The Witch Hunter System

Chapter 1147: Origin of the System

With a thought, Vaan took control of his Nascent Soul Avatar and re-entered his sea of consciousness, sailing into the very depths where the soul core resided.

Like a luminous pearl suspended in the night sky, the soul core gently illuminated the void’s darkness with its flickering silvery-white or grey light, ever pulsing with invisible waves of soul power.

Vaan activated the Soul Sense of his Nascent Soul Avatar, and a new scenery replaced the old.

The invisible waves of pulsing soul power were transformed into visible threads, mostly in short, disconnected bursts due to the pulsation rhythm.

However, one such thread of soul power remained long and connected, attaching to the Nascent Soul Avatar. If this soul power thread were to be severed, the connection between the Nascent Soul Avatar and his host body would also be cut.

Ultimately, the Nasent Soul Avatar would become an inanimate spiritual object until a new connection was established and new orders were given.

Nevertheless, Vaan didn’t pay attention to the soul power thread too much and quickly focused on the surface of his soul core.

The original simple form of the soul core was now caged by a collective grouping of hexagonal and pentagonal patterns, forming a truncated icosahedron that encompassed the spherical surface.

It looked similar to the basic frame of a Dyson sphere covering a star to harness its solar power.

Any information transmitted from the soul core would have to pass through this truncated icosahedron cage.

’Is this the true form of the system?’ Vaan mused.

With another thought, he enhanced the power of the Nascent Soul Avatar’s Soul Sense to inspect the truncated icosahedron-shaped system in greater detail.

In that instance, Vaan discovered that the truncated icosahedron-shaped system was not just plainly formed by concentrated soul power but rather countless runes made from soul power.

Moreover, these incredibly small runes were constantly moving, changing numerous combinations without altering the overall truncated icosahedron form.

’Is this what the computational operation of the system looks like as well?’ Vaan figured.

Suddenly, he had a strange feeling.

The more Vaan focused on the truncated icosahedron-shaped system, the more he felt like he was inspecting another’s soul core–one that had been stripped of all memories and will, leaving only an empty husk of a form.

’This...’

Vaan was astonished.

Although he suspected the system was artificially created, most likely by his father, he didn’t expect it to use another person’s soul core as the foundation. This kind of soul modification was beyond cruel.

After all, without any memories or free will, the soul core was not much different from a person with brain death, alive yet not alive, requiring life support, incapable of surviving on their own. ŖἈ₦ОʙÊṨ

Without a host, the system didn’t seem capable of surviving on its own.

It was symbiotic.

However, up until now, this symbiotic relationship seemed commensal, benefiting only him; it wasn’t mutualistic, in which they both benefited.

In a short instant, Vaan understood how the system worked, how it attached itself to his soul core, and why a simple blood drop in the past couldn’t bind it. This was because a single drop of blood was disconnected from his body.

The system required a clear channel that could ensure its safety during the transfer.

Since he was practically lying in his own pool of blood, which still contained the essence of life, the system was able to detach itself from its old host and attach itself to the new host.

Nevertheless, this was all in the past and no longer important.

More importantly, this system was crafted from the soul core of another being!

Vaan paid particular attention to this discovery.

Being crafted into a system was simply a fate worse than death. Such cruelty would even make Corpse Masters look like saints.

After all, even though the Corpse Masters were notorious for refining living beings into corpse puppets, at least they killed their victims, allowing their souls to enter the cycle of reincarnation to start anew.

Only their corpses remained slaves to the Corpse Masters.

On the other hand, his system could not enter the cycle of reincarnation and was forced to depend on live hosts for survival, existing for their benefit. It was practically a soul slave, subjected to eternal damnation.

Based on his limited impression of his father, Vaan didn’t think his father was an evil person, even though the latter was once known as Shiva, the Destroyer, during the Primal Chaos Era.

The records of despair, sadness, and loneliness in the Time Chamber already told him what kind of person his father was. His father, Leon Crawford, should be a passionate man, with love for his family, and only hate for his enemies.

However, the fate of a system was not something anyone would wish upon any ordinary enemy.

As such, Vaan was led to believe that the original soul of his system was most likely one of his father’s mortal enemies in the distant Primal Chaos Era.

