Chapter 3: Prologue 3 – Integration Specialist

"James Warren, please make your way through the door. I repeat, please make your way through the door."

That declaration interrupted his recollections about his life, and his conjectures about his present situation.

Following the instructions of the female voice that has rang out several times since his arrival, James stood from his seat and made is way to the sturdy black door to his left. Reaching out to the doorknob, he looked over his shoulder to take one more look at the "waiting room".

After that final look, he ended his hesitation. Taking a deep breath, James turned the knob and pulled the door open.

As he stepped through the door, James took a cursory glance around his new surroundings. To his left, a small alcove housing a water cooler, counter, microwave, coffee maker, and a refrigerator. Straight ahead, A corridor with more than a few doors. To his right, what seems to be a service desk with... smoked out tints?

'Why is there a random bank teller in the hallway?' James thought silently.

"Mr. James Warren, I presume." said the female voice from behind the tinted glass.

'Ah, so that's who was calling people through the door. Too bad I can't match the voice to a face.' Thought James with slight disappointment. Walking toward the woman, He thought, 'It feels like I'm about to go in for a job interview.'

"That's not far from the truth, Mr. Warren. Though, you won't be interviewing for a job."

James came to a sudden halt.

'What the hell? Can this chick read minds?' Thought James, with shock evident on his face.

"No, I can't read minds."

'...'

"Then how, may I ask, are you responding to my inner thoughts?" Asked James in disbelief.

"Your facial expressions make you something akin to an open book, Mr. Warren." Letting out a rather exasperated sigh Sonya continued. "Not to mention, 98.937459621% of all those who walk through that door have the same expression and thought process."

'...' James opened his eyes wide in shock.

"That percentage is a bit lower than I expected. I'm also surprised you calculated that far past the decimal point." Said James in amazement.

"There are many world/timelines that don't possess service counters like this one." Said Sonya in reference to the statement pertaining to the low percentage. "And as for the precise calculations, everyone finds a way to stave off boredom in their own way."

James could almost feel the dejection coming off of this woman in waves.

Thinking that getting involved with a woman who clearly needed someone to vent to was a tiring ordeal, James asked, "So what do I do now?"

"Tch." Clicking her tongue at yet another person who wouldn't engage, Sonya replied. "Head down the hall to the door marked '13', your interviewer awaits you there."

"Alright, Thank you." James nodded in gratitude, before turning away from the service desk and making his way down the hall."

"Authorized Personnel Only, huh?" James couldn't help muttering as he looked at the end of the hall. With the curiosity of a child, He couldn't help thinking 'I really wanna know what's behind those doors.'

Walking past several doors, James reached the one marked "13", which happened to be the last door on the left. After taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, He knocked politely. Even so, his "polite" knock sounded like a police raid was in operation.

"James Warren is here." He said in a calm yet confident tone.

"Please, come in." Came another calm voice that attempted to hide an excited individuals' true thoughts.

Thinking the tone of voice odd somehow, James reached out to the doorknob and turned it. Upon opening the door, he saw a middle-aged man in a grey business suit seated at a rather elegant wooden desk. Most everything else were things you'd expect to see in an office. 2 things being exceptions. First of which was the transparent screen that seemed to divide the office space in half. Secondly, for some reason there was a mouse on the guest's side of the desk.

Closing the door behind him, James didn't give much thought to the screen that separated the room thinking, 'Damn... Covid really is a bitch, ain't it?' What really caught his attention was... The lone mouse on his side of the desk.

James stared at the mouse in puzzlement, while standing behind the luxurious leather armchair.

"I know you have a great many questions, but why don't you have a seat first?"

This voice interrupted James' thought process. For the first time since stepping into the room, James made eye contact with the middle-aged man. Upon making contact, his fighting instinct spontaneously kicked in. 'I can't beat this man.' He thought. 'My fighting skill is probably greatly superior to his, but I still know I'd lose. Miserably at that.'

"Uh... Yeah, I'll take a seat.

The middle-age man nodded, then gestured politely. "Please."

James sat, sinking comfortably into the armchair.

'Damn... I want one of these bad boys.' He thought with a sloppy smile immediately dawning itself on his face.

Seeing James' expression, "13" thought, 'Yeah this is definitely going to be good.'

"Like I said previously, I know you have a great many questions. Let me see if I can answer some of them for you." said "13", continuing shortly after. "Yes, you are dead, and no, this is not the afterlife; this is a check-in station for those beings with abnormally pure souls. No, I'm not a god. I am, however, a being born from the divine. I don't have a soul, but I do have my own intelligence and sense-of-self, so you can call me a divine construct. Something like a homunculus made with divine materials."

