Chapter 225: A Show of Power

Deep inside the Kraken, a strange footstep could be heard in an empty chamber with several computers. 

The keyboard of a computer kept typing on its own. She had long entered the Kraken when the winds had arrived, but several issues made it hard for her to find the room that held the Seeds of the Wind Progenitor. She made several turns and did her best to remain undiscovered. Her cloaking ability was so powerful that it could not even be seen through thermal detecting devices. 

Every fiber of clothes that she wore was harnessed using her own cells. The strange compatibility of it allowed her to cloak almost everything. Even the air she breathes would somehow become harnessed into something invisible. 

And this allowed her to be the Fifth Wind among Hermes. The Silent Wind. 

Despite this tremendous advantage and how she managed to investigate the Kraken insides, all that she obtained was frustration. 

It took her a lot of effort to locate the room where the enemies claimed to have seen. In her search, she even found an even greater foe. Several figures emerged out of nowhere near the place she was staying at. One of them could also sense a strange presence and immediately teleported out of the room. 

The mystery of that encounter caused Irvana to double her caution. Soon, the chaos of so-called traitors emerged and allowed her to move even faster, instead of searching for the room which could house all the details of where the Wind Progenitor's devices where kept, Irvana switched her tactics and tried to look for the teleporting ninjas. She was already on her trail, and she simply rushed off to seek the area where the group would teleport too. 

But she soon lost track of them and sought another room to show him the reports of any possible deaths and reports of confirmed traitors. 

But during her traveling, she caught sight of a computer that displayed the battle outside. She saw how the tornado held all the Winds of Hermes, and Grant Hermes himself was in it. 

After witnessing that scene, she immediately decided to move and leave the Kraken. That formation indicated that his mentor and father had no choice but to gather all the winds together. With all the strange things that she witnessed, she was sure that her father and the team would soon be in danger. 

Her escape was even harsher than her entry. The guards had barricaded most parts. Even with her cloak, she still had to move cautiously as people were just running around chaotically. Some soldiers would also shoot at the slightest sound since they were all carefully watching each other. 

Every now and then, a gunshot would echo randomly and cause a barricade to fall into chaos. Seeing this, Irvana also took advantage and would create one soldier to shoot at another with her cloak. This way, the number of reports had increased and allowed her to reach the exit. 

Upon reaching the exit, Irvana immediately tried to go towards the Tornado. When Hermes and the Four winds had joined, the various wind paths that she could have used for traveling disappeared. So she had to run towards the area where they were. 

But as she moved, she caught sight of a strange battle. She saw an Exoskeleton that released unusual heat and energy. The very sight of it, caused Irvana to feel fear. She knew what it was. It was an Emperor's Exoskeleton. Based on the appearance of the Exoskeleton, the pilot must be a woman. 

"An Empress!" She thought. But what confused her was a young masked man who was fighting the Empress. 

As the two clashed, a strange scene could be seen. The young man moved with a peculiar method and could allow him to walk on air. But what was startling was that his movements were not exaggerated or fast. Yet the Empress who appeared to be in a state of fear and panic often tried to attack random areas. 

In that battle, the young man struck the Empress and toyed with her as if he was juggling a ball. During the interim of that battle, the young man glanced at Irvana. 

"Oh? The Thief in the Night!" Seeker sent her a message. 

The fear in the heart of Irvana rose considerably. When this young man managed to communicate with them through the Wind Whisperer, she was already alerted at this man. But this man was toying with the Empress! He could even see her! She, who had practically the best form of cloaking ability in the world! 

Her heart grew terrified, and she began to run towards where Hermes was. 

But the young man kept forcing and throwing the Empress towards the direction where Irvana was headed to. 

She did her best to escape as the battle grew chaotic. Suddenly, a powerful force threw her. It was as if a mighty shout threw her away. Then a massive explosion occurred. She fell right outside the area where the blast reached. 

The fear in her heart skyrocketed. She felt a form of paralysis that she had long forgotten. Back when her biological father would beat and would often attempt to rape her, it was this paralyzing fear that she hated the most. 

Yet now, she was so close to death. If it weren't for that odd shout that threw her out of the range, she would have died from the blast of the Empress. 

