Tatsumi knew that once he fell asleep, he could do many things that were not possible in reality. But he had assumed that was his power in the Afterlife, the Library of Consciousness.

But something different happened this time. Tatsumi got himself in a certain perspective.

‘Where am I?’ Tatsumi assessed the situation before looking at the large mirror near him. It stood tall as if the owner wanted the mirror to be placed in the most conspicuous place possible so that anyone’s reflection could be seen clearly.

When Tatsumi did, he was surprised to see the familiar face. It was the same face that Tatsumi had seen when he had gone testing with a certain mineral in the Transcendent Academy.

He did not know the identity of the one being reflected but he memorized the characteristic so that he could refer back to it if he found a clue.

Unexpectedly, Tatsumi had found himself in a situation where he became that very person.

‘Yes, this is the same face I saw back then. But what is this?’ Tatsumi made sure that the face of the figure he became was the same as reflected back then, before noticing something else.

He could hear something whispering in his ear but he did not find the person who was speaking.

“You are just a fragile person. The fact that you gather so much power and authority is proof of that!”

“You are no different from the other, a creature formed from flesh and blood.”

Tatsumi now was sure that he had undergone Memory Assimilation. The process was exactly like this where he had become the person who the mirror reflected. Of course, he could not control the action of the person personally since this was just a memory.

But through this, Tatsumi could learn so much more than reading a history book. Furthermore, he could understand some of the thoughts and mindsets a person had during their life.

But this was the first time he experienced hearing voices where there was no clear source.

“Shut up! Annoying voice should keep silent!” the figure was screaming out loud and the voice did not escape the room since the door was closed.

Tatsumi knew that the figure could hear those voices and felt that the figure was annoyed by such voices.

The figure was unmistakably a middle-aged man. Tatsumi knew that this figure was connected to him somehow and his interference was something that Tatsumi realized as of late.

‘But why is it that there are shadows of some figures standing near the bed? Does this figure also see them?’ Tatsumi thought and then the figure was throwing small utensils at the shadowy figures which was not very effective.

‘He could see them then, but what is actually happening?’ Tatsumi thought for a while.

If these audio and visuals were hallucinations and actually did not exist, then there was only one thing that Tatsumi could think of.

‘But is that the case here? The fact that this figure had this condition made it harder for him to live his life.’ Tatsumi figured that the figure knew that his situation was abnormal but he did not have anything that could stop it.

Tatsumi held on to his opinion and saw the figure come out of the room. The room was large and Tatsumi recognized it already as the one often seen in the Heavensend Continent.

It meant that this figure was on the Heavensend Continent at the moment.

The figure then met the guards who did their duty and walked past them. Tatsumi saw the guard’s eyes were filled with fear and respect.

‘This means that the figure is someone important. And that attire is definitely from the culture of the Heavensend Continent.’ Tatsumi added in his thought.

Then the figure came to the throne room, where he sat on the throne. The throne was decorated with gold, white jade, and turquoise jade. Then a loud voice could be heard announcing the coming of the figure.

At this moment, Tatsumi realized the identity of the figure he was currently with.

‘No way! So this is the founder himself.’ Tatsumi commented.

“The First King and The Founder have arrived. Everyone, stand up and greet His Majesty!”

At that notice, Tatsumi could see that the attending officials were standing on vocation and gave a respectful salute to the king.

Tatsumi could see strange figures between the officials as well as hearing strange voices but it looked like the king could ignore them and focus on every person below him. The throne was located nine steps higher than the rest of the court.

‘I did not expect that Chi You is someone with a mental illness. What an ill fate to be had. No wonder he was the calmest when there were other people around him and went almost crazy when he was alone. That was the reason.’ Tatsumi sighed mentally as he started to sense everything around him.

Chi You was attending the court because it could help him distract from those hallucinations. But those hallucinations also affected him in his mindset and personality.

Tatsumi understood why Chi You was able to calm himself down the moment he was surrounded by people. It was because those people were real and reacted to everything he said, unlike the hallucinations that he saw.

‘Ironic that the most secure place for him is the place where it has a lot of people.’

Then Chi You started the duty as the king and oversaw everyday matters, diplomatic relations, finance, politics even as well as important rituals.

Tatsumi naturally had to learn about this since it could be useful. Besides, the information he could gather through the Memory Assimilation could be an important clue for something else.

It gave Tatsumi some ideas but he just lacked confidence in executing it. Furthermore, the discussion in the court had reached a certain point as the noon turned into afternoon.

