Chapter 8: (DEATH and HOPE)
Then, before I could understand anything, I found myself lying on my bed. My body sank into the mattress as if I had never moved at all. The room was dark, cold, and too quiet—until I heard it.
The footsteps.
The same slow footsteps, I heard before I died the same footsteps of the creatures that killed me. Each step growing closer and clearer. For a moment, I couldn't even breathe. My whole body froze as the sound travel into my ears.
I slowly turned my head toward the window. The wooden window still not broken. the night wind ain't able to slip through the gaps. It was the same window those dark, shadowy figures had broken. And now it looks like Nothing had happened.
I tried to pushed myself up with shaking arms, my movements slow and stiff —im someone who should've stayed dead before and now. My chest rose and fell sharply as my breathing grew heavier, louder, almost painful.
"Ha… ha…" I gasped, gripping the sheets.
My voice finally broke out in a trembling whisper.
"What… is happening!? Why am I here!? Didn't I… die!?"
Then, before I could even calm my breathing, the air in front of me rippled like a thin sheet of water being disturbed. A faint ding echoed in my ears, sharp and cold. I flinched, my shoulders jerking slightly as glowing letters slowly appeared in front of my face.
The system popped out—floating, mid air.
A red rectangular screen appear.
[DEATH RECORDS]
Original – drowning in a river
Original – committing suicide using a dagger
1st – shot by arrows and stabbed to death
I swallowed hard, my throat tightening, feeling every muscle in my neck grow stiff. I reached toward the floating screen with a trembling hand, but the glowing letters flickered away from my touch, as if refusing to let me erase the thought of this is all is just a figment of my imagination.
"Liam!!! What is the meaning of this!?"
I barely finished shouting when something whistled through the air—
SHHHK!
A spear burst through the wooden window, splinters exploding everywhere, and the tip slammed straight into my eye.
A sharp, violent CRACK echoed inside my skull.
I collapsed back on the bed, my body trembling.
"A-Ahg…! It—hurts…!"
Warm blood flooded down my cheek. My hands shook as I tried to push myself up.
Before I could even breathe—
THUD—SHHHK!
A second spear shot in from the window, stabing into my stomach. The force pinned my body down on the mattress for a moment before.
"Ghh—!!"
My spine arched, and a thick stream of blood spilled from my mouth.
"Blurrg—blurggg… h-help… please…"
My fingers clawed at the sheets, slipping on my own blood. The room was spinning, fading. The cold crept up my limbs as my vision darkened from the edges inward.
Through the broken window, in the shattered frame of moonlight, I saw them—
shadowy figures, faces stretched into wide, unnatural smiles.
They didn't move closer.
They just leaned forward, staring at me, their mouths slowly opening—
—and then the laughter came.
Low at first.
Then louder.
Twisted.
Delighted.
They were enjoying it.
And as the darkness finally swallowed my sight, their grins only grew wider.
[YOU DIED]
The darkness swallowed everything.
And then—
I opened my eyes.
I was back in the bed, lying in the exact same position, my breathing shaky and uneven. My heart was still pounding from the pain of dying.
A faint glow appeared in front of me.
The system window slid open.
[DEATH RECORDS]
Original – drowning in a river
Original – committing suicide using a dagger
1st – shot by arrows and stabbed to death
2nd – being stabbed to death by spears
My throat tightened.
"Again…?"
I pushed myself up and staggered toward the window. The night air was cold, too silent. I leaned closer—
SHHHK! CRASH!
A spear suddenly pierced through the window, shattering it into pieces. Splinters flew past my face.
This time, it didn't hit me…
but it came so close I felt the wind of it brush my cheek.
My whole body froze for a second, then instinct kicked in.
I grabbed the sword lying beside the wall, my hands shaking, and ran toward the door. My feet slid on the wooden floor as I forced it open—
And then I saw them.
They were standing closer than before. Their silhouettes weren't just shadows now—I could see their twisted faces clearly, their mouths stretching into wide, unnatural smiles.
Their eyes didn't blink.
They stared straight at me.
"G-Get away from me!!!" I shouted, stumbling backward.
"You monsters!"
I tried to run past them, tried to force my legs to move—
But the moment I turned around, something sharp struck my back.
Then another.
And another.
My knees buckled.
My vision blurred.
Just like before…
my body collapsed on the cold ground, blood pooling beneath me.
Once again—
I died.
And then died again.
And again.
And again.
Fifteen times.
Each death felt different—sometimes fast, sometimes slow—but every time I opened my eyes, I was back in the same bed, gasping like someone pulling me out of the water.
My hands trembled as I sat up.
"This is… impossible," I whispered. "How can I escape this place? How do I escape if I'm just going to die over and over again?"
My voice cracked with frustration and fear.
I clenched my teeth and shouted, "System, how long does this keep going!? How long until I actually die for real!?"
A notification appeared.
[AS LONG AS YOU WANT, YOU CANNOT DIE.
EXCEPT IF YOU TRY TO DIE LIKE YOUR ORIGINAL DEATHS.
IF YOU DIE THAT WAY, YOU WILL NOT RETURN.]
I stared at the message, my breathing slowing down.
"So that's it…" I muttered. "I understand. I'll keep that in mind."
I forced myself to smile, though my hands were still shaking.
I walked to the small wooden box that I hid in the bed, opened it, and took out the old clothes inside.
I slid it onto my wrist, tightening it.
I lowered my arm, covering the wrist full with the clothes using my other hand…
My chest rose and fell as I prepared for the next death.
This time, I'd try to survive just one second longer.
Even if it meant dying a sixteenth time.
[There is no such thing as an easy life… or an easy death in this world.]