The remnant of the Idol of the Superior Mother was a very valuable object, even if it looked like a piece of trash.
Though Ves felt tempted to cut short the spiritual bleeding by processing the spiritual remnant into a spiritual product right away, he paused for a mont.
"This relic doesn't really fit my specifications."
His original vision for his Hexer ch design revolved around a ch based on the six phases of existence.
As its na suggested, the Idol of the Superior Mother predominantly centered around mothers. It wasn't really associated with hexism as plenty of secular Hexers paid tribute to the statue as well. Those mothers were just doing it in order to take part in an established ritual and because they wanted to gain their social circle's approval.
The mix between secular and religious worshippers shaped the statue's spiritual residue in a direction that blended both elents. Attributes related to motherhood and won strongly suffused its spiritual character, which made it very unsuitable to be adapted to chs designed to be piloted by boys.
Or was it?
"The design spirit doesn't have to conform to the ch pilot. Not necessarily." He whispered.
He long regarded the unity between ch pilot, ch and ch designer as the only way to increase the X-Factor of his ch and improve their overall synchronization.
What if that wasn't necessary? What if there was a different way to empower a ch?
What if he took a different approach?
To Ves, the perfect outco had always been to enable ch pilots to beco more aligned with the chs they piloted.
For example, the Aurora Titan shed well with defense-focused ch pilots who want to protect their comrades.
The Desolate Soldier slowly influenced its ch pilots to beco more and more committed to their duty.
The Deliverer's entire premise revolved around piety and devotion. Its Guided Aim ability was only available to the ch pilots who earned Prophet Ylvaine's approval!
Yet.. Ves couldn't do the sa for his Hexer ch. DIVA's commission explicitly called for designing a support ch reserved exclusively for the male ch pilots of the Hex Army.
So far, he invented an entire vision around a landbound knight ch that embodied the six phases of existence.
"I don't have to scrap this vision. I'll just need to make so adjustnts."
He sat down next to the remnant of the idol and began to adjust his vision.
Its ch concept didn't require any major adjustnts. However, rather than embodying a generic interpretation of the six phases of existence, his Hexer ch instead adopted the perspective of a mother!
"My ch is the mother and the ch pilot is the son!"
It was a notable departure from his conventional approach to ch design. His usual goal for his chs was to accommodate compatible ch pilots so that their effective performance skyrocketed and that anyone with spiritual potential received a greater chance of breaking through the extraordinary threshold!
Yet.. did he have to aim for the jackpot every ti? So far, aside from Jannzi Larkinson's unexpected promotion, Ves hadn't heard of any instances where the ch pilots of his successfully advanced to expert candidate or expert pilot with his chs.
That sounded quite depressing. The LMC sold millions of Desolate Soldiers, but not one of its ch pilots managed to surpass the extraordinary threshold.
"What should I expect?" He sighed. "My Desolate Soldier is a budget ch model designed for less than stellar ch pilots. Their odds of advancents are a lot lower than the ch pilots of premium chs."
It was too bad that the sales figures of his more expensive products such as the Aurora Titan had dropped to negligible levels.
He turned his attention back to his unnad Hexer ch. According to DIVA, the Hegemony would try out his new creation with a select number of male ch pilots.
Hexer ch pilots were not like the average users of his chs.
Ves had to split them up in two. Female ch pilots predominantly utilized the best and strongest chs. They also claid all of the flashier and more offense-oriented chs.
Male ch pilots in the Hegemony weren't prohibited from piloting chs, but they had to abide by a lot of limitations to practice their profession.
"According to the Hexer ideology, boys are reckless and immature. It is a disaster to give them too much power."
The inherent problem with this assumption was that it risked depriving boys from chs entirely!
The Hexers eventually opted against this policy because they couldn't let half of their manpower pool of ch pilots stay ho.
That said, even if males were allowed to pilot chs in battle, they faced constant repression and indoctrination.
According to the Hexers, the forr was needed to prevent the boys from abusing the power of chs. The latter was needed to increase their motivation to fight on behalf of the Hegemony.
"There is a contradiction between these asures." Ves noted.
chs were dangerous weapons that were best left for won!
Since Hexer won believed that Hexer boys were both dangerous and incapable, the performance of the latter clearly dipped. Though Ves hadn't obtained any detailed statistics that confird this guess, he had seen plenty of internal footage that showed that Hexer chs piloted by males exhibited an excessive amount of restraint and timidity.
The only instances where the male Hexer chs exhibited any aggression was when they were directly ordered to do so by their mistresses!
With such a perverse ch culture in the Hegemony, how could his ch gain acceptance in its society?
"To won, my support ch can validate them with the outward expression of my glow. To boys, my ch can provide them with positive reinforcent and encouragent. To enemies, my ch can put the fear of Hexers in their hearts!"
As Ves beca more familiar with the spiritual residue of the Idol of the Superior Mother, he learnt that it was called this way for a reason!
The Hexers who paid tribute to the original statue all passed on the sa spiritual attributes. Gentle notions such as motherhood and the urge to nurture children was mixed with strong notions such as the superiority and might of won!
