Free Web NovelChapter 222: Chapter 221 - Witches
Point-of-View: Inoka Fonseka
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"Incredible, I didn’t know that Meta-Human healing powers could do this," Remarked Serafine in fascination.
"Well, technically speaking, I kinda invented these techniques, they didn’t exist a year ago or so," I grinned, feeling pretty flattered, "Can you heal with Magic too?"
"Yes, and there are healing spells that are capable of things like regrowing limbs and whatnot, but they’re highly advanced. I can only use an intermediate level of healing Magic, I can heal any fairly deep injuries like stab wounds, but fatal damage and regrowing lost body parts are beyond me at my current level," She sighed wistfully.
"I see. But can’t you learn how to cast more powerful healing Magic?" I asked her.
"It’s not that simple. Different Witches have different levels of affinity to certain types of Magic. Let me give you some context by explaining a few things about us Witches.
It’s a lot, so pay attention...for starters, we reproduce asexually, basically like cloning. Our bodies’ lifespans are similar to normal humans, you see, unlike the other Demi-Human races.
Honestly, if you ask me, we shouldn’t be categorized under the same label as Vampires, Werewolves and Elves, it just doesn’t make sense to do so. We’re not like any of them in any way whatsoever, after all.
Anyway, once a Witch creates a clone of themselves, they have two options as to what to do with the clone...the first, and most common option, is to make the clone devoid of any feeling or emotion, basically an empty husk, and once the clone’s body is at a certain age, the Witch who created it can transfer their own consciousness into that body.
In other words, that method is essentially a form of immortality. As for the second option, it’s one that most Witches rarely ever opt for. Instead of creating a robotic shell of a body for themselves to inhabit, they create the clone with its own set of emotions, feelings and free will.
So, like a normal human childbirth. They raise the clone as its own, individual person, pass down all their knowledge about the world, us Witches and of course, Magic, until the original eventually dies of old age," She explained, as she reached into a bag of chips I’d opened.
"I get, so a Witch’s clone will serve one of two purposes...being a vessel for the Witch to prolong their own life, or being a replacement for the Witch. If I had to guess...a Witch would probably only opt for the latter if they’re tired of living for so long, right? Or are there other reasons?" I inquired curiously.
"Dunno for sure, but being tired of living is probably the most common reason in that situation. I can’t imagine why else they would do so. After all, the longer a Witch has remained alive for, the more adept they’re going to be at using Magic, obviously.
It’s only natural, you’re going to be better at something if you’ve worked on it for hundreds of years instead of for just a single life time," She surmised objectively.
"Yeah, that makes sense. Except, after a certain point, won’t they get tired of working on nothing but Magic, day in and day out?" I pointed out.
"You would think so, but no. See, Witches have a natural inclination towards Magic, and have little to no interest in most other things. Therefore, the longer a Witch prolongs their life, the more advanced they’re going to be with their Magic," She informed me.
"Hm, I see. By the way, what’s your situation? Are you a Witch who’s never made a replacement clone or...?" I responded in intrigue.
"Oh, I’m my predecessor’s replacement, I was created with free will and emotions, sometime in the early 1800s. My predecessor had been alive for several centuries, and had grown tired of life. As for me, this is my fourth body, including the one I was born with, so I’ve transferred my consciousness into a new body thrice now.
This current body is, uh...somewhere between twenty and thirty years old. I don’t really bother keeping track of my precise age, you see. Oh, and just to be clear, there are likely several Witches out there who’ve never replaced themselves, and have continued transferring their consciousnesses into new bodies for centuries upon centuries. In terms of ability when it comes to Magic, I’m practically an infant compared to them," She sighed wistfully.
"Don’t suppose you’d know how to get in contact with those Witches? Sounds like they could be useful when Hell invades," I mused thoughtfully.
"It wouldn’t matter even if I could contact them...the longer a Witch has lived for, the more stubbornly they’ll stick to their isolation. You see, the greater a Witch’s mastery over Magic grows, the more and more they lose interest in anything else that once might have piqued their fascination.
Well, when the invasion happens, and if one of those Witches are attacked by a Demon, then yes, they’ll fight back, but Witches are pretty good at finding secluded hiding spots. And since we don’t have Auras like humans do, Monsters never bother us either.
I know of a few other Witches like me, who haven’t been around for much longer than a couple of centuries or so, and since we’re still relatively young for Witches, we can get interested in things other that Magic, at least for now.
Eventually, that might change, but take me for example, I enjoy things like fashion and anime, my priority and greatest interest is experimenting with and progressing my Magic, but it’s not my sole interest. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
And, having gotten used to the comfortable living conditions of the modern era, in my current state, there’s no way I could handle living out in caves or mountains or whatever, like a lot of the older Witches do," She shook her head with an apprehensive grimace.
"Huh, so then, in a few centuries, if you don’t replace yourself and continue transferring your mind into new bodies, you’ll become all apathetic and despondent towards anything that’s not Magic, right? By the way, how does this cloning thing work, exactly? Like, can you make a clone anytime you want, and any number you want?" I inquired in fascination.
Hm, I wonder if there’s a way to use my Light Skill to do that, create a new body and then transfer my consciousness into that body?
"When our current bodies reach the age of fifty, that’s when we can create a clone, and we can only do so once. If, by chance, that clone body gets destroyed or something, that’ll be it, we’ll be left with no way to prolong our lives. So, usually, when a Witch is able to create that clone, they make sure they’re in a place where they feel safe and secure.
See, we don’t get sick like humans do, disease doesn’t affect us. Well, that’s not quite accurate, we can catch viruses and be affected by poison, but curing such ailments is among the most basic of basics. In other words, when a Witch creates a clone and is preparing to transfer her consciousness into it, the main thing to worry about is being attacked by a third party.
There’s no point in transferring their consciousness into it while the clone is still at an infant age, after all, that’ll just be putting ourselves in danger. It’s most common to do so once the clone’s body reaches the age of adolescence, or after their brain is fully developed. Oh, and you might already know this, but all Witches are female, at least as far as I know."
"That’s pretty convenient, the part about how you can’t get sick, I mean. Oh, wait, I think I might be the same in that regard, with my healing prowess," I mused in response.
My body’s at the healthiest it’s ever been, literally to a superhuman level. I’ve been able to undo all the damage in my throat and lungs caused by smoking, that’s definitely made a huge difference. For one thing, I can freely smoke as much as I want now without worrying about any negative effects on my health.
"Besides regrowing limbs, strengthening body parts and even producing extra appendages at will, what else can you do? For instance, could you slow down or even stop aging?" She inquired with a look of intrigue.
"Huh? Well...actually, I think so, yeah. I don’t think I can stop my body from aging completely, but I can reverse the effects...I probably can’t do anything as drastic as, say, turn myself into a child again, but in all likelihood, maintaining my body at its peak shouldn’t be too difficult," I mused, after a brief pause as I tested it out.
The only way to know for sure whether it works or not is too see the results after, like, maybe a decade or so, but it feels like it worked just fine. If I’m right, I should be able to potentially stay at this physical age indefinitely. Awesome.
"Interesting...that means you’re probably closer to the concept of immortality than Witches are," She muttered in fascination.
"Not that this isn’t super enthralling and all, but, uh...do you think we could get to the Infusion thing now?" I grinned sheepishly.
"Oh, thanks for reminding me, I completely forgot about that. Alright, then...let me see what I can do."
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