Samsara - Chapter 4: Memory

The old man halted silently in front of Reiji, a gentle smile on his face.

His eyes revealed nothing, yet carried a stillness that seemed to see through everything.

"…Your name?"

Reiji's question escaped him instinctively, as if drawn out by an overwhelming presence.

The old man slowly opened his mouth.

"My name… is Gaia. That is what they call me in this world."

His voice echoed low and deep, as if it rose from the depths of the earth, yet held the softness of a breeze.

The moment she heard it, Mina stopped in her tracks.

She looked down slightly, murmuring with a trembling voice:

"This is… where my role ends, Reiji."

"…What?"

Mina didn't turn around. On her back lingered the faint tremble of hesitation—and the shadow of farewell.

"From here on, this is your journey. You must confront what sleeps within your own soul. No one else can do that for you."

Reiji fell silent. He wanted to stop her, to reach out his hand—but couldn't.

He felt it: her will, and the pain throbbing deep in his chest—both rejecting the idea of stopping her.

The next moment, the pain surged, and Reiji dropped to his knees.

Mina instinctively reached toward him—but—

"Do not come any closer."

Gaia's calm words froze the air around them.

Mina stopped in her tracks, biting her lip.

Seeing Reiji in pain, she shed a single tear—and then turned and ran, never looking back.

As Mina moved further away, Reiji's pain began to subside, little by little.

"If you wish to overcome this pain… come with me."

With those words, Gaia turned and walked ahead.

Reiji found himself unable to defy that back.

Something deeper than his own will stirred within him, compelling him to move.

The two walked through the silent forest.

No wind, no sound. As if time itself had paused, only the trees swayed faintly.

Eventually, they arrived at a stone monument.

Strange characters were etched into it—Reiji couldn't read them, yet somehow, he understood.

"The Mirror of the Soul."

Gaia spoke quietly.

"This place reflects the soul and exposes its true form. Stand here, and you will be forced to face your inner self."

Reiji swallowed hard.

"…So it shows what's inside me."

"No—it is observed. Free from the Five Aggregates. You must simply accept it, just as it is."

"…"

Reiji couldn't grasp the meaning of the words—but he couldn't defy them either.

Even if his mind didn't understand, his soul responded. As if something deep within resonated with Gaia's words.

Gaia continued gently.

"You have come to understand life through pain, and yourself through the suffering of others. But that alone will not let you move forward."

As those words pierced his chest, sealed memories began to rise violently within Reiji.

—He never wanted to remember those times in this world.

Back then, he was nothing but a puppet moved by orders.

The boss's voice was everything.

"To survive, never defy."

Clinging to that rule alone, he discarded his emotions and will—everything.

And now, he had to look at that version of himself again.

Shame. Frustration. Fear.

And above all, a fury directed at the voice telling him to look.

His heart was in turmoil. His breath caught. Pain seared through his chest.

—Please, just stop…

"…So what the hell do you want from me?!"

The cry burst from him, echoing through the forest.

In that moment, the raw edge of the old Reiji returned to his voice.

The "real" Reiji, long suppressed since his reincarnation, surfaced in his emotions.

But Gaia's face remained still—no, it was eerie.

Just like the man who had once stabbed Reiji in the past…

Then, Gaia stepped before the monument, spreading his arms wide, and asked quietly:

"Feel it. And be ready to accept what is etched into your soul."

His words were neither command nor plea. They simply were—a path laid bare.

Reiji stepped forward. His soul moved separately from his body.

Something trembled within his chest.

Fear? Rage? Regret? He no longer knew.

But carrying all of it, he stood before the monument.

—I don't want this to end. Not like this.

I finally found what it means to live.

A peaceful life I never wanted to lose…

"…Help me…"

That was a cry Reiji—his past self—would have never voiced.

His trembling hand reached for the stone—and then—

"Don't touch that!"

A familiar voice—the one he wanted to hear most—rang through the forest.

Tearing through the still air, a single figure lunged toward Reiji.