'He's pretty good at this.' Thought James in mild amusement.

Taking a sip from his coffee cup, "13" set the cup down and continued.

"You've been dead for 3,473,891 years..."

"Hold the fuck up! What? For how long?" Exclaimed James in utter bewilderment.

"Please calm down, I'll explain everything." "13" said in the most soothing voice he could manage.

'All of this guy's reactions are so fun. Gold. He really helps to knock off the rust from boring repetition.' Thought "13" in glee.

In all honesty, James had actually only been dead for 3,473,891 seconds, or a little more than 40 days. Although, James' reaction is natural, "13" has lived for such a long time, he can't really differentiate between units of time anymore.

"The reason you've been dead so long, put simply, it would be a waste to let you reincarnate the normal way. With your abnormally pure soul." Explained "13" to the bewildered James. "After your death, which was the furthest thing from cliché that I've seen in eons... *Cough* *Cough* Excuse me. Your soul was sealed to prevent degradation during the period of processing."

"13" paused for a moment, then continued.

"You will be reincarnated into a different worldline. A new timeline will be created with your birth. Yes, I said birth. Sorry, there will be no popping into existence fully grown like those subpar reincarnation light novels you so aptly refer to as 'literary junk food'. You will not receive a system. You will, however, be given the opportunity to choose some of your parameters, as well as the worldline in which you choose to be reborn."

Seeing that he had James' undivided attention, "13" asked, "Do you have any more questions?"

James breathed in deeply to gather his thoughts. Slowly exhaling, he replied, "Yes, 3 to be exact. First, what should I call you? Seeing as you've been rude enough to ramble, very importantly mind you. However, rambling none-the-less, ever since I sat down."

The middle-aged man, "13" actually flushed red in embarrassment, having his rude behavior pointed out so bluntly.

"*Cough* *Cough* My apologies, you may refer to me as "13". I am an Integration Specialist. It is my duty to make sure you can seamlessly integrate into your new worldline." Said "13", pride evident in his tone.

"Alright, cool. Nice to meet you. I'm James Warren, undefeated, Unified Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World." Replied James with just as much, if not more pride than "13". "As for my second question..."

James took a moment to put his thoughts in order, then he said, "What exactly do you mean by 'abnormally pure soul'? I mean, in novels, the protagonists are usually reincarnated like this for havin' exceptionally pure souls, right? But abnormally pure seems beyond that." James then paused with confusion and embarrassment mixed into his expression in equal parts, then asked, "How the hell does my foul mouthed, lustful, violent ass have any kind of pure soul?"

After asking his 3rd question, the embarrassment in James' expression intensified. After a couple of moments, that embarrassment morphed into acceptance.

"Shit, that was my 3rd question. I know I have 1 more, though. Ah, well, fuck it. I'm a fighter not a scholar... I'll let other people do the thinking." Said James with an enlightened expression on his face.

'OMG! This guy really is nothing but gold. Evry reaction is so far away from those dull, socially awkward reincarnators we usually get. "13" mused while preparing answers for the 2 questions James asked.

"To answer your second question, the purity of your soul is a result of you never compromising throughout your life." Said "13", pausing before quickly continuing. "From the first time you took an interest in something, the way you pursued that interest with passion. To the first time you lost interest in something, you decisively stopped participating in the action. Yet, in terms of team sports, you had the decency to stop after a season ended. And when you finally found an interest that held your attention, you pursued it to its limit. Both physically and mentally."

"As for question number 3." Smiling lightly, "13" continued. "Why should your faults take away from the purity of your soul? You are human. Being human means being imperfect, and being imperfect means possessing flaws. As for how you handled flaws. Your violent tendencies were managed in a controlled environment. Also, neither your violence nor your lust led you to harming the innocent, did they? No. And although it could be annoying, you never used profanity to abuse anyone verbally, either..."

"Okay, okay, okay, I get it, damn... Droppin' all that mushy shit." Interrupted James strongly. However, by the end of that outburst his voice wasn't much louder than a whisper.

'OMG! This World Champion fighter got embarrassed from being praised genuinely. The purity is strong with this one.'

Smiling gently, "13" asked. "Now, what is your last question?"

"Damn it, man... Don't look at me like that." Said James feeling even more embarrassed. "Oh Yeah, my last question! Let's get started with the reintegration shit!"

James then paused with a thoughtful expression. Then he exclaimed.

"Fuck yeah, it really was only 3 questions. Maybe I really am a scholar and just didn't put enough effort into that path."

'Pure Gold!' "13" thought in amusement.