Chapter 575: Mechanical Doll

Beiernadai looked up at Rekton appearing in the captain's cabin, had an Invisible Servant move a prepared chair to in front of the desk, then spoke.

"I remember you prefer coffee, but my ship only has Istis-flavored."

While speaking, another Invisible Servant brought a palm-sized metal iron box and placed it before Rekton.

Before Rekton opened the iron box, Beiernadai explained: "This is a Grade 1 Sealed Object from the Eternal Blazing Sun Church, a spoil I gained in a conflict with Istis officials, corresponding to Sequence 4 Disaster High Priest of the Storm pathway."

"I will quickly find the remaining two extraordinary characteristics, or I will substitute them with the corresponding potion main ingredients; I happen to know the whereabouts of an adult Sun God Bird."

"No problem."

Rekton lightly nodded, took the miraculous item from the iron box—a ship's anchor brooch painted with storm, lightning, and wave symbols, overall gold-blue, feeling cold and heavy.

After holding the anchor brooch for a moment, his right hand gripping it suddenly exerted force; as specks of starlight appeared, the brooch cracked inch by inch, turning into fragments that slipped through the gaps of his mechanical glove.

Specks of cyan fluorescence appeared around, then were sucked into the storm-like maw that split open at the palm of the mechanical glove.

Within less than half a minute, the scattered cyan light points vanished completely, and on the back of the mechanical glove a cyan gem surfaced, replacing the lost crimson gem.

Pa! Rekton raised his hand and snapped his fingers; a mournful wind sound exploded in the captain's cabin, blowing open all doors and windows, intertwining with the howling gale on the sea surface, enveloping the anchored "Dawn" and driving it forward.

A flash of deep pale purple flickered in Beiernadai's eyes; her gaze fell on Rekton's right-hand mechanical glove, and she calmly asked:

"Is this glove a Grade 0 Sealed Object of the Omniscient Path?"

"Yes." Rekton lightly nodded, then added:

"Do you have materials on your ship? I can craft a mechanical doll to hold this 'Fallen Count' characteristic, and incidentally transfer your father's consciousness; the madness inherent in the extraordinary characteristic is not friendly to his current state."

Beiernadai lightly nodded: "There are some; I'll have the Invisible Servant fetch them."

After the "Dawn" was pushed a distance by the howling wind, the surrounding wind gradually subsided; Beiernadai rose from the chair, summoned an Invisible Servant to get the materials, then walked to the window and threw out a deck of cards.

The cards rapidly expanded and twisted in midair, turning into poker soldiers holding spears or straight swords, landing on various parts of the "Dawn," skillfully maneuvering this huge sailing ship, beginning the return voyage.

Rekton leaned against the chair, seeing Beiernadai turn playing cards into poker soldiers, a thought suddenly popped into his mind; he pondered and spoke:

"Do you like fairy-tale mystic reenactments? Interested in becoming an angel who governs fairy tales and mysticism?"

"I intend to use the authority of knowledge to forge a story world formed from countless stories and legends gathering together; it resembles the spirit world somewhat, composed of various information, both false and true."

Beiernadai fell silent for a moment, then said firmly: "Are you preparing a godhood ceremony?"

"Yes." Rekton lightly nodded, without further concealment.

Beiernadai fell silent again.

Rekton leaned against the chair, smiling: "You can take your time to consider."

A few minutes later, Invisible Servants carried materials moved from the "Dawn"'s warehouse and piled them before Rekton.

Beiernadai pointed at the materials stacked on the floor with her gaze: "The ship only has these materials; if insufficient, I can have messengers bring more."

"Enough, just a mechanical doll; only need to control its shape and size." Rekton nodded while responding, and began selecting materials from the pile on the floor.

Beiernadai watched Rekton already selecting materials, a faint bad premonition stirring in her heart.

After selecting materials, Rekton lightly rubbed his fingers; the materials on the floor flew up one by one, landing on the already tidied desk surface beside him.

His right hand wearing the mechanical glove tapped each material; they quickly shattered into fragments, covering the entire desktop.

Specks of starlight flickered and appeared; the fragmented materials spontaneously floated upward, like fine sand, swiftly wandering in midair, intertwining into a mass, as if constructing tight circuit structures.

Beiernadai watched for a while, then withdrew her gaze, had the Invisible Servant return the remaining materials to the warehouse, then sat by the captain's cabin window, sipping coffee while watching the gathering dark clouds outside and the increasingly tumultuous sea waves.

"The storm is coming." She murmured softly, specks of brilliant starlight spilling from her body.

