"You're quite an unlucky child," The man remarked,

"Dying three times at the beginning of adulthood, unable to live a proper life."

"Dying three times?"

Observing my confusion, the man cleared his throat and explained.

"Well, let's start with a simple introduction of myself,"

"I'm Kayastha, also known as Chitragupta."

"You can call me Chitragupta," he continued, "and I'm the Keeper of Karma and Reincarnation."

"Karma and Reincarnation?"

"Yes, this place is a small part of the Karmic Palace."

SNAP!

With a simple snap of his fingers, Chitragupta transformed our surroundings. The world around us shifted and evolved, and I could feel reality itself bending to his will.

Now, we stood on a cloud. I couldn't comprehend how we could stand on something unreal, feeling wonder and uncertainty.

"Look below,"

My eyes widened in amazement as I gazed downward. Below lay a vast space similar to the previous white room, filled with countless souls standing in lines like the ones I had encountered before. However, these figures weren't queuing in front of anyone. Instead, they made their way into a mysterious blue circle.

"These are the souls who have departed or lost their physical bodies,"

"The blue circle they are entering is a portal of reincarnation. Through it, they are sent to new bodies, where they begin afresh, either in a new world or, sometimes, in the same world where they met their end."

The realization hit me, and I asked, "If I'm here, does that mean I'm truly dead?"

"Yes."

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.

.

Within that silence, my pain was evident. However, I gathered myself and asked,

"Are you the only person here?"

Again, Chitragupta responded with a single word, "Yes."

With growing anxiety, I finally asked,

"Then why am I not there in that line of souls?"

"Well, about that, you fall under the special cases. You've experienced three deaths before the age of 100."

He went on to clarify,

"The age here refers to your soul, not your physical body. The souls below have an average lifespan of 50 years or more. Your total soul age is 55."

"You're saying the souls below typically live at least 50 years in a single life."

"Yes."

"Why does it matter if a person lives a long life?"

"To maintain balance in the universe,"

"What's the connection between a person's life and the universe?"

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

Snap!

Chitragupta snapped his fingers, and our surroundings changed again; we were now floating in a vast universe with countless stars surrounding us.

From the colours of the universe, Chitragupta created a little smoke.

"'Energy' is the essence of universes where all living and non-living things exist. This 'Energy' is both the creator and destroyer of the universe."

As Chitragupta said, the smoke changed form:

"This 'Energy' can neither be created nor destroyed; rather, it transforms from one form to another. The nature of energy is neither good nor bad. It is just energy."

"Each universe has a certain amount of this 'Energy,' which is distributed differently to planets. Every living being has different amounts of energy."

The smoke created different solar systems, with planets having different colours, indicating different amounts of stored energy.

"To understand properly, here's a simple example: Let's say that every condition remains normal, and the person has X amount of energy."

He took a tiny part of the smoke from one planet and made a human figure.

"As soon as he dies, 75% of his energy will be released into the universe."

"Now, the soul has returned to the Karmic Palace and reincarnated in the same world. At birth, the soul takes 50% of the energy from the universe."

"The remaining 25% is stored in the planet to maintain its equilibrium."

"What do you think will happen if there are countless deaths within a short period?"

"The planet will have a lot of stored energy."

"Correct. A planet can only hold a certain amount, once it reaches that level, the energy is released into its solar system to keep its equilibrium."

"If this happens occasionally, it isn't an issue, but if it happens repeatedly, the whole solar system becomes unstable and begins to release extra energy into the galaxy, which may unbalance the neighboring star."

"The same can happen if countless people are born within a short period, though that has a 0.1% probability, but it's still possible."

"You see, it creates a chain reaction. This reaction will only stop when something stops it or when it destroys everything."

The solar system shook briefly, stopped, and exploded, changing everything into smoke.

"A single soul can upset the universe's balance."

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Silence

.

.

.

Breaking the silence, I asked a question I kept having.

"What is Karma?"

Before speaking, he took a few seconds to think.

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

Snap!

We were back on the clouds.

"The concept of karma is one of the most fundamental aspects of life."

"If we combine 'Energy' with 'Emotions', we get what we call 'Karma'. Every living being carries 'Karma'."

"Karma is a complex and vast concept, but to keep it simple, you can understand it as a cause-and-effect relationship."

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"If we focus on 'cause-and-effect', what does it tell you?" He asked.

"One thing happens as a result of another,"

"How does a 'thing' happen?"

There was silence between us as I tried to figure out the answer.

.

.

.

.

The silence continued for a few minutes until Chitragupta began to speak,

"Emotions are the basis of everything living beings do. Indirectly, emotions influence behavior through feedback systems. Bad and good acts result from a person's behavior."