“Your Majesty, we have expanded our territory by almost twice our previous size. But some problems need to be addressed. Please give us your thought, Your Majesty.” One of the officials said.

“Is it that problem again? The solution is already given, so why do you keep asking me?” Chi You retorted back.

“It is because there is some conflict between the Sun and the Zhou clan. Their conflict spread to other parts of the kingdom because they are the most influential in the kingdom.”

Chi You was stunned when he heard that. Tatsumi noticed that Chi You was gripping the armchair of the throne tightly. Clearly, the matter had successfully angered him and it was serious.

Tatsumi then thought about something and could not help but be surprised by the time.

‘If I am correct, this is where Chi You should declare that the two clans were stripped of their position. The conflict between the two clans was so big that Chi You decided to curb it so as not to affect his grand vision. That is why the two clans fell to become two families.’ Tatsumi had known some facts about the history through the people whose memory was assimilated by him.

But to be the witness of such an event firsthand was a novel experience for Tatsumi.

“Then strip the two clans from their current position! The cause of it is that they are picking quarrels and provoking trouble. Let them fend for themselves!” Chi You declared with a voice laced with anger.

“Please Your Majesty, you must reconsider this. They are the ones who contributed the most during the founding of the kingdom.” The officials were saying this at the same time.

They knew that the decision of the king was kind of harsh and the two clans did not deserve such treatment just because their conflict spread to the rest of the kingdom.

But Chi You did not bend his will or change his mind just because of a few words from them.

“I told you already the reason. At this time, they are causing more problems that I have to do this. Should I just let them be!? No, I’d better strip them from their position so that they won’t cause any problems. The situation is solved by doing this.”

The officials knew that the king was taking the easy way out by doing this but they did not have the power to defy him either.

“Your will shall be fulfilled!” the officials could only say that and arranged for the two clans to be stripped of their positions.

They did this because they knew that Chi You as the king held almost absolute power. There were rumors that Chi You’s strength was not solely in the great clans but also in the underground power, which was hidden even from them.

They believed that this power existed since even the ridiculous order was accepted and there was no protest from the influential figures either.

Tatsumi then saw that the court was almost dismissed. The announcer then said out loud that the court was adjourned and the king and officials were dismissed.

Chi You’s expression was dour; he was actually nervous and Tatsumi could feel that.

‘Now that the crowd has dispersed, you are all alone. The only thing that accompanies you is those hallucinations.’ Tatsumi could only lament the situation that befell Chi You every day.

Tatsumi knew that Chi You was holding himself back from reacting to those hallucinations by acting indifferent.

At this time, he visited the Side Palace where his family lived. Tatsumi also knew about it and could not help but anticipate what kind of person Chi You was in front of his family.

Chi You arrived at a hall where a woman and a young man were reading the content of the scroll out loud. Chi You smiled slightly at the sight, even though the hallucinations got worse.

It was as if seeing them could render the hallucinations useless.

“Ah, Your Majesty. You are done with the palace affairs and still have some time for us. How delightful.” The woman said as she placed the scroll down.

The young man then also followed the woman and looked at Chi You with respect.

“Father, what brought you here?” the young man asked. He knew that his father often visited them so he knew that his father probably finished with his business for the day.

“I have some free time to myself. I should take care of my family, shouldn’t I?” Chi You said with pride.

“Your Majesty, look at what Sen has achieved in three days. He could extract the idea from the memorials of the predecessor!” the woman said with a passion in her voice.

“Is that so? Let me hear it then.”

Tatsumi saw that Chi You was quite a family person as he cared for his child and wife. Even though their relationship was more like of a master and subordinate but Chi You enjoyed it as he could distinguish the real people from hallucinations.

The world that Chi You saw was different from that of ordinary people.

Tatsumi could see a scary-looking figure peeping at Chi You through one corner but Chi You dismissed it since it did not do anything further.

The voices were incessantly appearing but Chi You only heard what his son and wife said. It was as if the voice did not have anyone to listen to so they could not affect Chi You at all.

‘Chi You could distinguish the hallucinations when he was with other people. I understand now that some people with mental illness feel happy when with someone. So this is the reason.’ Tatsumi then understood the reason and could feel what Chi You felt.

Even Tatsumi found the hallucination unpleasant, and if he were to live with that for the rest of his life, he would go insane in a few years.

The fact that Chi You could still retain his sanity was a testament to his ability to counter his condition. That was what Tatsumi admired about this person the most despite many flaws he had during his life.

Now that Tatsumi saw things through his perspective, Tatsumi could understand some of Chi You’s decisions in his life and the way he conducted himself.

