The Second Chance of Reincarnator

The faucet of a sink had water rushing out of it, splashing down on the soaped dishes in the sink, and Alissa scrubbed them vigorously to get rid of the grease and grime.

She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her gloved hand, and then she felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

She took off the rubber gloves, put them aside, and accepted the phone call.

"This is Alissa Mizuchi. Who is this?"

She asked.

"Hello, madam. We're calling you from over at Corpse Collectors HQ, and we wanted to inform you that your son has been delivered to us."

The voice on the other side of the phone said.

It was a very emotionless, almost robotic, voice that didn't seem to have any humanity behind it.

It wasn't the nicest job to have, calling the mourning families about the corpse.

"R-Really…?"

Alissa's voice trembled, she covered her mouth, and she closed her eyes to make sure that she wouldn't start crying again.

"T-that's good news. I-I thought your company said last time that it could take about a month or longer. What changed?"

"I'm not sure, they didn't give me much detail. You can come to us regarding the coffin for your son, and we can arrange funeral services as well."

"Y-Yes, that sounds good. Thank you."

Alissa ended the call, looked at the phone absentmindedly, and then pocketed it before heading over to the living room.

"Z-Zach…"

"Yes?"

Zach looked away from the television and turned to look at his wife, who was holding her phone.

"The Corpse Collectors called me. They've delivered Soul's body from Whitesky…"

Zach's eyes shook, and he nodded and said.

"Let's put him to rest then…"

…

It was a cold day.

The sky was gray, the sun was blocked behind the clouds, and the wind was biting.

Within the cemetery, the gravestones stood like silent sentinels, and the ground was dead like a grave filled with dark leaves.

Wearing nothing but black, people were gathered around the undug grave, lowering a coffin into the ground, and a woman in a long black dress was weeping softly.

Inside the coffin, eyes closed in peace, Soul lay with a silver locket wrapped around his neck—it was open, showing the photograph of the smiling Soul and Arina.

The coffin reached the ground, and the weeping people walked away, comforting each other, leaving the man in the coffin to rest in peace.

"…"

Kael looked silently at the open grave, reached out to his pocket, and took out a cigarette—he lit it up, took a long drag, and then puffed the smoke into the air.

At that moment, he saw a black-suited man standing in front of a gravestone a short distance away.

Kael recognized him as the father of Leonie—they put her to rest about a day ago—and he looked very soulless.

His wife had died about seven years ago, and he only had Leonie left in his life—they didn't have any close relatives—and now he lost her.

"Hello…"

Kael walked over to him, dropped the cigarette, and crushed it below his foot.

"Oh, hi."

Lane said with a hollow feeling the emptiness that had settled in his chest and looked at him, somewhat recognizing him.

"You must be Soul's brother… I met him once when Leonie brought him and the rest of her friends to visit me."

He said.

"I also met your daughter briefly. She was very nice…"

Kael said with a long sigh.

"…She was."

Lane said, reached out to his pocket, and pulled out a coin—it was a Whitesky coin with a square hole in the center.

He gritted his teeth.

"Whitesky coin… Have you ever been there?"

Kael asked as he looked at the coin in his hand.

"Never… I called Leonie's recruiter yesterday and had her give me Whitesky coin. I've been thinking about going there."

Lane said with a pained gaze.

"My poor Leonie. I know Corpse Collectors tried to make her look as nice as possible for the funeral, but they couldn't hide what those monsters did to her.

"I can't imagine the pain and fear my poor daughter suffered. I want to make them feel her pain thousandfold…"

He moved the coin close to his mouth, closed his eyes, and trembled.

"I know how you feel." Part of a series hosted by My Virtual Library Empire (MV&LEMP&YR).

Kael said and offered him a cigarette—Lane looked at it, took one, and with Kael's lighter, lit it up, inhaling deeply before exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"I heard that Corpse Collectors weren't responsible for retrieving their corpses. They wouldn't move this quickly.

"I told my friend about it.

"When his son died in the Whitesky, it took two months for Corpse Collectors to retrieve the corpse, and there was barely any left.

"And so, according to my friend, someone else must've done the Corpse Collector's job for them, and I must thank whoever did that."

Lane said, blew a cloud, and looked at Kael.

"Interesting theory. I wonder who it could have been."

Kael said, picked up some of the dark leaves from the ground, and rubbed one between his fingers.

"I might die in Whitesky. I most likely will. However, I have nothing else to lose. I lost my daughter, and my wife…"

Lane looked at the Whitesky coin, covered it with his fist, and said.

"I don't care whether the Gods will help me with their blessing. I do not care. I'll do it without, and I'll kill any Rav'akari I find."

He popped the Whitesky coin inside his mouth, swallowed it, and without further ado, the purple mist enshrouded him.

It sucked him inside, and with the purple mist fading away, he was gone.

The purple mist stuck to the ground, turned into a purple paint, and stayed there permanently.

The cigarette dropped to the ground, and Kael crushed it under his boot.

"Brother? Are you coming?"

Alice came over, and asked—her face was hidden behind a black veil—and she wore the mourning dress of black.

"Yeah, I am coming…"

Kael walked over with his hands inside his pockets, and as he opened his mouth, some of the smoke from the cigarette blew out.

"Brother, were you just smoking? Since when have you been smoking?"

Alice asked in worry.

"Since yesterday."

Kael said, wryly smiled, and rubbed his little sister's shoulder to stop her from worrying about him.

After the experiences he suffered in the Whitesky, he needed a way to cope with his anxiety, and smoking was the only thing that helped.

"Mmh… I am worried about you, brother. You haven't been the same after that night. Where did you go that night?"

She asked.

"…You don't need to worry about it, Alice."

Kael replied, a deep look in his eyes, and they walked away from the undug grave of his brother, leaving the cemetery behind.