Julian sprang awake in a panic.
"Gy-gyah!" he yelled out.
His jaw contorted. He felt around his mouth for any fractures or other injuries. After confirming, he calmed down somewhat.
Panting, he looked around. This was not the same location he was just in. He found himself in a field of white flowers that stretched beyond the horizon. The skies were an extremely pale blue. A sunless sky.
"Where... am I?"
"You could call this place the spirit world," a somewhat familiar voice informed him.
Julian's eyes shot toward the deep voice. It belonged to the man he had seen before, during his first revival. Long black hair tied loosely, with unnaturally pale skin as white as snow. His eyes were the same soft red.
This time, there was a woman whom he pushed in a wheelchair. A demi-human with pastel green cat ears that were the same color as her short, pastel green hair. Her eyes retained the same color. There was a sickly, solemn look on her. On her right eye, she wore a white eyepatch.
Stein continued.
"You're incredibly unlucky... Julian. That's your name, right? How did you manage to get here? It doesn't seem that you're dead."
A wind blew through the spirit world. Flowers dancing.
They began walking through the endless spirit world.
"I-I was on my way to find this writer named S.W. To see if he could fix what's wrong with me. Ah, see, I forgot to mention. I ended up consuming the heart of a dragon, and that replaced my velian, I guess. Then my body started morphing because of the dragon in me, or something like that. That's why I was looking for him, because he had been previously experimenting with dragons."
"S.W?"
"Yes. That's his name, I believe."
"Well, you're looking at him right now."
"Huh?"
Julian's eyes widened.
"Stein Weneseok. That's my full name. I am indeed the author of that book. Though it's a shame that you couldn't reach me. Now, you're stuck here. A wandering spirit of the sort. Has someone taken possession of your body?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what happened. Something about this guy who couldn't stop talking about pride."
"Haah... so 'those' people are still out there."
"Huh?"
"Those people. The great sins of the world. The most evil people are tempted by sin itself. You were likely tempted. But I guess there was a workaround, and your body ended up getting taken."
"So... that's it?"
"What do you mean?"
"That's it for me?"
"No. There are quite a few people who are in near-death situations, where their bodies will have no soul. I can make an exception and send you into one of those many bodies. After that, it's up to you. Whether you'd like to live on as that body, or whatever.
"However, I can assist you in one way. If you manage to retrieve your body, which is very unlikely, I'll be able to put your soul back into that body and expel the sin of pride. Which is quite favorable for me."
Julian nodded. They stopped walking.
"Okay. Then I'm ready."
"The spirit world is a beautiful place. If you walk far enough, you'll see lots of other spirits, even settlements. It's peaceful. Are you sure you wouldn't like to live on like this?"
"You want me to give up, then?"
"..."
Stein softly grinned.
"You have more resolve than you think you do, Julian."
Stein placed his palm on Julian's chest. Within seconds, he disappeared. The spirit world grew quiet.
"Evelyn, what do you think? The world is definitely in unrest. Sins spurring, gods waking, and then a remarkable boy with no mana and the velian of a dragon."
"Such a horrifying soul, though. It was hard for me to look at him," the woman in the wheelchair, named Evelyn, responded.
"At first, I thought it was because he was the demon king... but it seems that he comes from another world.
"Ah... I forgot to mention to him that he wouldn't really have any memories..."
. .
.
"K-Keuk!"
Tou found himself having second thoughts.
He had already kicked the stool off. Now, he was hanging. He yanked at the coarse rope that held him tightly, his legs flailing. Silently, he choked.
It was starting to get dark. He could no longer see the walls of the wooden shed. The door was closed. No one was coming to save him.
This is what I wanted... right?
Why can't my body and mind be one!? Stop fighting it, damn it!
Snap!
The rope snapped. Tou fell to the ground, in a heavy pant. His chest heaved, up and down. Looking to the ceiling, his vision was still blurry.
Even this... I just can't do anything.
Tears began to trickle down his cheek. But he was silent.