"All done."
The Demonkin-side lab was as neat and silent as ever, and Lich found himself once again content in its sterile embrace. No noise, servants on hand, students slowly leveling up in necromancy... yeah. This was cozy. Becoming a Lich had been the best decision of his life—or unlife.
"Professor, what were you making?"
Crimson leaned in, red eyes curious. The other beastfolk kids clustered behind her, trying—and failing—to hide their interest. On the desk sat... a suspicious-looking jar.
"This," Lich said, tapping it, "is a Soul Relay. One by itself isn't useful, but if we mass-produce them and bury them across the continent, long-range possession might become feasible. In theory, you could hop your soul from here all the way to the Human capital."
"Wait, possession only works in sight range, right? You're saying this could let us reach the capital? That's insane!"
"Still a prototype. Just one unit. Purely theoretical."
"...Looks like a regular jar to me."
"Outside, yes. The inside is what matters."
"What's inside?"
"A corpse."
"...Excuse me?"
"A corpse. Obviously. Possession requires a body to jump into, so of course the relay runs on corpses."
The kids went silent.
"I've been cranking out homunculi and... well, terminating them. Alchemy's field, so it took a while to learn. But once I did, I saw how it could mesh with necromancy. That synergy is a breakthrough. A real discovery."
"So... you've been creating homunculi... just to kill them?" Crimson's voice trembled.
"...Yes? Problem?"
"I—it's just hard to swallow. Is that... normal?"
"Crimson. I dislike the word normal. It forces anything outside the majority into the box of abnormal. What matters isn't the crowd. It's whether you act with conviction, even as a minority."
"...Y-yes, professor."
Lich folded his bony hands. "See, alchemy excels at creating pseudo-life. Necromancy, on the other hand, is the art of watching life, and watching death. Combine them, and new horizons appear."
"Wait... necromancy's about watching life?"
"Of course. If you don't watch how someone lives, you'll miss the instant they die. And once they're gone, you've lost your chance."
"O-oh."
"Listen. Every living being has a life. Every living being eventually dies. Meaning: if it lives, it will die. That's the universal equation."
"...That's... true, I guess."
"And necromancy can't recall a soul more than a day past death. That's the limit. So if you want to resurrect, revive, or otherwise work with a soul, you have to be watching. Ready. Acting the moment they pass."
Lich's jaw clacked in something like a chuckle. "Once, I even ran a business: Sign here before death, and I'll resurrect you on demand! Strangely unpopular. Everyone found it creepy. Yet the moment a loved one died, they'd come crying, Bring them back!—two days late. Too late. Impossible. That's why I pushed contracts ahead of time. But no one listened."
He looked at Crimson, smiling in his own way. "That's necromancy. Watching lives closely, so you can respond when they end."
"...T-thank you for the lesson."
"I'm watching your life too, you know."
"..."
"I'll bring you back if you die."
"A-ah... thank you...?"
"Good. And when I die, you'll do the same for me."
That was the beauty of team research. If one member fell, the others could resurrect them. ...Well, in theory. Right now the students' success rate was maybe seventy percent. Until it hit a clean hundred, Lich couldn't afford to die. Not that he was planning to.
* * *
"Alright, class. Time to get to work."
"...On what?"
"Soul Relays, of course. I told you we'll need thousands. And I'd like to fold alchemy into the curriculum. So, hands-on practice!"
"...You mean... making homunculi and then... killing them?"
"Exactly. I'll walk you through the process. Each of you will craft one. First step: humanoid structure."
"P-professor!"
"Yes?"
"...Humanoid? Really?"
"Of course. They're going to be your possession anchors. If the vessel's too different from your original body, you can't inhabit it. So, humanoid. Sized down to fit in jars like this one."
"...That sounds like... like babies..."
"Don't be ridiculous. They're homunculi. Not humans."
Lich wagged a bony finger. "Killing people is wrong. Human bodies are infinitely more complex and delicate. That's why childbirth is life-risking, as you've all heard."
"...True..."
"Production difficulty equals rarity equals value. Humans are hard to produce. Roughly ten months' gestation. Meanwhile, a homunculus? Minutes. Even a novice like me can churn them out."
He leaned back, satisfied. "So the value of human life and homunculus life? Incomparable. Don't confuse them."
"...But they look... similar."
"Don't be fooled by appearances. Necromancy is about essence, not surface. We study souls, not skin."
A small voice piped up. "...Professor, life is still life, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Whether royal, wealthy, or just villagers like us... it's all life, right?"
"Correct. You are human lives. Homunculi are not."
"...Then..."
Lich tilted his skull. "...I don't follow. Organize your thoughts better, then come back and ask me."
"...I-I'll try."
"Good. Now, let's begin. Once we have about a thousand relays, soul travel will be seamless. Simple work, really. Just repetition."
"A... a thousand?"
"Relax. It's easy."
He said it gently. The students turned pale.
Why? He couldn't fathom it. People's hearts were a mystery to him.