Chapter 64: Man vs Soul

Chapter 64: Man vs Soul

It was one thing to imagine the darkest possible scenario, and another to have it confirmed beyond doubts.

A prison for souls? Neria looked up at the neurotower, her face now pale white. This server is a prison for souls?Follow current novels on novelb((in).(com)

Yes, Walter confirmed with clinical detachment. He didnt sound horrified, or even surprised; merely disappointed. If anything, Basil found his utter lack of feelings creepier than all of Apollyons threats. This devices primary purpose is to act as a spiritual magnet, capturing souls upon death before they can reach their proper resting place and then distributing them inside a wider network. All put together, these steel towers function as a spiritual engine of global proportions.

Walters elaborate terms couldnt disguise the simple truth underneath.

They use dead people as magical fuel, Basil spat in disgust. This is where the experience points come from, isnt it?

And far more. Walter raised his hand and summoned an illusion in the palm of his hand. The picture of a hydraulic fountain mechanism appeared in a puff of smoke. Imagine a machine that is hermetically closed from the outside world. It is made of three parts: a basin, a water reservoir, and a container full of air. All three of them are connected by pipes, but nothing gets in and nothing gets out. No water ever is spilled. Do you follow me so far?

Youre describing Herons Fountain, arent you? Basil guessed. He had learned about it in his chemistry class. One of the first hydraulic machine.

You are well-learned, Basil. Walter nodded slowly. In this system, the water from the basin descends into the air supply. The resulting pressure is transmitted by the air to pipes into the water reservoir, which then pushes the liquid up into the basin. The cycle then repeats itself.

You are describing a perpetual-motion machine, Vasi noted.

No such thing exists, Basil pointed out. Even in a hermetic container, some energy is always lost through friction.

You are both correct in a way, Walter said with a calm tone. Basil could tell he enjoyed playing the role of the teacher. What I described is an ideal state of perpetual motion, but entropy causes a slight loss of power with each cycle. No matter how optimized a system is, the water will eventually stop moving.

System? Major Elissalde squinted. She had listened to the explanation in silence so far, but she had quickly deduced where the demonstration would lead them. I assume you chose the word intentionally, Mr. Tye?

Indeed, Walter confirmed. In very simple terms, my worlds System and yours are a machine, magic is the energy generated to produce motion

And the water is made of harvested childrens souls, Hagen cut in. The ultimate solution to the child support conundrum.

Please, my friend, do not interrupt me. Walter cleared his throat. Now, souls are like spiritual batteries. They build up power in the form of thoughts, memories, beliefs, emotions Anything capable of sentience, of self-awareness, has a soul. Humans, animals, dragons even some plants and machines. As a rule, anything that can gain levels and benefit from a System has a soul.

This checked with what Hypathia had told them, but Basil was starting to see new implications. Trees on the road didnt have levels, but even the smallest animal like Plato had shown the ability to gain experience. Every last one of them had a soul and feelings, even before the Trimurti Systems arrival.

To his own sorrow, Basil was starting to wonder if vegetarians might have had a point

What about the afterlife? he asked. If souls and angels existed, then certainly Heaven and Hell did. Is there an afterlife?

Walters answer didnt satisfy him. I suppose it depends.

On what? Neria asked dryly. The Major was clearly growing more and more uncomfortable with the discussion.

On the world, Walter replied with a shrug. Upon death, my worlds System transfers a soul to an afterlife where their accumulated power is slowly drained from them over a long period of time. Thoughts, memories, everything that made the person an individual are stripped clean like flesh from bones. The harvested power fuels the System, and the freshly blank soul is then reincarnated in a new body to repeat the cycle anew. Another worlds System might skip the afterlife step and move straight to the reincarnation phase, whereas others might follow a different set of rules. There is no universal answer.

Makes sense, Vasi said. My world of Outremonde has multiple afterlives, depending on which god a dead soul worshiped in life.

A flash of distaste appeared on Walters face, but the necromancer quickly regained his composure. His disdain for deities showed itself once again.

Is that why demons are bargaining for human souls? Basil asked, trying to see how this new information fit into his belief system. It couldnt be all wrong.

