“Business”

I didn't understand. "Business?", I asked Ju-Long.

"Yes. As you can see, you are in the afterlife. Long story short, you are a soul and I am your guide.", Ju-Long replied as he pointed to himself.

"Guide?" I asked.

"Yes, my one and only job is to guide you to the three tests to reincarnation. All I have to do is deliver souls to the starting point, meet them at the end if they pass, bring them to the starting point of the next test. Anything else that happens has nothing to do with me, and therefore I shall not care." Ju-Long told me.

"And... What are the three tests?" I asked.

" Hmph!" Ju-Long pouted. " You would have known by now if you didn't ask so many questions and if you had let me continue!"

"Anyway," Ju-Long continued, " For the first test, you will be sent into a forest that will bring out your desires of what you had wanted most in your previous life. If you fail to overcome your desires, you will be trapped in the forest forever, and then you will be doomed to be forever indulging in your desires."

" As for the second test, it will be pretty easy if you were able to past the first test. You would have to past through a dangerous place. There, you will have to make it through beasts that will eat souls that did evil deeds in their previous life."

" Then, if you manage to past through those tests, you will have your heart weighted against the Feather of Truth. The Feather Of Truth holds all the life of your past life. The results will be decided by the gods. If you past, you are granted the choice of reincarnation, but if you fail, you will be consumed by the Devourer. Once the Devourer took your heart, you will be lost forever."

" That's about it!" Ju-Long exclaimed with excitement.

"I have another question." I said.

"Go on," Ju-Long replies.

"So..." I paused for a moment."In other words, I'm dead?!?!", I exclaimed.

"Why yes, why do you ask?" Ju-Long asked with confusion.

" But if that's the case, why does I lack so much memories?" I wondered worriedly.

Ju-Long stopped pacing in front of me and asked," How can that be? At the very least, you should be able to remember the people who you hold dear most, your worst enemy, or even the moment of your death?"

I struggled to remember anything, but no matter how hard I tried, I can't seem to remember anything!

It seems that my expressions show a lot, since I didn't even say anything when Ju-Long suddenly said," Hmmm... It seems that you really can't recall anything."

Then, without warning, Ju-Long places his forehead on mine and a few moments later, he said," Ah. I see. But that's strange, why would that happen?"

"I don't understand," I told him.

"Of course you don't. Not now. Come, I'll tell you about it as I take you to the first stage of the test," Ju-Long said as he extended a hand at me.