Few truly understood the nature of souls; perhaps even the magic side knew little about it.
Natsume Sonoko, severely lacking in such information, was in a state of utter ignorance. Yet, through years of living, she had come to realize that others couldn't perceive the soul's layer.
Why was she the only one who could sense her own soul, while others couldn't? Was it simply because of her inexplicable identity as a transmigrator?
To Natsume Sonoko, this unique perception felt more like a stark, dividing barrier—slicing apart body and soul, allowing her thoughts to wander between both realms.
"Did my consciousness originate from my brain, or from that soul? Was my awareness already present when I first arrived in this world? Have I been overlooking something all along?"
Sonoko's mind grew still, as if she were slowly shedding the constraints of her physical form, beginning to float within a vast mental expanse.
Images from her retina streamed in continuously, like a glowing doorway, allowing her to see everything unfolding in reality.
At this moment, Sonoko couldn't control her body at all; the only thing she could influence was her own thoughts, or rather, her consciousness. Of course, she could also sense the various changes occurring within her own brain.
"What am I doing, wasting time like this? I need to find a way to break free from Kihara Gensei's control—that's what matters most now."
Her consciousness, as if it were a real person, shook its head sharply. She mentally smacked herself with a non-existent hand, as if to drive away these sudden, distracting questions. There was no time to explore her own origins now.
She was waiting for Kihara Gensei to make a mistake, so she could seize back control of her brain in one decisive move.
Yet, Sonoko couldn't help but mutter to herself. Judging from the recent use of her ability, Kihara Gensei seemed far more stable than she had anticipated, and his understanding of thermal-system ability users like her ran disturbingly deep.
What surprised Sonoko even more was that within her own brain, Kihara Gensei was attempting to refine her Meltdowner formula.
While controlling a certain bun-haired girl, he was also using Sonoko's computational power to perform small-scale calculations and adjustments on several key components of the formula.
She couldn't fathom what he was scheming.
Clearly, Sonoko already knew exactly who was manipulating her.
The mere thought of that wretched old man, Kihara Gensei, wielding Mental Out made Sonoko deeply worried about her upperclassman, Shokuhou Misaki-san. The three-member Tokiwadai team she had once been so confident in had been crushed so utterly.
Speaking of that Meltdowner formula, she still hadn't developed it to a practical level. Although she had obtained some of Mugino Shizuri's ability data during that incident with the dark-side organization 'STUDY,' their abilities differed in many ways—directly applying it was impossible.
Kihara Gensei, however, seemed intensely interested in her research and possessed considerable knowledge of Meltdowner himself. He had already modified large portions of the formula, though to what extent remained unclear.
"Still, something bothers me... Kihara Gensei doesn't seem to have detected the existence of my soul. I can find it with just a slight effort of perception."
Sonoko's consciousness paused, her thoughts drifting to matters seemingly unrelated to the current crisis.
On a certain level, human thought is merely the interaction and movement of atoms and molecules, involving countless physical and chemical reactions.
Mental Out can project one's thoughts onto others, manipulating brain functions through water or other atomic mediums.
Such an ability user can not only read memories but also control another's body and abilities, even receiving the various internal and external sensory signals the body feeds back.
From this perspective, Kihara Gensei now functioned as the mind of Sonoko's body—an outsider merely squatting in the driver's seat, ready to leave at any moment.
If someone could master every aspect of another person, making their brain operate according to their will, then they essentially became that person—like a human controlled by a parasitic organism.
Extending this logic to Reiko's case, Sonoko could also control every aspect of Reiko.
Their brainwaves were identical, sharing Reiko's body and brain. Memories and perceptions could be freely shared. In a way, Sonoko also functioned as one of Reiko's minds—the only difference being their status as native and outsider.
Besides, Kiyama Harumi had previously erased an underdeveloped consciousness that had begun to form within Reiko. In a way, Reiko could even be considered the latecomer.
