Elsewhere around the same time, Arlie had worked her way into being alone with a certain young elf that had caught her notice. A girl she wanted to speak with before leaving. She gave a friendly smile to the girl and leaned forward almost conspiratorially, “So you like Yiran?”

The girl blushed bright red, mumbled incoherently, and turned around. Only confirming what Arlie had already learned yesterday. At her age, it was hard not to notice these things. Even the most antisocial person her age would have had enough encounters with people to pick up a few people reading skills and this girl was practically an open book. Arlie figured it would take an Ancient Japanese harem protagonist not to notice this girl’s feelings. Not that she was going to tell her that. She might take it as creepy.

Arlie needed her to open up, not creep her out. She started with something different, “Honestly he seems like a nice young man. If I was into men, I might just have been tempted to pursue him, myself.”

 She considered, but decided not to mention, that Yiran wasn’t going to be a man for much longer. With the changes happening right now in the mortal realm, it would not be long before his elven worshippers decided he was a she, and once that happened. Well, it would only be a matter of time before Yiran really did become a woman. All that belief and worship was a powerful elixir for the gods, it gave them strength but it also shaped them.

The girl looked right at her, and gave her a glare. One that quickly morphed into a frown as she realized what was said. “You don’t like men?”

Arlie nodded, “No, I don’t. That doesn’t make you uncomfortable does it?”

The young lady blushed and squirmed, “A little.”

Arlie giggled at her behaviour, “Well, while I do find you pretty, I already have two lovely girls in my life, and you already have your eyes set on Yiran.”

The girl’s blush deepened. Not long after she cooled, and then took on a pensive expression. “Yiran called you a primordial goddess last night, but I realize I don’t know much about you. Your relationship with Yiran, what you embody, the tenants of your followers. Nothing really.”

Arlie smiled, “Well, with Yiran we are strangers. I did know one of his ancestors though.” she blushed slightly, and then continued, “Anyway as for what I embody, that would be the cycle of Creation, and Destruction. I create worlds, breathe life where none was before, but I am also the harbinger of the end. I bring death to dying worlds, but I never leave them dead for long. Their death merely serves as the catalyst for their rebirth.

“Does that mean our world is dying?” she voiced with great concern.

Arlie chuckled, “...NO! I’m not here to end this world. There is no need for me to do anything major here. Although there is another world I do have my eye on. That world is so filled with corruption that I think it is time I bring an end to it, so it may be reborn. Although I plan to give them another ten years to fix things on their own. I already sent my warning.

“Anyway that isn’t why I wanted to talk to you. I looked into you when I noticed your attraction to Yiran. Yiran needs someone, and I think you will fit the bill. I just have one question. Do you want to be his goddess, his lover, his equal, the one who stays his hand when he is wrong, and supports him when he is right?”

The girl fidgeted nervously, that sounded like a marriage vow. Was this goddess trying to marry her to Yiran? It seemed way too fast. Her mind never even considered why, and it was a long moment before she meekly uttered, “...yes”

Arlie sighed, “Are you sure? I need you to be firm on this.”

This time she was faster to answer, and with certainty she shouted, “Yes!”

Arlie smiled, as she manifested a strange clear sheet of crystal. Crystal that quickly filled with blood red text, and at the bottom was a single glowing drop of blood sealed in a small crystal case. “I can help you with that. I can set you on the path, and grant you the spark of divinity you will need for it. Nothing is ever free though. Sit down and we can discuss my price.”

The girl shuddered, a part of her told her this was a bad idea, but if it got her what she wanted it would be worth it.

Misaki perused the shelves. Right now Phyllis was having a private lesson on lust magic, and Misaki had found herself with a bit of free time. Free time she had chosen to spend in the library. At the moment she was looking for one that would not give her nightmares like that first book she had pulled off the shelves. The title had seemed innocent enough, but the very first chapter had been... unsettling. The monster described by that book was something she never wanted to encounter. Misaki didn’t even want to think about it, and had managed to mostly push it from her mind by now.

