Chapter 18: Resurrection and the Restorative Pillar

Chapter 18: Resurrection and the Restorative Pillar

What does death feel like?

Even across the entire multiverse, there are not many who can personally describe such a sensation. Self-aware undead merely transform their life form upon physical death—they have never truly 'died.' Those who have genuinely died and then been resurrected are, in essence, not the same person who perished, so they too cannot claim firsthand experience. Those who die and return to life are even rarer, requiring the aid of immensely powerful forces—at least Legendary-tier or above—for there to be any chance of success.

Yet today, Nameless had the fortune to become one of the multiverse's rarest 'death-defying returnees.'

The feeling of death is, in truth, nothing at all. When Nameless the maintenance worker, in a calm of utter despair, raised the furnace ray emitter and destroyed his own brain, he died cleanly and decisively. Seventy-three seconds after his death, his wandering soul began to gradually dissolve into the atmosphere, much like his body would have decomposed under the action of various microbes a few days later.

Death had accepted him. At the moment his soul shattered completely, Nameless the technician was utterly dead. But even death is not absolute in this multiverse. Anything is possible. As long as one's power is sufficient, both death and fate can be trampled underfoot.

Just like now. The fragmented soul, wandering in the Abyss of Souls, coalesced under a silver radiance. It gathered into one, then returned to the body—Nameless the technician opened his eyes in a daze, and what he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.

"You're awake?"

He heard a calm, deep male voice: "It seems my repairs were adequate. You've been fully resurrected."

Who is it?

Nameless instinctively wanted to ask, but because he hadn't spoken with anyone for many years, and because his current body differed from his previous one, he couldn't speak smoothly. Instead, he coughed heavily several times.

Ah, the body! The moment he noticed the change, Nameless immediately realized that his current body was vastly different from before. Simply put, he had become much younger… no, he had been directly reversed to his teenage years, before he had even come of age!

"I might have overdone it a bit. It's a little too young."

The calm male voice continued, its tone like that of someone describing a minor error in an experiment, tinged with slight regret: "Moreover, the physical structure of a Siberian isn't suited to the Mycroft World, so I took the liberty of replacing your respiratory and circulatory organs."

Only then did Nameless, still dazed and newly emerged from death, muster the strength to lift his head, look toward the source of the voice, and take in his surroundings.

He saw that he was lying on a flat, white surface resembling a repair bay workbench. A silver pillar of light descended from above, enveloping him and the entire operating table. In fact, the entire table floated in midair, not touching the ground.

The surroundings were clean and tidy, nothing like the repair workshop where he had taken his own life. The walls were all silver, seemingly forged entirely from metal. Nameless could faintly see magical light flowing across these metal walls. With each faint blue flash, all the dust in the surrounding air was absorbed, leaving no residue.

Of course, the most important thing was not these details. Nameless exhaled, shook his head in a daze, then focused his gaze on the being standing directly before him.

It was a man draped in a white robe, but his stature was so tall that even the loose medical garment couldn't fully conceal it. What would appear wide and flowing on an ordinary person gave the impression of a vest on him. His face, with its strong, hard lines, exuded a tangible, almost physical authority that nearly made Nameless, who had just sat up, lie back down again.

In fact, he did lie back down. But Nameless quickly sat up again, even jumping off the still-floating operating table and steadying himself by holding onto it.

"...I died."

After managing to stand without relying on the table, Nameless was silent for a moment, then spoke softly: "I remember clearly. I used the furnace ray to burn out my brain… According to medical knowledge, I should have been beyond saving. But you saved me."

He looked around at the operating table and the clean, empty space devoid of other objects, then bowed deeply to Joshua: "Such a debt of gratitude is beyond repayment."

This man, reborn with a youthful body, stood upright as his first act after awakening. Though Nameless couldn't grasp the current situation, he understood why he could still speak. From the tall man's earlier words, he knew it was this man who had saved him. So his first action was to offer sincere thanks.

"It's just a fair return. No need to dwell on it."

On the other side, Joshua, who was taking off his white coat, shook his head: "After all, I used your body for a while back in the Siberia World. Resurrecting you was just to test my own power. A simple exchange. It was a promise I made, even if you had died at that time."

