Soul Fragment (Thanks to Tunmiao for the Alliance Leader Reward)

"Activate Soul Resonance."

As Duanmu Huai's voice fell, the scene before him immediately changed. The ruined site, once nothing but broken walls and rubble, began to blur in his vision, replaced by shattered phantoms.

This was not a scene from this world. In fact, this was precisely the power of a Soul Walker. At this moment, Duanmu Huai's soul had sensed and come into contact with the existence of Warp Space.

As mentioned before, Warp Space was the reflection of all things in the past, present, and future. Most of the time, when something in reality was destroyed or eliminated, its reflection naturally vanished as well. But some reflections did not disappear. Perhaps due to obsession, resentment, or simply luck, when their original forms were destroyed in reality, they remained behind in Warp Space and formed solidified fragments.

Simply put, it was somewhat like a game bug. When you killed an enemy, you might find its shadow frozen in place, or its corpse refusing to disappear. It was roughly that kind of situation. Of course, in a game, you could just reload or refresh. But the real world clearly offered no such convenience.

And it was not entirely harmless, either. Game bugs could crash the game, block quests, or cause endless respawns. These reflections that had become "stuck" in Warp Space could also cause problems. In many worlds, for example, they influenced reality in forms similar to ghosts or spirits.

These fragments were useless to most people, but Soul Walkers were different.

Not only could they locate these fragments and enter them, they could even control them and use them for themselves!

That was an incredibly powerful ability!

Many ancient civilizations possessed various powerful forces and knowledge. Yet most of that knowledge and power had been buried beneath the dust of history. Even divine artifacts could be destroyed—but their projected images in Warp Space were different!

They would exist forever, never perishing!

Of course, summoning them into the real world also consumed power.

But even setting everything else aside, simply being able to summon something that had already vanished into reality showed just how powerful this ability was.

However, the benefits of these fragments did not end there.

As described earlier, these fragments were collections of bugs. In other words, they were self-contained entities. That meant that although they existed in Warp Space, these fragments would not be attacked by demons! For Psykers, they were practically the perfect refuge!

As long as a Psyker possessed one of these fragment projections, it was equivalent to hiding their soul projection in Warp Space inside a safe. No matter how much psychic power they used, outside demons would have a hard time detecting them.

It was like putting a mouse inside a safe. You could release a hundred cats outside, but no matter how much the mouse ran around inside the safe, the cats would never find it.

Different fragments came in different sizes. The smallest might be nothing more than a house, while the largest... might be an entire universe.

One could imagine just how formidable a Soul Walker would become if they possessed a universe.

By the time Duanmu Huai had uncovered this ability before his transmigration, he had already reached the middle stages of the game. He had regretted it deeply, because Star Sea Online was a dynamic, real-time game. That meant places you had visited before might later disappear or be rebuilt for all kinds of reasons. Some ruin dungeons might vanish after being cleared. If he had discovered the true use of this skill when he first awakened it, his leveling path would have been much smoother. By then, he might have become the strongest player in Star Sea Online—without question.

Of course, that title meant little to Duanmu Huai now. For all he knew, he might be the only player left in this world.

What mattered most now was finding a complete fragment.

As he pondered this, Duanmu Huai strolled through the projected ruins. Looking around, the nearby scenery was much the same as the ruins he had seen before, except without the layer of sand covering them, the city's appearance was somewhat clearer.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Duanmu Huai suddenly spotted a point of light on a hillside not far beyond the city... His interest was immediately piqued, and he hurriedly quickened his pace toward it.

It did not take long for Duanmu Huai to reach the hillside. Before him stood a Small Wooden House, plain and simple in appearance. Without hesitation, he reached out, pushed open the door, and entered.

"Creeeak...!"

The wooden door slowly opened. Duanmu Huai stepped inside, and the first thing he saw—was a heap of arms hanging from the ceiling.

"...They're fake. You gave me a scare."

Duanmu Huai froze for a moment at the sight, then looked closer and realized that they were all wooden prosthetic limbs.

Still, hanging so densely from the ceiling beneath the candlelight... they really were rather creepy.

Then, a voice suddenly rang out.

"At last, this day has come. I can use my power to protect my country."

As the words echoed, a translucent, ghostlike male figure quietly appeared before Duanmu Huai. His face was full of excitement and fervor as he waved his hands.

"With this power, my country will never again have to suffer through war, never again have to fear invasion. Everyone will be able to live peaceful, tranquil lives!!"

Duanmu Huai simply stood there and watched in silence. This scene was not unfamiliar to him. Every fragment fortunate enough to survive contained the powerful thoughts and will of its creator. Clearly, this young man had once been the owner of this house.

