Chapter 120: The Garden of Sinners
Chapter 120: The Garden of Sinners
At this moment, Edward's situation resembled that of an ordinary young man from the 21st century who had suddenly traveled to the Middle Ages. Although he had only received a basic education in modern times and didn't know much in depth, the chaotic and wide-ranging knowledge he had accumulated due to the information explosion meant that, upon arriving in a world with a civilization level equivalent to the Middle Ages, even a few random remarks could astonish a scholar like Rosa, one of the most knowledgeable intellectuals of this world.
What's more, in this life, Edward wasn't just an ordinary person—he was an exceptionally gifted young Grand Mage.
Thus, seeing Rosa's stunned expression, fully aware of what was going through her mind, Edward could only speak as plainly as possible:
"So, Arch Mage Rosa, is there anything else you'd like to discuss?"
Although Rosa was still immersed in her shock upon hearing Edward's words, she quickly recovered. After a brief silence, she slowly asked,
"Mr. Edward, since your research on the soul is so profound, I would like to ask your opinion: do you believe there is a connection between the soul and the body? If a soul were artificially created and placed into some kind of vessel, would the result still be considered a human being?"
Yes, this was the core question Rosa had wanted to ask Edward from the start. While it wasn't yet the heart of the issue, it was undoubtedly the most pressing question on her mind.
"Creating... a soul?"
Edward was momentarily taken aback, staring intently at the woman before him for a long time.
After confirming that he hadn't misheard her question, he murmured,
"I don't know what a soul truly is, but regarding the concept of the soul, I can only say that it is something that genuinely exists in this world—a non-material entity capable of preserving a person's memories, thoughts, and inner essence. While the body also holds a backup of memories, it does not contain thoughts or consciousness itself. Even if a soul isn't artificially created, a pre-existing soul can survive in a new vessel as long as there is sufficient compatibility. Whether or not it can still be called human, though, depends on how one defines 'human.'"
Edward's ability to articulate this view stemmed from his own experience as a transmigrator. He had personally and profoundly understood the relationship between the soul and the body. To use modern terminology, Edward saw the soul as analogous to a USB drive, storing immaterial concepts like memory and thought. When the soul entered a new body, it was like connecting the USB drive to a new computer—the stored memories and thoughts would be transferred into the new system, i.e., the new body.
Under normal circumstances, if a soul already resided within a body, an external consciousness from a USB-like soul couldn't take control. However, if the body's original soul had died or didn't exist, the external soul could take over.
Indeed, when Edward transmigrated, the original soul of the body he now occupied had mysteriously vanished, allowing him to replace it effortlessly and inherit the original Edward's experiences and memories, as those were already backed up by the body.
Hearing Edward's response, Rosa immediately displayed a look of surprise. Evidently, this was the first time she had heard such a theory, and she was simultaneously astonished and overjoyed. Without hesitation, she laid out her entire line of thought:
"That is indeed a novel theory, Mr. Edward, and one I had never considered before. So I'll speak frankly—truth be told, as a researcher of spiritual studies, my research focus has always been on creating homunculi, or, more precisely, creating human bodies."
"Since the soul itself is intangible and unobservable, our school of thought has always focused on the human body as the primary research subject. Of course, we differ from the necromancy school, which dissects living corpses to study the structure of the human body, a process that moves from existence to absence. In contrast, our research aims to artificially create bodies that can house souls, moving from absence to existence."
"Mr. Edward, you should be aware that to become an Arch Mage, one must achieve two things: the ability to cast sixth-level magic and an Arch Mage-level research achievement. I've already accomplished the former, which earned me the recognition of Arch Mage, but I've yet to complete the latter, which has prevented me from obtaining my official magic degree as a Arch Mage. I've poured enormous effort into trying to finish my research as soon as possible, which is why I've been immersed in my studies day and night."
"Recently, however, my research reached an impasse—not a typical bottleneck in progress, but rather a fundamental challenge to the premise of our school of thought. Our school's foundation assumes an inherent connection between the body and the soul. Yet, as my research progressed, I gradually discovered that there might not be any connection between them at all. Consider powerful liches, who long ago discarded their physical bodies and exist solely as souls. Doesn't this imply that our school's fundamental premise has been flawed all along?"
