As I closed my eyes, I found peace surrounding me. There were no more regrets, no more pain, and no more sadness.

I could feel myself reliving everything that I’ve gone through in my life—the memories that I cherished, the friends I made, the people that I loved, and the people I’ve lost, the mistakes I made, the choices I regret, and the chances I missed—all in front of my eyes.

I could feel all the different emotions hitting me like a tidal wave, but then, the next second, everything became calm, serene, and peaceful once again.

If I had to describe this feeling, I would only say one word - liberating.

I knew I had made many mistakes, and I knew there were still people who loved me, cared for me, and would miss me after my death. But in that moment of calmness, I wanted to forget everything.

This peacefulness has never been experienced in the last few years of my life.

When I was alive, I wanted to feel pain and misery, and I wanted to be alone because I deserved it.

Some people left me, some gave up on me, and some were whom I ignored—but despite how hard I tried to punish myself, some still stood with me, supported me, and cared for me—Aaya, Ali, Aarvi, Ria, Queency.

These people helped me without asking for anything in return, and I was grateful for that, but now I regret not saying that to them. Had I been a little more honest, I could have told them—I could have told her—that I needed you in my life and apologized for my mistakes. Or a simple thank you, but I will not have a chance now.

As the memories in my head began to become hazy, I started losing myself in that darkness.

If anyone asked me what I wanted now, my answer would be that I wanted time to stop there. I wanted this peace to last forever.

I wanted an eternity of this numb darkness where I could not feel anything.

I closed my eyes and left myself floating in the darkness, as I enjoyed the peace.

But when has anything in my life ever gone according to my wishes and what I want?

I did not know how much time I was lost in this darkness. It could have been a moment, a day, or an eternity as I hoped, but suddenly I started hearing voices around me, breaking out of my calm sleep.

I could not understand what they were saying. I started looking around to determine the source of that voice, but I could not find anything except darkness; I stopped trying to look. I was hoping that my voice would shut up and I could go to sleep again.

However, as I tried harder to ignore everything, the voices started getting louder and louder.

I could make out some words of what the voices were saying:

[Wake up]

[Why is not he waking up]

[Why has not anyone from the church arrived yet] [the priest is here]

I was trying to close my eyes again when a loud flash, a crack, started forming. I could see the pure white light radiating through it, pushing the darkness away. I could feel myself slipping toward that crack, and as I passed through, I could see the darkness before I tried to swallow that light.

I was wondering what was happening when I heard voices again.

[Is something wrong with my son]

[Will brother be okay]

[He is fine, he just needs rest now]

Son and brother. As I heard these words, the memories that I thought I had forgotten when I came here started coming back to me. Memories of my family are back on earth with my mother and my lovely little sister Ria.

(It has been a long time since I heard her voice in my head)

That was the last thought I had before the light completely blinded me, and I could feel myself again.

It was a strange sensation, as in the darkness, I could not feel anything—not myself or my surroundings.

But now I could feel the wind touching my face, and I could feel someone holding my hands.

I tried feeling my eyes and was hoping to open them, but then a pain came, attacking my brain. It was not as bad as getting hit by a truck, but it was not something to scoff at either.

I clenched my fists and tried to suppress them. Migraines were not something I was new to. I had them every time I had a panic attack or after waking up from my nightmares, but this was more than that.

If the pain of getting your body completely wrecked by a truck was 10 and the panic attacks were 5, then this headache would be about 6 or 7.

I was thinking like this, waiting for the pain to be over, but then I heard a clicking sound, like something was breaking. And like some trigger or chain reaction, it kept echoing in my head repeatedly, like someone placed my head on an anvil and was now hammering it constantly. I thought I was finally going crazy.

I tried to cover my ears, but before I could, the banging stopped. I tried to take a deep breath to calm down, but then the headache started again, and this time it was worse, much worse than before.

(it broke the pain scale and went far beyond a 10)

After what felt like an eternity to me, the pain stopped, and the peaceful darkness again surrounded me.

After that, just like before, the different feelings and memories started to play in front of me. I relaxed and started paying attention.

But as I continued to watch, I noticed something different from before: these memories, these feelings, they were not mine.

The scenes rolling in front of my eyes portray the story of someone else's life.

They were that of a 10-year-old kid named Aish Floren.

In a lavish room made of intricate designs and filled with one-of-a-kind art and jewels that made it look like a mansion—the light was coming from the window and from the beautiful chandelier made of glass—which shone in different colors as the sunlight fell on it—there were currently 4 people standing there nervously, watching a 10-year-old kid sleeping on the bed. 

