Izuma awoke to a blaring siren.
A female voice rang out through the intercom system,
"Alert. Alert. The Demon King's forces are attacking. All high-level adventurers, report to the outer wall immediately."
He sat up too quickly, heart pounding in his chest. The voice repeated. The words barely registered.
"The Demon King's forces are attacking..."
Izuma whispered,
"What...? What the hell does that mean?"
The calm of the previous night shattered.
His breath caught in his throat. His thoughts spiraled again. That word—Respawn—was still fresh, but now it was competing with panic.
He stumbled out of bed, still in yesterday's clothes, the blankets tangled around his legs.
"High-level adventurers only? I haven't even fought anything yet."
He staggered toward the small window of his room. The stone was cool beneath his feet, his body trembling with adrenaline and fear.
Outside—it was chaos.
Smoke coiled through the night like strangling hands. Flames licked the tops of buildings. Screams echoed in the distance. Magic spells lit up the sky with unnatural colors. The scent of ash and burning flesh seeped in through the cracks.
Izuma whispered,
"This isn't happening. This can't be happening..."
He pressed his hand against the windowpane.
Then—BOOM.
The window shattered.
A metallic shriek split the air.
Something slammed into his face.
A spear. Long. Black. Jagged.
It pierced through his right eye, drove itself into his skull, and pinned him halfway into the wall.
He didn't scream.
He couldn't.
His body convulsed. The pain was indescribable. Like hot oil pouring into his brain, boiling his thoughts alive. His legs kicked. His arms jerked. His vision exploded in a flood of white and black stars.
His mouth gaped open.
Nothing came out.
Only the sound of his heartbeat.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Slower. Slower.
His thoughts tried to catch up.
What was that? Did something hit me? Why can't I see? Why does it burn? Why does it hurt so much?
His fingers twitched. Blood ran down his cheek, mixing with tears. His left eye wept normally.
His right eye...or whatever was left of it, bled.
Blood. Brain fluid. Nerve strands.
Everything came leaking out in a thick, warm stream.
Is this it?, He thought.
Is this how I die? Is this the end?
He gasped. Air refused to come.
He was dying.
This can't be it... It hurts... it burns... it PAINS—
He wanted to scream but his jaw wouldn't move.
His vision dimmed.
His limbs stopped moving.
His body twitched once.
Then twice.
And then nothing.
He saw his own blood soak into the floor. He saw nothing. And everything.
Darkness closed in.
Then, Silence...but–
he was still aware.
There was no body.
But he could still think.
Still blink.
Do I have a head? Am I just... a soul now?
What am I?
Where am I?
Then—the sound.
A disturbing, glitching noise.
Like corrupted data, scraping against the fabric of reality.
A HUD appeared, glowing red.
— - INITIATING PROTOCOL : RESPAWN-
Then it glitched and morped into unknown, unreadable letters.
Everything shattered.
Then—
he woke up again, the floor was cold.
His back was against the same wall outside the Veilforge chamber.
The exact same place Rinji had carried him to before he had stumbled to his room.
Rinji was already standing over him.
Staring.
Expression unreadable.
Izuma sat up slowly. His hands trembled. His body felt intact.
Too intact.
No wounds. No blood. No pain.
Only memory.
Horrifying memory.
He looked up at Rinji.
Then back down.
He was breathing fast. Shallow.
He didn't know how to explain what just happened.
But he knew what it meant.
He had died.
For real.
Painfully. Screaming inside. Bleeding out. He felt everything. Saw nothing.
And now—he was back.
It was real.
It was not a dream.
The word echoed again.
Respawn.
Now he understood.
Not a skill.
Not a gift.
A curse.
Rinji still hadn't said anything.
Izuma didn't either.
how do you explain that you just died and came back?
How do you explain that death isn't the end?
He curled his fingers.
They were solid. Real. Warm.
He was alive.
But he remembered every inch of that pain.
He whispered,
"This... this isn't gonna be the last time... is it?"
His voice was hoarse.
His eyes stung.
He wasn't sure if he was crying blood again.
But his soul felt like it was.
And for the first time since arriving in this world, he didn't feel confused.
He felt terrified.
Because now he knew exactly what his ability meant.
It meant he would suffer.
He would die.
Again. And again. And again.
And there would be no mercy.
Just... Respawn.