Trial # 1

I whip my head around and lunge for Avery sitting next to me.

Shocked, Taiga rears back, however quickly springs off the ground. Despite his many flaws he was always very quick on the uptake.

"What's going..." Shaz and Avery both slump to the ground before finishing the sentence, unconscious.

"GET SHAZ!" I scream at Taiga as I scoop Avery up right before I'm hit with a wave of drowsiness.

"What the..." Taiga falls down to the ground with his hand outreached towards Shaz, no more resistant to the spell than the rest of them.

Shit Shit SHIT! Come on! I gotta figure out what this effect is! I must have breathed it in somehow. Using Sananku, I shoot myself up with heavy doses of adrenaline, enough to cause internal bleeding from the sheer force of my heart pumping blood through the vessels.

Why... I mumble as I stumble and fall face flat into the ground once more too tired to think. Why is my adrenaline not...? Does... this drug...? I am rendered unable to think as my consciousness slips into the abyss.

"Who are you?"

Trial # 2

Sleepiness, I know how to induce it via Sananku but I need to figure out a way to stop it, reverse the hormone production. Or counteract its effects.

I open my eyes once more. Immediately, I shoot my brain up with adrenaline. My muscles begin to jitter as they hyper-stimulate far beyond their natural limits. However, I don't let it show on my face. Okay good, it looks like the drug hasn't entered my system yet if adrenaline production hasn't been inhibited.

Now I just need to give it too…

Instantly, the claw of death grips me by my throat, eating me up from my insides. I die before I'm given a chance to formulate my next thought.

Trial # 3

Apoptosis, a process in which cells release a chemical that facilitates their own destruction, essentially killing itself. Or in my case, rendering myself braindead.

How did– Did the drug change? Why did that just happen? I shake my head and refocus. Okay, okay, how was I supposed to counteract this?

I let out a small breath. So it looks like if I release adrenaline to prevent sleepiness the drug somehow changes its target. So now I need to figure out... Apoptosis... Apoptosis... Thousands of memories flood my mind all at once, lessons of Sananku from both Torika and Actla alike. Where did I learn this…

Got it. I think I needed this inhibitor to prevent my nerves from exploding. I juice my brain up once again, this time with both adrenaline and the inhibitor.

Then in the same instant I place one hand on Taiga's wrist, grab his mask with the other and fill his brain with chemicals as well.

"Grab Shaz, run as fast as you can."

I then grab Avery's arm right before she starts slumping over, my eyes flicker back and forth quickly, then I sling her over my back and start–

Trial # 4

Hemotoxins destroys the capability of blood to carry oxygen throughout the body, thus starving the organs and body of much needed oxygen in order to function.

…

…

How am I supposed to win here? And how did it kill me instantly again? It should take at least half a minute before my blood circulates around my entire body…

No wait, I had to counteract the sleepiness by raising my heart rate, so that means I have to find some alternative to...

Trial # 8

Took me a while to realize but this isn't a drug is it? He is actively reacting to what I do and creating a deadly poison in reaction directly inside my body, and he’s far more knowledgeable than me about the human body which is why he can create so many different poisons I don’t understand.

I chuckle to myself before screaming in pain, flailing around in agony as my senses overload to dangerous limits, as I meet my swift demise.

Trial #14

...

Trial #23

Trial #40 Trial #76Trial #106Trial#...?

I give up. This won’t work.

I know that there’s a way out of this. I’m always reverted back to the most immediate moment before I either die or am fated to die, giving me a chance to cheat death, every time without fail, but the question is if it’s possible to get the rest of them out of this as well.

Outside the rain began to fall, coming down in sheets until all I could hear was the sound of rain.

“Every time I die is when I resist.” I mumble to myself.

"I lost the bet huh, I said half but guess I'll make the iron free." Gen says with a heavy tone.

"Talking to yourself over there?" Taiga teases in an ironically relaxed way.

"Shoo, go to sleep." I wave him off then watch calmly as everybody around me slumps down to the ground, asleep once again. The fact that I'm the only one killed every single time, while they aren't harmed means that I'm being seen as an outsider or unimportant.