Tension filled the room, and there was a thick sense of heaviness in the air as everyone could feel the constant pressure coming out of a beautiful lady standing there, near the bedside. 

Her beautiful black eyes shone in different colors as the light from the chandelier fell on it. But no one standing in the room was in any mood to appreciate the beauty of it. 

She was Artemis Raven, the duchess of the Damascus city of the Schilla empire. She is known as the shadow sword of Schilla, an S-rank adventurer. In the entire kingdom, few could fight her head-to-head and come out unscathed. 

She is as deadly with a sword as she is beautiful without it. 

Her face was filled with anger, and a slight bloodlust was leaking from her aura, which scared the people guarding outside. She wasn't trying to scare them on purpose, but it was hard to control her emotions seeing the state of the person currently lying motionless in bed. 

How could she control herself when her only son was brought home unconscious? 

When she first saw him in that state, her S-rank mana pressure flared, and it nearly made the soldiers who were standing outside tremble in fear. 

They all had sweat dripping out their backs, as they couldn't even imagine the bloodbath that would follow if anything happened to their future heir. 

Currently standing beside her was a man with royal bearings. One look in his eyes, and the person standing in front of him might just kneel directly. He had a muscular build and was tall, standing near 6'5". He had white hair with slightly brownish eyes. He was the Duke of Damascus City. S rank climber, also known as sword king of Schilla, owner of Shade. 

Duke Agnus Floren tried to calm down his wife, but it had no effect. He could understand her feelings, but there was nothing they could do except wait. They already tried the healing magic and fed their son all kinds of healing potions, but it had no effect. 

One high-grade healing potion could easily heal all the mortal wounds and normally even save someone from the brink of death, but even after drinking several Aish showed no signs of waking up. 

That was what worried Artemis more, as that meant only one thing—Aish was cursed. 

Her son, the future heir of Damascus, was cursed in her own house, and she couldn't prevent it. The disappointment she felt in herself, as she thought that she failed him as his mother, was making her furious. 

Curses originated from black magic. They are banned from every kingdom. 

Usually, curses only get practiced by followers of the church of Evil's Scion. They are followers of the Demon King Detail, who was defeated and sealed thousands of years ago in another realm by God Apollo himself. 

After that, anyone found using them or practicing them would be killed or imprisoned for life without any exceptions.

And the fact that someone from Evil's Scion was able to infiltrate the Floren mansion and curse the future heir was an insult in itself. 

But nobody in the room was currently worried about that. As their son's life was hanging on the thread. 

They have tried to identify or remove the curse, but without purifying magic, it was not possible, and anyone with that magic was associated with the church. 

"Why hasn't anyone from the church arrived yet?". 

Duke Agnus asked his guard, who was standing behind him. 

"We've already informed them, and currently high priest Andreas is on his way here. They could be arriving any minute now." The soldier replied hurriedly, as he didn't want to anger the parents more. 

"Is brother alright?" 

An 8-year-old girl pulled her mother's dress and asked her in a cute voice; her eyes were getting misty looking at Aish. 

Her name was Amelia Floren. Princess of Damascus, the little sister of the person lying motionless and the daughter of Duke Angus and Duchess Artemis Raven. 

"He's fine. Don't worry, he'll wake up soon. Okay," Artemis tried to coax her child, as she didn't want her to be worried. 

Everyone in the mansion knew just how close both brother and sister were, and she knew if she didn't say something, this little girl was going to start crying; for a fact, they knew that no one except Aish could stop her tears. 

After hearing her mother, little Amelia didn't doubt her words and went near Aish's bed and held his hand. 

"Wake up, lazy brother. Or I'm going to oversleep tomorrow." 

Hearing her sweet words, a little smile formed on everyone's face in the room. 

Just then the door opened, and a guard announced the arrival of High Priest Andreas. 

Andreas wore a white dress with a symbol of the sun God Apollo, which shows his affiliation with the church. He had two golden strips going down his shoulders and a book in his hand. He had a tattoo of Lyre made on the back of his hand. 

"Greetings, Duke Agnus. Lady Artemis. " He bowed slightly to the Duke and Duchess, who nodded their heads in response. 

Andreas came near Aish to check his condition without waiting for further instructions, as he was already informed about the situation. 

He checked Aish's condition and started chanting some spells in ancient language. 

Some black lines started getting visible on Aish's heart and started spreading towards his head. 

The Duke had a hunch, and after seeing the curse lines appearing on his son's body, his face grew even more worried. He could tell it was a Seishus curse, which could affect his son's mind and even take his life if not removed successfully. 

