Soul Shard Captor [BL] - Volume 1: Aris the Soother

Chapter 1 - God? Is that you?

He had been doing something completely mundane when it came. Without any prior warning, his body started turning into bright motes of light, flickering about like butterflies flapping their wings.

He had felt no pain nor distress as his consciousness faded into a dreamless slumber. For he knew that the next time he awakened, he would be completely reborn, from inside out, just like all the worldborn that came before him, and all the worldborn that shall come thereafter.

And indeed, when his consciousness returned, an indeterminate amount of time later, he couldn't remember much of who he had been before. More than two decades he had spent on his homeworld Cradle, vanished into smoke, leaving behind no clear memories.

Now his entire past consisted of short snippets of conversations with people he didn't remember. And mere vague notions, like the fact he had been raised in an orphanage by an old nun. Beyond that, there was nothing but emptiness. No attachments, no emotions, no names, no faces.

Oh! Wrong! He did remember one name – his own.

It was Noah.

Because... of course it was! If you were named by an old religious nun, you'd be named Noah too!
○|￣|_

Or Adam, you know, for the sake of diversity.

Unless you were female. In which case, you'd probably be named Mary. It's always Mary! (◞‸ლ)

Alright, alright, if one put the infuriating naming sense he had been subjected to aside, the nun did a pretty decent job everywhere else.

His current situation was just as described in the Holy Scripture that he had been taught for as long as he could (not) remember.

According to the Scripture, the destiny of a worldborn did not lie in the lands of Cradle but in the vast and magnificent Haven. Everything he had experienced growing up in Cradle was merely a preparation for his new life in Haven. A tutorial teaching him the rules of the game. A nurturing environment to shape him into who he was meant to be and then release him into the wild.

Thus, upon reaching full maturity, all worldborn were granted a clean break from their past to better embrace their future.

Yet, when the beautiful future he had been waiting for arrived, what greeted Noah when he opened his eyes wasn't the gorgeous promised land, but complete and utter darkness.

（　ﾟДﾟ）???

This ...was not what Haven was supposed to look like!

Did something go wrong with his ascension, turning him blind? 🤔

Noah waved his right hand in front of his face.

Slender fingers covered in supple, white, nearly-transparent skin without any scars or calluses. There weren't even any moles or hair!

It's confirmed!!!

He was most definitely...!!!

...not blind. (～￣▽￣)～

...

But wait! Could it be?!?

Did he end up dead on arrival, and was now a ghost?! 😱

In a fluster, Noah craned his slender neck to look at himself and his surroundings.

Oh, good! He could see his own reflection on the black, mirror-like surface of the floor he was standing on. Ghosts shouldn't have reflections, right?

Right?

Noah gave his reflection a once-over. He was still wearing the oversized t-shirt he had been in before he was beamed up, but other things about him had gotten an upgrade.