Kal'tsit forced herself to calm down.
Although this person indeed looked identical to the 'Doctor' in her memory, this was, after all, someone else's territory. Moreover, she was here to ask Raythean Medica for a deeper collaboration. If she spoke out of turn and displeased the other party, wouldn't the collaboration be ruined?
Appearance didn't matter.
Terra was a huge place with a massive population. It was entirely reasonable for there to be one or two people who looked 90% similar. But the soul was unique. Each person's soul was like it had its own anti-counterfeit code. Appearance could be imitated through cosmetic surgery, but the soul was impossible to replicate.
Amiya had an extraordinary talent when it came to souls; she remembered the Doctor's soul aura. There was also another way. Kal'tsit knew how peculiar the Doctor's body was. A simple blood test would make the result clear.
No.
A blood test wasn't necessary.
She had a blood expert right next to her.
Kal'tsit turned her head slightly. It seemed bringing Warfarin was indeed the right choice. If Warfarin knew what Kal'tsit was thinking, she'd probably find it a bit hypocritical.
Next to Kal'tsit.
At this moment, Warfarin's eyes were flashing with heart shapes. Her mouth was slightly open, revealing the sharp fangs of a Vampire, and one could faintly see glistening saliva at the corners of her alluring red lips.
As she looked at Lucas Reeve.
Her chest heaved up and down, and she breathed heavily.
Like a person who had been thirsty for a long time in the desert suddenly spotting water.
Desire!!
This tempting scent of blood made Warfarin lose her self-control.
As a Vampire, blood was to her what food and water are to humans, perhaps even more important. The medical blood plasma she usually drank was like plain water to her—tasteless but indispensable.
But...
*Hiss... haah~*
"..."
When Kal'tsit and Amiya both looked at Warfarin beside them, their hearts jolted in unison. It really was the Doctor!!
Not just a lookalike, but the real Doctor.
Or rather, this body was the Doctor's body!!
Kal'tsit tried hard to keep her expression calm, but she couldn't hide the shock in her heart. Her state of mind, which had been peaceful for countless years, completely broke this time.
Before coming.
Kal'tsit: Everything is within my expectations...
After arriving.
Kal'tsit: Why isn't this going according to the script?
The question was.
Why was the Doctor here?
It was completely illogical.
If the Doctor were in the hands of the Ursus government, that would be easy to explain. After all, it was on their territory.
But... but...
He's in Columbia!!
And he's in the hands of this newly established company, Raythean Medica, even serving as Jessica's secretary. Judging by their familiarity, they seemed to have known each other for a long time. But when she came last time, she didn't see the Doctor at all.
Which means.
The Doctor came here after she left last time.
As for how he came...
Uh, that was unknown.
Kal'tsit secretly patted Amiya on the calf, signaling her to calm down.
The rest would have to be probed through words.
"Phew...."
"I'm very sorry, Amiya was a little out of line just now. I apologize to you, Miss Jessica."
Kal'tsit said calmly, her eyes no longer looking at the Doctor beside Jessica.
"It's fine, it's fine..."
Jessica gave a hollow laugh, waving her hands repeatedly.
Jessica knew. This body had an improper origin; it might really belong to them.
"It's mainly because this gentleman secretary looks so much like a colleague of ours at Rhodes Island. However, it's just a resemblance. That colleague of mine was severely injured before and was entrusted to Chernobog for treatment. His injuries were too severe. It's only been a little over a year, so I don't think he would have woken up so soon."
Kal'tsit said this deliberately.
As she spoke, she observed Jessica's expression. Kal'tsit had lived for too, too long. She could be described as a human lie detector. Basically, very few people's thoughts could escape her perception.
Jessica's expression didn't change much.
However.
A tiny detail that a normal person couldn't detect was caught by Kal'tsit.
Miss Jessica... knows about Chernobog.
Which means.
She found this Doctor in Chernobog?!
That's not right.
Kal'tsit glanced at Lucas Reeve again. His eyes seemed to show no recognition of her.
Tsk.....
This was completely beyond Kal'tsit's expectations.
"A probe?"
