Chapter 272: Resurrection Of The Dead (2)
Chapter 272: Resurrection Of The Dead (2)
The Chief was able to bind the souls of the dead to the earth.
This was called the Resurrection of the Dead (Soul), and since there were no other methods of resurrection, it was simply referred to as Resurrection of the Dead.
There were certain conditions to use this ability.
First, the deceased must be an ability user.
Mana was required to maintain the body after death, that was, the ‘spiritual body.’
Using this mana, they could maintain their ego and exert some physical force.
With S+ grade mana control, they could live a daily life and even engage in battles as they did in life.
So, did ordinary people have no chance at all?
That was not the case.
It was possible for ordinary people too.But could a being who couldn’t feel mana in life suddenly feel it after death?
It might be possible with a miraculous probability of 1 in 6 billion, but for the most part, it was impossible.
And they would disappear.
So, those who can be revived through the Chief’s Resurrection of the Dead must be ability users.
Second, it must be done immediately after death.
According to the Chief, the golden time was a maximum of 10 minutes.
The Resurrection of the Dead must be used before the soul leaves the deceased body.
Whether they screamed ‘I’m not dead!’ or accept their death, as long as they could maintain their ego, Resurrection of the Dead was possible.
Third, they must accept that their soul would be bound to the Chief.
The mana used to form the spiritual body initially belonged to the Chief, and the ability to keep the soul bound to the earth was also the Chief’s.
To prevent the spiritual body from recklessly possessing someone else’s body, or even if it did, to ensure it could not target the Chief’s body, minimum measures were needed.
Thus, the four executives revived by the Chief, the four villains, the four ‘dead S-classes’ could not possess the Chief’s body.
They understand why this was, and the Chief would not revive a traitor as a spiritual body in the first place.
Since they were revived as executives of the Secret Society, those chosen were individuals with the personality to devote their lives and best efforts to conquering the world for the Secret Society.
And the most important fourth condition:
The Chief’s Resurrection of the Dead could only be used once a year.
First, she revived Chaos to her side.
Then she revived Doul, Docheol, and Gunggi, establishing the four-executive system two years ago.
The most recent use was just before Christmas last year, reviving Gwang Ik Gong, an S-class in Korea, using the secret of Resurrection of the Dead.
These were the instances of the Resurrection of the Dead that the Chief had used so far.
Each use consumed so much mana that she had to lie in bed for a month.
Although it depended on her efforts, she always lived a limited life.
And if those revived ended up using up all their mana for some strange reason and disappeared or acted against the interests of the Secret Society?
There was no need to revive them.
No reason to revive them.
Above all, if she kept the dead bound to her body, one day one of the souls might take advantage of a moment of weakness to seize her body.
That was the Resurrection of the Dead (Soul) until now.
And then I appeared, creating a new method:
Resurrection of the Dead (Patriotism).
Unlike the Chief’s method, which allowed for immediate revival, it took at least 10 months to revive.
However, instead of existing as a spiritual body, they were reborn with a physical body.
So it should be called Resurrection of the Dead (Rebirth).
We had established that theory.
But we had not yet tested it.
The reason was one:
The ‘time’ had not yet come.
Even if we were to implement it, it would not be possible this year.
The Chief had no intention of using Resurrection of the Dead (Rebirth) this year.
So it was a bit surprising.
Yumir said that if I were to die, she would use Resurrection of the Dead (Patriotism) for me.
…Even though it would be a self-rebirth from myself.
“…So Yumir, you would be my mother then?”
“That’s right. Come on, teacher. Try calling me mom.”
“Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to call you ‘mama’? Since I would be reborn as a baby.”
“A baby? Ah, oh! Then I’d have to raise you from before you could even walk!”
As Yumir piled up theories about the Resurrection of the Dead, she finally realized the harsh reality.
“Moreover, I’d have to change your diapers and feed you whenever you’re hungry….”
“If I were reborn with my adult memories, that would be so humiliating I’d probably lose my mind.”
“Wow… That would be really exhausting. Living comfortably as a spiritual body versus starting over as a baby. At least until you can act independently, it would be extremely tough.”
“Of course.”
In many reincarnation stories, especially those starting from infancy, that’s how it was.
‘No reincarnation story carries on about the early years for more than one volume.’
No reincarnation story narrated the events from ages 1 to 5.
They all skipped the hardships of childhood.
