When he had returned from the Tetrachroma Palace, Theodore had had no need to worry about Energy consumption, as the entire cluster of worlds had already been intricately connected. Setting up a Teleportation Array had been incredibly easy, requiring almost no additional effort on his part.
Here in the Lesser True Void, however, where Krysmidonia's worlds had formerly been, there wasn't exactly an abundance of Energy available. There were some Energy Veins that Navya and the others had relied upon to construct their version of the Lesser Void Guarding Array, but there weren't exactly many of them.
With no better option, everyone could only salvage whatever was left of the destroyed worlds. Fortunately, Energy Veins usually remained largely intact during most catastrophes of this kind, so the harvest was considerably abundant.
Allocating a portion of their finds to the present Voidfaring Vessel, it was now capable of accumulating enough Energy to activate its teleportation function–in other terms, it was now also a sender, not just a receiver.
Having long informed Vigdis about his imminent arrival, Theodore waited until he had become fully accustomed to his now six bodies. Thankfully, this wasn't exactly his first rodeo, therefore it took him merely a few hours for everything to click into place again.
It felt a bit like a gamer simultaneously but perfectly controlling six player avatars in true virtual reality at once, without any mental sluggishness or delayed reactions. For a regular person, this would be impossible, but for anybody with a high Mind Attribute, it wasn't a big deal. Theodore being a somewhat ridiculous anomaly in this aspect could handle so much more than what he had got the chance to showcase so far–he wasn't even scratching the surface.
Leaving the unconscious Navya in Annis' care, Xie Mei and Han Junqiao decided to follow their lover and his newest flame on their visit to the Sarasvain Federation. They had already finished their mission, therefore there was no need for them to endure the boredom of the long return journey now that a more exciting option had presented itself.
They also wanted to keep an eye on Ninna, just in case. After all, having only met her hours ago, how could they immediately trust her with the safety of their beloved? It wasn't simply because they were jealous and wanted to spend some time with him too, alright? Don't get the corre– I mean, the wrong idea!
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In the one day that Vigdis had been staying here, Sarasvain had done his best to be a polite host to her and her people. They had been assigned the most beautiful residences that could be found, had been served delicacy upon delicacy, and had been allowed to ask for pretty much anything that their heart could ever desire.
If it hadn't been for the fact that Theodore's Subordinates were generally well-trained and of good character, then some of them might have allowed themselves to indulge in these luxuries unnecessarily. Instead, the entire group simply treated this event as an unexpected holiday. A few travelled leisurely from place to place, some stayed at their allocated lodgings, and others still had remained on their Voidfaring Vessel.
Whilst they were enjoying themselves, everyone would give Vigdis regular updates via Kiran's network. Although they were just taking casual glances at this faction and wouldn't intervene in anything that they saw for the time being, that didn't mean that their professional habits didn't kick in.
Any injustice or unforgivable crime that they came across, they took note of. Later, once Theodore gained control of these worlds, it would allow them to cleanse the place a bit more efficiently.
Sarasvain was naturally aware of everyone's actions–although he had no idea that they were all still exchanging intel constantly–but he didn't do anything to stop them. They hadn't crossed any lines, so there was nothing to criticize.
There had been moments when he had sported a displeased frown, about to wipe out some of the lowlifes that had festered–as they always did–during his most recent absence. But before he could do so, Vigdis had intervened, informing him that these people would be of use to her Leader.
Just in case that person might actually end up on the same side as himself, Sarasvain decided to make that vermin a part of his prepared welcome gift. For now, they were merely knocked out and collected. If Theodore didn't prove himself worthy of the federation's people becoming his Students, then he would simply get rid of all of these vile miscreants himself.
'Am I imagining things, or is this woman spending an awful lot of time with me? Is she trying to surveil me? Or to detect my weaknesses so that her Leader will have an easier time later?'
Admittedly, it was already challenging enough for him to play such a professional role for so long. Having discarded all of his duties and become nothing more than an absent figurehead–or even a kind of invincible mascot–for ages, to keep his spirits up for an entire day felt unfamiliar and uncomfortable.
If he hadn't spent the vast majority of his life staring into the void, despairing at the futility of all that there was, then he might have detected the legitimately interested glint in Vigdis' eyes, or her generally slightly flirtatious behaviour.
Yet all that he picked up on were the fact that she seemed to be asking him a lot of personal questions–in his eyes for the sole reason of unearthing some sort of vulnerabilities to exploit–and the almost unsettling maturity in her gaze.
Being as long-lived as he was, he had only ever seen such a demeanour on two people before: That Brocade Guard from the distant past, and Sarasvain himself–whenever he looked at his own reflection.
Seeing no reason to suppress his curiosity, he steadily inquired about the Heaven's Chosen and Named Family descendants, eventually figuring out why it was that this lady felt like a peer of his–like a fellow 'old monster'.
'Countless illusory lives of experiences, seeming no different from the real thing? It appears like treating Ms. Rún and her Leader as if they were my juniors could backfire all too easily. I've got to admit, I'm looking forward to meeting this Theodore Winter even more now!'
His Subordinates having hyped the man up to no end, even someone like Sarasvain couldn't help but grow quite curious if the real deal lived up to his reputation. This anticipation, of course, did not escape Vigdis, who merely smiled in amusement and continued to get to know the Undying President.
