The Afterlife is ready.

There are two gods of death to manage the Afterlife, and the messengers to gather the souls of the dead are also prepared. There are also preparations to restore severely damaged souls, to relieve their anguish, and so on.

The Cloud Whale to receive the processed souls has also been directed to the northern entrance of the Afterlife.

The space to judge and punish the sinful souls has also been prepared, so the operation of the Afterlife can begin anytime.

Despite everything being in order, I still cannot start the operation of the Afterlife.

The reason is... not a particularly grand one. It's simply because Seres is still hesitating.

Seres, the child of the Black Dragon who has absorbed the power of death that emerged from the Dragon's Tomb( / Grave).

The child I thought I could entrust the management of the Afterlife to is still in doubt.

I don't know what kind of dilemma he is grappling with, but I wish he would decide soon.

The operation of the Afterlife can be carried out even without Seres' participation.

If that happens, the workload of the two Afterlife administrators will become heavier, so at least a three-shift system would be necessary, in my opinion. It would be better if Seres also agreed to participate.

Anyway, Seres is the main reason, and the next problem is the lack of Afterlife guardians.

While I have my first golem, Thalos, it can only guard the entrance.

Ideally, there should be at least one guardian for each layer of the Afterlife, but that would be difficult. Even if I create the guardians myself, I would need some ideas.

I would like to create something like Cerberus, but I want to make it a living being, not just a golem.

In the end, I can only put the matter of the Afterlife guardians on hold.

Once Seres decides, I will start operating the Afterlife, and if there are suitable beings to serve as guardians, I will recruit them.

Who knows, perhaps suitable guardians for each layer of the Afterlife will appear.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Just as I was about to start operating the Afterlife, the middle-aged priest prayed to me.

[Mother of Life, please grant me wisdom.]

Hmm, it seems he has a question for me again. Recently, there have been fewer questions, but he has sent another one.

But how can this 'Mother of Life' help?

"What is it that you call me for?"

[Please grant me wisdom, O Mother of Life. Your foolish servant has an unsolvable question]

An unsolvable question? Even this child has accumulated the highest level of knowledge among the current humans.

Well, maybe he's going to ask a similar question about life, like before.

"What are you so curious about?"

The priest answered carefully.

[The common end that all life faces - death. I wish to know what lies beyond it]

"You mean what lies after death?"

[Yes. As the Mother of Life, surely you know what happens after the end of life?]

Un, I know. I know very well.

I've been working hard to create the Afterlife precisely for what comes after! I haven't started operating it yet, but...

So I told the priest,

"I do know. I know what lies beyond death, what happens after."

[Then, please tell me. What is there beyond death? Is there only a void, an empty world? If the harsh and difficult life leads only to the void of darkness, what meaning is there in this life?]

This child, as my priest, must have faced many deaths while helping others - the deaths of those he tried to aid, the deaths of the injured, the deaths of the diseased.

Witnessing so many deaths seems to have weighed heavily on his mind and spirit.

[So tell me, what is there beyond death? What meaning is there in life? Why must life endure such suffering?]

There was a hint of resentment in his voice. How did the voice of this kind child who worked so hard to help others become so sorrowful?

Was it the burden of witnessing so many deaths that made him this way?

His voice was laced with deep sadness.

"Please, give me the answer. If there is no meaning in life, then why did my wife and child have to die from the plague?"

Plague? Could it be that a plague has broken out?

After leaving the cave where I was staying and hiding my appearance, I headed towards the city-state of Arcad where the priest lived.

The city was bustling with the usual liveliness. There were no signs of the outbreak of an epidemic.

I hurried to the Temple of Life where the priest was, but I could not find him.

Instead, I heard that he had gone to a village near Urkh, the city-state that was at war with Arcad.

When I arrived at the village, it had become a battlefield.

A horrific scene of war. Dozens or hundreds of lives were lost, and the abandoned bodies had caused an epidemic to spread.

And among those who died from the epidemic... were the priest's wife and child.

[Please answer... Help me understand their deaths... Let me find solace... Tell me what lies beyond death...]

I see. You are being tormented by the deaths of your dear family.

Poor child.

