Beside the campfire in the camp.
Jin Freecss picked up a stick and began drawing on the dirt nearby.
"For now, let's distinguish between the version of you who hadn't transmigrated and the original version of you in this world. Let's call them A and B."
As he spoke, he drew two little stick figures on the ground. One represented Kevin Carpenberg A, the one who hadn't transmigrated, and the other represented Kevin Carpenberg B, the one native to this world.
"B was killed by me. Death is a gradual process. The body's functions shut down one by one. The brain, whether due to damage or oxygen deprivation, begins to lose consciousness until eventually, the soul dissipates. That's the full death process." As Jin explained, he drew a horizontal line beside figure B to represent this process.
"Wait, souls really exist?" Kevin couldn't help but ask. He desperately needed more concrete information.
But souls weren't exactly something that could be easily verified.
Jin looked at him and nodded. "Let's set your special case aside for now. Throughout history, the existence of souls has been confirmed."
"There are Nen abilities that allow people to steal or take over others' bodies, or capture and trap souls. They're rare, and documented cases are even rarer, but they do exist."
That made it clear—souls definitely existed.
Returning to the topic, Jin continued sketching in the dirt.
"At this point, you—A—died. You said it was from getting hit by a car." He drew a big "X" over A and drew an arc-shaped arrow from the top of A's head, pointing toward the horizontal line.
"At the same time, your soul somehow made its way here, just in time to encounter B in the final moments of his death process. My guess is it was right before B's soul completely vanished."
He then drew a new stick figure at the end of the line, with B's outline on the outside and A inside—representing the current Kevin, whose soul (A) now inhabited B's body.
"A didn't originally know Nen, but B did. Nen is a fusion of aura and intent, so what remained was more of the aura. Since the body had already opened its aura nodes and you arrived just in time, the body instinctively activated Ten."
"This unusual process didn't just trigger post-mortem Nen—it also caused something even more extraordinary." At this point, Jin pointed at Kevin. "You're extremely good at controlling your Nen, right?"
Kevin nodded, raising his hand. Under his control, the aura shifted into various shapes, like clay shaped at will.
Jin raised his hand as well, doing the same.
"I can do this too, but it took me over a decade of learning and training, along with my extraordinary natural talent."
"I can tell you plainly—there are fewer than ten people in this world who can control aura like this."
"And yet you've reached that level almost effortlessly. That can't be explained by talent alone. No matter how gifted a person is, there's a limit."
Kevin deeply agreed. He'd long noticed that his mastery over aura shocked even experienced Nen users like Biscuit.
"Remember—post-mortem Nen is usually born from strong emotional fixation. But B couldn't have had such a powerful obsession. Something external must have triggered it."
"In other words, your arrival was perfectly timed. Just as B's will and soul were about to fully disperse, your presence reactivated the body."
Kevin had come up with many theories about how he transmigrated and what he'd become.
But none were as coherent as Jin's explanation. After all, Kevin's understanding of Nen couldn't match Jin's.
Jin had watched Kevin's arrival firsthand and used his vast knowledge to piece everything together.
"The scattered aura was stabilized again. Some fragments of will and soul were preserved, and a special kind of post-mortem Nen was created."
"This post-mortem Nen not only retained its original abilities—it even became stronger. But the side effects are far less than those of regular post-mortem Nen."
"Since Nen is a blend of aura and intent, some of those soul fragments were absorbed into the aura. After your soul entered the body, it fused with this aura."
"The process of absorbing memories was essentially you drawing in the lingering soul fragments from the brain and linking them with those within the aura."
"It's like you've merged part of your own will and soul into the aura. While those fragments don't fully belong to you, they now act as if they do—creating the current you."
Jin, clearly excited by his theory, laid out everything in detail.
This was the first time he'd seen such a case. He'd consulted numerous records and spent a long time thinking it through. Even so, he wasn't entirely certain.
"Each part of this process has parallels in other people's experiences. Your case just happens to string them all together."
Kevin couldn't be sure if Jin's theory was accurate—it wasn't something that could be tested easily.
But when he looked at his hand and how easily he manipulated the aura, he was sure that this level of control was natural to him. His will flowed into it seamlessly.
Jin, seeming to read his thoughts, said, "If you want proof, try shaping your En into an irregular form."
Irregular En? Was that even possible?
As far as Kevin knew, En was called that because it could only expand in a spherical shape.
"Just try it. A little time and effort will give you the answer."
Kevin nodded. "I'll give it a go."
"And as for your original Nen ability—you should try modifying its function."
"Also, fix its side effects. Once you fully master it, the resentment it carries will disappear. After all, you're alive now. You're much stronger than the original you ever was."
Kevin sighed and shook his head. "I've already tried. I can control it—sure. It's clearly my Nen ability. But trying to alter it? That's nearly impossible."
To his surprise, Jin also shook his head. "I'm a Ruins Hunter. I've seen countless post-mortem Nen abilities and ancient aura techniques. I can tell real post-mortem Nen at a glance—and what kind it is, too."
"In ancient times, sacrifices and brutal massacres were far more common than today."
"The post-mortem Nen and cursed rituals created from them show up in ruins all the time. I've seen all sorts."
"Don't try to forcibly control it. Try to integrate it instead. You've already started accepting your current self, haven't you? At the very least, you're able to look in a mirror now, right?"
Jin's words hit Kevin squarely in the heart. He fell into silence.
He had to admit—he hadn't fully accepted his new self.
If not for his appearance gradually shifting back toward his old face over time, he really would've avoided mirrors.
Seeing a stranger's face making his own expressions—it was like living in a horror story. Even now, it gave him chills.
"…Fine. I'll try," he finally said.
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