The Rain had been falling for three days straight. Not the gentle kind that whispered against rooftops, but a relentless, cold downpour that seemed intent on erasing
The world. Streets flooded. Gutters overflowed, and the Sky hung low and Gray
Like something suffocating the Earth beneath it. Yet, he stood in it. Unmoving.
Unfeeling. Watching. His name was Elias varn. At least, that had been the name
He went by now. He had worn many names
Over the years, too many to remember
Too many to care about. Names faded.
Faces faded. Entire lives blurred together
Into something hollow and indistinct.
But his body...his body never changed.
Elias appeared to be a man in his early
Twenties. Just over six feet with a lean, wiry
Build that spoke of endurance rather than Brute strength. His skin was Pale. Not from
A lack of sunlight, but from something deeper
Unnatural. It seemed as though life clung to
Him more out of obligation than anything else
His hair was black, slightly long, and perpetually damp from the rain, clinging to
His forehead in loose strands. His eyes,
However, were what unsettled people the most. They were a deep gray. Not bright. Not warm. Empty. Not the emptiness of ignorance, but the kind that came with seeing to much. From remembering to much. From
Surviving to much. A car sped past, splashing water on the sidewalk. Elias didn't flinch. He didn't even blink. Water soaked
Through his clothes. A simple dark coat over a faded T-shirt and worn Jeans. He made
No move to shield himself. The coldness no longer bothered him. Neither did heat. Neither did the pain. Not anymore. Not after the first one hundred years. He glanced down
At his right hand. Slowly, deliberately he curled his fingers into a fist. Then tightened and tightened. Until the bones should have
Cracked. Until the skin should have split.
But It didn't. It never did. Even when It did,
It had never been for long. Elias can remember the first time he'd died. A house
Was burning down around him. Beams were
Collapsing. Smoke filled his lungs, he remembered the panic. The Desperate clawing at the floor. The screams that tore
From his throat. He'd remembered the
Exact moment his body gave out, the
Moment everything went black. The moment
He thought, It's finally over. Then he had woke up. Same body. Same Breath. Same cursed heartbeat. Not in the fire. Not in the ruins. But outside, in the cold night air, It felt as though something or someone had rejected his death. Elias exhaled slowly, The Present bleeding back into focus. "That...was a long time ago," he muttered under his breath, his voice was low, rough from disuse.
He didn't speak often. There had been rarely
Anyone worth speaking to. Or anyone who would still be there long enough to matter.
Elias started walking. The city stretched out
Before him. Alive, Noisy, Chaotic. People rushed past under umbrellas, laughing, arguing, Living. Living. The word felt
Foreign to him. Like something he had once
Understood, but no longer did. A couple passed him, hands intertwined. Elias's
Gazed lingered for half a second to long.
Not out of longing. Not anymore. Out of recognition, he had held someone's hand
Like that once. He had loved once. He had been loved. Her name was....Elias stopped walking. His eyes fluttered closed for a second before opening them. He'd tried to
Remember her, but he couldn't. A soft sigh escaped From Elias's pink Lips, of course
He couldn't remember her. That was the second part of his curse. Not only endless
Life. But endless loss as well, memories did
Not remain intact forever. Not when there
Were to many of them, not when Centuries
Piled on top of Centuries like a suffocating weight. Faces blurred. Voices faded. Names
Disappeared. Until the only thing that remained was the feeling of having lost something without knowing what it was.
For a single second, something flickered across his expression. Not sadness. Not Quite. Something worse. Emptiness. A scream shattered the noise of the city.
High-pitched, Panicked. Close to where he
Was. Elias turned his head to the right,
Right there had been a alleyway. It was
Cloaked in darkness. Perfect place for a
Crime to be committed, Elias began to
Walk down the alleyway until he'd come across two figures. Two men and One woman. The young woman, who looked
To be no older than twenty had been backed
Against a wall. The intention of what they
Were planning to do to the young woman
Was clear in the way that they smiled.
Predators Elias thought in complete disgust. The woman had cried out again as one of the men grabbed her right arm roughly, "Hey," Elias said, the two men and the young woman turned to face Elias. The two men
Frowned while the woman's expression turned into one of hopefulness. That was
Always the worse part. "What do you want?," one of the men growled, stepping forward.
"This doesn't concern you," the second man growled, taking a step forward. Elias sighed before responding, "You're wrong. It does."
Elias walked forward. "Get lost before We-"
The second man couldn't finish his sentence
As he stared into Elias's deep gray eyes.
He'd felt something that he hadn't felt before,
Fear. The first man showed no fear as he
Charged toward Elias. Elias moved slightly
To the right, causing the first man to stumble before he caught himself. The first man
Turned around to face Elias again, only this
Time Elias struck. His right fist connected
With the first man's stomach, causing him
To spit out blood and to fall to one knee.
Elias kneed the first man in the nose with
Enough force to knock him out, Elias turned
Around to face the second man. Sweat
Poured from his Forehead down his cheeks
To the ground. He'd raised his hands upward,
"I-I want no trouble. M-Me and my buddy were Just looking to have some fun, that's all." Elias remained silent, his deep gray eyes
Locked on the second man. Elias knows what he saw before he interfered. The first
Man and his buddy were going to...assault
Her, if he were not walking by this alleyway.
His Jaw clenched, "take your buddy and leave." The second man obeyed without Question. His deep gray eyes Flickered over
To the woman for a second before turning
Around to leave, "Wait!" The woman called,
Elias paused, before he turned around to
Face her. "T-Thank You, I-I don't know what
Would have happened if you didn't-" Elias raised his right hand, "Don't" his voice was
Barely above a Whisper. "Huh?" Confusion was evident In the young woman's Voice.
"Don't thank me. It won't matter." The young
Woman was unable to respond before Elias was gone. Back into the rain. Back into the crowd. Back into the endless, unchanging flow of time. Elias varn walked on. Unaging.
Unbreaking. Unending. And utterly alone.
Because immortality was not a gift. It was not power. It was not salvation. It was a slow, eternal erosion of everything that made life
Worth living. The worst part? No matter how
Much he wanted it to end. It never would.