"But that’s not knowledge meant for you!" Shawn’s numb body, the lazy brain resisting inside.
It was too barren.
It knew too little about this world, this starry sky, this cosmos.
Knowledge.
Such a desire, making people covet, the brain instinctively wanting more, enriching itself, understanding the mysterious essence of this world.
"No."
"I’m begging you, I’ll study hard, learn more knowledge."
"Don’t touch it."
Shawn begged his own brain, he truly felt fear, a deep, dark, obscure fear, he never imagined he would experience something so crazy, his own brain, it betrayed him, only wanting to obtain those mysterious knowledge drifting in the mist.
It was thirsty!
But at that moment, a cold, slender hand forcefully pulled Shawn out from the shadowy, obscure curtain.
He was lying on the ground, gasping heavily.
Cold sweat all over, slight twitching.
"I think I might not be able to be your guide." The woman’s voice was very tired, from raspy to hoarse, softly said: "I’ll ask the mentor to appoint a higher tier guide for you."
"Before that, I will take you to a safer place."
Shawn got up.
The shadowy curtain was dissipating, the dim glow reappearing, he felt his throat dry, his brain empty and barren, eager to learn something, even impatiently wanting to read some very professional books.
Preferably those books filled with real knowledge, true wisdom.
He was eager to learn!
Unbelievable.
After a long time, Shawn regained his sanity, his voice hoarse, slowly said: "I’m sorry."
Although not knowing what happened.
But this woman did not do anything too malicious to him, unless preparing to turn him into a mummy counts, she even just saved Shawn’s life.
"You’re very dangerous. I suggest you rest in peace." The woman again pulled out the ritual dagger, gleaming coldly.
Shawn smiled.
This was already the second time the woman advised him, the barren brain recovering from laziness, he felt his thoughts unprecedentedly clear, even willing to nibble on those obscure professional books from his past life, he calmly touched his nose, his fingers paused for a moment, calmly said: "You just saved me with all your strength."
"Now advising me to commit suicide."
"What are you afraid of?"
"Me dying, or dying unnaturally, will something terrible happen?"
"I’m sorry."
"I still want to live, the memories after death are very lonely, very void, not even pain."
"Although it’s a bit crazy here, it’s very interesting."
Wisdom’s spark was shining.
Shawn’s insight was at this moment unprecedentedly sharp, he observed the woman’s pupils, slightly constricting when he spoke, although he didn’t have the woman’s ability to read shallow thoughts of others, Shawn knew some of his guesses were correct.
She was scared!
"Since I came back to life, or rather, since this body was resurrected with my soul."
"You’ve been very averse to my existence."
"Although you hide it well, you still can’t fool me."
"I’m sorry."
"Did someone similar to me once, people who come back to life, souls of Otherworld, bring you some bad memories?"
"Your mentor."
"That skull... I don’t know how to describe... a Witch Demon?... "
"He seems to have made a transaction with some existence?"
"My soul."
"It seems to be a part of the transaction."
"My memory after death is very vague, only remembering wandering in endless void, can you tell me more?"
Shawn’s expression gradually became confident, talking eloquently, somewhat flaunting wantonly.
The woman remained silent.
After a moment, she raised her head, her eyes under the raven mask seemed bitter, softly said: "Do you know who you resemble now?"
Hmm?
Shawn’s expression froze for a moment.
"Like a person, Detective-Morty Laine."
"He possesses far beyond common insight, loves to talk glibly in front of everyone, especially likes reasoning everything in front of others."
"Although some reasoning is riddled with errors, he still enjoys that feeling of being the center of attention."
The woman paused for a moment, her voice subtle, yet like a heavy hammer, striking Shawn’s brain, softly said: "He is the protagonist in the book ’Detective-Morty Laine.’ A fictional character that doesn’t really exist."
"Also one of the very dangerous and strange existences."
"Your expression just now, even the way you reason, looked so much like him. Because his signature move is to touch his nose while reasoning."
"You are the soul of Otherworld."
"More malleable than our souls, and more capable of perceiving chaos and madness, you’re very dangerous."
"I hope you die."
"But I can’t disobey the mentor’s orders."
The woman’s expression gradually turned cold, after a brief rest, she climbed up tiredly, gazing at Shawn in front of her and said: "The first moment you regained consciousness."
"Was to pretend to still be unconscious to understand everything nearby."
"I sensed your consciousness had long woken up through ’Detecting Thoughts’ ability."
"This indicates that you are, in essence, not a flamboyant person."
"You’re very cautious."
"Even though along the way, your thoughts sparkled unusually, even attracting the attention of the Lord of Shadows, you spoke very little, it was always me speaking, you listening, thinking, thinking riskily for all of us."
"You should be inherently cautious."
"Then."
"Are you still yourself now?"
"Shawn!"
The woman removed the black raven mask, revealing an extremely beautiful, pale side profile without a trace of blood, like a delicate doll, her voice gradually cold, with a hint of killing intent, her slender hand tightening the ritual dagger, cautiously said: "Are you Shawn now?"
"Or Detective-Morty Laine?"
The abyss of death, drifting behind the woman’s silver fluttering long hair, that exquisite doll’s beautiful face, slightly pursed lips, cold blade, weighty expression, decisive demeanor, all carrying a hint of bone-chilling killing intent.
In front of her, Shawn shivered all over, standing dumbly in place.
Buzz.
The previously seemingly hidden shadow curtain suddenly reappeared, like a thin veil floating in the wind, emerging and assembling from different dimensions, as if a 2D pattern transformed into a 3D projection, each, countless, tiny, living knowledge, words, symbols, patterns, like extremely busy tiny bee swarms, they are shuttling around Shawn’s empty brain.
The whole brain, the entire skull, have been gnawed into a honeycomb-like appearance by countless tiny knowledge.
Countless subtle ’bug gnaw’ traces emerge, almost invisible to the naked eye, as if ’worker ants’ busily drilling in and out of the brain, these tiny ’knowledge’, are now altering the entire brain’s structural environment, making it more suitable for ’them’ to reside.
A brain suitable for mysterious knowledge to reside in!
Countless symbols, like nanometer-level ant colonies, penetrate, invade, gnaw, finally using the slick knowledge fluid to repair wounds, repairing broken nerves with silver white fine symbol marks.
They’re eating away excess brain tissue!
Ultimately, in the deepest part of the brain, a fictional novel character called ’Detective-Morty Laine’, in the reshaped brain nest revived.
These ’living knowledge’ replaced Shawn.
He died!
.........
Rookie reporting.