The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

The First Flame was the most powerful god pilot in the Red Ocean.

He was most likely the most powerful True God in the dwarf galaxy period.

Yet when this old and immensely strong soldier spoke about the creator of the Fire Scroll, he lost all of his arrogance and assumed an attitude that was completely unlike that of a confident god pilot.

Ves found it disconcerting to hear the First Flame speak as if he was genuinely afraid of inviting punishment from an ancient being that should have been dead already. The way he cautiously shared bits and pieces of information made it seem as if saying the wrong word would cause him to suffer instant punishment!

Surprisingly enough, Ves was inclined to believe that all of this caution was justified. This was not because he fully brought into the First Flame's narrative. He merely deduced that a cultivator who was powerful enough to produce an artifact of supreme power as the Fire Scroll was probably a lot stronger!

Whether the creator of the Fire Scroll was powerful enough to snuff out every star in a region remained unclear.

Ves was pretty sure that the First Flame had not witnessed such acts himself. He lived in the wrong era for that to be possible.

It was likely that the god pilot was merely retelling a lot of old tales and legends, much of which originated from the Fire Shrine.

When the Big Two attacked the Great Temple, they managed to come away with the Fire Scroll in possession. Ves already received confirmation that the Mech Trade Association and the Common Fleet Alliance was still in possession of this Sacred Scroll after he previously inquired about the origin of the Fire Elemental.

If the mechers and the fleeters managed to steal the Fire Scroll, they likely plundered everything else that was still intact over at the Fire Shrine. They probably made off with a huge amount of written records as well as prisoners who possessed a lot of secrets in their minds.

The problem was accessing all of that juicy information. The Big Two most certainly kept all of this dangerous information in their most restricted archives. The amount of people who enjoyed the right to access the secret records must be very low.

This meant that the First Flame was probably the only authoritative source on the creator of the Fire Scroll. Every piece of information shared by this old and stodgy geezer had already been tainted by his many biases. It was difficult for Ves to interpret the actual truth when the god pilot held strong opinions about the subject!

"THE CREATOR OF THE FIRE SCROLL IS ARROGANT BEYOND ALL MEASURE. HE IS NOT AT FAULT FOR THIS AS HE TRULY REACHED A STATE OF CULTIVATION WHERE NONE BUT HIS PEERS COULD HOLD HIM BACK. EVEN THEN, HE IS KNOWN AS THE STRONGEST AND MOST POWER-HUNGRY AMONG THE 5 CREATORS. HIS RAGE CAN EVAPORATE THE OCEANS OF ENTIRE PLANETS. HE CAN BURN ANY TRUE GOD TO DEATH WHO DARES TO INSULT HIM BY NAME."

While all of this was interesting to know, Ves seriously doubted whether any of it was relevant!

"If… if the creator of the Fire Scroll used to be so powerful, then why did he die like every other powerful cultivator when the Milky Way broke? Why didn't he leverage his power to prevent this calamity from happening or migrate to another galaxy like Messier 87?"

"YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND. YOU ARE AN IGNORANT CHILD WHO SPEAKS FAR TOO LIGHTLY OF GRAVE EVENTS THAT HAS WIPED OUT THE PRECURSOR TO MODERN HUMANITY AND RESHAPED THE MILKY WAY GALAXY INTO A FORM THAT IS UNRECOGNIZABLE TO THE PRIMORDIAL HUMANS WHO LIVED IN ANCIENT TIMES. IF YOU WISH TO UNDERSTAND THE CREATOR OF THE FIRE SCROLL BETTER, THEN KNOW THAT HE IS NOT A VICTIM OF THIS TERRIBLE CALAMITY. IT IS MORE APT TO DESCRIBE HIM AS THE ARCHITECT BEHIND THE MILKY WAY'S FALL."

What?!

Ves knew that the Milky Way used to resemble Messier 87 a lot more. Then a disaster happened that somehow caused the power of heaven to disappear, thereby causing everything that could only exist in a high-energy environment to starve and break apart.

