The Meaning of Continuance

1786, French wizarding world.

"Josue, what are you doing?!"

The door to a secret Alchemy Laboratory was blasted open by a red beam. A middle-aged man with thick hair, resembling an old lion, strode into the Alchemy Laboratory and roared at the young man standing before an alchemical device.

Josue slowly raised his head. Calmly looking at the middle-aged man who had barged into his Alchemy Laboratory, he said softly, "As you can see, my teacher, I am modifying my body so that my life may continue."

"Human Alchemy..." Josue's teacher, Isaac Fanes, stared grimly at the mechanical body on the Alchemy Platform and the human tissues suspended in solution in a corner of the laboratory. "This is an alchemical taboo. How dare you break it?!"

The human tissues soaking in the solution had clearly come from wizard test subjects Josue had acquired through illegal means, perhaps even wizards he had brutally murdered himself.

Yet, upon hearing his teacher's accusations, Josue burst into loud laughter and lightly tapped his chest with his Wand.

The next instant, layers of Josue's chest unfolded outward, exposing countless exquisitely precise alchemical components inside. These components were combined in a particular manner and operated in orderly fashion, continuously supplying vitality to this body.

"My Human Alchemy has succeeded. My body is about to become immortal, and my life will continue forever. What an incredible achievement in the field of alchemy! An immortal shell—this is an alchemical creation greater even than the Philosopher's Stone!"

"And the price I paid was merely the flesh and blood of my parents, wife, and children, along with flesh-and-blood samples from more than five hundred wizards and the life force of over ten thousand Muggles! In exchange, I obtained an immortal body capable of supporting my progress and my continuance!"

"My