Chapter 156: The Cold Truth |
Saul nearly cast Strike Undead.
Remembering that the shadow from last night hadn’t shown any obvious malice, he refrained from charging in and attacking.
"Who are you? Why have you been following me?"
The shadow gradually became more solid and clear. It was slender, seemingly wearing a skirt, but its face remained unseen, with only a pair of eyes that grew increasingly red.
"Why?" The shadow jumped onto the table in two steps. The books on the table passed through its body, but it could still sit steadily on the surface. "If it weren’t for Gorsa asking me to watch over you, do you think I’d willingly follow you?"
"Master of the Tower? You..." Saul suddenly recalled two images.
One was at the entrance of the Hanging Hand Valley, where he stood amidst the Head Monsters, and in the Soul Wave Detector, he saw a shadow the size of a person.
At first, he thought it was a wraith, but Nick had reminded him that the detector had not been activated.
The other was on the Land Drifters Ship, when he rested on the deck and once again saw the same shadow in the detector. This had led him to dismiss his earlier guess that the shadow was the wraith Morden.
"You’re the spirit that appeared in the Soul Wave Detector? You’ve been following me all this time?"
"Yes," the shadow swayed its legs. "Since you left the Wizard Tower, I’ve been following you. From when that Nick tricked you into Grind Sail Town, to when you bullied a little girl and dug out her eyes, and even when you toyed with that low-ranking apprentice in that tower."
Saul's heart tightened as he tried to recall whether he had said anything about the diary when alone.
Fortunately, Saul communicated with the diary through telepathy. Apart from looking a little odd, no one could detect its existence.
"Master of the Tower, are you here to protect me?"
"Hah!" The shadow let out a short laugh, almost mocking Saul's naive thoughts, but in a way, it confirmed it. "You could say that. After all, he did say, try not to let you die."
"So, you appeared in the detector twice to save me?" Saul asked, but he didn’t wait for the shadow to respond and immediately said, "I can return to the Wizard Tower because of you, I really have to thank you for your help."
Even if the shadow wasn’t telling the truth, thanking it wouldn't hurt.
However, Saul couldn’t let the shadow follow him around, or he wouldn’t be able to conduct many of his experiments.
"Though I didn’t help you at Hanging Hand Valley... you should thank me! Do you think Gorsa would have appeared if not for me?" The shadow’s voice was initially vague but became more confident.
At the same time, it seemed to see through Saul’s intentions. "You want me to leave, don't you? Hmph, do you think I want to stay next to you, such a boring guy? Looking at your research, it’s just pathetic!"
The shadow's voice rose a little. "I’m only here temporarily, because Gorsa asked me to stay and answer your questions about Morden."
Saul abruptly looked up, staring at the shadow’s pair of bright red eyes, and quickly took out the puppet doll Gorsa had given him.
The eyes of the doll were now even more red.
"You? You? You’re Lady Yura?"
Could it be that what Gorsa meant by Yura’s uniqueness was this?
This strange form was indeed unlike a regular spirit. Her personality was also like a little girl.
As soon as the shadow heard Yura’s name, her voice turned cold. Though her face remained hidden, Saul could feel the shadow’s anger.
"I’m not Yura!" she snapped. "I’m just a replica made by Gorsa to resurrect his wife."
Saul gasped. "A manufactured soul?"
"Forget it, what’s there to explain to a Second Rank apprentice? You can call me Vini, but I have no relation to Yura, not even half a character!" The shadow, now calling itself Vini, wagged a finger at Saul.
This shadow’s personality fluctuated wildly, sometimes lively, other times gloomy, just like a wraith.
"Alright, let’s not talk about that." Vini crossed her arms—though they disappeared when she did so. "What do you want to know about Morden?"
"After being possessed by a wraith, will it have lasting effects on my body or mind?"
According to Byron, after Saul defeated Morden, not only did his hands melt away, but his body nearly dissolved entirely.
Though later, somehow, Saul returned to normal, this incident still troubled him.
"Yes, most people possessed by wraiths are left with severe effects," Vini began, her tone now more lively as if she found the topic interesting.
