"You're the Legendary Arcanist?" asked Hernandes.
"So, you've heard of me," said Edward with a smile. "Your Lord God is faster than I anticipated."
Hernandes did not know how to react. The being before him was a Tier 8 powerhouse. Tier 8 was the pinnacle in the entire Samsara Hall, and there probably were only 30 of them despite the millions of reincarnators.
"I would ask you for information, but I guess you'll die the moment you try to answer them," added Edward and Hernandes quickly nodded his head, hoping this Arcanist would be kindhearted to let him go. Although he knew such a thing was only possible in his dream.
"Your facial expression changed after looking at the watch, so you must have received the information about my arrival from it," he commented as he looked at the black watch. However, the thing was empty, and he could not see anything.
"Is it linked to his visual cortex?" he muttered before pointing his eyes in front of Hernandes's eyes, accessing his retina and visual cortex.
"Nothing? Then, it must be linked to his Soul," he analyzed. "Morgana."
"Yes, master," replied the little elf with purple.
"Scan the watch and give me an analysis."
"Ai, Ai, Captain," she replied before looking intensely at the watch. A few minutes later, she said with a frown, "The material of this watch is very unique. I've never seen such a complex atomic structure."
"What did you find?"
"By my preliminary analysis, this thing seems indestructible–even more than the magicium you created."
"So, it can even survive Void Energy?"
"Yes, it could probably survive a Void Energy Bomb capable of destroying hundreds of timelines."
Edward was surprised; a hundred timelines equaled 100 universes.
"Anything else?"
"That's the issue. I can analyze the material of the watch, but I am clueless about the technology of this watch. In my eyes, it's nothing but a well-crafted metal."
"That means the technology is beyond something we have ever come in contact with."
"Yes, which is both good and bad news," nodded Morgana. The bad news is they are clueless, but the good news is the Empire will benefit immensely by deciphering this technology. Even analyzing the material composition of the watch will benefit them.
Meanwhile, Hernandes was speechless by their conversation. He heard many Casters and scientists tried to analyze the Samsara Watch but failed to identify the material. But these two figured it out in a few minutes.
As for Void Energy? He has heard of it since the Samsara Hall sells it, but the price is simply ridiculous. Furthermore, a Tier 7 Immortal Cultivator once tried to study Void Energy to create a powerful spell to fight above his Tier. Unfortunately, something went wrong, and the energy annihilated him.
So, Void Energy is considered taboo in the Samsara Hall, even amongst the Tier Mages, Scientists, or other power systems.
Edward looked at Hernandes, "The Lord God should have placed some restrictions in your soul in case you tried to reveal its secret. Let's search for it."
With a glance, he entered Hernandes' Soul Dimension, which was an all-white space. He knew this was the surface level, and most go deeper to find the latter's soul and secrets.
Edward took one step, and the surroundings changed. He saw an image of a younger Hernandez being rejected by a beautiful woman with black hair. That night, the latter drank too much before finding a black watch.
The watch asked him, [Do you want to know the meaning of life? Yes/No]
Drunk and filled with numerous emotions, Hernandes chose yes and became a reincarnator. The exciting thing is he did not regret that choice since the Samsara Hall allowed him to live a more thrilling and fulfilling life. As for the risk of death, Hernandes believed death was easier than the pain he suffered that night.
"Interesting kid," commented Edward. He knew this was the second layer of the Soul Dimension, often in the form of a core memory of its owner. But he needed to reach the third layer. He took one more space, and the scene changed again.
He looked at a castle in the distance. The third layer is usually where the soul resides and where Arcanists leave their protection; it could be in the form of castles like Hernandes, massive walls, a labyrinth, an armada of spaceships, or even a simple computer with encrypted passwords.
"Such a poor soul defense." Edward shook his head before turning into motes of lights and infiltrating the castle. After a few minutes, he found Hernandes' soul in one of the weapons rooms.
"How did you get in here?" Hernandes spent a lot of Samsara Points to buy a soul-defensive treasure from an Immortal Cultivator. Most reincarnators will do the same, knowing the importance of the soul.
"Kid, if I could have forcefully summoned your soul to the first layer if I did not want to be careful and not injure you."
"First Layer? What's that?"
Edward paused as he forgot this person probably knew little to nothing about the soul.
"Forget it. Please don't resist and make my job more challenging."
Hernandes snorted coldly, "This is my Sea of Consciousness. According to the cultivator's methods, I am God and omnipotent in this place."
As he said these words, his soul body grew to 20 meters, wearing golden armor and two hammers.
"Ridiculous," uttered Edward as a strange wave emanated from his body. Immediately, Hernandes's body shrunk, and a rope tied him up, rendering him immobile.
"Even if you have the home advantage, the difference between my soul and yours is comparable to a small rock, and the sun, not to mention you have zero to little knowledge about the soul."
Although Hernandes used Psychic Energy, it was not the type that mainly originated from the soul but the type that relied on the evolution of the brain and DNA. So, his advantage in the Soul Dimension was less apparent than other Psychic Users. Furthermore, he was only Tier 3.
"You seem to have read too many cultivation novels," commented Edward as he analyzed the latter's soul.
"My dream is to be a supreme cultivator."
"Then, why are you using the Psychic System?"
"I don't have a Spirit Root, so I wanted to save enough points to buy the best Spirit Root for cultivation."
"Saving Points? With your level, that's a stupid tactic."
Survival is the main theme of the Samsara Hall, so reincarnators should increase their strength as soon as possible in the early stages to ensure their survival. Only after reaching a certain Tier should they think about saving points and so on.
Hernandes smiled embarrassedly. Many people said the same thing to him, but he was stubborn. Now, he understood how stupid he was.
"Found it," muttered Edward as he found a small character embedded in Hernandes' soul
'As expected, this Lord God did not place the contract in the fourth layer; he's a weak one amongst his kind.'
The Empire recently discovered the fourth layer of the Soul Dimension, where they believed the Soul Essence resides. As the name implies, it is the source and origin of the soul; it is the place that grants the soul its semi-immortality and, most likely, the site where the source of the Human Limit originated from.
Unfortunately, the research on that level is still in the preliminary stages, so even Edward knows very little about the fourth layer.
Edward focused on the characters in Hernandes' body. The character gave up an ancient and noble aura; it was like it was the beginning of everything, the source of something mighty.
Many thoughts flashed across Edward's mind as he felt he had caught into something. A few seconds later, he muttered with shock, "Is this an Origin Rune?"
