Chapter 285

"Arcane"—a word often heard by those living on Planet Novus.  

The ultra-ancient civilization known as Arcane possessed technology so advanced that not even all the intelligent species combined could hope to reach its level.  

Even "Force," the ability that transcended the absolute physical laws of the universe, was closely tied to the Arcane civilization.  

The relics and legacies of such a civilization were akin to a firearm dropped among stone axes. It was only natural that nations and species alike obsessively studied the Arcane civilization, as controlling its technology meant securing future dominance and hegemony.  

...And the "Mind Transfer Device" Ivan had just mentioned was also an artifact of the Arcane civilization.  

Its form was that of a helmet, with blue external circuits resembling the folds of the cerebral cortex.  

The helmet came as a pair, and its size could expand or shrink through a lattice-based extension structure.  

Ivan projected the Mind Transfer Device onto a holographic screen and continued speaking.  

"The study of the Mind Transfer Device—this was one of my father’s lifelong ambitions. As you know, a monarchy is an inherently unstable system. The fate of an empire can easily waver depending on who sits on the throne. Even the finest lineage and imperial education have their limits. My father believed that, eventually, an idiot among his descendants would appear and ruin the empire. The empire is far too complex to be ruled by a fool, especially with power concentrated solely in the hands of the emperor."  

"So the previous emperor chose to eat away at his own child’s mind?"  

I sneered.  

Ivan only chuckled.  

"This is your fault too, if you think about it. Father died suddenly. From that moment on, the Shadows began acting according to their programmed directives."  

I blinked as I tried to piece together the events that had unfolded since the Storm Era.  

'The Shadows must have taken Ivan and forcibly implanted the previous emperor’s consciousness into him.'  

It all made sense now.  

There must have been numerous undisclosed conditions for the Mind Transfer Device to function. Francec had been deemed unsuitable, while Ivan had met the criteria. I could vaguely guess why—it likely boiled down to the mental resilience required to withstand the sheer weight of that sinister will.  

"The Mind Transfer Device is unstable. Maybe it’s not meant for humans, or perhaps we simply don’t understand how to use it. It could even be an incomplete artifact, or maybe it’s malfunctioning due to the passage of time. But Father had no other choice. He extracted his consciousness from his dead brain and implanted it into me."  

Ivan tapped his temple lightly with one hand. Before him, holographic threads drifted in the air.  

"Are you usually in the state of being the previous emperor’s personality?"

"The primary personality is still me. I haven’t lost control—at least, not completely. But I can feel myself being eroded, little by little. Every time I have to make a major decision for the empire, my father whispers something in my ear. You know what’s worse? He’s usually right. It’s getting harder and harder to go against his judgment."  

Ivan wiggled his fingers as if playing an instrument, rearranging the holographic display before him.  

On the screen, towering electromagnetic machinery and installations stretched high like a massive pillar.  

"A tower?"  

I narrowed my eyes at the hologram. It looked like part of some grand plan.  

"This is my father’s vision. And when you see things like this, you have to admit—he was quite the wise ruler. He wanted to reverse-engineer and analyze the Mind Transfer Device to implement an immortality system across the entire Accretia Empire. Every imperial citizen would live an eternal life."  

"…That’s utterly insane."  

Despite my rejection, Ivan merely smiled.  

"It’s about converting what people commonly call the ‘soul’—their memories, consciousness, and cognitive functions—into data. If that data is periodically backed up and stored, even the dead could be revived. Unfortunately, my father died before the system could be completed."  

I brought a hand to my mouth. A deep, unsettling disgust welled up inside me—an instinctive rejection, a visceral sense of repulsion.  

‘Can you even call something resurrected this way the same person?’  

The original being, the one that truly experienced death, was already gone. This was nothing more than a glorified save-and-load system, like something out of a game.  

Bzzzzzt.  

Ivan’s pupils glowed red. The varied hues in his irises faded, as though only the will of the late emperor, Yuri Accretia, remained.  

"Think about it, Luka. If an exceptional soldier like Hemillas dies in battle, he can just be regenerated in Akbaran. No matter how many times they fall, they can return to the battlefield. We’d never have to fear attrition or sacrifice again. Just imagine what an immortal army could accomplish—doesn’t that thought send shivers down your spine?"  

Something was terribly wrong. There was a fundamental problem here. But I wasn’t a philosopher or a scientist—I couldn’t immediately counter him with logic.  

‘…And yet, I can’t deny the efficiency of it.’  

Imagine if a commander like Hemillas could return to the battlefield, even after death. For our enemies, it would be a nightmare. Soldiers with decades—no, centuries—of combat experience, always returning in their prime, over and over again.  

Could Bellato or the Coritans ever stand against such an undying elite force?

The moment that backup system was completed, the empire’s glory and inevitable victory would unfold like a prophecy set in stone.  

‘But could we humans truly accept such a materialistic form of immortality?’  

Emotionally, it was difficult to accept.  

‘The person standing before me—was he truly Ivan Accretia, or was he the late Emperor Yuri Accretia?’  

I silently observed Ivan. His face was filled with exhilaration as he gazed at his grand vision. The words "Brain Backup" flashed across the holographic screen.  

"This plan will fail," I said. "It’s not a concept that those born as humans can accept, Your Majesty."  

"You can’t expect everything to succeed on the first attempt. Even if it’s impossible for now, someone will carry on this vision. Any true superhuman emperor of the empire will eventually realize that this is the only way. It will bear fruit, without a doubt."  

