I Refused To Be Reincarnated

Reality cracked again before Adam, the raining shard blinding and forcing his eyes shut after Luna vanished. When he reopened them, he found himself outside, floating behind Prometheus.

In a second, he scanned his surroundings, noticing the fuming ground and remains of vaporised creatures. He also smelled the fresh scent of unpolluted air for the first time in a while. And finally, he saw the enormous terror lying under Prometheus' sitting figure.

Then, he heard the man exhale a mouthful of turbid air and a few drops of blood.

"Finally, I became an arcanist."

Prometheus' weary voice echoed in the vast yet empty lands. He had completed his mission and could finally return to the city after a long year.

Despite the joyous occasion, he felt nothing but gloom. Gloom because his body was failing. No matter what he did, he couldn't stop its decay.

"What a joke," he chuckled at the irony. In the end, he survived the relentless assault of waves of invaders. He even killed millions of them with his own two hands. Yet, the power allowing him to achieve those feats would claim his life.

And, of course, once he knew his inevitable death would come, he pondered his life choices. Everything he had done and everything he hadn't...

Amidst those reflections, a realisation struck him like a thunderbolt, jolting his body and soul.

"Why are some people heroes?"

He rose from the carcass, using his staff as a cane to support his body, and walked towards the underground city.

"Animated by a just cause, they are brave people who fight for the weak. They don't hesitate to endanger themselves or even die for them."

Summer's hot wind carried his words as he gazed at the devastated scenery. Mountains were nothing more than piles of rubble. Lakes became empty holes and lustrous plains a cracked desert.

"Now that I have nothing to lose, can I become one, too?" He asked after hours of travel, emotions billowing and entwining in a chaotic mess.

Survival became impossible. He had lost his drive. But could he stop?

"I can't."

Amidst his long journey, he realised his box would never recover. He longed to return, to interact with others again, with his... friends. That's when he remembered his first reactions after learning about the imminent catastrophe.

He had bought food... to distribute it to others. He had bought weapons... to arm his fellow citizens. Yet, before he realised it, the terror he felt upon seeing that creature had devoured his heart and intentions. Your next journey awaits at empire

"Hahaha."

He laughed, tears streaming down his cheeks as the vicious reality of his own mistakes cracked his reality open.

"How stupid am I?" He said, entering the tunnel that would lead him to the city.

Now he realised it. Sealing his emotions was a mistake. He had become someone else, driven by an irrational will to survive.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

And this realisation compelled another question.

"After climbing over a mountain of human skeletons and dead creatures, what will I do? Live in an empty world and die alone?"

A deafening silence engulfed the dark tunnel as he paused, only leaving the echo of his steps as the sole noise. He felt the cold air caress his skin and the damp scent fill his nose before he continued.

"I-I can't die like that," he said, recalling the great heroes that marked human history.

"They all died for a noble purpose. Something much larger than them and, in exchange, they were remembered for thousands of years."

Then, he recalled the citizens, the annoying brat, Atlas... and Luna. Even if he would never admit it, he had missed them.

"Should I tell her, or would it be cruel?"

After all, he would die no matter what. So, could he really declare that he loved her? That those fleeting moments passed together had filled his frozen heart with warmth? That her liveliness made her as bright as the sun?

He shook his head, his drying tears flying to the sides.

He couldn't. She didn't deserve to suffer from his sentiments, especially after carrying humanity's burden since her birth.

"But I can do more, much better."

A grin slowly stretched his lips, replacing his earlier grimace as dead embers reignited in his heart. He had made a mistake, but he could fix it! After all, he was strong now, and humanity hadn't perished yet.

He felt his weak heart pound painfully in his chest with these thoughts, but he didn't care. He was too engrossed in his reflection.

Simultaneously, the shimmering box stirred. Cracking sounds echoed in his mind as it menaced to break open at any moment, freeing a torrent of long-suppressed emotions.

However, he contained them. Using his will, he imagined a sparkling veil of atomic mana to reinforce the seal.

"The time hasn't come yet, but I'll free you soon," he muttered, clenching his chest and taking deep breaths to calm down.

After five minutes, his eyes hardened, and a malicious smirk split his face.

"Humanity doesn't need a hero. I'll never become one, anyway. Instead, I'll become a monster. The worst one that ever existed in history. I'll create claws to shred our enemies. I'll create fangs to devour them.

I'll become humanity's weapon to destroy any menace!"

His solemn declaration reverberated in the dark cave for a moment as the fire turned into a raging inferno before he softly added.

"A monster no one ever understood, but one that will protect everyone. I don't need to be remembered, only for them to survive."

His words lingered as he closed his eyes, enjoying the peace because he knew. He knew he would face the biggest storm humanity ever suffered once he stepped into the city.

Simultaneously, Adam watched Prometheus' hunched back with a complicated expression. This recollection raised many existential questions he had never considered before.

Well, at least he knew he wouldn't have sealed his emotions and would have always done his best to help others, unlike Prometheus, who was ready to sacrifice them in his madness.

But he couldn't blame him. After all, he had changed thanks to his relationship with Julius, Theodore, Arun, Asha, Nova, Morgane, Shepard, the college's teachers and... Misha. So many individuals had subtly influenced him, saving him from solitude and granting him one of his wishes. He hadn't realised it since it was something basic. But he had people he could speak with.

'That's maybe what Prometheus lacked. Even before the cataclysm, he was alone,' he thought, shaking his head to clear it. After all, he could already see the city's lights and would most likely assist at the last arc of the recollection.