Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 638 - 591: Soul Guardian
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A shapeless mass of vague liquid floated in the colorful aurora of the spiritual world, neatly forming a flat, elongated sphere at its most organized, but more often than not, it was uneven, with something inside charging from left to right, creating bizarre horns and indentations. Sometimes the inner matter would pierce through the membrane, and the dark shadow power within would spill out, contaminating the surrounding auroras. Then, it was as though time reversed: the shadow was absorbed, the damaged shell healed, leaving the distorted soul to struggle alone.
Each soul in the Soul World retained a unique shape, for that represented their self-awareness, and any change in the form of the Spiritual Body suggested a shift in the spirit of the being, from one soul to another.
Only certain extraordinary entities could twist their appearances in the Soul World, for they possessed higher methods of sustaining themselves or they simply didn’t care about themselves and were madmen constantly destroying and reshaping their personalities.
And Hill’s soul, in terms of activity and size, indeed resembled that of the Evil God’s offspring, but Lyle would never admit to it.
"Her soul is far more troublesome than in the real world,"
Helena’s Incarnation swam through the Soul Space like a nimble sea snake, she and Lyle flanking the soul on either side.
"This dragon is trying hard to maintain herself, keeping her soul in an ’embryonic’ state, which is smart. This form is easy to maintain and can show some rationality at a juvenile stage. Most importantly... at the embryonic stage, the soul’s perception of pain is very faint. She has blocked out most of the pain she receives internally, which is why she has time to play house with you in the real world."
"How do we repair her soul?"
The Soul Reaver sculpture extended an arm, caressing this vast liquid bubble.
"We go in. Soul mending is a delicate job; we need to mend her damages layer by layer until she awakens her self-consciousness." Cracks appeared at the corners of the plaster statue’s mouth, making her smile seem quite sinister, although still sweet compared to the already ominous Lyle. "This is a lesson in soul studies, my favorite, student."
A giant crescent cracked open on Ominous Lyle’s face, mirroring the Soul Reaver’s smile.
"Please begin, teacher."
The Soul Reaver’s Incarnation was inspired; the scattered soul fragments around her became more active, and anything touched by the fragments gradually petrified.
"Question, if you were to perform soul correction, what would be your approach, Mr. Lyle?"
"Eat her, assimilate her, let the new Giant Dragon be reborn inside my body."
The Soul Reaver clapped her hands together.
"Such an idiotic response without any thought. But the applause is because the Evil God can indeed solve problems without thinking. However, that brute force approach is definitely not what the Dragon Priests want. Devouring an individual and then birthing a similar offspring from your own body is also your instinct, must be tough to suppress this appetite, isn’t it?"
Lyle’s Ominous Incarnation started to squirm with tiny tendrils, then calmed by Lyle himself.
"It is not too hard to control one’s own body."
The Soul Reaver nodded.
"That’s good then, should your humanity no longer hold back your madness, I will eat you and ’give birth’ to my Lyle."
"A test?"
The Soul Reaver shook her head.
"Just some idle flirtation."
Helena continued the lesson.
"Though the soul is whole, it has many layers from the outer consciousness to the inner depths, the number of which is related to the soul bearer’s intelligence—ha ha, just kidding—it’s related to their level of vigilance and darkness. We need to progress layer by layer, from the shallow to the deep, mending every level of consciousness within the dragon."
"Lyle, every soul is a world; are you ready to go inside? One thing to note, the power of darkness has shattered this soul, and when I open this breach, we will enter the sea of shadows."
"What do you think I am?" Tendrils surged on Ominous Lyle’s body, "For me, the power of darkness is but saline."
"Yes, yes, Lyle is the best."
The Soul Reaver gently tapped the top layer of the bubble, petrifying the wriggling liquid and collapsing a hole the size of a fingernail, into which she and Ominous Lyle entered.
Ominous Lyle and Hill’s soul were almost the same size in the spiritual world, but entering Hill’s shallow consciousness didn’t feel cramped at all. Once in Hill’s soul, they became bound by her.
