Waiting For Your Reincarnation

I calmly surveyed my surroundings, for the scene before me was the same temple I had seen earlier when I entered the library.

 

I wondered why I kept seeing the temple.

 

A coincidence.

 

I didn’t know if it was the intimidating feeling the temple gave off, but it made me nervous. I looked over at Ryu Won who was also silent and deep in thought.

 

The temple they were looking at now looked brand new, with a very clean interior. There were no statues of goddesses, only three men in front of the altar.

 

Their faces were all covered in black, so it was impossible to tell who they were.

 

Slowly, as if the camera were zooming in, the figures came into focus: a woman was sitting at the altar, with two men and a woman kneeling beneath.

 “A goddess?” 

The woman at the altar was unmistakably the same statue of the goddess I’d seen earlier in the ruined temple. 

 

The woman’s chilling voice echoed through the video as if it had been played over several speakers.

 “You do not regret your decision, do you?” 

The woman nodded in response to the god’s question. Feeling the strange air currents, the woman scrambled to her feet, but she couldn’t outrun Xin’s speed.

 

He drew the white spear strapped to his back and stabbed the woman through the heart. 

 

With a rattling sound, the woman’s body shattered like glass.

 Thud! 

The god snapped his fingers, and the disembodied parts were ejected from the temple.

 

The man screamed. But he couldn’t catch the footsteps of the goddess, who was already gone.

 

The man picked up everything he could and threw it against the temple wall.

 

The temple, once beautiful and noble, slowly lost its form.

 

The angry man collapsed in front of the altar. For a moment, the man’s roar stopped.

 

A very faint light flickered intermittently from beneath the altar, and the man picked it up.

 

It was a fragment of a woman’s soul, all shattered.

 “Iris.” 

The man hurried out of the sanctuary. His surroundings darkened for a moment, and then another dimension of space disappeared.

 

The man’s voice, the last time he had called Iris’s name, seemed to echo in his ears. A watery, guttural sound echoed through his mind.

 

I turned my head and looked at Ryu Won. 

 

Ryu Won had been looking at me the whole time, and our eyes met instantly.

 

He took out the soul book from the top of the tray.

 “So, Iris wasn’t a god, what did she do?” “Well, only those who were there can know, and all that posterity will know for sure is that ‘two children who were loved by the gods committed some kind of sin, and the gods punished them accordingly’.” “But isn’t Iris considered a god here?” “That’s because of the power that remains in Iris’ soul fragment.” 

Ryu Won gave me a quick explanation and raised the books he was holding into the air. One by one, they rolled in his hands as if he was juggling them.

 “What kind of power?” “After that day, the gods first left the land where Iris and Zeppito lived – oh, Zephyr is the name of the man in the video – and thousands of years later, they happened to come back to this land, and there were souls gathered around a fragment of Iris’ soul.” “Souls?” “Yes. The soul fragment of Iris had the power to gather the lost souls and help them live their next life. It’s called the power of Iris.” “Ah! So that’s why there were so many souls in the forest.” “That’s where most of the Iris fragments fell. Anyway, it’s the Soul Protection Center that inherited Iris’s power and spirit.” 

Ryu Won was still fiddling with his hands, his face impassive. Only now did I begin to understand this world of Tanato.

 

This is why I have to study history to understand the present.

 

While I was thinking about his explanation, I suddenly had a question.

 “What about Zephyr? He was alive.” “Zephyr’s story is at the end of this video. He disappeared as if he evaporated. That’s why I think that story is just a legend. What do you think, Yeon-young?” “I hope it’s a legend.” “You hope it’s a legend?” “Yes. Because Iris is Iris and there’s no more Zephyr.” 

Silence.

 

At that moment, there was the sound of something falling to the ground. 

 

Startled, my shoulders tensed. The books that Ryu Won had thrown into the air as a joke earlier had fallen to the ground with a thud.

 “Are you okay?” “I think I cut my hand on one of the books. It hurts.” “Not you, the books.” 

