Chapter 56: Projection of the Soul
"Eat more! This white fish is full of magical energy and will be very good for you." Andrei said, skillfully moving the bowl of soup that Jiangyou had absorbed soul fire from in front of him and replacing it with a new one. "Liches can not only use the soul fire they consume as short-term magical energy, but can also convert it into their own soul energy to strengthen their soul bodies."
Jiangyou concentrated and tried it, and found that his feeling of fullness gradually disappeared, and was replaced by a sense of fullness that welled up from his soul, which was warm and made him feel very comfortable.
Jericho, who was guzzling his soup and vegetables, suddenly exclaimed, "Huh?" He put down his bowl and rubbed his eyes. "Am I seeing things? Why did it feel like she wasn't a skeleton just for a split second?"
Just for a moment, Jericho seemed to see a black-haired human girl, who was gentle, with curved eyebrows and eyes, and a slightly yellow skin. She looked like a race he had never seen before.
"It's quite pretty." He thought to himself, "...Oh, no, isn't the point about how the skeleton suddenly turned into a human?"
When he looked carefully again, he found that what he saw in front of him was still the snow-white skeleton.
Takumi Yuu, who was completely unaware, asked: "?"
Having witnessed this strange sight several times before, Andrei calmly mixed the bowl of soup that had been imbued with the soul fire of Jiangyou with his own food, stirring it to give it a little more flavor. "This is a projection of the soul, just like the little expressions that Jiangyou makes or the words she says."
He explained, "I wrote to consult my mother... ahem, a professional clergyman. According to her, the lich's skeleton is nothing more than a blank curtain, and when the lich's soul attaches to this skeleton, it will spontaneously project its perceived 'self' onto this curtain.
“If the soul itself is solid enough and has sufficient energy, it can project clearer and more complex scenes, and even simulate real touch.
"I think it's probably because Little Bone started collecting intermediary fees or exchanging delicious food for soul fire. Food has become plentiful, and so has the soul's energy. These past few days, I've been seeing projections of your soul from time to time."
"Hey!" Jiang You couldn't help but asked in surprise, "What does that look like?"
Andre was speechless for a moment: "...Don't you know what you look like?"
Jiang You shook his head honestly, his deep dark eyes full of curiosity.
Andrei sighed helplessly, he stood up and took out charcoal and white paper from his bag, spread them out on the table, and began to draw carefully.
As the person who taught Jericho how to draw, Andrei's painting skills were even better. A moment later, a vivid long-haired woman appeared on the paper.
She has long, flowing black hair, gentle features, and a slender figure. Her slender fingers press against her wide-brimmed flowered hat as she spins and smiles at the people outside the painting. Her skirt flutters in the wind, like a blooming flower.
"Hey hey!" Jiang You took the sketch and said in shock: "Isn't this me?"
To be precise, it was her in her previous life, wearing the dress given by Alexi's family and a wide-brimmed hat.
"This is such a beautiful painting!" She studied the image of herself, her eyes filled with nostalgia and regret. She hadn't expected to see this once-familiar face of hers after being reborn as a skeleton in another world.
Seeing that her focus had completely shifted, Jericho sighed and asked the young master a more concerning question: "Does this mean that this skeleton can transform into a human form in the future?"
"It should be possible," Andre nodded. "But it requires a lot of soul energy... And in a sense, the skeleton is still the same skeleton, but the small bones allow people to see the appearance of a girl, and touch the skin to feel it... Well, it's more like a mass hallucination caused by the small bones."
"Wow!" Takumi said excitedly, "Wait a minute, can I change my projection? Can I turn myself into a super-terrifying giant monster?"
Andre choked, realizing he couldn't seem to keep up with the little guy's train of thought. "Theoretically, yes... You can project the image you believe in, the image that belongs to you. If you truly believe you're a monster, you should be able to make others see that image."
"Wow!" Jiang You said happily, "Then I'm really amazing!"
Andre & Jericho: "..."
They silently picked up the soup bowls and buried themselves in them.
Jiangyou was very happy to get new information about the Lich. Although this thing was probably just a three-dimensional projection function, it was also a very good thing that he could change his appearance freely in the future.
To achieve this goal, she gulped down two large bowls of soul fire soup and burped once more. "Wait, wait a minute, how much soul fire is needed to perform this kind of projection?"
Andrei put down the bowl and calculated carefully. Then, he felt visibly guilty. "Uh... to maintain the projection for a day, I probably... probably... would need the equivalent of a living person's soul..."
Takumi Yuu: “?!”
"That's why liches are said to be terrifying dark magic undead creatures..." Andrei coughed lightly. "You know, in ancient times, failed liches relied on waging war to seize human souls. They regarded the souls of the living as their own energy, using them to maintain their beauty, provide energy, and sustain their lives."
Jiang You sniffed in disgust: "I don't do that!"
"Of course," Andrei agreed readily. "You just need to continue exchanging delicious food for soul energy. I've heard that when people enjoy delicious food and feel happy, they can unleash power many times greater than that of extreme pain. Furthermore, this energy has no side effects and won't affect the lich's soul."
"Will that other... method have an impact on the lich's own soul?" Jiang You asked curiously.
"Yes, feeding on the soul of a whole, painfully deceased person will inevitably be affected by that soul," Andre said. "The deceased's most unforgettable memories, the pain deeply rooted in their soul, will become part of the soul of the consumer, causing it to fall into the same pain and madness. Even the most powerful lich in history would be affected by these emotions.
"No matter how it suppresses or ignores these lurking darknesses, they will eventually strike when the lich is at its most vulnerable and least prepared, howling and dragging it into hell."
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