Selene's eyes were as round as saucers. She couldn't believe her ears. They had to be joking. Surely they couldn't be serious! She would've believed they were playing a prank on her if she hadn't seen the looks on their faces.

"What? I died?" It sounded even more ridiculous when she said it out loud.

"Well...saying you died might be a huge stretch. Your heart stopped beating and you were no longer breathing." Edith chipped in.

Selene frowned at her, wondering if the younger girl was trying to be sarcastic. Edith didn't strike her as the kind of girl who made smart-ass jokes, especially about something as awful as that.

"Forgive me, if I'm wrong—maybe I hit my head hard and I no longer understand things as well as I used to. But isn't that the definition of death? When your heart stops beating and you're no longer breathing?" Selene raised her eyebrows.

She looked at Benjamin because he was a reservoir of knowledge and knew he would be able to answer all her questions without being vague. Benjamin sighed and ran his fingers through his messy hair. It was weird seeing him look so disorganized and disoriented. Benjamin was usually so put together and composed.

"Death goes beyond that. What you described is physical death but not spiritual death." He explained.

"What's the difference between the both?" Selene asked. She turned to Edith this time since she was the one constantly talking about death.

"To explain that you need to know that we are all made up of three major components: body, soul, and spirit," Edith said.

"What does that even mean? Explain. Please."

"The body is what we all see—the physical flesh. It's what houses your soul and your spirit kind of like how your ribs enclose your heart and lungs. Your spirit is like a caricature of you. It's a skeletal framework of who you are and contains some of the things that make you what you are. However, the spirit and the body are constantly at war, fighting for dominance." Edith said.

"That doesn't make any sense. Why are they constantly at war if the spirit is like a caricature with all the essential elements? What exactly are they dominating?" Selene was perplexed.

"The spirit contains all essential elements asides from the most important thing: your desires. Your spirit doesn't understand desire. It doesn't want or need anything. Your desires are what make you human. Since your spirit doesn't desire anything, it hardly feels emotions. Most spirits hardly feel anger, love, empathy, fear, or terror." Edith explained.

"What about King? He got really angry when he spoke about Debbie. He even cursed her." Selene pointed out.

"King isn't really a spirit so he doesn't count. He isn't even human. Just a bit of both" Edith said.

Selene tried to digest it all. Benjamin stayed silent, like he either wanted Edith to conclude the lecture or he still didn't want to think about the fact that she had been dead for five days. His thumb brushed the back of Selene's hand gently from time to time. It was the only thing that probably kept Selene sane.

"I think I can understand that. But shouldn't that be a big issue? If your spirit and your body keep clashing, shouldn't there be a problem?" She asked slowly.

"It would. But that's where your soul comes in. Your soul is the central house that serves as an intermediary between your spirit and your body. It helps bridge the gap and prevents conflict. It understands the need for desire and why desires can be really dangerous." Edith explained.

"I still don't understand how that works," Selene said.

"Think of it like this. Imagine you have a really important exam tomorrow which you haven't studied for and you know you need to study all night. Can you picture that?" Edith asked.

"Sure." Selene nodded.

"Alright. After a while, you'll probably feel sleepy and tired. Your body would want you to sleep but your spirit, which is never tired wouldn't understand why your body would want to rest, especially since you're supposed to have an exam the next day. It'll be like an annoying roommate who keeps hitting you when you're trying to sleep. Your soul is what keeps you going and prevents either side from losing it. It steps in and acts as an intermediary between them. Without your soul, your spirit and body would probably rip each other apart." Edith said.

There was an extensive period of silence. Selene closed her eyes, trying to think. To an outsider, it might have looked like she was fast asleep, but Benjamin could tell she was thinking hard and wanted to pay attention.

When her brown eyes opened again, he saw she had already deduced and dissected everything they'd told her. Selene was smart. He smiled proudly, in spite of how serious the discussion was.

"So let me see if I have this right. Physical death happens when your physical body dies—when your heart stops beating and you stop breathing. Then spiritual death should be when your spirit dies rather than your physical body." Selene said.

"That is correct." Edith nodded.

"That should mean that your physical body can die but your spirit would live and your spirit can die but your body would be alive." Selene continued.

"The latter is often referred to as 'walking dead'." Edith nodded again.

"The soul doesn't die? Right?" Selene asked.

"Your soul can't die. It is a powerhouse—a form of energy. Remember basic chemistry? Energy can't be destroyed. It can only be converted from one form to another." Edith asked.

"What happens when your physical body dies?" Selene asked.

"Your soul and your spirit get stripped off. Your spirit proceeds to the spirit realm. As for where your soul ends up? Many Necromancy scholars have tried to answer that for years. Some believe your soul proceeds to Paradise where it is recycled which is what is called reincarnation, others believe that it is first judged and asked if it would like to be reincarnated. The only thing we know for sure is that the spirit goes directly to the spirit world." Edith said.

"Hmmm. It all makes sense now. I can understand the spirit animal thing and why becoming a spirit when your physical body is alive isn't so ideal. Emotions are what make you human. When you're a spirit, you don't have any." Selene said, more to herself than the others in the room.

"That is correct," Edith said.

"What about coma patients that 'die' but come back?" Selene asked.

