Living armors and Castle Upgrades.

The battles down in Vaustaris would escalate as more of the demons were released into the mortal realms. With skirmishes frequenting all regions both with sentient and unintelligent lifeforms, the mortals were already aware of the demons pouring into their world.

While my children were usually doing their things I was certain various questions would pop up. One being how such creatures existed without them knowing.

While I could spin it off as a dungeon creature I knew that was impossible given that well soon enough the Fourth realm would be announced and then they'd know I lied.

So I decided to just open the realms.

'Sorry Arayat'. I just had to announce the realm now. With the realm out in the open and the administrators aware of where the demons were then. I make myself scarce.

'Should work' I nodded while chewing my nails.

For what I wanted to do I needed to keep my children away from me. Forcibly. My arrogant Tora in a bid for answers might just wreck the weak living armors I had as guards. While they grew stronger with the Lunar Castle as I fed it shards gotten from dungeons and sales of materials from the God web as I called it, they were still weaker than my children who had actively sought the dungeons.

This meant I needed stronger guards. I was overlooking many things.

Even my Lunar Castle was due for an upgrade.

I rifled through my collection of user templates within my mind before I found what I wanted. Both of what I wanted. It was just as I remembered.

[SECURITY BASIC TEMPLATES]

[VARIANT]

[Living Armors]

The Guards of the Lunar Palace. Existing only to protect and preserve the honor of her house. Powered by the shards of purified cold divinity their existence remains locked to their maker

Str - 25

Agi - 25

End - 50

[Creature Perks]

[Core Enhance]

Draw on the core of their house to temporarily boost attributes.

[Cohort]

In the presence of other living armor in battle, all Endurance is doubled.

[Personal Perks (Set by Owners)]

[Unholy Judgement]

Smithe offenders with the chill of Cold Embers.

The second template was that of the lunar castle. It irked me to see. While it had indeed grown in power from all the shards it had devoured the castle still could be upgraded. The traps set had never been triggered obviously, but I was certain I needed new and exciting ones. Not that the old traps would go but of course the more the merrier.

First I targeted the Castle template. I noted that the template had changed back then to show the list of traps and defenses the castle bore. There were also more changes like how many units were within the castle and also connected to the castle but beyond it

[Lunar Castle]

[Of Ice and metal. Forged of milthril. To safeguard a loved one, keeping her heart away from the tenebrous wolves of the Void.

[Defense - 6400/6400]

[Tier - 5]

[Core - 5]

[Tethered Security Units - Living armor - 145]

[Present Security units - Living armor - 145]

[Defense Structures - Crystal Arrow(Trap)(1), Liquified lightning (Trao)(1), Lava Waterfalls (Barrier Trap)(1), Eraser field (Trap)(1)]

[Add new template to upgrade]

[Upgrade cost dependent on new features]

[Confirm Construction]

[Y/N]

It was time to brainstorm. Think out of the box, think big.

There was Haero, the sunspot. Flame walking, my living armor would melt from his touch. Water would work but would it work enough to defend themselves? Ozai was a blood God, so the armors were safe. Ozai would be hard-pressed to battle them. Tora the skywalker, lightning. Having no organs the armor would be hard to fry. Freyja and Freyr were equally as useless as Ozai against them in the power set.

"Haero's the problem then". my mind went back to my battle against the devilings. Primordial waters had quenched the devi's fire.

Could there be a way to have my armors wield such water? Even maybe, all her insights.

*

Hilde went to work on testing things out on the template. The system though disgruntled her with errors and not working signs.

It seemed that nothing but creator gods could use insights.

" If they can't use it then how about tapping into it.". She pondered.

"Mjolnir gave humans the power of Thor if they were found worthy. Couldn't I do something like that here. A weapon that gives them the power of a creator's insight". She mused while her mind was already working on the said template.

This time instead of directly describing them using the insights she imagined markings on the armors. Her mind was on the intricate design of the one back from an old-time movie of the mythical god Thor and his hammer which his father had enchanted.

At first, the template refused to confirm the description. Until she took the use down to a max use of 1%. Hilde moped at this before adding more things. The template refused to let one armor have more than one connection to an insight so she had to set it to randomly pick which armor was more suited for an insight. Finally, she improved their capabilities and defensiveness. Setting up a durability function that helped them heal when in contact with metal.

Lightbulb.

Touching any metal of a rank higher than their armor would devour and upgrade the armor depending on the metal mass of the consumed material.

Then she turned to the castle. Hilde was unsure what to make about the castle better. Then she realized. The Living armors and the Lunar castle had a sort of symbiotic relationship. One guarded while the other strengthened.

