When the time came, Soren decided to leave the room. His gaze was more determined than ever — he wanted answers.
He walked through the door and found himself in a long corridor with metallic walls and countless lights on the ceiling. He couldn't see the end of it, no matter which way he looked.
'You'll figure it out on your own,' he remembered.
"How am I supposed to know where to go?" he muttered.
But strangely, a breeze appeared, flowing from his right to his left. It wasn't natural — not in a place like this. So he decided to follow the wind.
He walked for a good hundred meters before hearing noises coming from the end of the corridor — footsteps, people talking. He followed the sound and arrived in a vast hall. The ceiling was incredibly high, the room brightly lit. A loud commotion came from a room whose entrance was on the left wall.
'Maybe that's where I'm supposed to go,' he thought.
Behind Soren, a group of people appeared. He was hesitant — 'Should I greet them? Ignore them?'
Since his awakening, his interactions hadn't exactly gone well. He'd fought, been beaten — and that was about it.
While he was lost in thought, the group got closer. They all wore almost identical outfits — black suit jackets, white shirts with ties, black trousers, and basic shoes. Four of them walked past Soren. "Logistic," he read on the back of their jackets. The last one, lagging behind, wore no jacket, just a shirt — no tie, slightly unbuttoned.
Soren still felt unsettled. 'They didn't even notice me', he thought. But as the man passed by, their eyes met, and the man's face lit up.
"Nice hair, man!" he said quickly before walking away.
'Nice hair?' Soren repeated to himself, looking at one of his locks.
He watched the group enter the noisy room. 'I'll follow them', he decided — and did.
Inside was a massive room filled with countless tables, all occupied. Men and women everywhere.
'Wow… how do they all even fit in here?' he wondered. He moved further in, unnoticed despite his unusual look — no one seemed to care about him.
He scanned the crowd, searching for Tachi and the others. 'Where are they?' he thought, when suddenly a breeze brushed against his cheek again. He turned toward it and saw Tachi waving at him.
"Hey, Soren!" he called.
He was sitting at a table near the back of the room, right by a huge glass wall like the one in Soren's room — showing a stunning mountainous and coastal landscape. With Tachi sat Akyo, Ana, and the man who had complimented Soren's hair earlier, who had just joined them.
Soren walked over.
"Come on, sit here next to Akyo!" Tachi said with his usual big smile.
'He's doing that on purpose', Soren thought, before sitting down next to Akyo.
"So, was it hard to find the place?" Ana asked.
"Not at all," Soren replied, forgetting to mention he had followed a mysterious breeze.
'Where did that come from…?' he wondered, before noticing Tachi giving him a subtle wink.
Then Tachi spoke. "So, Soren, I'm sure you've got plenty of questions — now's the time. But first, let me introduce you to…" He gestured toward the man who had spoken to Soren earlier.
"Hey, it's you!" said the man. "I was so focused on my meal I didn't notice you came in."
He looked older than the rest of the group — a man with a rough beard and slicked-back blond hair. He radiates kindness, Soren thought, before replying,
"Nice to meet you, I'm So—"
"Yeah, I know, I've already heard a lot about you, my name's Nicolo !" the man cut in, still eating.
'Where did they get all that food?' Soren wondered, eyeing everyone's plates.
"So, Soren, what do you want to eat?" Tachi asked.
"Doesn't matter," he replied.
"No problem," Tachi said with a small hand gesture — the same as before. Moments later, a plate floated through the air and landed in front of Soren.
"Better than fetching it yourself, right?" Tachi grinned.
'How does he do that?' Soren thought, staring in amazement.
He looked down at his plate — it looked delicious: two pieces of chicken, fish, and a mix of vegetables (yes, delicious ones).
"Well then, ask me whatever you want," Tachi said calmly, smiling.
Soren was already eating, thinking, 'Where do I even start…' After a few seconds, he looked up and, mouth full, asked,
"Who is Jormungandr? And how are you so sure it's me?"
"That's a good one. It's basically a god with the body of a serpent long enough to encircle the Earth, and poison so strong it could send any god back into the reincarnation cycle," Tachi explained playfully.
'So… I'm supposed to be that kind of monster?' Soren thought.
"As for how we're sure, I'll let Akyo explain," Tachi added.
Akyo spoke without looking at Soren. "The day before our fight, I was sent to investigate a crater caused by a divine energy explosion. An entire mountain was obliterated. It's our job to handle events like that — we can't risk a deity attacking humans." He turned his head toward Soren, eyes full of judgment.
'He's talking about me? I don't care what he thinks, they deserved it', Soren thought.
Akyo continued, "Anyway, at the site where you emerged, there was a marking of Jormungandr carved into the ground — that made identification easier." He paused briefly, thinking, 'and that giant eye…' before finishing, "That's all."
Then Tachi asked, "By the way, you really don't remember anything before your awakening?"
"No… It felt like I was asleep. I heard voices — muffled — until one of them called my name… or rather, shouted it. That's when I woke up," Soren said, lowering his head. 'Who was that woman…?'
"That's a shame," Tachi said gently, "but don't lose hope. You'll recover memories — more than you can imagine."
Soren lifted his head. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Tachi continued, "I'll explain what you are. You see, gods are immortal — they can't die of old age, and neither can their souls. But their physical bodies can die — only if killed by another god. When that happens, they reincarnate as newborns somewhere in the world. The child grows up without memories of their past lives. Between six and the end of puberty, the first signs of their divine nature appear — unique to each god. It usually starts with physical traits and superhuman abilities. You've noticed the marks on Akyo's neck, right? Those are tied to his divine identity. But the most important moment for a reincarnated god is when they regain the memories of their past lives."Soren realized, listening intently — every word mattered. He had to understand everything.
"You see, Soren," Tachi continued, "every god goes through something like this. Your case is unusual, though. Most regain their memories gradually, in different ways. It's never easy. Akyo, for instance, still hasn't recovered his memories…"
Soren glanced at Akyo, who had lowered his head, fists clenched. 'He must be struggling with that' Soren thought.
Tachi went on, "But I'm sure it'll come in time. Those probably are painful memories, that's why it takes a long time to recover them. You shouldn't rush it — it'll happen when it's meant to."