Chapter 1 Died Chasing Perfection
Chapter 1: I Died Chasing Perfection
I died believing perfection would make me happy.
It didn't.
Funny, isn't it?
You spend your entire life chasing something.
You sacrifice for it.
Bleed for it.
Destroy yourself for it.
Then, at the very end...
You realize it was never worth it.
That was my life.
Perfection.
Not talent.
Not intelligence.
Not luck.
Perfection.
While other people slept, I worked.
While other people laughed, I studied.
While other people lived, I planned.
Every minute mattered.
Every second had value.
Every weakness had to disappear.
Because if I worked harder...
If I became better...
If I became perfect...
Then surely I'd be happy.
Right?
Wrong.
Terribly wrong.
The scary part wasn't that I failed.
The scary part was that I succeeded.
I became everything I wanted to become.
Disciplined.
Respected.
Successful.
Reliable.
The person everybody admired.
The person everybody trusted.
The person everybody wanted to become.
And somehow...
I had never felt more alone.
The friends I meant to call someday?
Gone.
The hobbies I wanted to try someday?
Gone.
The memories I planned to make someday?
Gone.
Everything was always someday.
Until someday ran out.
The last thing I remember was rain.
Cold rain.
A dark road.
Bright headlights.
Then...
Nothing.
No final speech.
No grand revelation.
Just darkness.
And honestly?
I thought that was the end.
I was wrong.
Very wrong.
The first thing I felt was warmth.
The second thing I felt was confusion.
The third thing I felt was someone slapping my backside.
I immediately started screaming.
Loudly.
Passionately.
With great dedication.
A woman's voice laughed.
"It's healthy."
Healthy?
What was healthy?
Why was I screaming?
Why couldn't I stop screaming?
And why did everything feel so small?
I opened my eyes.
A blurry face appeared above me.
A woman.
Beautiful.
Tired.
Crying.
Smiling.
Beside her stood a giant man with broad shoulders and a thick beard.
The kind of man who looked capable of wrestling a bear.
The woman gently held me.
"My son..."
I froze.
My son?
No.
Absolutely not.
I looked down.
Tiny arms.
Tiny fingers.
Tiny body.
Oh no.
No no no no no.
I had become a baby.
Again.
Well.
Not again.
For the first time.
But still.
This was a problem.
Years passed.
Slowly.
Then quickly.
Funny how time works.
My mother's name was Anaya.
My father's name was Viraj.
We lived in a village called Vasantgram.
A peaceful place surrounded by forests and hills.
The people were kind.
The food was good.
Life was simple.
And for the first time in two lives...
I was happy.
Actually happy.
No goals.
No deadlines.
No pressure.
Just life.
I spent my days running through fields.
Helping my parents.
Watching the seasons change.
Learning things because I wanted to.
Not because I had to.
It was wonderful.
Which was exactly why I made a promise.
A very important promise.
This life would be different.
No obsession.
No perfection.
No destroying myself for impossible standards.
I would simply live.
The universe immediately decided that was funny.
I was five years old when it happened.
The Spring Festival had arrived.
The entire village was celebrating.
Children ran through the streets.
Merchants sold sweets.
Musicians played near the central square.
Laughter echoed everywhere.
I was eating roasted corn when golden letters suddenly appeared before my eyes.
I nearly choked.
The world continued normally.
Nobody reacted.
Nobody noticed.
Which meant only I could see it.
Wonderful.
Exactly the kind of thing sane people enjoy.
The letters slowly formed words.
PERFECTION HAS AWAKENED
My heart stopped.
No.
Not this.
Anything but this.
More words appeared.
OPTIMAL PATH ANALYSIS AVAILABLE
I stared.
The screen stared back.
The universe had a terrible sense of humor.
Out of all the abilities in existence...
Why this one?
Why the thing that ruined my first life?
I had escaped death.
Escaped Earth.
Escaped my past.
And somehow Perfection had followed me here.
Like a curse.
Like a shadow.
Like an old addiction patiently waiting for me.
The screen vanished.
Leaving me standing alone among the festival crowd.
For the first time since my rebirth...
I felt afraid.
Because I knew exactly how dangerous Perfection could be.
A loud shout interrupted my thoughts.
"Move!"
I blinked.
Then something crashed into me.
Hard.
Both of us rolled across the dirt.
My roasted corn flew away.
A tragedy.
A terrible tragedy.
I sat up.
Across from me sat a child.
About my age.
Maybe a year older.
Messy black hair.
Scraped knees.
Mud on her face.
Mud on her clothes.
Mud everywhere.
Honestly, I wasn't convinced there was any actual child beneath all the mud.
She pointed behind me.
"I'm climbing that tree."
I turned.
The tree was enormous.
At least twice as tall as any nearby house.
I looked back at her.
"...Why?"
She frowned.
"Asking why is boring."
"That's not an answer."
"Then stop asking boring questions."
I stared.
She stared back.
This was my first encounter with true chaos.
The child marched toward the tree.
Grabbed a branch.
Started climbing.
Then immediately fell.
I winced.
That looked painful.
She got up.
Tried again.
Fell again.
Got up again.
Tried again.
Again.
And again.
And again.
No complaints.
No excuses.
Just effort.
Eventually I walked over.
"You're doing it wrong."
She looked down from the branch.
"What?"
"Your footing is bad."
"What's footing?"
"...How are you climbing without knowing that?"
She shrugged.
I sighed.
Then spent the next ten minutes explaining.
The child listened.
Surprisingly carefully.
Then she tried again.
This time she climbed higher.
Much higher.
Until she reached the first large branch.
The grin on her face could have rivaled the sun.
"I did it!"
I found myself smiling.
A little.
Just a little.
The child jumped down.
Landing badly.
Almost falling again.
Then she pointed at me.
"You think too much."
I blinked.
"What?"
"You always look like you're solving a puzzle."
That was oddly accurate.
"I don't."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You do."
This conversation was going nowhere.
The child grinned.
Then held out a hand.
"My name is Mahi."
I shook it.
"Aarush."
"Mhm."
She nodded.
Then immediately started walking away.
I frowned.
"That's it?"
"What?"
"You're leaving?"
"Obviously."
"Why?"
She pointed toward another tree.
"Bigger challenge."
Then she ran off.
Just like that.
No goodbye.
No explanation.
Nothing.
I watched her disappear into the crowd.
For some reason...
I couldn't stop smiling.
Maybe it was because she was ridiculous.
Maybe it was because she was stubborn.
Or maybe...
For the first time in two lives...
I had met someone who wasn't worried about being perfect.
And somehow...
That felt important.
I didn't know it yet.
But that muddy troublemaker would eventually become one of the most important people in my life.
And at that moment...
Neither of us had the slightest idea what kind of future awaited us.
End of Chapter 1
