Chapter 523: Xia Xiu's Beneficiaries.
Terra Calendar 1591.1.11.
08:10 AM.
Hell's Kitchen.
Inside the Helserem Tower, the Director's office was gently bathed in the morning sunlight.
The sunlight filtering through the curtain wall mirrored Xia Xiu's fine blond hair, creating a warm scene.
The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, and his black suit jacket was casually draped over a nearby swivel chair. A silver, ornate cane rested quietly beside the chair, exuding an unspoken sense of authority.
Xia Xiu sat in the spacious office, before him a complex holographic projection device.
This device reproduced the entirety of the streets of Hell's Kitchen, meticulously depicting every building and alley, even the drifting dust and pedestrians appearing lifelike.
Beneath this holographic chessboard, a series of exquisitely scaled "figs" lay.
Xia Xiu, the director of the Administration Bureau, rolled up his sleeves, his hands moving these "figs" across the board with light and precise movements.
His brow furrowed slightly, completely absorbed in the manipulation of the chess pieces, constantly adjusting the positions of his figures.
"Not enough, far from enough," Xia Xiu whispered, his eyes deep, like a god looking down upon his creation, as he gazed upon the intricate and detailed holographic chessboard before him.
At his feet, scattered among the "figs" of various sizes and scales, they appeared vivid and distinct in the interweaving of light and shadow, as if each possessed its own soul and story.
The most common of these figurines were the "war chess" models, approximately 1.1 inches tall. Their meticulous craftsmanship and rich details filled two-thirds of the entire chessboard, forming the fundamental strength of the game.
However, among the numerous war chess pieces, three 6-inch-tall special figures stood out. With their unique shapes and unmistakable iconic features, they stood like heroes on the battlefield, quietly guarding this virtual battlefield.
These three figures were none other than the "Special Operators" Xia Xiu had been collecting recently. The three 6-inch-tall special figures below—representing the Moon Rabbit, the Mole, and the Green Ox—were meticulously portrayed, instantly recognizing their respective identities.
Amidst this meticulously staged battlefield, there was a dedicated area dedicated to several gigantic mechanical models.
The most prominent of these was a 9-inch-tall Titan model, its massive size and intricate design standing out as a symbol of unparalleled combat power.
In addition, there were twenty 5-inch tank models.
Thirty 5-inch special steam airships.
Thirty 5-inch armored combat vehicles of various shapes. Finally, there are one hundred 3-inch special artillery models.
"The blueprints I brought from the inner world aren't enough to construct a complete diagram of the Spark's mechanical structure. My current situation doesn't allow me to carefully analyze them, so I can only borrow some from the Knights and the Orthodox Church to complete the Spark's combined with the Book of Order's kingdom structure. The 'Special Operators' I recruit will likely be thaumaturges like Mole, inclined towards the Way of Mechanics, to assist me in advancing the kingdom's domain structure.
The twenty-sixth Legion structure currently stuck in [Vassago], and the remaining one-third of the kingdom structure brought by [Metatron] and [Shattered Spark], are too complex for me to complete on my own. Therefore, I must have the 'Twelve Special Operators' search for the remaining 'Demon God' Legions across the various realms. It just so happens that the legion's structure can assist the Administration's Aristocratic Family Project and Beast Taming Project. As for the remaining one-third of the kingdom's domain..."
Xia Xiu murmured inwardly, his right hand, with its rolled-up white sleeve, slowly rising.
Crackle—
As he slowly raised his right hand, a blazing flame formed from overlapping azure blocks of light quietly ignited. It was the [Data Fire].
The flame danced in the air, emitting a dazzling light, as if searching for a counterpart.
At this moment, an angelic being clad in a dazzling white robe slowly appeared behind Xia Xiu, as if descending from another dimension.
The angel's robes were embroidered with intricate symbols and mysterious patterns, and a radiant crown crowned his head, further emphasizing his dignity and holiness.
Most striking were the three pairs of light particle wings behind him. Each wing emitted a soft and warm glow, as if able to dispel all the world's gloom and suffering.
