A/N: No pairings. This is my first story, so I hope you enjoy.

Summary:

"I don't wanna live a thousand years. If I just live through today, that'll be enough."

Everything always goes wrong. Ace is literally immortal, so why can't he stop everyone from falling? He has lived hundreds of years, so why can't he stop everyone from throwing their lives away for one that can't end? But this time will be different. This time, he will find freedom.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. (Buggy D. Clown is One Piece) (that's a joke pls don't hate me)

Inspired by: Trapped in Eternity by SkyleafAlchemist19 (pssst go check it out)

To Kindle the Phoenix's Flame

"Was I a good father?"

Then, everything went dark.

Ace opened his eyes, blinking under the light of the blue sky over the sea. He lay in a small yet familiar fishing boat, rocking at the mercy of the waves. Shit.

. . . no regrets . . .

. . . entire world . . . is my enemy . . .

. . . defeat them all . . .

. . . surpass them all . . .

. . . proof I lived . . .

The strange voices were the only thing breaking the eerie silence. Ever since Ace had first died at Marineford, they kept coming back, as if haunting him. They followed him everywhere.

These words belonged to himself. Spoken to Sabo and Luffy, and to Red-Haired Shanks who had once saved Luffy's life. Yet he had broken them.

First things first. Ace jumped into the cold water, keeping a hand on his boat to stay near the surface. He drowned. Then came back. Then drowned. Then came back.

It wasn't fun.

The now 17-year-old climbed back onto the boat, teeth chattering and shivering.

He blankly staring off into the distance as the events of this time came crashing down on him.

Oyaji had died. Again. Trying to protect his son, without even knowing that Ace didn't need protecting.

The damn marines couldn't kill him no matter how many they sent, because Ace couldn't die. Even if he was riddled with Haki-infused bullets from all directions, or slit in the throat, or fisted by a certain magma freak again. He was immortal.

No matter what they did to him, he would just heal. And it was a very disturbing thing to watch.

Ace swallowed and closed his eyes, trying to turn away from the thought that the Whitebeards had once again fallen because of him.

The first time, he thought he had been given another chance at life. Well, you can't exactly call it life if you can't even fucking die.

The 10th time, he decided to just stay away from the Whitebeards.

He had tried to tell them that he literally couldn't die, but there was always something stopping him.

If he tried to tell them straight out, his voice got stuck. If he tried to write a message, his hand refused to move. If he even tried to use sign language, his hands again refused to move. Even if he tried hurting himself in front of the others to prove he could heal, his body would decide in that moment to not heal. And if anyone had somehow managed to figure it out, Kami would just laugh at them and they would forget about it the next day.

If getting close to them just got them hurt, then just stay away, right? Wrong. Oh how very wrong.

Every time, he would meet someone who was willing to throw their life away to save his.

Whether it was the Whitebeards who just happened to be on the same island and just had to get involved in his business, or one of the members of the Spade Pirates from the original timeline (who didn't even know him yet).

This time was, what, somewhere in the 400s? 500s?

Yet even after all these loops, the ex-Commander still didn't understand the circumstances behind his resets.

Sometimes, it was after dozens under his division froze to death because he hadn't been strong enough to protect them.

Sometimes, it was when another of his brothers fell.

Or other times it was while he silently screamed during the night.

Although Ace knew the way to Sixis – after all, he had done this hundreds of times – he wouldn't be heading there.

This time, he was going to die. Or at least figure out how to die.

He had tried doing this once, and spent a good 3 years experimenting with dumb ways to die.

It all fell apart when he accidentally ended up causing a mess on an island which just had to be under Whitebeard's protection in the Grand Line.

Then he just had to be invited to the Whitebeards again.

But the universe hated the fire user, so he just had to fall asleep right there, and awoke on the Moby Dick.

After trying to murder Teach – who was now the 2nd division Commander – and managing to convince everyone that he was very mentally unhinged, Ace was forced to run away.

The actual traitor ended up eating the Yami Yami no mi after simply saying that he wanted it, and decided to chase after the Fire Logia because supposedly "Ace was his responsibility."

Unfortunately for him, the outcome of Teach vs Ace on Banaro Island ended with the ex-Commander beating the shit (and life) out of the 2nd division Commander.

That timeline had then just randomly reset as he was staring up into the sky, thinking about how every single Whitebeard Pirate now probably wanted him dead.

Ace stood on the gallows, seeing the same views his father had once saw. Standing on the same gallows that his father had once kneeled on.

After heading south-west for a bit, he had stopped at Loguetown, "the town of the beginning and the end," for supplies.

The place where he was executed, leaving behind a wife and an unborn son.

Gol D. Roger was a demon. Gol D. Ace was a demon.

He had watched his nakama and brothers fall. Over, and over, and over.

And in the end, he was always the only one left standing.

He didn't have the right to say, "it was good that I was born."

"Hey!"

Ace ignored the marine, yet he couldn't help but smile. Smokey.

A/N: Well. I have no idea where this is going. (yes my story is somewhat plotted out and has an ending.)

If anyone's confused, Ace does not have the Mera Mera no mi. He's going to get it later.

Yeah I know this is short. Future chapters will be longer.