdity she was witnessing. An expression not shared by her daughter, who was left utterly bewildered.
As the energy began to diminish, the heartbeat ceased entirely, and then the two saw the result of Victor's actions.
A 10-meter tall icosahedron artifact, dark violet in color and covered in draconic runes, pulsated as if alive. It was as if they were observing a dragon's heart, not one made of flesh, but of divine materials.
"Darling... You... You're insane," Velnorah spoke these words with her entire being.
Victor looked at Velnorah and flashed a loving smile.
"Take care of my heart, okay, my love. It's the core of the Empire from now on." Slowly, Victor's body began to fade into smoke, and soon he could no longer be seen anywhere.
"Leave it to me, Darling. I'll make sure everything is taken care of."
"Good." His voice was heard until his presence completely vanished.
"... Okay, what's happening? Mother, Explain!" Velina practically shouted.
Velnorah sighed and didn't scold her daughter because, honestly, she felt like shouting too.
"In short, Darling used the properties of Junketsu on the artifact, reinforcing it to accept his energy. He put a piece of his soul to stabilize everything while altering reality to turn a simple artifact, meant to be a prototype for a future infinite battery, into the very living infinite battery itself."
"... And then... What I'm seeing is?"
"The heart of a dragon made with divine materials and draconic runes... And not just any heart, this is Darling's heart."
Velina glanced at a HUD that appeared in front of her. "Mother, the energy production is off the charts, look at this."
Velina also opened the HUD and saw that the energy production, which was at 100% before, had changed to 10,000% and was still increasing.
She also noticed that despite using its energy, the energy produced by the artifact didn't possess properties like negative energy, positive energy, or even draconic energy.
What she was witnessing was pure and unaltered energy. Energy that could transform into any property the user desired.
"...This will immensely hasten the construction of strategic-class weapons. I can create a cannon of pure negative energy now... If possible, I could even add the concept to the cannon, something like the concept of destruction. Not only that, the creation of battle clones will be even easier now." Realizing the countless possibilities this artifact could assist with, she couldn't help but say.
"Haah, Darling is amazing." She could only say that as she sighed. 'But how did he know what to do with this artifact? Did he see us doing it...?' She thought back to what happened before and widened her eyes. 'He learned... While we were occupied, he was reading the data from the artifact and learned... Based on that knowledge, he upgraded the artifact.'
"...Velina."
"What?"
"Perhaps, you were right. Darling is definitely perfect." Velnorah joked.
Velina huffed proudly, "Of course he is, he's my Daddy after all."
Velnorah shook her head at her daughter's lack of understanding of the joke and said, "Let's study this artifact and then focus on creating warrior clones."
"Okay, Mother... Oh, now that I think about it, if this dragon heart is based on Darling's soul, will all our sentient creations using this energy have some connection to Daddy?"
"...I don't think that's-..." Velnorah's eyes widened.
"Hahahahahaha..." She laughed in pure disbelief until she couldn't hold it anymore. "HAHAHAHAHAH!"
Velina looked at her mother confusedly. 'Has she finally gone mad?'
"As expected of Darling, his paranoia extends to unprecedented limits."
"What do you mean?"
"Any sentient being created with this energy will be under Darling's domain, meaning... If he wishes, with a thought, he can destroy our entire future army. This is a countermeasure in case of rebellion."
"...Can rebellion happen with clones genetically altered to serve us?" Velina asked curiously.
"Anything is possible in this universe, so we must have countermeasures, my daughter. And since this energy will be the basis of future artificial souls, any descendants of these clones will be under Darling's control."
"Daddy is incredible."
"Indeed, he is."
The two reached a common consensus and then began to study the artifact again.
"Mother, what should we call this artifact?"
"Let's keep it simple and call it 'The Dragon Hearts.'"
"Okay, Mother."
"Velina."
"Yes?"
"Prepare to initiate the 'The Pillar' project. We will begin the process of creating the mind of the empire."
"The first AI with life... This will be exciting." Velina's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. Unlike the AI they currently have, the one they are going to create will have the capacity of an AI and will truly be alive.
"Of course not. I called it Darling's heart because it's connected to him through his soul, but it's not part of his body. If the heart is destroyed, nothing will happen to Darling... If it's even possible to destroy this thing." Velnorah muttered at the end, with just one look, she could tell how impenetrable this artifact was.
"What!? So does that mean if this is destroyed, he'll die!?"
"Of course not. I called it Darling's heart because it's connected to him through his soul, but it's not part of his body. If the heart is destroyed, nothing will happen to Darling... If it's even possible to destroy this thing." Velnorah muttered at the end, with just one look, she could tell how impenetrable this artifact was.
"We must ensure complete loyalty from this entity; after all, it will be the pillar of the Empire." Velnorah spoke as she pondered countermeasures that wouldn't lead to the total destruction of the AI.
"It's simple, Mother. Just make her a daughter to Daddy; all Daddy's daughters are loyal to Daddy, after all." Velina spoke as if it were obvious, a matter that didn't require deep thought.
Velnorah hated how much sense those words made. Avoiding a deep sigh, she continued, "If we're going to make her a daughter of Darling, we have to create a body as well."
"What race should we use?"
"My old race, with some benefits from other compatible races."
"We'll use the dragon gene as the base for perfect compatibility," Velnorah said. She didn't want to create a true dragon because it's impossible to create one artificially; after all, a real dragon is more related to the soul than the body.
But she could use the dragon gene along with genes from other races to create an entity entirely focused on the mind, as the pillar of the Empire. This AI wouldn't go out onto the battlefield and would be at the core of the Empire, so there's no need to give it power unrelated to its work.
'Ah... This plan of mine will fail.' Suddenly, Velnorah remembered the Victor factor. 'Darling will certainly intervene and give more potential to this AI; after all, he doesn't want incompetent daughters.' She sighed internally.
"Umu, in that case, should we call Daddy as well?"
"Yes, after all, we're making a new Daughter, he should be present, and as a God of the BEGIN, he can help a lot in her creation." Velnorah nodded.
"Knowing my husband, he would intervene even if we didn't call him, after all, it's the creation of a new daughter," Velnorah thought.
"But for now, let's make the initial preparations. When we're ready to start the first steps of creating this new existence, then we'll call Darling."
"Okay, Mother... Should we call Mother Ruby and Mother Aline?"
"Yes, they wouldn't like to be left out of this project." Velnorah nodded.
.....