Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Okay, please sit here.”

“……”

While I stood frozen, like a country bumpkin just arriving in the city, Arehis and the guides calmly took their seats on the sofa. Everyone’s expression was so nonchalant that I felt embarrassed for being so shocked.

‘What, is this normal here?’

Feeling awkward, I hesitated before sitting down across from Arehis. They could have at least given me a warning. His tone is kind, but he seems to have no consideration whatsoever.

As soon as I sat down, the atmosphere began to calm down remarkably. After a moment of contemplation, Arehis took out a square, transparent box from his chest. The box appeared to be empty, but surprisingly, when he opened the lid, several cards popped out. The backs were all black, and the fronts were all painted in primary colors.

“……?”

Seeing my questioning look at the unfamiliar object, Arehis changed the subject instead of explaining it.

“Do you know where this place is?”

“Well, isn’t it the afterlife?”

“Hehe, close. It’s called the Netherworld.”

“The Netherworld?”

“It’s one of the four major dimensions, along with the Divine Realm, the Spirit Realm, and the Demon Realm. Unlike the Interdimensional Realm, like Earth where Jihoon lived, these four dimensions exist independently. Generally, those with ordinary physical bodies cannot easily trespass into these worlds. Does this explanation make sense?”

So, in other words, you can only come here after you die?

To be honest, I couldn’t understand most of what he was saying. Four major dimensions, the Interdimensional Realm—it all felt like a story from another world (which it actually is). As I blankly blinked, Arehis smiled wryly, as if he expected it, and continued.

“This part isn’t important, so you don’t need to pay much attention to it. Anyway, the work done here in the Netherworld is similar to the role of the afterlife that Jihoon knows. We collect souls that have reached the end of their lives and redistribute them to the next life, just like Jihoon.”

“Hmm, I get the gist. So, what happened to me? Was I properly processed as deceased? Earlier, those people said I hadn’t even been born yet……”

“I will explain everything about that from now on. That’s why I’m here.”

Arehis answered gently, then gazed at me with a serious face, devoid of any smile.

“First, I want to apologize to Jihoon. This incident was entirely due to an error on our part. There was a problem in the soul distribution process. Jihoon is a victim.”

“Soul… distribution?”

That sounded ominous from the start. As I asked back in a hesitant tone, Arehis nodded calmly.

“Whether it’s a soul walking the path of the afterlife or a newly created soul, those who take on a physical body must go through the distribution process here in the Netherworld and follow their predetermined fate. But sometimes… it’s not common, but errors occur in the distribution process calculation, and they are mistakenly distributed to a different path than their original destiny.”

“Am I… one of those cases?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s an extremely low probability, less than one in a billion or even one in ten billion, but it’s truly regrettable that this happened. Perhaps, were you not close to your parents or siblings?”

“……!”

At my startled reaction, as if burned, Arehis sighed as if he expected it. Then, he looked at me with a complex gaze filled with pity, guilt, and sympathy, and continued.

“To them, Jihoon was an existence not destined for their family, so it was natural for them to neglect you. They probably had a hard time understanding why they were rejecting you. ‘Why do we reject this child?’ they must have wondered. Our mistake caused Jihoon to receive wounds that he shouldn’t have. I’m truly sorry.”

“……Then, does that mean my real family is somewhere else?”

“If you find your original path, that will be the case. Your destiny has not yet been executed.”

It was as if the rails I had been running on had been wrong from the starting point. As I stood there speechless, Arehis gave me a troubled smile.

“To be honest, I was more surprised that Jihoon had been alive until now. Because a soul without a destiny has a weak connection to the body, it can easily separate even with minor shocks.”

“Hahahaha……”

For some reason, I thought it was strange that I died from what didn’t seem like a severe collision. But his words didn’t entirely make sense. The traffic accident I experienced was just a minor fender-bender [a collision that causes little damage]. I had experienced that level of impact often before, but nothing happened. In fact, some of the impacts I had received before were stronger in terms of intensity.

It’s not something to be proud of, but in middle school, I was once caught by some delinquents and beaten badly. Fortunately, Taejin happened to be passing by and saved me; otherwise, I would have been hospitalized for days.

That incident was the reason Taejin and I became friends, so I still remember it clearly. If separation was going to happen, shouldn’t it have happened back then?

“Ah, that’s because Jihoon didn’t perceive that situation itself as a threat.”

“What do you mean?”

“The body is fine, but the connection with the soul is weak. In this case, it is more affected by mental shocks than physical ones. In other words, the connection breaks when you perceive that you are ‘dying.’ Considering you didn’t think that way easily, Jihoon must have had a very strong will to live.”

“……”

In any case, that will was quite fortunate for me. If I had died at a young age, unable to discern right from wrong, I wouldn’t have been able to find a guide on my own and might have wandered alone forever until I was accidentally discovered. Hearing those words from Arehis, I comforted myself that I wasn’t entirely unlucky.

But my luck didn’t end there.

* * *

“Now, shall we find Jihoon’s true destiny? Please look at this.”

Arehis handed me the cards he had taken out when we first sat at the table. As I looked at them with a questioning gaze, he smiled gently and added an explanation.

“These are called ‘Soul Mate’ cards.”

“Soul Mate?”

“Soul companions. In other words, the colors painted on each card represent the destiny given to the soul. Since there has already been a 17-year gap, you need to return to your original place as soon as possible. This Soul Mate will help you find your location.”

After finishing the explanation, Arehis immediately shuffled the cards together and spread them out on the table with the black backs facing up. I looked at the flipped cards with both anxiety and curiosity.

“What do I do?”

“It’s simple. Just choose one card that you like from these.”

“……That’s it?”

“Haha, too simple, isn’t it? But even though it looks like this, the Soul Mate is made with the power of the Chief God. You can trust it.”

