By Zephyria 
“Where should I even begin?” Shinui, who had plopped down onto the floor, pulled his cheeks up with his hands like a whining child. As I looked at his cheeks puffed up to his temples and his mischievous eyes, I heard a few sounds.
No, sounds, sensations, Divine Revelations…
What should I even call this? The one who had been babbling for a moment let out a sharp intake of breath. It was quite unpleasant to see him, who couldn’t even breathe, imitating humans. John and Peter, glancing nervously at Shinui, sat down on the floor.
Looking at them curiously, they spoke with their mouths. Shinui, as if understanding the silent murmurs, gestured for the others to sit down as well.
“Ah, make yourselves comfortable. Sit and listen. This is going to be a rather long story… in words you can understand… Ah, what should I call this.”
“…”
After pondering for a long time, Shinui conjured a sphere the size of a fingernail on his palm.
It was a crystal of pure Mana. I had seen it a few times before. It was Divine Power. A pale, clear light rolled from one hand to the other with a soft clinking sound.
“Let’s say that this much soul can create a Human. Not exactly this much, but as an example.”
The sphere suddenly grew larger, becoming the size of a human fist.
“And let’s say that this much is enough to be free from the limits of life, death, sickness, and old age, and the limitations of the body.”
Shinui tossed the sphere upwards like a bouncing ball.
Seeing the sphere of Divine Power, now large enough for a person to fit inside, floating above my head, my hand instinctively went to the sword hilt. Even though I knew there was no intent to threaten us, my nerves were on edge.
Shinui, meeting my gaze, gave a sly smile and continued, “If that’s the case, then a god is born when an energy of roughly this much encounters a certain ‘destiny’.”
“…Like a Magical Creature?”
“Like a Magical Creature.”
After that, Shinui continued to talk for a long time. Like the many words he had intended to say at first, it was a language that felt like touch rather than sound, unlike the words Elvin sometimes scattered like the wind. Some sounds were heard as silent, and some words were smelled like fragrance.
Was I the only one who couldn’t understand? I looked around. All the children had strange expressions on their faces.
It was only about twenty minutes later that Shinui, who had been rambling alone, realized we couldn’t understand. He sighed deeply and then explained again.
“What I was saying was that just as male and female beasts mate to produce offspring, gods are born when soul fragments shed during a world’s leap to the next stage accumulate and coalesce.”
“…”
“And after being born… it’s like this. A caterpillar works to become a butterfly, making a chrysalis, right? Like a bird building its nest to lay eggs, it’s just predetermined. No one teaches them, they just know.”
“…”
“At first, all I could think was, ‘I must create a world.'”
Shinui took a breath and hugged his knees. He looked like a mother bird perched on a clumsily built nest, just as he had described. Though there were no wings to be seen on his back, he appeared that way.
“We were born almost simultaneously. I was the second god and the third god, the fourth god and the sixth god. All of us were. We… the eight of us. Well, the eldest sister was a bit older, but that’s natural.”
“…”
“Anyway, creating a world is a monumental task… Usually, gods born together combine their strength. It’s easier with two than one, and easier with three than two. Everything seemed to be going wonderfully until we created the sea, the land, the sun, and the moon together. A world more magnificent than any I knew was being made.”
“…”
“But the youngest was born with the second moon. It shouldn’t have happened.”
As he said, it was indeed a long story.
He said that the desire a god has for their world is immense. It could be seen as… a kind of survival instinct. Proving oneself and building one’s own existence.
The Ninth God, that immature god, witnessed the already created world due to being born late.
Therefore, this world was not his. He too had to forge his own world. A complete world where he could fully occupy one domain, just as the other eight gods had done.
But how could a world created by the combined strength of eight gods be the same as a world created by one god gathering the Mana left over after creating the world?
What he created was not a world, but a single, delicate being capable of deep thought.
The first Human, the first Human in the image of a god, was born then.
All eight gods cherished the Human created by the Ninth God. It was a rather good creation.
Yes, a creation.
Beautiful things that breathe, sing, die, and are reborn.
Beautiful, pitiable, and impermanent things.
That first Human was granted a great deal of Mana for a creation. As a result, it possessed a very large soul but died after living its natural lifespan. It was a natural occurrence, but the Ninth God, who deeply loved the first Human, was plunged into despair.
One of the eight gods, pitying him, sacrificed part of his own body to give to the Ninth God.
The Ninth God, imbued with the god’s energy, fashioned another Human. But that one also died. Another god sacrificed part of his body and gave it again. But that one also died.
