Chapter 135

“Isn’t what you desire about living a new life?”

“Yes, but isn’t it impossible to enter paradise as Lady mentioned?”

“Why do you think it’s impossible?”

At my words, the hero closed their mouth and fell into deep thought.

Well, they were just overthinking it.

Just because you enter paradise doesn’t mean you can’t reincarnate, right?

The reason this is possible is that the soul, composed of ‘Hon’ and ‘Baek,’ can be relatively easily separated. Moreover, only ‘Hon’ is necessary for the soul to reincarnate anew.

I drew a picture in the air with magical power: a black-and-white yin-yang symbol depicting the structure of the soul combining Hon and Baek.

“This is a simplified depiction of the soul’s structure.”

“The white and black are intertwined.”

“Exactly. The white is Hon, the black is Baek. Together they form what we call Hon-Baek or simply ‘soul.’ In this form, Hon represents the innate part, while Baek represents the acquired part.”

I then separated the white and black parts of the yin-yang symbol into two distinct halves.

“When judged in the underworld and purified, the soul loses its Baek, leaving only the pure Hon behind. This pure Hon is then guided by the god of birth into a new life through reincarnation.”

“I vaguely remember hearing something like this before.”

Back when I was training heroes at the Temple of Life before setting out on adventures, I taught them this, and it seems they still recall it well.

“The key point here is that only Hon is needed for reincarnation. Baek contains the memories accumulated during one’s lifetime. Therefore, in the process of rebirth, it’s essential not to retain any memories from the previous life.”

Though rarely, there are cases where Baek isn’t completely cleansed, leading to some faint memories lingering from the past life or experiences in the underworld.

But these are usually minor fragments—like vaguely remembering snippets of your past life or having dreams about the underworld. It happens because the afterlife judges are sometimes overwhelmed with work.

“So… if we’re saying someone could reincarnate from paradise…”

“That’s correct. We separate the soul into Hon and Baek, allowing the Hon to reincarnate while keeping the Baek in paradise.”

Since a significant portion of one’s personality comes from memory, preserving it in paradise ensures that even if the Hon is sent to a new life, it won’t lose too much essence.

“And when this reincarnated Hon completes their new life and returns to the underworld… if they haven’t committed grievous sins, they’ll return to paradise, right?”

“If they have sinned, we cleanse the Hon and reunite it with the Baek stored in paradise, restoring the soul to its original state. That’s the general idea.”

By splitting the soul, storing half in paradise, and sending the other half to reincarnate, then eventually reuniting them later, it should theoretically allow reincarnation even from paradise.

In simpler terms, it’s like taking a little vacation to the mortal world from paradise and then returning to heaven.

“Of course, this would only be offered to those who wish for it. It’s not mandatory.”

It’s still just a rough concept that hasn’t been fully fleshed out yet, so I’m worried about how it might turn out once completed. But if properly controlled, maybe keeping souls in paradise wouldn’t feel like merely preserving them as specimens.

“It sounds difficult, though I don’t quite understand all of it.”

“Hmm. Still, since I’m familiar with handling souls, somehow it should work out.”

And I’ll have help too—from the three gods of the underworld.

Sure, they’re swamped with work in the underworld, but I imagine they’d assist me in exchange for occasional help with their tasks.

“Well, since this is Lady’s job, I trust it will succeed.”

“I don’t always succeed, you know.”

“But somehow, you manage, don’t you? It’s hard to imagine you failing at anything.”

While I don’t always succeed—there have been times I’ve utterly failed, like the dragon wars or the escape of Erebus.

Let’s not dwell on those two incidents. Thinking about them just raises my blood pressure unnecessarily.

I placed an apple, peeled and cut into appropriate-sized pieces, on the bedside table next to where the hero lay.

“Eat it whenever you feel up to it.”

This apple came from the magic-infused apple tree I nurtured; eating it restores vitality. It should make your body feel better.

