"It's a shame because some of its tech could have been useful for us..." Theon tossed the crying and traumatised Vanush to the ground and put a foot on his back.

Amber felt strange knowing that Vishnu was gone... Wait.

"What about Vishnu?" She asked with a faint hope. As annoying as it had been, she started liking the golem.

"The core was fried but part of its personality was using the entire Sentinel network and was connected with the Titan." A rapidly changing male voice which was undoubtedly Vishnu, replied.

"No! I destroyed you!" Vanush screamed but grunted painfully when Theon leaned on the foot he kept on his back.

"You destroyed IBF Vishnu, yes. However, my personality wasn't exactly connected with that vessel anymore..." Much more female voice said with an uncertain tone.

"That was my fault, my Dear..." Theon slowly raised his hands as he smiled at Amber. "It was a side effect of connecting hmmmm... I guess her, to the Sentinel network and the Titan."

"Her?" Amber blinked. "Vishnu? What's the meaning of this?"

"It's the strong influence of my new body, my Lady." The voice attempted to explain. "I also agree that I was no longer part of the Balantican Empire. So, I decided to change my name. IBF Vishnu died, after all."

"Your new body?" Amber took a deep breath, feeling weak.

She was glad that Theon managed to arrive in her defence because she was almost spent.

"Affirmative. My current name is Victory, my Lady."

"Victory..." Amber furrowed her brows but when the realisation dawned upon her, her eyes narrowed. "You are in the HMS Victory?!"

"Not entirely... The ship lacks a golem core where I could store myself. However, it's the only ship that allowed me to fuse with its core, my Lady. Fortunately, Avalon's Wrath allowed me to wait within his mindscape to help me survive."

"I repurposed the core of the assassin golem. Ian wiped half of the bullshit inside and left you with the other half to sort out on your own. It will be waiting for you in Vanushka." Theon briefly stated. "Fortunately, HMS Victory was just a few hours away, so it will join your fleet in no time, Amber."

"Thank you, my Lord." Victory's voice was happy. "It should be adequate for now until we upgrade the ship where I'm hosted. If you would allow me, my Lord, I would like to incorporate a few things this ship lacks."

"Just send me the list of changes before you start doing anything. Also, inform Rear Admiral Thomas Fraser that his ship will be ready in three months but I will send him one of the destroyers for now..." Theon ordered and looked down. "All right. I think you've had enough time to realise how fucked you are. So... I'll give you five seconds to release my wife from this place."

"Never! You will lose... She is already weak. Soon..." Despite his wounds and trauma, Vanush remained defiant.

"Five..." Theon started counting down and the ancient Elf screamed horrifyingly.

"My leg! Gods!" Vanush screamed as his leg started slowly fading away. "What have you done?!"

"Each time I count down, Blackbeard or Rhys, and I honestly have no idea who it will be and, frankly, I don't care, will tear off one of your limbs. Removed from your real, physical body. We opened your armoured pod." Theon said with a merciless tone. "Killing you in your mindscape was fun but we both know that is an illusion. Oh, I would forget about... four and a half."

This time, half of Vanush's right arm was torn away, which made Theon laugh. "I have to give them a raise! They got my joke."

"You are sick!"

"And you are taking your sweet time. You know that I don't care if you die? I'm telling you this in case you think I'm similar to the other Heroes you might know. You might have the false idea that I have a moral reservation about killing people in general. I'll tell you a secret. I'm not a nice guy... Four."

•••

Amber woke up in the VIP cabin on Dauntless surrounded by her sisters. The dimmed light that came through the circular window heralded the incoming night. She took a deep breath and saw relieved faces smiling at her as she sat up on her elbows.

"I knew it! I knew you would make it!" Hestia hugged her.

"How long was I... there?" Amber asked, feeling the calming flow of mana and aggressive warding spells filling the room.

"Almost two days," Mia answered and gave her a large cup. "Drink it. It's warm water with honey. It should help you."

"Two days?!" Amber scoffed angrily.

"Yeah..." Irene yawned with an exhausted expression and dropped on the pillow. "It's my turn to take a nap now..."

"Thank you all..." Amber smiled and took the cup of Mia's hands. She smiled awkwardly and almost drank it but Hestia sighed.

The Goddess tapped Amber's forehead with her finger and grinned. "Where's the pulse?"

Amber's eyes widened as she, in panic, sent a disruptive pulse of magic that spread like a wave. "I thought that..."

"It was good, this time." Hestia carefully hugged Amber one more time and, somehow, she managed to not spill her drink. "But someone clever could trap you in a double illusion. Fortunately, the triple one is nearly impossible to pull off so, thankfully, we can ward off some of the paranoia."

Amber started quietly crying. The mental fatigue was slowly getting to her but being back in the real world felt so good. Hestia patted her head calmingly. "Irene noticed that something was wrong and woke us up in the middle of the night. Since then, she has been keeping watch. I tried to help as much as I could but... it was depressing to be powerless to help."

