“You want to know about reincarnation?”
Madojin tilted his head as he asked.
“Yes. I heard the concept from the Star, but…”
Reincarnation—it’s the process of breaking down the souls of the dead into fragments, then reassembling them with fragments of other souls to create a new soul.
Thus, a soul doesn’t belong to a single being. Even if I die and reincarnate, it doesn’t mean my soul will remain intact in the next life. A soul isn’t something that belongs to one person—it’s more like a molecule that endlessly divides and is reborn.
Of course, there are exceptions.
“…Why are you asking about reincarnation all of a sudden, hyung?”
Jeong Noeul asked with a concerned expression.
In Noeul’s case, he was an exception. The soul of Abrilah had been delivered intact. It was more like Abrilah’s soul had been purified and housed in a human body.
“Ah, it’s just…”
That boy I met during the meeting today—
Because Juna resembled my late father so much.
If I said that out loud, people would think I was overly sensitive.
And maybe they’d be right. Even I felt like I might be overreacting.
<What nonsense. You’d probably giggle just from watching a flower tremble.>
The Star spoke with a sigh in his voice.
<That little creature doesn’t contain a trace of your father’s soul. Stop chasing meaningless thoughts and focus on not freezing up in front of the camera.>
There was no way the Star was lying.
And yet…
Even if that was true, I couldn’t help but be curious about the process of reincarnation itself.
That’s why I wanted to hear it firsthand—not from high-ranking Constellations like the Star or Mika, but from those who lived in the ordinary world yet had access to divine knowledge.
“So that’s why you gathered the two of us.”
Madojin said, glancing between me and Jeong Noeul.
“Yeah. I feel like the Star and Mika would just give me a clean, textbook explanation.”
I gave an embarrassed laugh.
“Rather than something neatly laid out, I wanted to hear from someone who’s seen or experienced it themselves.”
“Hmm…”
Jeong Noeul pouted, falling into thought.
“I don’t know if I can explain it well…”
He began recounting what he’d heard from the Traveler from Asteroid B-612.
“As you know, hyung, my case is pretty unique. Abrilah’s soul was too whole to be split… and no one had ever reincarnated a being like Abrilah before, so the Constellations had been watching me closely ever since I was born.”
Among them, the Constellation who watched Noeul most closely was the Traveler from Asteroid B-612.
And so did Myeong Sukja, the CEO of Noeul’s agency, who had once been a hunter contracted with that same Constellation.
“If I’d turned out badly, I’m sure the prince would’ve done something about it. But I somehow made it this far…”
Noeul shrugged.
“Since the soul in my body is almost entirely Abrilah’s, I can sense certain things. It’s not just about seeing ghosts, or having latent magical power, or that my power amplifies when I wear the crown…”
It was more than that.
He said he could feel the presence of another being within him.
“I don’t really know how to explain it… but that’s the feeling.”
“That’s probably because the soul within your body originates from a single being.”
Madojin spoke.
“Dojin-hyung, you promised to drop the honorifics with me, remember?”
“…Spare me.”
“Did someone put a curse on you where you turn into a frog if you speak casually?”
“No, nothing like that…”
Madojin sighed.
“…Okay, Noeul-ah.”
“Ha ha…”
Noeul let out a dry laugh as Madojin finally dropped the formal speech.
“…This is the culmination of all my efforts since CYB.”
“How’s it feel?”
I asked, chuckling.
“Like getting revenge on the one who killed your parents, only to be left with emptiness.”
Fair enough. He really had gone through a lot for such a minor goal.
“And Eunyul. I don’t know much about reincarnation, but…”
I had told him he could keep using honorifics if he felt more comfortable, but—
“…Are you wondering whether your father has reincarnated?”
Ah…
His sharp question left me speechless.
Through Enoch, Madojin knew a lot about the trajectory of my life. Maybe that’s why it was so easy for him to catch on to my thoughts.
I wondered if my father had been reincarnated.
That question had been gripping my heart like a shadow, refusing to let go.
Even back during CYB, I’d wondered about it. I couldn’t help it.
Of course… that choice ultimately belonged to my father. Whether he lived alone in heaven or chose the path of reincarnation, it wasn’t something I had any right to comment on.
But I was still curious.
Is he outside this world?
Or is he back in it?
And if so, what form has he taken?
“Eunyul, I’m not sure if I should say this, but…”
Madojin spoke cautiously, his expression serious.
“I think wondering what kind of being your father might have reincarnated as… isn’t good for your mental health.”
“…Why?”
I asked the question though I already understood the answer.
“I still don’t know humans very well, but I’ve come to understand your imagination.”
Madojin smiled faintly.
