(A/N These 5 chapters are meant for you to read all at once ^_^v)

****(POV)

Long ago I used to be the very definition of a normal man. I was both lucky and unlucky.

On one hand, I had been born into the royalty of the strongest nation in all the land, on the other, I was born a defect.

On my back was the mark of a curse from an old, defeated enemy, a blackish shapeless mark that simply seemed out of place on a human body. It was a curse of uselessness.

It didn't sound that bad, but it was. It condemned me to remain a weakling all my life. The only upside was that I looked like any other human being once it was covered by clothes

As a young prince, I had the best environment possible to grow up. I had plenty of resources to speed up my training, had access to the best mystic grounds possible, had the best teachers, and almost had a loving family, at least in my early years.

It is only when I reached 10 years of age that the palace completely gave up on me. I had many brothers and sisters, each awakening a power stronger than the last. They had talent beyond measure, were cunning, valiant, and everything else.

I was different. No matter how much I trained or what kind of magical elixir I consumed I remained weak. I was showing no sign of progress whatsoever. I wasn't averse to hard work, no the real issue was that it was all useless. Even body cultivation, something extremely simple, didn't work for me.

I kept trying for a long time, a very long time. Even as a teenager, I did. My wastrel genius siblings would frequent brothels, gambling houses, Hell would have fun all day long and yet were considered proper human beings unlike me.

I lived my whole life in the shadows. Some would have expected that I would quickly become bitter. How many times was I approached by some dumbass trying to make a traitor out of me? Too many to count!

I didn't resent my family. I knew it, I was weak. There was a limit to how much a normal human could enhance his lifespan. I would die shortly, a few centuries later at best. There was no point for them to get close to me for my whole existence would be but a tiny stain in their lives.

At first, my mother was very loving, same for my siblings. Some would show up from time to time with some ancient cultivation technique, or a manual about a weird Law. Every time I would try my best, but ultimately, I would always fail.

It seemed as if my very existence was pointless. Eventually, they all stopped trying and gave up. I slowly became part of the décor.

I was the young prince that would wander the palace and the capital as a ghost. I was a very low-maintenance ghost too haha. I mostly spent my time reading, anything really. I knew my own life would never have a meaning, but I was trying to feel some through the experiences of others.

I would also walk, all around. I would silently observe the world. I would observe the common folks. Their aspirations, their lives, their struggles. In these moments I would feel alive.

I was never attacked, kidnapped, or anything of the likes. The palace wouldn't have cared about saving me and would only have avenged me post-mortem. It would have been a suicidal endeavor.

Furthermore, the palace's defenses were top-notch. No mind-control spell over me would have remained undetected. As for blackmail, what would they even blackmail me with? I had nothing going for me nor anything to hide.

The only card they could motivate me with was taking my family hostage. Good luck with that! My incredibly powerful siblings? My father that was the strongest in the land? My mother that was even more fearsome? Ah, what a joke!

Many times I actually got injured. It was always by accident. Often, I got beaten by kids that had trouble controlling their strength and didn't realize how weak I was. But every time I would drag my broken body back to the palace for a quick fix before going out again.

Some started calling me the frail prince, others the prince with a death wish, the cripple, the crazy ghost, I got lots of nicknames over the years. But all of these would quickly die down. There was no fun when I myself acknowledged it with a slight smile.

So that is all I did, I read and walked. In the process, I learned a lot about the world. For instance, I learned about the true nature of "all the lands". We were but a continent, one amongst many.

I learned about governance, learned about managing currency, and learned tidbits from everywhere about everything. It was never my intention, and it was mostly useless stuff. After all when a punch can annihilate any dissident, what is the point of learning about all this?

Many things I never learned about. Anything that actively required to use mana I stayed away. Well, I'd keep trying to find a new source of power from time to time, but I was wasting my time.

I simply thought these days would last. I would eventually become a real ghost, and no one would actually notice my disappearance. It was fine. I did regret it, I did wonder about what could have been often. Somehow, I never resented, however.

I'm still not sure how I managed to have such a positive outlook on life then. But of course, it all came to an end.

We were overlords of the continent. Yes, the continent. A very normal and boring story. The kind that gets plenty of epics.

Came extremely powerful invaders, five men, that appeared akin to monsters to us. They were impossibly strong. These five destroyed our capital and overturned the palace.

It was a very pointless conquest too. They had actually died during the fight. The five invaders were no more, the royal family got obliterated too. This crazy play only brought destruction and sorrow to both sides.

I was sad, but I picked myself up. Then next...