The man before me, whether Ivan or Yuri, spoke with conviction.  

"So that’s why you’ve been pursuing Kinuan so relentlessly—because he stole the Mind Transfer Device."  

Ivan’s eyes flickered. He shook his head, as if trying to drive out the late emperor’s consciousness.  

‘Ivan’s condition is dangerous. He isn’t even aware of it, but the previous emperor’s will is surfacing more and more strongly.’  

He didn’t seem to realize that Yuri’s presence had just emerged again. For Ivan, reality itself might feel like a hazy dream.  

‘Both Francec and Ivan… were nothing more than tools for governance.’  

Even royalty was reduced to mere cogs in the imperial machine, and the emperor himself was nothing more than a component of the empire’s massive mechanism.  

I wondered if there was even a true master of this empire. This monstrous entity called the empire devoured even its own emperor as it continued to function.  

A nation was no different from a living organism with a will of its own.  

"Kinuan…"  

Ivan spoke about Kinuan’s actions during the Storm Era, events that had been shrouded in secrecy.  

Kinuan had manipulated numerous individuals to incite an uprising in Akbaran. Then, just as the late Emperor Yuri Accretia was about to use the Arcane Civilization’s combat relics, Kinuan assassinated him.  

"…He killed my father to find the location of the Mind Transfer Device. But Father had already prepared for his sudden death—he had programmed the Shadows with protocols for using the device. In the first place, the very idea of implanting one’s consciousness into their child upon an untimely death might have been Kinuan’s suggestion all along."  

Yuri Accretia had trusted Kinuan deeply, but it seemed he had kept Arcane artifacts a closely guarded secret.  

In many ways, the emperors of the empire were truly extraordinary figures.

‘He must have entrusted the handling of Arcane artifacts entirely to another close confidant.’  

If so, someone like Director Jin Gaw would have been that confidant.  

A man of Jin Gaw’s caliber wouldn’t be easily swayed by the empire’s turbulence. Even Kinuan wouldn’t be able to manipulate him at will.  

‘Kinuan must have long been aware of the existence of the Mind Transfer Device and meticulously planned for years to obtain it. He would have devised countless contingencies for a single opportunity.’  

I arrived at one conclusion.  

‘Kinuan’s goal is to extend his lifespan using the Mind Transfer Device.’  

At present, the device was the only known means by which humans could discard a dying brain and continue existing. Unless, of course, one had an anomalous nature like Mushir al-Kashura.  

Kinuan’s words and actions no longer seemed vague to me. He had a clear and unwavering objective.  

‘He’s no god of chaos. If anything, Mushir al-Kashura is the real monstrosity.’  

There was a reason Kinuan avoided Mushir al-Kashura. Perhaps, deep down, he even feared him. Kashura was a "living anomaly" who could maintain his identity and consciousness without relying on something like the Mind Transfer Device.  

…And just like that, the Kinuan within me was reduced from an absolute entity to a mere human. As I came to understand and surpass Kashura, Kinuan’s stature in my mind had diminished.  

‘God and man. Miracle and inevitability. The natural order and defiance of fate.’  

A user of Akies Victima belonged wholly to the latter.  

Before a god, humans were weak. In a reality without miracles, one had to rely on inevitability. And when faced with death as the natural order, the only path left was to defy fate and reach for immortality.  

To defy fate meant to reject the cycle of life and death, to refuse the natural order itself.  

A memory from long ago surfaced.  

Kinuan had once taught me Akies Victima, urging me to submit to what was given.  

And yet, now, Kinuan himself was trying to break the natural course that bound him.  

‘But it’s not even a contradiction.’  

Using submission as a tool didn’t mean that submission itself was the goal. I had to be careful not to mistake the means for the end.  

Akies Victima embodied humanity, inevitability, and the defiance of fate. It wasn’t a supernatural ability but a purely rational human technology, built on logic and reason.  

A user of Akies Victima did not pray to gods nor hope for miracles. They simply relied on their own strength, steadfastly piercing the heavens and reaching for the universe.  

"Hah… Haha…"  

I let out a laugh.  

At last, I had caught up to you, Kinuan.  

Ivan, watching my laughter, extended the back of his hand toward me.

"Our goal is the same. If we retrieve the Mind Transfer Device from Kinuan, I’ll finally be able to rid myself of my father’s lingering consciousness. And as for you—your true life will begin the moment you break free from Kinuan’s shadow."  

I knelt down and took Ivan’s hand. He continued speaking.  

"Hear me, Luka. This is an imperial decree. Find Kinuan and reclaim the artifact he stole. This is the final mission I bestow upon you."  

This was exactly what Kinuan feared most.  

'That I would establish trust with the emperor, uncover the secrets entangled with Kinuan, and act against him.'  

Had I, at long last… avoided repeating the mistakes of the Storm Era?  

Ivan and I had shared information that neither of us could have known without trusting each other. Instead of verbal assurances, I had demonstrated my loyalty by wearing the enigmatic wooden bracer.  

I brought Ivan’s ring to my lips and spoke.  

"To track Kinuan, I need capable people. Someone who has been pursuing Kinuan in the empire on my behalf until now."  

Ivan, despite already knowing the answer, asked anyway.  

"Their name?"  

"Ilay Carthica."  

"The empire’s treacherous fox…"  

Ivan’s glowing eyes gleamed as he continued.  

"…As your master, I warn you—use Ilay Carthica, but do not trust him."  

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.