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 remains that had once been nothing but broken walls and rubble grew blurry in his eyes, replaced by shattered phantoms.

This was not a scene from this world. In fact, it 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 everything in the world—past, present, and future. Most of the time, when something in reality was destroyed or eliminated, its reflection naturally vanished along with it. But some reflections did not disappear. Perhaps because of 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 their shadow stuck in place, or their corpse refusing to disappear. It was roughly that kind of situation. Of course, in a game, you could just reload or refresh the area, but reality clearly did not offer such conveniences.

And it was not entirely harmless, either. Game bugs could cause crashes, block quests, or trigger infinite respawns. These reflections "stuck" in Warp Space could cause problems as well. For example, in many worlds, they affected reality in forms resembling ghosts or spirits.

These fragments were of little use to most people, but Soul Walkers were different.

Not only could they find these fragments and enter them, they could even control them and turn them to their own use!

That was an incredibly powerful ability!

After all, many ancient civilizations possessed all sorts of powerful knowledge and abilities. Yet much of that knowledge and power had been buried beneath the dust of history. Even Sacred Gears could be destroyed—but projected scenes within Warp Space were different!

They would exist forever and never perish!

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

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

Yet that was not the only benefit of these fragments.

Just as described earlier, these fragments were collections of bugs. In other words, each one was self-contained. That meant that although they existed in Warp Space, the fragments would not be attacked by Demons! For Psykers, they were practically the ideal refuge!

As long as they possessed these fragment projections, Psykers could hide their soul projections in Warp Space inside a safe. No matter how much Psychic Power they used, it would be difficult for outside Demons to discover them.

It was like putting a mouse inside a safe. Even if you released a hundred cats outside, no matter how much the mouse caused trouble inside the safe, the cats would never find it.

Different fragments came in different sizes. The smallest might only be a house, while the largest... might be an entire universe.

One could imagine just how formidable a Soul Walker with a universe would be.

When Duanmu Huai had unearthed this ability before his transmigration, he had already been in the midgame. He had regretted it deeply, because Star Sea Online was a dynamic, real-time game. In other words, a place you had visited before might later disappear or be rebuilt for various reasons. Some ruin dungeons might vanish after being cleared. If he had discovered this skill's true use when he first awakened it, his path to leveling would have been far smoother. By then, he might have become the strongest player in Star Sea Online—without equal.

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

What mattered most now was finding complete fragments.

While thinking, Duanmu Huai strolled through the ruin's projection. Looking around, the nearby scenery was much the same as the ruins he had seen before, except that without the covering layer of sand and soil, the city's appearance was somewhat clearer.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Duanmu Huai suddenly spotted a point of lamplight on a hillside not far outside the city... His interest immediately piqued, and he hurried toward it.

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

"Creak...!"

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

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

Duanmu Huai froze when he saw those arms, then looked closer and realized they were all wooden prosthetics.

Still, hanging so densely from the ceiling under the candlelight... they were indeed rather unsettling.

Then, suddenly, a voice rang out.

"At last, the day has come when I can use my strength to protect my country."

Along with those words, a translucent, ghostlike male figure silently appeared before Duanmu Huai. His face was filled with excitement and fervor as he waved his arms.

"With this power, my country will never again have to suffer the hardships of war, nor fear invasion. Everyone will be able to live peaceful, tranquil lives!!"

Duanmu Huai simply stood there and watched quietly. This scene was not unfamiliar to him. Every fragment fortunate enough to remain intact contained the creator's intense thoughts and convictions. Clearly, this young man had been the owner of this house.

After saying those words, the man vanished, and Duanmu Huai continued forward. Soon, he passed through the entryway and arrived inside, where the first thing he saw was a wooden workbench. Judging from the prosthetics arranged nearby, this man had likely been a Puppet Master.

"Puppets are wonderful beings..."

At that moment, the man's figure appeared again. Sitting in a chair, he seemed to be carefully crafting something.

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

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

Duanmu Huai glanced at the worktable before him and continued onward. Yet just as he reached the entrance to the next room...

"Crash!!"

A cup suddenly flew out and smashed heavily against the floor. Duanmu Huai leaned forward and looked into the room. What appeared to be a study was now a complete mess. The table had been overturned, and the teacups and teapot lay shattered. The man sat in his chair, panting heavily. His face looked incredibly aged, whether from time or from 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 blood-soaked invader, an executioner!!"

The man roared like a beast, clutching his head as his entire body shook and trembled. Then, as though making 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 and placed something on the table, then let out a sigh.

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

After saying that, the man turned around and walked out of the room with an expression of absolute resolve, disappearing from sight.

So that was it.

Having witnessed everything, 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 this country's former Demon Puppet Legion, but his original intention had only been to protect the country. He had never expected the King to use the puppet army he created to invade other nations. Elisa had said that the King had eventually grown so swollen with ambition that he intended to create a Magic Automaton capable of conquering the entire world. That was likely what had finally driven the man to resolve himself to utterly destroy both him and his ambitions. If Duanmu Huai's guess was correct, then the man had ultimately succeeded in creating the Magic Automaton, used that powerful construct to attack the Royal Palace and kill the King, then self-destructed and destroyed the entire country. In that case, his will and conviction truly would have easily solidified into a World Shard.

