"Leox, do you still believe that your healing power was a one-time thing?"
Ivy asked me this question as we walked through the forest south of our village. It was a common hunting ground, though being so close to the Black Sea, children were supposed to avoid it.
"It was a one-time thing. Every other time I injured myself, I never healed back."
I had told Ivy this many times. Anytime I fell and scratched my knee, or rolled my ankle whilst farming, the injuries took weeks, or months to heal, like all other regular humans.
She nodded her head at this before turning around to face me.
The sun had started to fall, but light still peaked through the tree leaves, highlighting her blonde hair and youthful face.
"I think I figured out why you haven't been able to heal yourself since that injury," Ivy said with a smile.
One of my brows raised.
"Oh yeah? What reason have you managed to come up with?"
Ivy reached under her dress. For a moment, my young mind thought she was going to commit a sinful act.
But instead, she pulled out a knife, lunged forward, and used all of her weight to thrust the blade into my chest.
It entered with a dull thud. I fell to my back with the knife still in my chest, and Ivy fell on top of me.
The entire time, the girl was still smiling.
It was obvious that the knife had pierced my heart. It was so deep that I could only see the handle coming out of my chest.
I remember wanting to scream, but I couldn't. She had placed her hand over my mouth to stop me.
"Shhhhh, shhh! It's okay, Leox."
Squelch!
Ivy removed the blade, before thrusting it into my eye. The same eye that had been pierced six years ago.
This time it lodged even further in, probably reaching halfway into my brain. She then proceeded to twist the knife, opening up my eye socket and carving my brain like beef.
The pain was unimaginable. All I could see was red and black in my vision. I could barely make out her voice.
Squelch!
Ivy removed the knife again and, this time, plunged it into my stomach. Immediately my ability to breathe was gone.
Lungs. Punctured.
After this, she finally removed the knife. Her body was covered in blood as she fell to my side, panting for breath.
For a moment, we stayed there as she tried to control her breathing. I could hear her heart beating incredibly fast.
At least she still had a heart.
"It's weird, killing somebody." The blonde girl said.
Then she rolled onto her side and looked at my bleeding, brutalised form.
"But I haven't killed you, have I, Leox?"
Ivy Graceful's theory was proven on that day.
As she looked at me, I felt my body remaking itself. First, the skin, muscle and fat around my chest were coming together again, followed by my abdomen, and the structure of my face.
Then, my eye, heart, lungs, and brain slowly remade themselves, returning to what they once were.
The immense pain that I felt previously was fading away. My senses were returning to me, as well as my ability to think and breathe.
Ivy flashed a pleased smile. There was no relief in her expression. It was almost like she knew that I would survive.
Whilst my body was still remaking itself, she started to explain her actions.
"Leox, you only heal like this when delivered from an injury that would usually kill you. It's why you aren't able to recover from small cuts and bruises like this. It seems that for some reason, you can't die."
I was finally able to move now, but I chose to remain lying beside Ivy.
"Why..." I croaked.
"Why did I do this to you? Because I knew that if I told you what I planned to do, you wouldn't let me. I'm sorry, Leox. I really hope you aren't mad at me?"
I ignored her. "No... Why can't I die?" That was what I meant to ask.
"O-oh. I don't have the answer to that question, I'm sorry Leox." Ivy responded.
Figured...
Five minutes of silence later, my body was fully returned to normal.
Ivy rose to her feet and held out her hand for me to take. I looked her up and down. She was completely bloody, and so was I.
It seemed that my strange powers didn't clean my body.
"Come on..." She said urging me to take her hand. "We can't return to the village like this. Our parents will think we're murderers."
You are a murderer.
I took my friend's hand and rose to my feet. She flashed my as I smiled as we began to travel through the forest once again.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To clean ourselves at the Black Sea."