Chapter 391: Samsara (Part 1)

Point-of-View: Nereszu Ryokrin———————————————————————————

As my slashing wave of Negative Energy sliced through the chains, I watched with bated breath as the human plummeted towards the Mana Current below, clenching my fist in anticipation before a wave of relief washed over me as he fell into the concentrated stream of Mana, disappearing into it.

Yes!

Even an Archdemon would not be able to survive that, I doubt even the Demon Lord himself would survive...the immense concentration of Mana would flood the body, overloading the victim’s Mana circuits and destroy their body in an instant.

I let out a relieved sigh, deactivating my Nullification Zone and stepping back.

That was tough, it took every ounce of focus I had to maintain it, and it feels as though I’ve strained and aggravated my Mana circuits when I unleashed that Negative Energy slash.

What with me already being in a weakened state with my damaged Core, I barely pulled that off. But it is over now, I’ve eliminated potentially the greatest threat to our cause.

Lord Vaszel will not be pleased, and I have my doubts over whether he will fall for the story I came up with, but it is fine.

That human, he needed to die, so-...

As I turned around and began to walk away, I froze, my blood running cold as I sensed immense murderous intent and bloodlust, the air of death looming behind me as a chill ran down my spine...

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Point-of-View: Kaivel Intrix

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F-Fuck...!

.

.

.

.

.

Huh? It...doesn’t hurt.

Everything’s gone completely white, an endless, void-like stretch of glowing white all around me.

Uh...is this the afterlife or something? Did I die instantly?

"No, you aren’t dead, you can relax," An unfamiliar woman’s voice suddenly rang out around me.

What? Who said that? I don’t see anyone around...

"Oh, sorry...guess I should take a physical form to make things more convenient."

A golden glow appeared before me, before taking shape, in the form of a female humanoid figure. Long, flowing golden blonde hair appeared, along with golden eyes and a fair complexion, a tall, busty figure, draped in a long white dress.

"Who are you? And where am I?" I responded warily.

"That’s a bit tricky to answer...this is a bit of an oversimplification, but you’re in something of a Divine Realm. And as for your first question...I am Samsara, the Goddess of Reincarnation.

Well, one of the Goddesses of Reincarnation, anyway. I’m in charge of the cycle of reincarnation for your world, and a few others. And I also happen to be the one who bestowed the Sinner System to you.

Ordinarily, when I reincarnate someone, I meet them and explain it to them before I proceed with the reincarnation. But your soul technically wasn’t compatible with reincarnation, so I had to skip that step," She explained with a smile.

"I, uh...I don’t know where to start, I have so many questions," I responded in bemusement.

"Well, time doesn’t flow in this dimension, so ask away, there’s no rush."

"Okay, for starters...you said I’m not dead? Could you elaborate on that? Like, how did I survive falling into the Mana Current, and why am I here?" I asked her, before adding, "Oh, also...thanks for the Sinner System. It’s pretty dope."

"You’re very welcome. Hm, although...I’m not the one you need to thank. And to answer your questions...ordinarily, yes, you would have died.

But in the instant that your body began to get overwhelmed by the Mana, your being was essentially in a transcended state, which let me bring you here.

In addition to saving your life, there’s another reason I wanted to bring you to this dimension, I wanted to speak with you."

"I see...well, first off, thank you for saving me, I appreciate it. Next question...what did you mean when you said I’m not compatible for reincarnation?"

"Well, all souls can be reincarnated unless they’re destroyed, what I meant was reincarnation with the memories of your previous life intact. Only a select few souls are compatible for that.

Under normal circumstances, when your previous life ended, your soul would have been reincarnated without those memories, you would have started over as a new person. But a special request was made, so I made an exception," She informed me.

"A special request?"

"Yes...your mother, her soul was compatible for reincarnation with her memories intact. But she rejected the offer...and instead requested to have the opportunity given to you.

Like I said, time doesn’t flow in this dimension, so even though she died before you, I was able to tell her how your life panned out. She was heartbroken, and insisted that I reincarnate you instead of her.

So, I made the exception. It was tricky since I had to work around your low compatibility, but thanks to your dying thoughts meeting the unlock conditions of the Sinner System, that made it a bit easier.

But, because of the low compatibility, reincarnation into a different world wasn’t possible, the only option was transmigration, aka reincarnation into the future of the same world."

"I...I see. Even in death, she put me above herself, huh? Yeah...that certainly sound like her," I responded as a smile spread out across my lips, feeling a swell of emotions.

I’ve avoided thinking about my past life much, so I haven’t thought about my mother in a while...she’s just about the memory of my past life that’s worth remembering, unlike my other, sad excuse for a parent.

"Oh, yeah, since I wasn’t able to meet with you when I reincarnated you, I constructed the AI guide, that you name Ai, into the Sinner System, to help you navigate the System," Samsara informed me with a smile.

Oh, yeah, that’s right. You’ve been kinda quiet, Ai. I mean, isn’t this sort of a homecoming for you?

<No, not really>

<I was integrated into the System and in your subconscious pretty much right after I was created>

"Guess that’s another thing for me to thank you for. She’s been a great help, so thank you," I smiled gratefully.

"Sure, don’t mention it, it’s the least I could do."