1 Prologue: Cruel Smile Even in Death
My wife, a cold, black-haired Asian woman, stared down at me impassively. I lay at her feet, soaked in a pool of blood, with a sword embedded in my chest.
"Yet you didn't!"
Her icy voice resonated throughout the room, but despite her remorseless words, I remained silent.
My disregarding behavior caused her eyes to gleam with a cruel light.
"Don't blame me, Lunar. It's you who forced me to do this."
With the sword's hilt firmly in her grasp, she twisted it without mercy.
Splurt!
My chest was cut open, and blood gushed out, but I didn't let out a single groan.
This was nothing compared to what I'd experienced in my two lives, but it would be a lie to say I wasn't furious and in pain.
Murderous intent raged in my heart, and if my thoughts could manifest, this woman would have already died a thousand times.
However, despite my rage, I remained silent.
Numerous ideas raced through my mind, yet no strategy emerged to salvage my plight.
Reluctantly, I had to accept the grim reality.
In fact, I had long foreseen my end, but the perpetrator, my beloved wife, who once made countless promises of love to me, was an unforeseen twist.
"Now, everything that belongs to you will be mine, from your sword to your inheritance and that ancient elixir you found. Everything that I couldn't get because of you shall be mine now, hahaha."
She burst out in maniacal laughter, and her words hurt my heart more than the sword, causing the memories of my past life to emerge before my eyes.
Originally, I was a web novel writer on Earth who endured a hard life for 60 years and was somehow reincarnated into this unknown world of Swordcraft, where I went through another 40 hellish years; about 100 years of my life flew by in the blink of an eye.
'Then, is this how my end will be?'
I sighed in my heart emotionally and looked up at that cold and ruthless face of my wife—the polar opposite of when I fell in love with her.
Witnessing such a stark disparity, my unsettled heart cooled down, leading me to a sudden realization.
'There's really nothing eternal or absolute in this world; the same goes for love.'
'Right and wrong are just two sides of the same coin. It all hinges on perspective and the choices one makes.'
'From her perspective, killing me for her ambitions is justified, and from mine, I, the one who suffered, am right to blame her for the betrayal.'
Such reflections hit me like bolts of thunder, and it felt as if a long-sealed lock within my soul had suddenly burst open with profound revelation.
My mind seemed slightly overwhelmed. Coupled with my dwindling vitality and the continuous loss of blood, my spirit also became dizzy, as if I were drunk.
The ground beneath my feet felt unusually soft, as if I were floating on clouds.
Everything seemed surreal, yet in that moment, clarity enveloped me.
Life and death.
Cause and effect.
'I understand!'
'I understand everything!'
The more I grasped, the calmer my gaze became.
My eyes lost their luster and took on a calm depth, like deep pools of water in a bottomless well.
It was a foregone conclusion that I would die here.
I understood my situation clearly, but even in the face of death, my expression did not change; there was an eerie calmness in my eyes.
Understanding my state in these final moments, an old saying couldn't help but appear in my mind.
'Death is a mirror that reflects the true essence of life; in its cold embrace, when life's flame dims, the mind unveils its deepest wisdom, and all contours of truth become clear.'
Regrettably, while death granted me a glimpse into the 'true' meaning of life, it took that very life as the cost.
'There is no place in this world for the soft and weak. If I get a chance once again, I shall be true to myself, unfettered and merciless, break free from all shackles that bound me, and become an Eternal Sovereign who shall stand on top of all cosmos!'
With this resolute thought, I, who had been as silent as a sculpture the entire time, finally opened my mouth and erupted into hearty laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
"What are you laughing at?"
My wife barked, but instead of a response, she was met with a deep, indifferent stare and a hazy, unsettling smile.
A chill ran down her spine as she subconsciously staggered back.
Her instincts, honed through countless life-and-death battles, screamed at her to run. However, at that moment, my sinister voice sounded in her ear.
"Bang!"
Before she could even comprehend the intent of that word, I at last closed my eyes, and with my death, the bomb that was nestled in my body detonated, causing everything around me to be engulfed in a blinding surge of energy.
Ka-boom!
The catastrophic explosion annihilated everything in its path, including my wife and my corpse.
I had a smile on my face, even in death.
