Kai discovered three important facts during the next hour.
First:
Dr. Elias Mercer was terrifyingly intelligent.
Second:
he possessed the social instincts of a malfunctioning microwave.
Third:
he genuinely did not remember large portions of his own past.
"State your full academic education," Elias said.
Kai blinked.
"That is not normal conversation."
"I require baseline data."
"You sound like you're preparing to dissect me."
"Only academically."
Kai immediately shifted his chair slightly farther away.
The scientist either failed to notice or simply didn't care.
Both possibilities felt realistic.
They sat inside a circular room filled with floating holographic interfaces.
At the center stood a strange device resembling a metallic tree.
Blue energy flowed through transparent tubes along its surface.
Kai kept staring at it.
"What is that thing?"
Elias looked over.
Then paused.
"...I do not remember its designation."
Kai blinked.
"Seriously?"
"However, I understand its theoretical principles."
"Which are?"
The scientist approached the machine.
"It appears to convert cognitive activity into dimensional stabilization energy."
Kai stared.
"That explanation somehow created more questions."
Elias nodded.
"Expected response."
The scientist touched the metallic structure gently.
For a brief moment, something changed in his expression.
Sadness.
Very faint.
"I believe," Elias said quietly, "I spent a long time building this place."
Kai looked around.
The laboratory was enormous.
Cold.
Silent.
Empty.
The kind of empty that made people uncomfortable.
"You were alone here?" Kai asked.
"Yes."
"For centuries?"
"Subjectively, yes."
Kai winced.
That sounded horrifying.
Elias returned to the console.
"Memory loss began approximately eighty-seven years after neural integration."
"That's oddly specific."
"I documented the degradation process."
Kai pointed.
"See? That's the kind of sentence normal people don't say."
The scientist ignored him.
"Personal memories degraded first."
His voice remained calm.
Too calm.
"Names. Faces. Conversations."
Kai noticed Elias unconsciously touching the side of his head again.
"Then event chronology became unstable."
The scientist frowned.
"Some memories remain vivid. Others are fragmented."
He looked toward the containment sector map.
"I know I created dangerous organisms."
Pause.
"I do not remember why."
Kai remained silent.
For the first time since entering the laboratory, the situation felt less comedic.
More tragic.
Imagine being so alone for so long that even your memories started dying.
Kai scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Well."
Elias looked toward him.
"At least your academic knowledge survived?"
The scientist nodded.
"Scientific theory remains highly accessible."
Then he added:
"Emotional memories appear significantly less stable."
Kai stared for a moment.
Then quietly said:
"That sucks."
Elias blinked.
As if the response surprised him.
"...Yes," he admitted.
"It does."
Silence settled between them.
Then Kai ruined the emotional atmosphere immediately.
"So theoretically speaking..."
Elias narrowed his eyes.
"That phrase rarely leads anywhere positive."
"Could you make me extremely powerful?"
The scientist stared at him.
Kai straightened his posture.
"Hypothetically."
Elias crossed his arms.
"Your biological structure is mediocre."
Kai's soul took damage.
"You could have lied."
"Incorrect information reduces efficiency."
"I suddenly understand why nobody rescued you."
The scientist ignored the insult.
"However," he continued, "mediocre potential does not indicate fixed limitations."
Kai froze.
"Explain immediately."
Elias activated another hologram.
The image of a human body appeared.
Then pathways.
Energy channels.
Neural structures.
"Your civilization treats cultivation as mystical adaptation," Elias explained.
"In reality, the process resembles directed biological evolution."
Kai nodded slowly.
He understood approximately twelve percent of that sentence.
"So cultivation is basically upgrading yourself?"
Elias pointed.
"Simplified, but accurate."
Kai suddenly looked excited.
"Wait."
"If beast crystals are biological upgrades..."
He pointed dramatically.
"Then cultivators are technically customizable humans."
The scientist paused.
Then slowly nodded.
"...That is disturbingly correct."
Kai grinned.
"I knew my gaming experience would become relevant someday."
Elias frowned.
"What is gaming?"
Kai gasped softly.
"You poor ancient man."