I take a swig of the tea and look at the door, waiting for it to open.

"Sorry, I had to do—" Gen starts his long tirade once again.

"Yes, yes, apology accepted, now scoot aside and let me focus." The door slowly creaks open as the man walks out.

"Who are you?" Yeluh asks, the same one phrase is repeated for what felt like... or actually was over a hundred times already.

I look at the veins running through my arm. However, I’m still alive. Which means he’s interested enough in me to talk.

I ignore him and try stepping forward, instantly a potent autoimmune response sends spines of numbness shooting through my body while causing a heavy bout of nausea. However, rather than causing any serious harm it was just enough to warn me from stepping any further

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“When did you spread your poison?” I ask.

“The second you four stepped on the porch, I was saturating the air with my blood.” He responds surprisingly willfully.

“And why am I the only one still standing?” I then ask.

“Because you had an interesting reaction. Very unexpected for the situation you’re in, I want to observe you further.”

And he can do that because he can kill me whenever he wants.

“I want to ask you something.” He then says. “Are you willing to be truthful with me?”

I snort. “Sure, why not?”

“Then… Why are you so calm upon seeing me? Did you expect me? Did you know that this was going to happen?”

The hairs on the back of my neck immediately stand up before drawing my Sek’s and charging at him. This conversation is too dangerous to continue. Don’t act so callous next time. Somehow I was afraid that he was going to figure out my death defying ability despite its nature.

“Again… What a strange reaction.”

I slug forward as a wave of drowsiness hits me; however, practiced by my hundreds of deaths prior, I shoot myself up with a massive hit of adrenaline and tense back into position. Shit! He’s no longer trying to kill me!

Yeluh immediately steps back in concern seeing how efficiently his poison was nullified.

I take two steps before I feel a muscle relaxant slipping down my legs. Again, I knew exactly how to deal with this as this was yet again another one of my deaths. In high enough concentrations relaxants can paralyze even the diaphragm, causing quick suffocation.

I’m not going to make it to him in time before he does something I don’t know how to deal with.

I divert all my Anku into my hands, loading my sling with an extreme sleight of hand, whipping a shot towards him at a blistering velocity.

He raises his arms, but I could see the heavy lead ball sink into his forearm, almost certainly breaking them.

I tuck in and explode forward, merely inches away from my Sek’s reaching—

I blink a couple times. Before deeply sighing, half-relieved, half-disappointed that I couldn’t end everything right there.

"I lost the bet huh, I said half but guess I'll make the iron free."

There it is. What did I do or say the very first time this happened? New plan, act as natural as possible to avoid suspicion.

I look at the sky as the rain starts. That’s right, I remember I was worried about the rain drowning out Avery’s abilities.

“You can drink the tea Shesuan, I genuinely didn’t spike it with anything unlike what I was supposed to do.” Gen says.

Then… I quickly turn around observing the three bodies around me, before unsheathing my Seks.

Then… I look up as Yeluh emerges from the house.

“I did what you asked, please return Abby and leave us alone.” Finally Yeluh kills Gen. Normal so far.

“Who are you?”

Despite hearing them for the past couple hours, a chill washes over me upon hearing these words. It was his declaration of being able to sense something off about me, that he was a mere two or three concepts away from deducing my true ability from just a brief glance.

“Actually who are you?” I demand in response. “What have you done?”

“My name is Yeluh. I’ve sedated your companions.” He replies. Again, so direct and upfront.

“Why? What’s your goal?”

“The Tetsudo and her companion are both of interest to the state. While the masked person is of particular interest to me. There’s something off putting about you as well, but I can’t understand why yet.” He continues to respond unnaturally candidly. “I want to ask you something. Are you willing to be truthful with me?” Yeluh says.

“No.” I say this time.

“I’m grateful for your honesty.” My body is turned into a pile of flesh.

“Who are you?” Yeluh says.

What do I even need to ask or say that’ll get me out of this situation? I decide to go through the same flowchart I did previously.

