Song Ling lightly tapped the ground, and a plant sprouted. He comfortably sat on it and said to Wen Wen, "You don't mind me sitting, do you? And don't blame me for not getting you a chair; even if I did, you might not dare to sit on it."
Wen Wen snorted coldly, tacitly agreeing to his action.
Song Ling then cleared his throat and began to explain to Wen Wen, "You should know that ordinary human souls, after death, enter the other side of the gray fog layer, becoming food for certain monsters, right?"
Wen Wen nodded. He had been to the inner layers of the gray fog and knew what it was like there.
"You should also know that supernatural powers do not appear from nowhere, nor do they disappear into nothingness. All supernatural powers in the real world originate from the inner world."
Wen Wen nodded again. Zhu Qipei had told him these things before.
"Monsters that die in the inner world, their souls return to the soul's origin, and their supernatural powers merge into the world, being absorbed by other monsters through a complex cycle."
Song Ling leaned forward slightly, smiling at Wen Wen, "But the real world has no soul's origin, and supernatural powers do not merge into the world. Have you ever thought about where the souls and supernatural powers of superhumans or monsters who die in the real world go?"
Wen Wen was taken aback. He had a feeling he knew what Song Ling was about to say.
"Superhumans who reach the Assimilation realm, and disaster-level monsters, their abilities do not disappear. Even if their souls die, they do not dissipate!"
"Upon death, most of their power dissipates into the air, affecting their surroundings. The residual soul, carrying the origin of a portion of their power, drifts in a void world until someone suitable to accept that origin is born. I personally call those residual souls carrying the origin of power 'supernatural seeds.'"
"A person suitable to accept a supernatural seed is a superhuman?" Wen Wen couldn't help but interject. He had never heard such a theory before.
Song Ling nodded, showing Wen Wen a look of a promising student.
"You are correct. All superhuman powers come from the gifts of predecessors. As their abilities grow stronger, their forms gradually resemble the source of their power. This is the so-called assimilation state!"
"But as their power gradually increases, hidden dangers also grow. The growth of similar powers nourishes the residual soul, allowing it to strengthen step by step. When it grows to a certain extent, the two souls will contend for the body. The winner controls the body, and the loser will slumber deep within the soul until they gradually disappear."
"You must have encountered this situation before, but you only thought of them as demons hindering your acquisition of power."
"Since the original owner of the power is already dead, this struggle usually ends with the new owner's victory. However, there are always those with weak minds, which leads to the phenomenon of 'degeneration.'"
Song Ling tapped the chair with his finger. A sprout emerged from the chair, and then the sprout sprayed a fragrant juice into his mouth.
After talking so much, his mouth was a bit dry.
"What I just said is the truth about the Assimilation realm. The names of the five stages of superhumans each have their meaning."
"Exploration is discovering the gift, Mastery is using the gift, Assimilation is becoming the giver oneself, and the 'True Self'... The True Self signifies a complete liberation from the giver's influence, possessing one's own power entirely, which generally requires 'Cataclysmic' strength."
After listening to Song Ling's lengthy explanation, Wen Wen remained silent for a while.
If the Disaster Containment Facility was Wen Wen's ability, then up to this point, Wen Wen was still at the 'Mastery' level because he was merely using the facility's power.
So, if one day he were to 'step into' the Assimilation realm, would he need to contend with the soul of an incredibly powerful being for control of the facility? Su Dan Novel Network
The thought sent a shiver down his spine. He then dryly said to Song Ling, "Your words have indeed broadened my horizons. But you've said all this to tell me that the 'original owner' of this power was a good person, so I should trust you?"
Song Ling shook his head and said, "It's not like that. I am not Song Ling, but I am also not the original owner of the power. I am an existence in between."
He took a deep breath, and his skin turned slightly green, his eyes became somewhat narrower, and his ears slightly pointed.
"This is my current appearance. I am neither human nor monster. Our souls have perfectly merged!"
Song Ling's appearance reminded Wen Wen of what the female monster hunter had said at the Pine Song City Hunter Association. Song Ling treated those black dogs better than he treated them.
Wen Wen had previously thought Song Ling was just a pet lover, but now it seemed he was good to those mixed-breed puppies because they were 'fellow creatures.'
Song Ling took a deep breath and said to Wen Wen, "Because of this, as soon as my true identity is exposed, whether among monsters or in the human world, I will only be an anomaly."
"That's why I built Fairytale Town. I want to create a world where humans and monsters can coexist, so I can at least find a place to belong!"
"Since this Fairytale Town was built by you, what help do you need from me? You're probably here to get rid of me."
From Song Ling's words, Wen Wen could sense that his obsession with a 'place to belong' was perhaps extraordinary. Therefore, someone like him, who intended to destroy someone's sanctuary, would likely be his enemy.
Song Ling shook his head. "When I first transformed into this state, I was very lost. It wasn't until I encountered this group of monsters that I found my direction."
"They came from the inner world, belonging to the royal family of a city-state. After failing to compete with a race called 'Terror Hominids,' they fled to the real world."
"At first, they were very cautious, daring not to harm any humans, fearing retaliation from the Hunter Association. And such a group of powerful monsters in my jurisdiction, if left unchecked, would surely lead to a great disaster."
"So, I signed a contract with them for three years. I would help them adapt to the real world and try my best to ensure that no monster hunters attacked them, allowing them to integrate into this world after three years."
"In return, they were to stay in Fairytale Town, disguise themselves as amusement park employees, and not be allowed to kill humans visiting Fairytale Town."
After listening to Song Ling, Wen Wen was silent for a moment. He had never been to the inner world, but he roughly knew what it was like. With only three years, it was impossible to erode the monsters' true nature.
After all, in the inner world, monsters like Zhu Qipei were as rare as perverts like Wen Wen in the real world.
"You failed, didn't you?"
Song Ling sighed, "Yes, I failed..."