Chapter 46: About the Afterlife (2)
Well, just because I said I’m going to create an afterlife doesn’t mean everything gets thrown together in an instant.
First, I need to decide on what kind of system this afterlife will run on.
The afterlife I’m envisioning could be broadly divided into two types.
First, an afterlife that collects and stores souls.
You know, like the usual heaven or hell, Valhalla-like set-up where dead souls are neatly stacked away.
Good people go to heaven, and bad folks? Straight to hell. You get the idea—an afterlife that gathers and stashes away dead souls.
Second, there’s the type of afterlife that reincarnates souls.
This one falls more in line with Buddhism or Hinduism, where a dead soul’s sins are judged and then they’re reborn into another life, essentially cycling through existence.
It’s like collecting the dead souls, processing them, and then giving them a fresh start. Sounds weird to say “processing souls.”
Anyway, those are the two big ideas I was mulling over.
Sure, the commonality is that I need to collect dead souls, but… I’ve got some plans for that, which I’ll explain later.
First up, the type of afterlife that stores souls.
This one’s pretty straightforward. Just collect the souls and gather them in a designated space.
Now, it might be useful to create a nice environment for good souls and make the evil ones face the music for their past sins.
The downside is… if I keep collecting souls, eventually, the storage space will burst at the seams.
Unless the soul-collecting area expands without limit, it’s bound to fill up one day.
Plus, I need separate spaces to collect good and evil souls, which means I’m gonna need a few different areas, right?
Oh, wait! It’d be a neat idea to keep the souls of heroes who did great things during their lives separate. Kind of like Valhalla.
If I gather the souls of heroes and ever need their help… summoning them could be handy, right? Like that popular game about heroic spirit summoning.
Well, that’s just me daydreaming for now. Let’s move along.
Next, there’s the type of afterlife that reincarnates souls.
The good thing about this method is that it won’t need as much storage space for souls.
I just have to judge the dead souls, give them a good “cleaning,” and let them be reborn.
Of course, if the souls have a ton of bad karma, I might need some space for that, but it’ll still be way less than simply collecting souls willy-nilly.
The downside? I’ll have to completely create a new system for judging and reincarnating souls.
Unlike just collecting souls, this one demands some serious processing. That means I’m gonna need to do more research. Hmm.
It’s definitely not going to be a walk in the park. I’ll have to analyze this new thing called “souls” thoroughly and come up with a whole new processing method.
Plus, I’m sure I’ll need a whole lot of hands when it comes to reincarnating the processed souls.
It won’t be easy, but if I set it up right, it’ll save a lot of hassle later on.
I was staring at these two options, pondering hard. Is it better to go for the simple and easy method that might bring problems later? Or the one that’s cumbersome at first but will turn out convenient in the long run?
Both methods seemed equally promising. Ugh… which one to pick…
I decided to set both ideas aside in my mind for now. Let’s figure this out later.
For now… I need to gather a workforce to collect souls on my behalf.
No matter which way I go, I’ll definitely need their help.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
What I immediately need are spiritual beings to collect the dead souls. Grim reapers… or entities known as death gods.
And I also need some managers to oversee them, plus spaces where they can fetch the souls…
Whew. There’s a lot I need. As soon as that thought hit me, I felt swamped… but with souls piling up by the second, I need to handle this pronto.
I at least had a few candidates in mind for the soul-collecting workers.
Among the spirits, there were some that fit the bill.
Dark spirits.
Once upon a time, they were the unfortunate offspring of black dragons.
Their father Erebus caused quite the riff among dragons, making me angry, and he even managed to run away from punishment. Because of that, the dark spirits ended up facing hate from other spirits, making it hard for them to wander freely.
If only Erebus had faced proper punishment, the dark spirits wouldn’t have had to hide… but what can you do? What’s done is done.
Even if I could rewind time now… I wouldn’t want to undo everything I’ve done so far. Too much hassle.
But anyway, if dark spirits are sneaky enough to not get spotted easily… they’d be great for soul-collecting.
Now about middle management… I need someone to manage these dark spirits. I’ll handle it for now, but if someone more capable shows up, I’ll pass it on.
I can’t do everything by myself. Been there, done that, too tiresome.
Let’s go find the dark spirits first.
Many of the dark spirits, avoided by others, had gathered in one place.
That place happened to be where the dragons once transformed into spirits long ago. A burial ground for the bodies of those dragon-turned-spirits.
In this place, shunned by other spirits, the dark spirits were living together.
I felt a bit sorry for them… but I left them to their fate, thinking it was a shared burden for Erebus’s crimes. Now, I could somewhat ease their suffering.
Though in return, they’d have to work hard.
I arrived at the plains where the dragons were buried. What was once a grassy meadow filled with trees now sat silent, with only a few weeds popping up.
Hmm. Did the dragon bodies affect this land? It’s concerning that nothing grows here.
Also, there was a lot of fog lingering about. Maybe because the wind spirits or fire spirits didn’t approach at all, the thick fog was persistent.
The mood was super creepy. It felt like a spot where ghosts could pop up any moment. Yikes.
As I strode through the fog, I spoke softly.
“Children hiding in the darkness, come forth. I’ve come to help lighten your burden of sins.”
The shadows cast on the ground began to quiver slightly. Hmm. True to their nature as dark spirits, they were all curled up in the shadows.
[Who are you…?]
“Don’t you even recognize me anymore? Well, it has been quite a while.”
How long has it been since dragons disappeared and the age of dragons came to a close? Even the dinosaurs that roamed the earth are buried now.
[This aura… Could it be…? The Creator Dragon God…?]
One of the dark spirits who still had a sense of self materialized in front of me.
It may have lost its physical form and faded into a spirit, but it still possessed remarkable power.
Among spirits, it might actually be classified as a high-ranking spirit.
“What’s your name?”
[I forgot the name I had when I had a body. Now, the children call me Shade.]
Forgotten your name, huh… I did that, but it still stings a bit.
“Alright then, Shade. I’ve come to free you all from the collar of sin that weighs upon you.”
[Is that so…? Finally… we might be liberated from the torment we’ve endured for so long.]
“Of course, a price will have to be paid…”
Shade responded without a moment of hesitation.
[That’s alright. If we can shed the sin imposed by our parent, we’ll pay any price.]
“Great to hear. That’s the spirit! Hmm. Now, gather up all the dark spirits. As many as you can.”
[All the dark spirits? It won’t take long for those here, but those hiding out might take a while to gather.]
“Doesn’t matter to me. In exchange for lifting your sins, I’m going to assign you a significant task.”
[A task…? Could you share what it is?]
Nodding slightly, I replied.
“I can only give you a rough idea. Generally, it’ll involve collecting and organizing all the stuff that’s about to overflow in this world.”
Souls, that is.
[Organizing and collecting… Understood. If it means shedding the sin placed upon us by our parent, we’ll do whatever it takes.]
“Good. So, gather as many dark spirits here as you can. The more hands, the better. Those born here and those yet to be born. As many as possible. Seriously, a whole heap. If the number’s small, it’ll be tough on you.”
[Understood.]
With that, Shade and the other dark spirits melted back into the shadows and scattered.
Oh, I didn’t say they had to do this forever… but hey, it should be fine, right?
It’s a permanent gig! A no-holiday black job! But it’s a crucial role for keeping the system of the world in check!
Now, while the scattered dark spirits gather others, I should take a closer look at the souls.
I need to investigate them thoroughly; only then will I know what I can actually do with these souls.
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