So why not make it aid its protectors more?

Finally confirming the upgrade she glared at the prompt shown.

[Living armor]

[Upgrade cost - Aether - 30000MVC ]

[Confirm upgrade]

[Lunar Castle]

[Upgrade cost - 45000MVC - Aether]

[Confirm upgrade]

Hilde wasn't short of money but she didn't feel like sneezing up the aether. She sighed though as she confirmed the upgrade.

The change was not instant nor slow. There was no bright light or flashy scene. Just the nothingness suddenly splashing forward into the castle like a wave covering the entire area.

Hilde found herself unable to see for a while. Finally, the nothingness cleared but before she could see the changes the templates appeared before her.

[SECURITY BASIC TEMPLATES]

[VARIANT][UPGRADED]

[LIVING ARMORS] - [LUNALS]

The Guards of the Lunar Palace. Existing only to protect and preserve the honor of her house. Powered by the shards of purified cold divinity and spawned from the hallowed grounds of the absolute their existence remains locked to their maker. True living armors, lacking souls but filled with aether. For no mere weapon can wield insight.

Str - 60

Agi - 42

End - 95

[Creature Perks]

[Core Enhance and tether]

Draw on the core of their house to temporarily boost attributes and communicate with all denizens of the castle

[Cohort Hive]

In the presence of other living armor in battle, all Endurance is doubled. A hive mind within and the strength of one for many.

[Personal Perks (Set by Owners)]

[Worthy]

The markings granted by the maker. Drawing on and wielding the insights of the absolute. (One for each,)

[Unholy Judgement]

Smithe offenders with the chill of Cold Embers.

The Aether did what exactly. Confused she shook her head first before looking to the second template.

[LUNAR CASTLE] - [UPGRADED]

[Of Ice and metal. Forged of milthril. To safeguard a loved one, keeping her heart away from the tenebrous wolves of the Void.

[Defense - 10000/10000]

[Tier (Upgraded) - 1]

[Core (Upgraded) - 1]

[Spawn Daily - 0/10]

[Tethered Security Units - Living armor(Lunals) - 145]

[Present Security units - Living armor(Lunals) - 145]

The castle was larger and bigger. The hall was wider and could have swallowed the old hall and still had enough space for two more. The seats and tables were made of grey marble while the fire pits flickered with the same golden fires.

The throne had grown larger if possible and now a little stone dias towered from the center of the room. Before she could ponder on what it was for, a dull light leaked from the stone like water.

It flowed to the side where it coagulated and then rose like a spectral entity.

Her blue eyes were transfixed on the scene as the light dimmed and in its place stood an armor. A huge silver armor like the Living armors. Yet the difference was clear. It was bigger and its helm was more overwhelming. Markings of runes she had never seen before adorned its body.

The marking was of one design stretched out over the armor's abdominal part and across the white spot on its chest where its shard was.

Before the girl could take a step, a woman appeared next to her.

Hilde jumped going for her sword with a thought. Her movements paused though as she noted something off about the female before her.

"An apparition".It was one since she could see through it bowed.

" Hello my lady." she stared. It stared back. Her fingers twitched. Its eyes went to her finger and back to her eyes and then back to the fingers again before it took a step back.

"What are you? How did you get in here?" The goddess asked walking slowly to the side.

"You made me," she answered. Her features were quite similar to Hilde's. Hilde would peg it as a teenager. With black hair and blue eyes, a curvy shape, and that same innocent look that made her frown as she realized something. It didn't just look similar.

"Why do you look like me?"

The female didn't just have blue eyes, it was the same as hers, the same black hair as her real form, the same nose, and doe-like eyes. It was all the same

The younger Hilde frowned her head tilting. "Because you made me like this".

" I didn't..."

"Yes, you did".

Hilde was getting annoyed now. A complaint was already coming up about how creepy this game had turned at this moment.

" What are you exactly?" she used her appraisal and stopped short shocked.

It was a fragment. Of her. The armors could not use insights as they were unliving things foremost and also as none were gods or creators. The house was upgraded to act more closely in aiding them. With these circumstances, she created an instance of needing something more.

Something more that had led to herself ripping a part of her out and forging a new her. Her but not her. A fragment that was barely more than 0% of what she constituted. It was a more permanent version of the Silver mirror.

Hilde made not a sound as she took herself in. It was her from back then. She gulped as memories fought to appear in her head and won.

Her palms tightened into fists as her eyes hardened. Then turned cold.

"Do your job then" she muttered before turning and leaving the younger version of her there staring, lost.