* * *
There once was a pure soul, radiant and untainted, belonging to a human with unwavering integrity and pristine hues.
The divine, intrigued by its rarity, turned its gaze upon the soul.
Across all dimensions, such pure human souls were exceedingly uncommon.
Typically, such “special” souls were housed within the World Tree, or born as beings closely tied to nature, like elves or dragons.
Why such a soul was born into a mere human body remained a mystery, even to the divine.
Yet, the world rarely followed logical patterns.
And because of this unpredictability, it piqued the divine’s interest.
For an eternal being, such an anomaly was a rare amusement in the otherwise monotonous expanse of immortality.
*[What might the child be doing today?]
As usual, the divine observed its creation with the pure soul.
But to its surprise, the soul it had once marveled at, born less than a decade ago, had already undergone transformation.
It had reincarnated.
In its first life, the soul lived as a devoted priest, dedicated to the divine, leading an immaculate life free of worldly temptations.
But in its second life, it served an empire.
The soul sacrificed itself for a beloved emperor, staining its hands with blood.
Such a life would surely tarnish even the purest of souls.
Concerned, the divine watched. Humans were delicate creations, easily sullied.
For this reason, it was already remarkable—and nearly impossible—for a human soul to remain pure after birth.
Surely, it thought, this soul too would soon succumb to corruption.
But the divine’s expectations were defied.
Despite being drenched in blood, even after betrayal by the emperor it had cherished, the soul remained untainted.
“Your Majesty, Emperor Leonard. Whatever punishment you bestow, I will gladly accept it.”
This unyielding, unshakable soul. How could a human remain so steadfast?
As the divine watched in growing fascination, it found itself increasingly captivated by the soul.
What started as a fleeting curiosity turned into an obsession, until the divine could no longer avert its gaze.
At some point, it happened.
The divine, unknowingly, had fallen deeply in love with the soul.
[…Ah.]
And so, the soul’s second life came to an end, in a prison cell.
It would have preferred to die at the hands of the one it loved, but even that wish went unfulfilled.
Such a cruel, pitiful end.
The divine was devastated.
All living beings could reincarnate only three times.
After the third life, they would return to nature and fade into oblivion.
This meant the soul had only one life left.
Knowing this, the divine lamented the waste of its second life, spent suffering in confinement.
But there was nothing it could do.
Humans often believed that the divine was omnipotent, but in truth, it was more a silent observer.
Each being’s fate and life belonged solely to them.
The divine had to remain neutral, and interfering with mortal affairs was a crime punishable by its own annihilation.
Soon, the pure soul, wandering in the void, settled into its final reincarnation.
[This is the child’s last life…]
The world the soul was reborn into was a place called Earth.
Its name in this life was Kwon Chaeyi.
The divine hoped that this time, the soul could experience a happy, fulfilling life.
But once again, fate defied its wishes.
When Kwon Chaeyi was still a child, a global war erupted.
To make matters worse, a mutant virus spread across the land, forcing humanity into a harsh battle for survival.
[How pitiful.]
From the start, the child’s final life was a nightmare.
The war claimed Chaeyi’s parents.
His mother and father, infected by the virus, became grotesque, monstrous beasts and were killed without resistance.
To be precise… they abandoned him before their demise.
Chaeyi’s parents, seeing him as a burden, locked the sleeping child in a metal box, secured it with a padlock, and fled.
Leaving him in a sturdy box was the final shred of guilt they carried as parents.
Their deaths were surely punishment for their sins.
Ironically, it was this act of abandonment that saved Chaeyi.
The sturdy box protected him from the beasts.
Though they clawed at it, drawn by his cries for help, the box held firm.
Thankfully, before it could be breached, soldiers arrived.
Armed with state-of-the-art weaponry, the elite soldiers dispatched the monsters and rescued the weeping child.
“There’s noise coming from here! Open it, quick!”
“It’s a kid… My god. He must’ve been terrified.”
“Take him in. Hey, over here!”
The divine, watching anxiously, finally sighed in relief.
Humanity had its share of cruelty, but it also had moments of warmth and kindness, even between strangers.
The soldiers, piecing together Chaeyi’s story, took pity on him.
“How could anyone do this?! Are they even human?”
“Why are you so mad? It’s common these days. The war, the damn mutant virus… People in unsafe zones are living day by day. Who has the luxury to care for a kid?”
