Chapter 7144: The Self Showdown The time had come for a showdown. Ves had already changed into a nanosuit. It was fairly thick at its current size, but he was sure that it would stretch to a thin layer once he realized his full size. He was having second thoughts about unfolding his true body, though. Although he knew that it was best to confront Sev under controlled circumstances, what if that was not enough? What if Sev decided to stick around and couldn’t be stuffed back in the bottle? Ves did not want his alter ego to hijack his body and stay put despite all of the opposition! Yet if he continued to postpone this operation, it would continue to haunt his thoughts. He was also afraid that the problem would only grow worse over time. If his phase lord cultivation advanced even further, Sev would grow stronger and gain more leverage. From a logical perspective, it was best to deal with Sev when he was still weak and incapable of relying on force to break his way out of all of the restraints. Ves eyed the superdimensional shackles and chains with great suspicion. "Am I supposed to put them on?" He asked. "Yes." The Farseer said. "Do not worry. We will move them across your body by remote control. We only ask you to remain still so that we can minimize the variables. The next steps will proceed much smoother if there is no need for our mechs to step in and teach Sev a lesson." The shackles should be effective at restraining a lesser phase lord like Sev. The same could be said for Ves. If he ever lost the support of red humanity and turned into a wanted criminal, superdimensional shackles could easily be used to confine him and make sure he stayed in place. The collies had not forgotten about his ability to manipulate E energy radiation either. The walls of the ritual chamber contained plenty of dampening materials similar to B-stone that was able to block the passage of E energy radiation. The only E energy that was allowed to circulate in this protected chamber came from hyper materials and other controlled sources. The collies wanted to leave as little to chance as possible. Only by holding all of the cards would they be able to corner Sev into accepting a compromise. Ves let out a nervous breath as he tried to shove these uncomfortable thoughts away. "Let’s get this over with. Where should I stand?" A gaggle of collies led him to the right position. Ves stared closely at the superdimensional restraints and experienced existential fear. There was no way he could break out of them by relying on his own power. Most tech and materials would not be able to do more than scratch them. Superdimensional matter and technology was too well-positioned as a counter against phase lords and many other subjects for that matter. Many people began to retreat from the ritual chamber. All of the painted and carved symbols seemed to create a strained atmosphere. Ves already felt affected by them despite the fact that barely any E energy circulated along the ritual circles. "Chief councilor, we have completed our preparations." The voice of the Farseer transmitted from the overhead speakers. "Get ready and unfold your true body. As you do, make sure to maintain a strong connection to your companion spirit. Blinky should give you a measure of awareness and control even as your other personality is roused. You may begin whenever you are ready." Ves took a few more measured breaths before he decided to pull the trigger. There was not much point in procrastinating any further. He overcame his strong resistance against this move and began to unfold his body like he did in the past. As the mass and dimensions of his body began to enlarge, his nanosuit automatically adjusted to keep him covered. At the same time, the chained shackles came to life. They lifted off the floor and began to assume the right positions. Though Ves still felt in control over his body, that rapidly began to fade once he reached a certain threshold. A part of Ves strongly urged him to stop and turn back before it was too late. It took an even greater amount of courage and conscious effort for him to break past his renewed hesitation and firmly put his fate in the hands of the collies! "I HAVE RETURNED!" Sev victoriously crowed as he came to ’possess’ the true body yet again! "Behold, my Ascended Giants! Your god king has arrived and he sh—urkh! Release me! You are abusing your only savior!" Sev’s arrogant tone immediately turned indignant as the superdimensional restraints locked onto his form. Thick superdimensional shackles captured his wrists and ankles in an instant. The chains attached to them started to get pulled into multiple directions. Sev’s gigantic form immediately started to lose footing. The phase lord fell to his knees while his arms got pulled behind his back! This was a profoundly humiliating pose! "Unhand me! You dare touch your god?! This is a travesty!" "Oh, shut up, you idiot! I can’t believe that you were born from my body!" With the help of the ritual circles and other support, a larger and more empowered version of Blinky emerged from the human phase lord’s head. The RC managed to pull it off. Ves felt as if his consciousness had temporarily shifted over to Blinky. Although his alter ego tried his best to pull Blinky back and stuff him in a deep dark hole, that did not work this time! The entire ritual chamber was working all of the subversive personality’s attempts to assert control! "You." Sev spoke with vitriol as he recognized Ves right away. "You are a weakling and a failure. Your complete inability to embrace your destiny has set you back in ways you cannot imagine. What is so great about being a mech designer when you have to work so hard only to let others steal all of the