The old woman's emerald eyes blazed with an eerie light, and Lucian's head immediately grew dizzy. In a hazy fog, he lost all awareness of what he was doing.
By the time he regained consciousness, Lucian found himself lying on a silver-gray platform, like a patient awaiting surgery or a corpse about to be dissected.
With several sharp clicks, silver-gray metal rings emerged from the platform and clamped around his wrists, ankles, and neck. Icy thin needles pierced into his veins, bringing indescribable stinging pain and a faint numbness.
"This ancient-lineage mage must be at least high-tier…" Lucian didn't panic. He quietly assessed the old woman's strength. Although his spiritual power had been sealed, his soul was still that of a fourth-ring mage. Unless there was an enormous gap in strength, it would be very difficult to be "directed" so effortlessly.
Two black, tentacle-like tubes seemed to come alive, snaking through the air from either side and pressing against his temples.
"This looks like an arcane artifact that records changes in the soul?" Lucian had never found any records in the literature about ancient mages using electrical stimulation in human experiments. He had briefly wondered whether he'd encountered another transmigrator like Professor Yang. Left with no other clues, he could only deduce the experiment's ultimate purpose from the Magic Circle and the arcane artifacts, then seize the moment to speak: "Madam, are you conducting an experiment using electrical stimulation to induce changes in the soul? I believe I would be far more useful as an assistant than as experimental material."
The old woman let out a strange, owl-like cackle: "Hehehehehe — in fact, you are far more useful as experimental material than as an assistant. I rarely encounter a mid-tier mage here. Your mutated soul can provide me with entirely new experimental data and fill the gaps I need to improve my magic ritual."
Seeing that Lucian still wanted to speak, she uttered a strange word, and though Lucian opened his mouth, no sound came out.
"Little fool, language is nothing but a superficial weapon. Don't try to influence my decisions. Here, I am the sole sovereign. Whether to proceed with the electrical experiment or not is for me alone to decide — I don't need to consider any other factors!" The old woman's expression turned slightly manic. "I've already read that letter on you. But what do two legendary mages have to do with me? Can they find this place? Can they threaten me? Would I be afraid of them? Can I even get out of here? I should complete the experiment as quickly as possible, find a way to elevate my own strength — only then might I be able to open that place…"
Lucian wanted desperately to shout: "Then you should release me even more! If we sit down and discuss this together, we can find an effective way to boost your strength. I have all kinds of relevant experimental data!"
But such a cry could only choke in his throat, reduced to a beast-like, guttural wheezing.
Forcing himself to calm down, Lucian thought gravely: "Her speech is incoherent, her logic muddled — there are signs of madness. This is going to make communication extremely difficult, unless I can discover what she desires most. I'd honestly rather have encountered an evil, cruel mage who was at least sane."
"Judging from what she's said, she's also a mage imprisoned in this demonic realm — the third survivor the young servant mentioned. And it seems she's been trapped here for a very, very long time. No wonder her mental state has deteriorated. If I want to reach her, perhaps I should approach from that angle. But I know absolutely nothing about this place."
The old woman picked up a magic staff from nearby — curved like a black serpent — and pointed it at him. The metal rings clamping his wrists and ankles began to emit tiny silver-white arcs of electricity that eagerly burrowed into his body.
First came a searing, burning pain at his wrists and ankles, followed by a violent numbness that brought Lucian an agony beyond description. His muscles began to convulse, gradually losing sensation, turning numb and limp. His brain and soul felt as though countless thin needles were piercing back and forth through them, bringing excruciating pain.
Lucian wished the current would be cranked to its absolute limit — that way he would slip into blank unconsciousness and no longer feel this unbearable torment. But for now, he could only force himself to hold on, refusing to let himself black out.
If he lost consciousness, he would never know what hidden effects this experiment might have on his soul!
The current gradually intensified. The tiny silver serpents merged together into something like a whip, ceaselessly lashing his body and soul with numbing shocks.
Lucian had no strength to clench his teeth, no way to ball his fists. He could only cling to consciousness through sheer willpower. His sole conviction: do not give in, do not surrender.
Under the electrical stimulation, his soul slowly began to swell, as though every last drop of its potential was being drawn out. But the pain grew fiercer, more and more unbearable.
Between half-fainting and half-awake, Lucian vaguely heard the old woman's voice:
"One minute, twenty-three seconds. The soul is beginning to show changes."
……
"Four minutes, ten seconds. He's actually still holding on. It seems some kind of unwavering belief is keeping his soul and brain from losing consciousness."
"Could the power of belief have a reverse effect on the soul? Rather than only being convertible into a knight's willpower, as was previously understood?"
"Willpower is also produced by the human body. Perhaps it has a mysterious connection to the soul."
"Perhaps all supernatural power is fundamentally the same. Lord Thanos, the Sun King, along with numerous legendary mages, have always sought to touch the most essential truth through the advancement of power. The world is complex, and yet simple. Perhaps there truly does exist a single, fundamental essence that constitutes everything."
……
The old woman drifted away from the original purpose of her experiment, instead observing the entirely unexpected phenomenon unfolding before her.
An indeterminate amount of time passed. Just when Lucian thought he would be trapped in this "electrical hell" for eternity, the numbness finally receded, replaced by aching soreness throughout his body and a boneless, enfeebled weakness.
"Excellent! You are even better suited as experimental material than I imagined." The old woman did not stint on expressing her satisfaction — though it was not the kind of satisfaction Lucian wanted.
Then she examined him carefully and let out a cackling laugh: "Once your soul stabilizes and recovers, we'll proceed with the follow-up experiments. As long as you survive, you will gain an extraordinarily, extraordinarily great reward."
Lucian found that his ability to speak had returned, so he attempted: "Madam, when it comes to experiments on the human body and the soul, I possess extensive data and many newly developed spells. Perhaps I could be of help to you."