By Zephyria 
A few trivial pleasantries were exchanged but quickly ended.
It was because the Sylph kept bothering me incessantly. It would scoop up handfuls of sand from the ground and scatter them like snowflakes, or pile them up into a sand tower a short distance away. It was so delighted that its tinkling laughter and humming echoed sharply in my ears.
Watching it dance with joy made me quite annoyed.
This Sylph had been soaring high, watching us since the monsters started to swarm, hadn’t it? It knew Shinui was coming beforehand but didn’t give me any warning.
Thinking about it, the Sylph buzzing around my ears felt as bothersome as a mosquito. Just as I scowled, the Sylph plopped down upside down on the very top of the camel I was riding. Then, it stretched out its tiny hands towards me.
[Thank you!]
“…What?”
[I said thank you?]
So, what was I supposed to do? I didn’t want to do anything suspicious anymore. As I stared at its tiny hands, no bigger than toothpicks, Marianne, who had quickly ridden her camel closer to me, whispered a hint.
“Give it your hand. The one with the contract mark.”
“Ah.”
I obediently extended my right hand towards the Spirit. The Spirit acted as if it were playing with sand on the back of my hand. With its hands, the size of rice grains, it tapped my hand, and a faint blue mana scattered. It felt strangely light, as if a knot had been untied.
Above it, a mark resembling a feather appeared with a sparkle.
Startled, I immediately turned to Marianne. She smiled contentedly and nodded. Relieved, my voice lost its strength as I asked the Spirit.
“What is this…?”
[If you need wind, call me. If there’s wind nearby, I’ll help the pretty groom!]
“…Me, wind… What should I call it?”
The Spirit, as if it had heard the funniest thing, burst into uncontrollable laughter and buried itself in the camel’s mane. Its bouncing movements seemed utterly unreliable. The Spirit, making a beard on its face with the camel’s mane, replied.
[Sylph! That’s enough!]
“Alright.”
Having said all it wanted, it hopped up again and stole Mercenary Captain Leon’s hat before fleeing.
Leon couldn’t make a loud fuss and flustered about. It was pathetic to watch. Hugh Benson, watching him, let out a sigh, “Hoo.” I couldn’t tell if he was laughing, struggling, or just making his presence known.
As the Spirit left, Ruben sidled up to me and gave a bashful smile.
Only then did I feel better.
Didn’t they say wind was everywhere? It was thanks to that mischievous Spirit that I had gotten Ruben back. I was thrilled to have obtained something I had secretly coveted. If I ever lost Ruben again, I would summon the Sylph first. This time, I would definitely demand mana as payment…
Lost in thought, I looked up at the very top of the Sandworm and saw two small figures.
Shinui and Nadish. They were bickering, pushing each other, and playing. Seeing them laugh and act so intimately, I didn’t think they would do anything bad to me.
However, seeing them herd the monsters towards us, their methods were so rough that I worried they might harm the children.
I was frustrated, having no idea what Shinui intended to give me.
I desperately wished for time to slow down, as if facing a difficult test.
❖ ❖ ❖
Around midnight, under the black sky.
We had arrived at the Oasis.
I knew it from far away. Instead of the crunching sand, the roots of grass were intertwined, making the ground firm. The moment we stepped on the grass, the camels snorted with anticipation. Yes, it smelled of water. Moving a little further, a smooth expanse of sky seemed to have settled before us.
It was called an Oasis, but it was shaped like a large, wide lake surrounded by several magnificent trees. Clusters of stars, densely intertwined, were present both in the sky and within the Oasis. Spirits of all kinds walked, flew, and leaped around, creating a celestial paradise of laughter.
The party members dismounted their camels one by one.
Shinui, who had leaped off the Sandworm, said something and sent them away.
Seeing that giant, ferocious beast enjoying his touch like a trained horse made a part of my chest feel uneasy. Yet, whether I had killed one of them or not, Shinui smiled broadly and turned to the party.
What if he suddenly splashed water on us?
Having heard things, I tensed up and blocked Ruben’s path, but Shinui simply sat down in mid-air. The sight of various Spirits supporting his body with wind to create a chair was incredibly mystical, and equally terrifying. I worried about how I would fight if they all attacked me.
Shinui opened his mouth with a sly smile.
“Alright, I’ll take questions now.”
“…Questions?”
“To return the ‘lost item,’ your consent is needed ‘now.’”
…Lost item? Had I lost something?
But in this world, I had only received things and lost nothing. The more I pondered, the more difficult it became. I couldn’t say anything, just opened and closed my mouth. Fearing I would make a grave mistake, I couldn’t act rashly.
The other party members were the same. The mercenaries remained silent, like they had eaten honey, and trembled. While Hugh Benson stood with his arms crossed, his brow furrowed, Marianne boldly raised her hand.
“May we ask questions too?”
“Huh…? Yes, it seems Jeongyeon already told you everything? Ask away. You don’t have to answer what you can’t. It’s not difficult to tell you things, but some knowledge your souls cannot bear.”
