NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7 Isidro is also a Genius
"Master Isidro, you mentioned before that the souls of the dead didn't reincarnate... what's that about?"
Yila's question left Isidro Collins, who was organizing materials for the "Council of Kings," visibly taken aback... He glanced at Yila and said, "It's just as it sounds... Yila, didn't you know?"
Did I know?
Yila wore a puzzled expression. He had only learned about the possibility of "souls being captured by monsters inside the World Tree" from Isidro's speech at the Council of Kings.
Yila had waited until the end of the meeting to ask about this, carrying his confusion all the while.
"I mentioned it right when I found you and Severia, didn't I...?"
But Master Isidro said this, looking even more confused, and said, "Severia was frightened, but you said you already knew... didn't you?"
Shouldn't I remember that?
...
Yila: "..."
Yes, Master Isidro remembered correctly. However, he had mistaken "the monsters inside the World Tree replaced the gods" for "reincarnation has been interrupted" as the same information... In fact, Yila only knew the former and was completely unaware of the latter.
With a helpless explanation, Isidro began to vaguely understand something...
"It sounds like, Yila, you have a decent relationship with the 'Chaos' within the World Tree."
Clearly, while this world had no shortage of fools, Master Isidro Collins was not one of them. He had obviously deduced the truth from mere snippets of their conversation.
Even though this truth was not much of a secret in the eyes of Cassiopeia's sister and many others... What? You ask why I singled out "the sister?"
Because this world had no shortage of fools, and Cassiopeia was clearly one of them.
However, Yila did not necessarily want to conceal this fact. He responded, "Yes, but currently, Chaos is on our side, for now. And… I don't fully trust her."
Seeing that Isidro didn't comment on this fact, he simply gave Yila a serious look, nodding as he said, "Clearly, 'Chaos' hasn't told you anything related to soul reincarnation."
After that, Isidro began to slowly narrate his research—
...
First, one needed to understand... In this world, everyone believed that when people died, they went to the World Tree to reincarnate, losing all memories and being reborn.
This fact was not particularly questioned.
On one hand, the World Tree, in and of itself, had the prestige to accomplish such a great feat. On the other hand... In this world, the existence of "souls" had been proven, and there was ongoing research into the materialization of souls.
The best example was the Headless Knight composed of a warrior's soul... This was the manifestation of the soul.
And after death, a warrior's body could become the Black Knight, which was the manifestation of the flesh... Similarly, the vessel that carried memories wasn't limited to the soul; the body also held physical memories.
In other words, if a warrior's soul and body both had the qualifications to exist as a Black Knight and Headless Knight, then when that warrior's body became a Royal Black Knight and awakened its memories, there might be two identical persons in the world.
For example, if Blake Black's soul did not go to the World Tree but became a Headless Knight, then there would be two beings who retained the essence of "Blake Black" from when he was alive.
Both individuals would believe they were Blake Black... Whether one would reject the other's existence would depend on each individual's character. If we took Little Black as an example, he wouldn't mind there being another version of him in the world.
"Transforming Mobillas and the others into Witch Demons was the only successful transformation I achieved..."
As Isidro said this, he displayed his bookshelf... It was filled with dense research books related to souls, all authored by Isidro Collins.
"And before them and afterward... All my students (experiment subjects) failed to transform into Witch Demons. You might think... Mobillas was extraordinarily lucky. Is that so?"
Isidro Collins posed the question, while running his dried fingers across a book cover, saying, "Or perhaps, did I do something accidentally in that ritual?"
Isidro Collins asked, pulling out a book from the shelf. The cover read "Death God Kaseli," and he said, "Does your warfare instruction teach the principles of the ritual?"
Yila nodded...
"Good, that's reassuring... Rituals directed at various gods usually need to temporarily seal the soul, then modify one's flesh. In the process, you would generally invoke 'Kaseli,' correct?"
As Isidro Collins said this, he opened the book and continued, "But theoretically, invoking the soul god, Lauus, has the same effect... because all we need is the temporary halt of the soul going to the World Tree, nothing more."
Yes, that was beyond doubt.
"But I kept failing, repeatedly... because I chose to appeal to Lady Lauus instead of Death God Kaseli. In Mobillas's case, I made the same choice."
Isidro drew an Array diagram in the air, saying, "Maybe Lady Lauus was killed in the divine struggle... Yes, I could speculate that way."
"However, what made me start to doubt that divine presence had been supplanted by the World Tree itself was Mobillas's experiment... where I mistakenly erased the 'mana material connection' after the transfer."
"In other words... my request went only to the World Tree and wasn't forwarded to any other deity."
Isidro explained as he led Yila into a room resembling an "Observatory," telling him to follow. He said, "Before Mobillas and you came to the White Tower meeting, I built this."
Yila stepped into a room with something resembling a "telescope" at its center, a combination of glass lenses. Numerous mana lines wrapped around it, all pointing toward the World Tree.
In this world, there were no telescopes... Isidro truly was a genius.
"I called this place the Soul Viewing Platform."
Isidro explained, introducing it to Yila, "As long as you put your eye close, you can barely make out the outlines of souls. What I saw then... were the souls of the dead staring at a screen, with no intention of reincarnation."
"Souls gathered inside the World Tree but stayed there... That's all I saw back then."
Isidro Collins said, with a helpless expression as he adjusted his lens, then added, "But then, the 'Chaos' over there looked at me, and I couldn't see anything inside the World Tree... anymore?"
"..."
Isidro's voice trailed off. He quickly stood up, staring in utter shock at Yila, who responded with a resigned nod. He knew what Isidro had seen.
"Yes, the one now holding all the world's souls..."
"Is now me."