Death is reality...
Death is our only ally, the one constant that ends our suffering. As it seems to be the end of our adored lives, it is despised and regarded as an inevitable and cruel part of our existence. But is death truly the curse?
Life is a war, a cruel journey adorned in such mesmerizing beauty that it entices even the coldest hearts. Meanwhile, death is the harsh, unvarnished truth that disturbs us, making no effort to appeal to anyone. The curse is neither life nor death; it is the absence of the delicate balance between the two. Destruction of this balance gives us eternal life. That is the true curse and the one I know better than anyone else.
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Death is what gives life meaning, the final chapter in our stories, marking the end of both joy and sorrow. Everything that has a beginning must have an end. I never feared death. And yet...
Years, decades, and even centuries slipped through my fingers like grains of sand, and I eventually lost track of my own age. I am Alphonse, or perhaps that's the only part I can remember. I alone remain untouched by death. I watch the world change around me. Cultures transform, and humanity evolves and marches on to conquer greater horizons. But amidst all this, one thing remains constant: I am a witness to death, time and time again.
It has been a long time since I withdrew from society. The deaths of loved ones became unbearable, even for me, the relentless warrior who once triumphed in countless grand wars. None of my achievements bring me joy anymore. My parents' deaths were not ones I witnessed with my own eyes. I was too young back then, perhaps not even a decade old. Throughout my life, everything I grew attached to followed a repeated cycle that I'm painfully familiar with; I find someone, get to know them, get to see them live their lives, good or bad, and eventually decay like everything else. Every ally, every enemy, every soldier under my command—those I called parents, and even those I dared to see as my own kin—faded into the same, cold reality: death.
All I seek is an end to this unending journey. I have lived a long life, far too long—haunted by a curse I can no longer endure.