Is the ability to live forever a curse? Is knowing everything there is to know a curse? I already know the answer. Take it from me—someone who has been immortal for over five thousand years— There are no words to describe it.
I woke up to the shrill ringing of an alarm clock. My eyes barely opened as I groaned and reached for it, slamming my hand down to silence the noise. I squinted at the time.
7:00 a.m.
What kind of idiot sets an alarm this early? Then it hit me. Memories that weren't mine came crashing into my mind all at once, sharp and overwhelming, like shards of glass tearing through my thoughts. I clutched my head as the pain surged. I wasn't in my body. I was in the body of a sixteen-year-old high school student—one who was about to start his first day of school.
Again.
I let out a bitter laugh. I had already gone to school. Graduated. Lived full lives. More than twenty times, if I counted properly. And now here I was, starting over once more.
"Luke, honey, are you awake?" a woman's voice called from downstairs.
"Yes, Mom!" I shouted back before I could stop myself.
I froze.
Those words hadn't felt like a choice. They had simply spilled out of my mouth, natural and automatic. I frowned, realization settling in. So it's the host's instincts again. I sighed deeply. I couldn't believe it—me, a five-thousand-year-old man, being dragged back into high school. I dragged myself out of bed and stood in front of the mirror. Staring back at me was a stranger.
Well… not a bad one.
Green eyes. Blond hair. Lightly tanned skin. Around five-foot-ten. The kid—Lucas or Luke, whatever his name was—is definitely better-looking than my last host. I smirked faintly. Look out, ladies. Another heartbreaker has arrived.
The amusement didn't last long.
I stared at my reflection, my expression darkening. Here we go again. Another four years of my existence about to be wasted pretending to be a teenager. Not that it mattered much. I had time—far too much of it.
I wasn't just any immortal. I used to be powerful. Ridiculously powerful. With my original body, I could split mountains with a single swing of my sword. Kings bowed to me. Gods watched me carefully, if they actually existed.
Then came the curse. Not an accident—never an accident.
I lost everything. My abilities. My body. Even my physical existence. Now all that remained of me was a wandering consciousness, forced to inhabit one body after another. Sometimes I wondered if my original body was still out there somewhere—buried, broken, lifeless. No, my body was simply too strong to disappear; it had to be out there somewhere.
Everything about my existence was miserable. The only comfort I had clung to was the thought that the system—the cursed thing that hunted me and forced my reincarnations—was finally gone.
Maybe now… maybe I could finally die. I exhaled slowly, feeling something close to relief. Then I heard it.
Beep.
A mechanical hum echoed in the air, sharp and unmistakable. My heart sank. I looked up just as a translucent screen flickered into existence above my head, glowing softly like a hologram.
I already knew what it was.
[Hello, User. Nice to see you again.]
"…No," I muttered.
Not again.