Unconsciously, the night passed.
The effects of the Clarity Potion gradually faded.
Celine saw Roy emerge from within, looking deep in thought, and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with you?"
Beside her, Atedia was staring at him with a look of pleasant surprise, mixed with a hint of covetousness.
"Nothing's wrong with me," Roy snapped out of his thoughts, somewhat puzzled.
"Nothing wrong? You even forgot to put on your face guard!" Celine said.
Roy glanced at her, then at Atedia, and sighed inwardly, covering his face with his hand.
The face guard extended from inside the helmet, once again covering his strikingly handsome face.
Initially, he had sealed himself off to avoid radiation contamination, hiding his entire body within the Silver Battle Armor.
Later, even when he gradually gained control over the Source of Magic and suppressed the sudden surge in Mental Strength, he didn't immediately remove it.
Analyzing his own psychology, he guessed it wasn't just a matter of habit but perhaps a bit of a psychological defense mechanism.
He subconsciously felt that this transformed, handsome version of himself was the real him.
He wasn't too keen on letting others know that he once had an ordinary "former self."
"If one day in the future, I meet Sophia, Olen, Balu, and others, would they still recognize me as I am now?"
Suddenly, Roy turned to Celine and asked a seemingly random question.
"Of course they would," Celine replied.
"Wizards don't recognize people by their external appearance. Otherwise, with all the methods of descent, projection, and possession, wouldn't everything be in chaos?"
Roy asked, "Then why weren't you recognized back then?"
Celine said, "At that time, apart from my brain, my entire body had become Senior Apprentice Sophia's. Plus, I deliberately disguised myself. They weren't true Wizards, so it's normal they didn't recognize me."
"So, a person's soul and consciousness still follow the brain, right?
What we usually call the body isn't the true body."
Roy mused thoughtfully.
"The body is just a shell, like a machine. The brain is the true self, the pilot!"
"According to the Wizardry knowledge researched by Senior Apprentice Sophia, that should be the case...
Even when a person's head is cut off, they retain consciousness briefly. Many Wizards have decapitated themselves or their experimental subjects...
But precisely because the brain is the true self, the vessel of the soul, Senior Apprentice Sophia couldn't completely eliminate it. She could only replace the entire brain."
Celine had participated in related research...
Though she was the subject...
But at least she participated.
She still had some knowledge reserves.
Roy nodded in agreement.
This aligned with some of the theories he had recently come across.
Suddenly, Roy thought of a method far surpassing Sophia's "head replacement" technique.
That is, to completely abandon this brain and transfer to a new one!
"Normally, even a Great Wizard, without extensive and profound research, might not be able to achieve such a soul-level transfer.
But I'm different.
I can definitely do it!
And I've already succeeded!"
...
In the following days, Roy continued to research this issue.
Coincidentally, the field of Golems involved "Soul Studies," so Roy took the opportunity to consult his mentor under the guise of researching Golems.
"The relationship between the soul and the brain?"
Flosf pondered for a moment.
"Many people often separate the soul from the brain, viewing the soul as something purely metaphysical and ethereal, while the brain is seen as an objective, material entity...
It must be said, this is a highly deceptive notion, and it aligns well with the dialectical contradiction between matter and consciousness.
However, what if we were to immerse the brain in a nutrient tank, creating a realistic virtual illusion?
Ordinary people are incapable of perceiving true colors or experiencing genuine scents.
They cannot truly interact with matter; they rely on the forces between materials to perceive...
Everything is the brain, the brain is the culprit.
As long as this illusion is sufficiently real and perfect enough to deceive the brain, it becomes indistinguishable from reality.
By extension, our entire world could potentially be an illusory dream, with our bodies serving as the nutrient tanks, and even the 'real' 'brain' existing outside the dream...
There has never been matter, only consciousness!
As Alchemical Lifeforms developed to a certain extent, they gradually observed the processes by which natural life or Artificial Lifeforms give birth to souls, and discovered that the movement of brain cells coincides with the emergence of intelligence and consciousness.
If we liken the brain to a world, with its cells representing all things in the universe, the soul consciousness of intelligent life bears a striking resemblance to what is known as the World's Will.
Some Great Wizards even believe that a planet, a world, is a form of life in a special sense...
It is essentially the collective consciousness of all beings in the world, encompassing the essence of the soul, as well as the secrets to igniting the divine flame and ascending to godhood."
"This is actually related to becoming a god!"
Roy was astonished.
"Of course, the only fundamental entity in the world is the soul. A pure soul is a god, a chaotic soul is a human. Isn't that simple enough?
A barren and primitive world gives birth to life through the emergence of soul consciousness, which is the process by which the World's Will comes into being.
The earliest natural deities also coalesced from the spirituality of all things in the universe.
If evolution reaches a certain stage, intelligent beings emerge, and with the progress of civilization, personal gods are born...
This manifests as the collection of faith and the ignition of the divine flame.
To put it simply, the secret to becoming a god beyond the stage of a Great Wizard is just that straightforward!"
Flosf, indeed a third-level Wizard aspiring to the fourth level, succinctly clarified many of Roy's doubts.
Reflecting on the myths and legends of various nations and ethnicities...
The creation of the heavens and the earth, the evolution of all things, the birth of life, the rise of intelligent civilizations...
There are indeed traces to follow!
Of course, these are not the main points.
The key lies in what the teacher just mentioned, "A barren and primitive world gives birth to life through the emergence of soul consciousness"!
"This actually describes the process by which a blank brain gives rise to a soul and consciousness!
The birth of the soul and consciousness is closely linked to the brain.
It's as if the number of brain cells becomes vast, the neural connections operate, and consciousness emerges..."
It's not hard to draw a conclusion—the soul and the brain are indeed closely connected, and it's not as simple as a 'house' and its 'occupant'!"
My spirituality and consciousness, along with those innate talents, are indeed constrained by this physical body!
This naturally leads to a conclusion.
Perhaps, it's truly time to change my body... or even my brain.
Only then can I completely break free from the shackles of my former self and allow my soul to grow and flourish without restraint!