Since I didn't know much about living beings, I listened to his words as he continued speaking.

"Every soul goes through the karmic cycle, receiving rewards and punishments based on its deeds and intentions behind those deeds."

"A soul's rewards and punishments are determined while in its physical body. Throughout life, a person is punished for bad deeds and rewarded for good deeds while maintaining balance."

"That's not always true," I said.

"Why do you say that?"

"Many people have led seemingly happy lives and passed away peacefully, despite committing numerous bad deeds."

Hearing my reasoning, Chitragupta replied.

"There are many reasons for that. As I said, Karma is complex; you can't say for sure what led to this or that. It needs to be properly understood."

"But I can name a few reasons. The first is that it simply didn't fit the universe's equation. The second is that their past good deeds may have affected their punishment. The third is that it has a chance of causing a ripple effect around them."

I could reason about the first two, but not the third.

"What ripple effect?"

Chitragupta took a moment and spoke,

"Let's consider a rich and mighty tycoon. He rose through wicked deeds and continues down that dark path."

"Now, think: If this man reaps what he sowed in the form of karma, it won't just trap him. It'll cast a shadow on others, too. Take his company. If it crumbles under karma's weight, it won't just be him feeling the burn. His employees will lose their livelihoods – whether by karma's hand or just caught in its current."

"That's one example; the second is that the man faces a calamity. Say he survives an accident but is left paralyzed. It might seem like his karma is catching up, but what about those who care for him, who bear no guilt for his misdeeds? Why must they endure the anguish of seeing their loved one trapped in a lifeless shell?"

"As I said, Karma may seem like a simple process, but it operates on more than just a straightforward principle."

SILENCE

I tried to digest his words and asked a few minutes later,

"Does that mean he escapes karma because it ripples out to others?"

"Who said he escaped it?"

"Didn't you mention that a soul reaps karma in its physical body?"

"Yes, but I never specified it had to be the same physical body."

"'But you said, 'Throughout life, a person is punished for bad deeds and rewarded for good deeds.'"

"Yes, but here, 'life' refers to the life as a soul, not just its current physical form."

"Karma emphasizes balancing actions within a life, but rewarding or punishing a soul within that particular physical form is not mandatory."

Silence fell between us. A few seconds later, I broke the silence and asked one of the questions from the countless thoughts in my head,

"Why this reward and punishment? If all you have to do is maintain the universe's balance, then I'm sure there are other ways to do so."

"To teach living beings about life."

.

.

I took a short pause and asked,

"Are you a God?"

"Yes and no."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let's discuss while walking," Chitragupta suggested.

"Okay."

"It depends on the definition you're using for 'God.' From my perspective, living beings refer to a being as God or Goddess if it can perform miracles and is perceived as flawless."

"If you consider the miracle part, then you could say I'm a God since I maintain the Karmic Palace."

"But if you focus on the other part, I'm not a god because perfection is a myth. In truth, there's no such thing as a flawless being."

"This idea is also a concept that living beings created, similar to how they create the concept of a God."

"Then, if there's no God, who designed the system of Karma and Reincarnation?"

"You already know the answer."

"Energy?"

"Yes,"

Countless thoughts raced through my mind as we continued walking, and a few minutes of silence ensued for contemplation. Chitragupta's words interrupted my thoughts.

"We are here."

Upon hearing his words, I snapped out of my trance and gazed at the giant golden door, standing majestically. The door bore numerous engravings. At the top, something was written in an unfamiliar language. Below that, at the centre, a pair of wings was engraved—one lighter, the other darker. Between the wings, a large circle adorned the door. At the bottom were additional symbols I couldn't understand.

Adjacent to the door was the same letterbox from the white room. A stamped paper flew from the box, fluttering through the air and slipping into the door through a narrow opening only a piece of paper could pass through.

Adding to the bizarre scene was that the door stood in the midst of nowhere, with nothing behind it but an endless expanse of cloud-filled sky.

Before I could ask, Chitragupta explained,

"Previously, I mentioned that you fall under a special case."

"Typically, regular souls go through the portal of reincarnation, and that's the end."

"But for special cases, this Door of Judgment takes on that responsibility."

"So, I have to pass through this door and be reincarnated," I said.

"Well, yes and no."

"Your yes-and-no game again. Can't it just be a straightforward yes or no?"

"By going through the door, you'll indeed be reincarnated, but it's not always that simple. There's a chance you might be reborn. And by 'reborn,' I mean your soul undergoes a process of death and revival."

My eyes widened.

"It depends on the test results the door gives you."

"If I fail, my soul faces extinction and rebirth, and if I succeed, my soul undergoes reincarnation."

"Somewhat," He replied.

