Chapter 419: Sudden Advancement |
That pitch-black night sky and the stars did not linger long—they vanished from Saul’s sight.
The surrounding mist dissipated as well.
"The gray matter does indeed contain a trace of faint evil thoughts. It’s even the very core of the material, so unless one completely destroys or absorbs it, its presence cannot be discovered."
"Though weak, these evil thoughts are highly corruptive. Did Senior Byron not notice it? Or did he already deal with it in another way?"
Saul reached toward the other potion—Blue Water Soul.
But just then, someone interrupted him from behind.
"You said there was a major breakthrough in the experiment. What is it?"
Saul’s outstretched hand froze in midair.
He gathered his thoughts, then turned around.
Gorsa stood behind Saul, his whole figure cloaked in black. There was a faint restlessness in his aura—it seemed he hadn’t rested well the previous night either.
"Which material?" Gorsa asked softly.
"Remove... Blue Water Soul. Is that possible?"
For a brief moment, Gorsa’s previously calm gaze turned sharp. But just as quickly, he regained his usual gentle composure.
"What did you discover?"
Saul took a deep breath and held out the vial of Blue Water Soul.
"The gray matter, the raw ingredient of Blue Water Soul, contains rather powerful and stubborn evil thoughts."
Gorsa remained where he stood. "That, I know. I will handle the evil thoughts."
Saul was a little surprised that Gorsa was already aware of what lay within the gray matter.
But it made sense—after all, Gorsa was a Second Rank wizard. If Saul could notice it, there was no reason Gorsa couldn't.
Which also meant—Lady Yura’s attempt to kill Senior Byron was not to cover up the existence of the evil thoughts.
Then the only thing she would want to hide was—that she had consumed the evil thoughts herself!
"Master, as you know, I can already move through the interlayer. But yesterday, I encountered someone else there."
Saul laid out everything he had seen.
Then, he noticed that Gorsa didn’t look particularly surprised.
Or rather—it was less surprising, and more... disappointment.
Gorsa slowly stepped closer, taking the Blue Water Soul from Saul’s hand.
The Blue Water Soul resembled a beautiful blue crystal sphere, less than two centimeters in diameter—delicate and exquisite.
"Blue Water Soul requires the vengeful spirits of at least a hundred people to condense into a single bead. Blue Water Bay... even after centuries of war, natural disasters, and human calamities, could only yield this much. Most of it remains with me, waiting for the final experiment. A small portion was distributed to a few mentors and Yura for testing. I didn’t expect Yura to be so... gluttonous."
He pulled back his hand.
The beautiful blue crystal sphere shattered in his palm with a crisp snap. The fragments dissolved like ice under sunlight, vanishing into clear liquid that soaked into the bandages on Gorsa’s hand.
Saul noticed that Gorsa’s palm briefly turned black, but it quickly returned to a soft pink hue.
Gorsa looked up at Saul again, his voice heavy with fatigue.
"Saul, I’ve worked so hard to resurrect her. Why does she keep pulling stunts that make me angry?"
Saul didn’t respond.
He still couldn’t grasp what Gorsa had gleaned from Yura’s actions. But it was clear—he’d realized something was wrong.
The resurrection experiment centered around Blue Water Soul would likely be shut down.
But simply halting one experiment wasn’t Saul’s ultimate goal.
He needed Gorsa to understand Yura’s true intentions, and those of the people behind her, and take action to eliminate the threat.
Even though Saul understood that Gorsa might not be a righteous man, he had already aligned himself with Gorsa’s side. If the enemy side overturned the board, it would surely crush Saul’s share of the pie, and his life along with it!
Now that the problem with Blue Water Soul was out in the open, Saul couldn't just watch Gorsa drive the carriage off a cliff.
As of now, Gorsa’s reaction was unsatisfying.
He was more disappointed than furious, and didn’t look like he intended to take action against the hidden puppeteers.
"Saul..." Gorsa spoke again after a moment of silence, "How confident are you in the rejection-delay potion?"
