The Choice of Immortality

An utterly ordinary boy met an old man one day. The old man asked him, "Young man, do you want to live forever?"

The young man replied, "Yes. I want to live forever."

"I grant you immortality. I hope you won't regret it."

After saying this, the old man crumbled to ash.

The old man was dead, truly dead. He had given the boy his own immortal power forever.

The boy didn't notice any changes at first, but in the blink of an eye, fifty years had passed. His family, friends, and even his beloved had all grown old, while he still looked twenty.

The boy's heart remained unmoved. Over those fifty years, he watched his friends, parents, family, and beloved slowly grow old, until they died.

He wondered: since I don't age, could I still be killed?

After his last friend passed away, he put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. He didn't die. He was still alive, and had no idea what to do with his life.

After some thought, he decided to study and fill his endless time with knowledge, so his life wouldn't be so lonely.

In the blink of an eye, six hundred years had passed. During those six hundred years, he had been an emperor and a slave, but he had never found the meaning of his existence.

Another six hundred years passed. Ever since learning he was immortal, he had been accumulating wealth. Over these more than sixteen hundred years, he amassed endless riches, and boundless knowledge was stored in his mind.