I died twice today.
The first time was in a plane crash. The second was in a monster's jaws. Just as expected of me.
But let me start from the beginning.
My name is Alex. Twenty-seven years old. An accountant at a mid-sized company. Single. No notable hobbies, save for an addiction to anime and RPGs until three in the morning.
A boring life? Yes. But it was the life I had chosen. Was.
…..
I was returning from my first-ever international trip.
The plane started shaking ten minutes before the scheduled landing.
At first, no one was worried. Just regular turbulence. The flight attendant smiled that practiced smile and asked us to fasten our seatbelts.
Then the left engine exploded.
It wasn't a beautiful, cinematic explosion. It was a terrifying metallic sound, followed by screaming, followed by a sudden drop that made my stomach leap into my throat.
I looked out the window. Orange flames devoured the wing. The ground was approaching at a speed that couldn't possibly be natural.
Around me, people were screaming. Praying. Crying. A man in the aisle was trying to calm his family, though the fear on his face was greater than theirs.
And me?
I sat down with a strange calm, resting my head between my knees. Maybe it was because a part of me had been waiting for something like this. A dramatic end to a life that was anything but.
My last thought before the darkness swallowed me was embarrassingly sarcastic: "At least I won't have to go to work tomorrow and submit the monthly budget report."
Then, darkness.
The first thing I felt after regaining consciousness was grass.
Not an airplane seat. Not burnt wreckage. Soft, damp grass beneath my back.
I opened my eyes.
A canopy of giant leaves. Golden sunlight filtered through the branches. But the sun was... strange. A little bigger. More orange.
I sat up slowly, my heart racing.
A forest. A dense forest with trees whose species I didn't know. Trees that towered over anything I had ever seen. The sounds of strange birds, their songs unlike any I'd heard.
No plane wreckage. No bodies. No trace of the world I had come from.
"What the..." I stood up on trembling legs. "Where am I?"
I quickly checked my body. No cuts. No burns. Not even a scratch. How?
"Hello?" I called out, my voice hoarse. "Is anyone there?"
The forest replied with silence.
Then, with another sound.
A low growl. Coming from the bushes to my right.
I turned slowly.
What emerged from the bushes wasn't a wolf. Not a bear. It was something that didn't exist in any biology textbook I'd ever read.
A body the size of a lion, but with six legs instead of four. Fur black as the void. And eyes... four glowing red eyes, studying me with a chilling intelligence.
It wasn't an ordinary animal. It knew I was prey.
"Okay..." I whispered, taking a step back. "Okay. This is a dream. Definitely a dream. The plane crashed, I'm in a coma, and my subconscious is punishing me for watching too many monster movies..."
The beast took another step. Drool dripped from its mouth of double fangs.
"Or maybe not."
I ran as fast as I could.
I didn't run for five seconds.
But the beast was much faster. I felt its weight strike me from behind, and I fell onto my face. Then came the pain.
Its fangs sank into my leg. Then my hip. I heard the sound of my bones shattering before I even felt it.
I screamed. A raw, animalistic scream. The pain was savage, surpassing anything I could have imagined.
I saw my blood splatter onto the green grass. I saw my entrails being dragged from my body.
The beast wasn't killing me quickly. It was eating me alive.
"This is how I die?" was my last conscious thought. "Twice in one day? This is unfair..."
Then, darkness. Again.
I opened my eyes.
The grass beneath my back. The orange sun above me. The giant leaves.
The same place. The exact same moment.
I scrambled to my feet in panic and checked my body. Intact. No wounds. No blood. Even my clothes were clean.
"Wha…" I gasped. "What happened..."
The sound came from the bushes. The same growl. The same direction. The beast.
But before I could move, something appeared before my face.
A transparent panel. Floating in the air. Clear writing was displayed on it. It wasn't a language I'd ever seen, but I understood it instinctively.
╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ THE ARRIVING HERO SYSTEM - INITIAL ACTIVATION ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ User: Alex ║
║ Status: Post-Second Death ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ◆ Dormant Ability Unlocked ║
║ Absolute Elemental Manipulation [SSS] ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ⚠ WARNING: Ability is Temporary ║
║ ⏱ Time Remaining: 60:00 Minutes ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ NOTE: Ability regenerates upon next death ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝
"Post-Second Death."
The words echoed in my head.
I had died. I really had. The plane, then the beast. Twice.
And I had come back.
"This..." I whispered. "This is insane."
The monster emerged from the bushes. The exact same monster. The same four red eyes.
It seemed I had gone back in time.
But this time, I felt something different.
Something flowing through my veins. Energy. A power and knowledge whose source I didn't know.
The beast leaped.
Time slowed.
I saw every detail. Its tensed muscles. The trajectory of its jump. The point where its fangs and claws would strike.
And my hand... my hand moved on its own.
Just like automatic, instinctive movements. I drew the moisture from the air. Condensed it. Froze it. In a fraction of a second, an ice spear, solid as steel, formed in my palm.
I didn't think. I just acted.
I launched the spear at it and thrust.
The spear pierced the beast from its throat through to its back. Black blood spattered. A choked cry. Then the monster collapsed before me, violently twitching before becoming still.
I stood there. Panting. Shaking.
"I..." I looked at my hand. It was glowing with a faint blue light. "I killed it."
[⏱ Time Remaining: 58:47]
...
The number was shrinking.
Fifty-eight minutes. That's all I had.
I looked around. The forest was endless. I didn't know where I was. I didn't know the rules of this world.
But I knew one thing now.
I could die here. Over and over. But I would return. And every time I returned, I would get one hour of power. Even if the price was a maddening amount of pain.
Now I had less than an hour to find shelter. To understand. To survive.
In the distant horizon, I saw a thin thread of smoke rising. A sign of life. A sign of civilization.
I began walking toward it.
The countdown had begun.