"In the distant past, before humans recognized the existence of death, there was only void beyond death. Nothing."

[Nothing...?]

"Yes, nothing."

In those times, those who faced death simply dissipated, merging into nature without leaving anything behind.

[I see...]

The priest's voice suddenly became gloomy. Ah, one must listen to a person's story until the end.

"But the situation has changed now."

I spoke in a calm voice.

"Once humans recognized death, the souls of the deceased began to appear."

[The souls of the deceased...?]

"The soul. Within it, the 'soul' and the 'essence'. The 'soul' ascends to the heavens, entering a new life, while the 'essence' scatters and slowly disappears into the earth."

T/N: In the far previous chapters, there was a mention of "Soul and Spirit." (혼과 백) However, I'm still not entirely sure about that. Would "Soul and Essence" be more accurate?

The 'soul' flies away, and the 'essence' disperses. That's all there is to it.

But where do the scattered 'essence' go? Where do the sins committed disappear?

If the deceased soul even has a slight resentment, the soul would not disperse and would remain attached to the body. It is only natural for the soul that denies its own death to be stained black.

Therefore, the current system has not solved anything. It simply continues to reincarnate the souls that have returned on their own without any proper treatment.

"What lies beyond death now is an incomplete cycle. The deceased soul is divided into two, with the 'Essence' dispersing and the 'hun' ascending to be reborn. that alone does not provide any retribution for life. The sins committed in life are not judged. The resentment left in the deceased is not resolved. And I truly disliked this fact."

It's a simple story.

Rewarding the good and punishing the evil.

That was all I wished for - a world where such justice is realized.

I added various other reasons, but the core reason was just that.

"That's why I'm creating a new system for the afterlife."

[The afterlife...?]

"Yes. A world that the souls of the deceased reach. There, their lives will be evaluated, and if they have sinned, they will be punished. So that the good can attain eternal happiness."

In the process, by properly handling the souls, there will be no souls remaining on the earthly plane.

[If I go to that afterlife... Can I reunite with my wife and child?]

I shook my head slightly and said,

"Unfortunately, the afterlife I'm creating is almost complete, but I haven't started it yet. So your wife's and child's souls will be divided, with the 'soul' flowing to Cloud Whale to be reborn, and the 'essence' scattering into the earth. It's unfortunate."

If the afterlife had already begun, I could have let you briefly meet the souls of your family.

How regrettable.

And even if I tried to revive them, their souls have already disappeared.

[Reincarnation... I see.]

The priest's voice was heavy.

[Then... if I wait in the afterlife, can I eventually meet my reincarnated wife and child?]

Hm?

[Won't I be able to reunite with their souls?]

No, wait.

"Even if you were to meet their souls again, they would be in a different state than the ones you knew, Even if you were to find the souls of your wife and child by some miraculous chance, they would not remember you."

[But....]

"It is the scattered essence that holds the greatest share in one's personality and memories. And the soul returns to the heavens to be reborn, while the essence is scattered to the earth..."

...Wait a moment.

I silently approached the area where the bodies of the priest's wife and child were, and examined the surrounding land.

The essence sinks into the earth and decomposes deep underground over an average of about 3 years.

So, if my assumption is correct... Surely, in this area...

[Mother of Life?]

I brushed aside the priest's voice and found dozens of essence seeping into the ground, and after examining their memories, I was able to select the essence of the priest's wife and child.

Hmm. Even though they have seeped into the ground, there is still enough time before they completely disappear, so the essence are still intact.

"I have found the remaining essence of your wife and child."

[What?]

"But I cannot revive them since their souls are gone."

If their souls had remained, I might have been able to somehow revive their bodies. But without the souls, it is impossible to fully revive them.

But if I had to create a resurrection spell, how would I do it? Restore the bodies and reinsert the souls? Ask the reapers who took the souls to return them?

Let's think about that part later. For now, let's focus on the conversation with the priest.

The priest spoke with a voice that had regained a little hope.

[If we can find the souls, can I meet them again?]

"If we can find their souls and fully combine them with the essence here, they will be restored to their complete selves."

Then you would be able to reunite with the souls of the dead.

Well, the easiest and surest method would be to turn back time, but... Let's leave that as the last resort.