I blinked… once, then again.
"H… Hugh?"
Air rushed suddenly into my chest, and I gasped sharply as I opened my eyes.
I'm… alive?
But the memory of the monster killing me hadn't disappeared. It was stuck in my head with painful clarity, until I couldn't bear it anymore. I bent forward instinctively and vomited, my heart trembling violently as if my body itself rejected those memories.
I began to frantically check my body. I ran my hand over my chest, then my shoulders, then my arms, then my neck… searching for any wound.
But there was nothing.
As if everything I had gone through hadn't been real.
My head was spinning violently; I felt as if I were about to explode. I grabbed my head with both hands, clenched my hair, and pressed hard against my temples in madness.
"Wake up… wake up… wake up!"
I shouted it repeatedly in a hoarse, desperate voice, striking my face with my fists without awareness. The blows were random and harsh, one after another, until I tasted blood in my mouth. But no matter what I did, I didn't wake up.
I finally stopped.
I slowly lowered my hands while panting, looked at my blood‑stained palms, then at the ground beneath me, before raising my gaze once more to the same gray sky.
At that moment… realization slowly crept into me.
A possibility I tried to push away the instant it appeared, as if merely thinking about it would make it real.
Did I…
Did I move to another world?
A ridiculous idea… or so I wanted to believe. An idea that belonged only to games and novels, where the protagonist dies and then wakes up in a strange place to begin a "new adventure."
But if this was another world…
Didn't that mean I died when that monster killed me?
And if I died…
Then how did I come back to life?
The thought was confusing, heavy, colliding inside my head, before another idea crossed my mind—more dangerous than the last:
Is it possible that I possess an ability that allows me to return from death?
My heart raced.
I felt a faint excitement, despite myself. How could I not?
Returning from death… an idea powerful enough to shake anyone…
But my breathing suddenly stopped.
An ability… returning from death?
I felt my mind shut its doors all at once, refusing even to discuss it.
An idea like that… no, my mind wasn't ready for it at all.
I am not special. I never was… I don't believe in miracles, nor in chosen fates, nor in heroes who are given extraordinary powers simply because they are "different." I was never someone who drew attention, nor someone events should revolve around. I was an ordinary person…
I took a moment to breathe and think, before a faint sound reached my ears from ahead.
It was barely perceptible, yet clear enough to silence my thoughts immediately.
A sharp shiver ran through my body… and before I could fully grasp it, I saw it in the distance.
The monster.
It was approaching in my direction slowly…
The moment my eyes fell on it, I ran without a second thought.
"Haaaf… haaaf…"
I ran for a short time, but exhaustion struck me abnormally fast, and my vision began to waver.
I must not stop, no matter what—I repeated this phrase in my head relentlessly.
Then I saw it.
A huge rock. I didn't think; I rushed toward it and slipped behind it instantly.
I panted wildly. My chest was burning, and every breath was a battle in itself. Slowly, I began to regain my breath.
Moments passed, then I looked cautiously.
"I… survived."
But at that very moment, I felt something cold touch my skin.
A drop.
I raised my gaze to the sky, but there was no sign of rain.
Slowly… I saw what I had been leaning against.
It wasn't a rock.
It was a massive mouth, wide open, lined with sharp, uneven teeth—some broken, some long. Thick saliva slowly dripped, falling onto the ground… and onto my skin. A foul stench struck my nose violently, turning my stomach.
My blood froze in my veins.
My body instinctively moved backward, but I was far too slow…
The rock lunged at me; I felt teeth closing around me with unimaginable force.
In a single moment, half of my body disappeared. Pain exploded all at once…
"Aaaah!"
I screamed with everything I had, my body being crushed and ground without mercy. My breath was suddenly cut off, and everything sank into darkness… and then I died once again.