The Record of Unusual Creatures

Hao Ren was not listening to what Raven 12345 was saying; he was obsessed with the hibernation pods. Seeing dozens of red-haired Vivians, it reminded him about being a harbinger of bad luck.     

He had only been thinking about Kaku-San-SeiMillion Vivian¹ for the last two days, and he was now looking at them.     

"You've been collecting my clones?" Vivian's voice sounded a little quivery. She stared at Raven 12345. "You said that they're all here; have you been tracking and collecting them?"     

Hao Ren could not help but imagine Raven 12345 as a crazy stalker. He gave the goddess a strange look.     

"Don't stare at me like that." Raven 12345 pursed her lips. "I've spent a long time collecting them."     

"These are all the bodies that split from Vivian? Are they the same as the red-haired evil spirit we killed the last time?" Hao Ren asked in disbelief. "Also, the one we saw on planet Inferno, is it the same?"     

"No, that one's a little different." Raven 12345 shook her head slightly. "The clone in Inferno is the primary one and the beginning of the entire splitting process. The ones here are the secondary splits; they're the so-called production versions. The 'evil spirit' that you summoned from the magic book was one of the production versions. She used to be here."     

While she spoke, Raven 12345 pointed at an empty crystal container.     

"What's this all about? Why are you collecting these clones?" Hao Ren asked impatiently.     

"Easy, man. I have something to tell you," Raven 12345 said in a calm voice. It worked like magic as Hao Ren began to loosen up. She then turned to look at Vivian. "How much do you know about yourself?"     

"Mr. Landlord's already told me all about it," Vivian replied honestly. "I may have something to do with the 'goddess' of the Plane of Dreams, but I don't know in what way exactly."     

Raven 12345 nodded gently. "Well, to be honest, I haven't figured out your relationship with the goddess of creation. When I started to notice you, the event in the Plane of Dreams was already over. The aftermath of the goddess of creation incident left little clues, and I couldn't get involved with that world too much. I've conducted some investigations indirectly and found that you're the 'key element' that the goddess of creation projected onto the Surface World when she realized that she was in crisis.     

"The fall of the goddess of creation did not happen instantly. According to Hao Ren's investigation, she fought a brutal war with the treacherous son for some time before she was killed. She had time to prepare; you are her preparation.     

"The damage on the Wall of Reality must have something to do with the goddess of creation before her death. Plus, the mass crossing of otherworldlings into the Surface World coincided with your arrival, at least shortly after her fall.     

"So, why do you think the goddess of creation put Vivian in this universe?"     

At last, Raven 12345 passed the buck back to Hao Ren and Vivian. The two of them thought for a while, and Hao Ren said, "To act as a tool for her resurrection since she realized she was dying."     

"A resurrection container, reincarnation carrier, or an incomplete replica; it's easy to think that way, but Vivian isn't divine, which makes things even more complicated." Raven 12345 shook her head. "A true goddess would unlikely choose to resurrect herself that way; it's inefficient, and success isn't guaranteed. Not only that, it could get out of hand when the 'resurrection container' becomes self-aware. There are many more sophisticated ways to resurrect herself."     

Hao Ren was a bit confused. "You mean…"     

Raven 12345 raised a seemingly irrelevant point all of a sudden. "After the goddess of creation fell, it was said that her kingdom also disappeared."     

"Oh, the Star of Creation." Hao Ren nodded immediately. "It's said that the big bang at the final moment of the deicidal war sent the star into exile in a place called the Umbral Realm. The surviving guardians thought that the Umbral Realm was a closed dimension, but my drone cluster couldn't find it. You think Vivian's connected to that dimension?"     

"The goddess of creation may be a half-baked deity, but she knew her universe well. When the deicidal war broke out, she could foresee its outcomes; she knew her kingdom would fall. She was a creator of life, and life required a corresponding database as well as control terminal to function. Her guardians were only responsible for maintaining the peripheral system; the real control terminal had to be inside her kingdom. The database of creation was vital to her."     

Hao Ren sorted out what Raven 12345 just told him. "She knew that her database was in danger, so she created a mirror database. And that mirror is Vivian, isn't it?"     

"A true goddess doesn't need a container to resurrect. The 'key element' that she put into this universe before her death was only to repair her database." Raven 12345 nodded. "It could be a mirror image, a key to restart her database, or a microsystem. Of course, I'm just guessing, but considering the huge amount of information that Vivian's carrying, it's highly possible."     

Vivian listened on as Hao Ren and Raven 12345 discussed her. She did not know what to say; it was too advanced, too abstract, and too difficult to understand. Vivian did not know how all those things would affect her and how to deal with them. Nevertheless, she was the ancient one who had 10,000 years of experience under her belt. Even though Vivian was confused, she managed to remain calm. "How would these things affect me?" she asked.     

Raven 12345 glanced at her. "Do you still have the amulet I gave you?"     

Vivian immediately nodded. "Yes."     

"Good! You're at least half-safe. As for those things lingering inside you, you'll be safest if they're just information. Data is just that—it's lifeless, no matter how much of it there is. What you should be worried about is the consciousness that the goddess of creation put inside you. A soul that's self-aware is the most unstable variable, and it's a soul created by a goddess no less. If this soul exists, taking her out will be a headache."     

It was like a computer; no matter how large the data, all you needed was a large hard drive. However, it was disastrous when the problem was with the operating software.     

Hao Ren could understand Raven's point, and cold sweat started to trickle down his forehead. "Wait a second, does anther soul exist in Vivian and ready to wrestle control of her?"     

Vivian felt goosebumps all over her skin. She rubbed the arms and said, "You're scaring the hell out of me. I'm already physically divisive. I think it's better for me to die if I become schizophrenic."     

"No signs of that so far." Raven 12345 waved her hand and pointed at the crystal containers. "These, on the other hand, are hidden dangers."     

Hao Ren turned his attention back to the clones in front of him. Their conversation finally came full circle and back to the most suspicious thing. His brows were pulled together. "How did these clones come about?"     

"All of you know that Vivian hibernates every once in a while." Raven 12345 raised a finger. "A split happens every time she hibernates. Of course, I'm talking about the regular occasions. In some special cases, she'll also split without hibernation like the first split 10,000 years ago."     

Vivian and Hao Ren looked at each other and asked in unison, "How does that happen?"     

"Who knows. Perhaps, when the combination of soul and body isn't stable enough, it leads to frequent divisions and amnesia. I think the first split 10,000 years ago triggered a domino effect. When the first domino fell, it caused a chain reaction. As for these split individuals here, they don't seem to possess any intelligence. But, it's hard to say once they come together as one."     

Something suddenly came to Hao Ren's mind. "Oh, my gosh! Vivian ate her clone in Inferno. Will she be fine?"