“Humans are creatures gifted with imagination. Maybe that’s why you always try to find connections between things that have nothing in common. A city that feels like a forest. Clouds that look like fruit. You create metaphors for everything so naturally. That’s why sometimes, without meaning to, you start to see similarities between things that are completely unrelated.”
So what he meant was—
Madojin continued.
“…Humans often search for past connections in new relationships. In other words, Eunyul, you might see your father’s reflection in someone entirely different.”
He hit the nail on the head.
I stared at Madojin, lost for words.
“But reincarnation is… the process of the dead permeating the entire world.”
“…Permeating the world?”
I asked, and Madojin nodded.
“A soul shatters into fragments, mixes with others, and seeps back into the world. If your father reincarnated, he might have become a strong tree. A free bird. A microbe living between fibers—something we can’t even see. He might have become someone else entirely. He might have become many people.”
Your father has become the whole world now.
Madojin whispered.
“So trying to pin down where his soul ended up… is meaningless.”
“…I see.”
I nodded.
He was right.
I had been holding on to an exhausting obsession.
I turned my head with a sigh.
Through the veranda, I could see the night outside.
A thick fog cloaked everything, obscuring the view. Only the faint condensation on the glass window proved that it was damp out there.
“Humans create metaphors for everything so naturally…”
I repeated Madojin’s words aloud.
And truly—
He was right.
I could metaphorically turn anything into my father.
After everyone had gone to bed.
Madojin took out the Archangel Who Cast Down the King of Hell, who fluttered in the form of a butterfly, from the collecting net.<You seem to be in a good mood tonight.>
The voice of the Archangel Who Cast Down the King of Hell echoed in Madojin’s mind.
“Do I?”
Madojin replied in a soft voice.
<You’ve been very tired lately, haven’t you? With all the practice. The debut performance is right around the corner now. Just a little more to go.>
“…I have more stamina than a regular human, so I’ll manage.”
Madojin answered calmly, placing the butterfly on his index finger as he headed for the rooftop.
“Teacher…”
He spoke as he climbed the stairs.
“…why do you insist on taking the form of a butterfly?”
<It’s one of my favorite creations.>
The Archangel responded with a laugh.
<Humans think butterflies fly gracefully, but to me, they look rather clumsy. Like chickens flapping their wings trying to fly. But butterflies…>
Always find their way to flowers.
The Archangel smiled as he spoke.
Madojin thought he could understand that sentiment.
After all, flying had become as natural to him now as walking.
Reaching the rooftop, Madojin took off his shirt and quietly spread his wings.
The winter wind was sharp, but he didn’t feel cold.
The sensation of air rippling through his wings was so vivid, it made him acutely aware: he had never been, nor ever would be, an ordinary person.
By principle, Madojin had already died once. That’s why, the Archangel told him, he couldn’t be human.
Then he added this suggestion:
<If you cannot become human, then become an angel who saves them.>
Madojin accepted.
In a way, it was like reincarnation.
Or perhaps not—even being born once couldn’t be said of him, so maybe it was something else entirely.<Little lamb.>
While Madojin was lost in thought, the Archangel Who Cast Down the King of Hell appeared beside him in his true form.
<Tonight, we’ll be visiting elderly people who are living alone, cut off from their children.>
The Archangel smiled like a teacher announcing the next lesson.<Some of them will pass away tonight. We will be with them in their final moments.>
It really was a kind of lesson.
Madojin was a trainee angel, and the Archangel was not just his contracted Constellation, but his superior.
Every night, they walked the world together so that Madojin could someday become a proper angel.
“…Understood.”
Madojin nodded.
Fwoosh—!
He spread his wings and soared into the sky.
Flying at a height no earthly creature could see, Madojin and the Archangel looked down upon the world below.
‘…Teacher.’
Madojin spoke in his mind.
‘I talked to Eunyul today about his father who passed away.’
<Did you now? What did you learn?>
The Archangel’s question echoed in his thoughts.
‘I learned that it’s very hard… for humans to save each other.’
Madojin recalled the lingering sadness in Ryu Eunyul’s expression as he answered.
‘…An era when the Constellations stop offering support.’
Looking down on the endless world below, Madojin reflected.
‘Will such a world ever truly come…? I’m not sure.’
His heart was, laughably, too fragile.
That’s how Madojin defined his own thoughts.
Lauréa’s debut song—created with the end of Constellation support in mind—was about to be released.
Everything seemed ready.
And yet, the world before him felt endlessly vast.
Will there ever really come a time when the Constellations stop supporting humanity out of trust?
With that thought, Madojin simply flew gracefully through the empty night sky.
Little Pink Starfish 
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