Perhaps in this world of A Certain Magical Index, the mind—or consciousness—could be temporarily or even permanently supplanted. Magic capable of replacing another's consciousness in their body might truly exist.
Yet Kihara Gensei, currently acting as this body's mind, had failed to detect the soul residing within Natsume Sonoko.
Did this mean that a consciousness born from the brain couldn't perceive Sonoko's soul? Or was Sonoko simply special?
Following this half-baked line of reasoning... if her consciousness had originated from her brain, she probably wouldn't be able to sense her soul at all, living a perfectly normal life like everyone else she'd ever met.
But the unknown, mysterious world of the soul constantly emitted a powerful allure, and Sonoko's thoughts always drifted between her soul and her brain.
So... was it possible her consciousness had been born within the soul from the very beginning?
Had she actually spent some time as an ignorant ghost before her birth, her fragmented soul-memory insufficient to support a thinking consciousness?
But did ghosts even exist in this world? And wasn't her past life supposed to be a shrine maiden? Did she form from a shrine maiden's death?
Sonoko pieced together the rest like following a map.
Her consciousness instinctively left the soul and took dominance before her brain could develop its own awareness. That's why, at birth, she could faintly perceive her identity as a transmigrator, discover the existence of her soul, and sense the clear barrier between soul and body.
And indeed, most of her transmigrator memories had been gradually retrieved from her soul later on.
This bizarre speculation seemed to answer many of the questions in Sonoko's heart, but it lacked any solid proof.
Besides, her ability to detect her soul might simply be because she was the native consciousness of this body.
Maybe souls had a concept of territoriality?
But even if her guess was correct, what use was it to her now?
The moment this thought faded, Sonoko's entire consciousness suddenly surged towards her soul.
If this was true... then maybe she could try something. Like transferring her memories into her soul.
The memories from her previous life (or the life before that) stored in her soul had all become fragmented and chaotic. Before, Sonoko had been cautious, afraid that placing her brain's memories there would shatter them too.
Not only would it make collecting her past-life memories harder, it might even damage her brain's native memories or functions. She grew even more cautious after learning her soul held no memories of being a shrine maiden.
After all, for ability users like Sonoko, the brain was paramount.
But the current situation was different. Rather than letting that Kihara Gensei run amok in her brain, potentially altering her memories, wouldn't it be better to try moving her memories into her soul?
If it affected her brain, she might even use it to break through Kihara Gensei's mental blockade. If not, it could serve as a memory backup, protecting her from any nasty implants.
For example, the memory modification method Shokuhou-senpai mentioned—mixing lies with truth. Even if Sonoko scrutinized her memories, she might not spot the tampering.
If Kihara Gensei made her avoid Kamijou-senpai and Shokuhou-senpai, recovery would be even harder.
Outside the door of vision, even Misaka-senpai's ahoge was glowing. The light pouring from her made her look like a giant lightbulb. And Shokuhou-senpai, out of contact again—who knew what condition she was in.
The weight in her heart grew heavier. Sonoko felt she had to do something. Even a risky move was better than letting that wretched old man Kihara Gensei control her brain.
She saw Kihara Gensei as dangerous and devoid of compassion. Her soul, on the other hand, seemed harmless—as cute as she was—and definitely safer.
Based on her theory, if a consciousness from the soul could enter the brain, then perhaps a consciousness from the brain could return to the soul.
This wasn't about her usual drifting between the two. Sonoko could retain real-world memories in the soul realm because the bulk of her consciousness remained in her brain.
This time, Sonoko wondered if she could temporarily detach from her brain, allowing her consciousness to exist primarily in the form of her soul.
But she feared that, without the brain hosting her memories, she might become confused and ignorant. She needed to try moving her memories into the soul first to test the waters.
Though uncertain what effects this would have, Sonoko decided to try. Perhaps it would bring about some change. She hated this state of being a mere spectator.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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