Lucas Reeve thought to himself.
A ten-thousand-year-old monster, even without mind-reading, could easily analyze someone's thoughts through their facial expressions. For such a monster, it was a piece of cake. If Lucas Reeve wasn't mistaken, she must have already guessed that Jessica knew this body was in Chernobog.
And.
From the surprised expression of the girl named Amiya just now, it was easy to tell that this body was very important to Rhodes Island. Lucas Reeve had always been one to act cautiously and treat people amicably, unwilling to offend them unless absolutely necessary. This time, he was indeed in the wrong. Besides... this body, apart from its blood, was pitifully weak. Lucas Reeve wasn't particularly fond of it. If Rhodes Island wanted it, he would just return the body to them.
However.
It seemed this body only had his soul in it. The soul that originally belonged to this body seemed to have disappeared.
Which meant.
If he left, returning the body to them would just be giving them a puppet.
Although this Kal'tsit didn't seem very powerful—the monster parasitizing her spine was decent, but only decent, naturally far inferior to a Divine Fragment like Nian.
However, since Kal'tsit had lived for over ten thousand years, older than many Divine Fragments, who knew what tricks she might have up her sleeve.
For such an unfathomable person.
Lucas Reeve didn't really want to offend them.
After all.
She's lived for over ten thousand years.
Even a pig would have ascended to a top-tier expert by now, and Kal'tsit was still a person. Who knew how strong her backing and personal strength were. Although... on the surface, Lucas Reeve couldn't tell at all. Her strength was, at most, at the level of an Emperor's Blade.
He decided.
Lucas Reeve temporarily told Jessica not to speak and communicated with Kal'tsit himself.
After all.
In the eyes of an old monster like Kal'tsit, Jessica was as transparent as a blank sheet of paper, her thoughts written all over her face.
"You seem to know me?"
Lucas Reeve's words were very direct, with no beating around the bush.
Amiya's heart trembled. She desperately wanted to rush over and hug her Doctor, but she held back.
Seeing that he wasn't pretending anymore, Kal'tsit said directly, "That's right."
"You don't remember us? Doctor?"
"No impression."
Lucas Reeve shook his head. "When I woke up, my mind was a blank slate. I couldn't remember anything, not even who I was. I just happened to run into Jessica."
Lucas Reeve told a lie, but he wasn't an ordinary person. Even if Kal'tsit had a 'mind-reading' ability, she couldn't tell if he was lying.
Kal'tsit didn't speak.
She was thinking.
It was now clear that this person was the Doctor, or rather, the body was the Doctor's. Whether the soul was his was still unknown.
"Actually, we aren't certain if you are the Doctor we know. However, we have a way to find out. Are you willing?"
Kal'tsit asked slowly.
She was testing him.
If the Doctor agreed, they could rely on Amiya's ability. If he disagreed, it most likely meant that the Doctor's body had been possessed by another soul. In that case, the collaboration between Rhodes Island and Raythean Medica would be impossible. After all, even though Kal'tsit was annoyed by the Doctor, he was at least one of their own.
Lucas Reeve knew he had no other choice.
They were already suspicious.
Lucas Reeve slowly nodded in agreement.
Amiya stood up nervously in front of Lucas Reeve.
"Um, Doctor... please hold out your hand."
"Okay."
Lucas Reeve extended his pale hand and clasped Amiya's small hand, which was adorned with various rings.
Then.
Amiya slowly closed her eyes.
The Spiritual Power within her surged through their joined hands and into Lucas Reeve's body. Lucas Reeve didn't resist at all.
The process didn't last long.
After just thirty seconds.
A look of joy spread across Amiya's cute and pretty little face. Unable to hold back any longer, she threw herself into Lucas Reeve's arms.
"Doctor!!!"
"....."
Lucas Reeve didn't speak. Kal'tsit didn't speak either.
The result was obvious.
The Doctor... was indeed that Doctor.
The body matched, and the soul matched.
As for the memory issue.
Kal'tsit could understand it as amnesia due to severe injury. That was very normal.
