Chapter 40: An Experiment in Silence

  I stood before the rabbits’ cage for a few moments.

  They were small, weak, moving with innocent spontaneity, unaware of what was about to happen.

  I extended my hand, selected several of them, and began feeding them the Spirit Pearl.

  One… then another.

  I moved calmly to the next cage and repeated the process with another group of low-level beasts.

  At that moment, Mia’s voice rang out, sharp and astonished:

  “Brother… what are you feeding them?”

  I didn’t lift my head. My reply came calmly:

  “I’m feeding them the Spirit Pearl. I want to see what will happen to them. Will they awaken consciousness? Or what will occur? It’s a test.”

  The silence didn’t last long.

  A sudden cry cut through the air.

  The Poison Empress.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Are you wasting this rare treasure on a group of low-level beasts that don’t even possess awareness, let alone intelligence? Have you lost your mind?”

  I raised my gaze to her steadily.

  “I haven’t lost my mind. I’m searching for an answer.”

  I paused briefly, then added clearly:

  “If these beasts are capable of change and transformation merely by receiving the Spirit Pearl, then that would be far more significant.”

  I looked at the rabbits again.

  “This is a test that may open doors to things we didn’t even know existed.”

  Her expression shifted as she listened.

  She didn’t object again.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  She didn’t agree either.

  She simply watched.

  Silent.

  Waiting.

  Then… something unnatural began to happen.

  The rabbits that had swallowed the Spirit Pearl started to writhe.

  Their small bodies trembled violently, as if something inside them was being torn apart—or forcibly reshaped.

  Their eyes, which had been bright with life only moments before, began to dim.

  Then—a faint light emerged from within their bodies.

  An unstable light, flickering as though it were trying to form… or collapse.

  One moment only.

  Then they fell.

  One after another.

  Motionless.

  Their breathing stopped.

  Likewise, the other beasts I had fed with the Spirit Pearl appeared to be on the verge of death.

  Silence fell.

  A failed experiment?

  The scene suggested as much.

  But I did not move.

  I did not accept the result so easily.

  There was something… something unnatural.

  This outcome was not entirely logical.

  What I sensed was not death.

  But—transformation.

  I felt something obscure boiling in the air around us.

  A hidden pressure. An invisible tremor. As if the energy had not vanished… but shifted.

  Despite the stillness of the bodies, the space itself was not still.

  Something far greater had begun to awaken.

  Mia’s voice came low, almost lost within the heavy breath of the cave:

  “What is this…? Why did this happen?”

  Her gaze remained fixed on the fallen rabbits before us—small bodies unmoving, eyes open yet reflecting nothing.

  Shock unsettled her. She could not process the sight.

  I did not take my eyes off the corpses.

  “I don’t know…”

  My voice was calm, free of confusion.

  “Perhaps the Spirit Pearl was too powerful for them. Or perhaps they were not prepared to accept its power.”

  I paused briefly, then added:

  “Nothing happens without a reason.

  A heavy silence settled.

  No one moved.

  Even the air seemed to be waiting for an explanation.

  As I stared at the dead—or nearly dead—beasts before me, the Poison Empress’s words about the unknown values of this world echoed in my mind.

  Perhaps… this was only the beginning.

  Or perhaps this experiment was the key to understanding the true power of the Spirit Pearl.

  But deep within, I knew something else.

  This was not a simple failure.

  It was a lesson.

  A lesson in enduring loss before reaching a result.

  And I was not prepared to retreat now.

  The Poison Empress’s voice came with clear coldness:

  “Hah.”

  “I told you it was a waste.”

  Her gaze shifted toward the motionless bodies.

  “It is impossible for these animals to evolve into beasts. You have destroyed their minds. We gained nothing… only lost a treasure.”

  I lifted my gaze to her.

  There was no irritation in my expression.

  “Who said there was no benefit?”

  My voice did not rise, but it was decisive.

  “I obtained a result.”

  “And I learned something else about this pearl.”

  I took a slow step forward.

  “I realized that one whose spirit and consciousness are weak… will be destroyed.”

  She did not respond.

  But she did not object either.

  I looked once more at the rabbits and beasts lying before me.

  I felt no sorrow.

  And no regret.

  Only calm.

  In this world, failure is not the end—

  but part of the path.

  And the price…is paid in advance.

  Any being with a weak soul or fragile consciousness would meet the same fate.

  But the real question was not about them.

  It was about others.

  What about humans?

  What about beasts with high awareness?

  What about powerful spirits capable of enduring pressure instead of shattering under it?

  If the Spirit Pearl destroys the weak… then what would it do to the strong?

  A cold smile formed on my lips.

  The rabbits were weak. The flaw was not in the pearl… but in the vessel.

  Next time… I will choose carefully.

  It seems I need different beasts—something that carries at least a trace of awareness, or strong battle instinct, a being not born merely to become prey.

  A faint glow passed through my eyes. Not external light, but an idea solidifying.

  I need a true test subject.

  I lifted my head slightly and spoke.

  “Anyway… let’s go. I’ve decided our destination. We’re heading north.”

  I stepped out of the cave.

  A cold breeze greeted me, carrying the scent of distant wildlands.

  I spread my wings and ascended into the sky.

  I glanced at Mia.

  Excitement burned in her clear eyes. She did not fear the unknown—she awaited it.

  The Poison Empress flew beside me in her new body, her movements steadier than before.

  The little turtle lay on my back, her lazy calm mismatched with the danger of our direction.

  As for the old serpent, in his human form, he flew at my side—silent, yet vigilant.

  Mia’s voice came light, but eager:

  “To the north, then?”

  I nodded to her calmly.