"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."

Nao Mariota Pryderi read aloud the book in her hand. The tome tattered and at the brink of falling apart. Standing alongside her was Tin, another guide of the Soul Stream and a longtime friend. The short man's helmet concealed any expression he might have shown, but the little man had one hand stroking the underside of his helmet where his chin would be located. Nao flipped the next page over as an owl perched itself on her shoulder, tilting its head at the torn book.

"All that I am…is gone. I forget my past, my actions, and my identity. To whoever finds this…You may choose to awaken the soul within, but his memories gone. He will never remember who he was…and that is for the better. But do not take him for a tool you can so lightly use…That is my only warning to you."

The white-haired girl turned back to her friend and shut the tome.

"You say you found this book floating in the stream among the other souls?" He asked, lifting his free hand up which prompted the owl on Nao to fly over and land on Tin's hand.

"Not exactly…" She shook her head. "For several months, I had taken notice of fragments of a presence unlike the other souls passing through the stream. It was subtle and very hard to catch at times, but I gathered enough of the pieces to create a whole entity, which turned out to be…this book."

"Give it here."

The owl on Tin's hand flew away and back into the sky. Nao gave the book to Tin who reopened it. He skimmed through the pages hurriedly, but stopped and looked back up at Nao.

"Nao…This language is incomprehensible." He stated.

"What do you mean?" Nao raised her brow at him, confused.

"All I see are glowing glyphs."

Nao stood by Tin's side and looked at the page he was on.

"I'm sorry, but I see words, Tin." She told him.

"Well, what does this page say?" He pointed at the hieroglyphics on the page.

"This soul knows defeat, but it only serves to make him stronger. You may strike him down ten or even a thousand times over and he will just rise up once more. Push him to the brink hard enough and you may awaken powers within him that can kill an immortal." Nao read. "It is not his will that brings him back. It is because there is a lack of that he stands up so many times."

"Huh…It probably has to do with you being the one that recreated this book." Tin concluded. "So…what should we do with this book? It's clear to me that the former mind of this soul did not want to come back."

"Let me read the end. There's always something important in the end." Nao said.

Tin gave the book back to her.

"I wouldn't bring him back if I were you. But that's your call, Nao. Not mine. I'm in charge of pets, not people."

The small man walked away, heading down the steps until he faded away. Nao looked inside the book one last time, skipping right to the last page. On it was a beautiful drawing a withering dying white rose. Under it was a final passage of words.

"I left the world of the living because I was tired…tired of trying to cling to hope that was never there. I fought and killed millions, both innocent and evil; to fulfill old promises and when I completed them…All that was left to do was fade away. Before I became…something more, I was just a lonely little human who wanted one simple thing in life: a friend. And when that was taken from me...my humanity died with them. I didn't want to be alone…and yet in the end, I died alone. That is my story and that is my end."

Nao grimaced and shut the book. The person who once retained this soul had nothing, which was precisely why he must have been so strong and lived for so long. A man with nothing left to lose is all the more dangerous to those who have something to lose. She stared hard at the book. Most days, she guided souls in and out of Erinn with little to no hesitation and most of them fared well in the world. But this one was different: There could be repercussions and it could very well come back to kill her.

However, this was the last musings of a man who wanted the suffering of living to end. The soul he left was completely blank, one that was very unpredictable: Much like a mortal human. From the line before about killing millions, he was neither a saint nor a hell spawn. He was just a person following their goals and destroyed others in his way. But now…the soul he left was a blank slate, no longer tainted by his past actions. He could easily be influenced by good just as much as evil.

What to do…What to do… Nao thought as she paced back and forth on the platform. Both of my choices could go either way. Do I give this blank soul a chance to follow a new path? Or do I honor the wishes of the old mind and destroy this book so that he'll be truly put to rest?

During her musing, Nao's grip on the book loosened and the book fell and hit the floor. When the book hit the floor, a locket flew out from inside the pages. Nao knelt to pick it up and opened the content inside. Inside was a picture of a trio of children all smiling. She gasped, allowing a small tear to fall down her cheek as her own past memories stirred within the recesses of her mind. After picking up the book and locket, determination burned strongly in her eyes as she clenched both items in her arms.

I will carry the consequences of my action, even if it takes me to my grave. She nodded her head affirmatively. My apologies, spirit of the old…but I think your soul deserves the chance…you and I never had.

She tossed the tome and locket into the air and two owls from above caught the items. Nao released a sigh as she looked down at her hands which now held an orb that burned a strong white flame; a fresh, rejuvenated soul…much like a newborn from a mother's womb. A small smile graced her lips.

"The world begins with you…Where will it take you, I wonder?"

In the forest of souls, Tin watched hens and roosters fight against the raccoons, chuckling in amusement. He suddenly looked up at the sky.

"Oh boy, I sure hope she knows what she's doing…" He muttered, shaking his head.

In the Soul Stream, Nao watched as the orb grew and took physical form. However, it was not what she expected. Nao had been expecting a boy in front of her, but instead, a young female lying unconscious on the floor. Did something go wrong? Nao noticed a piece of paper in the girl's hand. She picked it up and read what was on it.

You have chosen to give life, but my soul had one result to that: It will never take my true form. The last fragment of my mind, my kindness and my faith in humanity, bears my true appearance. As for his fate, however, I do not know.

Nao blinked several times. Just how broken down was the old soul's mind that part of him was split and given a physical body of his own? Her thoughts disappeared as the unconscious girl began to move, showing signs of waking. The girl opened her eyes, revealing their gray hue that seemed to glow and pulse. She looked up at Nao, then everywhere around her. Slowly, she began to stand up on her feet, but stumbled. This prompted Nao to grab the girl's arm to keep her standing, but kept her grip soft to avoid hurting the girl.

"Welcome to Erinn, Milletian." Nao told the nameless girl with a kind smile.

"Who…who am I?" The girl asked.

"Who are you? You can be anyone you want." She answered. "This is a whole new life for you, Milletian. You choose what you want to be called, what you want most, and how you want to live your life. My name is Nao…and I am here to help you through it."

Nao stepped away and allowed the girl some space.

"Now you answer me this, Milletian…Who do you want to be?"

The Milletian remained silent, closing her eyes and lowering her head, allowing her spiky bangs to block her face. Then she looked up and stared straight at Nao.

"My name is…Amita Ilene."

"Good." Nao nodded her head. "And what do you want to be?"

"I want…What I want to be…"

Amita placed a hand on her chest over her heart.

"…is something I've yet to figure out."

Nao smiled and offered her hand to Amita.

"Then we'll find out together, yes?"

Amita placed her hand on hers and gave a small smile of her own.

"Yes."

Hello, everyone! I'm bringing you my rendition of Mabinogi and some of my adventures through the storyline. Be warned, however, that this story can stray from the actual plot that Mabinogi has. But because this is a story based on a game where everyone is the main character in their own way, that's why I'm allowing you, the reviewers, to merge your own original characters into this story. As for their roles, however, I may make them major or minor depending on how you create them and present them to me.

So if you want, you can leave an OC in the review section of message them to me. This is a story where your character can get involved as well.

I'll see you all in the next chapter and I promise you: My version of coming to Tir Chonaill will definitely be exciting. And in this story, anyone could die. Even one of the NPCs you all know and love (or hate) are no exception.