A scholarly expression for the being that has survived by clinging to the human psyche, it can be classified as a mental biological entity. The existence that operates as an investor in the Levrak faction thoroughly enjoyed the current magical society.
A chaotic society signifies the expansion of possibilities for them to operate.
Long ago, during the era when the cult ruled the world, when the order set by the heavens was shining down upon all, it was sealed away.
The savior of the biological entity was the Mage King. In the process of the Mage King’s monumental task of wiping out the cult, the temple where the entity was trapped in the fringes collapsed, and the seal was breached.
Thus, little by little, it began to whisper as if it were a divine revelation to the fallen priests of the cult, slowly expanding its reach to touch more humans.
Finally, now. When chaos returned to humanity, its movements were freer than ever. Monitoring relics? It had been acting like a god inside relics for centuries. It couldn’t help but become adept at the tricks of concealing its presence.
The mental biological entity could handle magic without issue. Having lived by disrupting the order of the gods, mimicking the disorder of magic was as easy as breathing.
The entity, which stole the name of a god to be worshiped, began to move more boldly. For a complete revival, to fulfill its mission.
The biological entity still hadn’t found a vessel that could fully contain its psyche.
This was due to the size of its consciousness being too immense. Just inserting a fingertip into the minds of humans drove their vessels to a state of saturation. The higher the individual’s level of achievement, the greater their capacity to accept it, but to it, common tower masters and wandering commoners were not much different.
The biological entity conceived a different idea. It had read the minds of numerous humans and completed its plan: to embed its will within the Mage Tower Core and construct a massive golem powered by the core.
After checking a few Mage Tower Cores, it found the feasibility was there, but the capacity of a regular Mage Tower Core was insufficient to contain the entity entirely.
It needed a larger and more intricate Mage Tower Core.
The biological entity set its sights on the Amimone Tower’s Mage Tower Core. Disguising itself as a benefactor of the Levrak faction’s leader.
At the same time, it wasn’t a being that only believed in one plan. A typical mage’s vessel was too small to contain their consciousness.
But wouldn’t it be different for mages who claim to inherit the Apex Towers? While supporting the Levrak faction’s leader, it also explored whether there were mages capable of becoming its new body.
It had no high expectations. After all, a mage with a vessel larger than that of the Apex Towers’ Mage Tower Core would already be the Tower Master.
While it continued its search with patience, it caught sight of a beautiful woman with flowing white hair.
This mage was an unknown figure that the information the biological entity had collected on the magical society had never mentioned. However, it could sense the immense power she possessed.
It wasn’t simply about the amount of magic power. Her mind was deeply profound and dark. Perhaps she might fully accept its consciousness and allow it to be reborn anew.
As it approached with such expectations.
A suspicious-looking man with narrowed eyes appeared.
*
“What should I say? That guy seems to think uniquely.”
“Does that mean his thoughts are irreverent? More than ours?”
‘We’? That’s a dangerous statement. Only the boss would want to blow up the Ten Towers, and I’m just a passive accomplice.
…I didn’t voice such thoughts. I pride myself on being perceptive. If not, I wouldn’t have been able to stay as a subordinate under Carisia for this long.
“I don’t know about that. I couldn’t read it properly.”
Carisia’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. The fact that it “couldn’t be read properly” indicated that the level of that kind of being was extraordinary. I wasn’t entirely alert, but the common mages were generally transparent, even in this state.
“I can see the surface consciousness. However, the deep consciousness, how should I say, is…”
I chose my words carefully. The deep consciousness of the two priests appeared similar to noise-riddled text or a ‘bugged’ version of a loading screen.
The problem was.
“The deep consciousness of those two was completely identical. While there were differences in the non-verbal and semi-verbal expressions processed by their surface consciousness, their inner, subconscious thoughts were entirely the same.”
To put it clumsily, it was like opening two text files with different titles—file A for Priest A and file B for Priest B.