Yes, Walter confirmed with a nod. Souls accumulate spiritual power, so many beings try to skim a few for their own personal gain. But their individual activities pale in front of a Systems harvest of death.

All right. Major Elissalde opened her mouth, and then closed it before she could formulate her sentence. All right

Neria? Basil asked in concern. Are you okay?

This is this is a lot to take in. Neria gathered her breath, exhaled, and then regained her composure. So the dungeons, the landscape changing, the monsters its all made possible through death.

Yes, Walter said bluntly.

Basil had wondered how crafting processes could violate the laws of conservation of mass. He had his answer now. They didnt: they simply drew energy and mass from magic produced by the neurotowers.

Even the mere act of crafting a potion required a dead mans suffering.

Then why all the destruction? Neria asked with a scowl. Sixty million people die each year, more than a hundred thousand each day. Shouldnt that be enough?

A System often requires a periodic influx of power to keep functioning in the short-term, sometimes more than it can gain through ages toil. Walters illusory mechanism showed water slowing down inside the reservoir due to a lack of pressure. A sudden influx of air and water from the outside restarting the mechanism. My worlds Fate System regulated itself in a very simple way; by incentivizing war.

Basil clenched his jaw in frustration. What better way to encourage murder than by rewarding it with more power, eh?

But what about quests? Vasi asked with a frown. You can gain experience from them without killing anyone.

Not all deaths result from murder, Walter pointed out. People die all the time from old age, accidents, diseases their accumulated power is released without a killer to claim experience, so the System harvests most of it and distributes a portion through quests. This creates a form of balance and prevents the most murderous of mortals from wiping out everyone else. Eventually, they will find someone who can fight back.

Which allowed populations to recover and maintain the cycle of reincarnation.

People can gain levels in my world without killing anyone, Vasi said. Ive heard that an immortal farmer reached level sixty simply by toiling every day for centuries. This invalidates your theory.

As Ive said before, all Systems are different. Walter closed his hand and the illusion vanished. Its possible your universe has a large enough population and enough excess energy that it doesnt need constant conflict to function like mine does. Perhaps it generates natural disasters instead, or takes a more long-term approach to cultivating souls. I cannot tell without further research.

Basil meditated on this new information. It completed what he had learned before and somewhat confirmed his worst assumptions but there was one big unanswered question Walter hadnt addressed yet.

Where do they come from? Basil asked. The souls?

Walter smiled in response. Very good, my friend. Youre on the right track.

I do not know, the necromancer admitted. At best, the Trimurti System will shut down and your Earth will be returned to its proper place. At worst at worst, your world will have outlived its usefulness and crumble to dust.

Somehow, Basil couldnt bring himself to expect the best from Dismaker Labs. And neither did anyone else in the room.

How do we destroy them all? Major Elissalde pointed at the neurotower. This should return Earth to its former state, shouldnt it?

To Basils surprise, Walter shook his head. I am not certain that would be a good thing for your planet at this point.

Why is that? Neria asked with a frown. If the System requires souls to function and the servers harvest them, then destroying them should bring down the entire infrastructure.

Yes, but thats the problem, Walter replied. The Trimurti System has become an integral rule of your reality, like gravity or magnetism. There is no guarantee your planet will be returned to its proper place if it is disabled by force. In fact, its possible the Trimurti System is the only thing keeping your unstable pocket universe from collapsing.

Or from being crushed inside Shivas palm.

Destroying a few dungeons would delay the Incursion process without meaningfully disrupting the entire network, Walter explained. But destroying too many neurotowers might cause a general failure with unknown consequences.

So what? Major Elissalde frowned and crossed her arms. You suggest that we just accept it?

Theres another solution, Vasi pointed out. We can track down those who brought the Trimurti System to Earth in the first place. Perhaps they know a way to reverse the process.

Basil nodded in agreement. Benjamin Leroy had been Dismaker Labs CTO. His understanding of neurotowers was probably second only to Maxwell, and Hypathia also said that he managed a subsystem related to harvested souls. He might be the key to solving the Trimurti System problem.

If his teammates wouldnt have him killed first.

How do the Trimurti fit into this? Basil asked. Brahma, Kalki, Shiva? Are they related to the essences we collected?

