Chapter 2 - Chapter 1: The Magic Geek Meets Enlightenment in the Afterlife
"Alright, jackpot! Scored some good ones today!"
I, Shirasawa Aki, muttered with satisfaction as I walked down the main street toward the train station. My hands were full with paper bags crammed with everything from hardcovers to paperbacks.
I'd heard that a rare used book sale was being held at the department store in the next town, so I'd brazenly skipped off work—using up my precious paid leave after ages—and come here to score some finds. Nowadays, with the rise of online shopping and e-books, you can often get things delivered to your door or download them to your device without ever leaving home, but I personally prefer to sniff things out in person. Why?
The reasons are clear in the contents of the paper bags in my hands. "The Distribution and Folklore of Tengu in Japan," a boxed set; "A Practical Handbook on Traditional Magic"; a special edition on "Evil Gods and Demons of the World"; even back issues of "Monthly Gondwana." That's right, I'm what you'd call an occult maniac. I especially lean toward Western occultism, but I love anything in this realm.
From the occult boom of the late last century (before I was even born), it seems a considerable number of publishers were involved in these kinds of books, but now there are far fewer. While you can find books that just compile information from the internet, specialized content is rarely found in major used bookstores. So I went to the trouble of squandering my precious day off to search for finds in the next town. It cost quite a bit, given that I’d only been working for a few years and wasn't exactly raking in the dough, but this is pretty much my only hobby, so I don’t sweat it. Besides, I'm a single guy living alone, so what's it to anyone?
"Damn, the scale of the used book sale's getting smaller and smaller… But I hate online auctions, plus…"
A bunch of books I wanted had been snatched up at the last second, so I just couldn't stand it. Even now, the regret of losing those auctions occasionally pops into my dreams. Not to mention, you never know what kind of shape the product is in, or what the seller's like, in those places. As I thought about this, I turned off the busy main street and into a back alley, feeling like I had confirmed that actually finding things was the right way to go.
The current time was mid-morning on a weekday. The main street, with office buildings and various tenants lining it, was starting to spew out the people it had been hoarding, so the pedestrian traffic had increased from when I was coming here, although it wasn't as bad as rush hour. I shifted the bags in my hands, as they were a bit of a walking obstruction. I thought about it a bit and turned into a side street, ducking between buildings. The bustle immediately vanished, and the alley between buildings led to the back of the station building in a roundabout way. There didn't seem to be anyone around at this hour.
I glanced at my shoes and clothes—snickers and casual clothes. They looked dull grayish, but that was how they were. Puzzled, I looked at my hands. Then, something flickered at the edge of my vision.
"...Fireflies?"
I turned my gaze and saw tiny blobs of light floating in the air, giving off faint, blurry light. They drifted slowly past my face, and soon two, then three more appeared, leaving trails as they flew like they were tangled with each other. The number grew rapidly, and soon there was a massive band of light moving steadily in one direction.
I squinted at where the light band was heading and saw some massive silhouettes in the distance. There was a ship, or rather, ships—what appeared to be a luxurious passenger ship and some other vessels—moored on the shore of what looked like the coast or a riverbank. The countless lights were splitting into groups near the shore, heading toward each different ship.
"...Crap. Is this… I have a bad feeling about this…"
Something about the scene struck a chord. Whether it was the feeling of dread or something else, one of the larger blobs of light—the ones that weren't part of the streaming throngs—detached from its group and approached me. It was about my size. The light it gave off was soft and gentle, not blinding. The large blob drifted slowly and stopped right in front of me, flashing softly a few times.
"This is unusual. You're maintaining your sense of self."
"Did the firefly boss just talk?!"
"…I'm not a firefly."
Turns out I was wrong. I cleared my throat awkwardly and asked the glowing orb,
"Please forgive the rudeness. My name is Shirasawa Aki. Could I perhaps ask yours? And would I be right in guessing that this is…?"
The large orb blinked slowly and replied,
"You may call me Guide. I am entrusted with the duty of guiding the souls of the departed. As for this place, you might call it a waiting area—the place where souls go before moving on to their next life."
"Ah, so you are Charon then. The ferryman of the dead."
"…I am no such thing. I simply guide souls."
So I made another mistake. Feeling that I should change the subject, I asked,
"You mentioned 'maintaining my sense of self'? What do you mean by that?"
The light blinked a couple more times and explained,
"Souls rarely retain their self-awareness and memories of their former lives. Losing one's physical body is a great hardship for the soul, and most lose their memories and personalities as a result. Those who retain their memories from before death maintain their former appearance, as you do, so it is immediately apparent."
"So, normally I would've been just like those fireflies, huh? But because I have my memories and personality intact, I'm retaining my old form? Or rather, I'm recognizing myself as looking the same because I have my memories? Even better, the reason I still have my memories is that not just my soul came along, but my spiritual body stuck with it as well, is what makes me appear as I am?"
"…You are quite knowledgeable. That is mostly correct."
In mystical belief, humans are said to be composed of three bodies.
The Material Body, composed of physical matter like bones and muscles.
The Spiritual Body, which controls thought and spirit.
