On the top floor of a skyscraper in a modern city, in a gorgeous star-rated restaurant. The flickering candlelight casts a soft halo between the two people. Outside the window is a steel jungle with busy traffic and bright lights.
Ian·Bones gently shook the red wine in the goblet, his deep gaze seemed to have penetrated the long years, and his voice was low and calm. "Unfortunately, our relationship ended abruptly before that step."
"Oh? What happened?" Visha held her chin with one hand, Blink's eyes were filled with the light of inquiry. It was really hard for her to imagine what kind of changes could cause the man in front of her who controlled the multiverse and was almost omnipotent to lose his true love.
"The problem Source has actually been buried very early. In the final analysis, it is the resistance of the world." Ian stared at the blood-mellow wine in the cup, with a trace of relief in his tone. "Her parents were very wealthy and were real celebrities, but I was just a poor boy from an ordinary background. After I received my doctorate in astrophysics and mathematics, I chose to stay in university and become a university professor focusing on academics and education."
"At that time, we had already started talking about marriage. However, as I had to contact her parents more frequently, the huge social class difference between us, like an insurmountable gap, was put on the table and tortured again and again."
Ian paused, and her eyes became a little deep. "She actually doesn't care about this. In order to be with me, she was even ready to completely break away from the family. But, I can't do it. I can't watch her give up everything that should belong to her for me."
"In the end, under the tremendous pressure brought by the new job and the double torture of inferiority and pride that haunted me, I took the initiative to end that relationship."
"You? As a university professor?" Visha opened his eyes slightly, as if he had heard some incredible anecdote, "It is really difficult for me to connect that arrogant Arcane Emperor with the scholars who teach and educate people on the podium."
"Why not? I have always loved teaching and sharing unknown knowledge with people who are eager to Truth. This pure pleasure has never changed." Ian smiled slightly.
"Pheobe did mention it to me, saying that this is one of the few shining points in your body." Visha sighed softly, "It's just that, looking at the astonishing wealth and power you have now, which is enough to buy countless worlds, it is really hard to imagine that you would lose the love of your life because of worldly poverty and low self-esteem."
"The love of my life? This word may be overused." Ian shook his head, his tone still calm.
"Isn't it? Look at what you are doing now. By keeping Pheobe and the others by your side, are you trying to use the tenderness of countless women to fill the hole deep in your heart that can never be healed?" Visha pointedly put forward his long-held guess.
Faced with this sharp question, Ian did not use frivolous jokes to deal with it. He was silent for a moment, and the expression on his face became more solemn than ever.
"If I have to find an explanation, maybe it's because in a life that is so long that it is almost eternal, my soul needs more anchor points to anchor my humanity." Ian's voice is low and full of magnetism, "I have witnessed the birth and death of countless universes, and I have also transcended life and death. I must admit that my desire for bondage is far beyond ordinary people. Perhaps from a secular perspective, I am indeed a passionate man; but I prefer to believe that it is my soul that has experienced the baptism of death that has a broad enough capacity to carry and cherish every hard-won emotion."
Visha looked at his serious and deep eyes, and her heart trembled slightly. She did not continue the topic, but picked up the wine glass and took a sip, savoring the mellow aroma of the red wine, and asked softly, "So, what happened next? I guess, the next moment will be the end of your life, right?"
"You guessed it right. After I died, I was reincarnated." Ian calmly stated this fact that could subvert ordinary people's worldview. "I was reincarnated into a world completely dominated by magic, and that world turned out to be a fantasy novel I once read when I was a child."
"Is this... is this really possible?" Visha felt a little unbelievable.
"Involving the underlying dimensional laws of the multiverse, the situation is much more complicated than what I described, but the general context is like this." Ian did not get too entangled in complex academic theories.
Visha nodded and motioned for him to continue.
"After realizing that I was reincarnated into a real Wizarding World, my initial emotion was ecstasy." Ian's mouth curved with a pure arc, "Can you imagine? That feeling is like a scholar who has been groping in the dark for half a life and suddenly sees the key to the ultimate Truth of the universe. I can't wait to explore the essence of magic and analyze the deepest mysteries of this world."