Soul.
Marianne, like Hugh Benson, crossed her arms and fell into thought.
Then, Ruben intertwined his hand with mine. I felt the child’s fingertips trembling, so I squeezed back. Through our joined hands, I immediately knew what question he wanted to ask.
Despite his trembling fingertips, Ruben’s voice was firm and calm.
“Did you summon Jeongyeon… Michael, to send him back to his original world?”
“Huh?”
Then Shinui laughed. He burst into hearty laughter.
“Hee-heuk, heh-hak! Ah, oh dear, oh dear, me? Heh-heh-ha-ha! No, I just wanted to find a lost item! For that to go back, it’s not enough for just one or two to die. Even if I lived thoughtlessly, I couldn’t stand to see that!”
But his laughter held a profound meaning. It wasn’t enough for one or two to die. He couldn’t stand to see that. Was my crossing into this land a price paid by killing someone?
Before I, greatly surprised, could ask anything, Shinui bent his body forward and looked down at us from the air. Then, in a kind yet mischievous voice, he slowly began to speak.
“Do humans these days… still use the term ‘soul size’?”
Only Rubel could answer this question. Ruben nodded.
“…Yes.”
“Where do they say dead souls go?”
“…They are reborn.”
“As what?”
It felt like I was receiving theological questions from Shinui. Ruben pondered for a long time before carefully answering.
“As anything…”
“Then, are the souls of humans and monsters the same weight?”
“…”
“Are all humans’ souls the same weight? If they differ? Are humans reborn only as humans? And monsters only as monsters?”
“…”
No one answered.
But I understood what Shinui was trying to say.
“Whatever lives, when it dies, its soul can split, merge with others… becoming a collection of energy. I call that one’s capacity. It’s the ability one’s soul can bear.”
“…”
The dead are reborn. But their souls and thoughts are not entirely carried over.
“Generally, the larger the body, the larger the soul. The deeper the thoughts, the larger the soul. Also, the stronger one is, the larger the soul… In any case, those born with a soul have their capacity determined at birth, but some, as they live, attach wandering souls in the world to their own souls.”
Are there shamans in Sierren?
But Shinui scanned our party and shrugged.
“Just like you. Those who use mana.”
“…Gasp, surely not.”
“Yes, yes. A soul isn’t really that different from mana. Once a body forms, that body becomes an unbreakable vessel until death. The soul entwines in that vessel, memories are stored, and mana is drawn and stored.”
“…”
“What crossed over to our world was your soul. That’s just a mass of mana, and when you die, it will break into smaller pieces and be absorbed into our world. You, bound to that body now, are just you. You can’t go back.”
Hearing such a definitive answer, I felt… strange again.
Of course, I had no desire to return to the Central Plains at all. But I hadn’t realized there was absolutely no way back. I thought it would be something I could choose. As I blinked blankly, Ruben squeezed my hand tightly… then slowly loosened his grip.
The child lowered his head slightly, avoiding my gaze, but my Eye Force was not ordinary. I immediately recognized that Ruben was holding back laughter. Then, I felt relieved too.
Even the usually quiet Hugh Benson spoke up slightly.
“…Then, did someone die when Michael crossed into this world? …Were knights or mercenaries… at that time?”
“Ah, the ones who died then were people from this side, not that side.”
“…That side?”
“Uh-huh. With that power, the gap between worlds widened, allowing him to cross over.”
I understood immediately.
The War of Righteousness and Evil.
Hundreds of thousands of martial artists died.
The Demonic Cult’s methods were so cruel that countless Orthodox Sect martial artists, from those who had just surpassed third-rate to Transcendent Peaks, were torn apart, dyeing the mountains and rivers red.
Of course, the Orthodox Sect martial artists also rushed onto the battlefield, eager to kill even one more Demonic Cult member, so many lives must have been lost.
So, such a strange event occurred because so many people died.
The souls of the Central Plains, before being reborn, lingered on the earth with some power, and those souls tore the world apart, and I flowed in through that torn gap.
So, was I truly summoned by chance? It was both amusing and a relief.
This time, I asked.
“Then, my being dragged here, and my memories remaining… Is it nothing special?”
“Uh-huh. That…”
“…?”
Why didn’t he answer immediately?
Shinui still had a smiling face. Light shimmered around his beaming face.
He rolled his gaze from right to left. He wasn’t just turning his gaze. He spun around like a top while sitting in the air.
Several Sylphs burst into giggles and imitated Shinui, causing chaos themselves.
Watching them blankly, I felt like I was going crazy.
I considered grabbing his robe to stop him, but fortunately, Nadish Haisan did what I wanted to do. He grabbed the spinning Shinui and stopped him.
Then Shinui leaped down from the air and hid behind Nadish.
It was only now that I realized Shinui was smaller than Nadish. Given Shinui’s immense presence, his appearance was quite awkward. Peeking out from behind Nadish’s shoulder, Shinui hesitantly opened his mouth.
“That… I’m sorry. Our youngest is a bit crazy.”
What?