Soul One (POV)
It was just another usual day.
I was collecting souls from different realms to study.
I sat quietly in a place called the Soul Passage—a hidden road connecting the Gate of the Spirit Realm, the Karmic Court, and the Reincarnation Platform.
I relaxed in a quiet, secret room.
After all, staying here without being dead is technically illegal.
The walls around me shimmered with shifting cosmos—stars drifting like lazy fish through a sea of dark velvet space.
In my hand were nine souls—each just moments away from entering the Karmic Court with countless others, before I... borrowed them.
Each one shimmered with a different hue, shaped vaguely like a flame, pulsing with the echoes of the life it once held.
They whispered.
They always whispered.
Memories, regrets, dreams, broken love stories... and sometimes, just silence.
One whimpered like a child, one burned with vengeance, another shimmered with hollow emptiness—and the rest murmured with their own shadows of despair.
As always, start with the angriest one.
After all, their stories are always the most interesting.
"So, what is your name?" I asked.
"August Richman," the angry soul replied.
Well—he tried not to. But what is a mere mortal soul in front of me?
His soul flared—burning a deep crimson, with sparks of shadow flickering at its edges.
I raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Intense anger… no betrayal mixed in. Pure vengeance. Rare. Dangerous. A Unique."
The soul throbbed in my palm like it wanted to escape.
But there was no place to go. Not here.
"You died recently," I muttered, flipping my hand slightly to reveal a shifting image of a truck—wheels spinning midair, frozen in the moment of impact.
"Truck-kun?" I asked, almost amused.
The soul pulsed in angry recognition.
"Ah... not Isekai-style. This wasn't divine transport. This was some unreasonable revenge."
I leaned forward, curious. "Now we're talking."
He didn't respond—yet.
But souls are like books. You don't need permission to read them... if you know the language.
I tapped into his essence—
And the memories flooded in:
A bar. A celebration.
A past riddled with debts, bad luck, and a smiling demon incarnate named Mia.
I grinned. "So. Framed, enslaved with debt, run down by the same woman. Hah. You mortals never bore me."
This one's worth keeping.
Just as I was about to place it into a crystal vial—a glowing, violet prison shaped like a teardrop—
The space shook.
Damn it.
Karmic Inquisitors.
Since when did those guys get this fast at finding anomalies?
They were never this quick back when I was part of the Karmic Court.
Maybe, aaa.. they've attached karmic threads to these souls... clever bastards.
Sure, I'm stronger than them—but fighting here would alert the Karmic One, the Spirit One, the Reincarnation One... and worse.
Karmic One already wants me dead.
What? Because I may or may not have slept with his wife and daughter on some party night? (Hey, it was one drunken night and a lot of moonlight wine.) Petty.
Come on, it was just a bit of fun. Let it go already.
If he finds me here with these souls, he'll finally have a legitimate reason to tear me apart.
Nope. Not today.
Let's stop thinking about the stupid past—
And start thinking of a solution.
If I erase these souls, that damn Karmic One will know.
Guess there's only one other way: the Reincarnation Platform.
Hastily erasing memories will leave traces... better to just disguise their souls with my powers. That way, no one will find out they still have their memories. And I'll weave in a curse so they can't tell anyone about their reincarnation.
I clenched all nine souls tighter, the souls squirming violently within.
"Sorry, little mortals. Looks like your afterlife just got upgraded."
I snapped my fingers—and the entire room warped.
A portal tore open in the cosmos-painted wall, connecting directly to the Reincarnation Platform.
It revealed a swirling tunnel of screaming stars and fractured time.
Not exactly safe...
But better than getting caught.
I tossed the souls in.
"Enjoy the fall. We'll chat more... when no one's watching."
Then I vanished—seconds before the door was blasted off its hinges.
A dozen armored figures rushed in, eyes glinting with judgment.
Too late.
I was already gone.
After all, I am the Soul One—the one who holds the highest authority in the law of soul.
No one catches me in the Soul Passage. Not even Reality itself.