’I wonder what this person did to deserve such special treatment from father...’

Vaan found himself interested in their story. Unfortunately, this was doomed to be buried in history, never to resurface. With its memories and free will erased long ago, there was no hope of recovery.

Unless he possessed the power to rewind the system’s time to the Primal Chaos Era, it was simply not achievable.

’I don’t know who you were, or what you have done, but since you’ve become like this, you can only exist to serve me. Perhaps, if I learn your story one day and deem you deserve redemption, I will try to free you from this eternal hell.’

Vaan silently promised, believing no being deserved to be damned for eternity.

After all, such a being was simply insignificant in comparison to his father’s current height of existence. No matter what heinous crimes the person had committed in the past, his father could easily undo them, rendering all previous efforts nonexistent.

Moreover, at the level of Origin Creation, they would begin to regard all lifeforms below the Beyond True Divinity Realm as their children of creation. No misbehaved child deserved to be punished forever.

Once they were taught a lesson, they should be ready to turn over a new leaf.

’Now, let’s see what is wrong with you.’

With a thought, Vaan, under the power of the Nascent Soul Avatar, began to scrutinize the truncated icosahedron-shaped system in greater detail, inspecting every part for irregularities.

Within moments, he noticed several points he had missed in his earlier scan.

These irregular points were all missing a few soul runes, causing previous rune combinations to fail to produce certain calculations and effects.

Although it didn’t seem like a big issue since the soul power was diverted, drawing upon available runes in other sections to complete the calculations, it put a burden on the system, even overloading it.

Furthermore, some areas were cut off and neglected as the system diverted its soul power through other channels to reach its intended target and complete certain tasks.

On the surface, it seemed like not much potential was lost due to these few missing rune components.

However, upon deeper considerations, a lot of potential was actually loss.

After all, this system was ultimately a prototype in its making. Its design was not matured and was evidently flawed. Many functions required a specific rune combination in their circuit, leaving no room for backups in the event of an error or problem beyond their control.

’Essentially, this system is like a spiritual computer, infused with the Prime Factor, allowing it to consume soul power and draw upon the will of its host to activate the power of thought, performing various effects only Soul Masters are capable of.’

’Perhaps due to the wear and tear of time or other circumstances, many functions were lost or mutated. Although replacing the missing runes could restore the original system design, it is not enough to suit my plans.’

’This entire system needs an overhaul,’ Vaan decided.

During his inspection, he gradually understood everything about the system’s operations. Because it was designed to benefit the host, it could not draw soul power from its host.

However, it could absorb soul power from its surroundings.

Whenever Vaan engaged in killing or sensual acts with other beings, the soul power dispersed from their bodies was all absorbed by the system.

The system didn’t have the ability to manipulate mana or other forms of energy.

However, through the consumption of soul power and the host’s will, it could activate the power of thought to perform these various tasks.

’Since it can activate the power of thought, soul power is clearly superior to other forms of energy. For it to consume soul power just to manipulate other forms of energy... This is simply putting the cart before the horse, how inefficient.’

Vaan felt rather speechless at how the system had degraded.

With a single supporting beam missing, even if the skyscraper could still stand, it wouldn’t be as tall and look as majestic. In fact, it would look rather unsightly, prompting concern and panic among bystanders.

After all, who would know when the skyscraper would collapse and cause adverse damage to its surroundings?

Nevertheless, if Vaan wanted to overhaul the system, he had to understand its ins and outs thoroughly and master the language of soul runes. Evidently, the operations of the countless soul runes weren’t random but systematic, even if they were of a flawed and imperfect design.

’Although I have my own power of thought, the consumption of soul power still limits what I have at once. Since the system can collect soul power with my contribution, it can ease my burden of consumption once I repair it.’

’Depending on how I perceive it, it can either be tremendously useful or just a little helper,’ Vaan mused thoughtfully.

If he wanted to replenish soul power quickly, he would have to play the flute, adjust his mind and body, before entering the Astral Soul Realm to absorb soul essence.

Evidently, such a fixed condition was not possible to satisfy if he was locked in battle or threatened with danger, requiring him to be on the move.

However, if the system could help him replenish soul power through the slaying of foes, it might just prove to be life-saving, making it incredibly priceless.