Hello again! A day to graduation, and I've kept my promise. Here's the final story.

Song 25: The Soul

Genre: Supernatural/Spiritual

Inspiration: Wanted a good story to end the series with

Other notes: All stuff here is purely theory.

"What is Soul?" Neku asked Mr. H one day while he was at his coffee shop. He sipped some of House Blend, and found it surprisingly good.

"Depends on what you mean by that question," Mr. H replied vaguely as he gave himself a refill of coffee. "Do you want to know what it's made of? How it works? What its purpose is? Something else?"

"All of those really," Neku answered, "I can never get a straight answer out of Joshua as usual, so I thought you were the next-best person to ask."

"That so?" asked Mr. H with an amused smile, as he sat down across from Neku. "Well then, I'll see what I can do."

Neku leaned forward silently but intently.

"Soul is actually a composite of many things," Mr. H began, drinking some of his coffee before continuing. "Willpower, desire, emotion, personality, possibility, imagination: these are all facets of Soul, and together they make life and thought possible. The amount of each element in each person's Soul varies, but all living things have at least a little of each element, though an unhealthy unbalance of two or more elements can cause mental disease and unrest."

Neku raised an eyebrow. "What about plants and bacteria?"

"They're alive, aren't they?" Mr. H replied with a grin. "Though they have a much smaller amount of Soul and are unable to express themselves. Soul keeps the body working. While science knows how the body works, they can't explain why the body starts working in the first place, why a perfectly-constructed body can't just start living by itself."

"So why doesn't it work like that?" asked Neku.

"Because Soul chooses its vessels. That's why possessed objects and other ghost-like phenomenon, outside of Player interference that is, exists. Something attracted Soul to those objects."

"But how does it choose?" asked Neku.

"Even now the Soul's selection process isn't fully understood. Perhaps it never will be," Mr. H went on, shrugging. "Though it seems to favor organic over artificial bodies, and things that have been valued greatly by others, though the latter might just be those owners unconsciously transferring their own Soul to those objects."

"So Soul is just a foreign force that drives our bodies?" questioned Neku.

"That's the thing. A living body actually produces Soul itself. In fact it has to in order to keep the body alive," Mr. H explained. "Such studies have been done and proven by…superiors. But Soul must first choose to occupy that body before that body can start producing that Soul by itself."

"But then where does that first Soul come from?"

"Everyone's been trying to figure that out since the start of time," Mr. H said, laughing. "Chicken or the egg? No one knows. Is it the Earth itself that creates the first Soul and releases it? God? The cosmos? Perhaps all or none of the above? I honestly can't tell you, Phones."

"I see," Neku replied, pausing. "…I know the Games happen after death. Does that mean all religions are wrong?"

"Ah, a religious crisis is it?" said Mr. H. "Anyway, that's not necessarily true. Only a small percentage of people actually go to the Games, and these are usually people who shouldn't have died yet. It doesn't really count as an afterlife. Even for those who become Reapers it's more of a purgatory."

"So then what is the true afterlife?" asked Neku.

"It's all up to you," answered Mr. H. "What your Soul believes is the proper afterlife will become your afterlife. You believe you deserve to go to heaven? You'll find yourself in heaven when you die. Believe you deserve Hell? You'll get Hell. Believe in reincarnation? Your Soul will mostly stay together and go to another body. You believe there's nothing after this life? Your Soul will dissolve to have its parts assimilated into other potential Souls. It's all about what you believe in."

"…What if you're not sure?" asked Neku.

"Oh don't worry, you'll figure it out," Mr. H assured with a warm smile. "You aren't bound to Joshua or the Game, no matter what he says. It's your choice, not his. You'll get what's right for you, and no one can change that but you."

Neku smiled and nodded. "Right."

IIIIII

Well, that's it, folks. All 25 stories have been completed and posted. I'm grateful for everyone who has read this. It has been an interesting little side project. Now I will focus on finishing Krick-KRACK.

I hope these stories have been enjoyable and/or inspiring. Cya!