6912 Cannot Stop Moving Ves felt tempted to use the Radiant particle himself. It was a selfish idea, and one that went against his principles of a mech designer. Yet that may be the most proper way to leverage this powerful resource. If the Light of Sol merely produced the Radiant particle without any further complications, then it would have been fine to use it to upgrade an expert mech or ace mech. The problem was that the power of a single Radiant particle was miniscule. Even the weakest Destroyer weapon leveraged the power of lots of Destroyer particles. What separated the higher tiers from the lower tiers was the concentration of Destroyer particles. The greater the amount of particles that got stuffed in weapons of the same dimensions, the greater their destructive activity. Ves did not know much about Radiant particles, but given their similarities to Destroyer particles, the same rules should apply to the former as well. Therefore, a single Radiant particle was pretty much useless for even the weakest expert pilots. The only way the Radiant particle was able to surpass its own physical limitations was if a god pilot had permanently severed a piece of his willpower and imbued it into the particle of his own making. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞 From what Ves had learned, this was not an ordinary process. It was much as if Ves cut off a piece of his soul. The Light of Sol permanently weakened himself in order to transform the Radiant particle into a persistent wonder. This was a gift of great value. The god pilot probably gave it to Ves in order to increase his entanglement with the Terran Alliance. So long as Ves accepted this generous gift and made use of it, he owed the Terran Alliance a debt of gratitude. Ves was not the sort of person who reneged on his debts. Anyone who studied history would know how much he honored all of his professional as well as most of his non-professional commitments. Right now, Ves felt conflicted by what he was supposed to do with the Radiant particle. In order to verify that its use would be detrimental to most high-ranking mech pilots, Gloriana called over Saint Commander Casella Ingvar and Saint Dise Larkinson to the design lab. The two ace pilots couldn't help but gaze at the cylindrical container that currently rested inside a protective chamber. "Why have you called us over, madame?" Saint Dise asked. "We need to understand your reaction and compatibility with the Radiant particle." The female mech designer replied. "My husband and I have come up with many theories and deductions. We are reasonably confident of our guesses, but it is better to back it up with empirical data. In a minute, Ves will issue the command that will release the Radiant particle from its container. All of us must enter the chamber and expose ourselves to the will that is attached to it and try to test your compatibility with it. You do not have to stay if it makes you feel uncomfortable in any way." Both ace pilots looked intrigued. They did not fear exposure to the willpower of a god pilot. It would be pathetic if saints were so fragile that their entire cognition collapsed just because they experienced the power of a pilot that happened to make a lot more progress on the same path. Yet the risks could not be dismissed. Shallow exposure might not do much, but if the ace pilots got too close or attempted to draw upon the Radiant particle's power, a conflict might occur. This was why Ves and Gloriana organized a practical test. They could only proceed with their planning if their plans were based on more than empty speculation. After a short delay, an apparatus slowly opened the cylinder and enabled the Radiant particle to float free. At the same time, Ves along with the two ace pilots entered the chamber. The atmosphere was different. The Radiant particle may be small and solitary, but it shoone enough light to make it seem as if the experimental chamber had turned into a heavenly realm! Ves already started to feel certain urges rising to the top. He experienced the need for speed and the desire to bask in the light of a thousand alien stars. He also wanted to design the lightest and fastest possible Carmine mech, before forming a Blood Pact with it so that he could try to outspeed light! Compared to previous instances of exposure, Ves clearly sensed greater interference from the Radiant particle. It was as if it listened to their concerns and deliberately amped up the effect in order to conduct a better test. The two ace pilots definitely experienced it as well. Their domain fields, though weak outside of their mechs, grew more agitated as they channeled their willpower in order to retain control over themselves. Ves meanwhile continued to parse what he sensed from the Radiant particle. Though it was relatively weak, Ves could feel the Light of Sol's absolute confidence in himself. As the god pilot who outran the speed of light in realspace, the Terran god pilot's life and cognition was dominated by a sense of eternal restlessness. Much like actual light, Divine Thibault Clement could no longer remain completely still anymore. His desire to keep moving exceeded all of his other instincts and urges. Yet because he had taken this obsession to the extreme, the Light of Sol gained the power to break reality just to be able to reach new standards over time! Ves suddenly felt he gained a sense of the god pilot's true self. This was a mysterious impression and one that did not require him to study an obscure book. The Light of Sol constantly needed to surpass his speed record in order to maintain his confidence in his own strength! He could never stop moving, either in a literal or metaphorical sense. The man broke through and became a god through movement. This had subsequently become a core part of his identity, or rather his divinity. His God Kingdom reflected his true