The air was thick with the dry scent of cinnamon. Myrrh incense burned quietly nearby, its white smoke rising before it dispersed. "The Supreme Sun Priest is almost a god. When a Supreme Sun Priest enters eternal rest, he cannot be buried in the earth. He must rest here, in the Shrine Hall."
Candles flickered and shadows danced. A middle-aged man in the robes of a High Sun Priest walked slowly into the room, followed closely by a pretty young girl with a ponytail.
"Teacher, why don't we just say the Supreme Sun Priest died?" the girl asked innocently. A bronze Briefcase swung at her side.
"Gods are immortal, and those who are almost gods do not die either. They will be reborn in the distant future," the man said kindly. "Our task is to ensure their souls can reincarnate safely. Come, put the case down."
The girl nodded and walked to the table. It was so tall that its surface nearly reached her chin. Standing on tiptoe, she carefully set the Briefcase on it.
"Strictly speaking, there are things you aren't entitled to know." The man walked to the table with his eyes closed and took a thin-bladed Surgical Knife from the case. "But since your father manages the Verdant Road, and you're his only child, I see no harm in telling you. Watch closely."
He beckoned to the girl, then went over to the dehydration bed. A somewhat bloated male corpse lay motionless on it.
The corpse lay facedown. Perhaps because it had been left there too long, strange, sickening black blotches covered its back. From its appearance alone, no one could have guessed that in life it had been a Supreme Sun Priest who enjoyed every luxury and wielded immense power.
"The brain houses the soul. It