At this point, Nameless the technician was confused and fell into a daze. He hadn't understood terms like 'Siberia World' from the start, nor did he grasp why he had become so young after resurrection. To be honest, he didn't even know who Joshua was. He only knew that this man wasn't a Soul Puppet, seemed to possess his own will, and was likely one of those who had been fighting against the Soul Puppets all along.

Nameless had no idea what was happening. He had never even communicated with a human before. His earlier words were merely a repetition of knowledge learned from books, used instinctively.

Joshua understood this. He waved his hand, conjuring a chair in a flash of silver light, and sent it beneath the man, gesturing for him to sit. Then, he calmly said: "Think carefully. I've placed the entire sequence of events in your mind."

Hearing this, Nameless instinctively recalled.

And then, he learned everything… everything about the thousand-plus years of history in the Siberia World, the lament of civilization, the war of betrayal and despair, and the end of those who gazed at the past and refused to move forward… A torrent of information, vast as an ocean, surged directly into his mind.

And so, Nameless fainted again.

"...Ah, I forgot that ordinary people have a limit to how much information they can receive."

Standing before the silver pillar of light, Joshua, who had been about to ask Nameless how resurrection felt, saw this and couldn't help but slap his forehead in exasperation: "It seems that if you use Steel Force to transmit too much information at once, an ordinary person can't handle it… But if I were to use this against an enemy, flooding them with information through Steel Force on contact, it might hinder their thinking. It could count as an attack method."

Thinking this, the warrior felt a surge of eagerness to try it. He placed the unconscious Nameless back on the operating table, laying him flat. But soon, he frowned again: "No, that would be just like the information shock of an Evil God, wouldn't it?"

The reason Evil Gods drive people mad upon direct sight or contact is precisely due to the transmissibility of information. Even mentioning an Evil God's true name—like the Plague Evil God and its minion 'Yur Demas'—can cause a strand of information to transmit from across the distant starry sea, wildly spreading vast amounts of useless, corrosive information, reducing the sanity of those who come into contact. Joshua's ability was even more potent, because the information transmitted by Evil Gods isn't entirely worthless; it might contain fragments of knowledge left over from the destruction of other worlds. If Joshua were to use this method to attack, he would certainly be dumping nothing but garbage information.

"...Joshua, is it really okay for you to resurrect him like this?"

Just as the warrior was still pondering the uses of his Steel Force, a clear, crisp voice sounded. Half a second later, as magical power coalesced, a holographic projection of No. 3 appeared beside Joshua, her expression worried: "He's from the Siberia World. After learning that his home world was completely reforged under the control of the Steel Serpent, he certainly won't feel good about it, will he?"

"That's still better than being dead, No. 3."

Joshua was unconcerned: "This nameless gentleman chose death out of despair and to resist the exploitation of the Soul Puppets. Now, the Siberia World is reborn, the rule of the Soul Puppets has vanished into smoke, and even Fatlervi has been killed by me. He has no reason to die anymore."

"No matter how bad the situation is, it can't be worse than before. Besides, if he doesn't want to return to the Siberia World, I can hire him to work for us, can't I?"

No. 3 didn't try to refute Joshua's words. Since the man was already resurrected, saying more was pointless. She just took a deep look at Nameless's body, seeing the glow of his soul surging within.

"I didn't expect you to have reached the point where you can repair souls… Combined with your ability to freely create living bodies, this is essentially unlimited resurrection."

The Artificial Intelligence Girl said in a low voice: "This is… a domain even gods cannot touch."

As she spoke, a faint light flickered on No. 3's forehead, forming a pair of wing-like marks—the holy symbol of Gael, the Sky God. No. 3's words were not false; she truly had not found any knowledge related to this in the Sky God's inheritance.

"No matter who dies, as long as a remnant of their soul remains, you can forge a new body for them, stuff the soul back in, and re-record their memories and personality… Such a simple method of resurrection has never been heard of."

"It's not simple."

In response to No. 3's exclamation, Joshua shook his head seriously, critiquing her optimistic view: "First, the deceased's soul must be intact and strong enough to record all their personality and memories—this condition alone disqualifies most people. Only those with a sufficiently strong soul and a firm enough will can be resurrected by this method."

