We are its reincarnation, so to speak (2,2,4)
I believe the answer is:
as it were
'so to speak' is the definition.
('as it were' can be a synonym of 'so to speak')
'we are its reincarnation' is the wordplay.
'reincarnation' is an anagram indicator.
'we'+'are'+'its'='weareits'
'weareits' with letters rearranged gives 'AS IT WERE'.
(Other definitions for as it were that I've seen before include "So to speak" , "In sort of" , "Historically ungrammatical" , "you might say" , "As if it was actually so" .)