Meanwhile, the white-cloaked man scrutinized Elias with a narrowed gaze before addressing him, confusion and caution etched on his wrinkled face.
"Where did you bring me? Is this an ability of yours?"
"...What do you mean?"
Elias relaxed slightly as he inquired, his mind racing to analyze the meaning behind the white-cloaked man's words.
"Stop playing dumb!"
The white-cloaked man observed Elias with an unconvinced expression.
"Ignoring the fact that you resurrected after dying for three whole hours, when did you awaken your ability? Is it the reason behind your resurrection?"
"What ability are you talking about?"
This time, Elias sensed the man before him was misunderstanding something, but he pressed on to confirm his conjecture.
"From my investigations, you're nothing but an expelled trash young lord of some renowned aristocratic family who lost their Thaumaturge Sigil due to the Blood Oath Ritual, a political event held by aristocratic families to keep themselves in check."
The white-cloaked man's voice dripped with disdain.
"In short, you were supposed to be powerless without your Thaumaturge Sigil, and yet, here you are, alive with an ability undoubtedly not manifested through the unique Fire Thaumaturge Sigil of your family."
He leaned forward, eyes narrowing further.
"There can only be one reason for such an outcome. Either you never lost your Fire Thaumaturge Sigil in the first place, which I doubt, or you indeed lost your bloodline Thaumaturge Sigil and awakened to a new, non-elemental Thaumaturge Sigil after your death, which aided in your resurrection."
The white-cloaked man stated this confidently with a mocking expression, though his face turned serious by the end.
Hearing the white-cloaked man's unfounded statement, Elias gathered enough details and confirmations to breathe a long sigh of relief. Judging by the words of this man, whose identity Elias now knew was the employer of the original occupant of his body, it seemed he hadn't intentionally entered Elias's subconscious space. This meant the reason the white-cloaked man had ended up in Elias's subconsciousness was likely due to an ability. This could be a hidden ability of which the original Elias was unaware, one related to this subconscious space in which they both now appeared.
From Elias's newly acquired memories, the original occupant was indeed a noble young lord from the Blaze Family. His name was Elias Blaze, and due to a political event held by the five noble families of his nation, he had lost his Sigil, the brand that qualified any living being to wield the power of Thaumaturgy.
This is the world of thaumaturgy!
—Without a Thaumaturge Sigil, one's status diminishes to the absolute lowest.
...
Shifting his attention back to the white-cloaked man, Elias pondered silently. He suspected the man before him was at his disposal in this subconscious space. With a mere thought, Elias felt the surroundings changing rapidly, recreating a scene from his memories.
A grand castle made of gold materialized around them. On the highest platform within the castle's walls, a majestic throne of mystical crystals that shimmered with golden light manifested behind Elias.
Donning navy blue and white regal garments with a luminous cape of the same color flowing freely behind him, Elias proceeded to sit upon the majestic throne. He rested his elbow on the armrest, his hand supporting his tilted head. After adjusting to a comfortable position, he gazed down at the white-cloaked man from his elevated position with a condescending look, as if observing an insignificant insect.
The surreal transformation left the white-cloaked man shocked to his core, his eyes widening in disbelief. For a moment, he was dumbstruck, trepidation building within his soul after witnessing Elias's display of power.
"What are you—"
Before the white-cloaked man could finish his sentence, Elias interrupted with an authoritative command, his voice booming throughout the room.
"KNEEL!"
BANG!
The white-cloaked man involuntarily dropped to his knees, landing on the solid floor with a resounding impact. His expression twisted in fury as he realized his position.
"You're seeking death!"
He snarled like an enraged mutt.
"You're nothing but an experimental subject I raised. How dare you make me kneel! Do you know who you're dealing with? Once I undo whatever this spell is, I promise you that I'll skin you alive and turn you into a Blood Zombie and torture your soul for eternity!"
