I'm dead again.
Another quick trip across the Styx or whatever one wishes to call this black void and
I'll be back on my feet.
I wonder who I will be in this life.
Man or woman?
Rich or poor?
Feeble or strong?
I wonder how much closer I can get.
...
How many times has it been now?
How many accidents?
How many times murdered with poison? That's a popular one.
I won't cash in these chips.
I still have to find and kill the one who always slips away. The only threat.
Then I will be the last one left.
...
None of it is outrageous.
Every form of life does it.
Even in their own spheres, they do it.
Destroying one's own.
It may not be outright murder, but every form of life
Abandons their weak,
Starves their young,
Crushes rivals.
Why should I be any different?
...
Which war is it now?
Which continent?
War's a convenient way to kill.
Guns, swords, and nasty bludgeons lying around.
And killing's legal.
Promoted.
Praised.
It's easy to finish off one of the others,
If you can find them.
Across the enemy lines to a trench
Or just slit their throat while they lead the side whose flag you bear.
...
I drift for eons.
But on the old rock, it's only been seconds.
Tiny pink fists. I have a new body.
I'm a baby girl now.
I always forget what the difference is.
Barely remember even after Mom and Pop explain it to me later.
They're just too similar.
...
Peacetime is the worst.
I usually just kill myself over and over again until another war gets close.
You get cocky and complacent.
It's a drag till another human war starts.
I've done it to some of the others.
They settle down with their riches, in their isolation, with their families.
And they forget there are others on the prowl.
...
You occasionally ally with one of the others, to help kill another stronger than the both of you.
One of those others I worked with,
They too wondered why some settled,
With a mate or offspring,
In a castle or a hut.
I always preferred castles.
But this particular one, a young woman at the time, answered their own question.
They told me,
Maybe you can walk away from the rat race.
What a liar.
...
I've died again.
Hit by a car. Should've been paying more attention.
...
Floating once more.
I'm thinking about the liar again.
They told me we could just walk away.
It doesn't work.
I tried it for a life. You know, really tried it.
And that same liar came after me.
After our sweet talk, lives ago.
He was an old man then.
And still tried to kill me.
...
I buried my family,
Didn't I?
It seemed the least I could do.
The liar cashed in their chips.
Right before I cashed in his.
Still don't know what he was thinking.
Attacking with such a weak, broken, old body.
Yeah.
I covered them with earth.
Before ending it myself and looking for a new
Flask?
Cannister?
I guess an empty vessel.
...
Girl again?
Alright.
Hopefully I'll make it to adulthood this time.
Sure, that last one will be able to smell my scent at an older age,
But at least I don't wobble on my feet anymore.
Good thing too.
Finally, another war.
Maybe I can find the one I've been waiting for.
...
The last of the others.
Last one besides me, obviously.
At least I think so.
Haven't caught a whiff of another in a long time.
Sneaking little rat, this one.
I almost caught him a few decades ago.
A surgeon of all things. Chased that last one off the top of the hospital.
He ran right over the edge.
But it wasn't by my own hands.
We're the only way to end each other.
Only one of us can kill the other.
...
I often wonder
What'll happen after I kill the last one?
Will I die?
Like actually this time?
That would be self-defeating, wouldn't it?
This is all because they're the only one left who can kill me.
I guess I'll just have to see.
A leap of faith.
But it still lingers in my mind.
...
I'm getting closer to the one now.
I thought it'd be a game of cat and cat, but no,
just another round of cat and mouse.
She's a ruler in a time of war.
Makes things tricky.
But she never could hide forever.
Soon I'll be rent free on this rock.
Till these fools set off the bombs or something.
It's a miracle one of us didn't push the button.
...
I think I'll be a god.
My spirit'll never die.
My knowledge is carved in stone for Moses to read.
I bet that Buddha and Jesus were one of us.
Can't tell you for sure, never was around either of ‘em.
They sure aren't around now.
Should've kept their heads down.
...
Her mansion is a fitting estate for a world leader,
Although I can't say the same for her bodyguards.
To be fair, thousands of years of sneaking around makes you good at it.
It's interesting that she's kept herself busy with human problems,
Rather than with me, The only real danger.
...
My skinny figure glides across the marble floor.
I approach the last one's bed.
A stolen knife from that massive kitchen in my hands.
Its target is this one's chest.
I stoop over her bed and stare down in perfect silence,
A little lonely.
Maybe it's the end for both of us after all.
...
The deed is done.
She begged for her family for a moment when my knife was raised.
The one who isn't like me. Not anymore.
No one is now.
I am in charge.
Till the sun melts.
Till the ocean covers the earth.
Till there are no new vessels left.
...
The guards come round the corner ready to gun me down.
I chuckle with the crack of their rifles.
Darkness awaits.
As does the embryonic light of a new mother's womb.
I'm merely dead again.