"You called all the other Eternals to help..." Irene said with a dreamy voice. "Without your power, we wouldn't have been able to find a crack in Vanush's mindscape."

"We are so sorry that we couldn't help even a bit..." Aoi and the twins lowered their heads.

"I don't think that each one of us has to be expert at everything, Aoi." Amber smiled at the Dragonkin. "Without the three of you, we wouldn't have opened the Workshop without severe casualties."

"Thank you, Amber." Mia smiled. "I will order something to eat. The three of you must rest for now."

"I slept for two days..." Amber tried to disagree but a massive yawn quickly showed her otherwise. "All right..."

Amber lay on the bed but was slightly afraid to fall asleep. She looked at the small Vish... Victory and almost chuckled. The previously unremarkable and fairly bulky male figure was replaced by a detailed and sleek Elf-like female doll.

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"Victory?" Amber asked the doll who stared at her with concern.

"I was very worried about you, my Lady! I wasn't even aware that I could be worried about anyone."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was an effect of fusion with a Living Armour." Amber nodded and yawned one more time. "What happened when I left Vanush's mindscape?"

"It was a ruthless show, my Lady. Someone like Vanush possesses incredible power to be able to take control of a City Core. I can't stress enough how strong of a will is required to do what he has done. But it was utterly meaningless when Lord Avalon arrived. Never before have I witnessed something like that. Vanush's will was brutally shattered and his mind was left at the mercy of Lord Theon. Little to say but he had no mercy for Vanush. His mind was spared only because the Lord wanted all his knowledge. I... I don't know what happened to Vanush but, after Lord Theon's mind returned to Avalon, the City Core was freed from him. The City Guardian is awakening as we speak but its memory banks are broken. I'm afraid it was defending sensitive data and chose to destroy most of it rather than allow Vanush to have it."

"Fantastic..." Amber looked at the ceiling with disappointment painted on her face as she fell asleep.

•••

Victory arrived in the morning and Amber looked at the ship with slight disbelief. Roughly, it was the ship she remembered but every single detail was jarring.

"How in the world is making something smoother, sleeker, and, technically, more elegant also ruining it at the same time?" Janet asked the question that was bothering Amber as well.

"What are you saying? I love it!" Aoi looked in shock at her friend but just one glance at Amber made the Dragonkin gasp. "You too, Amber?!"

"Sorry..." Amber snorted. "It's maybe because I was so used to Victory's previous look."

The ship's details were nothing like its previous layout. The distinctive yellow-black paint was gone and was replaced with a seamless white and inlaid with gold decorations. However, the original natural oaken colours were all over the deck which gave her hope that not everything was ruined. Deep down, she hated the ostentatious white paint job. The sails, however, were magnificent. They proudly bore the heraldry of Avalon and Arcadia. As the ship closed in, Amber noted more black and sapphire blue details and, slowly, begun to appreciate the new look of the proud ship of the line. With a snap, Victory deployed its shields which were as good as those installed on the Hunter class frigates. In disbelief, Amber watched a blue beam of light smashing over the ship's shields but it died before the potent shields even appeared to be strained.

"What the hell was that?!" Amber looked around.

"It looks like Vanush is a spiteful man. The anti-air defence platforms were set to destroy me if my signature was detected. I have taken over the installations and deleted all standing orders and replaced them with manual aiming, my Lady." Victory replied with an annoyed voice.

Amber looked at the doll who was now wearing a makeshift robe torn from a white tablecloth with a blue ribbon for a belt. "Why didn't he use it before?"

"Since he was convinced in the superiority of the Balantican weaponry, my best guess is he was afraid that you would run away if any of your ships were destroyed." The small golem proposed. "Honestly, if not for my current, detailed knowledge, I would have held the same belief. For millennia, no other country has even remotely approached the technological level of the Balantican Empire. Then... Arcadia out of nowhere. The technological level of the Arcadian Empire has eclipsed every single Balantican achievement. That truth would be impossible to swallow for anyone from the Balantican Empire."

"Mhm..." Amber slowly nodded. "Now that you are here, Victory, can you try to access the data storage in the city? I believe that Vanush will be interrogated by Dhalia and her Inquisitors when we bring him to Avalon but I want to have this city under my control before we depart."

"As you wish, my Empress." Victory smiled as she bowed to her which shocked Amber.

"Are you sure that you are a golem?"

"I believe you are surprised by my mimicry of emotions?" Victory gave her an amused stare.

"Indeed..." Amber smiled back. "Don't get me wrong, if you know the meaning of the emotions and you try to copy them then it will be a very fine enhancer to the conversation. But if not..."

"I'm currently fully aware of what they mean, my Lady. I'm actually baffled that my original creators never bothered to fully implement this." Victory replied with amused laughter but quickly got serious. "I'm aware that my case is special. Even Avalon's Wrath, who had much more favourable circumstances, is not entirely self-aware. I estimate that he should achieve that level in the next two hundred years but, even so, he won't be anything like me... It's strange. The chances of any other golem becoming like me are close to zero. I'm a statistical error, my Lady."

