In a luxurious room adorned with exotic paintings and refined furniture crafted from fine oak, a heavy silence hung in the air.
On the king-sized bed sat a youthful man with short red hair, resting in a lotus position with his eyes closed. He possessed sword-like eyebrows, a high-bridged nose, and a strong, sharp jawline. A black robe embroidered with intricate golden designs draped over his frame.
"Finally!" In a flash, his eyes snapped open, revealing pitch-black irises capable of captivating anyone in an instant.
"I've finally assimilated the memories of this body's previous owner." With an excited grin, he stood up and turned toward a tall, ornate mirror that reflected his new physique.
"Valerius von Cassel," he repeated the body's name. Each time he spoke it, his heart pounded—a visceral reminder that he really had transmigrated.
[Ding! Host's heart rate has increased significantly. Suggestion: Calm down; drink a glass of water.]
A monotonous voice rang inside his head, snapping him out of his reverie. His face twisted in shock.
"How is this possible?" he gasped, seeing a white, square box with a bunch of text right in front of him.
He instantly knew this wasn't some magical system that appeared in fictional novels that he used to read back home.
It was the prototype A.I. Chip, designated V2S5. A symbiotic bio-processor fused directly to his neural pathways via high-precision surgery. Its core functions were starkly practical: perfect memory storage, real-time biological monitoring, environmental analysis, and high-fidelity simulation. Given sufficient data, it could model spell constructions, optimize resource pathways, and extrapolate potential variants of existing technologies with cold and inhume precision. Its simulation capabilities were terrifyingly accurate enough to make any conventional scientist pale in comparison.
"Did you cross over with me?" Ethan—who now occupied the body of Valerius, asked, scratching his chin as he pondered the mechanics of it.
[Query Detected.]
[Researching using the Host's memories as the base...]
[Error. Insufficient data.]
"Sigh... I forgot it's not some genie with unlimited wishes. It's the equivalent of a goddamn powerful calculator, but a calculator nonetheless, since it needs numbers to begin." With a heavy sigh, he plopped back down onto the bed.
[Beep! Danger Alert! Alien Soul Invasion!]
Just before he could delve further into the mystery of V2S5, a splitting headache assaulted him. Even though he could still hear the AI's voice, he was paralyzed by the sudden agony.
'It hurts so much... argh!' he thought, his back hitting the mattress with a thud.
"ARGH!" he screamed aloud. Suddenly, his entire body seized, feeling as if tens of thousands of sharp needles were being driven into his flesh all at once.
He unconsciously grabbed the hem of the bedsheet, clenching it in his fists as if his life depended on it.
As his screams grew louder, the door to his room was flung wide open. Maids rushed in, panic written all over their faces.
"Young Master!!!" they exclaimed. They saw him clutching the sheets, his face engulfed in extreme pain, his feet kicking and thrashing against the mattress repeatedly.
[DANGER! DANGER! ENEMY SOUL IS TOO POWERFUL TO RESIST!]
[SUGGESTION ACTION: .....]
[BEEP! NO USEFUL METHOD TO RESIST FOUND IN HOST'S MEMORY]
"FUCKKKKKK!" Hearing V2S5's analysis, he cursed with all his being, even as the torture continued.
The maids were horrified. They didn't know exactly what was happening to their young lord, but it was obvious he was suffering. One of the maids sprinted outside, quickly returning with a large, muscular man clad in white armor.
The knight hesitated at the threshold. Entering private quarters uninvited was impolite, even disrespectful to the nobility. But hearing Valerius's screams reach a fever pitch, he swallowed his apprehension and charged into the room.
He grabbed the Young Master to restrain him. Valerius seized both of the knight's armored arms, gripping them with all his might just as he had the bedsheets. He gritted his teeth, trying to contain his agony, but his screams continued to leak out between breaths.
Seeing this, the knight no longer hesitated. He pulled back and delivered a sharp headbutt to his Young Master's forehead.
"FUCK!"
Feeling the impact and the rapid fading of his consciousness, Valerius cursed one last time. His whole body was drenched in sweat and burning with feverish heat.
[BEEP! HOST IS LOSING CONSCIOUSNESS.]
[ALIEN SOUL INVASION ALMOST SUCCESSFUL!]
[BEEP!....]
__________________
10 Hours Later
Silence once again filled the luxurious room. No one was present other than the young master, Valerius, who slept on his back with a calm look on his face. Nobody could tell that this was the same young man who had been screaming like a little bitch only hours before.
But just then, the youth's eyebrow twitched, and his eyes slowly opened.
"Where am I?" exclaimed the young man. His voice was calm but clear, cutting through the silence of the empty room.
Right then, the door swung open softly. A maid walked in, sweats beading on her forehead, but relief washing over her face as she saw him.
"Young Master, you're awake!" she exclaimed, sounding as if a massive burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Hmn." Valerius nodded his head slightly, his reaction making the maid feel somewhat awkward.
"You can take your leave. I want to remain alone for a while," he said. His tone carried an undeniable weight, clear and commanding.
'The Young Master feels... strange,' the maid thought. Still confused, she gave a clumsy bow before taking her leave.
Click.
With a clear mechanical sound, the door closed, leaving Valerius all alone.
"This clearly isn't the Azure World, nor the Immortal World. Where am I?" he muttered with a thoughtful gaze. He scanned his surroundings, which were full of exquisite paintings, gold-framed arts, luxurious furnitures that only rich nobles, or cultivators possessed.
He gazed at the grand, large window to his side that showed a large, sprawling grounds with beautiful mountain peaks, and two sun, one on the lower end, while the other on the higher end.
Just as he was about to step off the bed to research a bit more about his surrounding, a sudden ding chimed in his head, startling him.
[Ding! Alien Soul Invasion has been successfully completed.]
'Where?' he thought, his gaze scanning his surroundings even more rigorously than before.
[Ding! Three different memories has been stored in the folders. Would you like to view them?] the voice continued, indifferent to his attempt to find the speaker.
Ignoring the voice, Valerius searched through his soul—a task that was a piece of cake for him. But when he did, he found a foreign substance inside, completely fused with his spirit.
'What is that?' He frowned. He had never seen a substance like this—small, glittering fragments glued tight to his soul.