Chapter 2504: Awake The newly-married couple spent their first honeymoon night aboard the Stellar Chaser. Though Ves did not particularly enjoy spending time on Gloriana's personal ship, the Stellar Chaser was the closest substitute of home for her. Until the Larkinson Clan finally received its long-awaited factory from the Hexer shipbuilders, there was no better ship to spend their first night. Once the pair left their bed and freshened themselves up, they moved to the dining room where they enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast. Both of them expended a lot of energy yesterday. The wedding stretched all day and all of the joys they experienced had drained their bodies extensively. "Meow~" "Miaow~" Both Lucky and Clixie sat on the table and bent their heads in their respective bowls. Though Clixie looked small, it was very expensive to keep her fed. She only accepted a diet of high-energy food such as exobeast meat or high-class pet fare. She would starve to death if she just ate regular cat food! As for Lucky, he eschewed organic food entirely. His artificial digestion system only took in minerals and metals. Ves had no idea how it worked, but Lucky could eat damn near anything as long as it was inorganic. As for Goldie, she had already dematerialized her physical avatar. It still cost too much energy to solidify her spiritual form. Besides, she did not need to sustain her existence through eating. The spiritual feedback of the clansmen connected to the Larkinson Clan already took care of her essential needs. The married couple were just as content as their pets. As they sedately sated their hunger and thirst, their assistants stood by their side, ready to inform Ves and Gloriana of the matters that required their attention. "Matriarch Xiaphna Wodin and many other Wodins have already departed this star system. Your mother and your brothers and sisters intend to stay here a few days more." Melody Raft reported. "What of the guests?" "Most of our guests will be leaving within the week if they haven't already. There are some who intend to stay in order to curry favor with us or expand their networks, but these people are not worth your attention." "Hmm. What of the Wodin Warriors?" "Most of the Wodin Warriors will be escorting our matriarch and much of our dynasty members back to the Hegemony. A mech regiment or two will continue to remain here to protect the Larkinson Clan and handle some of the remaining affairs." One of those developments was preserving the hexagonal platform where the wedding took place. It was a bit of a waste to break it down. Though many of the materials used in its construction were precious, neither the Wodin Dynasty nor Larkinson Clan had any need to recycle so much bulk materials. Both Ves and Gloriana agreed to convert it into a public monument. Its existence commemorated their unforgettable union and could also serve other purposes. The idyllic garden environment and the various ornaments would surely turn into a tourist attraction, especially after Ves promised to craft a new statue that depicted the Superior Mother holding the Larkinson Mandate! While Gloriana became engrossed in Hexer matters, Ves busied himself with affairs that directly related to the Larkinson Clan. "The Cross Patriarch wants to resume talks with you as soon as possible. He seems eager to partner with our clan. He has already informed us that he has slightly increased the amount of strategic materials he is willing to transfer to us in the event of a successful deal." Gavin Neumann reported. Ves smirked as he sipped his syrupy caffeinated drink. "The wedding must have dazzled him to the point where he finally realizes his weak negotiating position. I'm not quite sure whether it is best for us to join forces. We've received other offers to split the burden of obtaining passage to the Red Ocean, right Benny?" "Yes, but don't rule out the Cross Clan too soon." Gavin advised. "The other offers come from organizations that are already established and successful. Since they are not in any danger, their proposals contain fewer benefits and more demands. In contrast, the Crossers are desperate and don't have as many options. As long as we drive a hard bargain, we can gain a lot of advantages." This was a very complicated matter. Pushing the Cross Clan hard might give the Larkinson Clan a lot of benefits in the short term, but would also weaken the foundation of their alliance. The Crossers needed to feel they benefited from banding together with the Larkinsons. If any of the two sides felt they were being exploited, then a premature breakup would happen sooner or later. The Red Ocean was a dangerous place. The news he heard spoke of many accidents and enormous blunders. Without sufficient power and wealth, the pioneers who ventured into the dwarf galaxy could collapse at any moment. Travelling together with the Cross Clan for a time would definitely increase his sense of security. The biggest downside was that there was no way for him to exert too much control over his allies. Ves had to juggle all of these tradeoffs. Fortunately, he didn't have to do all of the work alone. While the Larkinson Clan lacked a stellar diplomat, his clan had beefed up hiring in this department. He had numerous negotiators who could hash out the finer details with their Crosser counterparts. "While the Crossers don't bring as much MTA merits to the table as us, they're quite sincere now. I think it might be good to have a firm grip on a junior partner. It is absolutely unacceptable for us to be in the weaker position." If the Larkinson Clan cooperated with two additional smaller partners, it would be able to maintain a prime position within the alliance. That was much more preferable to Ves than allying with equals. Once they finished their discussion on the Cross Clan, Gavin moved on to another important point. "Master Willix insists on meeting you as well. I'm not sure what she has in mind, but you should probably have a good idea." Ves nodded. "Correct." Their discussion on his spiritually-enhanced mechs wasn't over yet. They also needed to form a plan on the five expert mech projects that