Chapter 213: Moon Grasp

The Collector utilized Transport Pods to move itself around to the main Holding Bay. Prior to this, it had relayed a psionic signal to the carrier unit known as Thokk to gather the rest of the swarm in the Holding Bay.

When the Collector fell into the center of the Holding Bay, liquids from traveling across the internals of the Vanguard unit dissolving around it, it saw that all the units had been promptly gathered around, eagerly awaiting the Collector's appearance.

Dotting the swarm were the newfound presence of additional Collective units. Primarily Striders that hopped about, weaving between the goblins or staying by their sides. All the Collective units were currently under a general command to patrol the insides of the Vanguard and guard the swarm units within, but other than this general rule, the Collector did not have the psionic capacity to control all of them at once.

Instead, the Collector could tell when units perished and their general location, but specifics such as seeing through them, it could not handle as that required deeper psionic connections such as that which it had forged with carrier units, and that necessitated a mana cost too steep for the Collector to establish on a large scale.

The goblins were nervous around the Collector, it seemed. They did not approach it and instead made a ring around the Collector that they did not dare to break. This included the elite units.

Kui perceived that the Collector was analyzing this and casually stepped forwards, breaking this ring of reverence for his constantly calm and unamused face indicated that he had seen far too much to ever truly get shocked by anything.

"They believe you a god," said Kui. He put a hand to his pointed beard. "Rather, they had always believed you some higher being, capable of bringing them back from the dead, but now that they see you create new life, they believe you truly a god."

"The Sovnar is Gob reincarnated," said Goromir, his head bowed as Kandak grunted in affirmation beside him. "No other can bring forth true new life. Not even the New Gods."

"The New Gods cannot shape life because they cannot harness primal energy, the essence of life," said Kui. He shrugged before gesturing towards the Collector. "So, are you a god? An Old God?"

"The term 'god' indicates a being that is elevated beyond certain others due to worship, capability, or both," said the Collector. "In the barest definition of that word, it may well be that I am considered a 'god'."

The Collector clicked its mandibles. "Yet, that term is inaccurate. There are many ideations of what an entity known as a 'god' can be. An 'Old God', a 'New God', and so on. To answer this, I shall state that I am neither Old nor New God."

"Ah, so a new new god," said Kui, his voice so calm and deadpan that it was hard to determine whether he was being sarcastic or not.

"A joke," explained Kui, and a few goblins turned to him because they did not expect any form of levity from the permanently serious Yinlong. "It matters not whether you are Old or New God. Your people believe you are. Will you not take that title?"

"No," said the Collector. "I possess powers and capabilities far beyond yours, it is true. But that does not necessitate my status as a 'god'. Worship around entities perceived as 'gods' possesses direct and observable causation with a loss of critical thinking.

Were you a swarm of units bound seamlessly to a Collective, a loss of independent thought would be efficient. Yet, as you are specimens with large degree of independent thought, it is better to maximize your decision making processes and the benefits that they may realize.

Thus, when among you it is observed there are certain lacking wants or errors in my judgement, do not hesitate to voice any correction so that I may more thoroughly and accurately calibrate my calculations."

The goblins pondered this in silence for a few seconds before one of them spoke out.

"Then...can we get more light? Very dark here all the time."

"You dare to ask of the Sovnar such a light request?" began Goromir, his tone stern.

"It is fine," stated the Collector. It projected its voice throughout the goblin swarm. "Your species are capable of easily surviving without light and are adapted towards darkness as well. However, I sense that the presence of additional light sources contributes to greater quality of mental health. Does the majority of this swarm agree that additional lighting will allow for greater standards of living?"

A general murmur went among the swarm, and the definitive answer that the Collector felt from them was a 'yes.'

"Then it is done. When I return to the Command Chamber, I will induce further growth of light crystals approximating the day cycle of this world," said the Collector.

"Then-then can we make rings to fight in? Make weapons?" said one of the goblins.

"I have nearly finished the conversion of one of the Holding Bays into an Armory within which you may fashion Everfrost and Truefrost to your liking. There is also the presence of a darker ice material that you may experiment with," said the Collector. "As for clear delineations of boundaries within which to spar with-,"

The Collector held up a hand, and it gleamed with purple energy.