Now, let's see what he had left behind here.

Duanmu Huai stepped forward and saw a key embedded with a green gemstone lying alone on the room's table. At that moment, several System Prompts appeared before him.

Quest Activated: "Puppet Master's Legacy"

Quest Objective: Obtain the legacy

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

"Tch, this is a little troublesome."

Duanmu Huai frowned at the sight.

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

One was helping the will within the fragment fulfill its wish.

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

The final type was simpler, but also more troublesome: you had to share the same ideals as the will inside the fragment.

Simply put, if the two of you hit it off and saw eye to eye, it would hand the fragment over directly.

If you did not—then fighting was the only option.

At this point, players might ask: wasn't it just dialogue choices and affection points? Couldn't they simply choose according to the other party's preferences?

Well, of course not.

Because during this sort of exchange, the other party could read the first thoughts that arose in your mind.

For example, if you entered a Holy Knight's world of will and wanted to obtain his Holy Sword, he might ask whether you could uphold the virtues of a Knight.

At that point, no matter how eloquently the player spoke, it would be useless if they harbored other thoughts deep down, such as I'll sell it for money or I can use this to become stronger in PK. The Knight would reject them immediately. Then 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 change its mind and admit the player's reasoning was more sound, that could work too.

Incidentally, being a contrarian would not work.

And that was precisely the trial Duanmu Huai now had to face.

"I sense your presence, visitor."

With that cold, hoarse voice, the various parts hanging from the surrounding 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 to eighty percent resemblance to the man from before, glaring 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 lying was useless on the level of consciousness. Only the truth would do.

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

At this point, the Puppet Master's tone turned solemn.

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

"Fighting, of course."

Duanmu Huai answered without hesitation.

What kind of question is that? If I weren't here to fight, why would I come here? To sit at home every day like you, brooding over Spring and Autumn Annals while carving figurines?

"Fighting again!"

Upon hearing that, the Puppet Master flew into a rage.

"Do you people have no thoughts beyond fighting?"

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

Duanmu Huai folded his arms and looked at the Puppet Master before him. People like this were basically artists, and most artists were mentally unwell, with values completely unlike ordinary people's. He wanted to see what this Puppet Master had to say.

"Puppets imitate humans, but they can be more perfect than humans. Once they possess souls, they will become even more marvelous beings..."

"Uh, sorry to interrupt."

Seeing the Puppet Master grow so impassioned, Duanmu Huai decisively cut him off.

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

"That's right!"

"And then?"

"...And then???"

Hearing that, the Puppet Master froze, seemingly unable to understand what Duanmu Huai meant.

"Yes. Since you say it would have a soul, that means it would be a living being, right? It would no longer be like the puppets you made before, complete the moment you finished carving them. It would grow, mature, think, and observe. Like a child. But one day, it would discover that it was not human—not even a biological creature. It might even be the only unique being in the world, different from everyone else. What would it do then? Have you made any arrangements or plans?"

"This..."

Faced with Duanmu Huai's question, the Puppet Master stared blankly, unable to say anything for a moment.

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

Then what was its existence for? What meaning did it have?

Only at that moment did the Puppet Master realize in shock what he had done.

"I... What exactly have I been doing..."

"..."

Watching the Puppet Master lower his head, Duanmu Huai shrugged and said nothing. In truth, as an Inquisitor, he had taboos of his own. 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 account and starting over.

There had been players stubborn enough to test it before, and the results had always been the same. It had even sparked plenty of debate on the forums. Some players believed that creating life was their own business, while others believed that irresponsibly creating a life truly was not a good thing. Duanmu Huai leaned more toward the latter view. He believed that one should see things through from beginning to end. This sort of irresponsible behavior was deeply unpleasant.

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

From the bottom of his heart, he looked down on artists like this Puppet Master. They were the sort to get swept up in a burst of enthusiasm for three minutes, caring only about their own enjoyment. They never cared about the consequences once that enjoyment was over. Just like irresponsible people who bought cats and dogs because they thought them cute, only to abandon them after a while because feeding and caring for them became too troublesome. That was utterly devoid of responsibility.

Therefore, Duanmu Huai did not hide his thoughts. He also knew that in a clash on the level of consciousness, the other party would certainly understand what he was thinking. Concealing it would be meaningless.

"Perhaps... I truly was wrong."

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

"I know what you are thinking. Indeed, I am not a qualified father. Perhaps when I brought her into this world, I never considered that question... So... I hope you can promise me that, no matter what, 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 be facing countless battles from now on. There are risks."

"I understand. I hope you can guide her heart, help her understand humans, experience humans, experience herself..."

At that point, the Puppet Master's expression became somewhat bitter.

"I'm sorry. This was originally what I should have done, but... I fear I no longer have that opportunity."

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

That was all Duanmu Huai could say. After all, he had never raised a child before.

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

The next moment, the entire room began to tremble.

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 an Alliance Leader reward right after starting the book, meow...