“...It is very important” He finally heard girl reply. “but I am still trying to think how much exactly I should tell you.” Visible struggle on her face made Mark heart ache a little.

“Then just say as much as I could easily learn when I will be reborn... you know from books and all...” But girl only shook her head again.

“Most information that you could “easily” find about soul-forms would be or completely incorrect, or merged with so many assumptions and suppositions that they would be useless... rather than lie, it will be better if don't say anything.”

She stopped for a moment probably considering doing exactly that. But finally tanned girl spoke again “let's start from that... I believe that I don't need to convince you about existence of both souls and rebirth?

He just smiled and nodded. There was nothing to add considering his situation.

“Once a representative of intelligent species is born, it is born with a pure soul. During his, her... or it, since intelligent species are not limited to one's possessing gender... life, all memories, experiences, everything that make a person...”person” is ”written” into the soul. From the beginning to the end, and in difference to memories stored in a brain it will never fade or vanish... Since souls itself are absolutely indestructible and impossible to affect by anything with a single exception. And now we will come to it. You see Mark, when life of a person with soul will end, the soul itself is going through a cycle of rebirth. A mechanism... could it even be called that? Existing outside of space, time or laws of any dimension. Before It will be reborn though, as an another life, it needs to be “purified” from life that has already ended.”

“Flames” Mark murmured, conclusion being obvious.

“Yes, Gehenna Flames – And before you ask, this is just translation of a name given to it by race that created me. No one knows its true name... or rather it most likely doesn't have anything like that.

Anyway, Gehenna Flames are responsible for purification of the souls. They look terrifying, but like you have just experienced, process itself is not only not painful, but borderline pleasant.”

“At least that much mercy from the universe huh...” Mark joked, and Levi smiled kindly.

“I suppose. But please listen for a moment longer, I am going straight to the most important part.

You see this is where things are starting to become tricky. Apparently, not everything is getting purified. And I did not mean any leftover memories or similar cases, they are something completely different. It is more like... the shadow of shadow, of what you have done properly, while with agreement with your soul itself... It is... a little like karma but only a good one...ugh.” She tightened her lips with clear irritation. “It is more difficult to explain it with only human language than I thought. Human mind may be barely capable of understanding the idea, but nearly all human languages are lacking in basic concepts... Fine it is not exactly that, but lets stay with this – as long as you are working hard to better yourself, stay in agreement with your soul, and restrain yourself from self – destructing behaviours, something that many would call “doing evil” your soul with each next incarnation is collecting changes on itself, layer upon layer. And in certain moment, in proper circumstances this changes reach critical mass and... the soul takes shape.” again Levi stopped while looking even more irritated than earlier.

“It is immeasurably more complicated obviously, actually what I have just said is nearly half a lie... But I really don't know how to explain it better.” She growled. And Mark made sure to just sit politely and didn't complain. Transcended magical existence was one thing, but you don't criticize a girl when she is that irritated.

“Anyway,” the girl said giving up on exploring the subject. “once soul is formed, it is like ascending into completely different level-”

“Wait! Wait a moment! I don't feel anythink like that, though?” It was true. He had though that it will be like that from the beginning, but it really sounded like a big deal, so why Mark hadn't felt different at all?

The person sitting in front of him didn't look surprised, though. She just raised her hand and started count on her fingers.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“First,” she continued “there is no real difference between knowledge possessed by newborn of a cat or a human right? This change is more about potential than immediate effects.”

“Two,” she raised a second finger “you are now not even alive, this place – It exists outside of both time and space, and even rules of cause and effect. To truly change you first need to live. And you are not alive now. Even this body of yours, ” she glanced at his silhouette “is nothing more than a force of habit an interface created because you believe that you should stay... constant? Whole? This place itself is like that too – a metaphor created on basic of your previous world logic. It doesn't truly exist. ” she stoped for a second. Mark tried to hide his embarrassment, after he remembered how he thought about a person that created a bus as a way to reincarnate someone as clearly lacking imagination.

“three...” Levi hesitated again. “or maybe I should say two and half ? The point is, that while act of shaping a soul is strictly connected to it, and thus "outside" of any kind of influence. By an act of existing in living being, formed soul is inevitably affecting a dimension itself. The effects... vary according to dimension you are in -”

“And in this one that you are sending me?” Mark could not restrain his curiosity. But a moment later he felt disappointment when Levi shook her head.

“I will leave this one as a surprise. You will know soon enough anyway ” She looked at him for a while longer likely thinking about something.“ Well this are not really hard data or anything” She spoke “just very probable theories of people that created me. Since pure amount of examples is far to low to truly understand phenomena itself...

Well, this is it I suppose. I have probably said all that I should.”

Again a short moment of silence, but this time it certainly didn't looked, like she was going to add anything.

“Could you at least tell me more about the world where I will be reborn?” This was crucial information. If he was going to be safe and successful, then he needed to know how he should behave and-

“Discover it yourself.”

Aaand it was useless. Mark growled silently. But he did not give up. “Then something about circumstances of my rebirth?”

“You will know soon enough.” He heard and Mark could not help but though that rejection of girls were always merciless. Well, it was not like he was completely without information. Considering the claim of a girl before him (he still was not completely sure, if he should believe in here every word just on the face value) of only altering what was natural, he was pretty sure that he will be reincarnated as a newborn baby... irritating but hopefully give him time for gathering informations.

He smiled, if he was capable of thinking like this then he must have finally calmed properly and accepted what was happening. It seemed that both his intellect and his adventure spirit were back with him!

Granted that it was adventure spirit that up to this point was used only in PC games but it was besides the point!

Anyway back to conversation.

“Could you really not tell me anything more?” he asked with hope.

“Nope” Levi voice was silent but firm.“ And it does seem that our time is ending anyway.”

“huh?” Mark looked around trying to see any difference “didn't you said that we have enough time?”

“Enough” she nodded “just enough, and now this “enough” is ending” indeed in this moment Mark could see like everything inside – and outside, like he noticed after looking through the window – was vaporizing into white fog.

It seemed that it indeed was time to said goodbye.

“So putting it bluntly,” he decided to summarize everything “you, or people that created you... not really important at this moment. Well, you discovered that on certain point in the future after my death, I will obtain a “special power”, or something similar and decided to make sure, that I will be reborn in their world. All of that while not telling me why, but ensuring my cooperation simply by fact that I will do what they want me to do by my own will anyway...” What was he though again, quite creepy considering that they would need a very exact psychological profile to make this kind of sure-thing assumptions...

But then again, he doubted, that people whose actions needed words like “dimensional manipulations” and “outside of cause and effect” to be described properly will have problems information-wise.

“Masterful summary,” Young girl nodded in appreciation “it is as full of holes as it possibly could be, but it really is the best that you could do with your current knowledge.”

“If so then it does not sound so bad for an afterlife” Mark said with a thoughtful face. White fog already vaporized everything outside of a bus and most of its insides as well. Right now only not-white space consisted of seats and small fragment of a floor.

Former student looked at the girl before him, but it did not seemed, like she intended to speak again.

If someone told him yesterday that soon he would find himself in situation straight from some kind of novel he would... well he would probably just ignore it and go his way...

But since it have happened, since he really was now in some kind of isekai-like story, he could as well act as a hero of one. Or at least one, that behavior he appreciated.

So before nothingness of change finally devoured everything, he had reached out with his hand.

“ It truly was nice to meet you. I hope that this is not the last time.”

Mark was surprised, when girl responded instantly squeezing his hand without hesitation.

And then there was nothing.

Again.

If Mark would still posses his mouth in that moment he would probably smiled.

Her hand, after all, was warm exactly like a human should be.