"To this day, I can still clearly recall the shock when I first released the spell. The shuddering feeling that my soul resonated with the laws of heaven and earth was like lifting a veil on the surface of the universe with my own hands."
However, the smile on Ian's face only lasted for a short moment, and then completely converged as if it had been chilled Freeze.
"Unfortunately, that kind of pure happiness and joy did not last long."
"In this cruel world, beautiful things are always so short-lived, aren't they?" Visha sighed empathetically.
Ian also picked up the wine glass and took a sip, as if to suppress the bitterness in his throat.
"I quickly discovered in despair that the time of my reincarnation was during the most turbulent and darkest period of war in the world. As for my parents in that life? They were just marginal figures who did not even deserve to have names in that Cataclysm and were sacrificed in the flames of war early. What's worse is that my astonishing magical talent not only did not become my Umbrella, but instead became a talisman that could push me into Abyss that would never be recovered."
Visha sat there quietly, as the most attentive listener, without saying a word.
"In order to change their inevitable fate, I tried my best and even spent everything I had to try to reverse their fate. But in the end, everything was in vain." Ian's voice contained a rare tremor of depression.
"I clearly remember the day when my aunt brought me the news that they had died in battle. The overwhelming sadness, despair, and bone-deep feeling of powerlessness almost tore my soul apart completely."
"Although I retain the memory of my previous life, and there is an adult man's soul in that child's body, I still love them deeply without reservation. To this day, I can't tell whether it is because they gave me the most selfless and pure love as a human soul in two lives, or because of the inseparable nature in the blood. But these are no longer important."
"The important thing is that their departure completely destroyed me. I fell into extreme depression and Self isolation, as if I had fallen into a bottomless cold Abyss."
Ian changed his posture and leaned his back slightly on the back of the chair, as if he was unloading some kind of heavy burden.
"Looking back now, it was really a terrifying and dark time. The extreme loneliness and hatred of fate gnawed at my sanity day and night like a poisonous snake. At that time, my magical attainments had reached an extremely dangerous critical point. If I had not been able to recover from that Climbing out of a Abyss, with my talent, what the world will eventually face will definitely not be some the Chosen One, but a terrifying demon king who is enough to completely Annihilation the entire plane."
Hearing this, Visha's body trembled uncontrollably. As a former adventurer, she knew all too well what horrific disasters would happen once a highly talented mage fell into darkness. What's more, the man's methods in front of her had already been used in the past few days. I have seen it with my own eyes - he can even play with Law of Time in the palm of his hand. If such a person is completely black, then the so-called Demon King's Army outside Axel Town can hardly even be considered a game of house in front of him.
"So, what is the force that pulled you back from the edge of destruction?" Visha asked softly, his eyes full of fear and curiosity.
"It's my aunt." Ian took a deep breath, "I will never forget the exact words she said to me at that time: 'Ian, magic is a powerful force that can create miracles - as long as you are strong enough, even reversing life and death, Resurrection the dead, is not impossible.'"
"This sentence is too dangerous for a magic genius who has fallen into despair." Visha pointed out the key point keenly.
"You're right. She later confessed to me that the reason she came up with this crazy concept at that time was just to give me a way to survive and distract me from my extremely dangerous attention. She didn't believe that anyone could truly bring the dead back to life. Her original plan was to wait until I grew up a little and matured, and then slowly guide me to accept the reality."
"Could it be that..." Visha seemed to have guessed something.
"I have occasionally reflected recently, was it because of the seed she planted that led me to embark on that taboo-filled path without hesitation? In order to explore the ultimate mysteries of life, I began to conduct inhumane human experiments without any scruples, and began to ignore all moral bottom lines to deduce the darkest and most twisted magic."
"Is it really because of her?"
"Most likely not." Ian shook his head mockingly, "With my almost pathological desire for Truth, it is only a matter of time before I touch those taboo areas. When a person's power expands to the point where he can ignore secular rules, and if there is no matching moral shackles, falling into darkness is simply an inevitable outcome."
