"There are some things you must understand about your own soul," Hades, the god of the Underworld, said.
"Yes, first is the size of your soul. It's massive, and that's the main reason why you were chosen to become our champion," the goddess Hela added with a nod.
"Why is it so important that my soul is massive?" the mortal soul asked, having already accepted the offer the gods had presented—another chance at life.
It wasn't a simple decision, though.
The soul had thought deeply before agreeing.
"The threat approaching our universe is one that the gods are bound by law from directly intervening in. Only mortals can act, but we gods can offer assistance indirectly by granting blessings," explained Hathor, the goddess of love and joy.
"However, there are limits—both in how many blessings we can bestow upon a mortal and how many mortals we can bless."
"Let me guess—it has something to do with the souls of mortals?" the soul replied bitterly.
Ever since it learned that everything it had suffered in life might have been caused by the nature of its own soul, it had been conflicted, unsure of how to feel or who to blame.
Even if it wanted to blame the gods for not answering its prayers during life, that option was no longer valid.
Its situation was its own fault.
No one had done this to him.
But there was still something—that mysterious, incomprehensible force the gods had mentioned, which had prevented them from offering divine intervention when he was alive.
The mortal soul couldn't understand what was happening to it now, but it had already come to terms with one fact: it had died, and its soul had indeed been brought to the realm of the gods.
That, too, it accepted.
And how did it react to this revelation?
With nothing.
What did you expect?
Shock?
Bewilderment?
Astonishment?
It felt nothing.
Perhaps it was because, without a physical body, it couldn't truly experience emotions.
But then, just moments ago, it had felt anger.
Why was it so numb now?
The soul suspected the gods might be doing something to keep it calm in their divine presence, shielding it from shock.
It also helped that the soul had never experienced eyesight, even when it was alive.
It couldn't begin to imagine what gods looked like.
"Yes," Hela nodded.
"It doesn't matter whether a being is a god or a mortal; everything they learn and experience—memories, skills for mortals, special constitutions like bloodlines, innate abilities, or unique physiques for supernatural beings—all of it is recorded in their soul."
"I'll simplify it so your mortal mind can grasp it," Hades, the god of the underworld, interjected, noticing that the soul seemed confused by the explanation.
"Think of the soul as a book, filled with blank pages. A mortal's soul is like a small book with only ten pages, a book that cannot expand.
"These pages are gradually filled with memories, experiences, and talents, and the book grows alongside the body over time."
"However, a mortal's soul doesn't grow as quickly or as significantly as a supernatural being's."
"After death, the body and its book—the soul—along with the pages filled with life's experiences, enter the cycle of reincarnation. The book is torn apart and recycled to form a new soul."
"Sometimes, remnants of the previous life may remain, but rarely in their entirety," Hades explained, his eyes narrowing as he studied the soul.
"This is where your soul differs. Your book, your soul, is not only vast, but it contains thousands of empty pages, waiting to be filled."
Hathor continued, "This is also why, even after death, your soul retained a full consciousness. It's because your soul is extraordinarily robust."
"Now, to answer your earlier question," the goddess Aphrodite spoke.
"When gods bestow blessings, they are inscribed directly into the Book—the soul."
"These blessings occupy more than half of the soul's available pages, while the remaining pages are left for the soul's personal experiences and memories."
"Only about ten in thousand has a soul capable of receiving even a single blessing. Of those, only one in a ten thousand has a soul large enough to accept more than one blessing, and even then, it's usually limited to two or three blessings. And only one in hundred thousand can receive four or five blessings."
"But you... your book, your soul, is immense. Even with the memories and experiences you've accumulated, over 98% of your pages remain blank. You are the only mortal with a soul vast and powerful enough to receive the blessings of every god."
"You're saying that only I can receive all of your blessings? Is that what you mean?" the soul asked blankly.
"...In short, yes," Hathor replied.
Hades snorted in annoyance. "I don't understand why we even need to explain this to him when he'll forget everything after reincarnation."
"Well, he might grow strong enough to return to this place on his own," Thor, the son of Odin, countered.
"By that time, we would have to explain everything again. It's easier to tell him here and now so that we can simply restore his memories of this place and save time."
"Whoa, I won't remember anything that happened here?" the soul questioned, a hint of alarm in his voice.
"Well, you don't possess a body to record everything that happens here, do you?" Hathor chuckled.
"I guess not..." the soul sighed. "Now what?"
Hearing his words, the gods and goddesses exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
A group of gods with powerful presences, who commanded the respect of their peers, stepped forward to stand around the soul.
The god-kings of the nine major pantheons of the Nirvana Universe formed a circle around the mortal soul, their golden auras making the very space tremble.
Zeus, Odin, Ra, Shiva, and other god-kings extended their palms toward the soul, their bodies radiating a brilliant golden light.
Following their lead, every god from all the pantheons raised their hands, directing their glowing energy at the mortal's essence.
The auras from their bodies coalesced into a sphere of golden energy that shot toward the soul.
Like a meteor shower, thousands of strands of intense, glowing golden energy rained down on the soul, illuminating it like a supernova explosion.
Yet, the soul experienced an entirely different sensation.
It was a sight to behold, but unfortunately, the soul lacked eyes to witness this dreamlike spectacle.
"I feel so warm, but it doesn't hurt at all... It's nice," the soul murmured.
After several minutes, the meteor shower of golden energy, known as the blessings, finally ceased, but the soul continued to radiate a vibrant, multicolored glow reminiscent of a cosmic event.
Then Hades, the god of the Underworld, made a gesture with his hand, and a portal materialized from thin air, drawing the soul toward it.
Just a split second before the soul disappeared into the portal, the World Tree, Yggdrasil, which supported the nine pantheons, began to glow with an intense light brimming with power, causing even the gods to shield their eyes.
A massive ball of golden light erupted from the golden leaves of the banyan tree, branching out into dozens of dimensions, merging with the mortal's soul just before it crossed the threshold of the portal.
And then the portal closed.
"This can't be..."
"Her Majesty herself blessed that mortal..." Some gods and goddesses were in disbelief as they witnessed the golden light shoot toward the soul from Yggdrasil.
"Looks like we made the right decision..." The gods glanced at Aphrodite, Hathor, Parvati, the Heavenly Father, Thoth, Hades, and Odin—those who had insisted on going through with this plan.
Many had initially doubted, but now it seemed that everything was unfolding well.
"Let's just hope he grows up soon enough to face the coming threats," Hathor sighed.
"Let's watch over him as he grows and tackles the challenges of this life... But this time, he won't be alone, weak, or talentless," Aphrodite added, nodding in agreement.
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{Author's Note: If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to vote with some POWER STONES. It would also really help me if you could rate this book. Thank you for reading!}