"How's my son? Is everything okay?" 

Artemis, who was now holding Amelia, couldn't hold herself back as well as Angus and asked about her son's condition. 

But after Priest Andreas reassured her that the curse wasn't fully placed and he could remove it successfully, she took a deep breath. 

Priest Andreas took out a flask filled with holy water and made a lyre mark on Aish's chest. He then started chanting his spells, and seeing him, nobody said anything lest they interrupt him. 

After 5 minutes, the black lines started getting drawn to the lyre mark and later disappeared in smoke. 

At the end, a white light engulfed Aish's body, and Andreas informed everyone about the curse's removal. 

"The curse is lifted now; he just needs rest." 

Hearing his voice, everyone had a smile on their face. 

Duke Agnus and Artemis started talking to Andreas about the details for the curse and who could've done this. 

"Mama, brother, he's _ he is."" 

As they were talking, they heard the voice of Amelia, who was screaming and tears running down her eyes. 

Seeing her cry and hearing her, Artemis came back running to see Aish's body convulsing on bed. He was shaking, and tears were coming from his eyes, and it looked like he was in a lot of pain. 

Artemis nearly lost control for a second after seeing her son in that situation, and after calming down, she came near him and started to check his condition. 

Just then Agnus and Andreas came too and saw Artemis holding Aish's head. 

"You said the curse was lifted." 

Artemis said while glaring at Andreas; her black eyes were getting bloodshot now. 

Andreas didn't reply to her and started his spells to see Aish's condition again, but he didn't find anything wrong.

Andreas had a frown on his face. 

"What's wrong, Andreas?" Duke Agnus asked, and he too was getting impatient now. 

Never has he in his life felt as helpless as he feels now. Watching his son writhing in pain and not being able to do anything. He swore to himself that once Aish was fine, he would eradicate all of Evil's Scion from his city. 

Andreas looked at him and informed him that "Aish was fine, but unlike what they thought, the curse wasn't placed recently on him, but it's been affecting him for a long time, and it was just after effects from suddenly removing it completely. His body is that of a kid and is still unawakened, so his energy is drained along with the curse, and that's why he's in pain." 

Andreas gave Aish some potion, which he took out of his storage ring, and after that, Aish's body stopped shaking, and his face, which was pale till now, had some color, and he looked to be resting now. 

Andreas informed the Duke that he'll probably wake up tomorrow morning after his body completely absorbed the potion, and till then they should just watch after him. 

Andreas was planning to go back to church, but Artemis stopped him till Aish woke up, and seeing the look in her eyes, he too didn't argue with it. 

Aish was thus said to have been left alone in his room, but Amelia and Artemis refused to go out and stayed with him. 

Amelia, whose eyes were swollen from crying now, was sleeping with her brother while holding his hand. 

While Artemis was sitting on a chair, thinking about everything that happened today, as she remembered the look of pain on Aish's face after the curse was removed and his shaking body, she didn't want to imagine what she would do if she lost her son. 

But now her son was fine, and now she was planning to make the people who did this to her son pay the price.

There was a murderous look in her eyes, and if anyone from Evil's Scion saw this, then they would've realized how badly they have messed up by going after the son of not only the current sword king but also the retired shadow sword.

As I was looking at the scenes floating in the darkness, I realized that I wasn't there—the kid, his parents, his family, and friends—there wasn't anything that I recognized. 

I was confused because the scenes that are playing in front of me are the life of Aish Floren. 

As I focused more, I started remembering my own life back on earth. 

Suddenly there were ripples in the darkness, and I could see the scenes changing, and now in place of Aish, my memories started playing. 

Before I could make sense of what was happening, the scenes started changing again, and now the darkness was divided into two parts: one was currently playing the life of Aish, while the other side were my memories. 

It looked like both sides were fighting for dominance; they started merging and taking each other's space. 

Suddenly, in the memories of Aish, I could see my face, and sometimes I would see Ria or Queency talking with Aish. 

"Look, I'm even learning swords now."

"I'm stronger" 

"Why don't you ever listen to me, idiot?" 

"I love you, SK, the real you." 

"Welcome home, Amy." 

"Forgive me for leaving like this." 

"Big brother's gift, do you like it?" 

"Wake up lazy." 

I could hear their voices, but I could not remember what it was about. 

Now it was hard for me to differentiate between what was real and what I was imagining.

As time went on, a slight headache started coming back, and I could feel my body squirming and shaking. 

I held my head, and for the first time, a cry of pain escaped from my mouth. 

But instead of stopping, the scenes started merging faster, and now I could not tell both apart. 

