I awoke by opening my eyes slowly. I was slightly confused as I seemed to be laying on soft grass. My head was supported by something soft and warm. I look up to see a face I had seen once before. Weirdly, her face looks more youthful than last time.
"My goddess?"(Sirus)
The person giggles at my remark. She brushes my hair with her delicate fingers before responding.
"Sorry, guess again!!"(???)
That voice... I have heard it many times. Commonly mechanical and apathetic; still, this voice could put my mind at ease. I close my eyes, enjoy her playing with my hair, and try again.
"Alice?"(Sirus the winner)
"Yay!! You got it right!! I'm impressed it only took two tries. Though, I'm happy you thought I looked like my momma."(Alice)
W-w-what??!!! Mom? The goddess of my dreams is Alice's mom. Well, I can sort of understand. She made the dungeon heart and stuff. So, it is believable. She could have made her daughter. Or is it AI? Whatever the case, she is with me now. Her with me was all that matters.
"Alice, where are we now? The last thing I remember was the count down ending. Then, I passed out."(Sirus muddleheaded)
"Well, the system put your soul and mine to sleep briefly to do the procedure. The union process was too painful and delicate an operation to do consciously. With your condition of low magical energy, the system needed first to restore your magic before the soul union. I have been lucid for all of the time, except for the procedural. The system informed me that you woke up six days after the initial shutdown. At the start of the process, I had the system move your soul into my soul space. I must say it was a great experience to look over your sleeping face. Hohohoho..."(Alice)
Well, that's new. I didn't know Alice had a soul. It was a pleasant surprise. I do have some questions. Maybe she will answers. Like why do she and I have a physical body here? Usually, I'm in my specter-like state. She said soul space, was this a place where the soul can take physical form?
"Alice, why do we have physical bodies? I'm not complaining. Like normal, I don't understand what's going on. Could you please fill me in on the details? You know I'm not the smartest man, to begin with."(Sirus)
"Sure, we are inside my Soul Space. It is a dimension where the Astral Body that contains the soul of a person can interact in a digital version of the physical world. It's like what happens to dive drives for VR simulation. The experience here is real to the soul but separate from the physical world in which your soul resides typically. Think of this space like a VR sandbox. Then you mostly have it. When your soul entered this place, the system constructed your physical body from the astral body containing your soul.
As for why you couldn't enter before, that's more complicated. My Soul Space had numerous sealed placed here by my momma to protect me. Only after the seals were released could your soul be permitted to enter. I have been inside many dungeon cores, but none could undo even one seal. Until you."(Alice)
Alice smiled at me after explaining the reasons for the present state. I reached out with one hand and cupped her cheek as we gazed at each other. The world is vast. I've been through so much in such a short time. Still, it has been amazing to think this happened to little old me.
"Sirus, why are you crying??!!"(Alice unexpected situation)
"For the first time in two lifetimes, I'm happy. My first life was an experience I wish to forget, if possible. I should be grateful because it led me here. I endured so much pain and despair in my life to find this peace. Perhaps, my first life save up such enormous amounts of karma that I get to have this happiness. You must have experienced something similar, too, right? To be locked away like a princess in a tower waiting for Prince Charming. It must have been lonely?"(Sirus)
Alice wipes the tears on Sirus face with her thumbs. She smiles brightly before responding.
"I was lonely some. My momma would see me from time to time. So, it wasn't all bad. No matter what happened to the host souls, I only cohabitated with them inside the dungeon hearts. My soul was safe. If I feel sad about something, it would be all the souls that die to find the One."(Alice)
"I'm grateful to them. Unfortunately, they passed on, but I'm sure they didn't regret their choice to become a dungeon. Just like I. I may have had a different opinion on my reincarnation, but I didn't regret the choice to have another chance at life. Even if my new life were as terrible as my first life, I still would not regret the decision. How can I hope for a brighter tomorrow, if I give up on today. I have believed this through the worst times of my first life, and I will make that my banner in this life. As long as I live, I will work for a better tomorrow. In life... in love... in family... Always."(Sirus)
Alice leaned over and kissed Sirus. He was taken back by the suddenness of it. After the initial shock, Sirus passionately returned the kiss she gave. They indulge in each other for sometime before Alice retreat. Their hearts were beating very fast. Like teens who fell in love, their bashfulness was cute.
