Chapter 299: The Audit
The Primary Laboratory.
The gargantuan space was a void of sound, save for the low, rhythmic hum of
pulsing runes. The walls, ceiling, and floor were etched with a dizzying web of
Mana-circuits. Blue light flowed through these conduits, casting the entire
chamber in the deep, bioluminescent glow of an ocean floor.
Lia stood upon the central audit-dais, her body as still as an obsidian statue.
Hundreds of translucent energy-conduits extended from the perimeter, one end
anchored to the wall's energy cores, the other adhered to every individual bone
in Lia's frame.
Skele-Avarice stood at the control console, his bony fingers dancing across the
runic panels. His movements were a blur of high-speed input. Complex detection
arrays manifested in the air, rotating, deconstructing, and vanishing only to be
replaced by higher-tier iterations.
Skele-Lust stood beside him, clutching a ledger. Her pen was a frantic needle,
recording the data points of Avarice's breakthrough in real-time.
"Soul-density: Standard baseline. Zero fluctuation recorded." "Mana-circuit
integrity: Complete. No obstructions. Zero anomalous growths detected." "Bone
density: 12.7% higher than standard conversion batch. Categorized as residual
pre-life modification."
Avarice's voice echoed through the vaulted laboratory. Lust didn't look up, her
pen never stopping its race across the parchment.
Suddenly, Avarice's voice cut off.
Lust's pen stopped instantly. She looked up, staring at Avarice's back.
"Clarify."
Avarice's tone shifted, losing its clinical edge. "General..."
"Identify this variable."
On the primary diagnostic array, a specific sector had flared with a pulse of
angry, red warning-light. The location was localized within Lia's cranium,
pressed tightly against her soul-core. It was a microscopic pocket of energy
that defied standard parsing.
Lust stepped forward, her gaze locking onto the display. "Magnify sector."
The command was executed. The array zoomed inward, peeling back layers of
magical interference until the anomaly was clear.
It was a small, independent energy structure. It was linked to the primary
soul-core by several hair-thin, nearly invisible threads of Od. But
fundamentally, its essence was that of a separate entity.
Both Avarice and Lust vocalized the same uncertain realization.
"A soul fragment?"
Next to Lia's primary core sat a distinct, secondary shard.
After a few seconds of tactical processing, Lust's face split into a grin of
manic scientific ecstasy. "I see the logic!"
"Her archives! They were never stored within her primary core!"
"A segment of her memory was partitioned into this independent fragment!"
"During a standard conversion, the primary soul-core is restructured—all human
emotions and self-logic are overwritten by the Evernight template. But this
fragment, because it was structurally independent, bypassed the erasure
protocol!"
Avarice understood the mechanics instantly. The two powerhouses exchanged a
glance, reading the same shock in each other's soulfire.
"Then the query becomes," Avarice stated, forcing his logic to remain calm. "Why
does Unit Lia possess a soul fragment?"
"Imperial records show zero previous cases of this anomaly among our millions of
converts."
Lust began flipping through her ledger at high speed, searching for
cross-references. "Necrotic Realm research logs... Unit One's original
manifest... Found it!"
"The data indicates she underwent extreme soul-modification at the hands of the
Necrotic Realm's Chief Lich prior to her death!"
"To anchor her failing life-force, that Lich grafted a fragment of his own Od
directly into her soul!"
Avarice's soulfire flared. "Then that fragment is... a residual byproduct of the
Lich's own core?"
"Exactly!" Lust slapped her thigh in triumph.
"The Lich's essence constructed an independent storage sector within Lia's soul!
When our Undead Resurrection triggered, her primary core was re-formatted. but
because this external fragment didn't 'belong' to the original human soul, the
Multiverse Laws didn't flag it for deletion!"
Avarice went silent.
His mind was calculating the implications. If this hypothesis held... then to
retain an undead unit's memory, we must perform a surgical "Soul-Graft" of an
independent fragment into the target prior to liquidation.
But the logistical hurdles were monumental.
"Where do we procure sufficient soul-shards for mass-transplantation?" "How do
we ensure the graft doesn't shatter the target's original soul-base?" "How do we
prevent the primary soul from rejecting or consuming the fragment?" "And how do
we ensure the biological memories are prioritized for storage in the shard
rather than the core?"
Avarice fired off the queries like a barrage of arrows. Lust's excitement dipped
only slightly.
"Mmh... these are significant structural obstacles."
The laboratory returned to a state of contemplative silence, filled only by the
hum of the arrays marking the passage of time.
After a long duration, Avarice spoke. "General."
"Mmh?"
"In your estimation... what would be the Sovereign's assessment of this
variable?"
Lust paused, then chuckled. "The Master?"
"He'd likely tell us to stop obsessing over the finish line and just focus on
parsing the fundamental principles first."
"One step at a time."
Avarice nodded. "You are correct."
"We have confirmed a singular, vital fact: Memory retention is technically
viable."
"The methodology is unoptimized, but the path exists. It can be walked."
"Our next directive is refinement."
Lust straightened her frame, her usual energy returning. "Correct!"
"And we possess a perfect, functional specimen for longitudinal study!" She
pointed to Lia on the dais.
"We shall maintain constant observation. We must track if the fragment induces
any unforeseen side-effects. We must confirm if the memory-anchoring is
permanent or if it decays as time erodes the soul."
"Gather the data. Build the model. Then we formulate the next phase."
Avarice gave a firm nod. "Agreed."
He turned back to the quiet skeleton on the dais. "Lia. From this cycle forward,
you are assigned to the Arcane Legion's Research Division."
"You will undergo periodic audits. Your daily logistical tasks remain, but your
primary directive is unconditional cooperation with all research protocols."
Lia offered no outward reaction, merely a shallow nod. "As commanded, Deputy
Commander."
Lust stretched, her joints emitting a series of sharp clicks. "Sufficient for
today. I am departing for The Succubus's Dream—it is time for my scheduled
'Fantasy Cycle'."
"We resume tomorrow!"
Lust skipped out of the laboratory, her humming trailing behind her. Avarice
watched her depart, shaking his head. Then, he turned to Lia.
"Enter dormancy. You are dismissed."
"As commanded, General."
Lia performed a salute and exited the chamber. Avarice remained alone in the
blue light, the fire in his core refusing to settle. It was a night for
discovery.
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