self, or it may even be the real form of the god pilot in truth. The Light of Sol and the Radiant may appear to be a human or a mech, but neither forms reflected his authentic self anymore. According to his own understanding, Ves believed that god pilots had actually transformed into energy-based life forms. If this was true, then it was not wrong to assume that a God Kingdom was the most authentic representation of a god pilot After all, these extremely large and powerful domain fields were made up of pure energy! God pilots contrasted sharply with ancient phase whales as the latter almost completely expressed their divinity in their physical bodies. Ancient phase whales therefore became a lot easier to figure out as their bodies could be dissected and studied. In contrast, god pilots did not suffer from this weakness. Their physical forms still mattered to a degree, or else there was no point for the Invictus to get upgraded with superdimensional technology. However, even if an enemy managed to blast apart the god mech, that did not necessarily mean that the new 'deity' would completely die. So long as their God Kingdoms remained in order, there was still a possibility that the god pilot and god mech could get resurrected! Ves did not have any proof that this was possible, but now that he came into contact with the willpower of a peculiar god pilot, he developed many new insights that eluded him in the past. However, there was a limit to how much information he could absorb at a time. Ves raised his hand and turned it into a fist. "Let us end this here. I do not think we will gain that much further insights with any further prolonged exposure." Saint Commander Casella slowly opened her eyes. "It is for the best." "Saint Dise, can you describe your experiences? You came in quite close proximity to the Radiant particle." The ace pilot crossed her arms. "I did sense the willpower of the Light of Sol. It is… humbling to get into such close contact with the willpower of a god pilot. The gap between us is enormous. I already understood that on an intellectual level, but now that I have been able to taste the real thing, I can see more clearly how much I have to go in order to wield such a weapon with greater responsibility." "And you don't think you will pass?" "I know that I will not." Dise replied. "Our personalities are too different from each other. I share little in common with the Light of Sol. I am afraid that I will never be able to surpass him if I fall in love with his powers and design applications. No. In order to cut off any hint of this, it is best if I maintain my distance. The upgrades applied by Ketis are more than enough to satisfy my desire for greater power. I still have a long way to go before I have mastered the power of my superdimensional mech and greatsword. I am also struggling to make my sword formations effective. I have no room left for weapons based on this particle." That was a definitive and thorough answer. Though not all expert pilots or ace pilots would react this way, Ves believed that they too would have concerns about contamination. Ves turned to Casella. "What about you? Is it possible for you to tap into its power without losing a part of your identity?" The Saint Commander furrowed her brows. She did not answer right away, which signified that her answer was not simple. "Technically speaking, your theory may be correct. If I push myself, I may be able to control any weapon, fey or other device that is based on this Radiant particle. However, I will constantly have to be on guard. If my mental defenses slip, I may end up getting influenced by the Light of Sol without my awareness. It is better for me to err on the side of caution and wait until my resonance strength has grown. The smaller the difference between myself and the god pilot, the lower the risk of contamination." That sounded plausible. Junior ace pilots still needed to be on guard against the Radiant particle, but senior ace pilots might be able to hold their own in its presence. None of the Larkinson ace pilots had reached this stage, so the point was moot. "Thank you for cooperating with our experiment." Ves said at the end. "From your reactions, it is clear that neither of you are willing or able to make use of Radiant weapons or gear without serious concerns. Since this is the case, we will reserve the Radiant particle for a different application." Both ace pilots accepted this outcome. "What are your intentions, then?" The Saint Commander pressed. Ves briefly thought about this decision. He could either use the Radiant particle to upgrade one of the systems of the Tortuous Scream, or he could use it to upgrade his phase lord gear! Since Ves struggled to make up his mind, perhaps he should solicit advice from others. "Your recommendation?" "Use it for yourself." The Saint Commander responded. "The Tortuous Scream is not that good of a warship considering her alien origin. It is inevitable that we will phase her out. It is better for you to create a powerful weapon for yourself that can grow alongside you and continue to grow stronger. You can also better learn how to wield the power lent to you by the Light of Sol, either through your personal brand of wizardry or by upgrading the design of your weapon. It is also much more manageable for you to construct a personal weapon as opposed to a much larger warship module." Ves slowly nodded. "You make for a persuasive case. Since there is no one else in our clan that can make better use of this resource, then I will do as you say." Thank you for reading my work. If you wish to support The Mech Touch, please vote with your golden tickets! Purchase Privilege for The Mech Touch! Read a varying amount of chapters ahead of regular readers while enjoying a 99% discount on unlocking new chapters! Join The Mech Touch's unofficial Discord server: https://discord.gg/APB5KCU