The apocalypse.
The event that began my endless cycle of rebirth.
At first, I thought the world revolved around me — that I was chosen, special.
But I wasn't. The power didn't choose me. It bound me.
It began in Egypt. A team of researchers uncovered what they thought was a mural — but it was a seal. The barrier between this world and another started to bleed.
When the first seal breaks, mana leaks through — the weak spirits, the whispers.
When two break, lost cities return.
When four fall, their gods send armies.
And when ten collapse… the worlds become one.
In every life, I learned a little more. Olympus was one. There are others buried beneath oceans, hidden in mountains, etched into temples.
But that's all I could ever gather. Even through countless lives, the mystery of the murals was one I could never unravel.
I look up at my desk.
My computer screen flickers — a live broadcast from Egypt.
The pyramids…
Once believed to be the tombs of kings. But not all of them held the dead.
One of them held the mural — the bringer of the apocalypse.
I couldn't stop its awakening. I never could.
And for the next twenty-seven hours, I was just a normal human being.
'The recently discovered site here in Egypt shows a new kind of architecture previously never seen in this part of the world. The designs resemble ruins found across the globe. Could this be evidence of an ancient, interconnected civili—'
The reporter's voice is bright, hopeful. I remember her from before — a fanatic for world history.
If only she knew she'd be dead soon.
So many will be.
My friends. My family.
None of them ever survive to the end.
I try.
Every life, I try.
But fate always wins.
Hope isn't a strategy I can rely on.
I know what the future holds, and I know I'm too powerless to stop it.
Ding.
The doorbell rings.
I already know who it is.
The soon-to-be Sun of Apollo.
My friend — Beatrice.
"Hello, Beatrice. How are you?"
Throughout all my lives, she's always appeared at this exact moment, with the same smile, and for the same reason.
"Umm… can I ask you for a favour? Can you finish my homework for me? I don't understand anything it says—"
She keeps talking, waving her arms in that same animated way she always does.
And I just stand there, listening.
Sometimes, a break like this feels… nice.
Listening to her voice.
Pretending everything's still normal.
She doesn't know it yet, but without her, I wouldn't have survived a single lifetime.
But for today—
just today—
I let myself believe I don't know what tomorrow brings.