She crawled away and wanted to retreat. But then she heard them talk. And this talk caused her to stay. 

"Are you one of his seeds?" The masked young man asked. 

"I am one of his seeds. So are you also one of us?" The young man asked again. 

"I don't know what you're talking about!" The Empress shouted back. 

"Stay for a bit, Irvana. I created a sound field around us. So no one else can hear this conversation. But for you, you need to hear this. So that Grant Hermes will believe me." Seeker's voice floated to her once more. 

She was stunned. 

"Don't worry. On account of the fact that my future self sorta had a crush on you... Oh, what? You deny it? Shut up! I can see right through our memories! How many times have you glanced at her retreating figure? Whatever. Anyways... Sorry about that. Future me is really feisty. Stay awhile and listen. I'll protect you. Don't worry." Seeker laughed. 

And so the Empress and Seeker talked. The discussion shocked Irvana, and slowly she could not help but agree with the truth before him. 

Soon the two began to battle again. But Irvana knew that this was a battle to show the world and even the enemy of the Progenitor that might be watching. 

Soon the Commanders who piloted several Armors that were second only to the Admiral's Armor were spotted. 

Seeker didn't even retreat. Even though he had no thick exoskeletons and suits like the Covenant of the Strongest, he stood there. For among those battling around them, he believed he was the strongest. Stronger than Richie and even Meng. He had the will and confidence to say it. Because he is an Overcomer. 

For the past three months, Seeker had been in an almost dormant mode. There were moments where he almost revealed his seriousness. Standing before Nogard Meng was one, but that battle wasn't a physical one, but a religious clash. 

Now when his other personality appeared and took form, Seeker's power increased all the more. The once impossible tasks that he couldn't do, we currently possible. Seeker had something vastly inferior to what Lennox had, but it was also something different. 

In fact, Seeker even theorized that the reason the other Seeker surfaced was mainly due to Seeker treading on the Path that Lennox had trodden. 

As the one who treads in the Ancient Paths, Seeker was able to make the first few stepping stones that these Overcomers were treading on. 

And while Seeker only had a new thought process, it was, in some ways, more superior to the Path that Lennox had. Seeker did not only have an additional thought. He had a whole different person within him. 

The two were independent and, at the same time, could act together in the body of Seeker. 

Seeker stood firm as he witnessed the Armor which the 

The metals of this Armor was made up of weaker materials. The Empress's Exoskeleton suit was more durable than these large Armors. 

Several Armors rushed out, and Seeker grew wary because of the strange energy being released by these armors. 

Seeker clenched his fist, and the power in him surged to reveal its pure form. He no longer needed to hide it. With weapons of mass destruction battling with the Titan overhead, they were bound to create strange fluctuations and be the center of attention of even the Aragarians. 

The Armors in front of him also required him to use all that he had. He could see just how different the Call of Automaton was to the Call of Titans. 

The Call of Automatons tapped on the dormant energy that each highly expensive metal used to outfit Armors, Exoskeletons, and to make the very Kraken itself. But the Call of Titan activated its very core and burned it. For a few hours, this energy would burn until it was used up. 

Every country tried to create their own version of alternate power. Nuclear and conventional EMP became conventional weapons. And soon, the Enigmatic Magnetic Pulse of the Australian's pushed it to another level. And so, various energy types were developed. 

China had Perpetual Magnetic Force. Canada had the Supra Wind Turbine. 

Australia developed Source Energy. The Source Energy that was hidden within the metal itself was one of Australia's most guarded techs. Source Energy, which could keep their suits running even after being exposed to a high EMP blast. Even the Dawn Soldiers was like a walking powerplant through the application of Source Energy in humans. The WGP used this science and applied it to their own discoveries. 

During the Australian Avarice, most weapons were brought and manufactured. They utilized Eradication Coating, which could nullify three concentrated waves of EMP. 

But of course, if other countries had it, the WGP had an even more powerful version. This was the preparations that the WGP had in place if any of the nations would use a technology that could disable advanced techs like the Australian EMP. 