An identical other on the level of the soul couldn’t exist without the involvement of the gods, so while the content of the files might be similar, they couldn’t be the same.
However, the content of file A and B was filled entirely with the same form of noise.
“Brainwashing magic?”
Carisia asked. The most common method of disrupting the deep consciousness of humans.
I shook my head. It seemed too strange to be mere brainwashing.
“It is similar in that it has touched the mind. However, how should I put it…”
Rather, this was closer to a legion of golems controlled by a single system. Although that legion of golems differed in that their surface consciousness was also identical.
“Usually, if you look into a human’s mind, even the most damaged individuals have similar forms. Like how a diamond or rectangle is still a type of square. But what I saw in the deep consciousness was beyond human form. To describe it, perhaps it resembled a star shape.”
“A will that is not human is embedded within?”
Carisia’s tone climbed. I felt a primal tension. That signified she found it interesting.
And when Carisia takes an interest in something, it usually doesn’t end well.
*
The biological entity recalled the person it had met. Initially, it thought they were just a presumptuous servant meddling in matters.
To gain that massive vessel, it needed to tread carefully, so infiltrating the servant’s mind to learn about its master’s interests seemed advantageous.
It stepped back from the Levrak Tower Master, positioning its two vessels ahead. A typical human would naturally harbor an unconscious goodwill toward an attractive other.
From that point on, the entity’s invasion began. The closer the emotional distance became, the easier the intrusion.
The biological entity thought it could seep into the servant’s consciousness with just light conversation.
However, that wasn’t the case.
‘What the hell is that?’
As one who fed on the minds of others, the entity was adept at detecting mental activities.
Though it was vaguely termed “mental activities,” it encompassed a transcendental perception that included everything from physical brain activity involving the five senses to spiritual communion through abilities.
Thus, it was able to realize.
That cognitive structure was fundamentally different from a human’s.
The bizarre and grotesque perspective that could see behind its back from the front couldn’t belong to a human. It wasn’t even a location where a retina could exist.
Of course, the biological entity was aware that civilizations had developed and produced bizarre products like “Enchantment” since it was sealed away. But the amount of information it was processing couldn’t be matched by any machine.
In fact, even the entity itself couldn’t keep up.
It was clear that it was perceiving something. However, it couldn’t grasp what exactly that “something” was. The only thing it could faintly discern was that it was acquiring information about “the entirety of the space within a certain range.”
It attempted to peek into the mind, only to be swept away by the torrent of information within. The stones used to construct the banquet hall, the origin of those stones, the humans who quarried them, the life cycle of the fabric that made up the carpets…
The biological entity instinctively understood.
That being wasn’t human. It couldn’t be human.
‘Could they be of the same kin?’
A kind of existence that also involved itself in consciousness like itself. The very reason the entity sought a physical form was due to the transformation necessary for its metamorphosis, or something akin to that.
Thus, it regarded Orthes as a kin targeting the white-haired woman. A kin who had been released from sealing long before it and grown accustomed to wielding powers in a fragile body.
It remembered that in the distant past, it had been brought to this place by a creator so terrifying that it couldn’t even dare to envision them. It wouldn’t be strange if it wasn’t the only biological entity sown on this land, so even if there were other kin sealed and released by the cult, it wouldn’t be surprising.
‘What to do.’
At a glance, that body of Orthes seemed to contain a substantial amount of consciousness. It might be able to wield more than 70% of its power.
The biological entity could project 80% of its consciousness if it mobilized all its available bodies, but it would require considerable preparation to overwhelm a concentrated power with one divided across multiple vessels.
Yes. Preparation.
If it could prepare, then toppling him wouldn’t be impossible. The shining vessel that the white-haired woman possessed was beautiful enough to consider fratricide…
*
“Something seems fishy. Let’s confirm if it’s Argyrion.”
I pondered whether I should stop Carisia, who was fiddling with her gauntlet.
