At least Arthur thought death was different from what he had imagined.
Naturally, if an individual dies, he either finds his soul in the infinite void floating in the opposite of hell or perhaps heaven.
But he could still feel himself not floating, just lying there, unmoving but still breathing, as if he hadn't died a minute ago. He slowly opened his eyes after confirming he wasn't really dead.
'What the hell, I am alive!' his thoughts travelled through his head.
Suddenly, a pain pierced his heart, dividing his body into multiple arcs internally, then resetting them in an instant as if it hadn't been there leaving an aftershock.
He winced, clutching his chest hard like he was trying to pull it out.
"What the hell was that!?" He groaned as he transitioned into a sitting position, still holding his chest.
His only thought was the pain, that he didn't realise where he was or what he was sitting on. It took him a while to adjust to the pain, then after the aftershock subsided, that is when he now realised where he was.
He was on a bed—a big one at that. The headboard bore a statue of a beast coiled around by a snake. It looked like a symbol.
His eyes roamed the walls of the room, polished with statues that dwarfed the room overlooking it from a towering height. Their sculptures shine like they were crafted eons ago.
First was the statue of a woman holding a sword, pointing it in the direction of
Arthur's bed. Beside it, a few inches from its size, was another, holding a red spear that had jagged blades.
While the last one, at the far end of the room stood a giant wooden statue shaped like a dragon, wings outstretched like it was about to take flight, it maw stretched open like it was ready to conjure a fireball. Which made Arthur flinch though it was only a statue, but it was eerie as the aura of ancient wrath seemed to be carved into its features.
'Who in their right mind would have this in their bedroom?' he thought, even though he knew they weren't normal people, and the statue of the woman and the small statue holding a real weapon in their arms, confirmed his thought.
'they are crazy'
Well, except for the odd things, the room resembled a lavishly rich man's chamber:
red rugs stretched across the floor, a massive window stood open as the midnight air drifted through the curtains, giving the room a chilling cool.
At the other far end of the room, stood a large wardrobe with glass doors.
Arthur caught sight of something; he looked at the mirror, but the face of another man stared back at him. It was a young, handsome man; he wore a shirt that fit his heavy, built body. He had snow-white hair, dark crimson eyes, and a pointed jawline that gave him the most handsome face ever.
Arthur decided to try smiling again to see if he was dreaming due to him just waking up, but to his horror, the white-haired reflection smiled back at him.
He raised his hand in expectation to see if the image would follow his movement, well, it did, again!.
Awe crept through Arthur. "Is that me?" he said rather loudly, not wanting to hide his amusement anymore.
"That's really me, I mean really me," his voice came with caution or rather curiosity.
How is he with another face and not his?
Just everything is not trying to add up.
Just as he was trying to figure it out, something appeared, distracting his vision.
Shimmering in the air in front of him was a red window, like how video games status are, but he wasn't playing games.
So he wondered where this one came from.
[Dear Host! You have been reborn as the Cursed Lord]
[Welcome, Cursed Lord!]
Arthur sat frozen, shock and terror creeping through him.
Reincarnated? As the Cursed Lord?
That message left him with disbelief.
The first message hit: reincarnated. He had heard and read about it in comics where heroes got reincarnated into another body and acted like them, lived their life.
He had learned about this when reading to his sister Kylie at her bedtime stories, so that one hit, but the one that hit harder—awakened as the Cursed Lord.
That means the reflection he was staring at or is in now is the Cursed Lord.
Not a third-rated criminal or villain. He is the worst nightmare humanity ever faced.
'What the hell!'
***
The Cursed Lord first appeared decades ago, following a failed experiment that was intended to lead to the golden age of humanity.
Back then, the humans discovered a strange device meant to pierce space to another world, primarily (a gateway), but instead it opened a portal and through it a strange entity emerged.
At first, the humans thought that he was an immigrant from another world, but he was actually something entirely different.
The being–the Cursed Lord–released a strange mist upon the human, causing anyone who inhales the air, have some funny transformation (that is what it was called at that time) until their form began to change, transforming them into monsters and beasts.
Within a day, billions were affected and a week later, the world became plagued by the sudden apocalypse of humans turning into Cursed creatures.
The government was powerless as humanity neared extinction, cities fell, the world cried. Until they were later saved by the awakened---survivors blessed with super ordinary prowess.
No one knew how these powers manifested or their origins, but since it was essential to fighting the Cursed, they couldn't question it.
This awakened, fought the Cursed to save humanity, with Stain–One of the strongest awakened going into battle with the Cursed Lord which ended in absolute destruction.
The bad news: Stain perished in the battle, never to be seen again, teaching others awakened that they couldn't rival the Cursed Lord.
And the good news: days after the battle, the Cursed Lord mysteriously disappeared, retreating into the shadows or maybe dead.
Rumors then began to circulate:
--Did stain kill him?
--Did he run away?
--will he return?
--No doubt, stain already gives him his piece.
The world was shocked by the Cursed Lord disappearances, Although the Cursed still exist, but with the awakened presence keeps them in check, making things different from before.
Meanwhile, the government on the other hand, had tried to keep it safe from causing the humans panic. By saying he is dead. That was what was also said to the younger generation which was what Arthur decided not to believe. It had been decades since the event, but Arthur still had doubt in what the government had been saying.
Something from his childhood refused to fade, since he was always reading villains' novels from a young age, he knew the end of villains well, and they just didn't disappear.
Arthur believed he would return. A villain doesn't leave without finishing what he had started and the Cursed Lord in Arthur view, hasn't finished what he started and since the Cursed still exists that confirmed his thoughts.
That had been his childhood assumption, and now it might have become reality.
The only irony is, he is now the Cursed Lord
***
Arthur reminisces in the memory of the Cursed Lord.
Now in his body—or now the Cursed Lord.
Many feelings crept into his mind; anger, pride, happiness, and sorrow. All of them bearing their own meaning.
He looked into the mirror again. "Thousand years, for thousand years,he had been hiding here" although he didn't know where he was but he was still on earth, the time hung on the wall confirmed his thoughts, as he looked into the mirror again. "---and he is still this handsome, after thousands years, this is crazy!" he ran his hand over his newly acquired features.
CREAK!
Suddenly the door into the room opened, as someone stepped inside.
The air hung, as fear crept into the room, enveloping the current atmosphere and replacing it with dread. Then at the doorsteps was a girl, one eye red, the other blue, staring down at Arthur with a cold expression.
Arthur's breath hung in her presence, and he could hear himself murmuring in silence, "Who the hell is she?"
—