In his left hand, the angel tightly grasped an ancient tome, also engraved with various symbols. The glow emanating from this tome echoed with the [Data Fire] in Xia Xiu's right hand, as if some mysterious and profound connection existed between the two. At this moment, a silent resonance formed between Xia Xiu and the angel, as if time and space had become insignificant in their presence.
——Heavenly Genealogy——
[Hugh Abraham]
[Class: Throne Archangel]
++Genealogy: [Heavenly - Book of Order (Book of the Conquest of All Worlds)]
++Secret Key: Metatron (Elements: Holy Light, Perfection, Order, Truth, Law, [End])
++Secret Key (Expanded): Vassago (Elements: Time, Observation, Pollution)
++Stage 4: Crowner (True Name Domain {Completed}, Authority Domain {Completed}, Kingdom Domain {1/3}, Intrinsic Domain {Prototype})
++EVE Particle Content: Threshold Limit Exceeded (EVE Particles Dispatched by Power)
++Heavenly Weight: Wielder of the Sword of Damocles, Heavenly Decider (Reserve), Twenty-Four Holy Casters (First Holy Caster) (The following appears to be unrelated and likely a separate topic.)
++Entries (all entries have been crowned): [Weakened Presence (Meme)], [Light Servant I Thaumatology Circuit], [Light Servant II Thaumatology Circuit], [Light Servant III Thaumatology Circuit], [Laser Phase Positioning], [Eight-Part Light Wheel], [Perfect Collapse Impression], [Partial Body Hollowing], [Stand Switch]...)
++Modules: New module integrated—[End] (integrated [Hat Trick], [Light Body], [Don Quixote], [Sarkic Heart Engine]...)
++Crown·Fourfold Domain++
++True Name Domain: Crown of Thorns
++Authority Domain: Authoritative Relic·Shattered Spark (Official Gospel Sacred Machine·Prometheus)
++Realm Domain (Crown Unfolded): Out-of-Control World, ??? (Twenty-Sixth Legion in the Making), ??? (Broken Spark + Book of Order/Book of Conquest of All Worlds in the making—)
++Intrinsic Domain: [End] (Intrinsic Prototype: Key to the End has been formed—)
++[Miracle: Prologue]: Lever of Heaven, Part Three
**[Key to Heaven: Metatron]**
First Authority: Lord of Holy Light (Triple Form Transformation)
Second Authority: Hand of the Supreme Being
Third Authority: Book of Order
Fourth Authority: Perfect Prosthetic Eye
Fifth Authority (Spark): All-Mind Scan
Sixth Authority (Spark): Om Messiah (Fire Thief/Prometheus)
Seventh Authority (Spark): Spark Source: Ignition
**[Solomon's Key: Vassago]**
First Authority: Time Sink (Time Warp/Pause)
Second Authority: Noble Son (Legion Commander/Personalized Customization)
Third Authority: Future Vision (Time Control)
——————————
Xia Xiu's current thaumaturgy is stuck at a very awkward "reservoir" stage. Perhaps it's due to excessive cheating, but he's stuck in the third of the four realms of the [Crown].
The fourth, the [Essential Realm], has already taken shape.
However, he is an unprecedented trinity. While Sisyphus, representing [Humanity], has completed the construction of the [Out of Control World], the remaining two, representing [Spirit] and [God], remain—Vassago and Metatron.
These two forces effectively trapped Xia Xiu within the realm's structure. Without filling the other two reservoirs, he couldn't utilize his Essence or the Miracle Wedge to advance toward great spirituality, nor could he complete the first stage of the Miracle: traversing the Seven Etheric Layers to become a Self-Sacrificer.
Xia Xiu glanced at his massive 'reservoir.'
The path to Vassago's reservoir was clear. As long as he completed the construction of the twenty-sixth legion, the realm would naturally be complete. He already had three legions. It's worth mentioning that his third legion originated from the massive structures known as the Himalaya Shields on Jupiter's moon. When he brought Jupiter back to Terra, he swallowed them into his shadow as his third legion.
