Rorschach flipped open the book as he stared blankly at a certain page in the smoke-filled battlefield.
The background of this page was a vast and boundless ocean. A lone wooden boat was persevering in the middle of a storm. If one looked at it for too long, they would feel as if both the ocean and the wooden boat were alive.
But the next instant, the image suddenly changed. It was as if there was an unyielding shadow of a giant God struggling within the waves.
This was Rorschach's first artificially created soul, the soul of the Wood God.
In that battle, the Wood God's physical body had been destroyed. The Wood God's physical body had already decayed to the point that it was about to naturally disintegrate. There was no need to recycle it.
However, the Wood God's soul that dared to challenge the giant God right after it was born didn't dissipate.
The Wood God's soul was born on a decaying ship. It was an unnatural artifact. However, the Wood God's soul also contained the ship's ancient history. The Book of Undead had paid an equivalent soul in exchange to awaken and reform the Wood God's soul.
But at the same time, the Wood God's soul was imprinted with the Book of Undead's soul imprint.
Necromancers had the ability to harvest and carry souls. The Book of Undead that was disguised as a God Equipment also had this ability. When the Wood God lost his physical body, he was naturally taken away by the Book of Ten Thousand Spells.
The Wood God was nourished by magic and repaired by his soul. As time passed, not only did the Wood God not dissipate, he actually became even stronger and thirsted for battle even more … This was how necromancers normally created and raised powerful undead. Raising undead was far more effective than creating them on the battlefield.
Only novice necromancers would rely on summoning newly born undead on the battlefield. This wasn't limited to the battlefield's environment. The newly born undead's combat strength and quality would be questionable as well. Necromancers who reached a certain level would always think of ways to create, raise, and carry their own undead army.
Didn't this sound familiar? Although necromancers could create their own undead army on the battlefield, they would only be limited by the battlefield's environment. Necromancers also needed to create their own undead army … This was Rorschach from before.
"… Is there any difference between me and necromancers?"
Rorschach honestly gave an answer after thinking hard for quite a while.
"No, this is what necromancers do."
Treating living and non-living things as a type of state, toying with souls and memories, treating the physical body as a sculpture made of flesh and blood, and treating everything as nothing more than raw materials to create one's own artificial army … Wasn't this what an undead mage was like?
Rorschach considered how necromancers often played the role of villains and masterminds behind the scenes in major movies and anime. Although he didn't have any prejudice against necromancers as a mage, Rorschach … didn't want to become the target of others' prejudice.
Yes, he would not discriminate against others because of his profession, but he hated it when others discriminated against him.
However, this struggle only lasted for a short ten minutes because Rorschach was used to compromising. He was used to the fact that the world was not perfect and he could not ask for too much.
"… You should be happy that you have such a powerful path to advancement. Why are you being so picky? How pretentious … A necromancer is a necromancer. At the very least, you're still a nature mage. At any rate, life and death are two sides of the same coin. Why should you distort your own reality for the sake of unimportant people's prejudice?"
Just from this sentence alone, Rorschach's choice to walk down this path of desecrating the soul and life was inevitable, not accidental.
The soul was the source of all mysteries. The Aishi people had always respected the soul and the dead, and highly valued the soul's final destination.
As for Rorschach, the soul was only a type of material, an unknown material attached to the physical body and allowed it to move. Since it was a material that could be used, of course it could be researched, analyzed, and even sold. Wouldn't it be too philosophical and pretentious to discuss the soul's final destination?
I didn't know if Rorschach's worldview originated from Earth's materialistic teachings, or if it was the accumulated influence of certain people over time. At the very least, Rorschach's harmless appearance hid something that would shock the world.
"Then, awaken, my first warrior."
At this moment, Rorschach had completed the first step of his path of desecrating the soul. He now had a complete artificial creation of his own.
As for whether this artificial creation was made out of wood or a human body … in terms of principle, was there a difference? Not all artifacts were made out of the remnants of life. The only difference was how people viewed things and how mysophobic they were.
If it was necessary to distinguish between wood and a human body, the wood spirits, as plant lifeforms, would likely have many objections.
Looking at things from a different angle, considering how the wood spirits used plants of the same origin, perhaps these seemingly friendly and cute elves from fairy tales were the true experts at toying with life.
Rorschach's hybrid wood spirit species was probably the most important reason for further blurring the lines between life and death.
Wood? Wasn't that just the remains of plants?
Ore? Wasn't that just the remains of elemental creatures?
Flesh and bones? Wasn't that just the remains of carbon-based creatures? Everything was a part of the world's cycle. Was there a need to make such a clear distinction?
Since Rorschach had such a consciousness, the life force he used to control the power of nature wouldn't be limited to just living things.
Rorschach's Soul Imprint, the Artificer of All Creation, which could transcend dimensional restrictions, was useful for the first time instead of being a burden. In a way, this was his true use.
Under Rorschach's control, the building that had been reduced to rubble started moving again. Rubble, wood, steel, and even organic matter buried within became a part of Rorschach.
Yes, Rorschach.
"Fight! Fight! "
A deep and powerful roar echoed throughout the entire street as a gigantic gray-black figure appeared in front of everyone.
Rorschach was more than ten meters tall, just like the tallest Cloud Giant. His entire body was covered in countless impurities, such as ores, wood, and everything else. However, nobody would treat him as an ordinary combat puppet.
Rorschach's soul flames burned fiercely in his eyes, as well as the mana waves that exceeded normal limits. Even the most stubborn person would recognize Rorschach as a rank 5 mage … Rorschach's creation had long since surpassed the limits of power level.
The newly awakened gray giant was still devouring the surrounding soil and impurities in order to complete his evolution. Meanwhile, the surrounding plants were withering and dying, and the soil was rapidly rotting and weathering. It was as if all life force was being sucked out of him.
"This is bad!"
Anthony's momentary hesitation caused him to miss the best opportunity to counterattack. By the time he woke up from his daze, a two-story tall palm had already slapped him.
* Slap! *
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