Episode 880 Soul – 1
soul.
An intangible entity referred to as the source of mind and life residing in the body.
There have been many attempts to explore the soul, both academically and religiously. Just as the colors that color the world are diverse, so too have the explanations of the soul.
Luasism explicitly defines only the human soul and reinforced the concept of the soul by explaining the world after death through the karma of life, hell, and heaven.
In the magical world, there was a heated debate between the view that all beings, including insects, have souls, and the view that souls are generated only in intelligent beings.
Furthermore, some presented the soul as a concept representing the mind, viewing it as perishing along with the death of the body, while others believed that a cyclical flow of reincarnation existed.There were also quite a few scholars who denied the concept of the soul altogether.
As the soul is thus ambiguous, it is supported by different logics and their respective grounds. However, the most influential was the doctrine of Ruas.This is because countless believers in world religions believe in the relationship between humans and the soul.
Isabella had never studied the soul in depth, but she had a rough understanding of it. She vaguely thought that the body was the shell and the soul was the core.
What on earth does a special entity have to do with a soul?
Isabella focused once again on the manuscript written by her ancestor, harboring doubts. Beta silently continued reading alongside Isabella.
A wizard who majored in material magic suddenly talking about souls? Isn’t that something only a mental wizard would look for?
───Why did my brother suddenly start studying souls? I cast the question into the void and slowly rolled my eyes. Now that I looked, it wasn’t just books. There were only two things in my brother’s laboratory. Souls, and research records on the three products of endless negation.
What correlation could there be between the monster’s material and its soul? What did my brother see while fighting against endless denial? I looked around my brother’s laboratory for a while, erased all traces, and stepped outside. I tried to satisfy my curiosity, but instead, it only deepened.
My brother didn’t say a word. It seems he didn’t get caught, just as expected. Since he won’t be away for a while now, I decided to go back later.
… … .
My brother finally became the official head of the Deiros family. I clapped harder than anyone else. From now on, there will only be glory for the Deiros family.
Endless denial and irrelevant content followed.The book left by King Seonjo was a memoir.Events worthy of being remembered for a long time were listed in chronological order from his perspective. The timelines within it were spaced from as short as a few days to as long as several months.
The theme Isabella was looking for continued about chapter 32 later.
It is good news. My brother received an invitation to a social gathering attended only by the noble families of the Magic Kingdom. I finally realized that the Deiros family is a respectable noble family. I felt there was no need for me to go, so I stayed with the family.
I confirmed that my brother had left early in the morning. It was late at night. I entered his laboratory again for the first time in quite a while.
My end might be set starting from this moment.
King Seonjo’s handwriting wavered slightly.
The laboratory was dark. Naturally, there was no sign of life. However, the air was eerily chilling, to the point of being bizarre, and it gave me goosebumps. Nevertheless, driven by curiosity, I moved forward step by step. Someone was standing in the laboratory where no one should have been. That someone was staring endlessly at the [Cloning Eye], [Multiplying Nucleus], and [Reviving Blood] that were supposed to be kept in the family laboratory.
I secretly took out my cane, hid in a corner, and observed the uninvited guest. I felt my strength drain away. That someone was none other than my brother.
But looking at it again, it seemed strange.
The brother in the research lab was missing a leg, just like the brother I knew, but unlike him, he was missing a left arm entirely. There was no way the brother, having attended the social gathering, could have been at the family home in the first place. Nor could the family heirlooms, which lie deep within the household, be here.
───Mental magic? An illusion? A hybrid? A monster that imperfectly mimics the brother’s appearance?
───As a member of the family, I decided to eliminate the intruder in the territory. Just as I was about to activate my magic circuit, my brother raised the [Replicating Eye] and placed it against his eyelid. Then, he slowly turned his body toward me.
The [cloning eye], which had already lost its biological functions, blinked. My brother met my gaze as if it were his own eye. And he moved his lips. No sound was transmitted, but the shape of his mouth was like this.
Did you see it?
My body froze with a fear I had never felt before in my life. It felt as if my very soul was trembling. Amusingly, I immediately lost my will to fight and ran away without looking back. Fortunately, I did not hear the sound of anything chasing me.
A few days later, my brother returned.
Even as time passed, my brother did not mention his laboratory, acting as if he had no idea what had happened. Upon investigation, it turned out that the family heirlooms had actually never left the family vault.
Was it an illusion??
So I remained silent without asking. I turned a blind eye to the phenomenon beyond my understanding, rather than exploring it. It was because I had a hunch that, for some reason, I shouldn’t touch it. Regrettably, that was my nature. And so, I decided to gradually forget the memory of that day.
The content changed again.
As Isabella rapidly rolled her eyes and continued turning the pages, Beta reached out and pointed precisely to a specific page.It was near the end of the book.She stroked Beta’s head and focused on the end of the journal with him.