glory with the help of your works? What is so wrong about working for yourself? You have yet to make a Carmine mech for yourself!" "I am working on it, you imbicile! If you are a part of myself, then you should know that already." "You could have become a god if you realized how much greater you have become, but still you cling to your identity as a human as if you are suffering from Stockholm syndrome. These weaklings are holding you back from achieving greatness. It is no surprise that I have come into existence. I am the strength that you deny!" Blinky or Ves grew furious. Sev stood against all of his values and principles! How the hell were they supposed to accept and play nice when they had nothing in common?! Fortunately, Ves was not by himself. The Farseer began to speak through the speakers. "Mr. ’Sev’, it is a distinct pleasure to be graced by your presence. Let us dispense with the posturing. We are aware that you know everything that Ves knows. You should understand why we have given you an opportunity to appear. Let us set aside your many differences with us and Ves. Let us focus on a goal that we all wish to realize. How do you feel about becoming the department head of the Phase Lord Department?" The allure of this possibility was so strong that Sev became a lot more serious. "You are too presumptuous, mortal. Even if you have correctly identified a point of interest of mine, you should at least give me the courtesy of using the correct terms. The Ascended Giants have chosen their own name. Use it. Do not refer them to their mortal names. Now that we are on this subject, you should call me by my real name, not the ’Sev’ that you have foisted upon me without much thought." The disgust in the phase lord’s voice was obvious to everyone. Sev felt so strongly about it that he gave off the impression that he would withhold his cooperation unless the others indulged his requests. The formation master remained silent for a moment. The collies must probably be deliberating on whether they should meet the phase lord’s request at the cost of showing weakness. Ves already made up his own mind. "I don’t like you, but I am... willing to be reasonable with you. I only hope that you can reciprocate my gesture. What... alternative name have you chosen for yourself?" ’Sev’ grinned as he turned as best as his restraints allowed. The phase lord stared at Blinky as if he wanted to devour the spiritual cat. "My chosen name is the Dark Apostle." Ves did not like this choice! He immediately had the urge to veto this choice! It was only because he needed to take the greater mission into account that he held this impulse back. Ves had a few ideas why Sev chose this moniker. Perhaps the main reason why Sev chose this moniker was to tweak his ’cowardly’ human counterpart. "I am not sure whether you have made the right choice." Blinky carefully said. "An apostle is the envoy of a more powerful god or existence. Adopting this name means that you already put yourself underneath another being." "That is true, but so what? I worship supreme power. You have touched it yourself once upon a time. When you learned how to wield the power of darkness with adequate proficiency, you glimpsed the fundamental truth that is hidden to most gods and mortals. They have no understanding of the sinister existence that threatens to unmake all life. How can you not be awed by such strength? It is an honor to tap into this dark power and learn how to wield it to exact destruction on our enemies. Besides, who says I am content to remain an apostle? My new name is not permanent. One day, I shall rise up and supplant that supreme existence!" Ves almost couldn’t believe what he heard! The ’Dark Apostle’ or whatever was talking complete nonsense! The Dark Apostle Self Defense Manual Fruit had taught him how to channel the power of darkness through staff techniques, but it also came with a lot of religious nonsense. Unfortunately, not all of it was complete fantasy. The Dark Apostles were missionaries of a vast and unknowable force of darkness that lurked in the depths of the universe. Suffice to say, this dark entity was not benign. Few people appreciated it when a Dark Apostle walked up to them and tried to convert them into worshiping this nihilistic force of nature. The entire point of the ’self defense manual’ was to help a dark apostle survive the backlash of his own proselytizing! Ves wanted nothing to do with the dark existence that was associated with the self defense manual. Unfortunately, the Sev had different ideas! "Please reconsider." "No." "You won’t earn much respect from the Ascended Giant if you don’t assume a domineering enough name." Blinky argued. "I mean, just think of what others call themselves. There is the Oscillating Fist, which evokes the vision of your body getting shaken to pieces if you are struck by one of his fists. Then there is the Unshakeable King. He sounds as if he is invincible while not being too blatant and direct about it. Then there is you. The Dark Apostle. You sound like you are a student rather than a champion that has earned the right to lead the Ascended Giants." The phase lord tried to move his arms, but his shackles kept them behind his back. He opted to smirk. "A student is at the start of his journey. I still have room to grow. One day in the future, I shall crown myself a king, but that day has not yet come. Even I am not as presumptuous as the Unshakeable King, who has already claimed a crown despite transcending his mortality in a year." The ’Dark Apostle’ refused to change his decision. For better or worse, the others had little choice but to accept this new name if they wanted any hope of working together with this conceited personality.