I was feeling angry as a thought came into my brain—that I would forget my old life. I did not want to forget everything; I did not want to forget Ria or her. 

I focused and tried to remember everything about them to remind me of the time we spent together, but as I thought my memories were getting hazy with time, all I could see was Aish and his life. 

"I will not forget her." 

"What the hell kind of nightmare is it?" 

"Wake up, damn it." 

As I shouted that, I remembered that this was not a nightmare, and I was supposed to be dead. 

As the memories of my death came to my mind, my headache increased suddenly, and I could feel my head bursting as it tried to accommodate the memories of both my lives. 

"Fucking Damn it All." 

"Someone stop it." 

As the pain became unbearable for me to handle, I could not even think of anything anymore. 

I started shouting like crazy while holding my head. 

I was losing all hope when I felt someone holding my body and massaging my head. 

I could feel someone opening my mouth and making me drink something. 

I did not know what was happening around me, as I was not in any condition to think anything, so I instinctively opened my mouth, as what I thought was water went into my mouth. I could feel its taste; it was different from anything I had tasted before; it was sweet and viscous; it felt like honey but sweeter. 

Soon after that, a warm current washed over my body, and I could feel my headache lessening. I wanted to look ahead and see what happened to the memories, but I felt my consciousness drifting away as I once again lost myself in the peaceful embrace of darkness. 

Sometime after feeling better, I opened my eyes and found myself still surrounded by darkness. 

I touched my head, but I am not feeling any headache now.

I remembered what happened before, and I tried to see what was in front of me. 

For a second, I was scared that I might forget everything, but when I looked ahead, I was shell-shocked. 

The pitch-black, perfect dark screen in front of me is broken now. There were many cracks in it. 

The scenes of my life and Aish's life were there, but unlike before, they were not playing non-stop. 

I went ahead and tried to touch one part nearest to me, and the scene of Aish playing with his sister started appearing. 

I took a deep breath and went ahead to check with other scenes, and they were all fine. 

I watched Aish grow up and I watched how he lived. 

I went ahead and touched a part that had the memory of me from my past life, and Queency was staring at me. 

[So, your sister's coming, huh] 

Yes, she could not wait. I told her not to, but she wanted to meet her sister-in-law. 

[What? I have not agreed yet.] I do not remember you proposing to me. 

--- [Do I need to] 

[ hmmm] 

Watching the memory and her beautiful face while she was pouting, a smile came on my face, and with that, the memory ended. 

I tried to touch other pieces and hoped to see every memory available of her in my brain again, but the headache started coming back, and I knew I had to stop. 

After I watched Aish's whole life, I understood what was happening before. 

As a person who read novels all the time for his living, I figured that after my death I was reincarnated in his body, and all this time, our souls were just merging. 

I was happy at first after realizing that I had a new chance, a new life, as it meant I could start anew. 

But as I continued my journey to Aish's memory lane, that happiness soon turned into a frown on my face. 

(Just my luck) 

(I had to reincarnate into his body.) 

If you are wondering why I was cursing my luck and feeling angry over it, the answer to that is. 

Just like any other villain novel, I reincarnated into this world's villain. 

This world was called Arcadia. 

It was based on the story of the novel I first read, "APOLLO'S CHOSEN: RISING HEROES OF PEACEFUL TIMES."

Now this world follows a fantasy setting where every other cliche of fantasy stuff was available: manga, dungeons, monsters, towers, powers, and systems. 

If I were in anyone else's body, I wouldn't hate it that much, because, as the title of the book says, it was set in a somewhat peaceful era, so I could survive by hiding or simply looting some chances of some characters, but I was in the body of this world's second main villain boss, Aish Floren. The First Fallen, The Great Devil. 

Here, unless the protagonist and his camp defeat me, they cannot fight the final villain boss, The Demon King DITAIL.

Now some of you might think what am I so scared of—what is the worst that can happen—my death—please, I have already died once. And the darkness was peaceful. 

So, what am I so scared of? Well, that is because I did not die in this story. 

Nope, I get trapped and forced to live a miserable life for all eternity all alone, without the power to even do anything. 

Now if that was not enough, there is more, but just thinking about that, sweat started to form on my soul body. 

(Leave it; I cannot change anything staying here.) 

(I guess I should wake up first.) 

I do not know how long it has been since my death—and the darkness—and then this merging—but I was finally ready to open my eyes to the new world. 

I am kind of excited to see this new fantasy world that is so different from Earth. 

And after that thought, I opened my eyes, and the light of the sun hit my face.