That night, in Duke's workshop.
"Remember, none of these things are for you to eat!"
Duke pointed at every single item in his workshop, sternly lecturing the glutton standing before him.
The "Glutton," a five-meter-long creature that stood nearly two meters tall when upright, gazed at Duke with pitiful eyes.
"But, Father, I'm hungry..."
"That's because your heart is sending you false signals. Your energy reserves are full, you don't need to consume anything else."
"In fact, the more you eat, the hungrier you'll get. If you accidentally trigger the Gluttony Protocol I set, the whole city wouldn't be enough to feed you."
"Besides, everything you eat will be converted into steam through your Tri-Phase Core, cycling inside you to boost your kinetic output. At that point, even two cities wouldn't survive your appetite."
"But I'm still hungry..."
Glutton glanced sideways at Wally, gulping audibly. Wally's shoulders trembled, and he took a cautious step back, hiding behind Pride, hoping the newborn bottomless pit wouldn't set her sights on him.
Earlier, when Pride had subdued her, the more she ate, the stronger she became. Pride had to unleash his full strength just to get her under control.
"Eat this."
Pride conjured a crystal brick and shoved it into Glutton's hands. "All you want."
"Big Brother, you're the best!"
Like an innocent, happy child, Glutton beamed at Pride before crunching the crystal brick between her teeth. Pride's crystals were diamond-hard, this girl's bite was absurd.
Watching her devour the brick in just a few bites, Duke could only sigh. Every one of them was a problem child.
Pride was the bossy "big brother" type, second only to Duke himself, who listened to no one else.
Wally was a mango-shaped chatterbox who never stopped calling people "Sis."
The newly-born Glutton was a shameless foodie who wanted to taste everything.
Thinking about the five remaining sins he hadn't created yet, Duke shuddered.
When he made the rest, he'd have to raise them carefully, no more mistakes. But considering those five corresponded to Greed, Lust, Wrath, Envy, and Sloth... the road ahead was going to be long.
"Ugh..."
Duke habitually leaned back to sit, only to find his chair missing. He turned, just in time to see Glutton chewing with her tail still curling in satisfaction.
"You little glutton!"
Brushing off his clothes, Duke handed the troublemaker straight to Pride.
"Take your little sister out for a walk. Let her play."
"And try to keep her near the coast, somewhere with fewer people. Don't take her into the city center."
"Understood, Father."
Pride grabbed Glutton by the tail and dragged her toward the door. "Come on, big bro's taking you for a spin."
"Will there be food?"
"Probably."
"Then can I eat a lot?"
"We'll see."
A dragon and a serpent left the workshop, motorcycle and sports car engines roaring in harmony, until the sound faded into the distance.
"Ahh..."
Duke sat on the workbench, watching Wally clean up the mess from Pride and Glutton's fight. Crossing his legs, he pulled out a cigar.
"Wally, how's that book I gave you?"
"I've mastered it completely, Father."
"Confident you can handle surgery?"
"I'll need to run trials first."
"Alright. I'll get you some test animals. Try removing and replacing their eyes."
"Yes, Father."
Five days later
Outside Duke's workshop.
"Big Brother, try this!"
Glutton shoved a chunk of rebar at Pride, who took it without a word and twirled it in his hand.
After seeing Glutton's "talent," Dako had brought in a pile of construction debris, stacking it outside Duke's workshop and calling it "snacks" for her.
Glutton was thrilled. Pride, less so, because she insisted on sharing everything she ate with him.
"You're a Sin, not an incinerator."
"But I'm hungry!"
Holding a bent steel rod, Glutton stared at him with pleading eyes. Pride sighed, skewered the debris she'd handed him, and gave it back.
"Try eating it this way."
"Big Brother, you really are the best!"
Mimicking Pride, Glutton skewered the rubble along the steel rod like candied hawthorns. She chomped down, each bite grinding the garbage into pieces that her Tri-Phase Core converted into steam, fueling her body with raw power.
Watching her happily devour her makeshift "snack," steam curling off her body, Pride glanced at the workshop. Today was the day of Duke's Eye of God transplant, he wondered if it would work.
Inside, in the sterile operating room.
Lying on the surgical table, Duke told Wally, "No pressure. Just do it like you practiced."
"Yes, Father."
With a more stable set of surgical arms equipped, Wally's ocular sensors flickered. His left hand opened, revealing a built-in anesthetic injector.
"Commencing Phase One."
The needle slid into Duke's skin. The pre-measured anesthetic took hold instantly, and Duke sank into deep unconsciousness.
"Full-body anesthesia complete."
Wally's voice was mechanical as he moved on. "Phase Two, localized ocular anesthesia."
A delicate clamp lifted Duke's eyelid, exposing an unfocused eyeball. A fine needle slipped between the eye and socket, delivering the second anesthetic.
Once it took effect, Wally switched tools, precision scissors, surgical clamps, and, without the slightest tremor, began removing Duke's left eye.
Ten minutes later, the eyeball, optic nerve still intact, was placed into a preservation unit.
"Phase Three complete. Preparing for Phase Four."
Wally retrieved the vial containing the Eye of God, inserted it into Duke's socket, perfect fit.
But before he could connect the optic nerve, the Eye's pupil began to rotate slowly, glowing with a brilliant azure light.
A faint hum resonated.
A circular ring appeared before Duke's eye, his capillaries lighting up like threads of fire.
Switching to X-ray vision, Wally watched in shock as the Eye of God actively bonded to Duke's optic nerve, reshaping itself to match his anatomy perfectly.
In other words, it was performing the most delicate step of the surgery on its own.
Time passed in tense silence. A faint pattern appeared at the corner of Duke's eye, then vanished.
Moments later, the Eye of God had fully adapted.
"Surgery complete."
Relieved, Wally recorded the entire procedure as a data stream for Edith, so Duke could review it later.
He wheeled Duke to the recovery room and waited at the door.
Thanks to precise anesthetic control, Duke stirred within half an hour.
"Father, you're awake."
"Seems nothing went wrong, then."
Duke covered his left eye as he rose. Wally stepped forward, tense. "Is something wrong?"
"No, just getting used to it."
Lowering his hand, Duke opened his eye. A stunningly intricate, dazzling iris stared back at Wally.
Duke winced.
"Father?"
"Just... got flooded with too much information at once. Give me a second to adjust."
Slowly, he adapted, his new eye dissected Wally's armor in an instant: its structure, power circuits, rune arrays, even its weak points. The room's temperature, humidity, sunlight levels, and dust count registered effortlessly in his mind.
"Incredible... it's like having a built-in super sensor."
He shifted his gaze, and with a thought, a blue magic circle appeared in his vision, and simultaneously in Wally's.
"Father, my vision just changed!"
"Don't panic. I took control of your sight and linked mine to yours. How does it feel, seeing yourself through my eyes?"
"Fascinating."
"There's more."
The circle split into three and began to spin. Wally's legs buckled, he collapsed.
"Hahaha..." Duke laughed. "Didn't expect it to be this amazing. I should've done this sooner."
He'd just rotated the shared vision feed, throwing Wally's sensors and balance system into chaos.
"And this eye can do even more."
Looking at the wall, Duke saw straight through it, outside, Pride and Glutton were buried in a heap of garbage, Glutton stuffing herself nonstop.
"That Dako... she really has turned my Glutton into a waste incinerator."
Duke's expression darkened.
🔹 Hexcore Initiate – 15 chapters ahead
🔸 Arc Reactor Elite – 35 chapters
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