NOVEL NEXT Chapter 242: The Flaw of Being a Herrscher
Faced with Otto's existential question, Shu remained silent, unable to utter a single word.
Right… why wasn't he dead?
He felt a pang of fear.
"Well…" Otto sighed, gesturing for Shu to lie back down. "Let's talk about the Herrscher…"
"First, I'm glad that, even after learning its weakness, you resisted the urge to use the Feather of Fenghuang for a desperate gamble." Otto began by acknowledging Shu's restraint.
Shu nodded silently.
He knew how bad his mental state was. Even compared to his physically ravaged body, his mind was truly "on the verge of collapse."
If he'd recklessly dragged [Vakh] into Fenghuang Down's consciousness space… he probably would have been the first person to be counter-killed in his own created mental world…
Willpower was one thing, mental fortitude another.
Even the strongest will, the most unshakeable belief, would crumble under a severe blow to the head.
Fenghuang Down wasn't a detached conceptual attack. It created a "battlefield" of his own design, susceptible to counterattacks.
And [Vakh] most likely wouldn't have been able to escape Fenghuang Down's constraints. Realizing his escape route was cut off, he might have even gained a "desperate struggle" buff…
Using Fenghuang Down would have been suicidal.
In Shu's current state, confronting [Vakh]…
"No. If we ignore the possibility of it evolving mental resistance, you would have won decisively," Otto corrected, smiling.
"Really?" Shu's eyes widened, looking at the confident Otto.
I didn't even know I could win for sure! How can you be more certain than I am?
"When mental fortitude is comparable, the strength of will becomes the deciding factor," Otto explained with a smile.
"First, I have good news – the [Vakh] you fought is dead."
Shu couldn't stay lying down. He sat up abruptly. "Tell me more."
"Based on what you said to the Herrscher before your return, and its reaction, it clearly recognized that it wasn't Vakh himself."
"Second, the Herrscher's attitude towards Natasha, the discrepancies between the diary entries and actual events, and the sorrow you felt from the Herrscher all indicate—"
Otto extended a finger, his expression turning serious.
"Vakh is still fighting the Herrscher's consciousness, but his influence is extremely weak, and fading with time, to the point where he can no longer suppress the Herrscher's killing intent towards Natasha…"
Shu fell silent. This was the most crucial point he'd discovered.
The Herrscher wasn't Vakh, but merely born within Vakh's body, exploiting Vakh's knowledge and legacy to develop.
"But how does that relate to the death of the [Vakh] I fought? And how does that guarantee my victory over the Herrscher?" Shu considered, then quickly gave up on independent thought.
He looked directly at Otto, demanding an answer with his eyes.
Otto shrugged. He couldn't take over Shu's body and fight the Herrscher himself, so he had to fulfill his role.
"Since the Herrscher doesn't believe it's Vakh, seeing two linear thought processes with the same memories and knowledge in the same body as distinct individuals, it's essentially a split personality."
"So, how does such a person confirm the concept of [self]?" Otto, as usual, posed a rhetorical question.
Shu drooped his eyelids, staring silently at Otto.
Don't play philosophical games with me. Just give me the answer.
"Alright…" Otto spread his hands. "But first, I need to introduce a concept – the [Ship of Theseus]."
Shu knew this one. It was a thought experiment about a ship whose parts were gradually replaced until none of the original parts remained. Was it still the same ship?
"You mean…" Shu had to admit, Otto had a knack for finding apt concepts to illustrate his explanations.
Otto nodded. "Exactly. That Herrscher identifies [itself] through its physical body."
Okay, that's still a bit abstract… Its body was stolen from Vakh. How could it identify itself through its body?
"You have to understand, that Herrscher is merely an inheritor of a legacy. Its memories lack the associations and thoughts that Vakh had while acquiring that knowledge. It treats Vakh's knowledge as gospel, unquestioningly."
"Therefore, it lacks the concept of a [soul]."
Otto tapped his temple. "It believes all thought originates from the brain, that consciousness ceases to exist without the brain."
"That's why, in that diary, it despised Ethics and the other AIs. It considered them programs, not living beings. Even those who uploaded their consciousness, it would consider them mere copies…"
"Why did its reaction shift from excitement to fear when you unleashed the final Flamescion Unsheathed? Did your final attack have the power to completely obliterate it, down to the last cell?"
Shu shook his head. Considering the intense focus they'd both had during their standoff, both he and Vakh knew whether that final Flamescion Unsheathed could completely kill the other.
If Flamescion had unleashed its full power, the Herrscher's body would have been destroyed, but some fragments would have remained.
That sword strike couldn't destroy the Herrscher Core along with it. The opponent could have achieved [regeneration from a single drop of blood].
From today's perspective, as long as the core remained, the opponent could regenerate. But at the time, it hadn't, even though it was filled with anticipation…
"Because it was also afraid. Its understanding told it… that when the body is destroyed, when the brain can no longer think, that [human] dies."
Shu inhaled sharply. "So you're saying the Herrscher you shot with a bullet is truly dead. Even if an identical individual appears, it would only be a new consciousness born from a newborn body?"
"At least, that's what it believes."
Otto clapped his hands, nodding at Shu.