Lyle looked around. In the sea of shadows, he saw many floating islands, those were glowing memories corroded by the power of darkness into fragments, floating in the air. Besides, a circular ring of light like a star ring encircled the center, shining brilliantly, which were the new memories, much more resilient than the eroded and blurred fragments.
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[Bad news, the power of the shadows has eroded most of her memory, and there’s not much left of her soul’s fragments. Even if we repair her, most of her past memories will be gone.]
[And the good news?]
[The good news is that the shadow has nibbled away at her consciousness to the point there’s barely anything left, we won’t need to spend time breaking through her psychological defenses, we can go straight to the deepest layers of her inner self.]
The Soul Reaver reached out and grabbed the fragments, indicating they had become indistinct but still emitted light.
[These eroded memories can no longer be interpreted, memories are very loose and can be twisted and edited unreliable information. High-level soul researchers can enter the depths of the soul like us, we can plant psychological suggestions here, twist and rewrite these memories, to achieve methods of interfering with the mind such as mind control, normal souls have many layers of consciousness, you have to deceive the surface layer to penetrate the interior. Trickery, concealment, confusion, disguise, every soul master is the most astute trickster. Sadly, this soul doesn’t leave much for you to practice on.]
[We go directly to the inner layer.]
Passing through the ring of stars, Lyle saw memories engraved upon it, which belong to Hill, the Twilight Dragon, along with the Giant Dragon and the Dragon Priest, it is new, but it won’t last long under the erosion of the shadows.
[Huh? That’s interesting.]
Lyle noticed what had surprised Helena. In the deepest part of Hill’s soul, at the core of her existence, there was a blurry figure, but even through the haze, Lyle could tell it was the shape of a young girl. Deep within this Giant Dragon’s soul was a human form of herself.
[An unexpected surprise, she still retains a complete personality, a core existence salvaged from the erosion of the shadows. But it’s locked away, tricked, hurt, avoiding... Lyle, I think we’ve found the reason for the Dragon’s sanity, it hasn’t been shattered, just sealed. Something is restraining it.]
[So you’re saying, by awakening Hill’s human form, the Twilight Dragon will regain her sanity.]
[Exactly, but be careful, look at what’s in her arms.]
Lyle looked closely at Silvette, who was curled up like a baby. In her arms, there was a tiny point of light emitting a dangerous aura.
[Soul Guardian. It’s a protector created by every soul itself, guarding the soul’s safety. Nearly all creatures possess their own Soul Guardian, they are endowed with the highest level of power, and once their souls reach a certain level, these Soul Guardians will evolve, not only protecting their souls, but Soul Guardians will grow into...]
[Incarnations.]
[Exactly, my sculptures as well, and your ominous signs, our Soul Guardians are ourselves, and this lady’s Soul Guardian might be someone she relies on and trusts.]
[Now, Lyle, we need to find a way to defeat Hill’s Soul Guardian, but be careful, this is Hill’s soul, which means, we have to follow her rules, Soul Guardians are the strongest. We need to deceive it, beguile it.]
[Let me give you an example.]
The Soul Reaver crafted a small cluster of memories, which were modified from the Twilight Dragon’s real memories, these semi-real, semi-fake memories usually have a very strong deceiving effect, as long as the Soul Guardian is slightly negligent, they can pass undetected. Helena wafted that cluster of disguised memories toward the dormant girl.
Getting closer and closer.
In a flash of light, Hill’s Soul Guardian moved.
[Kneel.]
Chains born from the void pierced through the memory, the imitation was torn apart by the power of the Soul Guardian. A terrifying gaze appeared on both of them, the Soul Guardian had found them.
But it made no move.
Helena clicked her tongue in wonder. [Tsk, the soul’s mind isn’t even intact, but there’s such a cautious Soul Guardian. This could be troublesome, Lyle.]
Lyle was stunned.
[Helena, I think I recognize that... Soul Guardian.]
[You recognize it? What’s your relationship with this Giant Dragon?!]
[No relationship, but that Soul Guardian, I might know...]
Lyle realized something when the Soul Guardian moved, it lifted an arm, causing its overcoat to flutter, and the style of that overcoat was all too familiar to Lyle because he had seen it countless times on a certain man.
It was...
The uniform of a Cassandra law enforcement officer.
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