“……”

Is the Chief God the highest god?

I wasn’t thrilled, but I picked up a card at random, thinking I had nothing to lose. I didn’t hesitate to choose, thinking that worrying wouldn’t change anything.

“I’ll take this one.”

“Oh, have you chosen? I understand. Then, let’s check it right away.”

Arehis nodded and flipped the card I had chosen right side up. Immediately, a vibrant color appeared. It was a clear sky blue.

No, to be exact, it couldn’t be called just sky blue. The color changed slightly each time the angle was different. Sky blue, white, red, and finally, brown light appeared and disappeared uniformly on one side. Each one felt beautiful.

At that moment, Arehis and the guides turned pale.

“Gasp! Lord Arehis!”

“T, this is!”

“……?”

They all gasped in unison and began to look back and forth between the card and me with wide eyes. Even I, who didn’t know the situation well, could feel that something was going wrong.

Is there something wrong with the card I chose?

Feeling uneasy for no reason, I asked in a very subdued state.

“Um… what’s wrong? Is something wrong?”

“Haa. This is really luck, or fate… I think we’ve finally found it. I’m so glad.”

“Yes?”

Found what?

I looked at him, puzzled by the incomprehensible answer. Only then did Arehis realize it and quickly put on an apologetic expression.

“Oh dear, I was too excited and only thought about myself. I’m sorry. I didn’t expect something like this to happen, so I……”

“What’s going on?”

“Are you curious?”

“Ah, no, it’s okay. Rather than that, can’t I just draw a card again? Actually, I think I picked too carelessly just now.”

But Arehis smiled and shook his head at my words.

“Haha, it’s no use. The choice of this Soul Mate isn’t just about choosing a card you like. Even if the color selected here is chosen carelessly or forced by someone, you will always choose the color of fate.”

“Ugh, really?”

“Yes, even if you are given the opportunity to choose a card again, you will definitely choose this card. Because this is the color of fate.”

Arehis paused for a moment and took a slow breath. His cheeks were flushed a light red, unlike before, as if trying to calm his excited emotions.

“From now on, I will explain the meaning of the colors contained in the card. The first color of the Soul Mate represents the race of the body given to the soul.”

“R…race?”

“That’s right. It’s an unfamiliar word in the world where Jihoon lived, but there are countless races other than humans in the many dimensions of the Interdimensional Realm. Green symbolizes elves who represent vegetation, red symbolizes humans who represent passion, black symbolizes demons who rule darkness, white symbolizes gods who represent divinity, blue symbolizes dragons who represent nobility, and gold symbolizes dwarves who represent excellent craftsmanship. And… this multicolored one needs further explanation.”

“……?”

After the splendid order of races that only appear in novels had all passed, Arehis smiled and took out another Soul Mate and held it out in front of me. Unlike before, it was an array of only four cards.

As I looked at it with a questioning gaze, Arehis once again encouraged me to choose a card, and I had no choice but to focus my attention on the Soul Mate again without knowing why. The card I chose this time was a cool blue, more sapphire than sapphire itself.

The moment he saw it, Arehis nodded as if he had already guessed it. Then, he suddenly began to ask me random questions, still not knowing what was going on.

“Jihoon, were you weak or often sick in your past life?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. I was on the weaker side physically……”

“Have you ever suffered from frequent rain, typhoons, or monsoon damage?”

“I haven’t had any, but it seemed to rain often. Is there something wrong with that?”

I don’t know about when I was young, but in recent years, summers in Korea have been excessively rainy. Every year, roads are flooded, and people are trapped in valleys, with news reports broadcasting monsoon damage cases every day.

But I couldn’t understand why that story was being brought up at this moment. It’s a past life that has already been invalidated, so what’s the point now? Besides, weren’t we in the process of finding my original position?

“It’s not a problem, but the answer is enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you remember what I said earlier? That there are dimensions with various races other than Earth in this world.”

“Yes, I remember.”

As I nodded, Arehis smiled satisfactorily and continued the explanation.

“Among those dimensions, there is one that is most famous. We call it ‘Arc-A’don.’”

“Arc-A’don?”

“It means ‘First Birth.’ It is actually the first dimension established in the Interdimensional Realm, and it is known as a noble and sacred land.”

I wondered why he was suddenly bringing up this story, but I quietly focused on his words. I wondered if it was related to the questions he had asked a little while ago.

“But recently, news came that a disaster was befalling that place. For over 10 years, not a single drop of rain has fallen on the entire continent.”

“Gasp, 10 years? That’s not a disaster; it’s almost an apocalypse [a catastrophic event]. If it hasn’t rained for that long, it must have already been destroyed?”

“Not quite yet. It’s just that it doesn’t rain; there are no additional problems such as strong sunlight or prolonged heat waves. Moreover, unlike Earth, Arc-A’don is a world where special methods can be used. Wizards are barely holding on by making artificial rain.”

“Heh, wizards?”

Do wizards, who only appear in games, actually exist? As I couldn’t hide my surprise, Arehis smiled contentedly like a grandfather watching a cute grandson.

“Arc-A’don has especially more capable wizards. Of course, it’s not a problem that they can completely solve on their own.”

“Then what do they do? Shouldn’t something be done?”

“Of course. Moreover, Arc-A’don is one of the dimensions that must never be destroyed. So, at one time, all the gods of the Divine Realm paid attention to the situation in Arc-A’don and looked for the cause of the disaster. And they found the reason.”

“Wh, what was it?”

Perhaps it was because the story itself was so interesting. I found myself immersed in his words, even though it had nothing to do with me. With each development of the story, I felt strangely nervous and anxious. Arehis smiled calmly, as if he had already anticipated my reaction.