Finally, as she moved from one shelf to the next a title caught her eye; The Life Cycle of Souls by Jontharr A of Clan Countryman. The title sounded interesting, and the author, well she was not sure who they were, but she knew that clan. Milith belonged to that clan, and that meant something. She even knew that the Countryman clan was the most influential clan in the Solean empire, having been ruling cast since the founding of the empire. All things she had learned from talking with Milith. Although those were little things she had learned while trying to learn about her grandfather turned grandmother Arlie Contrey. Little did she know, she actually knew the author of this book, and that Dewari was lucky to have it. Nor did she realize this book wasn’t even supposed to be in this library. It was too valuable to be here. She hadn’t even noticed that the book did not match the organization of the books around it.

She pulled the book off the shelf and headed for a table. Her curiosity peaked. Misaki was reading the book before she had even settled into a chair.

The soul, the center of a being, it defines who you truly are. A very precious, marvelous thing. Most mortals would claim that the soul is immortal, and have a few theories about what happens after death. Some believe in reincarnation, others believe in eternal paradise or damnation. Immortals however know that eternal paradise or damnation are just not possible. Eventually, either one would become nothing more than a muted grey.

The soul has a lifespan. Souls die just like everything else. They are born, they grow, they become old, and then eventually die. Death of the body however is not the death of the soul. When a person dies their soul is collected by the gods. They do not keep the soul for long, only long enough to help them forget their personal memories before ushering them into their new life.

Why do the gods do that? Well, the answer is easy, to remove the burdens of their past life. To let them enjoy their new life to its fullest. Although older souls have been known to remember snippets of their past lives. Souls at the end of their life are allowed to fully remember their past lives, all of them. 

How are souls created? The beginning of a soul’s life begins with a spark. One that doesn’t quite happen by chance. The spark can come to being in several ways, the first is for a god to give life to a new soul. Additionally, a soul can come into being when two souls are so closely attuned that they act as one. During that moment, the unique energies bouncing between them cause a fragment of each to break off and merge. Creating a new baby soul. The parent souls are unharmed by the process.

There are other ways for a soul to be born, but we will not cover them yet. Newborn souls are small, and have as mortals would put it, ‘no talent.’ To be more precise they have no memories of their own, no real personality, only the spark of one. As for the lack of talent, talent is actually an expression of a soul’s past lives. Souls that have previously mastered an art in a past life will have an easier time of it in their later lives. New souls have no past life to draw from, and naturally, end up struggling at everything they do. Only at first though, as the gods always bless new souls to be quick learners. It helps them more than most would believe.

There are other gifts the god may grant a young soul as well, to help them in their first life. We will cover those in more detail later. We will also at the same time get into racial talents and their relation and effects on the soul in the same chapter.

A young soul is far more dependent on the parent figures in its early life than those of an older soul. Without any past experience to draw from, these figures are the ones the soul will draw on for support, and learn from the most. As the soul grows, a personality will form, and they will gain their first early talents. Eventually, they will pass on into a second life. A life that should prove to be a little easier, but no less impactful on the soul than the first.

The second time around they have grown, they have a personality, and a few talents to help them. Paving a road for them in life, but they may not follow the same path they took the first time. It is all too common for younger souls to never discover what talents they have, and follow an entirely new path. These souls will struggle just as much as they did the first time around but grow all the stronger for it.

A pattern that often continues for the early lives of the soul. Eventually, a soul matures to the point that they have a certain amount of talent, and can do fairly well in life. While having strong natural dispositions that will guide them down paths they can excel at. They no longer need much help from the gods, and likely won’t struggle much in life. At this point, the soul is no longer considered young, but mature. There is much to cover on them, but first I would like to introduce Old Souls.

Old Souls, much as the name implies, are quite old. Their age gives them much talent in life, and they tend to excel at everything they do...

Suddenly the book was pulled from her fingers, and she looked up to see Dewari standing there. An expression she had never seen before on her face. “Where did you find this book?”

Misaki with a pit in her stomach and feeling worried gulped, and almost mechanically pointed at the small gap between books from where she had pulled the book in question.