Endless Debt Chapter 1364 - 112: Spark (Part 2)

That was a bad idea.

"Perhaps pure humans are just like what we see before us, muddled, without spirit or intellect, no different from ordinary beasts. It is the intervention of ether that transformed our bodies and brains, bestowing us with wisdom and distinguishing us from beasts."

King Solomon continued to watch him silently, and Saqin dared not meet his gaze, memories of what King Solomon used to look like involuntarily surfacing in his mind.

Saqin could barely remember how his little junior brother turned into the semblance before him, perhaps since the day he donned that mask and called himself King Solomon.

He seemed like a completely different person, changed beyond recognition, so unfamiliar. Perhaps this was the original Hill, who had hid his ambition well for so many years, unnoticed by anyone.

"After repeated trial and error, we resorted to some irrational attempts, like ignorant sacrificial rituals. Since we couldn’t figure out the technical defect, we tried again with the now-mature route."

Suzi paused before continuing, "No longer using embryonic incubation but proceeding with natural conception and birth..."

"I need the truth, Suzi."

King Solomon’s invisible gaze cut into Suzi like a knife.

"I... I just want a child of my own, that’s all."

Suzi was never good at lying. Facing King Solomon’s oppressive presence, she forgot the rhetoric Saqin had taught her and admitted, "He was determined to be stillborn before he was even born, I just want him to live."

At this, Suzi’s eyes reddened a bit, and she clutched Saqin’s arm tightly. No matter how much Suzi missed her little junior brother, everything was different now, as the current events had shown.

This time, King Solomon didn’t say any rebuking words. After a long time, a faint sigh emanated from beneath the mask, and he turned his head to look at the incubator nearby.

"Does he have a name?"

"Not yet," Saqin shook his head, "but I plan to use the name from the Initial Scroll."

King Solomon posed a series of questions, "If you succeed, how do you plan to view him? As blood-related? Or as scholars and their experiment?"

"I haven’t thought about that. After all, nothing has succeeded yet, and I have no energy to think about those extra matters."

Saqin walked to the incubator and said quietly, "I still don’t understand what’s missing here."

"You should have talked to me about this." King Solomon’s tone softened.

"With you?" Saqin smiled, "Do you remember when we last met? It was years ago. You’ve been secluded in the Golden Palace, researching for too long. I don’t have the time to wait for you."

A strange silence enveloped the three, and after a long time, King Solomon pushed aside those disturbing emotions and asked with absolute rationality.

"Do you understand the use of the Soulless?"

At this point, Saqin also collected his emotions, replying rationally, "According to what we’ve deciphered from the Initial Scroll, as pure human Soulless, they cannot be implanted with the Alchemy Matrix, but they are a perfect vessel... a perfect vessel for the Devil."

"Do you think the Devil will notice what’s happening here?" King Solomon asked again.

"I... I’m not sure."

Saqin shook his head, "They are so mysterious, omnipotent, yet restrained everywhere."

King Solomon nodded slightly, then suddenly moved close to Saqin, their faces approaching infinitely, until all they could see in each other’s sight was the other’s gaze.

Beyond the mask, Saqin saw an endless brilliance of starlight.

"Very good, my junior brother."

Suddenly, King Solomon’s tone softened, he changed his form of address, and then took off his mask in front of Saqin.

At that moment, an inexplicable tension rose in Saqin’s heart; he hadn’t seen King Solomon’s true face for so long and once even doubted whether the body beneath the mask had mutated into some unknown existence.

Fortunately, the face revealed beneath the mask was still familiar, only now with much more fatigue and harshness compared to the youthful look in memory.

"I’ve been worried about you, worried that you might be too obstinate, thus giving the Devil an opportunity."

King Solomon, or rather... Hill, expressed his concern while opening the incubator and took the baby out of the nutrient solution.

"I’ve always thought that in the creation of life, there’s a mysterious step, like an engine needing a spark to ignite fuel. Artificial life also needs this spark."

Hill cradled the baby to his chest, "And the Devil is adept at providing such a spark."

"I’ve always been wary of the Devil." When mentioning the Devil, Saqin’s stance turned firm.

"Good."

Hill gently rocked the baby, feeling the warmth from his body, aware of his breathing and heartbeat, yet unable to truly wake him up.

He was originally a stillborn, the Golden Soul long dissipated, but Saqin remained unwilling to give up. Since the balance of body, mind, and spirit had collapsed, he tried to convert him into a Soulless through a series of technological transformations, attempting to grant him rebirth.

Hill suddenly said, "Perhaps I can awaken him."

Saqin was taken aback, then looked at him incredulously, "Are you sure?"

Hill retorted, "Aren’t you curious about what I’ve been researching inside the Golden Palace all this time?"