Chapter 338: Chapter 335: On the Nature of the Soul
Rorschach began to read Master Humboldt’s instructions for the next step.
Separate a part of the "Divine Soul," have it descend into the originally unconscious Stand-In, and allow it to gain a portion of the original body’s abilities, knowledge, and skills...
But the original body’s abilities, skills, and knowledge would not be diminished.
’This is quite interesting. At the very least, the existence of this Magic proves that in this world, simply copying all of a person’s memories cannot create an identical will. To put it more bluntly, the physical shape and connections of neurons, along with the transmission and secretion of hormones and pheromones, do not entirely determine a person’s thoughts.’
In this step of the [Descent Summoning Technique], memories could be shared between the original body and the clone, as if a copy had been made, but the original body had to give up something called a "Soul."
This characteristic was a mixed blessing for Rorschach. It meant he could retain the knowledge the Ancient Mage had imparted to him, but his unnaturally long memory would also remain. The only thing it could solve was the issue of the Soul cobbled together by the Ancient Mage.
A chill ran down his spine as he thought of the Sixth Ring Necromancy [Enlightenment Skill]. The Caster would summon wisps of seemingly corporeal white light and pour them into a dead creature, granting it an intelligence comparable to what the target had in life...
’Back when the Ancient Mage split me in two, could it be that he used the same Magic on the two half-dead "Rorschachs"?’
The Soul—or as the Elves call it, the "Divine Soul"—what exactly was it? Every School had its own theories. Because it was so elusive and Necromancy was once considered taboo, discussions about it were mostly metaphysical.
Master Humboldt believed that first understanding the mechanics of the Soul would help Rorschach master the most difficult step of the Magic. Therefore, he had used a great deal of ink in his explanation to introduce Rorschach to the relevant knowledge:
Necromancy is still a gray area today. In principle, related research requires a review by the Aurora Elder Council. When publishing results, one must prove that living subjects participated voluntarily. For remains of intelligent races used in experiments, the original owner must have signed a voluntary donation agreement with the Caster.
Even if a Caster in a country where slavery has not been abolished uses their own slaves for experiments, they must use the remains only after the slave has died of natural causes, illness, or overwork. Those who violate these rules and whose offenses are severe will be designated as Evil Mages by the Elder Council and the Owl Arbitration Court.
To return to the topic at hand, the most widely accepted theory in the Mage Realm regarding the nature of the "Soul" is the "Transmission-Reception Hypothesis." This hypothesis is the "Soul DLC" of the "Primordial Effluence Theory." It posits that the Soul, like all other matter, emanates from the Primordial Source into the worlds it creates.
In the process of this "effluence," the "heaviest" parts are the first to degenerate into matter. Following that are those in an intermediate state of degeneration—Magic Power, Vitality, and other energies that have not fully materialized...
The "Soul" also degenerates. Its level is higher than the heaviest matter and semi-matter, and its method of degeneration is rather unique—it takes matter organized in a specific way as a suitable vessel and then dominates it, just as the will of an intelligent being dominates its body.
Just as formless water takes on a shape once poured into a container, a transcendent, ethereal, and infinite Soul, upon entering a body, degenerates into a tangible, limited, and destructible existence, mutually influencing the body and being influenced by it.
The transcendent status of the "Soul" also means that besides dominating its own material vessel, a Soul that is powerful enough or possesses special characteristics is qualified to become a Caster or a Divine Benefactor. In essence, this is the Soul’s dominion over Magic Power.
From what Rorschach knew from his past life, this "vessel" could be more accurately described as the brain.
The degeneration of the Soul is the process of intelligence’s ascension. Translated into the scientific and engineering language of Rorschach’s past life, the "brain" is a receiver for the "Soul" broadcasted by the Primordial Source. Just like a radio needs to be tuned to a frequency, intelligent beings need to receive stimuli from their environment to align the structure and activity of their neurons with the Primordial Source’s broadcast signal, and then receive the Soul.
This is a slow process. The signals in the environment—sound, light, smell, etc.—are too numerous and complex. Most creatures, whether due to their physical structure or the signals they receive, are unable to complete this "tuning."
That is why ordinary animals only have a weak consciousness, manifested as survival instincts. At this stage, in the mutual influence between the weak "Soul" and the "flesh," it is the flesh and the genetic material it carries that gain the upper hand, forcing the Soul to in turn serve the propagation of that genetic material.
Intelligent beings, however, communicate through spoken and written language, using more concentrated information to greatly accelerate the tuning process. This allows the vessel to receive a greater quantity and higher quality of "Soul." Performing this concentrated "tuning" during the stage when the vessel is most malleable is known as "education."
There are also other life forms whose composition is more chaotic and less degenerated than those in the Material Realm. Their ability to receive the Soul is stronger, allowing them to develop intelligence without needing to pass down and iterate upon "tuning techniques." Examples include Elemental Life and some Demons.
As for Magic like the [Enlightenment Skill] and the [Descent Summoning Technique], they use Magic to bypass the physical reality of receiving a Soul, forcibly causing a Soul to descend into a vessel not originally suited for it. Its efficiency and power far exceed the "stimulation of environmental information" and "education."
"In other words, this Magic just shoves a Soul into a ’vessel’..." Rorschach understood their principle. Master Humboldt had also written:
"In fact, the brain of even the lowliest animal is more complex than the internal structure of the most exquisite Mechanical Body, and it far surpasses the Stand-In used in this Magic.
"I also believe the feasibility of this Magic in making a Soul descend lies in the fact that the brain’s delicate, low-energy, and fragile structure is also responsible for controlling the body’s rhythms and movements.
"A magical creation, however, does not need to run these life-sustaining instincts. It can be a pure vessel for the Soul, and after being modified and activated by Magic, it can more easily exhibit a degree of intelligence."
This theory would explain the following Magic that Rorschach had recently encountered:
The Necromancy version of the [Enlightenment Skill] uses Magic to modify the brain of a dead creature, turning it into a better receiver, and then forces a Soul to degenerate and enter it.
The Ninth Ring [Mechanical Body Enlightenment Skill]: Lacking a biological brain as a receiver, the "hardware" is inferior and the "tuning" is much more difficult, hence the greater difficulty of the Magic.
The "Truth Machine" uses a Universal Computing Core as its receiver, making it specialized for computation compared to a regular Mechanical Body.
As for the [Descent Summoning Technique] given to Rorschach by the Tower of Forest, its name is based on its manifestation. Named by its principle, it should more accurately be called the [Spirit Summoning Technique]. The structure of an Earth/wood Stand-In is too simple and crude; it doesn’t even qualify as a receiver. However, the Magic constructs a non-permanent "virtual vessel" supported by Magic Power. This vessel cannot receive a Soul from the Primordial Source; instead, the Caster must transfer a portion of their own Soul.
"The method of separating the Soul is to stimulate a powerful emotion or, through meditation, to imagine leaving the body. The Soul that has detached from the main body will then enter the new vessel through a bridge constructed by two Magic Arrays."
’A powerful emotion? But the impurity was handcrafted by the Ancient Mage; it has no emotions. I, on the other hand, do...’
’If my true consciousness gets pumped into the Stand-In, and the formless Artificial Soul is left in my own body, then wouldn’t *I* become the Stand-In!?’