"If you need to rely on external laws to constrain your bottom line, that is indeed a very scary thing." Visha commented pertinently.
"I have a very clear understanding of this." Ian shrugged indifferently, "As for my story, that actually ends here. Later, I studied magic crazily, and finally found a way to cross the boundary between life and death and Resurrection my parents. Law. In this process, my greed and ambition for knowledge also completely expanded. In order to more efficiently plunder Truth in various dimensions, I single-handedly created the Arcane Empire across the star sea, and recruited countless talented wizards to serve me."
Visha was completely speechless. This man actually used an understatement as if he was talking about "the weather is nice today" and summarized his extraordinary feat of coming back from the dead and establishing the interdimensional Empire.
"Okay, you win." Visha smiled bitterly, "Compared to your magnificent epic, my life is as dull as a glass of boiled water."
"I was born in a remote town on the border of the Belzerg Kingdom. It was originally a place isolated from the rest of the world, until one day, Demon King's Army's iron hoofs leveled the place without warning. Although my family survived the war, I witnessed with my own eyes the cruelty Purgatory that Demons created in the world."
Visha's eyes became distant, as if he had returned to that war-torn era.
"In order to have the power to protect others, I chose to become an adventurer. Perhaps because of God's blessing, I showed an amazing talent in ice magic. I frantically accepted crusade missions and showed no mercy to the Demon King's Army on the battlefield. Soon, I became famous among the adventurers, and they gave me a resounding title-[Ice Witch]."
"It was indeed a glorious time that is nostalgic." Visha's lips curved into a sad smile.
"However, the good times did not last long. During an extremely dangerous dungeon raid, my companions were struck by an unsolvable fatal curse. In order to save them, I exhausted all means, and finally found that the only solution was to seek the power of Demons. So, I found Vanir, the cadre of the Demon King's Army, accepted his conditions, and transformed myself into an immortal lich."
"After turning into a lich, I joined Demon King's Castle alone and reached a deal with the Demon King. I promised to help him maintain the outermost magic barrier of the castle, and in exchange, he had to strictly order Demon King's Army to stop Carnage against innocent civilians. After the agreement was reached, I retired to Axel Town and opened a magic item shop of my own."
Speaking of her own shop, Visha couldn't help but blush with embarrassment. Although she has lived for so many years, read countless ancient magic books, and has reached a level of strength that is difficult for mortals to reach, her talent in business management can be said to be disaster-level.
To this day, if it weren't for Vanir's mysterious disappearance and return, and forcibly taking over the financial power of the store, her shabby store that has been losing money all year round would have closed down long ago because it could not pay the rent.
Seeing her embarrassed and cute look, Ian couldn't help but smile gently.
In the following time, the two no longer discussed those heavy pasts, but began to exchange their respective views on magic, the universe, and different civilizations.
This date did not end in one night. In the following three months, Ian put aside all the complicated government affairs and experiments, and took Visha to travel to countless colorful worlds. He They once wandered on an alien planet made of pure Crystal, and also dived into the deep sea to witness the civilization of the ancient Kraken. During this long inter-dimensional journey, their souls resonated deeply, and their bond became deeper and deeper.
Three months later, Ian finally brought Visha back to the Arcane Empire's core underground laboratory in this world.
"Is this why you specifically asked me for a blood sample before?"
Visha stood in front of a huge cultivation cabin that exuded a dark green light, staring inside with dumbfounded eyes. In the nutrient solution, quietly suspended a flawless female body. The facial features, figure, and even the texture of every inch of the body were exactly the same as her own!
"That's right." Ian walked to the console and skillfully awakened the system, "This is a clone that perfectly matches your current soul fluctuation. As long as you complete the soul transfer operation, you can completely get rid of the curse of the lich and regain a flesh and blood body full of vitality. Of course, before the transfer, I also need to use Death Staff to make some extremely small fine-tuning of your soul structure to ensure nothing goes wrong."
