Lock of Biomechanism.

Lock of Status Affliction.

Lock of Formation Iteration.

And the fifth lock. The fifth lock was difference. Mater could feel the shape of the fifth lock slowly materializing the more control he had over the land of Vieta.

"What is this? It is similar to Formation Iteration but not really."

The black cat closed his eyes and felt the dominion he had over Vieta. It was very faint. Not enough for him to realize the next step in the path of the Warlock.

"I am still not enough. I need to unlock the first, second, and third keys of the Form-Lock first. I need more Rank-4 beings."

The Octagram finished engraving onto Vieta. Now, Master had become its true master.

The soldiers and residents of Vieta were released from their brainwashing. For the first time in years, they could finally think for themselves.

The soldiers looked around in confusion. Most dropped their weapons and surrendered. A few followed right after.

"Alright. Take them away, servants. Do as we usually do." The black cat’s deep voice echoed.

"Roger that, Master."

Aurora and Crow led their legion to capture the surviving opposing soldiers. They might no longer be hostile but Mater needed to keep them in check first before deciding what he wanted to do with them.

Selina landed next to Mater. "What was that?"

Blanche the white-haired girl landed on the other side. "Chaos Dominion. This place and all of its Chaos belong to Master now."

"All thanks to you." Mater jumped on Blanche’s shoulder and petted her head gently.

"We need to decide what we’re going to do to your mother, Selina."

"Huh?"

A deep long dream was what Iris felt. She had a nightmare. Her husband had died. She abandoned her only daughter. And she betrayed her country to join an enemy of the states.

There was a shadow constantly bickering at her ears. It took the form of her late husband and told her to do things she wouldn’t normally do.

She had become someone she swore to destroy.

Iris’s eyelids fluttered. She slowly woke up from years of brainwashing.

She was in some kind of futuristic room with neon lights and advanced pieces of furniture.

Even the Union didn’t have this much of scientific advancement.

"What happened?" Iris slowly got up and approached the window. She pulled the blinds open.

A glowing city in the night. Cars flying in the air. People bolting back and forth with their Psycho Force. It was a scene that Iris had always imagined for the Union.

But the Union could never reach there because of the constant pressure from the outside force and the deliberate suppressing moves from the Pantheon of Neilos.

"You’re awake?" Selina knocked on the door.

Iris turned around to see her little daughter now all grown up to be a fine woman. Selina only wore a flimsy camisole with a breathable underwear underneath, showing her shiny smooth legs.

"Where are we?" Iris said.

"The Digital City. It’s a long story. I will explain to you eventually."

Selina placed a few dishes on the table. "Come. I prepared dinner."

Iris nodded and sat down. She couldn’t help but observe Selina from time to time.

When she left, Selina was still an innocent and soft young girl. But now, she exuded authority at every gesture, even when talking with her mother.

This could only be achieved if she was an authoritative figure for a long time.

"What happened to Vieta?" Iris said.

"We’ll take over it." Selina said.

Iris widened her eyes briefly. Vieta was a small country compared to Valeria. But taking over an entire country wasn’t easy. Even Iris wouldn’t be able to do that if she had equivalent force as Vieta.

"You really have grown." Iris smiled bitterly. She wished she was there to watch it all. But she didn’t.

They had the dinner in silence. At the end of it, Iris looked up and stared at Selina.

"I’m sorry."

"For what?" Selina raised an eyebrow.

"For abandoning you. I... There isn’t any excuse for it. The DSI wanted to retrieve certain information in Vieta. I accepted the mission."

Selina smiled and shrugged. "No need to be sorry. What matters is we are here now."

"You’re not mad at me?"

"I used to, sometimes, in the past. But I know you have your reasons. And even if I were mad, I wouldn’t direct it toward you. You did leave me this."

Selina pointed at the Ankh symbol on her badge. "I know this thing can repel the influence of Fate, right?"

Iris nodded, "The Anti-Fate. Your father and I managed to uncover it during one of our missions. We hid it from the higher-ups and installed it on you. It looked exactly like a modified Ward of Protection so no one expected a thing."

Iris was reminded of Thomas. Her eyes welled with tears. "Oh, Thomas... He followed me to Vieta and tried to save me."

"Did he die?"

"Yes, I saw him being engulfed in the fire of an explosion."

"That doesn’t mean he dies."

"You mean..."

"I mean we may have a chance. And even if he did, we can just resurrect him."

"Resurrect? Can you even do such a thing?"

"We do it all the time. As long as we can find his soul."

At the same time, Mater and a few of his servants were constructing a new world-leaping ritual at the place where the Lotus tower used to be.

"What are we doing, Master?" Evelynn asked.

"We’re welcoming a new addition to our team!"

Rumius the Dark Alchemist was supposed to cross over today. This world wasn’t easy to jump into and most of the attempts had failed.

The only known successful method was to be rebirth in an animal body, just like Mater.

Crow flew to the ritual site, his hands held a matured dog with sharp pointy ears. It had a coat of black and brown and its fur was incredibly short and smooth. A certified Doberman Pinscher.

He placed the at the center of the ritual.

"Woof?" The dog whimpered gently.

In another world, Rumius grabbed his silver chest and ran as quickly as he could. Behind him were gold mannequins. They moved unnaturally and crawled like insect.

"Fuck these ugly dolls!" Rumius threw a bomb at his back. It exploded into a green cloud and temporarily froze them.

"This better works, Mater!"

Rumius jumped down at the ledge. He punched into the silver chest, causing it to glow brightly.