"You were possessed by a True Wizard Wraith. Normally, even if you were saved, you'd be sick for years or go completely mad. That level of contamination isn't something to joke about."
Vini jumped down from the table and walked around Saul, her hands behind her back.
"But your Soul Resin blocked most of the dangerous soul energy for you. The parts that couldn’t be absorbed strangely dissipated after the wraith died."
She moved behind Saul, her black silhouette's arm pressing against the back of his head.
A chilling breath spread through Saul’s pores, freezing his skin and muscles. But as soon as he came back to his senses, he realized it was just an illusion. His skin was still fine.
"Your mental power is extremely strong, and combined with that magic circle, it affected Morden’s consciousness. I suspect that’s why you survived."
"But here’s the strange part. Although Morden’s consciousness was shattered, he should have had the chance to escape, yet he vanished completely, without a trace."
Vini walked around to the front of Saul again. Her black silhouette's arm moved from his head to his forehead.
Saul looked up at Vini, his gaze steady, not flinching.
"Just like a tough bone that automatically turned into mush. Not only did it leave no remnants to affect your cognition, but it even helped enhance your mental power a little. Is this Morden’s anomaly, or is it something special about you?"
Clean and neat?
Saul closed his eyes. It must have been the diary's doing!
The diary had no interest in soul energy or soul fragments, only enjoying locking the consciousnesses of the dead in a little black room.
If not for the diary, Saul would’ve gone mad after being possessed by such a powerful wraith. Even if he survived, he would have been left a lunatic, perhaps permanently scarred.
Vini didn’t know about the diary, as she hadn’t participated in the battle in Saul’s mind.
She pondered for a moment before pulling back her hand, gently tracing circles with her thumb and forefinger.
"Is this your talent? No wonder Gorsa values you so much. A soul as pure and clean as yours is the kind of soul a living person should have."
Saul also began to have a guess about Gorsa’s experiments.
Could it be that after Yura’s death, her consciousness was contaminated? Therefore, resurrecting her wasn’t as simple as just finding her a body.
Purging the contamination from her soul must be a difficult and dangerous task.
Not only did they have to ensure the soul remained intact, but they also had to cleanse it of the pollution. Gorsa must have been researching this for a long time, struggling to no avail. That’s why he started nurturing Saul, a child with soul talent, from such a young age?
But since Gorsa's method of training Saul was more like letting him roam free, it was more likely that even Gorsa didn't fully understand the extent of Saul's soul talent, or how much it could help.
Therefore, aside from offering some general guidance, he rarely interfered with Saul's decisions.
"Sigh—" Saul sighed, lowering his gaze. "Master Gorsa is really a good person. He guides my studies and even has you protect me. When I think about his efforts to resurrect his wife... this wizarding world isn't as cruel and cold as I thought."
To Saul’s surprise, upon hearing his words, Vini suddenly burst into laughter.
She laughed so loudly that she even bent over, clutching her stomach.
Her laughter echoed in the second warehouse, growing sharper, sending a chill down Saul’s spine and a sharp pain through his brain.
"Vini?" Saul said, pained, covering his ears.
The laughter now carried a harmful force, and Saul’s hand wasn’t enough to block it. It was full of seams.
Soon, a hot fluid began to trickle from his ears.
"Vini!" Saul cried out, helpless.
Vini finally stopped.
She turned around, and her bright red eyes faded, becoming dim, as though covered by a layer of water.
"You’re so naïve!" she said coldly. "The wizarding world is governed by cold laws and even colder interests! All emotions are just mutual investments and the influence of power."
Saul fell silent. He lowered his hand and looked at Vini without speaking.
Seeing his expression, Vini knew he didn’t believe her.
"Still a child, huh?" She chuckled softly. "Then let me tell you another truth."
Vini didn’t have a mouth, but this time her voice was slow and gentle, almost mimicking Gorsa's tone.
"Gorsa’s wife, Yura, was killed by his own hands! And Gorsa’s so-called resurrection is just to provide himself with a backup plan."
(End of Chapter)
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