Soul_Ember (Prologue)

[Hey, hey, hey!]

[Good day, everyone!]

[For our today's topic... Does anyone of you have any idea what will happen after death?]

[To be clear, what I'm talking about is... What will happen after the physical body dies or loses its life?]

[Well, everyone probably has different ideas... As for me, here is what I know based on the World where I once lived.]

[It is all right if I share this, right?... Everyone is interested even for a little, right?]

[Ahem!... If you are interested, here is what I can say.]

[After the physical body of a person dies, his or her Soul which carries and contains all of that person's Memories, Knowledge, and Emotions will return to the World_Spirit_Place in which it will wait for the time until it will be reborn or reincarnated again into a new physical body.]

[Once the Soul has been reborn, the previous Memories, Knowledge, and Emotions that it contains will serve as a... Hmmm... How should I explain this in a simple term for everyone to comprehend... Hmmm, Ohh!... Something like fuel to light up and keep the flame that will give life into the new physical body... Yep! That is a nice explanation of the process that I haven't completely understood myself, Hahaha...]

[Anyway, while the Soul burns its previous Memories, Knowledge, and Emotions that keep the new physical body alive, it will continue to store or gather new sets of Memories, Knowledge, and Emotions throughout the person's whole life until his or her death.]

[Then, the whole process will be repeated after that person's death.]

[That is what I know about what will happen after death...]

[And that is who I am...]

[A fragment of burning Memories...]

[A shard of flaring Knowledge...]

[A wisp of flickering Emotions...]

[An Ember of the person who I once was before...]

[A Soul_Ember which is bound to disappear as the flame of life reaches its end.]

[Yep, reincarnation my dudes. Hooray! Hahaha... No need to be so dramatic or sad, that is just how the Cycle of Life is.]

[So to be clear, I am the ego of what is left from the Memories, Knowledge, and Emotions of the previous person's Soul.]

[Sheesh... I think that is quite tough to understand, right?]

"Ummm... Onee-chan..."

[Hmmm... So how can I explain what kind of entity I am so that every one of you can easily understand.]

"Onee-chan!..."

[Maybe I should start by saying that I'm currently inside the body, no, I'm actually inside the Soul of my reincarnated self...]

"ONEE-CHAN!!!..."

[Ehh?...]

"Who are you, Onee-chan?... Where is this place?"

[EEEHHHHH!!!...]

Wait, wait, wait... Who was this little girl who suddenly appeared behind me while I was busy talking to myself like an idiot?

I look around to try and find where she might have come from but I soon realize that is just an idiotic thing to do. After all, this is the place inside the Soul...

[OF COURSE, THERE WILL BE NOTHING HERE BUT ALL THIS WHITE SURROUNDINGS!!!...]

Yep... That is what this place, inside a Soul, looks like.

Anyway, as I scream my heart out for that obvious thing, the little girl approaches me and grabs the end of my clothes while anxious and continues to look around her all-white surroundings.

"Why is no one else around? Did you bring Vier in this place, Onee-chan?"

[Vier?... What is Vier?... Is that something... Ohh!... Right, that is probably your name, wait...]

A little girl named Vier with light maple eyes and dark walnut curly hair.

[SHE IS MY GOD-DAMNED REINCARNATION!!!...]

How did I know that?... Well, every new Memory that my reincarnation sees, every new Knowledge she learns, and all the new Emotions she feels, all of it are things I can see and observe from inside the Soul.

It is like I'm seeing through Vier's eyes, understanding with her mind, and feeling with her heart.

Anyway, while I was thinking about all of that, another heartfelt scream came out of my mouth. Then that little girl, I mean Vier, continued to grab and tug my clothes while staring at me with a look of confusion on her face.

"Re-karne-sun?... What are you saying, Onee-chan?..."

What is exactly happening? How is Vier inside her Soul?... Wait?... Don't tell me... She is already dead?... No, no, no, that is not possible! If she is dead, then I will also disappear... Probably... That is what I understand being a Soul_Ember... Yeah, probably.

Regardless, I need to know what is happening and how Vier got in here.

"Why is all white in here, Onee-chan?... Why are you all white as well?"

Is that how I look to her?... Well, that is kind of obvious if you think considering what our surroundings look like.

"Ekk?!... Are you perhaps a ghost, Onee-chan?..."

Huh?... Why did she look scared all of a sudden... Ohh!... Right! This little girl is afraid of ghosts. That is one of the new Emotions contained in our Soul... Wait, wait, wait... That is not important now.

[Ummm... I'm not a ghost, Vier-chan. So you don't have to be afraid...]

"How did you know Vier's name, Onee-chan?!"

