Chapter 261 (1/2)

Hao Ren was curious about what a living holy spirit was. He felt that it sounded pretty powerful. And so, Raven 12345 just explained it to him, “The holy spirit is not something made up by the Empire. In fact, it is a concept found in different human cultures, referring to heroic heroes who performed great deeds. Their souls are not extinguished after death instead, they turn into holy spirits. Two parts of Hilda’s soul appear to have been catalysed by my power in the process of being merged… Umm, it could also be something else. Now, she’s a different kind of life form, a whole new creature, powerful and immortal. She transformed into a holy spirit after being resurrected, so that’s why I’m calling her a living holy spirit.”

Hao Ren pondered and said, “It sounds pretty cool—but, will there be an aftereffect?”

“Theoretically, no.” Raven 12345’s voice did not sound reassuring. “Theoretically, she is not a virtual body and my strength has reshaped her physical form. So, she now has flesh and blood. She is real, like her old body has been replaced by a god-made body. Her old body can be discarded and the new body should allow her to live healthier. As for any aftereffects… well, because the body is glowing, she may easily frighten herself when she’s sleeping at night?”

Once Raven 12345 started to chat with him, he knew there was nothing to worry about regarding the matter. After asking Raven for some details on the problem, he disconnected the line and continued to observe Hilda’s bizarre state with interest. Hilda was also curious about her new body. She waved her arms gently and said, “There is nothing inconvenient about it. It is as good as the original body. Since the goddess claims that there is no problem with my new body, do not worry about it.”

“How are we going to explain this to the people?” Vimm frowned. “Mother, now… Umm, it is a bit out of our cognitive range.”

“Then, there is no need to explain.” Hilda waved her hand. “My personal matter is not important. Now, the most important thing is the great migration of Aerym. Let the people focus on this. Anyway, if you do not look at me closely, I look just like any ordinary elf. We will explain the situation to our people after the migration.”

Vimm nodded, but the next second, everybody inevitably fell into a state of total silence. Lily could not help but ask the most critical question. She lifted her hand, pointed to the medical chamber and asked, “…So, how are you going to deal with this?”

Everybody stared at Hilda’s “remains”. Even the MDT that always had a unique way of thinking was clueless about what to say. So, it decided to shut up and continued to pretend it was a coaster. Hao Ren pondered their predicament for some time and hesitantly suggested, “How about, we just dig a hole and bury it?”

Lily touched Hilda’s “remains”, immediately shook her head and said, “No, it’s still warm. The heart is still beating and it’s still breathing. It’ll feel like Hilda’s being buried alive if we bury it now.”

Hilda looked even more perplexed. She pinched her own remains and said, “I am perhaps the first elf to face such a distressing situation. I do not know how to deal with my own remains and I still need to discuss this with the others… Hmm, or we could just send it to the material recycling furnace. It will not be a waste to do so.”

Lily immediately shivered even more. “That’s even more horrifying than being buried alive.”

“What’s the elven burial ritual?” Vivian asked curiously.

“A funeral? We have not practiced this custom for several thousands of years. Now, dead elves are sent to the recycling furnace, all divided into ration points by quality without distinction…” Vimm explained, “…but my mother is… still alive, and her body does not seem to be dead… No, I do not have enough brain power to figure this out. Mother, you decide for yourself.”

Hilda looked like she totally had no idea what to do. No one had ever met such a difficult scenario hence, it was tough for her to discuss with the others on how to handle her remains. Watching her thinking hard, Hao Ren patted the MDT and asked, “Tell me, is the body alive or dead?”

“Physiologically, it is alive, but without a soul. It’s just carbon in an orderly chemical reaction. And because Raven’s power still remains in this body, it can keep the body this way forever even if it doesn’t eat or drink. To survive, the body will take energy from the surrounding space or use remnants of divine nature to create energy for itself. Anyway, it’s in a near-frozen state… This will still lead to a psychological hurdle, regardless of whether it’s buried or recycled in the furnace.” The MDT then sighed and continued, “You humans are strange. It’s just a shell that carries the main program, and you guys take it so seriously. Humans give too much meaning to these useless things and cause a lot of psychological problems for just changing a new shell, I—”