Then Tatsumi saw that the Memory Assimilation was almost done, as he saw a crack in the surroundings. It meant that it was almost time for him to complete the process.

‘Well, this is a bit abnormal that I started directly with the Memory Assimilation process but I enjoy every second of it.’ Tatsumi felt that the process was worth it.

Then before he knew it, Tatsumi opened his eyes and found himself in the hotel room where he had been sleeping. He realized that he had woken up and sighed.

 

-

 

In the Library of Consciousness, in the deepest part where even the ordinary consciousness could not reach.

There was a consciousness that connected to Tatsumi through Hasis. The consciousness realized that it was connected to someone and tried to send his opinion through it.

But that person rejected what he was proposing. The reason was that the person had no need for such a thing and thought that the idea was too radical.

‘There is no way that my opinion is wrong! It is the world that is shaped by human hands that is wrong!’ the consciousness thought and believed.

But when the consciousness realized that the person lived his life with relish, envy and jealousy took over and the consciousness sent more of his thought to the person.

But it was rejected because Tatsumi thought that he did not need to do that. Furthermore, it was Tatsumi who started to correct the erroneous thought the consciousness had.

Slowly but surely, the consciousness was drawn to the person and could not help but want to learn from him. But sadly, only his negative thoughts and erroneous thoughts were relayed.

 

-

 

Tatsumi closed his eyes for a moment. Not because he wanted to go back to sleep but he wanted to feel what was inside of him.

“With absolute power, you don’t need to worry about anything else!”

A voice could be heard through the Hasis but Tatsumi was used to it so he replied.

“But what determines absolute power? If it is not attainable, it might as well be a distant dream not to be realized. I want power so that I can protect those whom I care about!” Tatsumi said this out loud to proclaim his thoughts superior.

Tatsumi noticed that the voice did not appear and he opened his eyes once again. This time he heard a different voice, the most familiar one.

‘So how are you doing?’ Kudungga greeted.

‘I experienced another Memory Assimilation this time. You would not guess who I assimilate with!’ Tatsumi expressed his thoughts.

‘Eh? Is that true? Who is it? I cannot guess which one is being assimilated.’ Kudungga gave up since the possibility was too large to count so he might as well ask for the answer directly to Tatsumi.

‘It is actually Chi You.’ Tatsumi answered honestly.

‘Him? Are you sure?’ Kudungga became serious since this matter was important.

‘Yes. It is him without a doubt. What is the matter?’ Tatsumi knew that something serious was about to be discussed so he confirmed it.

‘So the other end of the Hasis is him.’ Kudungga considered many possibilities but did not expect this.

Tatsumi knew that the matter was serious. According to what he knew so far, there was a place where the consciousness was quarantined. Quarantine meant that it could not connect to other living human beings in normal circumstances.

But now, a consciousness that was quarantined connected to Tatsumi, which meant that this was on purpose.

‘Are you saying that this is on purpose?’ Tatsumi asked.

‘Yes. There is no way to get out of the quarantine through normal means. Meaning that the connection itself has a purpose. Perhaps, this is the arrangement of the Father God for you.’ Kudungga expressed.

‘But that means I have to do something to this Hasis. Otherwise, the connection will not end and I will be affected instead.’ Tatsumi thought.

Tatsumi had resisted acting on what the whisper of the voice had expressed because it went against what he knew so far. But if it went further, even Tatsumi was not sure about what he was going to do in the future.

‘There is only one thing I can do. That is to prove him wrong.’ Tatsumi had gathered all the ideas available to him and came up with one conclusion.

He had to prove that the idea Chi You had was wrong and he had an even better solution. The first step had been taken, so Tatsumi believed that the second step forward would become easier.

Then he went to the bathroom to wash his face as well as clear his mind. After all, today was the day when he had to visit the place where only a select few could enter.

“If not for the situation, I am afraid that this can be the most important thing in my life. Other than that, I need to prepare for the event.” Tatsumi then went out of the bathroom and sat on the chair near the table in the room.

He had two things to attend to today. First was the event, which was designed to change the planet itself, which needed the cooperation from the humans. That was why even Father God got involved in the process.

The second thing was that he had to deal with the source of the Hasis. Tatsumi had to deal with it without being affected. It was not an easy thing to do, but necessary.

“My conviction, my drive, as well as my action. That is the thing that I will use to prove that Chi You is incorrect, while I can get him to accept the more correct approach.” Tatsumi said to himself, holding his hand in front of his chest.