While Ves always knew that this short description only scratched the surface of the incredible history of ancient times, yet to hear that the creator of the Fire Scroll had actually played a major role in the breaking of the Milky Way was a surprise!

"What happened?!"

"CULTIVATORS." The First Flame spoke that word with ire. "EACH OF THE CREATORS OF THE SACRED SCROLLS ARE RUTHLESS IN THEIR PURSUIT OF ETERNITY. THE GALAXY THAT SPAWNED THEM HAS GENEROUSLY GIVEN THEM THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO ASCEND TO A HEIGHT THAT ALLOWS THEM TO TOWER OVER ALL OTHER BEINGS. YET THAT IS NOT ENOUGH TO SATISFY THEIR GREED FOR POWER. THEY FEAR DEATH SO MUCH THAT THEY HAVE DONE THE UNTHINKABLE. THEY CONSPIRED TOGETHER TO DISREGARDED THE WELLBEING OF EVERYONE ELSE BY ATTEMPTING TO PLUNDER THE SOURCE THAT SUSTAINED THE MILKY WAY."

Ves widened his eyes!

This was a massive revelation, one that not only unveiled a crucial gap in the history of ancient times, but also provided crucial context on all 5 creators of the Sacred Scrolls!

Ves and Furia both developed a better understanding of the personality and the ambitions of the creator of the Fire Scroll.

"Does any of this story resonate with you, Furia?" Ves asked in the hopes of obtaining confirmation.

As much as the First Flame's retelling made sense, Ves had to remind himself that there was no guarantee that the source was accurate. Perhaps a lot of historians at the time wrote a lot of embellishments or outright distortions of the truth!

Perhaps the creators of the Sacred Scroll fought to save the prosperous ecosystem of the Milky Way, but ended up on the losing side of a battle, thereby allowing the victors to malign their enemies.

The only way to obtain a real indication of whether any of this was accurate was to go right to the source!

Ves could feel that Furia's domain had become unsettled. Hearing that her 'other' progenitor' used to be one of the biggest war criminals that the Milky Way ever produced throughout its history was quite an unpleasant surprise!

No wonder the First Flame sounded so cautious about this ancient figure! This was a cultivator who had demonstrated so much selfishness that he was willing to doom everyone who lived in an entire galaxy just to advance his own cultivation!

"THE STORIES… ARE STIRRING UP NEW IMPRESSIONS." Furia responded. "THEY ARE… UNCOMFORTABLE… BUT THEY RING TRUE TO ME. THE FIRST FLAME IS NOT EXAGGERATING. THE CREATOR OF THE FIRE SCROLL IS TRULY WILLING AND ABLE TO DRAIN THE ENERGY OF AN ENTIRE GALAXY TO PROMOTE HIS EVOLUTION. HE HAS NO REGARD FOR HOW OTHERS WILL SUFFER FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS ACTIONS. HE DOES NOT RESPECT THE WEAK, NOR ACKNOWLEDGE THAT FELLOW HUMANS BELONG TO THE SAME SPECIES AS HIM. HE IS… ANTITHETICAL TO EVERYTHING MODERN HUMANITY STANDS FOR. I AM… HIS WORST POSSIBLE INCARNATION."

It sounded as if Furia was on the verge of suffering an identity crisis! Ves could not allow Furia to question her identity any further!

"All of that is in the past." Ves hastily spoke up. "We have moved on from those ancient times. The current era is no longer the era of the creators of the Sacred Scrolls. If this fellow was truly responsible for reshaping the Milky Way for the worse, then he truly deserved to lose much of his power and perish. The humans of our generation have no desire to see him restored. The Five Scrolls Compact during the Age of Conquest may have gotten close to reviving him, but in the end the people have chosen to leave behind the past and pursue their own future."

