Taylor's Darkness

After opening his eyes, Kano sensed everything around him from his own perspective for the first time. He was no longer observing everything through Taylor's perspective.

Although this body was quite sluggish to operate and lacked touch and smell, possessing only hearing and sight, it was truly a brand-new experience for Kano—an experience that belonged solely to him, rather than one shared with Taylor and Bobby.

He lowered his head and looked at his robot-like palms, as well as the energy patterns formed by the sorcery runes attached to their surfaces, sensing the thick magic channels deep within his body's structure.

From his face and torso to his legs, arms, and hands, there were links between the energy patterns and sorcery runes, along with some finer sorcery arrays attached to his hands and legs.

Kano roughly examined his current Magic Mech body. He could now manipulate wind elements with his left hand to cast wind blades, gather fire elements with his right hand to release fireballs, and both feet were enchanted with Gale Spell, allowing him to fly briefly at critical moments.

His chest contained a "heart" used to hold magic ore and provide energy.

Though it was not a flesh-and-blood body and possessed only hearing and sight, Kano was already very satisfied. At least now, he could exist independently for a while, couldn't he?

"How do you feel now?"

After hearing Taylor's voice, Kano took a full half minute to react. He seemed to be adapting to the feeling of hearing a voice by himself, rather than sharing senses and information.

"I... I'm fine... quite good."

After pondering for a long while, Kano finally spoke his first words through the amplification array specially designed in the Magic Mech's throat, along with its throat-like mechanism. It was the first sentence others could hear from him.

"How does the new body feel? How are the magic channel connections, the operation of the energy patterns, the sorcery arrays enchanted into your hands and feet, and the functioning of the sorcery runes?"

Although Kano's voice was harsh and dry, like the sound of two grinders scraping against each other, Taylor was still delighted.

In his heart, Bobby and Kano were his closest people, as well as his only two family members in this world.

Still, having the three of them share one body was somewhat unfair to Kano and Bobby. If this method worked, he could also attach Bobby to a Magic Mech and let him experience a brand-new life.

As the primary consciousness, all aspects of the secondary consciousnesses had originated from it. Naturally, Taylor could sense Kano's excitement and exhilaration.

"There's... nothing wrong with this body overall. The magic channel connections... the operation of the energy patterns... they're all nearly perfect. Thank you, Taylor."

As he grew more familiar with the body, Kano no longer spoke so haltingly. His voice remained harsh and unpleasant, but his sentences had become much smoother.

As another of Taylor's personalities, the lazy Bobby was filled with longing and envy as he watched Kano gain his new body.

He wanted a body of his own as well—one that could bask in the sunlight, drink hot tea, and do things that interested him. He wanted to lounge in the sun every day, listening to music and idling away comfortably.

Sensing Bobby's desire, Taylor smiled and reassured him. "Don't worry. You'll have a Magic Mech body of your own in the future too. And I'll definitely find a way to give you flesh-and-blood bodies someday."

"Ho ho ho~~~~ That's amazing, Taylor. Thank you, then."

The plans and design process for the Lava Golem had to be sped up...

Bobby's voice was still as frivolous and unreliable as ever, but Taylor could hear Bobby's sincerity and gratitude within it.

Kano, standing beside Taylor, was also looking at him with gratitude and respect in his eyes.

As secondary consciousnesses, no matter what decisions Taylor made or what he ordered them to do, they would never resist. They belonged to Taylor, the primary consciousness, from the depths of their hearts and souls. Not even the slightest malicious thought would arise within them.

Yet he could clearly sense that ever since they had been born, Taylor had always communicated with them as equals. He respected their thoughts and treated them like family.

He could clearly have treated them as useful tools, but Taylor insisted on treating them as family.

Though they had been born from Taylor, they had long since become independent consciousnesses with personalities and emotions of their own. Taylor's actions made them feel valued and respected.

Their innate loyalty and obedience toward the primary consciousness, combined with Taylor's recognition of them as equals, his respect, and the promise he had just made, led Kano and Bobby alike to decide that they would devote everything they had to Taylor's path as a Wizard.

It was not simply following orders, nor was it coercion or compulsion. It was a decision and acknowledgment that came completely from the depths of their hearts.

They might be dark and cruel; they might be lazy and indolent. Yet they had their own pursuit as well: to make Taylor the strongest and most knowledgeable Wizard.

Since Kano believed his new body was satisfactory for now, Taylor turned to pack up his potions, tools, equipment, and other belongings, preparing for the battle ahead.

Kano closed his eyes and continued adjusting to his new body while thinking about other matters.

In his view, Taylor was calm and composed, with principles and convictions of his own. That was a good quality for a White Wizard.

What he admired now was that Taylor had his own bottom line without being rigidly dogmatic. He neither rejected nor resented the wars waged by Wizards or the plundering of resources and knowledge. As a White Wizard, he was highly suited to the role.

He was neither chaotic and cruel nor sanctimoniously rigid. He had his own principles, rules, and bottom line; he held his own aspirations and curiosity toward all things; and he possessed his own unique pursuit and understanding of knowledge.

However, as the embodiment of Taylor's dark side, cruel thoughts, and negative emotions, Kano knew well that the world did not always operate according to Taylor's principles. Sometimes, doing dark and cruel things for one's own sake was difficult to avoid—perhaps even impossible to avoid.

He did not want Taylor to break his convictions and bottom line. Therefore, he would be the one to handle those filthy matters. He was willing to become Taylor's darkness, forever hiding in the shadows and dealing with everything Taylor was unwilling to do, as well as hidden threats.

Things like hostage-taking, betrayal, even slaughter and extermination—he could handle them all. After all, he had no real bottom line or convictions.

Sometimes, the world was simply that strange. At first, Kano had regarded Taylor's convictions and principles as signs of weakness, yet now he instead admired those convictions and bottom line, even wanting to help preserve them.

For Wizards who wielded extraordinary power, once certain convictions and bottom lines were broken, they would become chaotic monsters of power without rules.

Sometimes, convictions and bottom lines were not meant to restrain a person, but to protect them.

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