After seeing this feather in Nicholas's consciousness ocean, Lucius couldn't help complaining.
"There's actually an expert here."
In this world, there were many existences with mental interference powers. But if you added the condition of peacock feathers, only one person met the requirements.
"It's actually Sa. Hasn't she been camping at the edge of the solar system blocking the gate?"
As an existence relying on the Sea of Quanta, Sa had intentionally been avoiding the Cocoon of Finality, therefore basically only active at the solar system's edge.
Regarding Earth under the Cocoon of Finality's control, she'd always been extremely wary.
But now, he'd actually discovered her traces in Nicholas's consciousness. This piqued Lucius's curiosity.
Besides this, there was also a kind of relief of "I knew things wouldn't go this smoothly."
Whether based on his own curiosity or to prevent Sa from affecting his script, he felt it necessary to figure out what was happening.
Nicholas's consciousness depths were protected by Sa's power. However, Lucius could see this was just a thread of the other's power.
If he was willing, relying on the Fenghuang Down in his hand and home field advantage, he could crush this thread of the other's power.
But undoubtedly, doing so would completely alert the other party.
Without knowing what this person intended, Lucius didn't plan to charge in directly.
Therefore, he had to obtain information from Nicholas without touching the other's power. In that case, forcibly reading the other's memories wouldn't work.
However, with Fenghuang Down in hand, obtaining information didn't necessarily require force.
Thinking of this, Lucius adjusted his consciousness frequency to be closer to Nicholas's, making it easier to obtain his favor.
Simply put, he activated a charisma aura.
At the same time, without touching Sa's remaining power, he performed light guidance on Nicholas's outer consciousness.
After completing this preliminary preparation, Lucius slapped his own face to make a pitiful expression appear.
Then he squatted down, grabbed Nicholas's collar, and slapped his face several times.
"Old geezer, wake up quickly."
The burning pain on his face stimulated Nicholas to open his eyes. Upon seeing "Otto" before him, the memory of just being knocked down surged up again.
Fury immediately rose in his heart. He couldn't help roaring: "Unfilial son!"
But just as he roared, he saw Otto before him lower his head, his face showing a wronged expression.
"Old geezer, I was wrong just now... I'm still just a child!"
Nicholas was about to continue venting his fury when he saw the pitiful expression Lucius put on.
Under Fenghuang Down's interference, that almost inaudible reluctance in his heart was magnified to the extreme.
Thus, Nicholas's anger dissipated and was quickly filled with reluctance to be harsh.
"Sigh... true, you're still just a child. What am I arguing with you about?"
Seeing the emotional guidance taking effect, Lucius continued:
"Old geezer, you know I've always been the most filial."
"You gave me life and raised me for over ten years. This body—if you want it, you can take it anytime."
Hearing this, that equally inaudible emotion in Nicholas's heart was captured by Fenghuang Down, then magnified to the extreme.
Instantly, Nicholas was overwhelmed by emotion. Rolling tears flowed from his eyes.
"Wuwuwu... Otto, you're such a filial child! Father, father has wronged you!"
At this moment, he'd completely forgotten about just being knocked down by his filial son, simultaneously subconsciously ignoring the words "old geezer" from Lucius's mouth.
He had now completely become the shape of being moved.
Seeing this, Lucius knew the time was ripe.
So he patted Nicholas, who was kneeling on the ground weeping bitterly, pulled him aside to sit down, and sighed:
"Since Mother's been gone, we haven't talked for a long time."
"Old geezer, let's father and son chat and speak from the heart."
After hearing Lucius mention the word mother, Nicholas's heart involuntarily surfaced with his wife he'd killed, recalling the bits and pieces of being together with her.
In this heart cold as stone, those nearly severed feelings were similarly captured by Fenghuang Down, then magnified.
Thus, Nicholas cried even harder.
"Sabrina... my beloved..., how can I live without you!"
Looking at Nicholas crying his heart out, Lucius patted his back and said with emotion:
"Old geezer, although you've lost your wife, you still have me!"
"I can completely be your most filial son. If you have anything you want to say, you can confide in me!"
Hearing Lucius's words, Nicholas cried even harder, his voice carrying hoarseness.
"Otto, you're truly too filial... wuwuwu!"
Seeing this, Lucius couldn't help reducing Fenghuang Down's power somewhat. He worried if this continued, this old geezer would cry himself to death first.
Finally, after Nicholas's emotions restrained somewhat, Lucius chatted with him.
"Old geezer, today let's open our hearts and have a good talk?"
Nicholas had completely ignored Lucius's form of address. He only felt this youngest son before him was unprecedentedly pleasing to the eye—the person he could trust most.
"Alright, we father and son will have a good talk."
Seeing they'd finally entered the main topic, Lucius asked: "You should have lived a long time, right?"
"Thinking carefully, about five hundred years."
"Can you tell me about it?"
"Sure. These years I've been holding it in my heart, which has been quite difficult. You're my most filial son. Telling you is fine."
Thus, in Nicholas's narration, Lucius quickly figured out the peculiarity about him.
Inconsistent with his apparent thirty-plus years of age, Nicholas had actually lived over five hundred years. The reason he could live this long was entirely because of that machine in the laboratory's center.
Five hundred years ago, Nicholas contracted an incurable disease. At his wit's end, he thought of the 'sacred object' passed down in his family since ancient times.
Supposedly this sacred object came from a gift from an Enlightened One and was their family's origin. But for a thousand years, not a single family member had been able to activate this sacred object.
At the moment of imminent death, Nicholas chose to pray to this sacred object.
