The slender figure stood with her head thrown back, letting out a loud, carefree laugh, completely indifferent to the world around her. At this moment, she felt no sadness about the end of her own life, overwhelmed with joy instead, not noticing two pairs of eyes intently watching her from a distance.

    "Are you sure, elder, that she is a spirit from your domain?" Asked one of the two, a young man with a handsome face, and dressed in the Korean fashion that was popular at the time.

    "And what exactly is she doing? Can spirits go crazy as well?"

    His gaze remained fixed on the figure in the distance, with a hint of deep suspicion in his eyes. The elder, addressed as such, turned to his companion before looking back at the slender figure and responded with uncertainty.

    "I'm not entirely sure myself. This kind of event has never happened before. Perhaps her spirit was affected by some mistake."

    The younger man pursed his lips at the response, silently admitting it in his mind.

    'That's right, it has never been like this. There's no record of any reaper or soul collector encountering a crazy spirit! Even if they were crazy, mentally unstable, or physically impaired in life, upon death, they would return to being a complete spirit, unlike the woman in front of us who seems genuinely deranged.'

    "And what if she bites us? Could we get infected?"

    The elder looked at the younger man, frowning in confusion at the question.

    "Infected with what?"

    "I've heard people say that in the human world, there's a disease that can be transmitted through a bite, through saliva, called rabies."

    Thump!

    "Ow! Why would you hit me?" The younger man cried out in pain, rubbing his head and visibly displeased.

    "That's to knock some sense into you. It seems you've been mingling with humans too much if you can come up with such foolish thoughts," the elder scolded, his voice laden with irritation before turning his attention back to their target.

    "Yikes!"

    At the sound, the elder flinched and instinctively leaped up to cling to the younger man, who caught him out of reflex.

    "You… When did you... get here?"

    The elder asked the slender figure, who now stood silently beside them without them noticing. Kewalin glanced at the two, staying in a posture resembling a monkey clutching its baby. A small smile appeared on her pale face; her voice bright contrasted with her pale visage.

    "I came when you saw it. Are you the one who's supposed to collect my soul?"

    Both nodded hurriedly in response.

    "Ah... Then let's go. I'm ready."

    The collectors looked at each other, then back at her, stunned and bewildered by the spirit's eagerness to be taken away.

    In their long tenure, up until their nearing retirement, they had never encountered such a situation. Generally, humans were divided into three main categories upon death.

    The first group clung to loved ones and mourned their own death, leading to their profound sadness and grief.

    The second group, victims of betrayal or violence, either by strangers or loved ones, often harbored resentment and hatred, leading some strong-willed spirits to escape and seek vengeance.

    The third group, those who sought their own end for various reasons, might not find the peace they expected. Witnessing the grief of those left behind, they often expressed regret, wishing they had chosen differently.

    But life was not a game, no matter how much one planned, the outcome was often realized too late. No amount of mourning could bring oneself back to life. Thus, everyone must bow their heads and accept the karma of their actions. Generally, most spirits share similar emotions of grief, anger, or profound sadness.

    However, the spirit of the young woman before them did not show any distress or sadness about her own death. Instead, she eagerly urged them to take her spirit away without any sign of lament for her life, as if she had transcended all worldly attachments.

    "Hmm, as the one to collect your spirit, I'll allow you to go back and say goodbye to the ones you love, how about that?" the elder offered, attempting to save face and preserve the little dignity left of his profession after dismounting from his colleague's waist.

    "No need," came the cold reply immediately upon hearing those words.

    "Don’t you wish to say goodbye to your friends?"

    "No."

    "You don’t want to say goodbye to a lover?"

    "I have no lover."

    "What about your family?"

    "I have no family.”

    She told the other party plainly, but the mention of family made her want to vomit even more at the thought. Her beautiful face remained indifferent, her black eyes cold, and her voice even colder, leaving the elder with no further questions.

    'Who knows what she has encountered to be so indifferent to everything.'

    The young man pondered silently, choosing not to say anything further. After all, everyone on Earth had their own fate, and whatever they encountered was their destiny. Their duty was merely to collect the spirit.

    Kewalin followed the line forward, and once their duty was completed, the two collectors disappeared after leading her to line up. When it was the young woman's turn, an old woman in a black mourning dress scooped clear water into a bowl, offering it with her wrinkled hand.

    "What is this?"

    "This is the soup of oblivion. After you are reborn into a new realm, it will erase the memories of your past lives," the raspy voice of the old woman before she stated.

    'Huh! Forget it? If she forgets, she might just die all over again because of not knowing the deceptions of those with ill intentions. One lifetime of that is already too much.'

    As quick as she thought, her small white hand overturned the bowl she had received, refusing to drink even a drop. The old woman looked up into her eyes for a moment, then pointed towards a brightly shimmering golden pond in the distance, without any further explanation. Then, she turned to scoop the soup for another spirit as if nothing unusual had happened.

    But in the moment their eyes met, Kewalin felt and saw a deep pity in the other’s gaze directed towards her. Slowly, she walked towards the pond the old woman had indicated earlier and plunged into the bright water without hesitation.

    'In the next life, I will not let anyone be above me. I will not let anyone control me in any way. I swear!'

    The old woman scooping the soup turned to look in the direction the young woman had gone. Tears welled up faintly in her dry eyes before she bowed her head and continued her task, her tears dropping unnoticed to the ground. She knew well the trials the young woman had faced.

    'This is perhaps the only thing this wicked mother can do for you. Though it can't compensate for the things I have done in your past life, may you find something good in the next.'

    Wasn't it a stroke of fortune to have met each other, even just for one lifetime...