The white-cloaked man threatened as he struggled to stand, straining against an invisible force to no avail. There seemed to be an unseen and inviolable power wrapped around his body, preventing him from rising.
Realizing physical exertion was useless, he began chanting a sinister spell as black fog gathered around him. Numerous overlapping whispers echoed through the room, creating a dreadful scene.
Witnessing this phenomenon unfold, Elias frowned and proceeded to bind the white-cloaked man's soul in ethereal chains imbued with his absolute, infallible authority. The white-cloaked man felt his will shackled following Elias's binding of his soul, unable to achieve his purpose as the black fog gradually dissipated.
No matter how much the white-cloaked man tried, his will refused to obey his commands, much less conjure any of his dark spells.
"You—"
The white-cloaked man attempted to curse, but Elias was ahead. He bound the man's mouth, preventing any expletives from escaping his vile lips.
The white-cloaked man's eyes turned bloodshot as he glared at Elias, resentment nearly radiating from them, but he remained helpless. Despite being unable to speak, he made guttural sounds as he flailed around like a worm on a hook.
That's more like it.
A smile crept onto Elias's face as he relished this familiar feeling of commanding insignificant life forms, ignoring the incessant, muffled protestations of his captive. The next moment, an influx of information appeared in his consciousness, a realization dawning on him as he surveyed the space he currently inhabited.
So that's what this place is. It turns out this wasn't a subconscious space but a Mental Landscape that harbors my previous attainment as a Unified Field Stage powerhouse. This Mental Landscape, like my Unified Field, can generate anything I've seen in the real world. But that's not all. Unlike my Unified Field Stage power, I can also replicate the existence data of my targets and manifest it in this Mental Landscape in the form of replicas or projections.
Reaching the Unified Field Stage was when one would begin recreating worlds by constantly analyzing the information of the physical reality. Later, this gathered reality information would be used to create prototypes for crafting worlds and entire universes inside one's body.
The act of creating complete universes was the domain of Singularity Stage powerhouses, a level Elias hadn't reached in his past life. Still, at his peak, he could craft numerous complete planets and galaxies within his body.
However, Elias's new power seemed identical in principle yet derived from a different source. It only mimicked his Unified Field Stage abilities within this Mental Landscape.
Elias could sense that he couldn't use such power in the real world, only in this mental realm. Otherwise, he could have easily overthrown the new world's order, ruling over every living being using the abilities from his previous life.
The source of Elias's confidence came from information gathered from the original Elias's memories. The world he had transmigrated into was undoubtedly expansive according to the geography in those memories, but it was merely a single planetary system, not part of a colony like the arrangements of his previous universe's revolutionized galaxies.
Additionally, in his previous life, he had been one of the Unified Field Stage supremes, a cosmic being close to reaching the multiversal threshold of the Singularity Stage. His combat power had been sufficient to rule over multiple universes, let alone a mere planetary system.
In short, as long as there weren't hidden powerhouses on this planet, Elias was confident that with his Unified Field Stage combat power, he could topple this world and reign supreme. Despite this confidence, such thoughts remained a fantasy and unachievable in reality, as he couldn't manifest his previous life's power in this new world, only in his Mental Landscape.
...
Watching the struggling white-cloaked man, Elias formulated a theory about the current abilities granted by the Mental Landscape.
First, I can project anyone or anything I've seen into my Mental Landscape and command them with absolute authority. Second, I can mold this Mental Landscape into anything I desire without apparent limit, restricted only by my imagination. However, if that were all, it would be useless. Third, I can access information, including memories, from those brought into my Mental Landscape. This is the most important aspect granted by the Mental Landscape. Fourth, I can subject my targets to any experience imaginable, including torture. There seem to be more functions to the Mental Landscape that I have yet to discover.
Focusing on the last ability, a sinister smile graced Elias's face, sending a chill down the white-cloaked man's spine. With a mere thought command, the scenery transformed from the grand castle to a starry void with celestial bodies flickering in and out of existence.