Ultimately, he obtained a method to live on—transferring his consciousness into a brand new body sufficiently compatible with himself through this sacred object.
And the highest compatibility with his consciousness was naturally his descendants' bodies.
Just like this, relying on continuously transferring consciousness through this sacred object, Nicholas had lived through five hundred years.
"Enlightened One..."
After hearing this term, Lucius confirmed this was actually Sa's doing.
In a sense, Sa could also be considered Su's counterpart, naturally also counting as an 'Enlightened One.'
And in the post-civilization era, the sacred object worshipped by the Apocalypse family—Void Archives—similarly had an extraordinary relationship with Su, this Enlightened One.
However, thinking to this point, Lucius thought of another problem.
This era's Nicholas family's experience was so similar to the later Apocalypse family's—to say there was no 'fate's' interference was impossible.
Sa thought running to the solar system's edge could evade the Cocoon of Finality, but looking now, this might just be her wishful thinking. She was probably always within the fate woven by the Cocoon of Finality.
"Old geezer, how did you activate this sacred object?"
Hearing Lucius's question, Nicholas shook his head.
"I was nearing death then, similarly didn't know how to activate the sacred object. Could only guard before it day and night until I passed out."
"But in a dream, I saw a woman calling herself the 'Enlightened One' and obtained from her the method to activate this sacred object."
"Over the years I've also done some research on this sacred object. I discovered it seems to be some kind of high-tech product, but its technology seems far beyond our understanding."
Lucius still couldn't figure out what Sa was doing by giving Nicholas this consciousness-transferring object. So he continued asking:
"Old geezer, did you have any contact with this Enlightened One after that?"
"In the following five hundred years I never saw this Enlightened One again. About several years ago, I saw her again in a dream."
"Did she say anything?"
"Yes. This time she gave me a technology—a technology for making a certain kind of tool."
"In her description, this tool has the ability to open doors to the imaginary domain and the Sea of Dirac, and can even observe parallel world possibilities."
Hearing Nicholas's words, Lucius suddenly froze.
Because he suddenly thought—wasn't what Nicholas described precisely the Cosmic Juggernaut's ability?
What did Sa want to do?
Use it to observe parallel worlds? Or to open some space?
There were too many possibilities. Lucius didn't have a definite guess. However... he could use this to do something.
Cosmic Juggernaut, this Divine Key, belonged to important script props. He needed it too.
However, Divine Keys weren't urgent. The current problem was still Otto's plot.
After Sa's shadow appeared, Lucius knew his script had again encountered a small problem.
"Forget it, I'm used to it. Watch me correct it."
The first step to correcting the script was usurping the nest—first taking what Sa had set up.
Although he didn't know what Sa had arranged for Nicholas, it didn't matter. Anyway, from this moment on, Nicholas's life was going to be ruined.
Modifying the script in his mind, Lucius settled on a new plan.
Thus, he asked Nicholas beside him, who was still outputting information:
"Old geezer, do you have any grand ambitions?"
Nicholas showed confusion and asked back: "What grand ambitions?"
"You've lived so many years. Have you just been simply living without any lofty aspirations?"
"I see in movies many villains pursuing longevity for some grand wish—like saving humanity, fulfilling ideals, reviving loved ones, and such. Don't you have any?"
"None!" Nicholas stated frankly. "I just simply want to live. I just don't want to die."
Hearing his reply, Lucius fell silent.
A moment later he suddenly stood up, grabbed Nicholas's collar, backhanded him a slap, simultaneously roaring:
"You dog donkey, as my old geezer, how can you be so useless?!"
"Trash, truly trash. I feel ashamed having an old geezer like you!"
Nicholas was stunned by "Otto's" behavior of slapping at the slightest disagreement. After freezing for a while, he finally shouted:
"Otto! Are... are you rebelling?!"
"Slap!"
Seeing Nicholas dare talk back, Lucius backhanded him another slap, beating his anger back into his heart, simultaneously continuing to question:
"You're at the prime age for struggle. How dare you slack off?!"
"Tell me, old geezer, what is your ambition?!"
Feeling the burning pain on both sides of his face, Nicholas's heart finally recalled the ambition that had never been extinguished.
And this ambition was captured by Fenghuang Down and magnified endlessly.
Nicholas's expression froze. His memory was pulled back to five hundred years ago.
Then he was locked in a small manor, abused by that father with domestic violence tendencies.
Each time beaten black and blue, he would think—the reason he was abused by this old thing was because of his father's status.
Then while enduring the wounds in his heart, he would vow internally—if there was a chance, he would climb above everyone and become everyone's father!
That way, everyone couldn't defy him. He could do whatever he wanted!
This ambition arose in his heart, then was magnified by Lucius using Fenghuang Down, like gasoline poured on flames.
Even burning stronger and stronger, like a gushing volcano, no longer suppressible.
Nicholas's expression twisted. In an almost roaring manner, he loudly declared his ambition:
"I want to become Fire Moth's sole controller, then become all of humanity's father!"
"I want to become everyone's emperor. Then everyone who sees me must bow and scrape!"
Seeing he'd finally gotten on track, Lucius nodded and said:
"Very good. Old geezer, your wish is my wish."
"When that time comes, you'll be the Great Emperor, I'll be the Little Emperor. We'll both have beautiful futures."
"However, I think the word emperor isn't very good. How about changing it to Archbishop?"
Yes, this was Lucius's purpose.
Building Schicksal from zero was too troublesome. Better to borrow the chicken to lay eggs—going public using Fire Moth's shell.
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