Jin Soo Hyun's eyes snapped open, and for a moment, his mind refused to catch up with reality. The last thing he remembered was the woman, the flash of light, and the cold certainty of death. But somehow, he was breathing again. The air felt thick and heavy as it filled his lungs, carrying the sharp scent of burnt incense. It made his chest tighten slightly, as if the atmosphere itself didn't belong to him.
The ground beneath him was cold and hard, nothing like the soft earth near the lake. Even before he moved, he could tell something was wrong. His body didn't feel like his own. It was heavier, slower to respond, as if he were trying to control something unfamiliar. He forced himself to sit up, his movements stiff, and a strange uneasiness settled deep inside him.
Then he saw her.
The same woman stood above him, exactly as before, her face hidden in shadow while her eyes locked onto him with an intensity that made his chest tighten. It didn't make sense. He had died. He was sure of it. And yet she was here again, like nothing had changed.
"What…?" he muttered, his voice coming out rough and unfamiliar.
He tried again, his throat dry. "Who…?"
She didn't answer. She didn't even hesitate.
She moved, and this time his body still couldn't keep up. In a single motion, her hand transformed into a blade of light, sharp and precise, and before he could react, it passed through his neck as if there were nothing there at all.
There was no resistance, no struggle, no chance to understand.
Only darkness.
And then he woke up again.
This time, he was lying on a large bed, far too expensive and refined for anything he had ever known. The ceiling stretched high above him, supported by carved stone pillars, and the walls were etched with glowing symbols that pulsed faintly, as if they were alive. For a moment, he simply stared, trying to process what he was seeing.
"You've got to be kidding me," he whispered.
Even his voice sounded different now.
He pushed himself up slowly, and the sensation only became stranger. His body was stronger, broader, covered in scars that told stories he didn't remember living. When he touched his chest, he could feel the uneven texture of old wounds beneath his fingers.
"Who am I…?" he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
"Master, it's time."
The voice came from nearby. A servant stood at the side of the room with his head lowered, waiting. Jin Soo Hyun barely reacted. His attention had already shifted to the golden bracelet wrapped around his wrist. It gave off a faint glow, subtle but impossible to ignore, as if it were quietly watching him.
Before he could think about it further, a loud explosion shook the entire room. The walls trembled, and distant shouts filled the air, breaking whatever fragile calm existed.
"The Eternal Flame Sect has breached the mountain pass!"
The words echoed, and at the same time, something slammed into his mind.
Memories.
They came all at once, overwhelming and chaotic. This body belonged to a cultivator, someone powerful, someone feared. But that power was unstable, already collapsing from within. The more he understood, the clearer it became that this body was already dying.
Outside, chaos had taken over. His body moved without waiting for his thoughts, reacting on instinct, using techniques he didn't understand but somehow performed anyway. It felt like watching someone else control him from the inside.
But it wasn't enough.
He was too slow to adapt, too unfamiliar with the body to use its strength properly.
A spear pierced through his chest before he could react.
The pain was immediate and sharp, forcing the air out of his lungs. His vision blurred as his body collapsed, and within seconds, everything faded into darkness once again.
Then he woke up.
This time, he was standing on a battlefield. Blood covered the ground, and the air was filled with screams and the clash of weapons. His body moved automatically, gripping a weapon and reacting to incoming attacks without waiting for him to think.
"Again…?" he muttered under his breath, disbelief mixing with exhaustion.
There was no time to understand anything.
Something massive appeared in front of him, its presence overwhelming. He barely had a moment to register it before it moved. It was faster than anything he could react to, and in the next instant, its claws tore through him as if he were nothing.
Pain flashed briefly before everything went black.
He woke up again in a forest. The ground was damp beneath him, and the cold air bit at his skin. His entire body ached, as if it had been shattered and carelessly put back together. He stared at his hands, noticing the blood covering them, but this time, he didn't react much.
"So this is real…" he said quietly.
A distant roar echoed through the trees, sending a subtle vibration through the ground. Something was approaching, fast enough that he barely had time to turn his head before it reached him.
He saw it for a split second.
Then it crushed him instantly.
Darkness swallowed him once more.
When he opened his eyes again, everything was silent.
And then a voice spoke, not from outside, but directly inside his mind.
"Your mission… eternal life."
Jin Soo Hyun frowned slightly, his thoughts slower now, more focused despite everything.
"Eternal life?" he repeated under his breath.
"Save the host. Or die again."
He went still as the meaning settled in.
This wasn't random. This wasn't some series of meaningless deaths. Every time he died, he entered a new body, and every one of those bodies was already on the verge of death. If he failed to save them, he died again. Over and over, without end.
He looked down at himself, at another body that wasn't his, already weak and barely holding on.
"This is a joke," he muttered.
"Your luck is your power," the voice continued calmly. "Use it. Grow stronger. Escape the cycle."
He stayed silent for a long moment, letting everything sink in.
Then he let out a slow breath.
I HAVE A BETTER WAY !
Not because he wanted to.
But because he had no other choice.
And for the first time in his life, those words weren't empty.