"Furthermore, for those who haven't achieved the Soul's Ultimate Essence and whose strength hasn't reached the Ultimate-rank, the soul's self-dissipation occurs within thirty seconds to seven minutes. This means that even for a Gold-rank expert, if I'm not nearby within seven minutes of their death and haven't collected their soul, they are completely and utterly dead. Unlike certain gods who can resurrect, using divine arts to collect shattered soul fragments, once the memory fragments begin to return to the cycle of souls after a certain time, even if I resurrect someone using the remaining soul, their memories will be incomplete."

"'Being able to resurrect the dead' means you've broken the boundary between life and death, grasped a fundamental authority. You could even say you're walking the path toward eternity… You're already strong enough. Don't be so demanding."

No. 3 frowned. She didn't like Joshua's overly rational way of thinking. Floating beside the warrior, she said with some dissatisfaction: "And you spent almost a week on this. It can't be just to resurrect one person, right? What exactly have you been doing all this time? You finally get a chance to return to your territory, but you spend every day in the clean lab here at Winterfell. Xiao Guang ran off again yesterday with the dwarves to play Fae Cards, and you didn't even bother to check on him…"

No. 3 rambled on about a lot of things, as if complaining. Joshua listened quietly… She did need to vent. From the time the warrior returned to Moldavia on January 5th, 838, until now, the afternoon of January 11th, Joshua had spent most of his time in the clean lab on the second basement level of Winterfell Academy, conducting some strange experiments. Resurrecting Nameless was just one of his many tasks, clearly not the main result he had been seeking over such a long period.

And indeed, Joshua hadn't secluded himself just to resurrect Nameless.

After No. 3 finished her rambling complaints, the warrior took the Artificial Intelligence Girl's hand and gestured for her to look up at the silver pillar of light enveloping Nameless and the operating table. No. 3, for some reason, seemed to freeze for a moment before finally lifting her head to carefully examine the seemingly unremarkable glow of Steel Force.

"It seems… nothing special?"

For a moment, No. 3 didn't notice anything unusual. But soon, she sensed something off: "No, this pillar is entirely composed of your Steel Force… This isn't light at all! It's a pool of energy saturated with Steel Force! It's glowing on its own, making it look like a pillar of light!"

"Exactly right."

Seeing No. 3 quickly detect the anomaly, Joshua clapped his hands with a smile. He gazed at the 'Steel Force Energy Pool' he had spent nearly a week creating, and said with some pride: "I originally only intended to resurrect Nameless. But then I thought, since creating and repairing a complete body is so easy for me, why not build an automated system that can repair people's bodies?"

As he spoke, Joshua raised his hand and conjured a light screen in the air. Images and videos appeared on it, mostly showing adventurers and soldiers who had suffered severe injuries, losing limbs, or even having their comrades end their suffering. The warrior showed these materials to No. 3, and in her thoughtful gaze, he calmly continued: "For me, repairing a person's limb takes less effort than breathing. Resurrecting someone is just a matter of meeting the conditions; if everything is in order, it's as easy as raising a hand."

"But most ordinary people are different. They don't have my power. Even if there are divine arts that can regenerate limbs, they probably can't afford the cost of treatment."

No. 3 blinked, somewhat puzzled: "So… you created this Steel Force Energy Pool?" As she spoke, she looked up at the silver pillar of light, then said uncertainly: "I can roughly understand its function. It should repair all injuries on anyone who enters, including severed limbs—wait, are you planning to mass-produce these?"

Thinking of this, No. 3 was startled. She flew around Joshua several times, then shook her head in a fluster: "Hey, hey, don't be so kind! Steel Force is important to you. If you create too many of these energy pools, it will thin out your Steel Force reserves! If you encounter a powerful enemy like Fatlervi, as you mentioned before, this weakening could be fatal!"

"I may be kind, but I'm not that much of a saint."

Joshua expressed dissatisfaction with No. 3's overly charitable view of him. He shook his head with a smile, then gazed at the silver pillar of light before him: "I plan to call this thing the 'Restorative Pillar.' I'll place one in every few cities. Anyone in need can use it to heal the accumulated injuries on their body—of course, they'll have to pay a price. Gold, silver, curios, collected tomes, or other rare resources will do. My Steel Force condensations all have their own calculative thinking abilities; they are essentially a part of me. So they can judge what price the person should pay based on their injuries."

"No one gets something for nothing. Every Restorative Pillar is directly connected to me. Anyone who tries to destroy it will face my instinctive counterattack."