My brother stepped down as head of the family. Thus, a new generation has changed. Looking in the mirror, I see that I, too, have quite a few more wrinkles. Now that I have aged, sitting for long periods to write is not easy at all. As if he had fulfilled his mission, my brother spent his time leisurely, tidying up his surroundings as the elder of the family. I did the same.
Perhaps it is because I have reached the twilight of a wizard’s life. I felt as though I had become detached from everything. It was a kind of courage.
One day, while taking a leisurely stroll through the mansion’s courtyard with my brother, we talked about the strange situation we had experienced in the laboratory. Decades had passed, so the emotions I felt then had faded and become a memory. I felt no hesitation in bringing up the distant past.
My brother listened quietly to my words, then stopped walking. I turned around. With his eyes wide open, he parted his lips. This time, his voice pierced my ears.
I have seen.
Fear returned. My brother gave me a broad smile and walked past me. Many questions welled up in my frozen mind. What were the brother and the family heirloom I saw back then? I bit my lip. I was already old anyway. Do you think there was anything left to be afraid of now? As soon as dawn broke, I went to find my brother again.
My brother was dead. In bed, in a very peaceful state. His eyes were strangely red, but otherwise, there was nothing unusual. A high-ranking cleric of the Ruas Theocracy examined him and declared it a natural death. The Deiros family held a grand funeral for my brother.
As I watched my brother being buried, I held the will I had found in his room. It was something he had written in advance. Inside, the only phrase was, “Continuously study the family heirloom.”
I stared blankly at the sky, lost in deep thought. What on earth was my brother researching? Because I was so timid, I ended up never finding the answer. Then, suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.
If I die, will I be able to meet my brother again?
If the doctrines of the Luas religion were correct, souls existed, and a world beyond death must have existed. If I were to go to the same place as my brother… would he be waiting for me there?
I became curious about what comes after death, the thing I feared most in my life.
A period was stamped firmly.There was a postscript after that.
I have no intention of revealing this memoir containing secrets known only to me, nor do I intend to burn it. Someone will eventually find it. If that person is my descendant, remember my brother’s dying wish.
───Study the heirloom.
───Because perhaps you might be able to see the world that your brother can see. Since I cannot do that, I am trying to find a way in a different way.
Will death answer me?
It won’t be long now.
The ancestor’s memoir, which had begun in the middle of the book, ended there. Isabella was lost in the lingering resonance, feeling as though someone had entered her mind and returned.
Beta handed over another book.
[This is a research record related to endless negativity.]
Do you have any new information?
[There is none. In fact, there is less information than Isabella knows.]
It might be obvious.
It has been 200 years since the Deiros family disappeared from the Magic Kingdom, and during that time, the descendants of the Deiros family have continued to research the family heirlooms.Based on what their ancestors left behind.
“Then, instead of reading… shall we try one experiment?”
[What kind of experiment is this?]
“I have all three heirlooms, you know. Well, they aren’t in perfect condition, but… if I try doing something with them, maybe something will come out of it? I have nothing to lose anyway.”
Isabella stood up vigorously and summoned [Endless Myriads].
Balok’s staff is made of [cloning eyes] and [multiplying nuclei], and Isabella’s body is fused with [reviving blood].
Mado
The path Isabella had pioneered was one corrupted by the endless blood of negativity. Even an ancestor would not be able to handle the heirloom better than she could.Even though Beta tried to dissuade her, Isabella wore an expression that showed no intention of listening.
‘soul…….’
One cannot erode something one does not even properly know, let alone perceive. Therefore, Isabella decided to concentrate all her power on her eyes as much as possible.For the memoirs stated that her ancestor had met his end with his eyes still red.
Whoosh. Whoooosh.
Three rings rotate around the red crystal of [Endless Myriad Forms].A unique magical power surged.
Thud.
Blood vessels bulged on my forehead and temples. My eyes gradually turned red. However, only my eyes hurt; I couldn’t see anything.
Still, I kept going.
Just as Alpha and Beta had been, Isabella was also deeply influenced by Verden’s spirit. In any case, she could regenerate even if injured. Pushing herself to thelimit wouldn’t be a problem.It was around the time her capillaries burst and the entire white of her eye turned red.
‘uh……?’
My back is hot.
On Isabella’s back, there is a magic circle of reversed heavens that Verden himself carved. When I glanced over, a blue light was seeping out from inside the robe.
[Yeokcheon reacts. Isabella, I advise you to stop the experiment.]
“no.”
Beta tried to dissuade her, but Isabella looked straight ahead again and heightened her vision. A keen eye appeared in her left eye. The rings of the staff spun even faster.
Just a little more.
Immediately after the Reverse Heaven reacted, [Endless Myriad Forms] and Isabella’s body began to resonate. A sensation as if the blood in her entire body was boiling overwhelmed her.
