Chapter 10: Inanis

Lucius could instantly realize what was happening currently. The wet and warm touch and the loving words that were spoken. It was obvious that someone that knew him… or rather the body he was currently in and was giving him a sponge bath.

'So this body's name is Asher… Hmm, did I forcefully take over its soul? Doesn't seem like it. Or… did I take over a dead body?' Lucius thought.

He went over all the soul theories he had read and learned in his past life and checked for all signs of possession. In his past world, the demonic magic could be used to take control over others' bodies and souls. Thus this was a highly researched topic and even Lucius had learned it despite not being his main field.

But when he learned that to get to the Amulet of Barrom he would have to make soul sacrifices, Lucius gave it his all to learn about soul theory. He went through every check mark before determining that he had taken over a dead body and that the original soul of this body had already passed away.

Taking over a dead body was actually many times difficult than to take over another soul's body. There were many conditions that needed to be fulfilled such as the body being compatible, its soul capacity matching the capacity of the person who was taking it over and that it needed to have died very recently.

Depending on the compatibility, the requirement on time of death could be anywhere from less than a second, all the way to an entire day. Another thing that needed to be ensured was that the body was in a good condition. Bodies that were damaged would hamper the soul that was talking over, and even if it was healed later, the soul would not be able to gain total control over it and would be slower.

Lucius was in this very condition currently. He had taken over the body of someone who was greatly injured and had his bones broken. The reason for Lucius being unable to use multiple senses at once was also this. His soul was rejecting the body and thus could only operate a few senses at once.

Lucius knew of methods to rectify these problems, of course, but the even bigger problem was that he couldn't sense any mana here. The entirety of his research and skills were based on the existence of mana, and without it, he could do nothing.

But Lucius didn't freak out, and neither did he lose hope. There were some other ways that he could still figure out once he got a bit better. He had seen countless worlds before he reached here and had learned a lot of new things that he could apply.

'Just to wait and recover now… though I wonder who this person is? From the voice, I can definitely tell it is a woman, probably in her mid to late thirties.' Lucius guessed.

But when he sensed the texture of the hands, he felt them to be a bit rough and calloused.

'She isn't averse to manual work and has probably done it for a while. Considering that this may be a medieval world, perhaps she's a peasant.' Lucius analyzed.

A few minutes later, the bath was finished and the woman left the room. After she had spoken those few words to Lucius, he had not heard any more words from her. It was as if she had completely fallen silent or was suppressing herself.

'Looks like I'll have to spend more time till I can recover. Though have the bandages removed on my eyes would be good.' Lucius thought before falling asleep again.

More time passed and he had finally gained a semblance of understanding. He learned that the person feeding and bathing him was a servant. He had first thought that she was perhaps related to this body, but it was not so. He only found this out when he had heard another voice talking in the room.

This voice belonged to a woman too, but it was a bit more older.

"How is my child, Kiana?" The woman who was possibly the mother of Asher spoke.

"He is feeding well madam and his wounds are also better than normal. I've seen him move at times on his own and it looks like it won't be long before he gains consciousness." The woman named Kiana answered.

~Sigh~

"Oh, how I dread that day. Why did he have to go and participate in the battle? I never forced him, and neither did his father." Asher's mother said in a sad tone.

"I've seen lord Asher's determination all these years, madam. Even though he was unfortunate and was not bestowed with a gift, he still decided to gain his reputation through martial skills. He didn't want to be called a useless lord that only succeeded because he was the only heir.

He wanted to gain merits and make his own name in the battles. He wanted to fight against Gisir's army and return with honor…" The servant named Kiana said, her voice getting lighter at the end as if she was close to crying.

"This foolish child! I dare someone to call him useless a useless heir. I shall have them strung up by their guts! He is the future Lord of the Etara! He is the future lord of the Inanis family!" The woman declared.

Lucius could feel the traits of majesty in her voice and could tell that this woman had gone through a lot. Her words also confirmed the doubts he had about his identity.

'Seems like I was lucky enough to take over the body of a noble, the Inanis family. This should help me on the financial side and even the literary side. Though what is this 'gift' she was talking about? Did she mean it in the normal sense or something else?' Lucius thought.

Soon the two women went away and Lucius was left alone with his thoughts, drifting away into sleep.