Twenty-one years.

That is how long it takes for a child to be considered an adult in this country, and also how long one has to wait before being allowed to live on their own. From the early age of 7 months, when I read this law in a book, I knew this restriction would be a hassle, but eventually, time flies. Patience happens to be one of my known qualities, which I manage to improve with every rebirth.

Although I wish I could have left my hometown earlier, this life has been quite comfortable. I have been raised by an unremarkable family of two parents and one older sibling. No financial issues, no parental dispute, and even said sibling grew up to be an upstanding citizen. Truly an uneventful life, which is why I played my part and restricted my abilities to match my age all this time. Unlike some previous incarnations, I could afford to lay low and remain unnoticed.

Now a free adult, my mission has begun. It is the same every life, but finding the objective can prove difficult depending on the target. Some of them hide. Some of them protect themselves. Some of them just happen to find the artifact without knowing its true nature. But they end up all the same : lonely, miserable and dead.

Luckily for me, the target this time is a massive show-off. An ordinary salaryman who became some sort of big shot CEO at a record pace, thanks to his “natural talent”, “self-made mentality” and “sigma grindset”. That last expression is often ironically used by my progenitor to describe the man, and I can’t help but grin at this nonsensical term. It provided me relief, considering that following his success, the name or face of my target was plastered everywhere, in every product, every service, every property owned by his company. Grim reminders of the task that was waiting for me in adulthood. Soon, this whole charade will collapse.

The world calls his success a legend, a story, a miracle. The truth of it all lies in the man’s collar, which carries my objective : a pale white stone of my creation. From way back to a bygone era, this stone and I share the same rhythm of an eternal dance. Someone finds the stone, triggers my rebirth, and then dies by my end, so that I can die myself. The stone contains the knowledge of the world, and can bring anyone to unreachable heights, but with it comes the price of facing its creator, cursed by the knowledge of death and rebirth, unable to find rest among their loved ones.

I checked my outfit one last time in the nearby glass. Not a speck of dust, everything as good as new. My suitcase, while light, was so stuffed that the content did not make a sound, without space to move inside. Phone in the pocket, smartwatch on the wrist, and only ten minutes before the meeting. I stepped inside the building and couldn’t help but think about how futile all this is. None of this will remain, not with their ruler gone in a few years. I saw it too many times before and have no qualms on making it happen again. Hopefully, after this, I won’t have to.