Saul raised his chin. "It's only a matter of a few years, nothing more."
But Gorsa shook his head. "I don’t have that time anymore."
Saul was taken aback. Wasn’t there supposed to be almost five years left?
Gorsa turned his back, tilting his head up to look at the ceiling.
"Do you know what my main responsibility in the resurrection experiment is?"
"Overseeing the experiment's design? Evaluating the strength of each theory?" Saul guessed instinctively.
"No. My main task... is to keep Yura’s soul pure. To maintain her in that unique state between life and death."
Gorsa suddenly turned around. His cloak flared slightly, and Saul caught a glimpse of the pink bandages beneath—it had become old, dull, and mottled.
Like a person, aged and worn.
"You could say—I pulled her back from death with my own hands. But death never let go of her other hand! I can’t cut off both of death’s hands. That’s beyond my current ability. But I can do everything possible to stop Yura from being dragged back into the abyss."
"But as time passes, that task is only becoming harder and harder."
"Saul!"
"Master?"
"Give me all your notes and materials on the rejection-delay potion. Then get ready."
Gorsa raised a hand, and a sheet of paper whooshed through the air, landing on Saul’s desk.
Saul quickly picked it up. It listed various magical tools and materials. At the bottom was a detailed diagram of a complex ritual formation.
"In ten days, I’ll inform you. Then you’ll notify everyone else. Have them bring all necessary materials to the designated location. We’re beginning the experiment!"
Ten days?
Gorsa actually wanted to begin the resurrection experiment within ten days?
Saul’s eyes widened.
“Don’t tell anyone about our conversation today.”
“Yes!”
Though he agreed quickly, Saul was honestly shocked.
He had thought Gorsa would suspend the experiment to investigate, but instead, the man wanted to bring the experiment forward!
Saul had already developed the rejection-delaying potion, but the duration it could delay the rejection still wasn’t long enough—it wasn’t sufficient to offset the pollution Yura’s soul body suffered each time it was transferred to a new vessel.
Or… was it that Gorsa planned to first place Yura into a long-term vessel, then slowly study how to eliminate the pollution?
And what did Gorsa want with all of Saul’s notes? Was he planning to extend the rejection delay time to more than ten years within just ten days?
But even with the ability to endlessly trial and error through his journal, Saul couldn't complete such an experiment in ten days.
There was no one to answer Saul’s questions.
That day, Gorsa took all of Saul’s notes and disappeared into the storage chamber.
Afterward, the entire Wizard Tower suddenly became lively.
Unaware of the full picture, Mentors Rum and Kaz continued their scheduled improvements on the Blue Water Soul. They often called Yura and Saul in to discuss things together.
Keli was locked up in Gudo’s lab, working overtime until day blurred into night. Still, she chatted with Saul daily, sharing some of her ideas regarding consciousness anesthesia. She even boasted that after participating in the soul toxin experiments, she’d gained quite a bit of inspiration.
The mission registry abruptly reduced the number of external tasks. Second and Third Rank apprentices suddenly found themselves out of work and, unaccustomed to the idleness, began wandering aimlessly around the Tower.
Lokai seized the chance to organize two exchange meetings, but Saul, claiming he was busy with experiments, didn’t attend either.
In this daze of bustling activity, eight days slipped by.
Everything appeared to be proceeding in an orderly fashion.
Until the ninth day—Gorsa’s figure suddenly appeared again in the second storage chamber.
He then told Saul, “The formal experiment will begin tomorrow. The location is the garden outside the Tower.”
Though it had only been a few days, Gorsa looked even more exhausted. His silver eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, and the pink bandages on his body were wrinkled and worn.
“Yes!” Saul, who had been in the middle of an experiment, immediately put down what he was doing and stood up straight to respond.
Gorsa chuckled lightly. “No need to be nervous. I’ve already informed the other mentors—any non-experimental personnel who approach will die.”
Saul took a deep breath.
“Go prepare the materials.”
“Yes!”
(End of Chapter)
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