"In their cases, their physical bodies died but their spirit wasn't ready to leave so the soul rebooted their physical bodies. I'd explain more but it might start to feel like a Necromancy lecture." Edith said.

Selene wasn't sure she wanted to receive a lecture just yet. She still hadn't mastered Telepathy which happened to be her own power. She tried to remember why she had started asking questions in the first place.

"So in my case, my physical body died but my spirit didn't leave, so my soul rebooted?" Selene asked.

"It's not that simple," Benjamin said before Edith spoke. He was looking into her eyes for the first time. Selene couldn't tell what he was thinking at that moment.

"What do you mean?" Selene asked.

"Your physical body died but I couldn't sense your spirit. Normally, the spirit lingers for a few minutes after death but I couldn't sense yours. It was almost like your spirit was trying to decide if it wanted to detach or return to us." Edith explained.

Selene still felt confused.

"Let me start from the beginning. How did my physical body die?" Selene asked.

"Normally, using an artifact like the Mirror of Transparency requires proper training and there are still many Magis who will never be powerful or disciplined enough to use it to teleport themselves," Benjamin said.

"But why? Why is it so hard to use it?" Selene asked.

"When using magic, you always have to be careful not to exert yourself beyond your boundaries. It's just like electricity. If you tap too little, you won't be able to light a bulb. If you tap too much, the effects are just as bad." Benjamin said.

"Surely I didn't use that much magic." Selene scoffed.

"You probably wouldn't have been in danger if you'd teleported alone. You pushed yourself too far by taking a Necromancer and her spirit animal to where your heart desired. You tapped into your life force and almost used up all the power in your soul. That's why your soul didn't reboot immediately and why your spirit almost detached." Benjamin looked pointedly at Edith.

"I tried to tell her..."

"You should have tried harder! You knew how dangerous it was for her to use an artifact and you let her do it. You're just a cold, fucking Necromancer with no feelings. I shouldn't have expected better." Benjamin's eyes were ice cold.

"Benjamin, I understand that you're upset..."

"No, Edith. You don't understand anything. Upset doesn't even begin to describe how I felt when I held her cold body in my arms. Upset doesn't describe how powerless I was when all the revival spells I cast didn't work. Upset doesn't cover half of what I felt the few seconds before Herbert came. Even Herbert wasn't sure she'd make it..." Benjamin's voice broke off.

He stood up and went to face the wall. He covered his face with his hands. He didn't want them to see him lose control. To Selene, it was worse than if he had faced them. She had never seen him look so shaken before.

"First, you forced her to see how her mother died and now this. I've never been the kind of guy who acts on his emotions. Every logical thing in me is telling me none of this is your fault, Edith. I understand that you did what was right considering the circumstances but at the same time, I can't help how I feel." He said.

Edith and Selene looked at each other. Edith's eyes were filled with remorse and sorrow. She opened her mouth to speak but Selene shook her head.

"How do you feel?" Selene asked gently.

"I'm angry, frustrated, sad...Fuck! You can't imagine what I've been through the last five days. I thought...I thought you were dead. When I saw the light in your eyes dying out, I thought you were a goner. I'm not a Necromancer yet I could tell you weren't sure you wanted to return to us...back to me." He said turning to face her. His eyes shifted to Edith and back to Selene.

Although they did not speak, it was evident that it was a conversation he needed to have with Selene much later when they were alone. Edith noticed this and cleared her throat before she continued speaking.

"Herbert arrived and took over. He might look smug and...you know...but he really helped a lot. He didn't even allow anyone else to oversee your treatment. He stayed by your bedside during that time and nursed you back to health. I'm a Necromancer but I didn't even know what to do or how to help." Edith sighed.

"What about you? You were wounded as well, weren't you?" Selene asked.

"My bruises were mostly physical. I wasn't in harm's way. I would have survived and it's thanks to you." Edith said.

"I don't know about that. I didn't do much apart from panicking and begging for help. Besides, it's my fault you were in danger. You wouldn't have been there if I hadn't dragged you along." Selene said nervously.

"That's not how it works, Selene. I should have done more. My place is by your side. If I die in the process of fulfilling the Prophecy, then so be it. I failed you, Selene. There's no other way to put it." Edith's voice shook.

Selene looked at Edith and Benjamin. She couldn't understand why they were both blaming themselves for what happened to her. She was the one who hadn't been able to protect herself. They had done all they could to help her, hadn't they?

If anything, she expected them to be wary and avoid her. She wouldn't have blamed them for running away when she knew all too well that she was like a ticking time bomb.

"I know I do not deserve to ask for a second chance after this, but I'm asking all the same. Please let me stay and help you, Selene." Edith said bowing her head in shame.

"I should be begging you to stay after what happened. I..." Selene started to say.

Edith and Benjamin never found out what Selene had been trying to say. They both forgot their self-pity at once.

Selene was staring ahead like she couldn't see them. Her mouth hung open since she'd been talking when it happened. Her eyes turned completely black and her body became stiff.

"Selene? Selene!" Benjamin shouted running to her bed.

"What's happening?" Edith asked. She wasn't as knowledgeable as Benjamin but she knew it wasn't good.

"Get Herbert! Now!"

#M.M