Chapter 397 Write Once, Read Anytime, Delete Never
A/N: Happy 2024 to everyone! Once again, sorry for the irregular upload schedule. Rest assured, I AM NOT DROPPING THIS NOVEL. It's just that transit is a bit of a bitch, and some minor personal issues seem to take away most of my free time. But fret now, I am trying to figure out a solution very soon.
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While the entire Sect indulged in the strenuous lessons on combat, Shuri was holed up in a secluded corner of the Sect working on an elaborate project.
It all started out as a faint idea - the concept of combining digital signals to build data. Binary could be used to represent nearly anything. Having a physical way to represent this binary data, and being able to read and write it would essentially create the data storage system she needed. She had to wrack her brain for days to figure out a valid plan of attack.
First, she limited her search to topics familiar to her, which was mostly Automagy. Programming mana cores was in her wheelhouse, but she could not imagine a program that could be used as a dense data storage device with read-write capabilities. She harkened to the idea of the modular spellcasting device - the Magi-Core - she built for Yohn. The data contained had to be hard-coded into the core. Furthermore, the modular spells built by reorienting the device would reset once the spell was cast. There was no inherent way to build in information storage in Automagy as once the core was deactivated, it would reset. Even golems, considered to be the pinnacle of Automagic application, perform a set or preprogrammed series of tasks repeatedly - even the most advanced ones have a limited range of tasks they can accomplish.
Therefore, she took a step back and explored all adjacent topics, of which Enchanting appeared to be the closest. Enchanting offered an avenue. Jean knew that mages could engrave messages, audio or video, inside mana gems. They could edit the messages as well, which meant that reading and writing were possible. Furthermore, it was possible to ensure that even if the mana gem isn't constantly powered with mana, it wouldn't lose the data within.
Shuri could have stopped there, but she decided to dig deeper. Shuri was patient. It was one of her most endearing traits. It was also the reason why she survived for so long in the Palace. Although the Sect had corroded a large portion of her patience, it was still engraved into her bones. In total, she had spent five days brainstorming for solutions. She figured wasting another day wouldn't make much difference in the grand scheme of things.
Through sheer coincidence, Shuri stumbled upon a book about Ritual Formations in the Library. It was just lying in the middle of the desk there, and she decided to place it back on its shelf. On the way there, she perused through its contents, as she hadn't read this one before. Due to her eidetic memory, even a brief read could engrave the contents into her brain. And it did. By the time she reached the shelf, she had finished it cover to cover, but she did not place the book in its place just yet as another idea struck her.
She quickly rushed back to the desk and pulled out a large roll of parchment and her writing utensil. Then, her hand flourished over the blank page, filling it up with intricate diagrams as the convoluted thoughts in her mind started to imprint themselves on it. Ritual formations, mana gems, and mana cores are all similar in the way they work but have different application cases. They can all be used to cast a spell, however, a ritual formation is used to cast it over a region of space, a mana gem is used to cast it through an object it is embedded inside, and a mana core is used to cast it with an additional layer of logic in place. However since their basic idea is similar, Shuri realised that it could be possible to merge the three systems together.
It was like a fever dream, as an indecipherable (except maybe by Shuri herself) mess filled up the blank canvas. It was a large ritual formation to constantly supply a stream of mana to power the system, with mana gems to handle the data storage, and mana cores to handle the logic such as with reading and writing data.
"Just like a human brain," Shuri said out loud. Her eyes sparkled with manic excitement, as her hands itched to get started. She could feel that this would be her magnum opus - her greatest work yet. Looking at the design one last time, Shuri realised that maybe it and she had a lot in common. They were both perfect recollectors. "Though you will be able to forget anything in your memory, while I have to live with it for the rest of my life."
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"Congratulations, ..., it's a healthy Prince-!"
"Y-Yor!".
Blood. Blood everywhere.
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Shuri awoke with a start, drowning in a cold sweat. She leapt out of her bed and immediately collapsed on her knees. Her breathing was heavy and staggered - she was having a panic attack. She quickly crawled towards her table and pulled the pot filled with drinking water towards her mouth, taking in a few small sips. The steady swallowing of water helped her pace her breaths until eventually the attack passed and she lay on her back on the floor.
Many memories were floating around in Shuri's mental fortress. A few were good, most were bad, and a small handful were so horrible that she wished there was a way to forget them. But her curse was such, that she just couldn't. No matter how hard she tried to keep those memories buried, they would eventually burst out. And the harder she tried to suppress them, the greater their impact when they finally resurfaced.
Amongst all the memories, there was a single one that Shuri would love nothing more than to forget. If she could sacrifice everything just to not have to relive that memory, she would do it in a heartbeat. It all started from there, after all - all of her suffering stemmed from that singular day.
Shuri scrubbed away what remained of her bad dream and walked out of her room. She avoided the awakening horde because she wasn't in any mood to explain her wetness, and even less in the mood to sit through childish jeers, no matter how good-natured they may be.