The next moment, the "Dawn" sailing on the sea surface suddenly turned transparent, becoming illusory, turning into a mass of foam.

These foams reflected a pallid white light under the silver-white lightning, scattering and flying away, vanishing instantly.

The "Dawn" reappeared, already on the opposite side of the storm's gathering center, sailing outward from the storm's periphery.

Rekton, crafting the mechanical doll at the desk, suddenly spoke:

"You can discreetly spread the prestige of Emperor Rosse, prepare enough anchors for him in advance; this will help him resist pollution during his resurrection." Beiernadai, somewhat worried, asked: "Will overly strong faith forcibly trigger his resurrection process?" Emperor Rosse: "It's possible, but you should find it hard to gain so many loyal followers for him in a short time; most faith in this world is not as devout as they imagine."

As Rekton sighed, numerous metal fragments on his hand surged like a tide, quickly forming a black-and-white penguin with fine soft fur.

"What is this?" Beiernadai stared at the strange creature appearing in Rekton's hand, unsure what expression to make.

"Materials are limited; let Emperor Rosse make do for now; he won't mind; later we can find Beno Wa to remake his body."

While speaking, Rekton inlaid the crimson gem on the desktop into the red bow tie at the penguin's neck.

Within the crimson gem, countless shadows seemed to flow and overflow.

Soon, the penguin's two eyes each reflected a discordant pattern composed of a twisted crown, clock, and wings; dark eyes flowed with crimson light.

Gradually, the mechanical penguin's gaze showed emotions only humans possess; it came to life bit by bit.

After a brief stupor and thought, it stood on the desktop and laughed loudly: "Istis, your emperor has returned!"

"Huh? Wrong, why are you all so tall? No, why did I shrink?"

The penguin Rosse quickly discovered the problem; he groped over his body with both hands, feeling fluffy, and he still had no fingers.

"Damn, what did you turn me into?"

Penguin Rosse roared loudly while jumping to the full-length mirror in the corner.

Seeing in the mirror a penguin only as tall as an adult's shin, Rosse's expression gradually stiffened, his cheeks turned red as if burned by fire, as if black smoke rose from his head.

"Dog thief!" Penguin Rosse roared, leapt from the floor, and launched a flying kick at Rekton.

This small penguin's body erupted with unimaginable force; its yellow paw carried the momentum to kick over the "Dawn," smashing toward Rekton's face.

Rekton chuckled; a azure light like water ripples spread before him; Penguin Rosse's figure directly passed through this "door," being teleported to the sea surface outside the cabin.

Beiernadai suppressed her expression, looked out through the opened bulge window at the sea surface, saw the strange mechanical doll occupied by her father's consciousness had steadied its form, already leapt from the sea toward the "Dawn"'s captain's cabin, then she put her mind at ease.

Afterwards she looked at Rekton with a complex expression; she could already confirm he deliberately made the mechanical doll into this form.

Yet she still felt doubtful; though they clearly did not know each other, nor were they from the same era, getting along felt like old friends across generations.

Penguin Rosse stormed into the captain's cabin through the window, his figure oddly stagnated in midair for a moment, after adjusting his posture he landed directly on the desk, hands on hips, glaring at Rekton and shouting:

"Dog thief, you actually turned my mighty and wise image into a stupid penguin!"

Leikdun spread his hands, explaining softly: "Actually I prefer pandas, but we don't have enough materials on the ship."

"Then wait until you have enough materials before making it—no, pandas won't work either!"

"This stupid clunky mechanical doll's body is affecting my thinking."

Penguin Russell had one hand on his chest, one hand on his forehead, looking angry.

Leikdun tapped Penguin Russell's head and said: "First, you're not Russell, just his consciousness projection; the real Russell is still stuck in a half-dead state."

"Second, my dolls are fine—don't blame your IQ on my work."

Penguin Russell glared at Leikdun angrily and shouted: "Get lost! What does it matter if I'm just a consciousness projection? I'm only remotely operating this avatar; once I revive, these memories and feelings will return to my true body."

Bernadai took a deep breath, walked to the desk, and asked calmly: "Father, should we have Bonuowa remake a mechanical body for you?"

"He won't mind." Leikdun interjected from the side.

"Who says I—" Penguin Russell glared at Leikdun, but before he could finish, Leikdun cut him off: "January 1, 1184, the grand New Year's gala, Madame Flornal."

"Cough! cough!"

Penguin Russell staggered, then jumped onto Leikdun's shoulder, covered his mouth, and shouted loudly:

"You're right; I think this body is acceptable. Occasionally experiencing something new can make my mindset younger, which helps me stabilize my condition."

(End of chapter)