What was just shattered was Lucian's water clone. Lucian is afraid of pain when fighting, so he generally prefers to use this kind of skill that enhances evasion.
In a dream, the sense of pain does indeed disappear, but the brain is a magical thing—it will help you imagine it out.
In the dream controlled by Nahida, it's even more realistic; the terrifying computational power is constantly repairing the 'unreal' parts.
If one could really sense something amiss just from 'pain' and shatter the dream, it wouldn't be considered impressive.
Similarly, this is also why Ei has to take action several times before breaking the dream— she's too overpowered, and the computational repairs can't keep up easily.
When Lucian was fighting Tartaglia before, he never turned off these little skills.
It's just a pity that Tartaglia's combat intelligence is also very high; he saw through the trick in minutes.
When facing Ei, Lucian hadn't even used this move, because he knew he couldn't hide it from her at all.
As expected, even though Lucian had never used this move before, Ei spotted the issue in the instant of her attack just now and directly sheathed her blade.
"Anything else to say?" the "God of Mechanisms" asked.
He wasn't too surprised either, because the Fatui knew about Lucian's abilities.
Tartaglia didn't take that beating for nothing; it really extracted quite a bit of intelligence.
Knowledge, shared with you.
And don't let Scaramouche's irritable appearance fool you; he's actually willing to listen to Lucian speak.
There's no particular reason—it's just that in his view, Lucian is absolutely someone who can be called a strong one.
Moreover, on the 'wisdom' level, he's indeed not something ordinary people can compare to— even gods can't.
Even after becoming a god, Scaramouche couldn't achieve precise prophecy; he said he saw his own 'life,' but that was only on a 'philosophical' or 'theological' level, not truly seeing the future.
It was precisely because he touched a higher level that he understood even more clearly how terrifying Lucian's ability is.
"I wanted to say, this segment is over; for the next segment, switch to me sparring with you again," Lucian said with a smile.
"What...?" The "God of Mechanisms" didn't understand.
However, he just blinked, and the person in front of him had already vanished.
...How much longer until Lucian arrives?
The door opened, and the one opening it was still Lucian; he had come again.
This time, Lucian didn't waste words and directly activated 'Armor Fusion.' A water-flow armor covered his entire body, and he held an ice-element longsword in his hand.
Lightning danced delightfully, his body surrounded by rotating geo elements, and behind Lucian was that classic Ei-style electro ring.
If I don't resemble her this much, how would everyone know that I studied under the Electro Archon?
This is the complete seven elements, the complete armor, the complete me!
He looks so similar—truly too similar; it's so spot-on that even Scaramouche got excited.
Lucian also borrowed the wind element to fly into the high air and fight alongside Scaramouche.
Both sides fought evenly matched, proficient in all kinds of elemental power, illuminating the sky so brightly.
"Uwah, Lucian this guy has gotten even stronger," Paimon said in surprise.
Lumine nodded. "Yeah, stronger than I am now."
"Don't say that—in my heart, you're the strongest," You think this line was said by Paimon? Actually, it was me, Lucian!
Lucian stood behind Lumine and said so. On one hand, this came from his true feelings; on the other, it was because he was too lazy to fight and wanted Lumine to protect him more.
"Eh, eh, eh? You're not...? Eh? How are you here? Why?" Paimon looked at the Lucian in the sky, then at the Lucian behind her, momentarily unable to figure out the principle.
Lucian explained: "That's my water clone, duh. Didn't you see it's been using elemental power the whole time without much close combat?"
No close combat, because engaging in close combat would easily give it away; Lucian can remotely control elemental power without fear of exposure.
In the past, he loved operating water dragons in battle; operating elemental power for remote fighting could be said to be second nature to him.
Lucian is afraid of pain in fights, and anyway, this is just sparring with Scaramouche— a water clone is the same.
He had thought of fighting like this before, but his strength didn't allow it; others always managed to get right in his face.
Special callout to criticize Tartaglia; that blow that wounded Lucian is something Lucian can hold against him for a lifetime.
The "God of Mechanisms" at this moment hadn't noticed anything unusual mainly because, although the 'Lucian' was fake, the elemental power was real, and the pressure it exerted was real too.
Plus, they were still in Nahida's dream, with Nahida's cover; the "God of Mechanisms"' thinking really hadn't turned the corner yet.
"What the heck! You this guy are so strong now, fighting so easily, but during normal adventures, you still hide behind us!" Paimon complained.
"Correction: It's hiding behind me; little Paimon is the one hiding at the very back, right?" Lumine said.
"Ey, don't tease me like that. We're two hearts in one body, but we're the same person, hehe," Paimon quibbled unreasonably.
Lumine rolled her eyes at her. Two hearts in one body and the same person? What nonsense— that's clearly two people.
Lucian smiled wryly: "It's not that relaxed, is it?"
Although Lucian was fighting the "God of Mechanisms" remotely, making it look very effortless.
But creating a realistic mimic is extremely difficult; he has to perform various actions while simultaneously operating elemental power— the difficulty is simply extreme multitasking.
When playing strategy games before, he could at least pause and then operate; now, not only is the speed faster, but there's no pausing allowed either— Lucian is mentally exhausted.
Such a battle requires Lucian's high concentration too; even his mischievous thoughts have lessened.
To be honest, it might as well be easier to just go up and elbow him directly, but Lucian doesn't like that.
Nahida: "You're amazing, truly impressive."
This was sincere; Nahida could sense that Lucian's life state was still human, and to have such combat performance was already exaggerated.
Lumine also saw Lucian's difficulty and couldn't help but smile. "Looks like I still need to protect you, huh."
Lucian didn't refute and nodded: "Yeah, I'll have to trouble you."
For some reason, even though Lucian had declared he was going to 'slack off,' Lumine's mood was actually quite good.
"Hm?" The "God of Mechanisms" defeated the 'Lucian.'
The conversation just now had somewhat affected Lucian's operations, allowing the "God of Mechanisms" to seize the flaw and shatter the water clone.
The "God of Mechanisms"' strength isn't weak at all; it's just that what he challenged were the Seven Sovereigns.
Unfortunately, Scaramouche hadn't discovered that Lucian was fake, because right after shattering 'Lucian,' the dream looped once more.
In the previous second, he was still puzzled: How did it shatter so easily? Is it that fragile? It shatters at a touch?
He hadn't intended to kill Lucian at all; he was even counting on Lucian to bring Baalzeph to him— how did it just shatter?
In the next second, his thoughts fractured, and he was back to the initial thought: 'Lucian... how hasn't he come yet?'
The door opened again, and the one who came was Lucian; he had come yet again and again and again.
Before Scaramouche could say anything, Lucian spoke first: "Alright, this is the final moment!"
Scaramouche was puzzled, not knowing what Lucian was talking about, while Lucian pointed with one hand— close the door and release Lumine!
Facing the charging Traveler, the "God of Mechanisms" wasn't anxious or impatient; in his eyes, the Traveler wasn't his opponent.
However, the more he fought, the stranger it got, the more uncomfortable it became.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice-Overs · Tartaglia: About Lucian · Getting Stronger
"My comrade has gotten stronger so quickly. That water clone was truly powerful. Good thing I seized the opportunity to land a hit on his main body—why is he so angry? Wasn't it just a sparring match?"