"But… what's in it for you?"

What a tacky name. No. 3 inwardly scorned the warrior's naming ability, but she couldn't think of a better name herself, so she kept quiet. After listening, she nodded with some understanding. She grasped Joshua's intention, knowing he didn't plan to waste his power on the masses for free. But even so, she still didn't see what benefit this brought him.

On this point, No. 3 cared even more than the warrior himself. Thinking this, she furrowed her delicate brows and turned to Joshua with some irritation: "In the end, this is still just you giving!"

"How could that be? I'm getting the better deal."

Seeing No. 3 so concerned about his interests, Joshua naturally didn't get angry. He patted No. 3 on the head and chuckled: "Think about it. When I heal their injuries, all I consume is some energy and matter to reshape or repair limbs and wounds. And such things are everywhere. But the price the healed person pays must far exceed what I expend. And they'll probably think my fee is too cheap."

"This way, it's like having countless people simultaneously collecting various rare resources for me, making me stronger. This is much faster than occasionally going to another world to swallow mud from a dead, energy-poor world. Most importantly, creating these Restorative Pillars is just a side effort for me. It helps the public and benefits both sides. Why not do it?"

"It's not good news for those doctors and clergy."

No. 3 touched her head and pouted: "They'll lose a major source of income."

"Only those with injuries they can't handle will come to me." Joshua was unconcerned; he had already considered this: "After all, my price isn't low. I can also link this to the contribution systems of Winterfell and the External Exploration Department, allowing them to exchange credits and contribution points for treatment opportunities. Honestly, I think my contribution system could completely replace cash. It's a pity that Israel and the others never supported it, saying that information terminals need to be widespread first before we can do that."

"Speaking of which, I could even have an external exploration team carry a Restorative Pillar with them. That would minimize the risks of exploring other worlds."

"Ugh, you've thought it all through so thoroughly, I have nothing left to say…" After carefully listening to every word Joshua said, No. 3 blinked, finding no flaws. So, with a sigh, she hugged her knees and slowly floated toward the laboratory door. As she floated, she reminded him seriously: "Remember to come back to the Lord's Manor for dinner tonight. If you don't come back again…"

"You'll get angry—I know. I'll be back."

Joshua watched No. 3 leave the laboratory. Then, he turned back to look at the 'Restorative Pillar' before him. A flickering, uncertain light shone in the warrior's eyes.

In truth, besides what he had told No. 3, he had an even larger plan that he hadn't shared with the Artificial Intelligence Girl.

That was, he didn't intend to promote this thing only in the Mycroft World.

The Carlis World, the Ilgena World, the Chronos World, the Siberia World… Besides these small worlds, and even those not yet connected, there was the real main event: the Starry Sea Great World.

If it were just the Northern Lands, just the Northern Empire, no matter how many Restorative Pillars were spread, the harvest wouldn't be too great. But if it were the entire Mycroft World, the daily returns alone would be considerable, let alone multiple worlds. As long as time passed, the power Joshua accumulated in various places would reach astronomical figures. Compared to that, the Steel Force he expended was just a drop in the bucket.

In the Midgard civilization of the Starry Sea World, he was a true god with a divine name that had spread. The Restorative Pillar would certainly be regarded as a true miracle. The so-called price would simply be offerings, which the Midgardians would gladly pay. If the Midgardians encountered other civilizations, they could also spread the Pillars. In this way, the returns from a single Starry Sea World might be many times greater than those from several small worlds combined.

This efficiency was definitely faster than spending a lot of energy wandering through desolate voids, searching for collectible matter. Not every void domain had the energy density of the Void Great Maelstrom, and he couldn't stay by the Maelstrom forever, absorbing energy.

"This way, by periodically reclaiming these accumulated forces, I can quickly gather enough high-energy matter to accelerate the formation of the world."

In the clean laboratory, Joshua clenched his right fist. He gazed at his fist, which was absolutely hard, absolutely smooth, surpassing all matter in the world, and murmured to himself: "Moreover, Steel Force is the carrier of my information. It is a part of me and my soul. Every Restorative Pillar contains a sliver of my will… If I spread them across different worlds, it's equivalent to me being in several different worlds simultaneously."

What kind of consequences would this peculiar mode of existence bring?

Joshua didn't know.

But he was looking forward to it.