And now she is giving me a suspicious look. Is my reincarnation perhaps a bit of an idiot?... No, no, no... It is probably because she is still a 5 years old child.

[Didn't you say your name when you first spoke to me, Vier-chan?]

"Hmm?... Yes, you are right, Onee-chan... I just thought maybe you are one of those."

[One of those?...]

"Umm!... One of those Lolicon_Stalker_Bastard!"

From being thought of as a ghost to being accused as a stalker...

[WHO THE HECK TAUGHT HER THOSE WORDS!!!...]

Let's search her Memories for a second...

[IT IS HER OWN THREE OLDER BROTHERS FOR GOD SAKE!!!...]

What in the world are they thinking teaching those words to a little girl? At least act like a proper role model for your little sister, you three!

Sigh!... Enough of that. Let's go back to our priorities.

[Umm... Vier-chan, do you remember how you got here?]

"You didn't bring Vier here, Onee-chan?"

From being a stalker to a kidnapper, seriously?

[Of course not. There is no way I can do that.]

Yep, that is totally impossible. Regardless that I'm not a kidnapper, that is literally impossible for someone like me who is just a fragment of your past life, Vier-chan.

"I don't know, Onee-chan... Sob... Sob..."

Now she is panicking and about to cry... Well, of course, she will be. Being in an ominous place like this will definitely make a child anxious.

[Don't cry, okay?... Everything will be all right.]

"Really, Onee-chan?"

[Of course!... Anyway, if you don't remember how you got here, do you remember what you were doing before?]

At least she should remember that, right? Although I didn't need to ask her. I can just look at her last Memories...

"I'm just eating my snacks, Onee-chan. Then I'm suddenly here."

[... ... ...]

You little... bad girl, seriously?

Acting innocent while saying she is just eating her snacks. I just took a look at her last Memories. She is eating snacks and drinking juice at her bed at midnight.

[It is bad to lie, Vier-chan.]

"But I'm not lying, Onee-chan!"

[Sheesh... Maybe you are not, but you shouldn't be eating snacks at midnight. Your mother will get mad!]

"Don't tell me on Mom, Onee-chan!"

[And why would I listen to a naughty child like you, Vier-chan?]

"Then if you are going to tell Mom, at least let me hide all my snacks. So Mom won't be able to find my snacks."

[This girl... Sigh!... Fine! I won't tell your mother.]

"Thank you, Onee-chan!"

As if I can talk to her mother. Anyway, if that is all she did before being in here... Hmmm... I wonder what is really happening.

Since I'm still here, Vier-chan is probably not dead... Right?

Sheesh... This is making me really anxious as well.

Wait!... What if maybe... What if Vier-chan is dreaming right now? Maybe she fell asleep while eating snacks on her bed. Considering it is already midnight, a child like her will get sleepy.

Maybe that is how she was able to enter this place inside her Soul?... Nope!... That is ridiculous for a reason.

But why was she eating snacks at midnight?

Maybe if I check her Memories... No, maybe her new Knowledge or perhaps her Emotions that I need to look at...

"Onee-chan..."

...No, no, no... I'm getting sidetracked here...

"ONEE-CHAN!!!..."

[Hmm?... What is it, Vier-chan?]

She looks a bit shy and reluctant. I wonder what is it this time.

"Vier needs to pee..."

[Ehh?...]

"Can I use your toilet?"

[What toilet? Of course, there is no toilet here.]

"Then what is that?"

I wonder what she is pointing behind me when there is nothing in this place besides me...

[WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!!!...]

What is that?... I mean, I know it looks like a toilet cubicle, but when and how did it appear in here?

"I can't hold it anymore. Let me use your toilet, Onee-chan."

This place inside the Soul shouldn't have anything like that... Wait... If Vier is actually dreaming... Then that thing is definitely... THIS IS BAD!

[VIER!... GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW!... DON'T USE THE TOILET!!!...]

This is bad. Why is the door knob is not turning. Did she lock the door?

...BAMM!...BAMM!...BAMM!...

"Stop smacking the door, Onee-chan."

[OPEN THE DOOR, VIER!... DON'T PEE IN THERE!!!...]

"You are a meanie, Onee-chan!... Vier needs to pee!"

[DON'T, VIER!!!... STOP OR YOU WILL REGRET IT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!!...]

...*****...

[NO!!!!!.....]

.

.

.

[And she is gone... I mean done... I mean, Vier disappeared along with the toilet cubicle after that.]

[I guess she is already awake.]

[Well, everyone can probably guess what kind of fate is waiting for Vier-chan after she wakes up, right?]

[Anyway, that is it for now.]

[There are probably a lot of questions about what happened but everyone has to wait until next time.]

[Thank you, Everyone!]