Another quick trip across the Styx or whatever one wishes to call this black void and
I'll be back on my feet.
I wonder who I will be in this life.
Man or woman?
Rich or poor?
Feeble or strong?
I wonder how much closer I can get.
...
How many times has it been now?
How many accidents?
How many times murdered with poison? That's a popular one.
I won't cash in these chips.
I still have to find and kill the one who always slips away. The only threat.
Then I will be the last one left.
...
None of it is outrageous.
Every form of life does it.
Even in their own spheres, they do it.
Destroying one's own.
It may not be outright murder, but every form of life
Abandons their weak,
Starves their young,
Crushes rivals.
Why should I be any different?
...
Which war is it now?
Which continent?
War's a convenient way to kill.
Guns, swords, and nasty bludgeons lying around.
And killing's legal.
Promoted.
Praised.
It's easy to finish off one of the others,
If you can find them.
Across the enemy lines to a trench
Or just slit their throat while they lead the side whose flag you bear.
...
I drift for eons.
But on the old rock, it's only been seconds.
Tiny pink fists. I have a new body.
I'm a baby girl now.
I always forget what the difference is.
Barely remember even after Mom and Pop explain it to me later.
They're just too similar.
...
Peacetime is the worst.
I usually just kill myself over and over again until another war gets close.
You get cocky and complacent.
It's a drag till another human war starts.
I've done it to some of the others.
They settle down with their riches, in their isolation, with their families.
And they forget there are others on the prowl.
...
You occasionally ally with one of the others, to help kill another stronger than the both of you.
One of those others I worked with,
They too wondered why some settled,
With a mate or offspring,
In a castle or a hut.
I always preferred castles.
But this particular one, a young woman at the time, answered their own question.
They told me,
Maybe you can walk away from the rat race.
What a liar.
...
I've died again.
Hit by a car. Should've been paying more attention.
...
Floating once more.
I'm thinking about the liar again.
They told me we could just walk away.
It doesn't work.
I tried it for a life. You know, really tried it.
And that same liar came after me.
After our sweet talk, lives ago.
He was an old man then.
And still tried to kill me.
...
I buried my family,
Didn't I?
It seemed the least I could do.
The liar cashed in their chips.
Right before I cashed in his.
Still don't know what he was thinking.
Attacking with such a weak, broken, old body.
Yeah.
I covered them with earth.
Before ending it myself and looking for a new
Flask?
Cannister?
I guess an empty vessel.
...
Girl again?
Alright.
Hopefully I'll make it to adulthood this time.
Sure, that last one will be able to smell my scent at an older age,
But at least I don't wobble on my feet anymore.
Good thing too.
Finally, another war.
Maybe I can find the one I've been waiting for.
...
The last of the others.
Last one besides me, obviously.
At least I think so.
Haven't caught a whiff of another in a long time.
Sneaking little rat, this one.
I almost caught him a few decades ago.
A surgeon of all things. Chased that last one off the top of the hospital.
He ran right over the edge.
But it wasn't by my own hands.
We're the only way to end each other.
Only one of us can kill the other.
...
I often wonder
What'll happen after I kill the last one?
Will I die?
Like actually this time?
That would be self-defeating, wouldn't it?
This is all because they're the only one left who can kill me.
I guess I'll just have to see.
A leap of faith.
But it still lingers in my mind.
...
I'm getting closer to the one now.
I thought it'd be a game of cat and cat, but no,
just another round of cat and mouse.
She's a ruler in a time of war.
Makes things tricky.
But she never could hide forever.
Soon I'll be rent free on this rock.
Till these fools set off the bombs or something.
It's a miracle one of us didn't push the button.
...
I think I'll be a god.
My spirit'll never die.
My knowledge is carved in stone for Moses to read.
I bet that Buddha and Jesus were one of us.
Can't tell you for sure, never was around either of ‘em.
They sure aren't around now.
Should've kept their heads down.
...
Her mansion is a fitting estate for a world leader,
Although I can't say the same for her bodyguards.
To be fair, thousands of years of sneaking around makes you good at it.
It's interesting that she's kept herself busy with human problems,
Rather than with me, The only real danger.
...
My skinny figure glides across the marble floor.
I approach the last one's bed.
A stolen knife from that massive kitchen in my hands.
Its target is this one's chest.
I stoop over her bed and stare down in perfect silence,
A little lonely.
Maybe it's the end for both of us after all.
...
The deed is done.
She begged for her family for a moment when my knife was raised.
The one who isn't like me. Not anymore.
No one is now.
I am in charge.
Till the sun melts.
Till the ocean covers the earth.
Till there are no new vessels left.
...
The guards come round the corner ready to gun me down.
I chuckle with the crack of their rifles.
Darkness awaits.
As does the embryonic light of a new mother's womb.
I'm merely dead again.