Chapter 213: Because That’s You (3)
“The ultimate goal of our school is to connect parallel dimensions and manifest diverse possibilities in this dimension. The best magic I can use also stems from that. But going one step further, it’s about making the essence of these parallel dimensions ours.”
“And what do you do with that?”
“Research. If we obtain the Parallel Dimension Eruption Ability and can control it, we can perfectly simulate the future of this world, right? But to think it was a special ability passed down. Hmm, as expected, is it a magician’s job to peek into ‘God’s lunchbox’?”
The term “God’s lunchbox” is used as a metaphor for history.
It’s a term that appears in a long metaphor that says priests eat what God takes out of the basket, shamans imagine and create similar things by smelling the basket and slightly seeing the inside, and magicians boldly steal and eat the contents of the basket.
Simply put, it means that Lucy, instead of regretting that it was limited to certain people, is thinking constructively (?) about peeking into it under the justified belief that since someone has it, he can have it too.
Well, anyway, that’s fine.
“But Lucy, what do you think about the hypothesis we established?”
“Hmm. It’s quite excellent for a hypothesis created by a semi-professional and a non-professional. I can feel the touch of a professional. First of all, regarding how that white-haired bastard became like this, there’s nothing much to criticize. A part of the Parallel Dimension Eruption Ability was incorrectly copied and settled in the soul, and every time that soul dies, the ability activates, moves the dimension, and settles in itself, to summarize it like this? I don’t see any major problems spatially magically. First of all, that ability is not something he can use as he pleases, but a kind of parasite that moves on its own. He wouldn’t be able to die as he pleases either. Tsk. How many women must he have held in his arms during those thousands of lifetimes? At least over 10,000. Damn, I’m envious.”
“Don’t be envious of useless things.”
“Ouch! Just because you’re satisfied at night doesn’t mean you should be harsh to others!”
“Shut up.”
I lightly raised my middle finger. It seems like I’ll never be able to have a serious conversation with this guy.
Lucy, who was fuming, gave up on his own and roughly scratched his head. Then he crossed his arms again and said.
“First of all, we need to think about the white-haired bastard’s real purpose and why the people he killed were reset. In the former case, we can’t come up with a hypothesis beyond what you guys thought, and in the latter case, we can speculate a little.”
“Oh, how?”
“Well, although the eruption has stopped now, Risel, you are the key to activating the source of the parallel dimensions, right? In other words, the current parallel dimensions all originate from you. To be precise, before you came to that body.”
“Probably so.”
“This is a kind of theory, the most credible theory among those currently published. It’s the theory of Soul Regression.”
Lucy showed his magician-like demeanor after a long time. Looking like he would suit wearing glasses, the magician began his explanation.
The world is divided and becomes parallel dimensions by the possibilities contained in the Originator. That means the soul also becomes like that. Then, if someone dies somewhere in a parallel dimension, where does that soul go through to ascend to the heavens?
Souls have the property of easily attaching to the body and are characterized by weak durability. And at the same time, unless something special happens, they return to where they came from.
In this case, the final destination would be the heavens or a super dimension where God and souls exist, but there is a passage that they go through before that.
“The soul passes through the parallel dimension it split from in an instant and returns to the heavens. The reason is because that’s where it came from. The source of the parallel dimension is the root that sustains the world, but it’s also the most important passage for souls to come and go.”
“Uh, then what about a child who wasn’t born from the source but was born and died in a branch?”
“How many souls do you think are wandering around the world? In that case, it waits until its own self is born from the source. What if the owner of the source dies first? It doesn’t really matter. The moment it’s born, the passage for the soul is open. It’s called the Soul Passage. I heard that the Originator can transfer to another dimension even if they die, and as long as that’s possible, so can other souls. It seems like there’s a contradiction in the order of soul creation, but that’s just how it looks to us. In reality, there’s probably a system we can’t understand in place.”
“Is that so? Anyway, so?”
“Where were we? Ah, right. I said it has the property of returning. According to the principle, the souls of the people Artshever killed should have come to the source and ascended. But here, the part of the Parallel Dimension Eruption Ability that Artshever possesses comes into play. It’s ‘settlement.’ The souls he killed were influenced by that ability, came to the source, and settled in their own bodies. I think it’s probably because the distance between the parallel dimensions was quite close.”
According to Lucy, the ‘distance’ between these parallel dimensions is not physical but conceptual. So, it means that the parallel dimension I died in wasn’t long since it branched from the source.
But come to think of it, it’s a bit strange. If I died to Artshever, then I was killed by myself, so should I call this suicide or homicide?
Let’s think about this later. I have a question.
“But when you said that the people who died to him are reset here, is that number only seven?”
“Hmm. That’s true. That white-haired bastard doesn’t look like the kind of guy who values human life.”
“Aila, what do you think?”
“I don’t think it’s impossible. With that bastard’s skills, subduing someone without killing them would be easier than twisting a child’s wrist. I think he’s probably quite adept at assassination too. Just look at how he managed to kill Risel so well.”
“It’s true, but it’s a bit unpleasant to hear.”
I expressed my discomfort. It’s true that I died and woke up, but it’s a bit unpleasant to hear it spoken so casually. Aila chuckled at my words and said.
