Judas felt a heavy sense of sleepiness take over.
He tried his best to stay conscious, then analyzed the situation within himself.
Making sure to check his spiritual state, mental state, and physical state, down to the last cell in his body.
At first, he thought he was under some sort of mental attack from an enemy, but no matter how hard he looked or searched, he found nothing wrong.
If there was anything strange that he noticed, it was that his own soul was flickering, pulsing violently.
That was when he received memories that were not his own, flooding into his mind.
'Is this...?'
He had a hunch about what was happening.
He no longer tried to fight it and simply let it happen.
Sitting back with his legs crossed, Judas felt his eyelids grow heavy until his vision completely turned dark.
'This feeling...'
It felt as though his body was drifting along a calm river, carried gently by the current.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in an endless, empty void.
Nothing existed here... except for what stood directly in front of him.
Concealed behind a thin veil of mist, a silhouette of light took shape, seemingly resembling a middle-aged man.
"Oh? To think we're going to have another resident."
A young man's voice rang out as two figures suddenly appeared beside him.
Judas didn't even need to look to know who they were.
Black hair like his own, but with brown eyes and an above-average face.
The one speaking with a broad, easygoing smile was Alden, Judas's very first incarnation.
"Hmm… a middle-aged man this time. Is this another one of our past lives?"
The handsome man with silver hair and sharp blue eyes mused, rubbing his chin in thought.
That was naturally Estelon.
"You guys think so as well?"
Judas asked, briefly shifting his gaze toward them before focusing on the silhouette of the man who looked like he was still being 'downloaded.'
All of Judas' past incarnations, or at least those whose memories he had received, were here.
"Hey, I'm just as surprised as you are… but there's really no other explanation for this."
Alden said with a casual shrug.
"..."
Judas blinked and took a few steps closer before reaching out toward the middle-aged man.
"Looks like I have no choice but to check it out."
Judas added as his palm touched the middle-aged man's head.
A blinding flash of light erupted, flooding his vision with white.
When the bright light finally faded, Judas regained his vision and saw that the scenery around him had changed drastically.
"A hospital?"
Judas muttered as he looked around.
From what he could see, he was standing in the middle of a room in what appeared to be a modern-day medical facility.
'Am I back on Earth?'
The thought crossed his mind, but as soon as his eyes landed on the attending doctor and nurses, he realized that wasn't the case.
'Beastmen, elves, and dwarves... Am I in some sort of modern fantasy world?'
However, his attention was soon diverted when he heard a baby's cry nearby.
He slowly walked over and soon saw a newborn baby being held in a woman's arms, tears streaming down her face.
Judas placed a hand over his chest as he looked at her.
A sudden, deep knot formed in his throat; though he had never seen her before, she felt intensely familiar.
A knot formed in his throat.
When he shifted his gaze toward the crying baby, Judas couldn't help but show a slight smile.
'That's me… and that must be my mother. At least, in one of my past lives.'
"Max, from now on, his name is Maxwell... Maxwell Reighman."
The woman said gently, her gaze filled with love as she stared at her child.
This was the day that the world's greatest alchemist... the man who would eventually come to be known as the Alchemist Emperor, Maxwell Reighman... was born.
From then on, aside from the scene of Maxwell's birth, Judas only received the gist of the life Maxwell had lived.
Just like when he received the memories of Alden and Estelon, most of the memories were still hazy, concealed behind a thick blur, and would likely unlock as more time passed.
...
"Well... that was... interesting."
When Judas opened his eyes, he found himself back in the Loki Familia's training grounds, the barrier still surrounding him.
Thinking about Maxwell, Judas let out a slow breath as he sorted through the information he had just received.
"What a shame... I still haven't unlocked enough of Maxwell's memories to inherit his alchemist skills."
What he had received were only fragmented pieces of information, far too incomplete to form a coherent picture.
It was like being handed a handful of puzzle pieces from a thousand-piece puzzle.
They were undoubtedly important, but without the rest, they were impossible to understand.
However, Judas wasn't impatient.
He knew that with enough time, Maxwell's library's worth of knowledge would eventually be passed on to him.
Aside from that, there was another surprisingly detailed pieces of memories from Maxwell's life that drew his attention.
"That guy... he actually had over a hundred wives."
Finally, a previous life where he hadn't died a virgin.
Out of all the memories he had inherited, he had somehow received vivid, highly detailed recollections of Maxwell's time with his wives.
Heck, Judas could even recite the names of all his lovers right now.
"I guess it's true… the memories considered most precious to the original owner are the ones I get to see first."
Judas had formed this hypothesis back when he was still receiving Estelon's memories.
He had found it strange that he didn't obtain his memories in chronological order and that they seemed completely random.
But after experiencing Maxwell's memories, he was now certain that his guess had been correct.
'To Maxwell, the time he spent with his wives was more precious than his skills as an alchemist.'
Still, Judas felt his heart beating rapidly.
Along with those memories came the detailed recollections of all the bedroom 'activities' Maxwell had engaged in.
'That guy... fucking hell... to be able to handle all of them at once.'
He could still hear the chorus of women moaning echoing in his ears.
Looking down, Judas discovered that his little guy had actually hardened.
'Fuck...'
He took a slow, deep breath, closing his eyes and waiting for his body to calm down.
When Judas finally dispersed the barrier, the training grounds came back into view.
There were noticeably fewer people than before.
Looking up, he saw the sun hanging high in the sky.
'I think its already past noon by now... They're probably having lunch.'
With that thought, Judas pushed himself to his feet, intending to head back inside the manor.
"Judas? It looks like you're finally done with your training. What perfect timing... I just got back from buying some fresh fruit."
A gentle, feminine voice called out nearby.
Judas turned to see Alicia approaching him, a basket brimming with colorful fruit cradled in her arms.
The orange-haired elf wore her usual warm smile.
"Ah... Miss Alicia."
His gaze drifted toward the basket.
"Would you like some? Don't worry, I already washed them."
She held it out invitingly.
"Thanks... I appreciate it."
Judas reached in, picked up an apple, and took a bite.
As he chewed, he felt a bead of sweat slowly trickle down the side of his face.
'...How long is she going to keep staring at me like that?'
From the moment she walked over, Alicia hadn't taken her eyes off him.
She simply stood there, watching him eat with a tranquil, almost absent-minded smile, as though seeing him alone was enough to brighten her day.
For some reason, he could hear DJ Khaled in his ears, holding a finger up and saying, 'And another one.'
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