Each of these Himalaya Shields was massive, like mountains.
Though they moved slowly and lacked significant offensive power, their sheer size, combined with their inherent 'Magic Forbidden Aspect' and 'Invincible Defense', made them truly powerful.
Just releasing them could trigger a small, instantaneous earthquake.
The legion was still short of twenty-three, and he couldn't possibly find them one by one right now.
Thus, Xia Xiu had designed the Aristocratic Family Plan within his resolution—on the one hand, it heavily invested in the newly developed Beast Taming system, and on the other, it was effectively laying the groundwork for his legion and his path to transcendence.
The construction of Vassago's kingdom was only a matter of time, but Metatron was much more troublesome.
Because it blended with the igneous seeds of his own embryonic form, it formed a path to kingdom construction that gave Xia Xiu a considerable headache.
Perhaps because Metatron had a few billion resources activated, his construction also required a few billion resources.
Xia Xiu looked down at the ripples created by the interaction of the [Data Fire] and the [Book of Order], engraved with the last third of his kingdom's path.
The moment he lowered his head, his eyes began to be enveloped in pure white.
[Perfect Prosthetic Eyes—]
The pure white of his eyes was as pure as fresh snow, as if formed from the first falling flakes of winter. The whites of his eyes were so pure, without a trace of blood or blemish, as clear as a pool of mountain water, as deep as an unpolluted universe.
At this moment, within Xia Xiu's vision, a vast and complex branching tree quietly unfolded, a scene imbued with a sense of futurism and technology that only he could see.
This branching tree encompassed everything, each branch representing a developmental path for an ability, technique, or strategy.
At the top of this branching tree, a throne appeared, from which hovered an angel holding a book.
The angel's face bore a striking resemblance to Xia Xiu, as if he were a divine reflection of him, or perhaps an idealized embodiment of his own.
Behind the angel stood a massive humanoid mecha, a guardian of war and peace, holding aloft the Data Flame.
The azure Data Flame burned brightly within the mecha's grasp, its light as dazzling as the sun, illuminating the light-winged angel holding the book, making it appear divine and inviolable.
At the bottom of the branching tree, three main paths of development were clearly displayed: Order, Conquest, and End.
Order (Preacher) - Disciple/Blesser.
Conquest (Om Messiah) - Path of All Odds.
End (Godslayer) - ???
When Xia Xiu looked toward the Path of Order, three Gifters who had already been "spotted" by him appeared.
[Katarina Ivanova (Chimera Body)]
[She is not only a craftsman of the flesh, but also a shaper of the soul.
Her gift is destined to challenge the limits of life, foreshadowing the extraordinary transformation of her flesh and blood.]
[Special Ability: While in the state of Final Godfall, the efficiency of those contaminated by the Crown is reduced by 70%.]
'That person must be sinless, pure, and uncorrupted, forgiving when necessary and vigilant when necessary, merciful to the weak and merciless to the guilty, compassionate, generous, selfless, humble, heroic, brave, and fair.'
[Rich Robert (Priest of the Steel Seal)]
[He is not only a master of technology, but also a poet of soul and steel.
His existence symbolizes the sacred alliance between humanity and machinery. Through him, the will of the Om Messiah is manifested on earth. He holds the secrets of ancient and future technology, able to manipulate and decipher the language of machines, bringing even the most stubborn mechanical minds into obedience. His prayers awaken dormant mechanical souls, unleashing unprecedented power. Under his guidance, machines become not only tools of war but also the embodiment of faith in the God of All Machines. "The devil, who deceives mankind with his false mechanical ways, will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever."]
[Evan Rowell (Blessed One/Nature Whisperer)]
[A warrior personally favored by the End, he can sense the End's will, peer through the End's gaze, foresee the enemy's movements, and discover the key to victory.]
[Possessing the uncanny ability to understand nature and tame wild beasts, he communicates with the creatures of nature. His existence proves that harmony between humanity and nature is possible. "As you come into the Lord's presence, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, offering the sacrifice of praise continually, as you behold the end of the world."]