“Is this your first rodeo?”
“Ah, yes, Miss Maya.”
“I told you not to call me that!”
There was a brief period where Aila tormented me. Ow! Ouch! Stop pinching me! Kack! I’ll spank you first when you’re born later!
Lucy watched me being unilaterally attacked by Aila with a very desirable expression (Kack!) and then spoke.
“Anyway, that white-haired bastard probably knows most of what I know. He probably experimented. Did anyone die and get reset before you?”
“Uh, yes. My maternal grandmother.”
“As expected. After he learned the interdimensional travel method, he probably killed your grandmother as a test. She was probably the most likely to succeed because she was blood-related. Plus, since you didn’t know her, he probably killed her without any burden. And after confirming that the experiment was successful, he would have taken action. My guess is, in terms of the overall order, weren’t you the second to die?”
“Uh, hmm. That’s right. I was the second.”
Thinking about it, that’s how it goes.
After my grandmother, it was me, and after me, it would probably be Lime-hyung. The next most likely candidate is Referndi. I’m not sure about the rest, but Duke Ecoshian would be the last.
Lucy grinned and said with a narcissistic expression.
“As expected, the great Lucy-nim’s head is amazing! That white-haired bastard probably killed your grandmother and then killed you to gain the ability to transfer souls through the soul passage and settle them. It’s certain, considering the people who came after you weren’t really related to you.”
“Is that how it goes……?”
“The reason why the souls came over to different timelines, in different orders, is probably due to the space-time distortion. Since that world was slightly ahead of the future compared to here, they caught up and it happened that way. This also solves the problem of the soul’s durability. Since it’s a transfer using the law of parallel dimension differentiation, it uses the durability of the existing soul. Ultimately, it means that the durability is adjusted to the body. That’s why you were able to grow, and why the others haven’t aged significantly.”
Lucy nodded as if he had made a great discovery, but unfortunately, I didn’t understand what he said. I’d be a magician if I understood that.
Anyway, I only understand that the soul’s durability is fixed to match the body it possesses every time it resets.
The magician, nodding his head, said.
“With this, I think the questions are mostly solved. Why the reset happened and the theoretical part of it. Now, the only thing left is what his true purpose is?”
“That’s the biggest problem. Thanks to Lucy-ssi, the questions are solved, but it doesn’t feel like we’ve gotten any closer to his purpose……”
“Well, we’re not the white-haired bastard.”
Just as Aila and Lucy sighed and lowered their heads, and I was about to join the trend, they suddenly raised their heads with a look of realization, like rabbits perking up their ears.
They looked at each other for a moment and then spoke almost simultaneously.
“Hey……”
“Perhaps…… you too?”
“Then, Lucy-ssi too……?”
The sudden formation of common ground was something I couldn’t easily intrude on. Hey, why don’t you tell me what you were thinking?
It was then. Both of their heads turned towards me at the same time.
Lucy said.
“Risel, I have a good idea.”
“Lucy, when you say that with a smile, it’s never a good idea.”
“It really is a good idea. Have you only been deceived your whole life?”
“Aila, when you say that, it means you’re going to deceive me from now on.”
I retorted to the two of them with an indifferent expression.
They pouted for a moment, then their faces brightened. And at that moment, I realized. If those two teamed up, there was no way I could win.
I lightly raised both hands as if surrendering.
“What are you thinking?”
“Well, that is, uh-hee-hee……”
“A very, very good method. Ooh-hoo-hoo……”
I vaguely realized what these two were going to say.
Yeah, since I’m him, they’re telling me to think about it myself, right?
One rule for living comfortably in the world.
Leave your worries to others.
Damn it.
June 15, 378 Imperial Year.
The central part of the Empire is composed of fiefdoms ruled by the Emperor’s vassals. This means it’s the enemy territory of the Herduke Kingdom.
The Imperial army that retreated from Pelasion settled in the most fertile lands among the central fiefdoms, ready to strike our flanks, back of the head, back, hamstrings, or heels at any moment. I fully understand their intention to try and ambush us since they have no confidence in winning a head-on fight.
However, the Herduke Kingdom Army was much more relaxed compared to the Imperial army. The Herduke Kingdom’s Imperial Conquest Force, which moved its headquarters to Pelasion, freely expanded its influence around the headquarters as a base.
In other words, the war to occupy the central part of the Empire had begun.
During this time, I was deducing the reports that came in every day and watching the path to the Imperial Capital steadily open up. And I chose the timing of the advance towards the Imperial Capital.
It was also my job to gather the general-level officers remaining at the headquarters and hold a meeting.
“We are seeing results from attacking only strategic points and spreading surrender offer documents everywhere. Small and medium-sized villages, territories, and manors have not shown any resistance.”
“Weapons?”
“They were voluntarily collected, and no hidden weapons were found in the subsequent investigations. All weapons have been collected except for blades and blunt weapons used in ordinary households, weapons equivalent to heirlooms, and weapons of the security forces.”
After occupying the land, the usual procedure in a war of conquest is to establish a temporary military government while stationed there and then install a proper ruler, but there was no time for that now.
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