Something is coming.
“just a little……!”
Eventually, just as even she could no longer hold on, her vision twisted violently.
From one to two.From two to four.From four to eight.From eight to sixteen.… … .
The pure white afterimages of objects wavered and overlapped.A headache that crushed her brain.Nevertheless, Isabella gritted her teeth without closing her eyes for a single moment, trying to identify the cause of the strange phenomenon.
───!
A pure white line was drawn in the center of her vision.Just like a boundary line.Isabella soon shed tears of blood and cast her piercing gaze beyond the boundary. All that remained in her mind was fragmentary information.
There were countless people beyond the boundary.
An unknown current flows.
*Pow!*
Isabella’s eyes exploded. Her head snapped back and hit the bookshelf hard. The staff slipped from her hand and rolled across the floor.
Beta hurriedly examined the magic light.
[The eyeball is completely ruptured. I will call His Majesty Verden. The bleeding is severe.]
“J…… Just a moment……!”
Isabella grabbed Beta’s frame and straightened her upper body. She clutched her forehead for a moment, then lifted her head.As she slowly raised her eyelids, the regenerated eyeballs once again illuminated the world.
Beta waved his arm in front of her eyes.
[Are you okay?]
The pain was gone.My vision was also perfectly fine.
“It’s okay. If I were an ordinary person, I might already be dead, though.”
[I request an explanation.]
“I’m not sure what’s going on all of a sudden either, but…… this feeling. I’ve heard of it before. You’re bound to know.”
The strange atmosphere that had been lingering just moments before.
It was after Verden and the Darkwarton Tower Master had a conversation in the Grand Hall following the conclusion of the General Assembly of the Magic World.Isabella and Beta’s figures were reflected in a small puddle of blood on the floor.
“taboo.”
Isabella Deiros crossed the boundary of another taboo.Perhaps related to the soul…
* * *
The next day.
Verden and Vangelis finalized the detailed schedule for the Magic Festival and concluded the official schedule. Then, as promised, they unofficially traveled to the Kingdom of Estiria in the Eastern Continent.
Eastern Swamps.
Although it was considered one of the kingdom’s two forbidden places, along with the lightless cave, to them it was no different from a walking path.For those specializing in elemental magic like Verden and Vangelis, erasing a specific area was not a difficult task.
“This is the founder’s…….”
Vangelis nodded as he gently stroked the structure that Verden once knew as the tomb of the first Demon King.
“As expected, it was built using the architectural techniques of the Akenad Magic Kingdom, in their original form. There is no doubt about it. This ruin is undoubtedly what the Founder left behind.”“Why would the Founder leave a building like this in the Eastern Continent, where he had no connections?”“Well, perhaps the Founder simply wanted to spend time alone, undisturbed by anyone. He might have even spent the twilight of his life here.”“A legacy… perhaps it is a tomb.”
Medrail looked around the underground ruins with sparkling eyes, and Vangelis followed closely behind her, focusing on the moment.
I could see it properly now.
Vangelis came here not out of curiosity about the First Demon King, but because he wanted to see Medrail in person, who would be delighted to see traces of the First Demon King.
I had prepared a plan to escape Centrum if push came to shove, but that has been in vain.
Vangelis and Medrail asked only simple questions and did not pry into anything. They enjoyed exploring the ruins like wizards stepping into the unknown.
Verden and his party walked along, keeping a reasonable distance from the grandfather and granddaughter.
At that moment.
Verden stopped.
“Alpha, Beta. Investigate the surroundings.”
[check.]
A blue light extending from a single eye swept across the surrounding area.
[Scan complete. Nothing found.]
[Scan completed. Nothing detected.]
“What is the matter, my lord?”
Verden looked at the floor, the walls, and the ceiling in turn.He stroked his chin.
“I had a feeling someone had come in.”
Isabella asked.
“An intruder here…? Wasn’t the magic circle drawn by the Head of the House intact?”“That’s true, but.”
Neither Verden’s keen observation skills nor the artificial golem’s scan could find any trace of an intrusion. Yet, this indescribable feeling bothered him.
What on earth could it be?
Verden stubbornly tried to find any strange traces that might be somewhere, but… he found nothing unusual until Vangelis and Medrail left.
anyway.
Although the first visit to the Arkenad Magic Kingdom did not go according to plan, fortunately, the worst-case scenario Verden had anticipated did not rear its head.Instead, the taboo discovered by Isabella added weight to the questions Verden had been accumulating.
And so, the short schedule in the Magic Kingdom came to an end.
* * *
The morning sunlight warmly colors the window.
The first Necromancer turned his head while stroking the Shadow Demon with his finger bone.Its pure white skull was clearly revealed.
[Is it today already?]
The sinners arrived in a land without a master.
D-13 until the Magic Festival