They might depict parental love or show the mother nurturing them in some shadowy moments, or mention training mana from infancy, creating a magic circle in their heart for a few chapters.
But by no later than chapters 6 to 9, they usually started acting like little adults and the main story began.
That’s how it was in novels.
But this was reality.
“Being reborn without memories just means the soul is the same, but it’s essentially a different person. If you want to maintain the same ego, you need to retain your memories. Reincarnating with a physical body involves these kinds of issues.”
“It’s complicated…. What if we seal the memories until the age of seven and then awaken them?”
“Such convenient developments don’t come easily.”
Reincarnating with an ability was already complex and challenging, and adding more conditions would make it even closer to impossible.
“Alright, Yumir. Now that we understand the difficulties faced by those involved in the Resurrection of the Dead, let’s talk about ‘others’.”
“…….”
Yumir swallowed hard and adjusted her posture.
We had discussed the theoretical aspects of the phenomenon, but now it was time to consider its societal impact.
“Assume we can revive one person every year. What means and methods would people use to become that one person?”
“…….”
“With money? The world’s wealthiest would bring all their property deeds to be reincarnated. The person who gets reincarnated would be happy. But what about everyone else?”
“Humans are envious and jealous of what they don’t have.”
“Right. If you, Yumir, were potentially my mother, people would whine about it. Not just whine, they’d be so jealous of what they can’t have that they’d want to bring down a meteor on Earth.”
“Oh, I get that.”
“…….”
I paused to sip my coffee.
The flower on the decorative cactus was extremely beautiful.
“If Resurrection of the Dead were possible and everyone could do it, and if only two women in the world could do it, what would people do?”
“…….”
“They wouldn’t say it out loud. But they’d whisper behind their backs, telling them to give birth until all the eggs in their ovaries are exhausted—not their own children, but continuously birthing reincarnations.”
“…….”
Yumir’s expression grew cold.
“What, am I supposed to be a reincarnation factory….”
“Exactly. But there could actually be people who would say such things. On the dark web.”
“It’s hard to believe such humans exist. It’s really disgusting to think we’re the same species.”
“Just a hypothetical. Well… there will be such people when the time comes.”
Her eyes showed she was barely tolerating it because it was me saying it.
“Setting aside the back-alley people who live to crush others, let’s talk about the brighter side. How many children would come asking to save their cancer-stricken mothers or bring their dying children for reincarnation?”
“Hearing something so positive after a big shock feels strange. Anyway, isn’t it odd if it sounds like ‘you have to give birth to resurrect the dead’?”
“That’s right. It’s not odd. It’s natural.”
If anyone said such a thing to the Chief, if anyone said, ‘Reincarnate me as your son,’ I would go and break their skull immediately.
“So, after much consideration, our society decided not to reveal this technology to the world. It’s top secret.”
The ‘self-reincarnation method’ Yoon Hye-ra mentioned to Yumir was something we decided to use for ourselves, after our society conquers the world.
“All four executives want to live again. Even if they suffer as babies, they all want to live with physical bodies.”
“…Ah! Now I understand. When the sisters said it was good during ‘Patriotism’ and ‘Unity’, they meant it that way?”
“Because they feel the sensation of being alive.”
Unity, when they possessed my body.
Just feeling their physical body move on their own would make them happy.
Of course, possessing my body wasn’t easy, and if their ego clashed with mine, their ego would waver, and since the Chief wouldn’t stay still, unity only happened under restricted conditions.
“So, we decided to find another method.”
I showed Yumir a picture I had printed in color beforehand.
“……Is this an SF fantasy game?”
“No. It’s real. In terms of alchemy, it’s a ‘homunculus’, and in SF future world fantasy, it can be called an ‘avatar’. Both mean ‘a human body that a soul can possess’.”
In the photo.
In each large circular glass tube, human-shaped beings were submerged in green liquid.
“Someday, our society will release the Resurrection of the Dead to the human world. Not immortality, but life extension. One of the four executives, Docheol, is researching that.”
In front of the glass tubes, a woman with blue bobbed hair, wearing a white gown, was writing something resembling a research log.
“Our society, when it conquers the world, will reveal this: new bodies that can extend life. Human souls that can settle in spare bodies. In short.”
Without overcomplicating things.
“Our society is creating real dolls that can reincarnate.”
If the souls of the dead lived in real dolls with all human organs, it could be called the Resurrection of the Dead.
“It’s called [Rebirth Doll].”
By the way.
The one who provided this idea.
It’s me.