Aleister opened his eyes as he heard the sound of footsteps draw near. He was currently standing outside Brother Vy's residence as directed to him by a fellow priest from the Shrine. The complex he lived in was neither too large nor too small from the outside.

"You visited much sooner than I expected," said the priest of Sera from earlier in the day.

"Much sooner than I expected as well," he replied with a wry smile.

"Then, please accept my apologies for taking so long to get back to you. I'm afraid I was quite busy," the priest said with a slight bow. He unlocked the door and ushered Aleister in.

The entrance room was barren and had nothing of note besides a few neatly trimmed potted plants.

"No worries Brother Vy. As an archbishop of Sera, I'm sure your hands are often full, especially since the Sacred Sanshin was stolen." Aleister sat on a carpeted floor and crossed his legs, taking on a more meditative position.

"Oh?" Archbishop Vy loosened his cuffs and undid a few buttons from his robes as he asked, "And who says it was stolen?"

"I may or may not have been falsely accused of the theft that might have not even occurred if you are to be believed."

"How unfortunate indeed, but those matters aren't what you've been waiting for, I assume."

"If only matters were that simple," Aleister said.

----------------------------------------

"I see." Archbishop Vy nodded his head after hearing Aleister's explanation. "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

"I prefer the news in an order which will help clear this confusion up for me."

"Luckily for you, this isn't the first case of a soul rejecting divine anima, so I do know why this happened."

"And that's the good news, I assume."

"Unfortunately. Because the reason this happened is not one you would like to hear."

"Is it really that bad?"

"Far worse than what you're imagining," Archbishop Vy said. He shook his head and exhaled. "Earlier, when I healed you, I noticed that you had become a Weaver. How much do you know about the process of increasing your rank?"

"I have a few guesses, but no one has told me anything concrete about it, nor have I asked because I only became a Weaver a little over a week ago."

"Then allow me to explain." Archbishop Vy sat down in front of Aleister. "Every soul manifests differently. This is because a soul adapts and changes its form constantly after going through multiple cycles of reincarnation. No two people have ever experienced the same amount of lives or same experiences. And this is what leads to those differences in the first place."

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Aleister nodded his head. So reincarnation is indeed what happens to souls after they die. That does make me feel slightly better about death, I suppose.

"The problem is that each time a soul enters the River of Souls or is taken by a god, it faces multiple trials and tribulations. The constant ebb and flow of what governs the universe: time and gravity. Time is the force that allows the universe to stay in constant motion, allowing for the gods to exist and for people to live. Gravity is the force in which time must follow in order for those things to occur, or else everything would be in a constant spiral. These two forces require each other in order for the universe to exist as it does." Archbishop Vy stood up. "I'm a bit parched right now. Would you like some tea?"

"I'd love some tea," Aleister said.

"What kind would you like?"

"I'll take whichever is your favorite."

"Jasmine Sencha it is." Archbishop Vy lit up a fire with some spark stones and started to boil some water. "While I'm standing up, would you also perhaps like some biscuits? These wheat ones go particularly well with tea."

"That sounds lovely."

Archbishop Vy nodded. Neither he nor Aleister said another word until the tea brewed.

"This is quite delicious," Aleister said as he sipped upon the scalding liquid.

"Thank you," Brother Vy replied. "Now, where were we again?"

"The bad news."

"Ah, yes, the bad news. Well, I suppose I can't postpone it any longer." Archbishop Vy took a sip of the tea. "It's an inevitable process that will eventually occur to all. I'm sorry to inform you, but—your soul is fractured."

"That doesn't sound good."

"For you, it's not good. But it's part of the natural cycle of the universe. However, this does mean once you die, you will no longer enter the River of Souls and reincarnate."

"That's bad for my soul once that does happen though."

"Yes, but it also means the amount of time left in your current life is numbered."

Aleister stopped right before he sipped on his tea. "How long do I have then?"

"I wouldn't know the exact number. However, since you became a Weaver, the number has been cut down to only a tenth if I had to take a guess."

"This would be because becoming a Weaver uses your soul to generate and process anima, thus drawing upon its power infinitely more than the common mortal."

Aleister chuckled and took another sip of the tea. "For a second, I thought I might have gotten lucky there since my soul doesn't generate anima in the traditional sense, but instead uses the anima contained within the world."

Archbishop Vy widened his eyes. "I wouldn't know the cause behind that. I've never heard of such a thing."

"Don't worry, I know the reason. It's because I'm an arcanist. I absorb the anima in the world instead of generating my own. However, my soul still has to process that which I gained into arcane anima and convert it into the anima I need. This should add on a few more years to my life, I suppose since my soul does one part of that process."

Archbishop Vy stared at Aleister. "How interesting. Such a unique process that I have never heard of before."

"That's still not great, though. How long does a normal mortal live? For a half-elf, it's about one-hundred years. And cut down to a tenth of that, its ten years, so if we add a few more, it's still only what—thirteen? Fourteen or fifteen if I'm lucky?"

"As long as you continue to stay as a Rank One Weaver, yes. However, if you choose to increase your power, I'm afraid those few years you added will be subtracted along with a few more instead."

"Damn." Aleister picked up a tea biscuit and stuffed it into his mouth.