1 Prologue

A Lich is an unparalleled and terrifying existence born of deprived souls and agony fused to a skeleton. Their innate mana capacity and control is equivalent to a human spending their entire lives dedicated to training just those two categories. Since they are so terrifying, they usually live alone in decrepit castles. One Lich, Doevm, was sitting on his grand throne. His ghostly eyes stared through the stone walls around him at the hero making his way towards him. His golden crown and many magic rings reflected the light of a few dozen crystals. Under his black robe was his bones and nothing else. This dim room was where Doevm liked to spend his spare time and cultivate. His non-existent heart longed for one thing and one thing only.

"Hero, it's time to fight." Doevm said. The hero walked in. His legendary armor clinked against his holy sword. The hero took off his helmet. Underneath was a boy of the age of twenty. His many scars did not make his figure ugly, only to highlight his chiseled bone structure. His bright blue eyes stared at his opponent, and his blue hair stood on end. He unbuckled his sword.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting. Now to beat the crap out of you." The hero cracked his knuckles.

Doevm shook his head: "Arthur…do you always have to crack your knuckles like that? Don't you know how much that scares me?" he yelped.

Arthur scratched the back of his head: "I'm sorry, old habits." He threw his sword in its sheath to the floor. Doevm stood up from his throne and mirrored Arthur's fighting stance. "I see you've been practicing." He smiled and ran forward.

Doevm and Arthur exchanged blows - that was according to Arthur. According to Doevm, it was a one-sided beat-down. Doevm had no stamina as an Undead, but he could still take damage. Even though Arthur was holding back, each punch felt like a cannon. Doevm dodged and tried to return blows, but Arthur was like a phantom. He stretched his bony fist out and only met Arthur's hair. In return, Doevm heard all his bones creaking. After five minutes, Arthur stopped the spar.

"You're at your limit. Go heal up." Arthur said. Doevm nodded and sat down. He crossed his legs and chanted. Dark ribbons of magic flooded from around the castle and covered the cracked areas. He felt his structure pulling itself back together. Arthur looked at him and shook his head: "I would usually say to push past your limits, but it's strange fighting an Undead. You can't gain muscle mass, go faster, or be better. Technique is the only thing you can learn, so why are you learning martial arts?"

"Because…" Doevm looked away and mumbled, "I think it's cool."

"Say that again?" Arthur leaned in closer.

Doevm was grateful to be an Undead, or else Arthur would see him blush. He glared at him with the flames in his eyes: "Because it's awesome OK! Are you happy now?"

"No." Arthur said. "When we first met years ago, you could have killed me and my party. You almost did."

"Well duh." Doevm pouted. "You guys broke into my home and started killing my minions for no reason!"

"I told you I'm sorry," Arthur apologized for the thousandth time. "But the villagers told us you were abducting people to make Undead. They were nervous because you were practicing so close to their village."

"I've been here for over a thousand years. Those villagers just showed up and tried to force me out of my home. I don't like human souls, they're so complicated. They have desires and dreams and needs. Monsters souls are so much better because they are so pure. I tried to explain that to the villagers when they showed up with pitchforks outside my castle. I would have killed them if it wasn't for you teaching me martial arts."

Arthur sighed: "That's my point. You clearly are strong in magic, but this is just weird. Why work on something if it doesn't make you stronger than you are?"

"Ever heard of a hobby? I have loved martial arts for so long. When I read about heroes like you doing cool moves and techniques, it's like another world. I've done magic for so long that I'm bored of it. I want to do cool flips and stuff!"

"But how? You're just a skeleton. Let me be honest. You have all the techniques I taught you down to a fine point. You're already a master."

"Then how come I have not hit you once?" Doevm huffed.

"You have no skin. You're at a wall you can't overcome. To improve, you need muscles, tendons, and a nervous system." Arthur reached his arm through Doevm's rib cage. "I'm sorry, I think this is all I can do for you." He picked up his sword and walked to the doorway. "Truly, I'm sorry. I would have liked to fight alongside a warrior like you."

