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When the Master of Death becomes a Slime
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Prolog
(First Person POV)
How long has it been? I wonder.
I've lived so many lives by now that I'm no longer sure of the number, and I've long since lost track of where it all began. I've lived in countless worlds, countless alternates of those worlds, displayed countless of personalities, gained countless of different abilities, and learned countless amounts of magic. I've met, befriended, and fallen in love with countless people; hell, I've even dated myself a few times. I've spent the majority of my lives without any memories of my other lives, and, as a result, I've interacted with myself in a variety of ways. I've gotten used to the thought of living multiple lives in the exact same time and space (AN 1) and, though the concept greatly confused me in the beginning, I've gotten used to the weird realization that hits me when I regain my memories in-between lives.
Most of the lives I lived, have been pleasant, even happy, but I'm never satisfied once I become 'myself' again. It's like the real me is broken. I've never lived the same life twice, not even when I'm in the same world, living as the same person; I always divert and do different things. In the end, with all my memories intact, I never feel as if I belonged. I had no desire to go back. I had no desire to reconnect with the people I got to know. As heartless as that sounds, it's the truth. I can never relive the same life twice without something changing; even if I don't do anything different, it's never the same. Something always goes wrong, and the happiness I tried to relive was always destroyed. As a result, I've stopped trying to look back at what I lost. I have no home, no family… except Death, my forever faithful, inescapable servant who never fails to greet me when a life comes to its end.
I've played so many roles; hero, villain, savior, bringer of apocalypse, even the apathetic bystander who cares nothing for the fate of the world. I've been loved, hated, feared, worshiped. Still, I persevered, living life after life, hoping, and longing, for a place to belong. A place my true self could be happy. A place where I have a purpose. A place where my true power doesn't ruin everything. A place that can keep my attention, and where I can be challenged. So far, I've never lived a life where I didn't feel the need to seal certain parts of my power; instead refusing to use any knowledge or abilities I didn't gain in the world I was in at the time. But, that just left me feeling incomplete, even unwelcome at times. I wanted a change; a chance to be able to use all of my power, to finally know my own limits. I wanted to be challenged while at my very best. But, the more lives I lived, the more knowledge and power I gained, the more impossible that desire seemed to get. Still, the more impossible my wish seemed to get, the more I wanted it. I wanted it so badly that, when Death came to me, stating that he had arranged an incarnation that would surely fulfill my wish, I accepted with absolutely no hesitation.
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The first thing I registered, after gaining consciousness, was the lack of senses. I've been reborn many times, but never before have I experienced this. I have been both human, and non-human; I've been birthed, and I've hatched, but this is different. I can't feel any limbs, and my physical perception is significantly restricted. I tried to move, only to be surprised by a strange wiggling sensation that rippled through by entire body. It felt as if I'm made of Jell-O or something… wait…
No…
It can't be…
Surely Death didn't…
I concentrate. Good, I can still use my awareness to sense energy around me… wait, these particles are… they are neither magical or spiritual, but some form of hybrid of the two that I've never encountered before… which means, I'm in a world I've never been before; I have no knowledge of this world. Shaking my head, sort of, I continue examining the flow of energy around me, giving me a sense of 'seeing'.
/Acquiring Extra Skill: Magic Perception… Success./ A familiar female voice startled me. /Activating Skill./
My perception of the world around me becomes clear. I'm in a cave, the bed of grass and flowers indicate I'm about the size of a small cat… and my appearance… round and gelatinous, as I suspected…
The realization hits me like a piano falling from above.
"I'M A FUCKING SLIME!?"
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Author's Notes
1) I took a bit of a different approach to the reincarnation 'rules' in this story than I did in Chosen Ones. Not really sure how it will turn out, but it works for the initial idea so we'll see.