“I’m grateful for your honesty.” I die.

“Who are you?”

“I’m grateful for your honesty.” I die.

“Who are you?”

I die.

I stare blankly at the three sitting around me.

“What? You okay?” Taiga says before slumping to the ground.

It hurts. I’ve become so desensitized to it that it’s not particularly stressful anymore, but it’s still dying. I’ve suffocated to death so many times that I’m not even keeping track. My tissue swelled up so large until my body tore itself to shreds, while I sat my flesh and could only watch. Mentally, I’m fine. Physically, I always return to normal, but my soul is not this tough, and there’s always the risk I make a wrong move and Yeluh decides to keep me alive, and if a person like him realizes what I’m capable of… I close my eyes and shudder. I can’t even experiment without being afraid of what he’ll do to me.

It’s okay if I just run away right? Taiga will never die with that thing protecting him. My purpose won’t change, so there’s nothing here I need to protect.

I shake my head furiously. No, I still haven’t tried something yet. It’s the riskiest one, but it might be my only choice.

I go through the same motions and watch as Yeluh exits the door. The grip on my Seks tighten as I plan my next indefinite number of deaths. The plan is to charge at him until I can kill him in a single swoop.

I tense all my muscles.

Then…

The ground in front of me morphs into a massive abyss, I was standing on the edge of a cliff and passing the edge would be the point of no return.

I-I can’t move. I-Is he about to kill me or restrain me?

“Who are… No, a better question would be, what are you afraid of?”

I need to restart. After standing frozen in place the entire time, I am stricken by a single thought. Kill me. Please.

In this situation as delicate as frost crawling over a windowpane. Death was my comfort bed and living is unknown. I can mess up. I will mess up.

So I charge at him with my blades drawn. I close my eyes, expecting a quick and sudden death.

I keep running forward with my eyes closed; however, the darkness never ends. The next thing I knew, my foot had caught onto the raised porch and I was tumbling forward. My knee scrapes against the splintery wood, leaving a bloody mark with tags of skin against the wood.

I open my eyes and look up in astonishment at Yeluh staring down at me, casting a deep shadow over my body.

He crouches down and places a hand on chin, bringing our faces so close that I could feel his breath lapping against my lips.

“I don’t understand you.” He murmurs.

A trail of salty blood leaks down my calf.

“Can you tell me more about yourself?” He asks.

An indescribable sensation shudders through my brain as soon as he says this. “No.” I utter breathlessly.

“I don’t believe you.” Yeluh stares into the very depths of my soul, stunning me in place. “Your rejection is filled with deceit. You are hiding something I can’t figure out.”

I chuckle crazily before going limp. “Yea, I am. How do you even know?” I say wearily. Every single time.

“I don’t understand it myself quite yet, but for some reason I could tell when I acted, that you were missing the fear of death. At first I believed that this was simply reckless or delusional courage, but that isn’t it either. You are fearful as well.”

“I won’t tell you.” I hold a sharp gaze.

“I don’t need you to tell me.” His lips curve into a slight crescent. “I have my ways.”

I squeeze my Sek tightly. He stumbles back as my blade viciously slashes upwards to his chin, nicking some of the flesh off.

Drowsiness kicks in, but I was used to his timing. I nullify the poison and drive forward with my leading leg like a striking snake. Yeluh tries to turn out of the way, but I’m able to rend a decent depth into his chest during his turn. His blood splatters all over my face.

Muscle weakness kicks in next; however, I time it the counter-antidote perfectly and then–

Yeluh stands above me, the corpse of Gen and the limp bodies of my companions surrounding the porch.

Something wet flows down my leg, I stare downwards as blood runs down my calf from the scraped knee.

Yeluh crouches down, but then, before everything begins to loop again, I double over and throw up.

I retch and sputter as the burning acidic contents of my stomach gets caught in my windpipe, nose, spattering all over the wood, mixing in with the running rainwater alongside the tears from my watery eyes to flow into the muddy ground.

The starting point changed. Gen is permanently dead.