Chapter 9: Final Chapter

　　Section 1: An Origin Three Millennia Old　　"Roar!" The howl of the ancient sealed king echoed in my ears... If my memory served, this was the last clip I'd recorded before losing my phone. What a shame—the lighting was terrible, the phone's camera was junk, turning this mind-blowing footage into a pixelated, nearly unwatchable disaster.　　Wait, that didn't add up. The videos were playing in order, so the one in front should have been filmed later. Did she figure out how to rearrange the playlist the very first time she used a phone?　　"Must have been a glitch," I muttered to myself.　　Her voiceover in the next second proved me utterly wrong. Unbelievably, she had edited this video using the app my girlfriend had downloaded for me! Good grief, leave some talent for the rest of us, will you? I stilldon't know how to edit videos!　　"Hinson, this is a source-tracing study regarding the physical form of the entity known as the Sealed King. It is vital for the Spine Project. The third section is mandatory viewing."　　Alright, alright. You say watch, I'll watch. I'm all ears.　　"From your account, while the Sealed King craved human flesh, it originated from an ordinary man. This transformation resulted from its fusion with a parasitic 'demonic entity.' My research therefore focuses on that core entity. To avoid confusion, it will be referred to as the 'Core Form' hereafter."　　Wow, did you have to be that meticulous?　　"Part One: Physical Characteristics."　　Let's skip that. Even the memory of its mouth dripping with green sludge makes me queasy.　　"Part Two: Behavioral Analysis."　　Behavior... What did it do besides eat people? Never mind. Skipping this too.　　"Part Three: Origin Tracing."　　Here we go. I turned the volume all the way up, terrified of missing a single word.　　"Three thousand years ago, a male warrior from the ancient Shu Kingdom completed fusion with the Time Well. His designated task was to perceive the 'Secrets of Heaven' within it. This is the only other verifiable and traceable fusion record, as