And now, that energy is being used to power the colossal Titan. Each metal plate had a terrifying amount of energy that only the Emperors could activate. While others would draw out the heat, Emperor Cort Reginald Triton had the Call of Titans. Which used the very metal plates themselves. The Call of Automatons and Titans were actually derived from a single invoking. It was just that the Call of Automaton would give life and use the Origin energy as a receiver for the Elites to Pilot it. But when the Titan was called, it would use and gather all metals to create a singular being. 

But as for the Armors and Exoskeletons that were not yet destroyed, the Origin Energy around them functioned as a force field that made them more robust. 

The Commanders who were charging found themselves being unable to swiftly load forward. They felt a strange sense of fear that they could not understand. 

Seeker's ability to leak emotions had taken a stranger turn. It was no longer limited to the sense of smell or through being affected by it. After learning how to leak emotions from the Tyrant Empress, Seeker had found a way to do what the Empress could. He could create a Realm that contained the feelings he was leaking. And this invisible energy breached the three dimensions. This was how the Empress, who had a solid suit that could protect her from the radiation, chemical attacks, and the like, was still affected. 

This was how he was able to deceive even his team. The truth was, Seeker was already in the Kraken by the time Cliff entered. But they were unable to sense him because he had been leaking out emotions towards them that made the group guarded on specific directions. Cliff couldn't detect him with his Realm as Seeker could easily send out his own Realm that masked Cliff's senses. And so, when Cliff's squad's battles began, Seeker was actually watching them and guarded them, always ready to defend and aid them. 

And for those in that Realm, Seeker could somehow read their emotions. Seeker was confident that he would be able to get the truth. He would be able to determine if this Empress was indeed a Seed or not. 

Through the use of his emotions, he could easily manipulate those who are unguarded of this power. In a way, Seeker was a step closer to being able to read minds and even to gradually instill with them thoughts by the shaping of their emotions. 

Seeker released a realm that focused on fearing to lose something when Seeker started talking about the Empress. 

Seeker has lost so many things in the future that his heart held great regret. When he revealed that he could kill Chase, he leaked out that emotion. The Empress simply thought that her heart held Chase with extremely high importance. Being led by this great fear, she immediately gave in to Seeker's questions. 

Now, Seeker had to sufficiently bring the Empress into his side. And the way to do it was through fear. The Empress would never side with Seeker if Seeker could not contend against the World Governing Powers. After all, she could not recklessly endanger those of her family line, who guarded the secret of the Progenitor if they would all prematurely leave the WGP and face death. 

To fully bring her into his side, Seeker had to create a Realm that focused on fear. Still, at the same time, he had to show the Empress such power that she would engrave the fear and the experience into her heart. 

Seeker was slowly walking towards the two Armors. Incredibly powerful energy was building within his body. 

The Paths he had trodden on to slowly shape this body were plenty. It had Meng's cancerous cells, Meryl and Typical's bizarre mitochondria. His body held enough energy that looked like it could power an entire city. 

In truth, Seeker would have been burned by the release of his own powers. But thankfully, there was another path that he trod on and succeeded in becoming a usable science. 

Most of the Unlocked had their cells modified to do this. Every Unlocked sent in the Kraken could accomplish this. They could limit the heat that their body needed to release and still function as healthy. 

But as for Seeker, he could do far more than that. He has treaded on the Trodden Path. For She Who Treads in the Frost of Heaven had already mastered this skill. And the basic concepts of her body gave birth to an impossible science that Seeker could now do. 

The energy that he contained in his body was so vast. Yet not a hint of this energy leaked out. 

"Thank God for Cold Fusion." Seeker laughed as he charged. 

Surmounting Strength carrying explosive energy combined into a single fist that punched out. 

The fist struck the head of the Armor. The force field did very little help as the force simply destroyed it. 

BOOM! 

The scene was engraved in the hearts of the Empress. It was like the comic books of old. Man conquered machine. A powerful shockwave exploded out and even caused Irvana to stumble. 

The fear gripped the Empress's heart as he saw the young man turn towards her. 

"One punch? Will I soon lose my hair with this power?" Seeker laughed loudly as he slowly walked towards 

"The enemy is too much... I won't wait for confirmation. I will make my Invoking!" The Empress shouted.