"Are you off to fight the demon king?" Doevm asked. "After all this time?"

"It's my destiny." Arthur shrugged. "What can you do about it? This might be the last time I see you."

Doevm stood up with his newly repaired legs and took a package out of his pocket dimension. "Take this with you. I don't need it anymore." Arthur unwrapped the package. He nearly fell in shock. He leaned on the wall for support.

"What kind of a sick joke is this?" he asked as he looked down at the black heart in his hands. Its beat was so faint. It was so small and delicate. It was Doevm's heart.

"It's my plan." Doevm said. "I decided being a Lich is lame. I strive, I learn, I grow, but it's all meaningless. Undeath is meaningless. Even if I learn everything there is to know, what is the point? I cannot enjoy it, nor the journey to that point. I detested human souls because of how complicated they were. Now I see that complication has a meaning. Your race has emotions that put a value on living. I cannot want to be human; I can only decide to be so. In order to be human, I need to reincarnate."

"You don't know that will happen." Arthur said, tears streaming down his face. "You don't know what will happen after you die. I cannot accept this."

"Yes, you will, because without it you will die." A magic circle appeared on the ground. People formed from thin air, all sharing qualities of Arthur. "These are the past heroes. From my centuries of life, I have noticed something. Each hero is the same, and each demon king is the same. Your species vary and language might vary, but your souls are always the same. You both reincarnate in a never-ending story. Every time you two battle, the hero sacrifices himself to kill the demon king. You are not the first hero I have talked to."

Arthur looked at Doevm's illusions and shook his hand: "I won't be defined by the past. I can change the present. You don't have to give me your power. Without this, you'll disintegrate."

"I know I'll die." Doevm said. "Everything eventually dies. If you use my heart to fight the demon king, you will live past the fight, but you will still die. Then you will reincarnate just as everything else. This is part of my knowledge acquired through my undead life. I made a spell and applied it to myself. It trapped my soul to be bound to yours. When you reincarnate, I will reincarnate to the species matching yours. I will have my memories and will seek you out. This way, I will die, but it's just changing a body."

"But I can't do it." Arthur said. "Fight with me. I don't want to just use you."

"This is not my destiny." Doevm said. "I could fight alongside you. We could beat the demon king. That would be pointless. The demon king will revive again. You will revive again. This is a cycle that cannot be broken. I'm just giving you more time. I will die no matter what. I'm just deciding when."

"Fine." Arthur said. "But I have one condition."

"Placing a condition to receive a gift?" Doevm laughed. "What is it?"

"In your next life, fight me without magic, and I'll do the same."

"You won't remember this promise," Doevm growled. "But I accept. For ten years, you have helped me without compensation. I told you I would pay you back. I have little emotions, but I will not accept owing a human. Now go win the battle and forget about me." He picked up one of the blue torches and threw it on his rug. The flames caught up, setting everything on fire.

"What are you doing?" Arthur backed away. "The library here is your life's work."

"I know." Doevm said. "I won't allow humans to get their hands on my work. It's too dangerous for anyone. Now go. I need to destroy everything here, even my corpse. Absorb the heart when you get outside." Arthur sighed and left. Doevm looked at his grand castle. He had spent over a thousand years here. He knew every nook and crack. He knew the number of blades of grass around it. 'Not one book can survive.' He thought. 'Humans would be sentimental right now. I wonder what that would feel like?' he used mana to spread the flames everywhere. When everything was lit, he spread the fire to himself. It felt like nothing. He had never felt, and never will. At least for this lifetime. The flames in his eyes gradually dimmed. Outside the castle, Arthur held the heart in his hands. Its faint beat stopped.

"I'll remember you, Doevm, my friend. I will never forget you, even in the next life." He swore to himself as he absorbed the heart. He felt his mana sore to ten times his original. It coursed through him, chilling his body so much that he couldn't feel the flames behind him. 'So, this is how Doevm felt: numb. You lived like this for centuries?' He calmed his mana down, and he felt the flames behind him again. He unsheathed his sword and marched towards the demon king's lair.