The God of Jesters
Chapter 225 - 4.04.4 There he is again.

Chapter 225: 4.04.4 There he is again.

"Did you know, the disaster happened due to a mutation?"

"The curse inside the bodies of these Daugrs is a simple one, a normal undead curse that reanimates the body, which was forced under control using the power of a contract with a higher being."

"Treat it as a sort of restriction on the curse, so that it doesn’t leak out or become stronger."

"While the other part, which is the spirit, magic is used to drive the body and give it a soul. The Victim should be willing in this and agree to turn into a Daugr, only then can a Daugr be born. And all those people you just cut apart were willing in what they had become."

"Why would someone do that?" Remira couldn’t help but ask. Why would someone wish to willingly become a monster? She can see how hollow Farhad feels with his fate; she had read many reports of similar instances where the dead wraiths and spirits that were able to move on, usually cried in torment of their existence.

So why would someone choose to do this to themselves?

Her mother answered as a matter of fact. "It’s simple, they will be granted longer lives this way, while keeping their mental faculties. All they need to do is protect the tomb from raiders and clean it up."

"They don’t seem smart enough for that." Remira couldn’t help but point it out.

"Live for a thousand years in a closed environment, with a dead body and a living soul. Eventually, a time comes when the soul, or what constitutes an individual, would be nothing more than a husk."

"Why it happens and the reason why a living body or mind is so important, there is no need to go into details. But just know that something happened and the restriction on the curse came loose and flowed into the soul. Causing a mutation that I am trying to understand even now."

After Remira learned of the reason, her mother directly went into the past. Now that she has some background on this subject, she might be able to understand the things that happened later on.

There was no mention of this facility in this story, she never explained such details to Remira nor did she mention what was her family’s connection to this place.

Rajara just spoke about how she was saved. A scene right out of that dream where her mother was saved by the wolves, before being dragged by one to the outskirts of the city, before the Cynark military leveled the whole city.

None of which Remira could recall. But from what her mother told her, she can already see some suspicious points. Among these, the fast response of the Military was too unreal.

One shouldn’t forget that this village was in the boonies of the north, it’s impossible to form a supply chain and carry out strikes the likes of which would create a lake in the aftermath. Which solved bits of confusion in Remira’s mind. Now, she was sure that the Cynark military was aware of what was going on here and was ready to erase the trouble.

But that was not the most important part.

"With no other path in sight, I contacted your grandfather." Then the story continued.

Rajara had no place left after escaping, she was still reeling from the shock of her loss and the paranoia that even her daughter might not have survived. So she ended up contacting her father. A Baron in name only but in truth was a businessman whose father bought the nobility title with money.

For someone like him, it was easy to hide his daughter after feeding for a few months to remain silent while he made up a new identity for his daughter and then let her do whatever she wanted after handing her a bit of cash.

As an open-minded person and knowing the tragedy his daughter suffered from, he didn’t question how his money was used. Instead, he supported her on her journey and made contacts with some scholars who could let his daughter understand more of the curses.

And like a sponge, Rajara soaked in all the knowledge. Her mind was already sharp as an Adept knight of an ice-dog lineage Totem that went by the name Qiqirin. A lineage that matched her husband’s family to some extent but had more focus on mental aspects that made them smarter.

It’s why her family is so good at business.

A bloodline that Remira didn’t have in her body and had long been devoured by the One-Eyed Wolf’s bloodline.

"It took me a decade for me, to complete my PhD, turning into a professor of Curse studies. And throughout my experience, I learned a lot, including the origin of certain curses. Of course, my desire to learn what caused the mutation in that place could never be explained." A specific subject that didn’t require one to actually handle the power of Curse, but just understand the cause and effect of the two.

It was then, that she was approached by some interested parties in her research, which were brought to her by her older brother, who was aware of Rajara’s obsession. Under the support of these parties, their organization was formed.

Due to the subject matter, there was a need to keep it a secret from the masses, specifically the government or any other parties that might stop them from doing their research.

It was where Doctor Dinesh and the rest were introduced to her. If talking about researchers alone, there were not many in the group, just a couple of dozens. With the security personnel taking up most of the space.

But that was not the problem that Rajara wanted to speak about.

"After establishing the lab here once again, which took a total of three years of hard work, I was back in Hariati to collect my research notes and copy them."

Usually, Rajara only stayed in the village for four months a year at most, which she had been doing for the past four years.

Which was why she had a habit of keeping copies of her work on both sides. But this time, when she arrived in her office, there was someone already there.

"Fascinating work, Miss...’

"Lake..." Rajara said as she aimed her gun toward the bizarre man sitting in the dark, who smelled a bit rotted. "And who might you be?" She asked, ready to shoot the man, if he were to make any suspicious moves.

But the man just ignored the notes and looked deeply toward Rajara, before saying. "A researcher like you. And from the looks of it, our research subject on the anomalies matches."

"Anomalies?" Rajara said before shaking her head, as she found something odd. "How did you decipher my text?"

Was it a traitor? Rajara denied this altogether, these notes were for her personal use, and it was impossible for them to be exposed so easily. Unless of course, her opponent is lying. But it didn’t seem that way.

’Those military bastards?’

"Deciphering content like this is something I relish a lot. And although it took a while, I enjoyed it a lot. But that’s it... it would seem you are still in the early stages of your research and there is nothing that important in your notes till now." When the man reached this point, Rajara had planned to shoot him right then and there. She knew that nothing good would come if her research were to be exposed. But the man’s next work surprised her.

"Your focus seems entirely wrong as well. You are too focused on fixing the problem instead of learning what it is. There are a total of 576 recorded Curse of undead, who might result in a similar creation, but their process differs."

"But from the details written here, the most I can round out is 67. The error margin here is too big. It would be impossible to confirm the curse used in the Daugr’s creation, as one mistake would completely derail your research. As the magic would react differently to different curses."

"Then the magic and runes used here... I see a lack of physical evidence here, meaning you lack an actual sample and record your findings from a distance... the fear of infection like the rest I assume?... A problem that is nothing if you were to know what curse used here is, but as I said before, unless you are ready for a large amount of sacrifices, it’s virtually impossible to pinpoint it."

It was a mockery of her hard work and the work part, she couldn’t say anything in defense of herself.

"He mocked me and all my efforts. The fifteen years of grueling hard work and knowledge I had accumulated was nothing in front of him.... But the worst part for me was that I wished to hear what else he had to say. His feedback was a timely rescue for me, otherwise who knows all of my current progress was for naught."

"But who was this person... you are here then it’s definitely not someone from Cynark."

"Truth be told, I still don’t know who he was... he was enigmatic and had a penchant for theatrics. It was only after he had left that I noticed the binds in the room along with lamps were purposefully arranged to put only his body in the dark... as if a playful child putting on theatrics."

"But... there was nothing childish about what he spoke about and his own plans as well as research."

Hearing this point, Remira suddenly recalled Jester, making her face twist a bit. A face that let her mother understand all she wanted to. "So you met him?" She asked.

But before she could answer, her mother continued. "Of course, you met him, otherwise, why would you carry the anomaly he made with you."