"Just as I was grappling with this dilemma, the film you directed provided me with new inspiration. The artificial beings depicted in your film, while products of human creation, possessed their own consciousness, even the ability to create new life. Though it was a fictional story, I glimpsed a possibility—that perhaps the body alone could give rise to a soul. There might indeed be some obscure connection between the body and the soul. Yet this also raises questions about the nature of the soul itself, and despite my years of research in this field, I have no viable hypothesis..."
"That's why I wanted to speak with you today—not only to meet you, a genius Grand Mage, but also to discuss these matters with you. And as it turns out, this brief exchange alone has already been immensely enlightening for me."
Understanding the sequence of events and realizing the situation was far more complicated than he had imagined, Edward was about to decline when suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. His expression changed instantly, and he followed up on the other person's words:
"You just mentioned that the bottleneck in your research lies in being unable to define the concept of a soul, right? Honestly, that's indeed something impossible to clarify. After all, we don't even know the edge of the universe, so how could we know something like that?"
"Huh? The universe? Edge? Mr. Edward, what are you talking about?"
Faced with Rosa's confusion, Edward, who knew he couldn't control his tendency to ramble, quickly glossed over the topic and continued, "Ahem, anyway, everything has cause and effect. Where there is an effect, there must be a cause. Since the soul already exists as an 'effect,' then the reason why the soul arises—the 'cause'—must also exist. I happen to know someone who has insights into this. That person is also skilled in crafting dolls and is obsessed with pushing this craft to its limit, attempting to create a perfect prototype of humanity and to reach the essence of that 'cause' through doll-making."
"And her conclusion is this: the origin of all things is 'nothingness.' Because there is nothing, there are infinite possibilities. To have 'infinity,' one must first define 'finiteness.' Without the finite, the infinite would not exist. The origin of all things is not infinity, but this state of 'all and nothingness.'"
Drawing from the research of Touko Aozaki from the Type-Moon lore, Edward recited these words, even though they barely made sense to him. After all, the debates among Type-Moon fans were often chaotic due to the ambiguity of the original concepts. But Edward thought these lines were perfect for showing off right now, so he didn't bother understanding them fully before speaking.
Hearing his words, Rosa, who was paying attention to every detail, was no longer just amazed. At this moment, the great Arch Mage wore an expression of both confusion and reverence as she listened to Edward's exposition. Excitedly, she said, "Mr. Edward, you actually know such a wise individual! Finiteness is infinity; the origin of all things is 'nothingness.' Such a perspective fits perfectly with my research! I feel I might make a breakthrough when I return to my studies. If possible, I would love to meet this wise person and thank them in person."
"Ahem, well, as long as it makes sense to you," Edward said, slightly adjusting his wording after realizing his off-the-cuff remark had such an impact. "Anyway, since you're so passionate about soul research, I happen to have a script related to the soul that I think you'll be interested in."
"A script? Is it like the Fate/Zero movie you directed, Mr. Edward?"
"Well, you could say it's a movie, but since I'm trying to do something new this time, this one won't be shown in theaters."
"Not shown in theaters?" Rosa's curiosity was piqued, and after thinking for a moment, she asked, "In any case, what do you want me to do? You've solved so many of my questions with your words. Whatever it is, as long as it's within my ability, I'll do my best to help."
"Uh, it's nothing too troublesome. Do you have paper and a pen? Let me write the script down here first; I'm afraid I'll forget it when I get back."
"..."
Though puzzled by Edward's request, Rosa cast Mage Hand to retrieve paper and pen from a table in the center of the hall. As an Arch Mage, her Mage Hand was incredibly fast and precise, and in an instant, a set of paper and a pen appeared before Edward.
"Thanks. Let me finish writing the script first, and we'll talk about the rest afterward."
"Um... can I ask what kind of script it is?"
"Well, I can't summarize the content right now, but I can tell you its name—The Garden of Sinners. That's the name of the new script."
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