POV of Leylin Blight
The aura of another titan, different from King's and the Boiling Isles titan's, surprised me, but only momentarily.
"I can sense Evy near him, she seems... impatient?" I tore through space beside me to connect two points in spacetime and move from point A to point B.
In short, I teleported by opening a portal.
"Father!!!" Evy's voice resonated loudly near my ears as I was tackled to the ground.
I could resist the force exerted by my daughter, but I wanted to spoil her a bit. She had taken good care of my body.
"How did it go without your old man?" I said, ruffling her greenish hair.
"I had so much fun in the human world and..."
Evy began to tell me about her experiences at the university, as well as her personal life. We continued this conversation while walking down the corridor of the base.
"You haven't told me about this... thing yet?"
I created an illusion of the egg's location that emanated the same aura as a titan.
She opened her eyes slightly, surprised, before displaying a slightly embarrassed expression.
"I wanted... to create another titan so I could absorb it and force an evolution of my spiritual strength, reach rank 5, maybe even 6..."
I nodded, outwardly calm, listening to her explanations, but in reality, I was slightly conflicted by this sudden desire for power from my daughter.
I could see that she wasn't seeking power for selfish reasons like mine. She probably wanted to be more useful to her daddy.
Unfortunately, I can't let her evolve without my supervision or control.
I need to apply the fishbowl and kite plan as soon as possible.
To put it simply, I must grant Evy a factitious freedom like a kite, which is an object capable of flying but held back by a string.
Outside of this factitious freedom, I must limit the information she receives from me even more.
A bit like a flea that has only known a fishbowl; if normally a flea can jump 20 times its height, then a flea that has only known a fishbowl will only be able to jump to the height of that bowl.
This is valid even if she is truly free later, it's a kind of psychological cage.
I created Evy to be my weapon, my guardian, but also my right hand in Willow's absence. However... she's a bit too dangerous in some aspects. It would be risky if she started to fully exploit her already extremely high potential.
She is literally the best of me and Eda, one a witch who has transcended her mortality and the other, at her peak without curses, can truly boast of being the strongest woman in the Boiling Isles.
I patted Evy's head, imitating a certain overpowered skeleton from an isekai anime.
"As I expected from you, Evy, you were able to guess my plans for you and you even exceeded my expectations." I said this in a proud tone, half-sincere.
"Stop it, father, I'm already an adult..." she complained, but she didn't push my hand away.
The scene would be amusing to observe from an outside perspective: a teenager patting the head of a young woman who seemed to be in her late twenties.
"Sorry, I forget that you're now a woman." I stopped patting her head and opened a portal leading to a certain castle.
I could sense that my past self was currently gone with Willow through another portal, their presence was no longer in the Boiling Isles.
"Father, there's something dangerous over there," Evy's voice had a slight tinge of panic as she looked at the landscape of Belos' castle.
"Judging by your reaction, you've already met him, haven't you?" I looked at her with a hint of disappointment before letting out a slight sigh.
"Sorry, but this guy has been manipulating witches for decades. I couldn't let him continue."
It seems that Evy's moral sense will be a problem that I'll need to solve as soon as possible.
"I see... I'll take care of him later. You, continue your experiment with this artificial titan, rest."
As I was about to cross the portal, Evy grabbed my arm to stop me.
"Sorry, father, but I really want to face this man and this shadow by myself."
She had evolved a lot mentally, she had even developed a goal parallel to the mission I had entrusted to her.
Evy, you are truly fascinating.
After a few minutes of contemplation, weighing the pros and cons of a confrontation between Evy, possessing the power of a titan, and the Collector, as well as the risks of such a situation...
"Alright, I won't kill anyone. I'm just going to talk to this poor creature."
My words seemed to surprise her. I may be an asshole, but I can grant certain requests.
It would also be interesting to study the power of the titan race on a being possessing my lineage. I really want to see if Evy can beat a being like the Collector.
"Poor creature?" She seemed confused, but I didn't intend to explain. She might lose her motivation.
I simply crossed the portal to find myself in front of Belos.
"What the..." Belos didn't have time to speak as I stopped time in this area.
I couldn't maintain this action for long, it disrupts my time and that of the world.
According to Bill Cipher's memories, I risked attracting troublesome individuals.
"You can show yourself, Collector."
I looked in a direction of the room, where a shadow seemed surprised observing its environment before turning its attention to me.
"Who are you?? And why are you familiar to me?"
(Image)
....
## POV of Amber (Willow)
"We're almost out of provisions, and the war is at its peak."
Things are going badly currently in the human world. The only good news is Simon's mental state, which has slightly stabilized.
He's no longer as depressed. I managed to alleviate his mental health with simple potions, and by spending more time with him regularly.
Of course, I also kept the crown away from him as often as possible, but it seems that distance doesn't prevent their spiritual bond from strengthening.
Simon regularly receives visions and whispers from the crown. It seems to be using my mother as bait to force him to put it back on.
Simon also confided in me that there would soon be the end of the human era. At first, I thought it was a ruse from the crown, but I'm not so sure anymore.
Humans, in this war, seem to be using increasingly powerful weapons, and I'm starting to hear rumors of war crimes against civilians on the radio.
"Amber!!!" Simon's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Yes, are you looking for me?" I was a bit confused by Simon's sudden call, and even more so seeing him packing our things.
He even had the crown hooked to his belt. You have to understand that the current Simon doesn't really look like a human anymore.
His skin is pale blue and his hair has turned snowy white.
(Image)
"I've decided we should go look for your mother."
I wanted to find her too, but her disappearance isn't natural. I even doubt she's still in this dimension, according to the information I obtained from the Enchiridion.
Unfortunately, I can't talk to Simon about my powers and my speculations about this.
Could he still consider me his daughter if he discovers my past as Willow Park?
For Simon, his daughter Amber is just a mature and intelligent little girl. I don't know how he'll react if he discovers the truth about me, and I admit... that I'm a bit afraid he'll reject me.
I've really become attached to him, despite myself.
"I understand, father. It's indeed not safe for mom to be out there in these troubled times," I finally replied, deciding to follow Simon.
Anyway, I won't be able to evolve far as a knight without real combat, and currently I'm only a rank 2 acolyte.
I can cast a few spells that Leylin taught me, but I need to complete my evolution as a knight.
My body seems to be suffering from a power imbalance. I simply have too much raw spiritual force for a body that's still too young.
It would be foolish to try to become a rank 3 acolyte in this situation.
I absolutely must move forward to become a real knight, and for that, I need a drug powerful enough to make me experience enormous psychological pressure, or a real life-or-death battle.
The "Nightosphere" dimension is my current goal if I don't find a sufficiently interesting fight or a powerful enough drug.
The Enchiridion has taught me a lot about several dimensions, and the "Nightosphere" one meets the criteria.
I admit that I would have already gone there if Simon didn't exist.
"Don't look so gloomy, Amber. We'll come back here someday."
Simon looked around with a melancholic gaze before pausing for a moment in front of a portrait of the three of us with Betty.
Author's note: I hope to have enough free time to send another chapter today.
And yes, Leylin Blight is starting to take Evy (potential) seriously, but he's mostly interested in studying her case.
I might as well say it here, as it's not yet relevant: his relationship with Evy will evolve, going from a simple subject of experiment or weapon to something else... (no incest so calm down lol)