"I, I don’t have another personality." After listening to the Wise Sovereign’s analysis, Kaier shook his head vigorously.
Dox also chimed in: "If he had a secondary personality, I would have noticed long ago."
Vay: "That’s what you say, but you can’t be watching him day and night. Maybe he turns into a werewolf at night?"
Dox replied indignantly: "Don’t take ’The Griffin Flower’ seriously."
’The Griffin Flower’ is a play about a noble who turns into a werewolf at night and a tragic love story between him and a female knight who hunts heretics. It’s quite well-known on the Flourish Continent because during every open day at Extinguished Torch Academy, many apprentices perform famous plays from the continent, and ’The Griffin Flower’ frequently gets selected, leading many Transcendents to become familiar with the story.
Vay: "I was just giving an example."
Watching Vay and Dox argue, Kaier seemed a bit confused, not expecting to suddenly become the center of discussion.
In Kaier’s moment of bewilderment, Angel’s voice sounded timely: "A dual personality is indeed possible, where the main personality doesn’t know about the second one. But the kind of main and secondary personality the Wise Sovereign speaks of coexist and are aware of each other."
"So, since even the person involved clearly states there’s no other personality, the theory of a main and secondary personality should be ruled out."
Whether Kaier was lying was something everyone could discern. Since Kaier wasn’t lying, the analysis indeed suggested that another personality couldn’t exist.
"So, does this mean there’s residue of another soul in him? Or rather, from the root source, he’s not originally himself, but a soul that later occupied this body; while the body’s original soul turned into residue?" Vay speculated again.
"You seem to accept Angel’s explanation quite quickly, why didn’t you argue?" Dox remarked with a hint of jealousy.
Vay: "Because you only gave the conclusion without the process."
After speaking, Vay ignored Dox and turned his curious gaze back to Angel.
Angel: "What you mentioned is also possible. But to give a judgment now, I can’t."
Whether Kaier is an original soul or one that later parasitized into this body cannot be determined purely through reasoning because there are many possibilities. For instance, if the foreign soul entered Kaier’s body during infancy, constrained by the brain’s structure, its memory and consciousness would dissipate, starting with a blank slate, making it no different from a newborn baby.
The Wise Sovereign also nodded: "The simplest way to judge if it’s an original soul is to find a Prophet Wizard for a test, preferably from the Bell of Inquiry faction, directly asking yes or no will give the answer."
After a pause, the Wise Sovereign added: "And, does it really matter if the soul is original?"
Though a question, the Wise Sovereign’s intention was clear: whether a soul is original is not important. Or rather, for Kaier, it’s not important.
Angel also interjected: "Indeed, even if it’s not an original soul, it doesn’t matter to you. You now lack foreign soul memories, either because you are an original soul or the foreign soul entered the body during infancy. An infant’s spirit intelligence is incomplete, which is difficult to consider as a complete intelligent life."
"From a baby to a child, and then to who you are now, you are you. Your family, teachers, and friends all relate to you, having nothing to do with any unknown soul residue. So, you shouldn’t concern yourself with the original issue at all."
Dox also jokingly added: "If you’re really not an original soul, do you plan to self-destruct your soul to let that unintelligent soul residue dominate this body? You’d better think it through; obsessing over this is purely making trouble out of nothing."
Hearing everyone speak like this, even if Kaier was initially hesitant, he should have figured it out by now. Moreover, Kaier isn’t someone who hesitates much.
Seeing Kaier’s expression return to calm, Dox began to speculate recklessly.
"Soul residue won’t affect the essence of the main soul, but it might influence your personality subtly." Dox said: "Speaking of which, based on my understanding of you, your personality does strike me as somewhat peculiar."
Kaier: "Huh?"
"You’re obviously obsessed with research, logically, you should be like him, a stay-at-home type." Dox pointed at the homebody Vay.
"Your personality doesn’t particularly like going out either, but once historical ruins are mentioned, you act out of character. No one can stop you; your love for ruins is a bit excessive, not quite fitting your Academy Faction persona."
Dox stopped here, but everyone wasn’t foolish; they understood his implication.
Dox was clearly suggesting that the soul residue within Kaier affects his personality, causing his incessant passion for exploring historical ruins.
But, Dox had said it in passing, and everyone just listened casually, since there was simply no evidence. Calling it a guess was polite; it was pure speculation.
It’s entirely normal for a person to have interests, and exploring ruins is also a form of experience and research, which doesn’t contradict the Academy Faction persona.
Even Kaier didn’t believe it.
On the contrary, it was Vay, who’s always arguing with Dox, who solemnly asked, "Your inspiration?"
If it was inspiration, Vay might actually believe it.
Dox: "Not restored yet."
Upon hearing it hadn’t restored, Vay rolled his eyes dismissively and directly ignored Dox.
After this harmless little interlude, the Wise Sovereign finally brought up the main topic: the test.
"Before discussing this test, I need to remind you, I still can’t help you with this test, and previously I promised ’her’ that this test requires adherence to the rules she set."
Dox furrowed his brows: "We’re the ones taking the test, why would the Wise Sovereign agree to the rules she set for us? Isn’t it up to us to decide whether to accept her rules?"
The Wise Sovereign responded flatly: "The reason is simple, because I stopped her advances for you."
"Moreover, the rules for the test might not necessarily be disadvantageous to you. Of course, that doesn’t mean there will be advantages either."
Dox muttered under his breath, "That’s not much different from not saying anything."
The Wise Sovereign wasn’t bothered, casting his gaze upon Angel.
Angel didn’t know why the Wise Sovereign looked at him, but given the current atmosphere, he still picked up the topic: "Then what is this test about?"
The Wise Sovereign smoothly replied: "I’ve hinted at the test before. This time, it’s not just you who have come to the Hanging Jail Stairway."
With the Wise Sovereign’s words, everyone immediately reacted.
Dox: "The Merchant Organization?"
The Wise Sovereign nodded: "To be precise, it’s a group led by the Gray Merchant. The White Merchant and Black Merchant have already left."
Upon hearing the Wise Sovereign’s words, the most surprised was actually Angel.