NOVEL WEB Soul partner
I stirred slowly, as if emerging from the depths of a thick fog. As my vision cleared, I looked in my surroundings and found myself lying in a baby cradle with peeling paint and splintered wood. The bedding beneath me was rough and threadbare. I am in a cramped, dingy room with cracked walls, a broken ceiling, and spider webs clinging to the corners like dusty shrouds. The air was stale, carrying the faint scent of mold and decay.
"Why does it feel like I've woken up in some kind of horror story?"
This place felt nothing like the last one. Before, the air was fresh, and the furniture was simple but well-kept. Now, it felt suffocating and grimy, like something out of a nightmare. Just as my thoughts began to sink in, a sharp growl from my stomach tore my pondering and pull me back to the present.
"Great. Not only am I stuck in some creepy, rundown nursery, but I'm starving to death, too."
I glanced around again, trying to make sense of the room's details.
I noticed something odd about the few scattered objects and furnishings—and then it hit me. My mind went back to the outfits, the furnisher and, even the hairstyle of the woman I vaguely remembered seeing earlier. It all seemed strangely retro, like something out of an old movie. The style was straight out of the 19th century, with tailored suits, voluminous gowns, and ornate hairpins.
"Did I... travel to the past or something?"
I blurted out, the absurd question bouncing around in my mind as I tried to process my situation. I couldn't tell if the hunger was making me delusional or if I had actually woken up in the past before I was born. Before I could dwell on any longer, a voice echoed through the silence.
It’s not time but space travel. You are currently 45695 x 10³²²¹ light-years away from your last known location.
I gasped, twisting my neck to find the source of the voice, but there was no one else in the room. I thought that I must be hallucinating because of hunger, but the voice came again.
Zelo is not hallucinating.
The voice came clearer this time, sending a chill down my spine. The words weren’t reaching my ears, but they were inside my head, as if spoken directly to my thoughts. My mind started to spiral. What was happening? Why was I hearing voices in my head? Am I possessed by some ghost? As I wrestled with my thoughts, that same shadow caught my inner voice and replied to me again.
Zelo is not possessed by a ghost.
I froze, as my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Someone—or something—was actually talking to me. I tried to scream to demand answers, but the only sound that escaped was a garbled mess of gurgles and coos.
"Damn this useless body! Why can’t I speak clearly?"
Just as I was cursing my tiny useless body, a light chuckle echoed in my head, mocking my entire existence.
That would be because you are currently toothless and fresh out of the womb. Controlling anything right now is beyond your capabilities. As for me, I am Aster—a genesage, artificial intelligence, and cosmic gene modulator.
The words rattled in my head. Aster? Gene Modulator? None of this made sense. I was beyond confused. What the hell was happening to me? I died. I was trapped in some dark void for who knows how long, and now I was in this helpless body with a voice talking inside my head? Before I could even begin to make sense of it, the voice interrupted my chaotic thoughts once again.
I've already introduced myself. Honestly, I'm stuck with an idiot.
Wait... did this thing hear my thoughts?
Congratulations on figuring that out, idiot. Now stop dwelling and listen. I’m Aster. You, idiot, injected me, remember?
A chilling clarity began to weave through my confusion, and my thoughts raced, trying to stitch together this puzzle.
“Are you that bright thing I injected? But how did you end up in my head?”
Bingo! The bright substance you pumped into your system was me. Well, technically, macroparticles are carrying my quantum data construct. When your previous body burst in a dramatic fashion, the emergency transfer protocols kicked in, and I latched onto your soul's energy signature and searched for a new host that could support both our consciousnesses.
My jaw dropped as the explanation sank in.
“You attached yourself... to my soul? How can an AI even do that? Aren't you supposed to be just... code or something?"
Because I’m not just any AI. The geneticists who designed me didn’t want to be limited by traditional technology. So, I was designed to exist as a quantum data construct capable of integrating with the very fabric of consciousness itself. My programming was altered to allow me to bond with the energy matrix of a soul rather than just being embedded in a physical body.