Her mind dwelled on the nightmare, and it persisted all through her daily routine. It continued until she finally reached the birth site of her magnum opus. For the ambitious project she was going to undertake, she needed space, a lot of it. Space wasn't so hard to find in the True World Sect, but commissioning it for use was a tedious process. Any deforestation had to be approved and vetted by the administrative department first, and they moved very slowly and deliberately. Getting the area in front cleared took her a week when she could have done so personally in mere minutes.
Without wasting another minute, she started to map out the area and placed landmarks to act as placeholders for where the mana cores would be placed and where the enchanted mana gem arrays would be placed. Finally, she took calk and traced out the ritual formation underneath it all.
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"You must push harder, Your Highness!"
"No one must know!"
Blood. Blood everywhere.
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Shuri's eyes sprang open. It was the same fragmented dream - a part of a cursed whole that would eventually show itself. This was how it always started, in bits and pieces. Her mind was piecing together the fragments of the memory Shuri had painstakingly buried in her subconscious.
A faint tingle shot up Shuri's abdomen, which she promptly ignored while getting off her bed and getting ready. Today was better, she didn't sweat as much.
On a brighter note, Shuri's virtual brain had a robust foundation now, and all it took was a good three days of dedicated sketching, editing and laying down the ritual. As a result, the ritual formation was working perfectly and was constantly powering itself up with mana. The distribution was even and seamless, an absolute necessity for the project she was undertaking.
"The base is finished, now we move on the the part of the structure that will actually hold the information."
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"There will be a target painted on his back. He will die!"
"I came prepared, Your Highness!"
Blood. Blood everywhere.
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It was growing more vivid, and bloodier. Shuri groaned audibly as she cradled her abdomen. Within the last week, the pain that assaulted her every morning had grown in intensity. It hadn't yet reached the point of being unbearable, but it was definitely an inconvenience now. Shuri let the pain pass before getting off the bed.
Today, instead of going towards her clearing, she walked over to the clinic. Something had to be done about the inconvenience as there were already way too many things for her to split her attention between.
"There's nothing wrong with you," Jean said. "You are as physically fit as anyone can be."
"But that doesn't make sense," Shuri argued.
"Maybe it's just gas?" Jean theorised.
"I know what that pain feels like. Trust me, it wasn't that," Shuri retorted with an embarrassed blush.
"Well, if the problem isn't physical, then it has to either be mental or magical," Jean orated. "Have you been feeling anything different lately?"
"That's a vague question," Shuri stated.
"Anything out of the norm. Anything depressing, anxiety-inducing or just painful?" Jean continued.
'Yes, yes and yes,' Shuri answered internally, but her lips just said, "Nothing of the sort."
"I'd have to run some tests to get to the bottom of this," Jean explained.
"I don't have time for that," Shuri rejected before standing to leave. "Thank you for squeezing me into your busy schedule," she said while leaving the clinic.
"I still think it is wise to identify the cause of the pain lest it become worse," Jean warned, but Shuri was already beyond listening range.
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"Put it on him! Now!"
"This is the only way to save him. The executor of my revenge must endure at all costs!"
Blood. Blood everywhere.
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It was time, Shuri could feel it in her guts. Eight weeks had passed since her visit to the clinic. While she was nearly finished with her project, her pain walked the inverse path and ballooned to a point where every morning left her partially immobilised for half an hour until it passed.
Shuri left her room later than usual, as the time to recover from the inhuman pain had ballooned significantly as well. She completed her daily routine and arrived at her clearing, which looked much different from how it had started. An elaborate ritual was splattered across the ground, with orichalcum plates with rows of small mana gems embedded on them placed strategically at different locations. At certain nexuses, one could see programmed mana cores, pulsing periodically performing a hitherto unknown task. The scale of the project was massive, spanning an area of twenty-five square metres. Needless to say, it was an expensive endeavour, one which had to be completed in a painstakingly slow yet methodical process. Material shortages were the norm and denied requisition requests were frequent. But Shuri endured, and her masterpiece was finally taking shape.
However, today, an unexpected guest was awaiting Shuri at the location.
"Senior Sister Jean! W-What brings you here today?" Shuri greeted, though with a faint quiver in her lips. Her Senior Sister was the defacto boogeyman of the Sect. Everyone was afraid of her, second only to Matron Reva. Admittedly, Senior Sister Jean was a good human, a gem of a person, a gentle soul. But Physician Jean was a demon. She was unforgiving and meted out punishment for health violations without prejudice. Even the Sect Leader wasn't safe, the man had to apologise publicly for affecting the health of the entire Sect after they had one too many parties with cake involved.
There was an easy way to differentiate between Senior Sister and Physician Jean, and that was by virtue of her attire. Physician Jean always wore luminescent green latex gloves. And the person standing before her was wearing them.
"Did you think I would forget?" Physician Jean said with a steely voice. "I heard from a little bird that your pain has grown more severe. I waited for you at the clinic for a while now, yet you never came. It seems that someone has lost their sense of self-preservation and need to be taught it all over again."
"W-Wait-" was all Shuri could say before Physician Jean disappeared from her place and appeared before her. "Now, sit! Let me inspect you."
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