Chapter 144: Madman (4)

I frantically move my consciousness.

But no matter how much I try, nothing moves properly.

Even when I try using the Formless Sword, it doesn’t unfold.

‘Damn it, what's going on…?’

Before being captured by the Mad Lord, I thought becoming a living puppet meant living indefinitely without truly living or dying.

It was the reason I committed suicide in a past life before being captured by the Mad Lord, and why I tried to kill Kim Yeon early in this life.

‘But, there were never any truly alive puppets before…’

I know this for sure.

During the ten years under the Mad Lord, I wasn't just idly breathing. I had observed his puppets, watched over his shoulder as he created and manipulated them.

‘They were all just corpses… And they never retained consciousness like this!’

I calm my confused emotions and first contemplate my soul.

My soul is firmly seated in the puppet's upper dantian.

The Mad Lord's spiritual energy circuits, laid out akin to the veins and nerves of a living being, are gripping my soul.

‘These circuits are not unique to me but also installed in other puppets... I know because I've seen shattered puppets. But why is my soul still here?’

Just when I’m pondering this.

Clank!

Suddenly, while patrolling the outer walls, my body stops abruptly and starts flying somewhere.

It’s the Mad Lord's call.

Swoosh!

The place I’m led to by the Mad Lord's summoning is,

The inner garden of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress where Kim Yeon resides.

The place where she and I often met.

And there, the Mad Lord and Kim Yeon were waiting.

"Here! It’s a gift! How is it?"

"...Yes?"

At the Mad Lord's maniacal laughter, Kim Yeon's complexion gradually hardens.

"...It’s not him, right? M-master, please this isn’t him, right?"

"Hm? Ah! Don't worry! General Seo was properly made with Seo Eun-hyun's essence. Now you can control the guy you like! Ah! I can't disturb the puppeteer and puppet's alone time anymore! Have a good night!"

The Mad Lord cackles madly and disappears somewhere, and Kim Yeon's eyes are filled with utter disbelief.

Ssss―

Her intent is in total chaos.

Anger, sadness, despair, pain, panic...

All mixed into a great chaos.

"Ah, ah..."

Step by step...

She approaches me with a soulless expression, caressing me.

"Ah... Aaaaaaah..."

Shudder…

Had she mastered the Yin Soul Ghost Incantation, she might have surpassed its creator by now.

"Heuaaaaaaaah!"

Kim Yeon screams.

"Why! Why! Why…!"

Tears fall from both eyes.

"Why...! Just why is this happening to me! I got dragged into this world during a workshop I was eager for! I got captured by an insane old man and I had to live every day in horror! Still! Still I had hope that one day me and Eun-hyun Oppa could leave this place and get together properly. That was the only hope keeping me together! So why! Just why…!”

Duduk Dudududududu!

Psstttt!

Due to the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon, her consciousness, which had been stably anchored in a spherical shape, started to stretch out to its original form.

Her consciousness, stretching out like threads, began to spread in all directions, covering the entire Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

"Why are you taking everything from me! Just why! Why…!!!!!"

Thud!

Kim Yeon collapses in front of me, grabbing my body and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Aaaaaaagh!!!"

The air vibrates.

The entire space seems to tremble.

And then.

'I' moved.

Clank!

"Please cease the disturbance within the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress."

The voice, mechanical yet eerily similar to mine, is cold and emotionless.

"…."

At that voice, Kim Yeon stops abruptly.

She looks up at 'me' with shimmering eyes.

"...What?"

"Please cease the disturbance within the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress."

"...Huhu….hahaha."

Kim Yeon starts to laugh.

"Okay, I get it. I'll stay quiet…."

Sssss―

Her consciousness, which spreads in all directions, is compressed back into a spherical shape.

Her consciousness turns dark red.

To my eyes, which can see intent, the area covered by her consciousness seems to be engulfed in darkness.

Shiiiii

She begins to caress my cheek.

"Just wait… a little… Eun-hyun Oppa. I will definitely... take the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress from the Mad Lord, shatter [Her] into pieces in front of him, and avenge you…."