Unlike Empire's local subordinates who relied on "Death Authority" to forcibly transform into undead, Visha's transformation was completed by relying on the native magic of this world, so Ian is fully capable of using Law of Death to forcibly reverse this process.
"I thought... the reason why you wanted me to join you in the first place was because you took a fancy to my status as a high-level undead and wanted to use my political value to help Empire better manage those undead regiments?" Visha looked at him in astonishment.
"Arcane Empire has an extremely complete management system. I don't need to sacrifice your future for that trivial political convenience." Ian's tone was plain, but it showed absolute Haki.
"But wouldn't it be more beneficial to you if I remained a lich?"
Ian frowned slightly, turned around and looked at her seriously. "I always thought that you dreamed of turning back into a normal human being."
The price you have to pay to become a lich is extremely painful: your body will always be in a freezing cold state, you will lose the ability to taste most delicacies, you will never have the ability to give birth to offspring, you will not be able to fall asleep (although this may be an advantage for some workaholics), and you will have to bear the deep-rooted prejudice and discrimination against undead creatures in secular society.
Of course, in exchange, the lich also received huge magic power that ordinary people could not match, eternal youth, and a lifespan of nearly Infinity.
"In the first few years after I transformed into a lich, I really longed to turn back into a human all the time." Visha looked at the clone in the culture chamber, his eyes became a little complicated, and finally smiled with relief, "However, after spending a long time in this form, I have completely accepted it. This power, this cold body, has become an inseparable part of my soul."
"I understand." Ian did not force it, but decisively cut off the energy source of the culture cabin. "Now that you have made your choice, we will launch another set of backup plans tailored for you."
Ian led Visha into another room Chamber of Secrets deep in the laboratory. Following his instructions, the holographic projection unfolded in mid-air, and massive magic data and complicated soul architecture diagrams instantly occupied the entire space.
"The final route I plan for you is to use the ultimate law of 'Soul Duality'." Ian pointed at the soul map that was divided into two and showed black and white on the projection, with a hint of fanaticism in his voice.
"I will deeply reshape your soul so that you are compatible with two completely opposite extreme attributes at the same time! You will simultaneously become the 'Undead Calamity' who controls death, and the 'Paladin' who spreads divine light! The absolute positive side of kindness and compassion in your soul will be responsible for controlling pure light and Holy Magic; while the cold, undead negative side of your soul will continue to control negative energy and necromancy!"
'This idea is simply a perfect Yin and Yang Arcanist...' Ian sighed secretly in his heart, and then refocused his attention on the explanation.
"According to the conventional arcane theory, if I want a body to accommodate these two absolutely mutually exclusive laws at the same time, I must forcibly implant a 'Artificial Secondary Soul' in your body as a buffer. However, after this period of observation, I found that the characteristics of your soul are simply a miracle that is rare in millions of years!"
Ian's eyes became extremely hot. "You have a pure, kind heart, and a benevolent heart that is always eager to protect the weak; but at the same time, when facing those unforgivable enemies, you have shown frightening extreme killing and Wrath. Your soul itself perfectly fits the balance of this binary opposition! Therefore, this surgery is a perfect match for you!"
"You mean... once the operation is successful, I will no longer be afraid of Holy Purification Magic?" Visha was so shocked that he took a breath. For any undead, purification magic is the absolute natural enemy engraved deep in the genes.
"It's not just that you are not afraid." Ian raised a proud smile on his lips, "On the contrary, you will become the absolute Overlord who can harness the power of Holy Purification!"
"This sounds... so crazy. Is this surgery very risky?" Visha swallowed.
"If it were in the hands of others, this would be a taboo of death. But as long as it is done by me personally, nothing could go wrong. What's more, I have prepared dozens of sets of extremely complete soul backup protection mechanisms for you. Even if there is an extremely small probability accident, I can keep you safe and sound." Ian gave the firmest guarantee.
Visha Looking at the man in front of him who exuded infinite confidence, the last trace of doubt in his heart completely disappeared.
She took a deep breath, and her eyes became firmer than ever.
"Okay, I trust you completely."
"In that case, let us begin this miracle of witnessing the sublimation of the soul."