Abbot Zerchi smiled thinly. “You don’t have a soul, Doctor. You are a soul. You have a body, temporarily.”
In simpler times, Hell would take a soul on the death of the body. Death is more complicated in Fallen London, though not unknown. So it's not terribly uncommon to meet someone who's short a soul. Some of them become mumbling, dead-eyed husks: some of them simply turn to occupations where soullessness is a professional advantage.
— An informational sidebar snippet from Fallen London
What do you think the soul is? Some pie you can slice? The soul can be bludgeoned, tortured, but never broken. Not even by me.
[...]
Today, you got a hard look behind the curtain. Wrecking the natural order's not quite such fun when you have to mop up the mess, is it? This is hard for you, Dean. You throw away your life because you've come to assume that it'll bounce right back into your lap. But the human soul is not a rubber ball. It's vulnerable, impermanent, but stronger than you know. And more valuable than you can imagine. So - I think you've learned something today.
[...]
Today, you got a hard look behind the curtain. Wrecking the natural order's not quite such fun when you have to mop up the mess, is it? This is hard for you, Dean. You throw away your life because you've come to assume that it'll bounce right back into your lap. But the human soul is not a rubber ball. It's vulnerable, impermanent, but stronger than you know. And more valuable than you can imagine. So - I think you've learned something today.
Harry: I'm sure of one thing now that I wasn't before.
Uriel: Oh?
Harry: Souls. I mean, you always wonder if they're real. Even if you believe in them, you still have to wonder: Is my existence just this body? Is there really something more? Do I really have a soul?
Uriel: You've got it backwards, Harry. You are a soul. You have a body.
Uriel: Oh?
Harry: Souls. I mean, you always wonder if they're real. Even if you believe in them, you still have to wonder: Is my existence just this body? Is there really something more? Do I really have a soul?
Uriel: You've got it backwards, Harry. You are a soul. You have a body.
Every mortal creature, much like the gods themselves, were given a soul long before they were conceived. The soul makes up the core of what makes you you; anytime you feel a sense of wanting more out of your life, that is your soul that gives you these suggestions. Not only is the soul apart of you, but they also have their own feelings and aspirations. Sometimes if the soul were to be separate from the body for a long period of time, they have broken away and go on to have their own lives.
— Hypnos to Luz, The Gods Awaken