I was worried because I had heard earlier that they were spirit books and should be handled with care. 

 

Despite my words, I was the first to approach Ryu Won and examine his hands.

 

As expected, his delicate hands were unmarked.

 

The shepherd boy was now more trustworthy than Ryu Won, and he smiled cheerfully and took the book from her hand.

 “You said I should be careful with this.” “This is what happens when you get distracted. Do you want to take a quick look at the structure of the building?” 

Ryu Won slightly shrugged his shoulders and looked at the other book. 

 

Just then, the water in the pool bubbled and a small image floated to the surface.

 

The person in the video was Saeri, the chairman of the center.

 

Her shiny lemon hair was disheveled, and her golden eyes held a troubled look.

 “Big Snarl. Interrupting my date.” 

There was irritation in her voice.

 

Ryu Won’s gaze was fixed on Subhan, not on me or Saeri. 

 

Judging by the momentum, he was thinking of getting rid of the video right now.

 

Saeri shrugged her shoulders and held up the black ghosts in both hands.

 “As you can see, I’m busy with an emergency.” “A simple request.” “I want you two to go to the village and bring back a runaway Sly.” “Why?” “He’s the youngest member of our team, so he needs to start working, and since you’re so good at your job, it would be nice if you could take over for a while.” “So why are you doing it now?” “I just got a call on the emergency comms. A Sly in the woods has escaped into town.” “Slys escaped, what’s the emergency?” “Jareem has gone on a business trip and there are only three spirits left at the center. You, Yeon-young and Jung Jaeho. It’s better for you, so go.” “No…” 

Just as Ryu Won was about to speak, the water in his canteen suddenly evaporated. 

 

It seemed that Saeri had cut off the communication, perhaps fearing the repercussions of her unilateral announcement.

 

Ryu Won’s smile narrowed. It was an abrupt work order. 

 

‘Work-life balance is so important for the body and soul,’

I thought, sympathizing with him.

 “Should we go to work?” “Maybe.” “This must be hard.” “Maybe if you kissed me, I’d feel stronger.” 

This time, I gave him a gentle push.

 

Ryu Won lifted all the books he was holding into the air and let them fly. 

 

The books landed on the bookshelf with a clatter.

 

If it had taken him several minutes to find the books earlier, it took him less than thirty seconds to organize them now.

 

I didn’t understand why I had to run around so much when he could use his powers so extensively. 

 

I looked at Ryu Won with a dejected expression.

 

Me and Ryu Won left the center building. The village was not far away.

 

Saeri’s words about being busy didn’t seem to be a lie.

 

On the way to the village, Ryu Won’s ring called out several times: a few steps, a flash, another few steps, and the ring lit up.

 

Of course, Ryu Won rejected them all as if he was used to it. 

 

He didn’t know exactly what the deal was, but he could tell that the center’s systems were racing.

 

I thought about the list of companies I had worked for in my past life and pushed them out of my mind. Somehow, the smell of black companies was strong.

 “Mr. Ryu Won, what exactly is the task to catch the escaped Sly?” “It’s easy, it’s not difficult, it’s not a big deal. You just need to go to the village and catch an escaped Sly. It’s like herding sheep. It happens a lot. “Yep. I’m glad to hear it’s easier than I thought.” “It’s a Sly that escaped from the forest where Ms. Yeon-Young was, and your job is to find it and put it back in its place. The problem is… I don’t really like this kind of thing.” “Why?” “Because it’s annoying, because Sly is pretty good at hiding, and it’s usually a job I give to my youngest…” 

Ryu Won took off. 

 

I tried to gauge his speed, wondering if the sly’s I’d met in the forest were that fast. Surely, the sly’s could be quite fast when they set their minds to it.

 

He slowed down and stared into the distance. I followed his gaze.

 “We’re here.” “Mr. Ryu Won, just out of curiosity, is this the village we need to go to?” Visit my Ko-fi for discounted advanced chapters!!