False Immortality

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After Edward left his dimensions and returned to his manor, he quickly discovered someone from the palace waiting for him. Without saying anything, he entered the carriage that the palace sent and went to see the Empire.

This time, their meeting was not in an open hall, but in a private garden with only him and the Emperor. Of course, Edward could feel the Qi of countless people hiding in the dark. Although they tried to hide their presence, they could not hide from his senses.

After meeting with the Xing Emperor, they had a casual chat where the Emperor displayed his charm and asked Edward whether he was satisfied with the Xing people's reception.

Of course, Edward--who was knowledgeable in politics--also answered with a smile on his face and greatly complimented his highness Empire and his people.

However, mid-way through their conversation, the Emperor casually asked: "Sir Edward, you are a very knowledgeable Alchemist that has traveled all over the world. Have you never thought about your mortality?"

If it was an ordinary person, they might think that this Emperor was just chatting casually about different topics.

"Of course, I have. However, death is an inevitable thing for all life."

"That may be true, but have you never thought about researching immortality?"

"Immortality, huh? One time, indeed, I was intrigued by the subject."

"Oh, and what was your discovery?"

"The only information I discovered was the fact that a 15th century Amestrian Alchemist named Nicolas Flamel believed that the Philosopher's Stone could grant him immortality and did research on it. However, from what I know, he's dead so he most likely failed."

"Is that so? What a shame."

Then, the Emperor did not mention this topic again and continued his casual chat with Edward until the latter was dismissed.

As soon as Edward left, the gentle smile on the Xing Emperor's face was replaced by a solemn one.

"What do you think?" he spoke out loud, seeming to talk to himself.

"Your majesty, he is lying," responded another voice from the shadow.

"How so?"

"When this man first came, I felt the Qi on his body; it was like a walking sun due to how vast it was. Although he has now learned to hide it, it does not change this fact.

"This abundant amount of Qi is not something a normal person can have. And with such vast Qi, it should be possible for him to live for a couple hundred if not thousand years."

The Xing Emperor frowned after hearing this, then he asked: "Did you find anything in his library?"

The person in the shadow paused for a few seconds before saying: "We did find a kind of false pseudo-immortality."

"What does that mean? Be more straightforward."

"The method we discovered involved binding a person's soul to a suit of armor. That armor will have no need for food, sleep, and does not age. Even if it is destroyed, as long as the place where the soul is sealed is still intact--it can be rebuilt."

"I'm guessing that there are other downsides to this method besides not being able to experience the pleasures of the flesh," said the Emperor.

"Yes. According to the notes, the suit of armor will eventually reject the soul, thus leading to death. However, the notes mentioned that the soul can be transferred to another suit of armor after the rejection."

"How long can this process last?"

"Seven times. The soul can stay bonding to the armor for a hundred years maximum based on the Alchemist's skill. After that, it has to be transferred to another suit. Finally, the soul can only be transferred seven times before reaching its limit."

"So, this method could only give me 700 years of life," replied the Xing Emperor as he pondered deeply. "Since I can transfer my soul to a suit, couldn't I also transfer it to another body?"

"According to the notes, the rejection of this process is more severe than a suit. Another body can last between 3 months to 5 years maximum before being rejected. And the amount of time that the soul can be transferred still remains at 7."

The Xing Emperor nodded his head as he pondered what to do.

Meanwhile, after leaving the palace, Edward returned home to see Hughes having dinner; he seemed to enjoy Xing's food. He looked at him and said: "It's time to go."

"What? How come we have to leave so suddenly?"

However, Edward was not looking at him; he was sensing the large number of people that already surrounded his manor. He mentally sighed:

'It seems that the Xing Emperor was not satisfied with the method of immortality that I gave him; how greedy.'

Although Edward only gave him this method as both a thank you and an experiment to study how the souls of the people of this world are different from the people of his world, it was still a real method.

Meanwhile, Hughes--who did not know what was going on--was quite shocked when the house that they were living in suddenly exploded, creating a cloud of smoke made of dust.

And once the wind blew it away, he discovered a strange shield surrounding him and Edward. Meanwhile, a large army of soldiers dressed in armor and holding knives and spears had surrounded them.

"What's going on?"

"I told you that the Xing Emperor was dying, so he wanted to acquire immortality."

"What does that have to do with us? Wait, does he think that you have a way for him to become immortal."

"Apparently, so."

"Well, do you?"

"Of course I do, but I would never give it to him."

Hughes looked at him up and down, then decided to change the subject. He looked at the army and asked: "So, what do we do now? We're in big trouble!"

Edward--who remained calm and composed during the entire situation--said: "It's a shame that I cannot kill people. Anyway, I can still give them a little lesson."

He clapped his hand which suddenly created a loud sonic wave attack. Then, more than 90% of the soldiers in this army screamed as they held their hands before falling on the ground, bleeding in their ears and noses.

The remaining 10%--although still standing--were also bleeding from their orifices. Although these soldiers were not dead, they won't be getting back up any time soon.

Immediately after that, Edward and Hughes disappeared from Xing, nowhere to be found. Of course, this was not the end of this incident. Soon after their disappearance, the Xing Emperor collapsed.

His health rapidly deteriorated at an alarming rate, and no matter what the Royal Alchemists did, they could not prevent this from happening. In the end, out of desperation, they tried to place his soul in a suit of armor to prolong his life.

Unfortunately for them, during the process, a mysterious power suddenly prevented the Emperor's soul from leaving his body; he was forced to remain bed-ridden until it was time for him to die of natural cause.

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Next Chapter Title: Existential Crisis