"I can still give my ch six different facets as long as I can emphasize specific attributes."
The more he fleshed out his idea, the more he got taken in by its potential. Any spiritual product he created based off the Superior Mother would essentially take the form of a Hexer matriarch!
If Ves designed his next spiritual product well enough, it might even surpass its limited role as design spirit for a single ch design!
"I can shift the outco of the war with this spiritual product!" He exulted!
Of course, the ch had to be good as well. If such a fantastic design spirit was attached to a diocre ch design, then it would probably be buried!
He began to figure out what kind of ingredients he needed to augnt the attributes of the spiritual residue.
"I'll need to add a bit of myself, not just to create the spiritual product, but to add so much needed male influence to its spiritual mix."
The design spirit would still be female, but he hoped that it beca a bit more understanding towards boys.
Ves didn't think he was a very appropriate role model for Hexer boys.
"Unlike them, I'm a man, not a boy!" He stated! "I can stand up to won! That's sothing that they can never imagine!"
Perhaps that was exactly what his design spirit needed. He didn't want to coddle the ch pilots of his Hexer ch to death. They needed to show at least so spine while they piloted their machines.
Gloriana's influence was also essential. Her error-correcting ability and her strong Hexer beliefs would reinforce the spiritual product's main characteristics.
"That's two additional ingredients so far. I think it could use a third."
He needed a source of energy. Ves imdiately turned his gaze to the vault section where he just stowed the Ancient Sarcophagus.
Was it ti to harvest another spiritual fragnt from Nyxie?
Just as he was about to retrieve his F-stone, he paused.
"Nyxie isn't my only option."
Ves suddenly recalled that Qilanxo was also a mother!
Though she was too alien and too centered around protection to make for a perfect Hexer design spirit, she was also a female!
He concentrated his mind and briefly communicated his request to Qilanxo.
She sent back a positive response. Ves guessed that she was filled with spiritual energy. Though she wasn't able to make a qualitative transformation, she wasn't lacking when it ca to quantity!
"That was easy."
What wouldn't be easy would be his next step.
Now that he set his mind, he reluctantly decided to obtain Gloriana's input. Though she objected to his idea before, Ves hoped that she was a bit more tolerant this ti. He wouldn't be able to proceed with his vision without her contribution!
He called Gloriana to the vault and passed the ti by playing with Lucky.
"ow."
"I don't know, Lucky. Gloriana might blow up on again."
"ow!"
"Hmm, that's true. This debris hardly looks like a proper relic. I don't think she'll mind that much."
Lucky rolled off his lap and floated above his head.
"ow ow."
When Gloriana arrived with Clixie in tow, the vault instantly brightened up. Ves stood up and hugged her before breaking the news.
"Do you rember DIVA's commission?"
She imdiately frowned. "What are you up to, Ves?"
"Well, DIVA managed to secure a relic for . Before you get angry, let show you what I'm talking about!"
He presented the blackened piece of broken tal to Gloriana and described its origins. He emphasized the fact that it had laid forgotten in so storage place for decades.
"...The Hexers would have probably lted it down and repurposed its materials if they hadn't given it to ." He finished his explanation. "Compared to erasing it from existence, I can make a portion of it live on through my chs! What do you think, Gloriana?"
His girlfriend fell silent. Though she maintained her frown, she didn't blow up this ti, much to his relief!
"I.. I'm not entirely comfortable with this idea, but.. it sounds a lot more acceptable this ti." She responded. She reached out and touched the damaged surface of the piece of debris. "I think you're right. It's a sha to let the original Idol of the Superior Mother die out in such an ignoble fashion! What we can do is like giving it a second life!"
"So.. you approve?"
She slowly smiled. "I do. What you originally suggested was sothing that I would never agree with. This is different. I like the respect behind this decision!"
That was all he needed to hear. Ves relaxed, and so did Gloriana. The faint underlying tension between them after they had their last argunt lted away.
The pair began to discuss what they needed to do to create his next spiritual product. Ves needed ti to construct the most appropriate images to direct its formation.
"Let's design the ch first and wait until it's almost complete before creating its design spirit." Ves suggested. "I need you to contribute your spiritual strength to its creation. That will drain so of your spiritual energy reserves for a ti."
"Creating proto-gods is never easy." Gloriana smiled and leaned her head against his chest. "I can't wait to see how she will turn out!"
The two snuggled a bit before leaving the vault. Ves carefully stored the relic in its protective crate to protect it from the environnt as much as possible.
Just when they reached the design lab, Gavin waited next to the entrance.
Ves's heart sunk yet again. Whenever his assistant showed up outside of their scheduled etings, he always brought a surprise.
"What is it this ti, Benny?" He asked in an exasperated tone.
"Well… it's about the Larkinson Clan. Did you recall the proposal introduced by Calabast? Well, there has been a big discussion throughout the clan. The Larkinson Assembly and the Executive Council have both co to a consensus."
"What.. is their answer?"
Gavin breathed deeply. "There is a lot of support for the proposal. Both the Assembly and the Council are in favor of integrating outsiders into the clan!"
"What?!" Ves looked shocked. "That fast?!"
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