The gods created countless Humans, imitating the creation of the Ninth God.
Then the Ninth God completely lost his mind.
What he wanted was a being who wore his own colors entirely and sang only for him. The beautiful beginning, who had complete memories, loved him, and whom he loved.
The soul fragments that had already scattered became wildflowers, rabbits, and other young Humans. Even the gods did not know how to gather them again. The gods were merely greater souls, and they could not manipulate the absolute law of time as they pleased.
But what did that have to do with me?
Shinui’s words continued.
“At first, they still brought souls in their complete state. They would find Mana with traces of the first Human and kill the grass, hunt rabbits, or capture Humans.”
“…”
“But all life… does not wish to die. The Humans reborn after being reassembled did not love the youngest. They feared him, disliked him, well…”
“…”
“Besides, how can separated souls with existing memories be perfectly reunited? After hundreds and thousands of repetitions, the soul of the first Human has completely lost its original form.”
“…And so?”
The ones who had been trembling before Shinui were gone.
Marianne and John were so engrossed in the story that tears welled up in their eyes.
Wondering if the others were too, I glanced around. Hugh Benson had his brow furrowed deeply, and Benjamin covered his face with his large hands. …Was he crying? No, he was holding back a yawn. Giselle listened with wide eyes, but Leon was sound asleep…
Seeing Ruben next to me listening intently with a serious expression, I felt a pang of guilt.
I, who had lost focus for a moment, turned my attention back to Shinui’s voice.
“So, he just started gathering any soul that looked pretty and appealing to him, and tried to combine them. About… fifteen hundred years ago, he’s been doing that continuously…”
As I looked at Shinui, he looked back at me.
“By chance, when he collided with another world, he glimpsed what was beyond.”
“…Ah. Then… Michael.”
“He must have found you, among the souls of that world, rather pretty. Perhaps you lived virtuously, or were strong, or both. In any case, the youngest suddenly tore through the world and stole her and a few other souls.”
“…”
I was dragged here by the whims of a mad god.
Should I resent losing the chance to die peacefully and be reborn?
But I am grateful to that god. Thanks to him, I met Ruben.
I sat quietly and listened, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Shinui let out a sigh as if the earth were collapsing.
“You see, the balance of the world… when something good comes over, something bad follows.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Some useless junk came along with it. It was a complete mess. We threw the complete souls south of the Yuil Mountains and the junk north of the Yuil Mountains and started cleaning up. While we were busy mending and sealing the torn world, the youngest sulked and ran away…”
…Sulked?
I don’t know if the god is human-like, or if humans resemble gods. I just felt overwhelmed.
“So, the eldest sister is busy cleaning up on the mountain range, and I’m busy with my own affairs, but what you’ve lost is causing trouble again.”
“…What I’ve lost… is.”
“A fragment of a soul. Memories, thoughts, scenes from a past life.”
What?
I… my memories were intact. Or so I thought.
I remembered every single word about Sword Art and Footwork with perfect clarity. I remembered the many paths I had walked and the good deeds I had accomplished. I remembered the faces of my family and relatives, and snippets of conversations with friends.
Even the expressions of my nephews, who had smiled tremblingly but bravely as they set off to slay the Demonic Cult on my behalf… They were so vivid in my mind that it was agonizing.
I have lost nothing. I have forgotten nothing. I…
“Because I came with only a soul, without a body, its nature is a bit different from our Mana. If I had found a suitable body right away, there would have been no problem, but only a tiny fragment remained, so I couldn’t do that.”
“…You said that I… am a person of this world…?”
“You were a large fragment, so you could create a body. But this fragment is small, and it doesn’t combine with other souls, remaining in an unrefined state, so it keeps jumping around. It’s too wild.”
Wild.
“Originally, it was your soul, so I thought it would naturally attach itself to you, but… seeing it agitating the surrounding Mana, I thought it would cause a major incident, so I kept it in storage. But now that you’ve grown up and stabilized, I think it’s time for you to take it.”
…It’s time.
“Didn’t you think something was strange? Something that should naturally be there was missing.”
Shinui reached his hand behind him. He plunged his arm into the Oasis up to his shoulder and pulled it out, completely dry. In his smooth, unblemished hand, he held a round sphere.
It was a very blue fragment. Blue like a piece of the bright daytime sky, something of the color most familiar and closest to me was thrust before my eyes.
“You have to take it yourself. Otherwise, it might run off somewhere again.”
“…”
I didn’t want to take it.
My body stiffened with fear of the unknown.