I'm a magical girl in the future

Chapter 84 The Fleeting Udumbara

"This ability... is a bit too..." Faced with such an ability, Shen Zixin felt extremely puzzled: "...Doesn't this require some kind of resurrection spell to work?"

A power that comes at the cost of self-destruction; to use it, one must sacrifice oneself...

"If such a convenient miracle of resurrection truly existed in this world... how could I have lost so much in my future?"

Noah gave a bitter smile.

"However, Fennel... in a sense, can indeed 'reborn' herself. It's just that the so-called rebirth... is probably not quite what you imagine."

"...What exactly do you mean?" Shen Zixin pressed.

Noah didn't answer directly, but looked up at him and asked another question.

"What do you think constitutes 'you'?"

"...Hmm? What constitutes me..." Shen Zixin thought for a moment, "That is of course my life experiences, my personality, my perceptions..."

"Hmm." Noah nodded. "So, the second question—suppose we could somehow perfectly copy all the memories in your brain and then implant them into a completely unrelated person. Do you think that person who carries all your memories would still be 'you'?"

"Of course not."

This time, Shen Zixin answered without hesitation.

"That's right, that's what I think too. But Fennel... she's been 'reborn' time and time again in this way."

"Fennel's Heart Essence self-destructs after it's used. So, she's been searching for a way to 'survive' after activating her Heart Essence."

"Then, her original costume provided the answer—"

Noah's gaze fell on the floating gem on Li Mengling's forehead.

"This gemstone...is it Li Mengling's formal attire?" Shen Zixin immediately understood.

"To be more precise," Noah corrected, "it's the 'Fennel' costume from 'my era.' Its function is to completely copy the holder's memories. In this way, even if the 'original' has died, the memories of 'Fennel' can be preserved in this way."

Shen Zixin felt a chill run down his spine. He understood the chilling logic behind this tactical system almost instantly.

"Then, this costume can forcibly implant memories into someone else? Allowing another person to acquire 'Fennel's' memories, thereby achieving a kind of 'possession'?"

"Of course not." Noah shook her head. "The memories recorded by this costume can only be implanted into someone who has the exact same DNA as the user. In other words, it can only work on 'oneself'."

"Huh? Then this formal attire... isn't it completely useless?" Shen Zixin asked, puzzled. "Copying your own memories, and then those memories can only be implanted into yourself... unless you lose your memory, what's the point of backing up those memories?"

"Watch my words. I said, 'A person who shares the exact same DNA as the user.'" Noah gave a meaningful look. "What else do you think could share your DNA besides yourself?"

"...You mean...a clone...?"

"That's right." Noah's tone was casual. "Li Mengling's mother used to be a core member of the Civil Defense Bureau's research institute. So, she made many... 'spare parts' for her daughter."

"Therefore, Fennel's combat system is theoretically self-consistent—"

"Before self-destructing, she copies her memories into her Mystic Code. Then she can self-destruct without any worries. After the battle, her companions import the Mystic Code containing her memories into the cloned human body. In this way, the new 'Fennel' is resurrected."

What kind of fighting style is this?

"Furthermore, to avoid unnecessary trouble, the cloned human bodies that serve as 'containers' have remained dormant in petri dishes since birth, never waking up. This is to prevent them from developing their own personalities and causing confusion during memory implantation."

"In addition, these cloned human bodies have also undergone artificial growth-promoting treatment—their biological age may actually be only one year old, but they look at least fifteen or sixteen years old."

"However, this has led to subsequent problems. Even for clones, the awakening of magical girls must adhere to the age limit of 10 years or older. This is because whether or not awakening occurs is determined by the true age of the soul, and has absolutely nothing to do with the physical state."

"Of course, they couldn't really wait ten years. Fortunately, the technology of 'actively catalyzing awakening' was eventually developed, which broke through the age limit. With that, the combat system was completed."

After Noah finished speaking, she closed her eyes.

"However, in my future, Li Mengling already... had no more suitable bodies. After her last activation of her mental image, although she left behind the costume that recorded her memories, the lack of a suitable recipient was tantamount to a death sentence for her."

"However... in this era, there is one person who does indeed possess the exact same DNA as Li Mengling."

Noah opened her eyes, her gaze returning to Li Mengling on the bed.

"That's Li Mengling herself."

After listening to Noah's entire story, Shen Zixin took a long time to process it.

This method of warfare... even requires the use of clones...

"Then..." Shen Zixin also looked at Li Mengling on the bed, "wouldn't this method allow for... 'immortality'?"

"Is this really considered immortality?" Noah gave a wry smile.

"When memories are implanted into a cloned human body with a blank slate, it will indeed quickly form a personality based on that. However, this personality is only based on the transplanted memories, not the original personality. Moreover, the 'soul' in the cloned body is no longer Li Mengling's original 'soul'..."

"Can this kind of rebirth truly still be considered... 'myself'?"

*

Information that can be made public now:

*

Momentary Udumbara

Category: Mindset

Level: C

Holder: Fennel

description:

At the cost of the complete annihilation of one's soul and body, all the magic power within is instantly released, triggering an ultimate, massive-scale attack. In layman's terms, it is a self-destruction that leads to mutual destruction.

Its destructive power is positively correlated with the degree of "openness" of the initiator. If the holder is an "Eternal Shao" class initiator of this mental image, the power is equivalent to a 500-megaton TNT explosion (about one-tenth the yield of the "Tsar Bomba" nuclear bomb in the real world), which can easily wipe a modern metropolis off the surface.

Of course, this is just a theoretical value; Fennel herself has never reached a level where she could unleash such power.

The "death" cost associated with this mental state cannot be avoided; once activated, the initiator will inevitably die.

*

Soul Resonance Stone

Category: Primal Costume

Level: D

Holder: Fennel

description:

It takes the form of a deep blue crystal, and the holder can seal their memories inside it and then retrieve them at the appropriate time.

However, DNA recognition is involved during implantation, and the recipient of the memories must share the same DNA as the holder of the Mystic Code. Therefore, one cannot transfer their own memories to another person.

Under normal circumstances, this costume has almost no practical value. Moreover, it can only seal memories, not personality. However, when combined with an artificial clone and implanted memories, it is equivalent to having the ability to continuously 'regenerate'.

However, in essence, this is just an artificial clone with "fennel memories," and neither its soul nor its personality is the same as before.

Since the original costume cannot change the user (it can simply be handed over to someone else to hold), this is a rebirth method unique to Fennel.