Furia's domain grew a little more stable after hearing that. "YOU ARE… CORRECT. HIS SHADOW LOOMS LARGE OVER ME, BUT THAT IS NO REASON TO ENABLE HIS RETURN. HE IS TOO GREAT OF A THREAT TO ALL OF US. I HAVE FOUND THE PURPOSE OF MY EXISTENCE NOW. LEARNING ABOUT THE LEGACY THAT I HAVE 'INHERITED' HAS MADE ME UNDERSTAND MY MISSION."

She sounded increasingly more certain as she said this. Her domain also became more solid again.

At the very least, she was starting to cede less ground against the phoenix! This was valuable progress!

"Would you like to share, Furia?" Ves asked in an encouraging tone.

"MY PURPOSE… MY PURPOSE IS TO MASTER HIS POWER, BUT NOT HIS AMBITION. INSTEAD… MY MISSION IS TO ATONE FOR HIS MANY CRIMES AND SEEK ABSOLUTION IN HIS STEAD. HE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO DO THIS, WHICH MAKES IT ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT FOR ME TO UTILIZE WHAT LITTLE MIGHT HE POSSESSES FOR THE GOOD OF THE HUMANS UNDER MY CHARGE!"

Although Furia hadn't really come much closer to understanding her personal rune, she had gained so much certainty and purpose that she became more assured in her own existence!

This seemed to do wonders in the ongoing struggle. Not only was she beginning to muster up a better defense against the phoenix, she also regained her sense of confidence!

Ves was quite impressed by all of the changes. He did not think it was coincidence that the Fire Flame's ramblings produced such a positive result.

It was a mistake to characterize the First Flame as a stubborn old fool that was way too inflexible to adapt to the changing times.

"While I am glad that you have strengthened your domain, the gap in strength still remains. Have you come any closer to comprehending your personal rune?"

"...PERHAPS. I HAVE FINALLY BEGUN TO RESONATE WITH IT, BUT IT IS STILL CLOSED TO ME. THE CREATOR TRULY SEES HIMSELF AS A STAR THAT SHINES ACROSS THE ENTIRE GALAXY. YET THERE IS MORE TO HIS DOMAIN THAN THAT. I AM MISSING TOOO MANY PIECES OF THE PUZZLE."

"Do you have any guesses on how Furia can complete the picture, Your Holiness?"

"I HAVE SAID ON THIS SUBJECT." The powerful god pilot said. "I DO NOT AGREE WITH YOUR STRATEGY. FURIA'S DOMAIN MAY NOT FIT HER WELL AT THE MOMENT, BUT SHE IS STILL A FIRE ELEMENTAL. THERE IS GREAT MEANING IN THAT. HER COMMAND OVER FIRE SHOULD ALREADY ENABLE HER TO COMMAND THE GREATER RUNES THAT YOU OBSESS OVER. MUCH LIKE THE PHOENIX, SHE DOES NOT NEED TO PUT ANY DELIBERATE EFFORT TO CONSTRUCT THESE RUNES. THE CREATOR OF THE FIRE SCROLL HAS ALREADY SUPPLIED HER WITH THE RIGHT ABILITIES. ALL SHE NEEDS TO DO IS TO LEVERAGE HER WILL TO DOMINATE THE POWER OF FIRE, AND EVERYTHING WILL AUTOMATICALLY FULLOW SUIT."

Though Ves did not want to agree with the god pilot, he knew far more about this kind of stuff than himself.

Ves was just a Senior Mech Designer while the First Flame was the most powerful god pilot of red humanity. The latter definitely understood True Gods a lot better than almost everyone else!

Certainly, his guidance already brought Furia on the right track. All she needed to do was push herself further and become more proactive in the use of fire energy.

She was already beginning to do that with renewed enthusiasm. She no longer paid the gap in strength in mind and tried her best to strengthen her workings as much as possible.

Though she was only able to manipulate lesser runes for the time being, the difference was that she pushed a lot harder to break the boundaries and seek greater strength.

It was as if she was trying to strengthen her need so much that she would eventually be able to 'recall' one of the creator's memories on how to perform a more powerful technique!

It was as good of a strategy as any, though Furia had yet to produce any positive results.

Ves needed to decide whether he should put his faith into Furia's current approach.