Using Sapia, it carved out grooves inside of the Holding Bay. Three large forty meter diameter arenas marked in the flesh of the Vanguard meant for combat purposes.

"Smaller rings too," said Kandak. "For wrestling."

The Collector clenched its fist, and a series of smaller ten meter diameter rings formed beneath the larger ones.

"Sovnar...," began a goblin nervously.

"State your request," stated the Collector. "If it is within efficiency and reason to grant, it shall be done."

The Collector began to realize that the goblins had far more desires than it had thought. It had originally simply created the Vanguard with the idea that they could survive of the barest efficient minimum of what they required, but evidently, this was not optimal for their sustained mental status.

At this rate, the Collector would grant the carrier unit Thokk additional privileges to shape the Vanguard unit to a small degree so that he could accommodate the goblins without them having to reach the Collector.

"Can we go out? To hunt? Or see world around us?"

The Collector clicked its mandibles. "A difficult request to grant. By now, within the pressurized, controlled environment of this Vanguard, all of you have adapted to the environment of the Rift, granting you greater physical fortitude.

However, the environment around you, this space known as the 'Wailwastes', though environmentally the same in terms of harshness, possesses threats as of yet unknown to me."

"If it will help," said Kui as he raised a large, calloused and blue scaled hand. "I will guard them when they desire. I am also familiar with the Wailwastes to some degree. I sense now from the feeling of the air that we have reached the Glacial Forests.

I know this area well, for I have meditated within it greatly."

"In controlled groups amounting to more than ten at once, you may accompany the fighter specimen in excursions outside the Vanguard unit," said the Collector after it assessed the risks. It clicked its mandibles and addressed the fighter specimen. "And you shall inform me further of this environment."

"I have all the time in the world," said Kui.

"I have something," said Goromir as he looked at Kui, then at the Collector. His posture was more relaxed, less tense to ask of things from the Collector now that everyone around him was doing the same.

And judging by the grin in Goromir's face, an expression that manifested primarily when he was indulging in combat related topics, this was a request related to fighting. Fighting between the Collector and the fighter specimen known as Kui.

"Speak," stated the Collector.

"Sovnar, can you break Kui's Moon Grasp?" said Goromir. "I must have tried a hundred times by now when you were creating these little ones."

Goromir absent-mindedly patted a Strider's head, and the Strider bowed its head before scampering off.

"But I have never been able to break Kui's hold," said Goromir.

The goblins began to murmur among themselves, excited at the prospect of the Collector challenging the fighter known as 'Kui'.

"Of course the Sovnar can do it!" said Thokk. "He can do anything."

"But remember, the Sovnar said they were evenly matched," countered a goblin.

"Sovnar always wins," said a goblin.

"Do you not listen to the Sovnar? They tied!"

"I am open to the challenge," said Kui with a shrug. He nodded to the Collector. "And judging from how quickly you learn, I would not be surprised if you grasped the basics of the technique after witnessing it."

"You are not wary of me assimilating your techniques?" stated the Collector.

Kui shrugged. "I like to style myself the head of the Guiding Current, but my school is long dead, purged from history. I have no new disciples and never will among the Common Body, and all my students have been killed or have forgotten their arts. In that regard, I have failed my ancestors over ten generations.

For a school that does not pass its strengths down is one that has failed to flow with the currents of time."

He extended a hand towards the Collector, one that was equally inviting and challenging. "But if you are capable of absorbing and learning my techniques, I do not mind sharing them. Rather, it will fulfill one of my duties as a head to see my knowledge live on beyond me."

Kui paused for a moment. "And perhaps, that is one of the reasons why I chose you as the Endbringer to champion. You have all the talent in all the realms to learn the techniques of my school. Valtr certainly had the talent also, but-,"

Kui motioned around to the Collector, to the goblins. "Valtr does not care for his people. You do. You will pass down my ancestral knowledge, if only for the sake of bettering the strength of your army, but at the least, the memories and efforts of those that came before me will continue to live."

"Agreeable, then," said the Collector. "You will transfer your knowledge and skills to me."

"Ah, that is not how it is done," said Kui, the faintest of smiles tugging at the edges of his scarred lips.

"Explain," said the Collector.

"I do not give them to you," said Kui. He leaped across dozens of meters and landed square in the center of one of the smaller arenas the Collector had carved out. "You will take them from me."