Chapter 37: 36. Soul-Loss Syndrome
“Mr. Fisher, welcome.”
It turned out that Feilon’s laboratory was not located within his residence but rather in a small building in the courtyard outside, with a sign at the entrance reading “Feilon Laboratory.”
By the time Fisher was escorted there by a maid, Feilon had already removed his suit jacket, revealing the leather straps that covered his body, designed to secure his prosthetic arm and gas mask. If it weren’t for the rather frightening gas mask on his face, he could have passed as an elegant nobleman from Nali.
Even after some tidying up, the room still appeared somewhat chaotic. On the back workbench, resembling a workshop, there were many large steam machines, while in front of the workshop stood two massive bookshelves filled with books.
Fisher scanned the books above and his keen eyes quickly spotted one he had previously published, titled “Good and Evil: An Introduction to Ethics.”
“Ah, this book of Mr. Fisher’s took me quite a while to study, especially his views and interpretations on classical utilitarianism.”
Feilon noticed Fisher’s gaze and then took down the plain crimson-covered book, saying with some emotion, “Who would have thought that the author of this wise work was still a student at the Royal Academy at the time?”
“It cites many thoughts from professors; I merely connected them together.”
Fisher glanced over the book, which was filled with annotations, knowing that Feilon had read his work many times.
At that time, while many scholars had explored ethics, represented by various professors at the Royal Academy, there was no book that could integrate their viewpoints and discussions. Thus, Fisher spent a semester attending all the social sciences classes and compiling notes to write this introductory text on ethics.
Although those professors were pleased that their ideas were compiled into a book, they couldn’t help but bristle at the author’s critique of their views in the “author’s comments” at the end of the volume.
They were a group of lovely old men.
“Haha, Mr. Fisher is too humble. I would like to discuss more about ethical issues with you later, but for now, let’s talk about the illness we previously mentioned. Compared to Blue Madness, I prefer to call this disease ‘Soul-Loss Syndrome.'”
“Soul-Loss Syndrome?”
Fisher took a chair and sat down at his desk, looking at Feilon, who pulled out a small stack of manuscripts from under the desk lamp. Fisher saw that there were anatomical drawings sketched in pencil.
“Mr. Fisher, how much do you understand about the patients’ conditions?”
“After the onset, their blood turns blue, they are basically unconscious and have an aggressive tendency towards living beings—no, it should be living people. Additionally, their magical circuits completely disappear.”
Feilon nodded and handed the manuscripts to Fisher, which densely recorded many test cases; the conclusions were roughly similar to Fisher’s, but Feilon had also investigated the patients’ activities prior to becoming ill.
“You refer to these patients as Soul-Loss Syndrome. Do you believe in the theory that magic power comes from the soul?”
“Not believe, Mr. Fisher, it’s a fact. In the Southern Continent, there has always been a theory of the soul. At first, I thought the souls they believed in were just like the illusory spiritual forms created by magic in circuses, but a previous exploration allowed me to witness the existence of souls.”
Feilon raised a finger and continued, “When I first landed on the Southern Continent, I was merely an external scholar accompanying the team. I accidentally got separated from the group and got lost in the wilderness. The night was very cold, and just when I thought I would freeze to death, several flickering shadows of subhumans suddenly appeared in the sky. They seemed to be speaking, but I couldn’t hear them clearly. I thought it was a dying hallucination, so I followed the direction they pointed, and I actually found the lost group by the river.”
Fisher tapped his fingers on the desk, contemplating Feilon’s words.
“The key point is that I witnessed those souls inscribing magic.”
“Inscribing magic?”
“Yes, they inscribed warmth-releasing magic for the subhumans foraging in the wild so they wouldn’t freeze to death. They had magical circuits capable of releasing inscribed magic power, while those patients’ magical circuits had completely vanished; it was because losing their souls took away their magical circuits.”
Fisher’s expression changed. All current magical theories indicate that the ability to inscribe magic comes from one’s magical circuit. Many scholars also believe that magical circuits exist within the body, but are currently unable to be observed.
However, according to Feilon’s words, if the soul can use magic, it signifies that magical circuits do not exist within the body, but rather within the soul.
This would explain why the magical circuits of those patients completely vanished; the true cause of the illness lies not in the magical circuits but in the soul, and the disappearance of magical circuits is merely a manifestation of the soul’s loss.
As Fisher’s conversation with Feilon deepened, he gradually understood the soul theory Feilon had researched. In light of his years of experimental data and evidence, Fisher found it difficult to pinpoint any counterarguments.
“If the mechanism of this disease is the disappearance of the soul, then what exactly caused their souls to disappear?”
Feilon raised a finger and explained, “It’s despair. You see, before each patient developed the illness, they went through immense life hardships.”
“Ra·Basher, property stolen by robbers, daughter killed by a woman.”
“Jack, wife cheated, all his assets were taken away by the mistress.”
“…”
Feilon recited the experiences of various cases, then said, “They seem to have no connection; according to traditional pathology, they shouldn’t have come into contact with any dubious items…”
Fisher suddenly thought of the group of humans he encountered earlier in Ke Lili’s cave. The maid in their household had also fallen ill, and according to what was said, their only daughter had died in the textile factory in Nali.
So that’s how it is.
Fisher’s gaze flickered, then he continued Feilon’s words, “The reason the soul disappears is because the sense of despair generated by the brain breeds unstable conditions. Afterwards, some external force took advantage of this and took their souls.”
“That’s right; that is exactly my hypothesis.”
“Now, there are three questions: How are souls taken away? Who is taking the souls? And what is the purpose of taking the souls?”
Fisher carefully examined the pathology above. Although the conjecture was there, he felt increasingly absurd. Based on the current hypotheses, it resembled something intentional rather than a disease.
If it were an intelligent entity, it would likely only be humans and subhumans; yet, the academic community of humans has not even confirmed the existence of souls, let alone the means to take them. Judging by the current primitive state of the subhumans, it was even less possible for them.
Moreover, according to Feilon and Keken’s cases, many incidents occurred simultaneously and were separated by thousands of kilometers.
Who could possess such power to commit acts across thousands of miles? It was likely that the three nations of the Western Continent would have been wiped out by them.
“Since a large number of humans entered the Southern Continent, I haven’t seen those soul spirits that guide people in the wild for a long time.”
Feilon’s gas mask released steam, and he leaned back in his chair, then sighed, “Who could take so many souls simultaneously from multiple places?”
After hearing Feilon’s words, Fisher was taken aback for a moment, and then he looked up to meet Feilon’s gaze, but the reflection of the light on his glasses obscured his eyes, making it hard to see.
Why did he focus only on who was responsible and not care about the other questions?
Please follow up and vote, thank you everyone.
(*`*)
(End of chapter)
