Chapter: 45
Time flows, and the world keeps changing.
The little village turns into a big one, and the shallow stream gradually grows into a respectable river.
The time when small sprouts grow into towering trees, and humans cut them down, leaving only the memories behind.
As I wandered through a world that was just chugging along, something caught my attention like an itch I couldn’t scratch.
There was something that looked like a human but was all blurry. It didn’t have a physical form, yet it was undeniably there, moving around.
It was pretty hazy but still managed to hold onto a little bit of self-awareness.
Unlike spirits—something incredibly weak and ephemeral.
I quickly recognized what it was.
Because there was a dead human body right beneath it.
A corpse that looked just like it.
It was the soul of a dead human.
“Ah… Ahh…”
The soul, which was of a young man, stood there dazed, letting out a small sound—as if it didn’t even realize it was dead.
Seeing a soul like this was a first for me… What the heck? Why is this happening?
If souls were around, there should be countless ones in this world by now. How many humans have kicked the bucket until now…
Could it be… As humanity slowly got smarter, they began pondering life, death, and souls?
Now that I think about it, back in the day, dying was just… dying. They’d bury the body, and that was that. But nowadays, it looks like people are doing something that resembles funerals…
Did belief in the afterlife just pop up? Is that what’s going on?
And belief in the existence of souls has started to form?
If that’s the case, then there must have been some event that triggered it… Hmm…
If things are changing so suddenly, could the recent reason be… laws?
Nah, executions have been a thing for a while. If souls started popping up because of that, they would have appeared ages ago. Am I missing some deeper cause here?
I’m drawing a blank. Hmm… Did the clear existence of gods provoke thoughts about what happens after death? Or was it due to that solar eclipse we had earlier?
No idea. There are just too many guesses for me to land on anything concrete.
I approached the standing soul.
“Ah… I am… Where is this… exactly…”
The dude didn’t seem to have been dead for too long.
Looks like he slipped off something high; he was all bruised with a broken neck, but… the body wasn’t rotting yet.
What a pity.
With a stone axe for woodcutting on his waist, he must’ve been a woodcutter out to collect some firewood or something. Hmm…
I carefully spoke to the man’s soul.
“What’s your name?”
“I-I am… My name is…”
The soul reacted to my words but struggled to talk about itself. Hmm… This is tricky.
I didn’t want to just leave this body and soul lying around. Guess I have no choice.
I gathered my magical power and lifted the man’s wrecked body, moving it slowly.
Let’s head to the nearby village first.
As soon as the body started to walk, for some bizarre reason, the soul that was standing dazed began to follow it.
And so, the man’s body, his soul, and I made our way toward the nearby village.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Finding the man’s family wasn’t hard. Entering the village, people gasped when they saw the man’s body.
Just from a quick glance, I counted about 50 people in the village. In a small place like this, not recognizing a villager would be absurd.
“Oh my! Krut! What happened to you?”
“Go and get Onet right now! Krut’s back, all beaten up! Bring all the herbs!”
The humans, oblivious to my hidden presence, saw the guy named Krut and assumed he was injured, trying to help him.
But what could they do for someone who was already dead?
I withdrew the magical power I was using to move his body, and it collapsed limply.
“Crap! Krut!”
“I told you not to go to the mountains the day after heavy rain! And you went anyway!”
The villagers helped carry the man’s corpse into the village, and before long, loud crying echoed through the air.
Sounded like his family… his younger sister.
“This is… our village…”
The man’s soul stood observing the village blankly, then entered, where he soon saw a girl crying while hugging his corpse.
“Oh… Onet… my… sister…”
Despite forgetting everything about himself, he still remembered his family.
It was then that the man’s soul seemed to realize he was dead, and he weakly dropped to his knees.
“Am I… dead?”
“Yeah. You’re dead.”
“Who are you?”
The man’s soul looked at me. Empty eyes. The eyes of a man confronting death. What kind of emotions were swirling in there?
Regret? Hopelessness? Sadness? Desperation? Who knows? What do the emotions of a dead person even feel like?
What’s it like for someone who dies leaving behind loved ones?
“Are you… a god?”
“Why do you think that?”
“I don’t know. You just look like a really big deal to me.”
Can he see because he’s a soul? Or is it because he faced death?
Looks like the man’s soul could catch a glimpse of my power.
Of course, he couldn’t see it all. If a fragile soul like him fully grasped my essence, he’d probably disintegrate on the spot.
I’m keeping my power low-key, so maybe that’s all he could see?
“If you’re a god… can you bring me back to life?”
“Well, I’ve never tried that, so I have no idea.”
That’s a fib. I can rewind time and save him. Just rewind to before he kicked the bucket, and boom, he’s alive again.
But should I really do that?
I’m not sure.
I never really thought about restoring a body and putting the soul back in… this is my first time seeing a soul after all.
Hmm… I wonder what’d happen if I tried? My curiosity is piqued.
“What will happen to me now?”
“Beats me.”
This is my first encounter with a dead person’s soul. I’m totally unprepared for handling this situation.
There’s no Reaper or Death God. I haven’t even decided what to do with the dead’s souls during these scenarios.
Wait, do I actually have to make decisions and create a whole afterlife? Seriously?
How annoying…
“Do you really know nothing…?”
“Humans have faced death more times than they can count, yet now they’re wondering why souls are suddenly popping up.”
Should I whip up something like heaven? Or have the souls reincarnate? Which one should I choose? No clue. Hmm.
Either way… it’s clear I’m going to have to put in some serious work to set it up. Tsk.
“I don’t want to… die like this… I can’t leave my sister behind… I won’t…”
“Hmmm…”
The man’s soul began to twitch. Was it having a fit, or were dark emotions altering his form?
The translucent soul was gradually darkening.
“What a bizarre phenomenon.”
“Revive me… to my sister…!”
“Sorry, but that ain’t happening.”
The soul, now dark and monstrous in appearance, lunged at me.
“Whoa.”
“Graaah!”
A light flick from me sent its upper body flying off.
“Hmm… Did he just turn into an evil spirit? That’s a problem.”
So this is what happens when you neglect the soul of a deceased human? It feels like something out of a Shonen manga with the grim reaper. Those evil spirits had holes in their chests, too.
“Ugh, urk…”
Even with its upper half blown off, the evil spirit kept writhing around. I barely touched it, yet it still maintains its form, pretty impressive, right?
“I can’t resurrect someone who’s already gone, but I can help you protect your sister.”
“Cough… eh… what do you mean…?”
“Simple! I’ll turn you, a soul, into your sister’s guardian spirit.”
Looks like even as a soul, he possesses some power. He should be able to manage the role of a guardian spirit.
“If you don’t want that, the only other option is to let you poof out of existence right here. So, what’s it gonna be?”
The man, whose upper body was now slowly regenerating, just nodded.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
And that’s about it. After appointing the first soul I encountered as his sister’s guardian spirit and burying the dude’s body, I wandered through the world again.
Souls started appearing all over the place. They didn’t show up when animals died, but only when humans or intelligent beings kicked the bucket. It seems intelligent beings’ developed thought processes allowed for these manifestations.
Was it the presence of a god that triggered all these thoughts about death and the afterlife? Hmm… Guess it was bound to happen.
Could it be said that the thoughts and magical energy of conscious beings during their death reveal these souls? Anyway, that feels about right.
If I leave these souls to their own devices… the world might end up flooded with evil spirits. I’ll need a process to gather and deal with them.
Alright! Let’s create it! The afterlife!!
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