“I don’t have much of an appetite.”

“Still, you should try to eat a little. Starving yourself will only harm your stomach.”

Through rigorous training and countless adventures, the hero’s body had become as strong as steel, but time had taken its toll. Their muscles had lost elasticity, and their once robust physique now signaled their declining health.

However, thanks to the immense magical power stored within their body from years of discipline, they managed to endure despite inadequate nourishment. But even that was nearing its limits.

Perhaps it’s best to start preparing mentally.

“Soon, it’ll be time for the children to arrive. What story should we tell them today?”

“How about the tale of the giant snake with five heads from the east?”

For some reason, snakes often become powerful monsters. Is there something special about them?

Lizards and snakes alike seem to gain strength, especially those covered in scales.

“Hmm… it’s a decent premise, but the plot is lacking. Getting the snake drunk on fermented rice wine and cutting off its head while it sleeps feels a bit dishonorable for a hero, don’t you think?”

“Thanks to that method, it was done effortlessly.”

After all, that snake used to descend upon a village regularly, devouring people until only a few children remained.

That’s old news now, though.

“What about the giant bird we caught in the desert to the southeast?”

“That was mostly your doing, wasn’t it? I just clung to its tail feathers and finished it off.”

“Still, that counts as one of your heroic deeds, doesn’t it?”

Our shared adventures gradually became cherished memories.

All the many things we accomplished together, the lives we saved.

Spending time among the people of the world instead of merely observing it from above as a god—it all adds up to the memories I treasure.

“Well, I should take my leave for now. See you again soon.”

“Yes, please take care on your way.”

Thus, the hero and I bid each other farewell.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

A long time ago, I made a pouch using the wing membrane of a wyvern the hero had slain.

Connecting it to an alternate space, it became a so-called “bottomless pouch,” though it wasn’t truly infinite.

While it wasn’t something I personally needed, the pouch proved quite useful when I gave it to the hero. However, its true purpose was entirely different: creating another world.

My initial experiments involved crafting a tiny world inside the pouch—a miniature universe I could manipulate however I pleased.

Creating a world, even one as small as a pouch, wasn’t easy at first.

But after gradual improvements and expansions, I successfully created a world of considerable size.

Though, mind you, there’s nothing in it yet!

An empty void without even a speck of light. Using this barren space, I planned to create paradise.

I did consider building it in this world, but when I tried placing the entrance to the underworld at the far north, people kept breaking in claiming they wanted to resurrect their loved ones.

Because of that incident involving a certain child who somehow infiltrated the underworld seeking to revive their parents—well, let’s just say I decided to relocate paradise to another dimension entirely.

Honestly, how that kid managed to find the underworld remains beyond me. They’re now stuck managing one of the lower levels as punishment, but that’s another story.

This new world will operate under laws completely different from those of the existing world.

Material objects will naturally decompose, leaving only souls. The size of the world will expand proportionally to the number of souls in paradise.

A world where anything you desire can manifest. A place where you can meet anyone you wish to see if they reside in paradise.

What if they aren’t there? After pondering it, I decided that meeting recreations based on memories would suffice.

Unfortunately, I can’t bring in souls who haven’t entered paradise just because someone wishes it.

There’s nothing I can do about that.

Anyway, a world where every wish comes true—a world without conflict, war, or fighting.

If someone entering paradise desires war and fighting? Well, how did they even pass the underworld’s judgment? Still, such cases might exist, so inspired by Norse mythology, I’ll prepare a designated area for battles. Heroes in paradise might want to challenge each other occasionally.

Of course, only if they wish to. No one who doesn’t want to fight will be forced into combat.

A land flowing with milk and honey, free from pain and suffering.

A place where warriors can endlessly fight, die, and be reborn, feasting to their heart’s content.

A world where every wish is granted.

And for those who wish to leave temporarily, they may do so whenever they like.

That’s the kind of paradise I aim to create.