Time always flows by quickly, especially when people are enjoying each other's company.
Choosing a temporary lull during their chat, Vigdis interrupted the topic they had been discussing and informed her host about Theodore being about to set off. As she led him towards her group's Voidfaring Vessel, the rest of her people assembled quickly, standing at attention as they awaited their boss' coming.
A bright light flashed for a moment, then the silhouettes of nine people could be made out. Three of them were divinely gorgeous women no inferior to Vigdis, who were walking arm in arm with three of the remaining figures–all of which were almost completely indistinguishable from each other.
They were even more alike than a group of identical sextuplets. Not only did they sport the same exact looks–white hair, icy-blue eyes and a handsomeness arguably even surpassing that of their female companions–but there was something significantly more eerie about them.
'Six bodies, and just one soul? It's the first time I've seen such a thing. If it wasn't for the difference in cultivation stages, then I couldn't possibly distinguish which one is the main body, because when I carefully sense every one of them, they all seem to house the exact same soul. It's as if it simultaneously exists in all of them. Hmm... a superposition of multiple possibilities that collapses into a single, definite state when observed, measured or detected... yeah, that feels familiar.'
Recalling the theory of quantum physics from his old home, a flash of reminiscence flickered in Sarasvain's eyes, before disappearing again ever so quickly. There was an undeniable similarity here, though, because upon further inspection, when all six bodies were observed at the same time, he could still only detect a singular soul. He just couldn't be sure where exactly it was located.
'Is that the reason why Ms. Rún spoke so highly of this man?'
Sending an inquisitive glance at his prior conversation partner, he was taken aback to see a look of astonished surprise on her attractive face. Evidently, encountering multiple Theodores hadn't been on her bingo card either.
"Since when could you create clones of yourself, Theo? Or, wait. Are these pseudo clones? No, that's not completely it either. You'd never allow a clone of yours to touch your lovers. So... they're additional bodies, then?"
Analysing the situation quickly, Vigdis showed a look of realization, mixed with joy and relief. Not much could make her happier than knowing that the boss that she hadn't seen in a while had become even stronger than before.
Although for simplicity's sake, most Named Family descendants referred to surplus bodies that they created as pseudo clones as well, purely technically speaking, there was still a difference.
Actual clones were completely separate beings that were basically carbon copies of an individual, their soul included. They were very rarely seen, especially perfect ones without any downsides or Heavenly Dao-imposed restrictions.
As for pseudo clones, those were mostly the result of a person cutting off a part of their soul and housing it in a new vessel–usually grown from their own flesh and bones, just like in Theodore's case. But where they differed was when it came to that separated soul. Because there was no longer a connection between the parts, these proper pseudo clones could indeed be considered their own individuals as well.
And that was exactly why Vigdis had said that Theodore would never allow such creations to lay their hands upon those who he loved. They may originate from him–or in the case of perfect clones, they may even be exactly identical to him. But did that matter? At the end of the day, they were still not the sole 'real' him that he acknowledged. They were him, but not him. Just like Xie Mei's Reincarnation Clones were her, but also not her.
These additional bodies, however, didn't have this problem. After all, courtesy of his Soul Fragment Entanglement Talent, he was effectively still one whole soul–he was now just connected to six physical vessels at once!
'I guess I was wrong. Whatever this is, it's merely the icing on the cake.'
Raising an eyebrow in appreciation, Sarasvain patiently observed the two's interaction, scrutinizing the new arrivals from head to toe in the meantime.
"You're right, Vigi. That Harmony segment that Navya, Mei'er, Qiao'er, and the others subdued was quite generous."
With a nod of acknowledgement, the six Theodores walked up to Vigdis, then motioned at Ninna, who was still clinging to his first body.
"By the way, this here is Ninna Ur. I'm going to do some proper introductions later, but just know that I'll be marrying her and Yeonnie soon."
Widening her eyes at this revelation, the red-haired beauty gave the Ur Family heiress a once-over, then showed a small, entertained yet approving smile.
"So you've finally made your decision, huh? I'm sure Yeonnie will be very happy when she hears about this. Well, mostly. Don't worry, I won't spill the beans–you can tell her all about this personally when the time is right."
Winking at him playfully, she could already imagine many potential upcoming developments, all of which could prove to be a delight to witness. No matter how eventful it would turn out to be, she would have to try to get a seat in the first row when it all went down.
"Thanks, Vigi!"
Nodding at her with a bright smile, the Theodores turned to face Sarasvain, who had so far been giving them enough breathing room to reunite. To avoid presenting himself as too uncanny or even freaking out his loved ones, as usual, only one Theodore spoke up.
"Apologies for the wait, Mr. Sarasvain! I hope you don't mind that I got myself a few more bodies to work with. Based on what I've been told about you, I judged you to be outstanding enough to deserve my utmost respect, and for our duel to require all of my effort."
Narrowing his eyes ever so slightly, he showed an expression of awe and amazement.
"Now that I'm here personally, I can see that Vigi's assessment of you... was completely spot on."
Theodore wasn't lying. He had initially been under the impression that Ninna would be the strongest opponent that he would have to fight today, but his gut feeling had been constantly reminding himself to stay cautious, therefore he had kept a level head. Yet only when he actually met the man that Vigdis had her eye on did he realize that he had still been underestimating how tough his next battle would truly be.