Master Willix agreed to collaborate on. Finally, their meeting would surely turn to the gift that she had personally presented to him yesterday. He was completely surprised by what she had given him. According to her, the value of the gift was 1 million MTA merits or an astonishing amount of MTA credits. While it wasn't a problem for her to afford it, giving him such a valuable gift raised a lot of eyebrows from the guests. There was a deeper meaning behind the present. Ves hoped to gain some clarity when he met with Master Willix. "Are there any other matters that I should know about, Benny?" "Yes. The Komodo War is experiencing another shift. The glows of the Blessed Squires and Valkyrie Redeemers had become a lot more active since yesterday. Many Hexers are questioning why, but some have begun to believe that the Superior Mother is celebrating your marriage." It was hard to miss the power boost of the two spiritual entities who were involved in the wedding. Both Goldie and the Superior Mother seemed to derive a lot of spiritual feedback from all of the emotions people felt about the wedding. Goldie's boost was fairly modest since the amount of Larkinsons she was connected to was still rather modest. The Superior Mother was different. She came in touch with an increasing number of Hexer citizens. Many of those citizens happened to tune in to the broadcast of the wedding. Even though any marriage to an inferior foreign boy was frowned upon, Ves had already transcended that category! As far as most average Hexers were concerned, he was a 'good boy'! Regardless of how the matriarchs rationalized their increasing cooperation with a foreigner, they did not block people from watching the wedding. Instead, the Hegemony's government actually encouraged its citizens to tune into the broadcast! Given all of the recent bad news trickling back from the front, the Hexers could use a distraction to lift up their morale. One of the reasons why Gloriana took part in a long list of Hexer rituals prior to exchanging vows was because it was a giant influencing operation! The broadcasts of the weddings targeted towards the Hexers were also slanted towards their sensibilities. The Hexer media outfits heavily alluded to the Superior Mother throughout the broadcast! All of this meant that a many more Hexers than before became adherents of the resurgent Supreme. The glow radiated by the statue also succeeded in bleeding through the live broadcast to an extent, thereby reinforcing the Superior Mother's presence in the minds of trillions of Hexers! Though Ves had become too caught up in his devotion towards Gloriana and the festive activities last night, he definitely recalled the Superior Mother becoming more active all of a sudden. A faintly ominous possibility came to mind. "How has the performance of the Blessed Squire and Valkyrie Redeemer changed exactly?" "Their glows are substantially stronger than before, both in intensity and range." Gavin answered. "They're more resistant against the known Fridaymen counters. The Hexer mech pilots that fall under the influence of the glows have also become more fervent. Words don't quite do justice to how extensively this power boost has affected the Hex Army. We've requested battle footage to study the changes, but it will take a few days for us to receive some." Ves could already imagine why his Hexer mechs changed. This was because he became increasingly more certain what exactly happened! In order to verify his suspicion, he concentrated his mind and reached out to one of his more powerful design spirits. As he spiritually probed the powerful entity, Ves immediately received a response! "Ouch!" Ves abruptly felt a sting on his mind! "What's the matter, boss?!" "It's nothing! I'm fine! I just.. ate something wrong maybe. Please tell the chefs to check their ingredients." "..Very well." Ves didn't pay much attention to the concerns of the people around him. In truth, he was in utter shock at the moment! His probe confirmed something incredibly important. "She's awake." He muttered under his breath. Different from his other spiritual products, the Superior Mother had always been dormant as soon as she came into existence. Ves guessed that she possessed too much power at the start, thereby forcing her into immediate metamorphosis. This state lasted for many months. Ves speculated that the Superior Mother might have completed her transformation sooner if not for the escalating amounts of spiritual feedback pouring into her. She constantly had to extend her growth in order to process all of the power she was absorbing! Ves thought that the Superior Mother might take years to end her transformation, but somehow his theories were off. His probe earlier definitely proved that she was awake and cognizant! His heart beat faster as he realized how much his life might change as a result of this development. His wedding actually came with a 'buy one get one free' promotion. In addition to obtaining a new wife, he also gained a new mother! The most important priority for him right now was ascertaining the personality of the awakened spirit. While the Superior Mother was supposed to be his mother's avatar, how much of Cynthia was present? Ves cautiously communicated with the entity he had just probed. This time, he behaved himself and approached her politely. The Superior Mother communicated by thoughts and emotions rather than words. This was not unusual among his design spirits. After a short exchange where he was able to gain a solid impression of the awakened spirit, he was finally able to put down his worries. For the moment, Cynthia Larkinson did not appear to be present. The Superior Mother was still a distinct entity who possessed her own personality and identity. Though Ves loved his birth mother, he did not relish her watching over his every move for the rest of his life! While the worst-case scenario hadn't happened, Ves overlooked an important detail. The Superior Mother was still a mother! And like every mother, she adored her child! "Ooof!" Just as Ves relaxed, his head suddenly received a firm push out of nowhere! Did.. the Superior Mother just pat his head?