After saying those words, the man vanished. Duanmu Huai continued onward. Soon, he passed through the entryway and entered the house proper. The first thing he saw was a wooden workbench. Judging from the prosthetic limbs placed nearby, the man had likely been a Puppet Master.

"Puppets are wonderful beings..."

At that moment, the man's figure appeared again. He sat in a chair, seemingly crafting something with great care.

"Born from human hands, imitating humans yet not human themselves. Beautiful, pure, perfect... This is what I have always longed for..."

The voice gradually faded, and the man's phantom shattered along with it.

Duanmu Huai glanced at the workbench before moving forward again. But just as he reached the entrance to the next room...

"Crash!!"

A cup suddenly flew out and smashed heavily onto the floor. Duanmu Huai leaned forward and peered into the room. What appeared to be a study had already become a complete mess. The table had been overturned, the cups and teapot shattered to pieces, while the man sat in a chair, gasping heavily. His face looked incomparably aged. It was impossible to tell whether that was due to time or his state of mind.

"He deceived me! That liar! He deceived me! Those puppets were meant to protect the country, not invade other nations! He turned me into a bloodstained invader, an executioner!!"

The man roared like a beast, clutching his head as his entire body trembled and shook. Then, as if he had finally made up his mind, he stood.

"I will never let him succeed. I will stop all of this. I will utterly destroy his ambitions. I'm sorry... It seems I was too naive."

After saying that, the man reached into his pocket, placed something on the table, and sighed.

"I hope you can find the meaning of your own existence, my child."

With that, the man turned around and left the room with an expression of utter resolve, vanishing from sight.

So that was it.

Having watched everything unfold, Duanmu Huai more or less understood what had happened. Based on what Elisa had said earlier, the owner of this house had clearly been an extremely powerful Puppet Master. He had created the Demon Puppet Legion that once belonged to this country, but his original intention had only been to protect it. He had never expected the King to use his puppet army to invade other nations. Elisa had said that the King had eventually become so inflated with ambition that he planned to create a Magic Automaton capable of conquering the entire world. That was likely what had finally driven the man to resolve himself and utterly destroy both the King and his ambitions... If Duanmu Huai's guess was correct, the man had ultimately succeeded in creating the Magic Automaton, used it to attack the royal palace and kill the King, then self-destructed and destroyed the entire country. If so, it was only natural that his will and convictions had solidified into a World Shard.

Now, it was time to see what he had left behind.

Duanmu Huai stepped forward. On the table in the room lay a lone key set with a green gemstone. At that moment, a System Prompt appeared before him.

Quest Activated: "Puppet Master's Legacy"

Quest Objective: Obtain the legacy

Quest Description: Earn the recognition of the Puppet Master's final will and obtain his legacy!

"Tch, this is a little troublesome."

Duanmu Huai frowned at the sight.

Obtaining these fragments required passing all kinds of trials, which could generally be divided into three types.

The first was helping the will within the fragment fulfill its wish.

The second was defeating the challenge within the fragment and proving one's strength.

The last was simpler, but also more troublesome. You had to share the same ideals as the will within the fragment.

Simply put, if the two of you hit it off and liked each other, he would hand it over directly.

If not—then there was nothing left but a fight.

At this point, players would ask: wasn't this just dialogue choices and favorability? Couldn't they simply pick the options he liked?

Well, of course not.

Because during this kind of exchange, the other party would read the very first thoughts in your mind.

For example, if you entered the consciousness world of a Holy Knight and wanted to obtain his holy sword, he might ask whether you could uphold the virtues of knighthood.

At that point, it was useless for players to make lofty promises. If deep down they were thinking something else, such as I'll sell it for money, or I can use this to gain more power for PvP, then the knight would immediately refuse. After that, the player could either seize it by force or get lost.

However, there was a third method: persuasion.

Thoughts could change. If a player could persuade the will to alter his views and admit that the player had a better point, that would work as well.

Incidentally, being a contrarian did not count.

And the trial Duanmu Huai now faced was exactly this kind.

"I sense your presence, visitor."

Following the cold, hoarse voice, the various parts hanging from the walls began to tremble. Then they flew together and assembled. In the blink of an eye, they formed a puppet head that bore a seventy or eighty percent resemblance to the man from before, staring fixedly at him.

"You have seen my past. So, what do you think of it?"

"You made a mistake, and you made up for it. That's all I can say."

Duanmu Huai quickly gave his opinion. He knew that lying was useless at the level of consciousness. Only the truth would do.

"Yes, that is what I believe as well. I was merely making up for the mistakes I made... Then, young man..."

At this point, the Puppet Master's tone became serious.

"Since you wish to obtain this power, what do you intend to use it for?"