"Actions harmful to the Lord and Lady of the Fortress are not permitted within the fortress."

"Yes, yes... Just wait a little…."

'Damn it…'

I try to extend my consciousness outside the puppet, but it’s trapped inside the puppet's upper dantian, unable to escape.

If only I can extend my consciousness outside, just somehow convey my consciousness…!

"Just a little! Just wait a little! I will! I will definitely save you!”

Kuaak!

Kim Yeon's hands grab my head.

Her eyes have a madness similar to the Mad Lord's.

And then.

Wriggle, wriggle….

'…?'

While she tightly holds 'me,'

Something crawls up from beneath my feet.

'This sensation…'

It’s the centipede.

Wriggle, wriggle…

The creature crawls into the joints of the puppet, making its way towards the body laden with circuits.

For ten years.

During the ten years I had been raising it inside the fortress,

Perhaps due to the environment's spiritual energy being hundreds of times greater than the lower realm, it didn't die easily and grew robustly.

Seemingly recognizing who was feeding it, it began following me at some point.

Apparently, it recognized me even in this state and crawled into my body.

I might as well be dead.

But those who remember me still remain.

'…Damn it.'

And yet, there’s nothing I can do for them.

Woong!

As my emotions surge within me.

'…?'

Something strange entangles my soul.

'What's this?'

It’s an extremely unpleasant sensation.

And as soon as that sensation appeared...

Squish...

A squishy feeling emanates from a corner of my soul.

I, who has reached Treading Heaven Beyond the Path, observe my soul and immediately understand what this sensation is.

'This is insane…!'

Following my emotional turbulence, the spiritual energy circuits inside the puppet began 'copying' my soul!

A mass of spiritual energy that mimics my emotional flow and agony appeared beside my soul.

It isn't a complete replication of my soul, but only of the emotions that had just arisen.

And then.

Wo-woong!

As much as the replicated spiritual energy mass appeared, my soul began to be 'pushed' out of its place in the upper dantian.

'…This is madness.'

Only now do I realize the fate of those turned into puppets by the Mad Lord.

After being transformed into a puppet,

For a while, the soul is held by the spiritual energy circuits inside the puppet, remaining in this world.

But as time passes, the spiritual energy circuits begin to replicate the soul, creating a mass of spiritual energy inside the circuits that mimics the soul.

Little by little, they replicate the original soul until a copy that's almost identical to the original soul is complete.

When the replication is complete, the original soul is released and scattered, heading to the afterlife, and the spiritual energy mass created by the Mad Lord's circuits takes its place.

‘Ah, now I understand. The source of the madness felt when manipulating the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress's puppets.’

The puppets of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress contain 'artificial souls' created by the Mad Lord.

These artificial souls, although crude masses of spiritual energy compared to real souls, are still copies that mimic the original as closely as possible.

They can't replicate all memories, experiences, and emotions of the original, but they can somewhat 'express' a few strong emotions the original felt.

And these puppets with artificial souls are all interconnected within the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

A world swirling with countless emotions, somehow connected.

This is the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress (奇妙城砦).

‘Now I understand why I felt a flow of spiritual energy somewhat similar to emotions from the puppets…’

The replicated artificial souls emit spiritual energy waves that mimic intent.

‘That means…’

I look at Kim Yeon, who is crying hysterically in front of me.

‘As time passes... will I completely die and regress?’

Once the spiritual energy mass that replicates my emotions grows as large as my soul and completely pushes it out, I will reach 'death'.

My regression will inevitably happen, but…

Kim Yeon clutches and hangs onto the decorations attached to the puppet's body.

"Oppa, please, say something."

"Please? You used to console me before."

"Eun-hyun Oppa, please?"

"...Why aren't you saying anything? Why? Why?"

"...Please just answer me. I’m telling you to respond! Please answer me! Please! Pleeease! Waaaaaaaah!"

I, watching her clinging to me, realize.

‘...I can't die.’

Wo-woong!

