Death... and me

Death, who was still being tightly held by Rean, tried to reopen the Path of Reincarnation gate. Still, it was futile. The gate can only be opened from the outside!

"Bastard! Look what you have done!"

Rean didn't care at all.

"What I've done? Ha! It is your fault that we are in this place to start with. Would it be that much of an issue of you had simply left me be?"

Death felt like killing Rean. Unfortunately, Rean is already dead.

"You are really an idiot! I might as well tell you this. Any soul that is not sent into the Path of Reincarnation in 38 hours will completely dissipate. Simply put, let alone having your memories wiped out and reincarnating, you would be completed dead both in Body and Soul."

Rean was taken aback. That is the first time he heard anything about that.

"This! Then why didn't you tell me from the very start?"

Death felt like crying.

"With how much you wanted to 'live,' would you believe me?"

Rean had to admit that Death was speaking the truth. At that moment, he would think that Death was simply finding an excuse to get rid of him. In fact, even now, he isn't sure if Death is telling the truth or not. But looking at the circumstances and how Death stopped struggling completely, it seems like he isn't lying.

"What do we do now?"

Death's mouth twitched.

"We? There is no we! First of all, I've never heard about a Death Spirit Soul like me falling inside the Path of Reincarnation, so I have no idea about what is going to happen with me. That being said, do you think I have time to think about you?"

Rean started to think and asked a moment later.

"In that case, what will be happening with me? Since you are lost at the moment, there shouldn't be a problem for you to tell me what happens for normal souls in this place."

Death thought for a second and nodded. Since he already got to this point, perhaps explaining things to Rean might give him some new ideas.

"In the Path of Reincarnation, the Soul of the dead will be converted back into pure Soul Energy. Soul Energy will then be used to form an entirely new Soul. Through this process, any memories, emotions, dreams, or anything else related to its previous identity will be wiped out. After this 'cleaning' process, the Soul is finally ready to leave the Path of Reincarnation and be born as a new life."

Rean nodded.

"And when will this process begin?"

Death pointed in the distance.

"Can you see that colored portal there?"

Rean had to pay good attention to notice the portal that Death mentioned.

"Yes... barely."

Death then continued

"That portal will send you directly inside of the River of Forgetfulness. It is that river that will cleanse your Soul and wipe out all your memories. Once you pass that portal, it will be a point of no return."

Rean then asked.

"What about you?"

Death shrugged his shoulders.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be this worried. Or perhaps, I would be a lot more worried instead. As I said, no other Death Spirit Soul had ever fallen inside the Path of Reincarnation. Thanks to that, I have no idea."

It was then that Death remembered something.

"By the way, how the hell can you think and talk?"

Rean immediately looked at Death with a surprised expression.

"Shouldn't I be able to?"

Death mouth's twitched hearing that question.

"Are you BLIND?! Look around you, idiot! How many fucking Souls can you see going in the same direction as us? Can you see a single one speaking? Does it even look like they are thinking at all?!"

Rean was a lot more worried about his situation. Because of that, he really hadn't paid attention to the other Souls until now. He then took an in-depth look around, but all he could see were Souls that looked like to be absent-minded. Or to be more specific, Souls that weren't thinking about anything to start with.

"It is as if everyone is in a trance."

Death nodded.

"It's not incorrect to think like that, but not right either. Say it, what part of the body is responsible for the thinking ability?"

Rean immediately understood the crux of the issue.

"I see... Because we are all dead, our brains are obviously dead too. How can a dead brain think about anything? Without the brain's support, a Soul should not be able to think to start with. Is that what you meant?"

Death nodded.

"Correct. That's why I can't understand you. Your body is, without a doubt, 100% dead! But how come you can have the ability to think without a brain?"

Rean was just as confused as Death. Indeed? Just what is serving as support for him to generate thoughts?

"Can you see anything different in my Soul? I don't know... perhaps some hidden Soul treasure?"

Death felt like kicking Rean once again.

"What do you think it is? Some Novel? As if such a thing cou-"

Suddenly, Death noticed something unbelievable! Right at the center of Rean's Soul, there seemed to be a very faint light. It was so frail that if Rean hadn't asked that question, he definitely wouldn't have noticed.

However, as a Death Spirit Soul that guided countless numbers of dead Souls into the Path of Reincarnation, he was absolutely sure that such a thing shouldn't exist!

"There is really such a thing as a Soul Treasure?"

Rean noticed the change with Death and understood that perhaps, he was right about his judgment. But he too was taken aback. After all, he really asked that on a whim. Who would believe in such a thing as a Soul Treasure? But then again, until a few moments ago, he didn't believe that a Death Spirit and the Path of Reincarnation existed either. But lo and behold, here he is!

Suddenly... Rean released Death!

Death, of course, was taken aback by that action. He was holding onto his leg as if his life depended on it. Well, he is not really alive, though. But now, he let him go that easily. Could it be that he trusted his words about the Soul disappearing after 38 hours and now felt remorse? So now he decided to face his destiny without affecting him?

But in the next second, Death's expression changed!

Tud!

Once again, someone began to hold tightly onto someone else's leg... But this time... It was Death who wasn't letting Rean go?!

"LET GO!"

Death immediately replied.

"AS IF!"

Rean's expression went dark.

"DIDN'T YOU WANT TO GET RID OF ME?"

Death, on the other hand, laughed out loud.

"HAHAHA! Although I don't know what will happen to a Death Spiritual Soul in the Path of Reincarnation, it doesn't change the fact that I'm also a Soul. Chances are that I will have my memories wiped as well. Right now, this 'treasure' or whatever that you have in your head is my only guarantee!"

"You should be grateful! Your Grandfather, Lord Death, will be accompanying you into the River of Forgetfulness! There is no need to thank me."

Rean's mouth twitched. First of all, he doesn't even know if this thing inside his Soul can really prevent him from losing his memories later. But assuming that it is, what guarantees are there that it has enough power to protect two Souls? There is even a chance that there is too much to protect. Thus, this treasure or whatever will not work correctly because of that.

Once again, between screams, struggles, kicks, and curses, Rean and Death were sent into the River of Forgetfulness... together...

Author's note: If you like the story so far, consider leaving a few Power Stones to help the story.