“What? Are you serious?”
“You’re naive. Life isn’t just about saying the right things. You’re delusional.”
“You… you bastard!”
As the soldiers bickered, their leader knelt to Chaeyi’s level and spoke gently.
“What’s your name?”
“…Kwon Chaeyi.”
“I see. Chaeyi… Do you hate your parents for what they did?”
“…….”
It was a cruel question for a child.
Watching this, the divine grew enraged.
It felt as though everything around the child was conspiring to taint that pure soul.
Yet, once again, its fears proved unfounded.
“I… hate them. But I’m trying not to resent them.”
The child chose to join the military.
From a young age, he endured grueling training, dancing on the edge of life and death, becoming a formidable human weapon.
Recognizing his talent, the government stationed him at the frontlines for years.
He fought tirelessly until a vaccine was developed, until the world began to heal.
Even in moments of reprieve, his soul never faltered.
It remained pure, steadfast, and painfully beautiful.
“Chaeyi, look! This is how you have a snowball fight. You pack the snow tightly like this!”
“Isn’t that too big? If the size is reasonable, it’ll fly better.”
“Puhaha! Right? Chaeyi, see! What did I tell you? I told you that you always overdo it. You make them way too big, and then waste all that energy just to get hit in the face.”
“You little brats…”
Over the years, he met many precious people.
Yet, he couldn’t even count how many of those dear juniors, seniors, and comrades he had lost before his very eyes.
“Kwon Chaeyi. You must live.”
“The younger ones should live longer, even if it’s just a bit more.”
To avoid losing anything else he held dear, he threw himself even harder into the fray, dedicating every ounce of his prime twenties to relentless effort.
To the gods, it was as if they were watching a wobbling doll that stubbornly righted itself no matter how many times it was knocked down—a spectacle that left them on edge.
Fortunately, his fierce determination eventually bore fruit.
By his late thirties, he was honored as a national hero and allowed to retire from the frontlines.
For the first time, he could enjoy a proper, peaceful life.
His striking appearance drew attention wherever he went, making him quite popular.
The only issue was that he’d never lived a “normal” life before, so he didn’t really know how to enjoy it—or even how to read the room.
[Is this how I’ll finally spend my days in peace?]
The gods felt a sense of satisfaction watching Chaeyi’s tranquil life unfold, yet they couldn’t shake an unsettling feeling.
His fate seemed far too precarious, as if teetering on the edge of disaster.
After all, it wasn’t the first time he had risen only to plunge into ruin.
It was forbidden for a deity to peer into the future of a being for personal reasons.
However, they couldn’t resist their curiosity and anxiety.
In the end, they glimpsed the death awaiting Kwon Chaeyi.
And they instantly regretted it.
On the day Chaeyi finally received his first proper vacation in over a month, he returned to his modest home that had barely been more than a placeholder in his life.
Just a few days later, he would die saving a child from being hit by a runaway car with malfunctioning brakes.
The child survived unscathed, but Chaeyi was crushed beneath the vehicle, enduring excruciating pain before succumbing to his injuries.
If the ending was going to be that futile, perhaps it would’ve been better not to know.
For the first time, the god resented their own impotence.
They pitied themselves for becoming attached to a human.
Yet, the god didn’t blame anyone.
They accepted it as fate.
[Interfering with the mortal world is a grave sin for a god.]
If so, they resolved to bear the consequences.
[Forcing my intervention will likely cost me dearly.]
If it led to their own annihilation, so be it.
[If I’m going to disappear, I might as well do everything I can before I go.]
No living creature under the heavens is granted more than three lives.
But the god decided to give the soul they loved one last chance to live.
They would allow him to meet the man he longed to see again in his second life.
And to ensure his survival in an uncertain future, they would grant him as much knowledge and as many opportunities as possible.
On the very day Chaeyi received his vacation and returned home, the god descended to the human world, wearing a mortal guise.
Although Chaeyi would forget all of this once it was over, the god hoped he would at least remember them as a “friend.”
“It’s been a while, Kwon Chaeyi.”
At first, Chaeyi stared at them with a puzzled expression, as if trying to recall who they were.
But soon, he recognized them as a “friend.”
It was a connection that existed only temporarily, but that was enough.
That evening, the two of them drank together and shared their first—and last—conversation.
“You know,” the god began, “I’ve been working on a novel lately… Do you want to hear about it?”
* * *