Looking at Amiya in his arms, Lucas Reeve didn't know what to do for a moment. He, too, was in a state of deep shock.
This body...
Was his?
Huh?!!
He knew that the little girl named Amiya was about to use a soul investigation method to confirm his identity. In fact, Lucas Reeve was already prepared to be exposed. However... Amiya's reaction completely stunned him.
Nian's, and his own previous speculations, were overturned.
This Doctor... had no other soul in his body at all. From the very beginning, from when the people of Rhodes Island knew the Doctor, to now, there had only ever been one soul in this body!!
It was his own soul fragment!!
Fuck!!
What was going on?
Lucas Reeve's mind was already in a bit of a mess.
Ever since the situation with Surtr.
Lucas Reeve had felt that things were deviating from what he remembered.
In Lucas Reeve's current memory.
He was just an ordinary student in his previous life, hit by a dump truck, and accidentally transmigrated into a divine statue. He stayed in the statue for an unknown amount of time. Later, he got tired of it and scattered his soul, letting it fall onto the carts of a passing merchant caravan.
In theory.
His soul fragment should never have appeared on Surtr's sword, or in this Doctor's body.
Could it be that he had also lost a part of his memory?
*Hiss...*
It seemed a trip to Sargon was really necessary.
Kal'tsit also let out a sigh of relief.
As expected...
This result was for the best.
However, although she was relieved on the inside, her expression remained icy on the surface. She even felt a physiological aversion to the Doctor's familiar face.
"Amiya, come here for now."
If that was the case.
Then the collaboration could still be discussed.
For now, she put the matter of the Doctor aside.
Kal'tsit used the finished products and data she had brought as bargaining chips, wanting to engage in a deep collaboration with Raythean Medica. The task of negotiation was completely handed over to Silence, because Shining's expression was also a bit off now.
She also knew the Doctor.
In Kazdel, no one was unaware of the name 'Ghost of Babel', but due to being on different sides, Shining didn't know what the Doctor looked like or his specific situation.
The discussion about the collaboration lasted for a long time, from the afternoon until it was dark. Under Jessica's arrangement, the Rhodes Island group temporarily stayed in Columbia. As there were too many details, the rest would be discussed tomorrow. Before parting, Amiya was very reluctant to leave the Doctor.
However, Lucas Reeve genuinely didn't know this little girl; she was completely absent from his memory. With Jessica's permission, Lucas Reeve gave little Amiya a symbolic hug.
After the meeting ended.
Lucas Reeve immediately rushed back to Jessica's villa.
Nian was still practicing her daily speech.
Lucas Reeve told Nian what he knew.
Nian clicked her tongue in wonder.
"If that's the case, then there are only two possibilities."
"Either this soul fragment of yours developed its own consciousness, or... you have amnesia, Lucas."
"But don't worry about it. Amnesia is really normal. For example, I can't remember how a piece of tripe in my hotpot from the day before yesterday mysteriously disappeared. Did I eat it, or did I put in one less piece?"
"....."
Lucas Reeve didn't speak. There was something more important he hadn't told Nian.
His soul fragment... should never have been in this Doctor's body...
"Then, Nian, how do I get my lost memories back?"
Lucas Reeve consulted Nian.
Nian replied directly, "It's simple. Just make your soul whole again. All cases of amnesia are caused by an incomplete soul. You just need to make your soul complete."
Soul complete?
Lucas Reeve frowned, sitting on the sofa lost in thought.
Ceobe saw that Lucas Reeve seemed a bit troubled and reluctantly placed her leftover dessert in front of him.
"Good girl..."
Lucas Reeve patted Ceobe's cute little head.
Soul complete.
But his... soul wasn't damaged at all.
Although his soul fragments were scattered everywhere.
But only Lucas Reeve knew that the foundation of his soul was still in Sargon. What Nian meant by a complete soul probably referred to a shattered soul foundation, but Lucas Reeve's soul foundation was incredibly complete. Amnesia should be impossible.
Suddenly...
Lucas Reeve thought of a possibility.
Could it be...
That the soul he thought was complete... was actually not complete at all?
*Hiss!!*