"That was my first kiss. I hope you will take responsibility, darling."(Alice)
"I'm a man. I don't know what the future may hold, but you can trust my words. I will never abandon those who put their trust in me. I'm an 'all or nothing' type of person after all."(Sirus)
"That's very reassuring."(Alice)
Alice smiles brightly. Her hands go back to playing with his hair. Sirus closes his eyes and enjoys being pampered. They stay like this for sometime before they hear another person speak.
"Well, well, you two are having fun."(Lalita)
"Momma!!(Alice)
Alice jumped up and ran to her mother's bosom. Sirus head hit the grass before rising and look at the mother-daughter combo. Sirus stood up, then walked over to them.
"My pin-up centerfold mother-in-law, how have you been?"(Sirus)
*Psst* "Same as ever, huh? I'm well. Thanks for your concern."(Lalita)
Lalita looked over the digital body of Sirus for a few before adding.
"You're quite handsome in this form. This place mostly replicated your previous body from the soul's memories. I was not able to see your physical body last time because only the soul can be transferred in between worlds. You had such a pure soul inside this body, truly marvelous? The system opted to set you age to match with Alice, I see. In your former life, you must have had lots of girls following you."(Lalita)
Sirus face darkened a bit at the memories of his first life. He gathered his thoughts, then said.
"No, I didn't have any girls around me. Not even my mother showed compassion to me. I was orphaned even before I know my parents. I lived a hard like. Labeled by the circumstances of life, I was considered human garbage. My days spent toiling for scraps of food, or working my hands to the bone for bread. When I became an adult, I worked for the only organization that would employ human garbage like me. Doing the most dangerous and disgusting work for merger pay. But I didn't complain. I work every day of my life for the hope of a better tomorrow. I plunged my hands into the dirty work, believing my hard work will reward me. Later in life, I got to enjoy somethings because of my effort, but never in my forty years of life was I ever loved by anyone. I worked hard to believe in myself to survive. No one else helped me."(Sirus windows to souls)
What? The mother and daughter look at each other with question marks over their heads. He never had anyone tell him he is cute. His looks were devastating. What world would have such a missed up sense of beauty. Maybe there was something else in play that brought this about. The two ladies separated from each other and wrapped Sirus's head in their bosoms. They rubbed his head, and Alice said.
"It's ok. You must have had a hard time, but I'm here for you now. You will never be alone again. Our souls have merged, preventing us from ever separating, even in death. Which will not be for a long time."(Alice)
Alice's soft words and the soft flesh of the women's breast broke through his mental fortitude. All his past grievances burst out of him as tears fell from his eyes. He wept bitterly while they spoke softly to ease the mind. After some time, Sirus collected himself before thanking them.
"No problem. It's refreshing to see someone open up their heart to me. Even more a man. Most are on guard towards me. Or they are trying to put on airs in front of me. It's quite troublesome."(Lalita)
"Then, they think little of you as a person. I don't know everything that is going on, but even I can see from my short time here that your 'Evil' designator isn't correct. I have lived as human garbage, and I can see the same philosophies in this world. What makes one person better than another? Is it fated? Society? What gives the one group the right to oppress another group? Because they are different? Even humans have different ethnicities!!"(Sirus the indigent)
Lalita looked him in her bosom with surprise. He had been through the worst of life, and still, his soul was pure as gold. He knows the harsh reality of life, but the Sin of the world didn't pollute his spirit. Lalita could only stare into his eyes and see the sincerity.
In his eye... wait!!! Wow... she could see the fire in his spirit!!!! She was wrong. It wasn't that his soul was free of contamination, but his spirit burns so fiercely that Sin burns away like dross. Amazing, absolutely amazing.
She couldn't help a smile formed on her beautiful face. This person continued to shock her at every turn. While she was absorbed in her thoughts, Sirus was mesmerized by the seemingly unconscious smile. His heart shook and decided to confess.
"When I died and found myself in your temple, I didn't think much of it. 'Oh, so I finally died?' Was what I thought to myself. I fought for so long only to succumb to death by a tragedy. Yet, when I looked at you for the first time, my heart was pierced. From that moment, in my heart, there was a special place for only you. I don't want to sound greedy, but just like for Alice, I have serious feelings for you. I don't know what will happen from here. You don't have to respond to my love. My only desire is to take away your loneliness and replace it with laughter. It was laughter that banished my loneliness too. Maybe someday you can reciprocate my feelings with yours, but until then, I'm happy if I can make you smile."(Sirus)