Death... and me

"Well, it's not like you can't guess the answer," Kafan replied.

Roan sighed and asked something else. "Which means you also know Soul Gem, right?"

Kafan nodded. "He was also one of the experts at my level back during the Extinction Sphere event. Well, he was very good at hiding his power, so probably only I and a certain witch knew about it."

"Soul Gem told us that he didn't expect both of us to end up sharing the system. Seems like he was lying all this time then," Roan concluded.

However, to his surprise, Kafan shook his head. "Nope. Soul Gem didn't know about you nor that you would end up being carried into the Reincarnation Path with Rean. In fact, Soul Gem didn't even know you were one of the Death Spirits I trained. He truly didn't lie. The one who arranged for everything to happen was me alone. I wanted you to go as well."

"This..." Roan was taken aback. He totally thought Soul Gem and Kafan were in this together. But from the looks of it, he was wrong. After all, there was no point in hiding it now that the truth was out. "That's too risky! How did you know we would both end up okay? Do you even know about what Soul Gem prepared?"

"If I know? Ha!" Kafan snorted. "Of course, I know! The Soul Gem System, right? That thing Soul Gem created was truly a marvel of this Universe. Capable of using destiny itself to help improve its hosts' strength. Truly Impressive!"

He continued. "That's why I wanted to give my best disciple, the one I had most of my confidence in, you, the chance to share it. As for whether you and that boy called Rean would end up well, how could I know? It was a bet, and it fortunately paid off. Now, you are free from the shackles of the Death Spirit race."

Roan didn't like that. "But I never asked for it. I was pretty fine with my job as a Death Spirit."

"For now," Kafan added. "You think you have lived a long time, but compared to me, you are still just a kid. The Universal Transition Organization would use your powers to guide souls until the end of your life... Well, Death Spirits can't really be said to be alive, but you understand. That was a one-time chance to get you to reincarnate as something else without losing your memory. Soul Gem explained to me that the Soul Gem System would have this ability."

Roan narrowed his eyes. "Did you really need to use such a method? On the other half of the Universe, there seem to be quite a few ways for one to reincarnate with their memories. Why did you make me take such a risk to fuse with the Soul Gem System? With your power, you could simply arrange such an outcome for me nonetheless."

Kafan sighed. "That's where you are wrong. You aren't as old as me, but it is not like you didn't live quite a long time in this side of the Universe. Have you ever heard, even with your high position in the Universal Transition Organization, about any Death Spirit reincarnating?"

Roan pondered a bit and had to admit he had never heard about it. But then again, he never really went out to look for such information. He was fine with his job back then, after all. "What do you mean?"

Kafan then revealed a secret that almost no other Death Spirit had ever heard. "Death Spirits can't reincarnate. That much you probably understood already. However, there is another problem... In this half of the Universe... there is no such thing as reincarnation."

"What?!" Roan was truly shocked to hear that. "Impossible! All the Dead Souls we send into the Reincarnation Path in this side of the Universe become Soul Energy that gives birth to new souls after their memories are wiped out. That's the whole reason for our Universal Transition Organization to exist!"

"On paper, that is," Kafan wasn't surprised by Roan's outburst. "Unfortunately... this side of the Universe doesn't have a Reincarnation Path."

Roan's head span as he processed the whole implication of that information. Suddenly, his expression changed again. "The Universe... was split..."

Kafan sipped a little more of his tea and nodded. "Seems like you finally understood the issue, right?"

Roan dropped his head as he spoke. "Even if the Universe was split in half, there is still only one Reincarnation Path. The cultivation side of the Universe obviously has a functional Reincarnation Path... which left this side without anything."

Kafan looked above and thought about this issue while talking. "Without a Reincarnation Path, there is no wiping of memories, no construction of new souls, no relocation into a new life form. That's the state of this side of the Universe."

"Then..." Roan couldn't help but ask. "What were we doing all this time?"

"Preventing a calamity," Kafan answered.

"Calamity?" Roan was puzzled.

Kafan then explained. "Say, have you ever seen a Soul Devil?"

Roan instantly nodded. "Not only I've seen one, I met Beelzebub. You probably know that guy."

Kafan was surprised to hear that. "So you even met that little fly, uh? That makes things faster. Think a little about it. If on the other side of the Universe, where a proper Reincarnation Path exists, Soul Devils can still appear, what about this side? There is no Reincarnation Path, so the number of Dead Souls only increases and never goes down. How come there aren't countless Soul Devils around already?"

Roan understood where Kafan was coming from. "This is the job of the Universal Transition Organization? Prevent Soul Devils from appearing?"

Kafan nodded. "Yes, that's basically the sole reason for this Organization's existence. To be more specific, prevent a Soul Devil capable of surpassing the Divinity Realm from appearing. Soul Devils cultivate by absorbing Dead Souls... and what better place in the Universe than here? A place where dead souls never reincarnate, only wander around."

"I see..." Roan had to admit that this side of the Universe would be a paradise for Soul Devils. "Still, you haven't explained why Death Spirits can't reincarnate."

Kafan knew that. "Patience. I'm getting there."