Quinn grabbed his throat, the pain of the scythe cutting cleanly through his flesh had still not disappeared. He knew that he couldn't beat them, knew that he wasn't capable of taking all of those puppets at once, but he still attempted it.

He had no skill, like a chicken running with his head off during a fight. Was it only luck that he was able to survive as long as he did? Maybe next time he would be able to get further.

Blech…

Vomit poured from his mouth, his stomach churned, and his mind was heavy. Death paid a heavy toll on the mind and soul. It was unnatural for a person to die more than once, and anyone that has died more than once would likely be affected by the severe trauma it could cause. Quinn had realized this first hand.

Even after there was no more vomit, he still continued to gag and cough. His soul felt strained, and his mind felt like mush.

I need to sit… I need to calm down…

Quinn stumbled over to a tree and leaned back against it. His breathing was rough, and he could barely breathe.

This tree… it feels very familiar…

It was the same tree he had leaned against before after the first time he had died. Once again, he leaned against it, trying to calm down.

“Dying is not something to take lightly. You need to be more careful.” Golden Quinn scolded him. Quinn tried listening to his words, but his mind ached as all he heard was a whistle in his ear.

“Do you hear me…”

A voice, a far voice that was blinded by a heavy buzzing. The sunlight had been much brighter than it had been before. Was this some abnormal change in the trial… or had it been because…

Quinn blacked out. He laid limp on the ground by the tree. Golden Quinn tried yelling to wake him up, but it seemed that it wouldn't work.

***

Quinn burst up from the ground. He was no longer sitting under the tree, but laying on the ground in the place he usually starts the trial.

My head… it's still buzzing…

“It's going to hurt for a while. Try meditating, it will calm the mind and soul and will alleviate the effects of the backlash.”

Quinn heard Golden Quinn's words, but he couldn't see how he could meditate with such horrid pain. It pierced through him, like a sword stabbing through his head and twisting around in his skull until his brain was liquid.

Quinn fell on his back, breathing in and out while trying to ignore the malicious pain.

Agh…

Though the pain still continued to fight against him, the breathing slowly began to work. The buzzing had begun to fade, and he began to gain control of his mind. He rubbed his head, still feeling a much alleviated version of the pain, but pain nonetheless.

The pain in his stomach also seemed to go away the more he meditated. His nerves began to calm and a wave of fatigue washed over him. He felt so tired… he needed to sleep… Once again, his mind shut down and his vision went black as he fainted onto the warm grass.

***

Quinn woke up slowly. As he opened his eyes, the bright sun began to pour in. It burned his eyes, but he continued to open them anyway. After a few seconds, his eyes readjusted, and he looked around to see he was in the same place as before.

Golden Quinn hovered over him, checking his face for any indications of harm, but floated backwards after finding none.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“How long was I out?” Quinn looked towards his golden version with squinted eyes.

His head no longer ached with an overbearing pain, nor did his soul bounce in agony. He felt fine, as if a wound had been healed.

“The first time you blacked out, you were asleep for three regressions. For the second time, you were out for five.”

“Was I really out for that long?” Quinn slowly made his way up off of the floor. Golden Quinn nodded his head in confirmation to Quinn’s question.

“Didn't I tell you? Death pays a heavy price.”

Quinn listened to his cold words, “How am I supposed to get the key if I have to fight off all of those puppets? I can't increase my Echoes any further, and if I die any more for the experience, I simply won't be able to control my mind.”

“Then I will train you. I will show you how to strengthen both your mind and soul. I can also teach you how to be a better fighter. You lack experience, but right now, you have all the time in the world to make up for it.”

Quinn looked at him with anticipation, “You… train me? Then where do we begin?”

Golden Quinn looked at him for a moment, rolling ideas through his head to find the best result, “We should start with training the soul and mind first.”

He floated towards the ground and sat down, holding out a hand for Quinn to do the same, “Sit down and cross your legs just as I have.”

Quinn didn't ask any questions. He just followed the directions of his golden counterpart.

“Now then, just as you did before, close your eyes and start meditating.” Golden Quinn lead, closing his eyes and listening to the flowing wind, the rustling of the trees, and the brushing of the grass. He tried achieving a complete state of calmness.

Quinn tried doing the same. He closed his eyes, and began trying to listen to the world around him. Quickly, his mind began to be filled with the thoughts of his comrades who had died and the memories of being killed.

Golden Quinn opened one eye, looking at Quinn's squinted face. It was not calm, nor did he look at peace in any way. Golden Quinn sighed, “You need to learn to block out those memories.”

“I am trying.” Quinn continued to hold his eyes closed. He tried listening to the world once again, trying to remove all tainted thoughts from his mind.

They both sat there in silence for a while, listening to nature and all of its beauty. Slowly, Quinn had begun to get the hang of it. Over time, Quinn was beginning to be capable of blocking out any of the bad memories.

After the regression occurred, Quinn would sit back down in the grass and continue meditating. This happened for multiple regressions, before Quinn had finally gained control of his mind and soul.

***

“Alright, it's time to move on to something else.” Golden Quinn motioned for Quinn to stand, “You have learned how to meditate well in such a short time, but the combat training won't be as quick.”

Quinn nodded, “Please teach me how to fight.”

Golden Quinn's lips curved upwards as he stared at Quinn with almost deadpan eyes, “That's the first time I have actually heard gratitude out of you.”

“You have been teaching and helping me, although not always when I ask. If I didn't express any gratitude for the help, then I would have felt bad.”

“I see.” Golden Quinn paused, taking in his words, “Now then, let's start your training.”

Golden Quinn avoided answering Quinn with anything sentimental. This was in his nature, and he would have felt uncomfortable doing so.

“Now, I am going to teach you a combat style that I created. It is very affective in combat, especially against other people, so pay close attention.”

Golden Quinn began preforming, his motion was fluid, and his actions were perfect, consuming the least amount of energy to carry them out. Watching him, Quinn felt entranced.

Finally, after a minute of performing different moves, Golden Quinn calmed down, “This is what you need to achieve. Your actions must be fluid, and should follow the best path to consume the least amount of energy. In your circumstance, consuming excess energy is not possible, so everything needs to be near perfect.”

Quinn felt overwhelmed by how much he needed to learn, but Golden Quinn calmed him down, “Do not worry. I don't expect you to be capable of doing all that instantly. Let’s start more simply, preforming only one move.”

Golden Quinn showed him a kick, then asked for Quinn to copy him. After Quinn performed the kick, Golden Quinn sighed, “You need to pull your leg back more when you kick. You also need to raise your leg higher. Do it again.”

Quinn performed the kick, and once again, Golden Quinn criticized him, “Much better on pulling the leg back, but you still need to lift your leg higher.”

Once again, Quinn tried to kick. He pulled his leg back and tried kicking as high as he could. Golden Quinn looked much more pleased, “That is much better, but you look like you are straining yourself too much. We may need to do stretches to increase how far your arms and legs can extend.”

This feels like it's going to take a while… Quinn breathed in calmly. He continued listening to Golden Quinn's advice, and after a while, Quinn had felt he was starting to get the hang of things.