"What?!" Ryncol stiffened his back. "Are there any enemies approaching from the rear?!"
"Nothing of the sort. Instead.. I feel that something is happening light-years away. Possibly outside of the Nyxian Gap."
"Is it our son?" Ryncol suddenly asked in concern.
"Maybe.. I can't judge.."
Several tense minutes passed by as the Devil Tiger froze in space. A few officers of the Oblivion Hand contacted the Dark Cleaver in concern, but Ryncol quickly ordered his subordinates to stay put and remain on guard.
Just as Cynthia was about to dismiss her ominous feeling, a sharp crack suddenly struck her mentality!
"AHHHH!"
Her intangible form suddenly separated from her avatar! The crystal body suddenly dropped onto the floor as a transparent form suddenly emerged and expanded to full size!
"What's going on?!"
"It hurts!"
No matter what Ryncol tried to do, he could do nothing to relieve his wife's pain!
His hands went straight through her body as if she consisted of air.
At this moment, Cynthia Larkinson suffered a sudden ache in her mentality! Strange visions assaulted her as she felt as if she was being invaded by something far away.
The most frustrating part of this ordeal was that she wasn't able to defend herself against this attack! Whatever external influence managed to reach her had slipped right past her formidable defenses and acted straight onto the core of her existence!
"How can this be?! This is impossible!"
As the pain began to reach an unbearable level, a loud explosion suddenly shattered her perspective in half!
On one side, her consciousness was still alive and present inside the cockpit of the Devil Tiger.
On another side, she suddenly began to gain a view of an entirely different location.
The pain that struck straight to the core of her being had subsided a bit, allowing her to observe this strange new location.
Her perspective wasn't limited to a narrow field of vision. Through some indescribable senses, she slowly gained a sense of the second environment.
"Land. Clouds. A.. hexagon? People. Lots of people. What is this..?!"
Had her enemies performed some sort of ritual to draw her out?!
"Wait! This isn't their style!"
As Cynthia bewilderingly looked around, he immediately spotted some familiar forms floating in the air. Her eyes grew red as she realized who was responsible for her odd state.
"VES!" She angrily boomed!
No one heard her spiritual voice. The thousands of people who knelt in front of the statue as it attracted lightning bolt after lightning bolt continued to look at the statue with awe even as their minds all experienced some form of pressure.
Surprisingly, Ves, who was floating in the air at a healthy distance from the lightning-struck statue, cringed as soon as she conveyed her displeasure!
"I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, VES!"
"..Mother?" Ves communicated back with a reluctant spiritual response. "I thought you were in the Nyxian Gap!"
"OBVIOUSLY THAT IS NOT ENTIRELY TRUE ANYMORE, AND YOU ARE AT FAULT!"
"I-I-I didn't mean to! You aren't supposed to be here!"
"REALLY?"
"I was just performing an experiment, that's all!"
Cynthia cast her senses around her yet again. She contemptuously noted the giant ritualistic hexagon, the thousands of kneeling worshippers and the statue her second perspective inhabited!
Her fury built up even as her mental strain began to grow more unbearable.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE A MECH DESIGNER, VES. I EXPECTED YOU TO GO ABOUT YOUR LIFE SURROUNDED BY MACHINES AND MECHS. HOW COME I FIND YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF A RITUAL CENTERED AROUND A STATUE BUILT IN MY LIKENESS?!"
Her son's jaw shook as he struggled to offer a reply! The little weasel was too afraid to explain himself!
A different voice suddenly butted into their private conversation.
"Who.. who are you?"
Both mother and son reacted with surprise!
Ves turned to the woman floating by his side. "Gloriana? You can hear all of that?"
"Yeah. Who is she, Ves?" Gloriana asked with wide eyes. "Is she.. truly your mother?"
"She is."
"I thought she was dead!"
"She is."
"What does that even mean!?"
"It's complicated, okay! How can you even talk to me this way?!"
Cynthia studied the woman carefully. She quickly understood the truth of the matter.
"You put a piece of yourself inside of her, Ves. Do you know how dangerous that is?! I'm surprised she is still fine!"
"Ah."
"I'm surprised her mind isn't fighting back. She must think very highly of you."
"She's my girlfriend." Ves lamely replied.
"I see."
Cynthia peered at the woman. Her anger subsided a bit. "You chose well. At least you did one thing right, Ves. I approve."
"You do?"
"The love you share for each other is very real!"
Gloriana smiled with pleasure at the compliment! Her boyfriend's dead mother approved of their relationship! This was the happiest day of her life!
As for Ves, he wanted to scratch his head. How come this weird turn of events turn into a meeting between his girlfriend and his mother?