This was what made Lake somewhat curious.
However...
He was not that curious.
Clones had no souls—or at the very least, they did not have complete souls. Perhaps clones could live, but after they died, they would simply dissipate. After all, hell was where souls belonged, not some garbage dump. In other words, an incomplete soul had no way to enter hell.
Unless it was completed.
Just as Lake had completed the souls of the Hawkeye clone and the Mockingbird clone, as well as the clones of Hill and Natasha Romanov.
Lake had found several souls, washed them clean, and then painstakingly pieced them together to complete the clone's soul.
After that, those clones could no longer really be called clones. They were lives instead—brand-new lives that had inherited a past anew and possessed the possibility of choosing their own futures.
And the Winter Soldier before him.
His soul had likewise been completed.
It seemed that the moment the Winter Soldier had drifted to this cloning island, his soul had been completed.
After all, the souls on this island were inferior to those in hell, and over the course of these endless years, the marks on his soul had long since been washed away. Perhaps that was why the Winter Soldier's soul could be completed.
Lake looked at the Winter Soldier before him. "You are not Bucky Barnes. Without a doubt. But you inherited from Bucky Barnes, while also possessing memories of having your own name, Winter Soldier. You're a combination, but also a brand-new life-form. Perhaps you could change your name to..."
As he spoke, Lake shrugged. "I don't know either. Badong? What do you think?"
Hill said, "Then shouldn't we tell Steve even more so?"
"No need."
"What?"
"I've already told Tethys. If I'm not mistaken, Steve should