"Fighting, of course."

Duanmu Huai answered without hesitation.

What a joke. If he was not here to fight, why had he come? To sit at home all day feeling sentimental and carving figurines like this guy?

"Fighting again!"

The Puppet Master was instantly enraged.

"Do you people truly have no thoughts beyond fighting?"

"Then I'd like to hear what other thoughts you have."

Duanmu Huai crossed his arms and looked at the Puppet Master before him. People like this were usually artists, and most artists were crazy. Their values were completely different from ordinary people's. He wanted to see what this Puppet Master had to say.

"Puppets are beings that imitate humans, but they will be more perfect than humans. Once they possess souls, they will become even more wonderful beings..."

"Uh, sorry to interrupt."

Seeing how impassioned the Puppet Master had become, Duanmu Huai decisively cut him off.

"Simply put, you want puppets to have souls and become beings more perfect than humans?"

"That's right!"

"And then?"

"...And then???"

The Puppet Master froze, seemingly unable to understand what Duanmu Huai meant.

"Yes. If they have souls, then they are living beings, right? They would no longer be like the puppets you made before, finished the instant you completed carving them. They would grow, mature, think, and observe. Like children. But one day, they would discover that they were not human, not even biological beings. Perhaps they might even be the only unique existence in the entire world, different from everyone else. What would they do then? Have you made any arrangements or plans for them?"

"This..."

Facing Duanmu Huai's question, the Puppet Master was dumbfounded and unable to speak for a moment.

Indeed, as Duanmu Huai had said, a puppet with a soul would no longer be a mere artwork. It would be a life capable of growth.

Then what was the purpose of its existence? What meaning did it have?

Only then did the Puppet Master realize, in shock, what he had done.

"What... what was I doing..."

"..."

Watching the Puppet Master lower his head, Duanmu Huai merely shrugged and said nothing. In fact, as an Inquisitor, he also had taboos. When players chose the Inquisitor class, several taboos would appear. One of them was that an Inquisitor must not create any artificial AI with self-awareness, nor create any similar soul-bearing race. Once that taboo was violated, every skill and attribute of the entire class would be sealed. It was basically equivalent to deleting the character and starting over.

There had been players stubborn enough to try it before, and the outcome was always the same. It had even sparked plenty of debate on the forums. Some players believed that creating life was their own business, while others thought it was indeed wrong to create a life irresponsibly. Duanmu Huai leaned more toward the latter view. He believed that anything worth doing should be seen through to the end. This sort of irresponsible behavior disgusted him.

That was why, although Duanmu Huai liked cats and dogs, he had never kept one. He knew that whether it was a cat or a dog, its lifespan would be shorter than his. No matter how devotedly he cared for it, it would still die before him. Rather than be sad when that day came, he might as well watch cat videos online.

That was why he looked down on artists like the Puppet Master from the bottom of his heart. They were the sort who got carried away for three minutes and only cared about pleasing themselves. They never cared what consequences would follow afterward. They were like those irresponsible people who bought cats or dogs because they were cute, then found feeding them too troublesome and abandoned them after raising them for a while. That was the height of irresponsibility.

Therefore, Duanmu Huai did not hide his thoughts. He also knew that in a clash at the level of consciousness, the other party would certainly understand what he was thinking. There was no point concealing it.

"Perhaps... I really was wrong."

The Puppet Master fell silent for a moment, then raised his head.

"I know what you are thinking. Indeed, I was not a qualified father. Perhaps when I brought her into this world, I never considered this question... So... I hope you can promise me that, no matter what happens, you will take good care of her."

Duanmu Huai frowned at the Puppet Master's request.

"That's hard to promise. You should know that I will face countless battles from now on. There are risks involved."

"I understand. I only hope that you can guide her heart, let her understand humanity, feel humanity, and feel herself..."

At this point, the Puppet Master's expression turned somewhat bitter.

"I'm sorry. This should have been my responsibility, but... I'm afraid I no longer have that opportunity."

"...All right. I don't know whether I can manage it, but I'll do my best."

That was all Duanmu Huai could say. After all, it was not as if he had ever raised a child.

After hearing Duanmu Huai's answer, the Puppet Master nodded. Then he transformed into a pile of parts that scattered across the floor. Duanmu Huai stepped forward, reached out, and grabbed the key.

The next moment, the entire room began to shake.

When Duanmu Huai opened his eyes again, he had returned to reality.

"Good, it's done..."

Duanmu Huai lowered his head to look at the object in his hand, a smile appearing on his face.

He had finally succeeded!

This kitty did an excited backflip here. I never expected to receive an Alliance Leader reward right after starting the book, meow...