I Refused To Be Reincarnated

A sensation of weightlessness engulfed Adam before his eyelids fluttered with difficulty, and he forced his eyes open. The first thing he noticed was the wind whipping against his body, then that his charred body was gone, replaced by a flickering spectral frame. Finally, the large circular plaza he was falling toward and the many ghosts populating it.

"Catch him, guys!"

The same voice resounded, followed by the excited cheers he was used to hearing each time he returned to the city.

"Prometheus!"

"Humanity's most crazy monster!"

"More importantly! He said it!"

Confusion flashed in his eyes as he wondered why they didn't resent him. After all, he had been the one who killed them all. But before he could think, thousands of smiling faces filled his eyes. Then, thousands of arms reached for the sky to catch him.

And a particular pair drew his attention as they grabbed him with affection.

"Got you, brother!"

The voice sounded again, forcing a realisation to rumble like a thunder strike in his mind. He had heard it right before!

"H-How?" He asked, his luminous eyes trembling in stupefaction as he gazed at Atlas' grin.
Stay tuned to empire

"Hahaha. How do you want me to reincarnate if my soul vanishes? Of course, I had to hide it here before dying!" Atlas chuckled, winking and raising his thumbs as he always did after a successful prank.

Unlike his usual reaction, Adam's lips stretched into a warm smile, and an ethereal tear rolled down his cheek.

"I-I... I'm happy to see you, brat."

Without giving him time to answer, he hugged him. Laughing and crying simultaneously, relief filled his pierced heart, fixing a few holes caused by his guilt. His friend would reincarnate, too! Humanity would have a reliable guardian with him, and he could disappear from everyone's memories without regrets.

"I am, too. You scared me after you vaporised the city, though."

He heard Atlas' words, feeling his gentle pats on his back and his shuddering soul in his embrace. With everything he had seen, the brat must have been terrorised or even believed he had betrayed them. Thankfully, the scattered pieces of his plan fell into place. And now, only the last one needed to be slotted to fix everything.

After a moment, he pulled back, seeing the citizens' teary eyes with a wry smile.

Noticing his confusion, Atlas extended his finger towards the bright blue sky and explained.

"We watched everything you did together. Of course, we all believed you went crazy at first. Many wished for you to die in a ditch like the venomous snake they thought you were. But after you met with Luna, we all understood..."

His voice cracked, marking a pause as everyone hid their guilty expressions behind rapid nods.

"We all understood that your definition is wrong! How can you call yourself a monster when you are humanity's savior? You are our hero!"

"Humanity's hero!"

"He is right!"

"Stop flogging yourself! You did nothing wrong!"

Many passionate screams met Atlas' declaration, each coming from the bottom of their heart. No matter how Adam perceived himself, he was their strong and cool hero!

Faced with their heartfelt acclamations, his face distorted into a complex grimace.

'Are they out of their minds? I'm not a hero! Atlas and Mnemosyne are! They died to protect the city in my absence.'

He shook his head, knowing from experience it would be useless to reason with the crowd when suddenly, his flickering frame began to collapse on itself. It was time to go.

"I'm glad I got the chance to see you all one last time," he said, his smile stretching his lips as he swiped his eyes through the crowd. Then, he focused on Atlas, patting his shoulder.

"Don't be too mad at Luna. She did her best with the little means she had at her disposal. Protect and guide humanity well."

His words lingered as a tense silence descended on the plaza. They had thought that by bringing him here, his condition would stabilise. Yet, it only grew worse by the second.

Everyone's eyes reddened, tears of unwillingness gushing, but they were powerless to help him. After all, they were the regular souls of regular humans.

"No! Don't die, Prometheus!"

"Hold on a little longer! Luna's reincarnation spell is almost ready!"

They screamed, their grief-filled voice warming his heart. Never had he imagined they would feel in debt. He closed his eyes, grateful for their support and satisfied with this ending.

"Not under my watch!"

Suddenly, Luna's voice reverberated through the plaza. Her figure materialised before him, clutching a tattered mass of gray energy in her hand a second later.

His eyes snapped open in surprise, and his heart wavered as he looked at her beautiful face and determined eyes. Then, his brows shot into a stupor as she shoved the mass into his spectral frame.

"Quick, use your spell to stitch your soul!"

Her hands trembled, eyes sparkling with anticipation. After the Magus died, she relentlessly searched for a way to preserve him from death until she noticed it. The lingering fragments of the magus' soul that had been used to fuel his defensive spell. In the blink of an eye, she gathered them into a compact mass before diving into the eyes to deliver it.

With such a powerful soul, hope filled her drumming heart. She was sure he would survive.

However, contrary to her expectations, Adam shook his head, sighing.

"You are safe, and a new page turns for humanity. Neither of you needs me anymore... I'm tired, Luna..."

However, before he could finish his sentence, he felt delicate threads composed of vibrant life force sew the dense essence with his soul against his will. Then, he heard her aggrieved tone.

"You'll never die. I'll prevent you even if you want to!"

Forcefully manipulating his essence, she restored his mana circuits. With each passing second, his flickering soul became denser. Yet, he frowned and opened his mouth to speak.

But before he could, Luna spoke first.

"If you are tired, sleep for a few years, even a decade, if you need to, but I won't let you leave me!"

The rumbling of thunder echoed her words as ominous dark clouds gathered, obscuring the bright sun's rays and plunging the plaza into darkness.

Meanwhile, the citizens' expressions of relief after noticing Adam's recovery collapsed. Their faces distorted into fearful grimaces, believing Luna would sacrifice them again.

However, her stuttering voice and chattering legs broke their suspicions.

"N-No!" She wailed, her heart racing in despair before gazing at Adam in the eyes.

"They marked you as a heretic. Those clouds will chase your soul relentlessly until they eradicate it from the universe."

Nothing could save him, not even her. She knew it because she also held the authority to mark earthlings as heretics if they committed heinous crimes against her. Yet, she could feel it in her trembling bones. The clouds shimmered with boundless energy, much more than what she had. If she tried to stop them, they would vaporise her, too.

"Calm down, Luna. Ready the ritual and reincarnate everyone," Adam said, his hand finding her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Unafraid by the terrible lights flashing above his head, he then walked to Atlas, his lips curling into a smirk.

"Still down to forget everything and restart anew?"