The Astral Body, where the will resides.
The idea is that the Material Body is on the outside, and inside it is the Spiritual Body, and then the Astral Body on the inside. The Spiritual Body and Astral Body don’t have physical forms. Think of it like a ghost. Haven't you heard of astral projection? That's when the Spiritual Body and Astral Body leave the Material Body of a living person, wandering around or seeing the afterlife. What I am now is similar to that state. The difference is that during astral projection, the Astral Body is connected to the Material Body by something called the silver cord, so it can eventually return to the original body. As for me, it doesn’t feel like that exists. So yeah, I'm dead.
When a human dies and loses their Material Body, their Spiritual Body disperses, but the Astral Body isn't destroyed—it just finds a new body and clothes itself once more with Spiritual and Material Bodies. That's reincarnation. The Spiritual Body, which controls personality and memory, is renewed, so personality and memory get wiped clean. So if I go back to the mortal world like this, and a new Material Body takes my current Spiritual Body with it, wouldn't I be born with my previous life's memories?
"Whoa… could it be? Could I actually get memories of my past life? All those guys searching for people with memories of their past lives in the pen pal section of Monthly Gondwana—I'm gonna laugh my head off if I see you guys again! Gomen!"
"While it's remarkable how accepting you are, it would be best if you hurried along. If you linger here with your Spirit and Astral Bodies attached, you risk them breaking apart. You will slowly lose yourself, and eventually all of your Spiritual Body will separate and fall away from your Astral Body."
"Ah, I see. Well, I didn't exactly live a long life, and it'd be sad to just disappear. So let's get reincarnated then!"
"Please do."
Charon/Guide sounded unimpressed. Hmmph.
"So, which ship should I take?"
"As I said at the beginning, my duty is to guide. Do you have any preferences on what kind of world you'd like to be reborn into? I can point you toward the ship heading to such a world. Of course, you can be reborn into your previous world, as well."
My previous world? I didn't have many good experiences there. During my school days, people thought I was a loner because of my hobbies, so I didn't have many friends. The company I worked for was also super shady, and my encounters with women were practically nonexistent. The most contact I ever had with an opposite-sex person was the girl who just caused my death… that's just too sad. If that's the case, I could go with being reincarnated into another world. But then, what kind of world exists?
"Are there any worlds where magic is actually used?"
Yep, that's it. In my past life, I could never become a real magician, and in my original world, orthodox magic was just declining as information science and AI advanced. So if I was born into a world where magic was currently being used, I might be lucky enough to have good masters. In my next life, I'd become a great magician. Alright, decided.
"Yes, there are. The ship over there is headed to such a world."
I got the feeling that Guide was trying to tell me, "Look over there," so I squinted in that direction. Sure enough, away from the other ships, there was one lonely vessel. It looked like a boat that could barely fit a few people. Was this really alright?
"The appearance of the ship doesn't matter for delivering souls. It will surely take you to a world where magic is common. Well then, farewell."
The conversation was over, and I could feel the pressure to move on. I wanted to ask so much more, but since I might actually disappear if I stayed any longer, I thanked him and decided to head for the boat.
"Thank you for all the information. Farewell."
I turned my back and walked across the wasteland. I could feel Guide staring at me from behind. They seemed like they’d keep watching until I boarded the boat properly.
But to think there were worlds where magic actually existed. This is bad. I can barely contain my excitement. What kind of magic is there? How do I learn it? Do I become an apprentice? Or do I join some kind of organization? A magic school would be cliché but nice. As I pondered these things and walked quicker because I felt the pressure of Guide's gaze grow heavier, I reached the boat moored on the shore.
Any doubt that the boat was too small to cross returned. In some of the books I read in my previous life, I think I saw illustrations of Charon rowing with a small hand-rowed boat, so it should be fine.
Wait. If Guide is working here, doesn't that mean he's an angel, a dweller of the Formative Plane, rather than a god or yokai? I'd been calling him Charon without permission, but was that disrespectful? I decided that I would call him Azrael (for now) from now on—since he’s an angel dealing with the souls of the dead. Well, the next time I see him will probably be when I die again.
Feeling like I heard, "Just get on already," from afar, I put my foot on the edge of the boat.
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Azrael, formerly known as Guide, exhaled deeply for what felt like the hundredth time as he watched the soul board a yacht.
He hadn't dealt with such a difficult customer in a long time—someone so unfazed, so oblivious to context, so unflappable. He’d guided him to a world where magic thrived, as he requested, but whether that truly suited the man’s desires was another matter. There are countless paths to pursue as one seeks to reach the divine, and magic is but one of them. Yet nothing is a shortcut. All lives equally aim for the return to the origin that lies at their journey's end, and people live, hone themselves, and then return here. Every soul journeys, taking infinite steps. To watch over their journey—that was his duty.
Under Azrael's watch, the young man's soul boarded the boat. A small light stuck close to his back as he walked. The boat drifted away from the shore and then glided forward across the boundless water surface before finally disappearing from sight.
This is my first posting. I apologize for the clumsy content, and thank you for your time.