The figure raised his head, revealing an aged face, its wrinkles piled together like thick layers of volcanic rock.
He leaned on a cane. Unlike a normal human, half his face was entirely mechanical, and long mechanical arms were implanted into his hunched body, one after another. Yet it all looked so unreal, for his figure was illusory, as though he might vanish at any moment.
"Sch-Scholar?!"
Silver Fantasy recognized him. Her gaze was icy, and although she was startled, she did not show it.
But hadn't Ether already devoured him?!
Why was he here?
No.
Although he looked somewhat similar, he seemed to lack something compared with Scholar.
He...
"You noticed-"
The aged figure leaned on his cane, showing no hostility, only what seemed like profound exhaustion and age.
"The real Scholar has already been devoured-I am not him-or rather-I am a part of him-before ascending to become the mechanical deity known as Scholar-I served as the chief grand mentor of the Mechanical God Priest-and could also be considered the first Mechanical Priest Governor-"
At those words, Silver Fantasy's pupils abruptly trembled.
She swiftly searched her memory banks for relevant information. In an instant, she found the corresponding records and documents in her database.
"It's you?!"
The images in her database gradually overlapped with the old man's appearance.
The Mechanical God Priest had been Scholar's precursor before his ascension. It was an institution that brought together all the leading scientists, mechanics, and finest researchers of their entire Machine Intelligence Civilization, standing at the very forefront of its technological research. They had founded the Mechanical God Priest organization before ascending.
And they had been the predecessors of the being later known as Scholar.
The Chief Governor of the Mechanical God Priest at the time had been named Karen. He was