The three members of the Trimurti were summoned to serve as the Systems administrators, maintain its integrity, and probably manage the flow of souls, Walter said. Whether consciously or not. Killing one of their avatars wont affect them personally, but it will disrupt the Trimurti System beyond recovery.

This confirmed it then. Kalkis death would disrupt the worlds precarious balance, summon Shiva and spell disaster for everyone.

As for essences, they serve an unrelated purpose, Walter countered. Unlike the likes of the Trimurti, who are power incarnate, lesser deities are spiritual entities fueled by the thoughts and beliefs of mortals. They require prayers, worship, and magic to survive. This makes them infinitely malleable, like clay. By infusing themselves with a deitys essence, your foes gained power beyond their ken while keeping their original soul and thus, their ability to level up.

So it was just a method for the Board to secure an advantage in the competition? Vasi squinted. An ace in the hole?

A cheat, Basil grumbled. They did expect to face the Horsemen of the Apocalypse down the line.

Well, now theyre ours at least, Vasi replied. Do you want them, Walter?

No. The shopkeeper shook his head. It would be better for you to keep them.

We already have too many of them stashed away, Hagen added.

That too. Walter chuckled darkly. Do not misunderstand me, my friends. These essences have great value and I would gladly trade them for artifacts, but they stay with you because they chose to. The essences could easily return to their home plane on their own, yet they do not.

They want to take revenge on the Board, Basil guessed.

Most likely, Walter conceded. That, or they truly want to assist you in your quest. A few months or years are a blink in a gods eyes. I suggest either giving them to a trusted ally or infusing a weapon with their power. The former more than the latter. Weapons can be stolen or broken, but power stays with you forever.

Or until death at least. Basil wasnt certain whether his cat or halberd would benefit most from a godly essence, but he wouldnt make the decision alone. He would discuss the matter with his party first.

I wish I could help more, Walter said with a soft tone. But this technology is beyond anything I have seen yet. Only its creators will help you understand it further.

You could help more, Basil pointed out. You could lend us some of your weapons or artifacts. They would make a real difference.

Walter smiled, but behind the lips there were teeth.

I like you, Basil. It might even have been genuine. But I am a merchant, not a charity. I do not give or take, I trade.

As expected, even his advice had a hidden price tag. Basil appreciated the necromancers wisdom and intel, but he was under no illusion about the mans character. Walter Tye wouldnt blink twice at Earths destruction. It was but one world among many, and he supplied them all equally.

Still, you are all valued customers, Walter declared. Im willing to infuse your collected essences into tools of your choosing for free, and I will gladly trade you weapons in return for your technology. Your machines ability to manipulate souls through artificial methods fascinate me.

Thank you, Neria said without really meaning it. She understood that begging and haggling wouldnt work with this kind of otherworldly capitalist. We will be taking back the neurotower, if you no longer have any use for it.

Walter agreed to return the device after a few days, after which the group decided to separate. The shopkeeper returned to work behind his counter under his dullahans watch, while Basil discussed how to proceed next with Neria and Vasi.

It doesnt change much, his girlfriend said. Our objectives remain the same.

Yeah, Basil replied with a nod. This new information contextualized their situation, but in the end, they still needed to find Kalki and members of Dismaker Labs board for answers. We need to capture Pluto alive.

Ill Ill report to the general and secure weapons for you. Neria chewed her lower lip. Its.

Major? Basil asked with a frown.

Basil, I The former policewoman shook her head. She had managed to keep a faade of professional composure so far, but the recent revelations clearly shook her to her core. Is it terrible that I feel dead inside?

Its natural, Basil admitted. He felt the same. Nothing surprises me anymore.

Its just Ive always thought that souls didnt exist. That there was nothing after death. Im Im glad not all of me will vanish but Ive watched so many friends die, and to imagine them imprisoned in a cold metal shell Neria looked away, avoiding Basils gaze. It mortifies me.

We will free them, Vasi reassured her kindly. There has to be a way to disable the neurotowers and return your world to normal. We will find a solution.

Neria nodded slowly, though Basil could tell she didnt truly believe it.

Faith was the only crutch that remained when all else had failed.