"Somewhat?"

"It's complicated. It requires time to explain."

"I have time."

"But I don't,"

Chitragupta narrowed his eyes and looked at me. A chill ran down my spine from his gaze, even without a physical body.

"Sorry," I lowered my head.

Seeing my gloomy face, he sighed.

"Sigh~. Don't be disheartened, kid."

"I'll explain," He continued.

My eyes lit up,

"Thank you."

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

Snap!

Chitragupta snapped his fingers, summoning a round table and two chairs.

"It will be a lengthy explanation, so concentrate on my words."

"Okay."

Once we settled down, he asked,

"Shall we begin?"

"Yes," I nodded enthusiastically.

"Before getting into the test, you must understand some basic concepts."

"By reincarnation, I mean a soul changing its physical body, and by rebirth, I mean the soul's rebirth, not the physical body's."

"All right, now that's out of the way, let's get started."

"The first thing to understand is what a Soul means."

Again, Chitragupta used visual aids to explain.

'He is a good teacher,' I thought.

"A Soul is nothing more than data—data of your life, your experiences in a physical form. Experiences, emotions, and memories give a soul its true essence. This data is just a tiny fragment of the energy that creates and sustains the universe."

"When a Soul is reborn, it's similar to a new smartphone. It comes with basic functions to make it work, and as time passes, you fill it with apps and data."

"The Soul follows a similar path. Upon rebirth, it's like an empty vessel seeking a physical form to contain it. As the physical form matures, so does the soul. At this stage, we don't call it a Soul; we call it a 'Seed' because it lacks the elements to be a 'Soul.'"

"It becomes a Soul when it leaves the physical form for the first time after rebirth. All the experiences, emotions, and memories become integral, shaping a true Soul."

"Most of the time, that Soul comes here and undergoes reincarnation, taking the data from the previous form."

"Gradually, the Soul goes through countless reincarnations, accumulating an abundance of data or experiences."

"After two or three regular reincarnations, the Soul begins to gain a semi-conscious state, influencing decisions about its new physical form for better or worse."

"As they say in one world, 'The echoes of your past influence your present existence, often unbeknownst to you.'"

"That wraps up the explanation on Souls."

"Now, let's look into the 'Special Cases.'"

"As mentioned before, you fall under the special cases. A special case falls into two categories: ' The Beginning' and 'The Karma Overload.'"

Chitragupta paused and asked,

"Are you getting the concepts I'm explaining, or am I just wasting my energy and time?"

"Don't underestimate me. I was called a 'nerd' for a reason before I died. So, rest assured, you're not wasting your time and energy."

"Well, if you say so. Let's continue."

"The first category is 'The Beginning.' Souls in this go through numerous reincarnations until reaching their designated age. Once a soul reaches this age, it can no longer enter the reincarnation portal. Instead, it comes to me. I assess its state and remaining karma value, and based on that, I permit them to enter the Room of Judgment behind the Door of Judgment."

The stamp materialized on the table.

"From the outside, it might seem ordinary, but it's far from it. The stamp changes per my judgment. Each soul paper bears a unique stamp, indicating the soul's state. It's not a simple good or bad label; it's a more complex evaluation."

"That concludes the first category."

"The second is 'The Karma Overload,' which includes your case. These souls have substantial karma left to balance, sometimes due to rapidly switching bodies or the soul's karma affecting others or some other cases."

"In your case, your karma scale is significantly off from the normal range. Yours is 9:1. For context, a normal soul has a 6:4 or 4:6 karma scale."

"Now that we've covered the basics," Chitragupta continued, "Let's move to the test."

"The Room of Judgment (ROJ) is designed to help me manage this Karmic Palace."

"The papers I stamped held the data of the souls, including all the physical forms that soul inhabited."

"The ROJ analyzes a soul's karma, considering both balanced and unsettled values. It then generates a result based on my assessment."

"Once determined, the ROJ puts the soul through a tailored test based on that result. The result sets the criteria for passing or failing."

"The test isn't simple pass or fail. While underway, the ROJ continually assesses the soul, meaning that even if a soul passes the test, it might still fail to meet the evaluation standards, thus failing overall."

"How does a soul meet the evaluation standards?" I asked.

"Follow your nature and be yourself," Chitragupta replied.

Confused, I tilted my head,

"What do you mean by 'Follow your nature'?"

"What do you think of your condition?" He asked.

"What condition?"

My confusion deepened as he asked another question without answering mine.

"How many souls like you do you think have come here and can talk?"

"Based on your initial reaction, I seem to be the first one," I answered.

"Correct. Now, how many souls can freely roam around?"

"I believe none," I responded.

"One in every thousand souls can move freely in my office.”