The Dreamer's Fall

Chapter 7 - Edward Revan

Cline's mana soul acted as an extra appendage, meaning Arthur would have direct control over the object that the soul inhabited, similar to telekinesis.

That was a feat in and of itself, but if he intended to have an undead army one day, he would need to bind an artificial spirit to his minions for them to act independently of him.

And while he understood how to create a simple artificial intelligence in theory, actually producing one with the Aetherin language was a mountain he wasn't looking forward to climbing.

Even on Earth with teams of programmers, they had only built the most rudimentary type of artificial intelligence. The only thing working in Arthur's favor was, surprisingly, Aetherin.

Despite the language's faults, it was intuitive in understanding what the creator wanted the code to do. For instance, the code for a fireball didn't include information like the distance to travel before exploding.

Instead, the spell used a small string of Aetherin dedicated to handing over control to the caster once the fireball was created. Of course, Cline's mana soul spell was more complex than a fireball.

It was as complex as it was long. So, in an attempt to streamline troubleshooting, Arthur decided to split the spell in two. One for creating the mana soul and one for providing the energy required to be self-sustainable.

However, the energy problem seemed far more complicated than Arthur had anticipated. He had completed a prototype six months ago using a method to draw in aether and convert it into mana similar to how a human cultivated, but it had failed.

Arthur spent the afternoon parsing through the code with the updated Aetherin dictionary Levin had given him, but he couldn't find a single error.

Amid his frustration, dinner had arrived before he knew it. A rollover from his previous life as Ethan, where he would often find himself utterly engrossed in whatever task he put his mind to, completely unaware of the passing of time.

He ate as fast as he could, intent on getting the meeting with his father over with as soon as possible. Yet, as he walked through the manor halls, his body felt the familiar surge of anxiety despite his clear mind. He was indifferent to the possible outcomes he would face, but it seemed as though his body wasn't.

If he was disinherited, he'd leave and continue his research. If not, he'd continue with his research within the manor. So, no matter what happened, he felt it would have little consequence on his end goal, yet he still couldn't shake his nervousness for some reason.

Arthur chalked his weak nerves up to the young body he occupied. Puberty was no joke, and despite having a mental age nearing forty, he still fell victim to his teenage hormones from time to time.

He soon arrived at his destination but paused before entering and inhaled a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. Then, he reached for the knob and let himself in.

Once inside, Ollerin's noble etiquette dictated that he had to wait quietly for his father to call him, so he was compelled to wait and watch the man behind the desk.

Unsurprisingly, Edward shared many of Arthur's characteristics: short black hair, violet eyes, and a permanent scowl made all the more distinct due to the meticulously trimmed beard he fashioned.

He was a good-looking guy, and Arthur thought he matched pretty well with Elyria's beauty despite being ten years her senior. However, like Elyria, Arthur had no good feelings toward the man.

Since Arthur entered, Edward hadn't acknowledged his existence, instead opting to unhurriedly finish whatever paperwork laid before him.

The office was almost an exact copy of the study, except that it was a quarter the size, and the bookshelves that lined the walls held countless trinkets and family heirlooms instead of books.