Quinn burst upwards. His mind and body began to attack him. Quinn had just died again, all because of that tattered puppet. The only puppet he couldn't keep tabs on. It knew what it was doing, attacking Quinn when his guard was down.

Agh… I will definitely have to repay that puppet again the next time I see him. Twice he has done this to me…

Quinn began to meditate out of an instinct that Golden Quinn had embedded in him. Under normal circumstances, Quinn would have gone through much more pain when he died, but because of his training, he began to meditate before he died. This helped to calm his soul and mind as much as he could to help nullify the effects. Now, all he had to do was follow up on that plan with more meditation.

Quinn sat on the ground, gritting his teeth as he pushed through the pain. Slowly, the pain began to fade and his mind and soul began to calm.

“That was an unexpected circumstance. It seems you need to be much more careful with that puppet.”

Quinn turned to the man floating above him, “You are right, but he's too scared to face me one on one. It seems that puppet's skill is hiding for the perfect moment. It looks like I can't keep my guard down no matter where I am.”

Quinn leaned forward and boosted himself upwards. The pain of his mind and soul had mostly faded.

It was the right idea to meditate before I died. I'll have to keep that in mind in case I die again.

“I am surprised you didn't catch him as he walked in.” Quinn thought that Golden Quinn purposefully didn't mention the puppet secretly attacking him.

Golden Quinn waved away the thought, “I was just as focused on the door as you were. Maybe if my state was better I'd have noticed, but I am limited in power. Now if we were in your soul, I might have been able to notice. In your soul, I have more power, but only slightly.”

“Good to know, but can't you just float to the other side of the door? You don't even need to wait and see what's on the other side.”

“I could, but I thought it would have been boring. When you are stuck floating around in another person's body for so long, you run out of ways to entertain yourself. This whole scenario has been quite entertaining for me.”

Does that mean the real reason he didn't want to tell me certain helpful information was because he found it entertaining watching me…

Quinn sighed, then began running towards the cave. Even though he died, he still had to continue with the trial. At least now, he had an idea as to if he could beat the trial or not. The bar was the place he expected to get stuck, but after beating it once, he realized it wouldn't be too hard to beat, just as long as he didn't let his guard down.

I can escape this place. As long as I watch out for that tattered puppet, I should be fine. Hopefully, on my return to the door, he will be gone.

After running through the cave, down the dirt path and through town, Quinn stepped inside the inn. With one hit, he smashed the innkeepers head to pieces. The, he quickly grabbed the key and rushed to the bar.

He stepped inside and bolted for the key. After taking out the bartender and beating him for good in the first hit, all he had to do was take out the puppets.

One by one, the puppets fell until there were none left. This time, Quinn had beat them much quicker. He had improved, a good sign.

Once Quinn grabbed the second key, he began running to the cabin house. Once he got there, he went down the stairs into the basement and grabbed the key. The puppet wasn't there, so he quickly left.

Once again, he made his way into the forest, climbed up the tree, pulled the lever, and made his way down the stairs to the secret door.

All of that in only twenty minutes. Faster than last time.

Quinn looked around the bottom of the staircase, but the puppet was nowhere. It had changed spots once again.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Quinn pulled out the keys and put them in their slots.

One key… Two keys… Three keys…

After turning the third key, and watching behind himself just in case the puppet thought he could attack again, the door began to open up.

A low rumbling sound could be heard as it moved upwards. The room behind it slowly began to show itself.

Illuminated in a blue light on the other side of the door was a blue hallway. At the end of the hallway, sitting on a small stone table, a small golden key could be seen.

That has to be the key to the clock. Once I insert that into the clock, the trial should be over!

Quinn slowly stepped forward past the door and into the room. All of his work had been for this. Training, learning to handle his own death, fighting the different puppets, they led up to this moment.

He stepped further into the room, his eyes on the prize.

Golden Quinn floated near him, observing the room with furrowed eyes. He wasn't as convinced this was the end, so he decided to do some investigating. He floated around the room, and after finding nothing, he floated to the other side of the wall. Suddenly, he realized that this room had more too it.

He floated through the wall and yelled to Quinn, “Stop where you are!”

There was only one reason Golden Quinn would help him so suddenly. It was only when Quinn was about to die!

Quinn stopped in his tracks, looking at Golden Quinn quickly for any signs of what was happening.

Just when Golden Quinn thought Quinn had avoided danger, a pillar shot out of the wall at a quick speed, slamming Quinn into the wall and crushing his torso.

Quinn hung in between the wall and the stone pillar, Blood seeping from his chest and dripping to the floor.

It was… a booby trap…

Golden Quinn had tried to warn Quinn that the entire hallway was infested with traps to stop anyone from approaching the key, but he didn't realize in time.

Using what little breathing he could through his crushed lungs, he tried his best to meditate through the pain.

Looks like this next regression is going to hurt much more than the last.

Quinn's arms fell limp to his side as he breathed his last breath. Stuck between the stone pillar, he had died.

***

Quinn opened his eyes, the pain poured through him once again. He needed to meditate, it hurt so bad. His soul felt as if it was being ripped apart, broken, then broken again.

I need… to calm down…

Breath, the only word that bounced through his chaotic mind during such an event. This word would be the one to save him now, but only if he could control his soul and mind from going crazy.

Quinn gripped the grass, tearing it from the dirt as he tried to numb the pain. His hands were beginning to turn green from whatever the grass had rubbed onto him. The sun made the pain worst, forcing him to close his eyes or else a burning sensation would be projected into his mind.

Golden Quinn's voice was faint as he tried to calm Quinn down. Quinn couldn't hear him, just as the times before. He couldn't over such aching and throbbing pains.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, his mind began to be soothed by the meditation and controlled breathing. The sun's blinding light slowly began to dim, and his mind that had been taken was slowly returned to him.

Gasp…

Quinn breathed heavily, pulling in as much air into his lungs before breathing out and repeating the process. Sweat poured from his forehead like a stream, and his hands began to loosen from the soft grass.

This… Felt like the worst one yet…

If not for the meditation, Quinn felt his mind would have broken. His death would not have been from losing his life, but losing his sanity. Thankfully, he was able to negate the effects before anything serious happened.

Calmly, Quinn lowered his breathing and darted his squinted eyes around the sky, looking for a certain someone, “Maybe… entertainment shouldn't be the priority…”

Quinn still felt that Golden Quinn using this trial as entertainment was a bad, almost demeaning thing. This helped him to solidify that resolve.

“I tried to warn you as soon as I realized. I couldn't have been any quicker, but next time we should be more careful.”

Quinn didn't argue, he just slowly lifted himself up from the ground, swaying back and forth as he made his way up.

I feel very weak this time around. Looks like I'll have to take a break this time, otherwise I will likely lose inside the bar. Then it will become an even bigger problem.

Quinn took a step forward, then another step forward. His legs turned to jelly beneath him as he fell forward towards the ground. For what he believed to be the first time, he seemed to not black out.

I think I'm going to rest here for a while… Quinn lay on the ground and basked in the sun as he rested for a while.