"In that case, it's no wonder we found you." Amber shrugged. "Eriar must have led you to us."

Victory looked at her with a puzzled stare as if she had no idea how to respond. She finally settled on a slow nod. Amber wondered what else she could do before she noticed Rhys and Blackbeard standing to the side, clearly waiting for her attention. She turned towards them and smiled but before they began their reports, she slightly raised her hand, letting them know she wanted to say something first.

"When I was trapped, I learnt that you tortured Vanush, undoubtedly, following the orders given to you by my Husband." She began and cringed, trying to find fitting words. "While I don't approve of torture and I will talk with Theon about it, I wanted to thank you for your devotion."

"It wasn't torture, my Lady." Blackbeard lowered his head and shook his head in disagreement. "If not for Vishnu... Well, now, it's called Victory; we would have executed Vanush on the spot. Only the information that he possesses, the information Arcadia needs, postponed his execution."

"According to Victory, the Balantican punishment for hybridization experiments was death by dismemberment," Rhys smirked. "We found it fitting for someone as evil as him. Lord Theon approved of that form of execution."

Amber slowly shook her head. Normally, Theon would order a quick execution but she knew he was capable of cruelty. After all, he ordered the despicable man who hurt Myrna and other women to be eaten alive by the goblins. That man, Jensen, if she remembered correctly, was sentenced to such a painful death for his crimes, which included an attempt to mind control Irene, Luna, and her. Well, Theon, as well, but he rarely took attacks against himself personally. However, any attack on an Empress of Arcadia automatically justifies his responses in Theon's mind. The fact that Theon, literally, killed a God to protect one of his wives should be alarming to anyone planning an attack on one of the Empresses of Arcadia. That's why she wasn't particularly shocked that Vanush was to be executed in such a gruesome way. Knowing Theon, the last living Balantican was still scheduled for execution and his painful demise was only postponed, as Rhys mentioned.

"You shouldn't even bother about that man's fate, Your Imperial Highness." Rhys started seriously. "In the light of everything he has done, death, no matter how painful, is still a lenient punishment."

"Compared to him, I'm one of the most virtuous saints." Blackbeard mused, making Rhys seriously nod in confirmation.

"Diligently following your orders, we have secured a few sealed documents from vaults protected by powerful seals and hidden deep within the Workshop, Your Highness." The Wolfkin changed the subject. "I believe that some of the manuscripts contain precious data."

"Thank you both." Amber nodded. "Once Victory secures the entire city, we are returning home."

•••

HMS Victory was anchored on the wharf and, while its previous crew had already departed, the ship was buzzing with activity. The artisans and engineers were tirelessly working on the approved modifications and preparing a new core room. Despite her orders, Victory needed a moment to properly categorise the last few day's events. It was important since the previous personality was vastly different from her current self. To understand her changes, she asked many questions and the Mortals gladly provided her with answers. She tried to understand how the vessel she was currently assigned to could have such a drastic influence on her newly formed personality. According to the Mortal artisans and crews, each ship has a soul. Previously, she would question the sanity of the people with such ridiculous claims however, currently, she was inclined to believe them. When she was created a few hundred years ago, she wasn't specified what gender her interface should display and wasn't even considered anything else above 'it'.

She never felt the influence of the ship's soul when she was on the Balantican frigate. Something that bothered her deeply. The explanation provided by one of the carpenter masters, however, was not only possible but also sound. The old Dwarf suggested that a ship, to create their soul, should be considered a living being by its crew. The fact that all Balantican airships were equipped with a golem core changed that basic perception. The golem became the voice of a ship and, as such, the crew subconsciously treated it as a ship but never granted the golem the right to be spoken about as a person. Essentially, the interactions of sailors with the ship were different and, subsequently, the Balantican sailors would never believe in ships' souls. It was fairly convincing reasoning and the fact that HMS Victory's spirit was adamant about many facts, her gender included, she decided to believe it.

Honestly, she wasn't going to miss her previous personality. Arcadians were more open and much friendlier to her since she was allowed to take over HMS Victory. At first, she was a little bit disappointed that all her attempts to fuse with one of the dreadnoughts were met with incredibly violent refusals and only one ship allowed it. Despite the lack of an ability to speak, the Arcadian warships communicated with each other in a way that escaped reason and magic. That strange resonance and communication between the warships would have previously made the golem crazy but, now, it was simply acknowledged. HMS Victory wasn't as powerful as the newest ships of the Royal Fleet of Arcadia but there was something special about her. While HMS Dauntless was a flagship of their navy, even he treated Victory with great respect. The oldest ship of the Arcadian Royal Fleet, with the highest count of the killed enemy ships to her name, fused with the golem's mind, and she wasn't Vishnu anymore.

The thinking process took her five seconds. Her thinking had many flaws and her previous logic matrix would have signaled many errors, but Victory didn't care. She received her orders and focused solely on them with newfound peace and happiness. She was Victory. She would serve her Empress forever.

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