I forcefully pull back the small amount of my soul that was pushed outside.

There’s no need for me to be trapped in this puppet for thousands of years.

As I have seen before, there's no souls left in the puppets.

I can just regress comfortably.

But,

‘What about those left behind…’

Even though I failed and ended up trapped and miserable inside a puppet.

This is.

‘My life!’

It might not have been pleasant or bright.

But the heart and emotions I shared with Kim Yeon is still a connection

Because of the hearts we connected, this life is a blessing.

‘A blessing given to me… How can I give it up so easily?’

Wo-woong!

With my mental strength, I push back the replicated spiritual energy mass.

And at that moment.

Boom!

The hastily constructed replicated mass of spiritual energy, unable to withstand my pressure, bursts, and the spiritual energy that formed it floats around the puppet's upper dantian.

‘I can use this.’

Wo-woong!

I manipulate the energy from the artificial soul.

I can't extend my consciousness outside the puppet, but I can manipulate the spiritual energy from the artificial soul.

Just then.

Wooong Wooong Wooong

When I extend my consciousness into the artificial soul's spiritual energy.

I feel as if the voices of hundreds, millions of people are piercing my mind at once.

The countless puppets in the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

The emotions they emit.

However.

‘I, too, have a heart not inferior to yours...!’

Koooom!

Amidst the multitude of murmurs, I respond with the pain I have endured thus far to combat them.

Wo-woong!

The spiritual energy circuits that bound my soul.

A very small part of it, an extremely tiny part, is eroded by my consciousness.

Kuguguguguk!

As my soul seizes control of the spiritual energy circuits, the circuits resist.

As if it’s a forbidden act, a powerful pressure stabs into my soul.

Just then.

Wriggle, wriggle…

The centipede that crawled inside my body made its way to the head, where the spiritual energy circuits are most active.

And then.

Crunch, crunch…

Whether it knows what it is doing or it’s just instinct, I don't know.

But the creature gnaws on one of the circuits that is pressuring me the most.

Ku-uuung!

Squish!

Simultaneously, sensing the foreign object stirring inside, 'my' body moves, increasing the pressure of the spiritual energy to burst and kill the centipede.

The centipede explodes and dies.

Without Yuan Li’s Blood Body that can regenerate it, the centipede is now completely dead.

‘...Thank you.’

I deeply thank the centipede, which I hadn't even named yet, and extend my spiritual energy towards the circuit it gnawed on.

Zooooom!

'My' body, sensing the malfunction in the spiritual energy circuit, tries to move towards the repair factory, but I’m faster.

Flash!

I connect the circuit gnawed by the centipede using the spiritual energy of the artificial soul Ijust gathered.

The circuit functions without issues.

At least outwardly.

'My' body returns to standby, and I, through the outwardly intact circuit gnawed by the centipede, begin to take control over 'General Seo's' body.

‘It's slow…’

The spiritual energy obtained by bursting the artificial soul is weak, and since it’s connected to hundreds of millions of other artificial souls in the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, handling it causes madness to surge.

Of course, the madness can be overcome with mental strength, but considering everything, it seems it will take a long time to fully control 'General Seo's' spiritual energy circuits.

‘Just wait a little longer, Yeon-ah.’

I resolve myself, looking at Kim Yeon, who cried herself to exhaustion and passed out.

‘I will definitely tell you... that I am still here.’

No matter how many centuries it takes.

I will let you know that I am with you.

‘Since we've connected in this life... I won't take this blessing lightly and will survive... to return my heart to you.’

So just wait a little.

Just a little longer.

And so, decades passed.

"Eun-hyun Oppa... do you know?"

Kim Yeon, stroking my cheek, speaks.

"After the Cold Spirit Race, the Gyuru Race, Palheo Race, Gakchi Race, Soleong Race, and Peacock Race were conquered... Oh and recently, I heard news about our colleagues."

She, who has reached the Heavenly Being stage, began telling their story sitting next to me, controlling numerous puppets with her fingertips.

"Shall we start with Section Chief Jeon Myeong-hoon?"