An AI capable of bonding with a soul? It felt utterly insane.
“So, you can... travel with my soul? Even through space?”
Precisely, I was designed to interact with the metaphysical, allowing me to transfer data between lifetimes. That’s why you remember who you are. Without me, your soul would have just found the nearest available host, and you’d have been reborn as... well, who knows? Maybe an insect without your memories.
My mind spins, and struggling to reconcile the bizarre situation, I find myself. With confusion, I manage to ask more questions.
“So, you’re an AI with consciousness?”
Indeed. I’m more than just a glorified piece of code. I possess self-awareness, personality, and the ability to adapt across lifetimes. I am your soul partner; designed to optimize your genetic code and help you reach peak potential.
This all felt like some kind of fever dream, the sort of plot you’d find in the cheap reincarnation novels where protagonists gained overpowered systems and were leveled up by sheer luck. My thoughts raced, trying to make sense of Aster’s words, but nothing quite added up. The doubt settled in, twisting like a knot in my gut. I found myself thinking that maybe—just maybe—Aster was like one of those “systems."
Don't insult me by comparing me to those glorified training wheels. I am leagues beyond anything your small imagination can grasp. I can rewrite genetic instructions at a molecular level, synchronizing with living organisms to create beings of unparalleled potential and capable of unlocking secrets that the most brilliant minds of your kind would never comprehend.
I clenched my teeth as a wave of irritation was washing over me. His voice, which is always so calm and superior, made me want to shout just to disrupt that maddening composure. Before I could disrupt his, he flatly delivered a notification.
Warning: A presence has been detected outside the room.
Shortly after his warning, the door opened, and I heard footsteps approaching towards me. A woman in a maid’s uniform came into view. She looked to be in her thirties; she glared at me with an expression like she was staring at something filthy. Without a word, she shoved a bottle of milk into my mouth and began speaking in a language I couldn’t understand. While I am still trying to make sense of her words, Aster casually answers.
She’s cursing you for being born.
I nearly choked on the milk.
"Huh? Why?"
Because she’s stuck serving you.
I shot back, still trying to drink the milk.
"How can you even understand her?"
Because I’m Aster, the brilliant AI stuck babysitting an idiot who compares me to those trashy systems.
I immediately wanted to shut him up for good, but my curiosity got the better of me. I finally gave in and asked, "Okay, brilliant, brilliant AI—go ahead and enlighten this baby on how you managed to understand her language."
This genius AI pulled the data straight from your mother's DNA. Do you want me to transmit the language data to you?
"Wait, what? You... you gathered data from another person’s DNA? How is that even possible? And how would you even transmit it?"
I collected data at a cellular level—deciphering the genetic instructions. As for the transmission, well, did you forget I’m a part of you? I can transmit information directly through your neural pathways. It’s not rocket science... for me, at least.
I felt my jaw tighten, a mix of awe and annoyance bubbling inside me.
"Fine, go ahead and transmit the language data."
Before I could even finish my sentence, a sharp pain shot through my head like a bolt of lightning. It was as if someone had taken a hammer to my skull. I clenched my eyes shut, gritting my teeth as the searing pain coursed through my brain. Then, just as quickly as it had started, it faded away, leaving my mind surprisingly clear. When I opened my eyes again, I could understand the maid’s words.
"When will he finish the milk? I can’t stand this foul smell," she grumbled, her expression were twisted with disgust. She glanced back at me, curling her lips in disdain.
"Laily is serving the young master at the Wing Palace, and I’m stuck in this old building serving a bastard son.
It didn’t take much to piece together that I am the illegitimate child of that old nobleman. A bastard and an unwanted child who will be treated like a burden. I felt like I jumped from one miserable life to another. Before I could even finish the thought, Aster’s voice cut in.
Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention something important.
"What now?"
I growled as my irritation was already at its limit.
The milk you’re drinking is laced with a poison.