“Well, I’m not going to rely on possible guards to keep me safe. Farewell.” Sasha said frankly, walking away. Once she was outside, she summoned a large white bird, which she used to fly away.

Coral really wanted to go with her, but she couldn’t abandon her friends, so she stayed, albeit, reluctantly.

“She’s finally gone; thank god.” Zellin exclaimed.

The group hunted for a couple hours, storing their pee into bottles so they could gently sprinkle them onto unfortunate graves when they wanted to fight. The method worked fine, conserving the urine so that the group didn’t have to urinate continuously.

Another passing group expressed their disgust with Zellin and his friends, explaining that all they had to do was hit the tombstone a couple times, leaving Zellin and his friends thoroughly embarrassed. Zellin coughed awkwardly in response, telling the other group that if you urinate on the graves, the ghosts become more savage and reward more XP.

The other group’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really?” They exclaimed.

The embarrassment was too much for Zellin to take, so he lied to make himself seem less monstrous, which ironically, turned him into more of a monster, for that other group would surely test out this theory. Before he could be blamed for seducing the other group into doing what they were originally so disgusted about, he told his friends that it was time to leave.

By the time the group left, the sky was already beginning to darken. Coral slowly began to walk faster and faster as they walked along the road, hoping that she could subconsciously urge these guys to hurry up. It worked for quite a while. Though Zellin was lazy, he really didn’t want to be outclassed by a girl, so he, along with the others, continued walking faster and faster, unaware that this was out of the ordinary, or that they were being tricked by Coral’s superior mind.

Coral walked as fast as she could without running, but it wasn’t enough. About half way on their journey, it became thoroughly dark on the road, and two thirds of the way there, a stranger appeared on the road, blocking their way.

Coral’s figure suddenly faded as she prepared a preemptive attack.

“Well, well, well, little ones, it seems you have reached a crossroads.” The masked figure called out, causing Zellin’s eyebrow to raise as he thought, dude, the road only goes straight from here. “One path leads forward, to the city, the other leads… to your graves. How to find the right path you ask? Of course, gold will naturally pave the path to a brighter tomorrow!” The masked man said theatrically.

Zellin looked around to see that five others have surrounded them, and their levels seemed quite a bit higher than Zellin’s.

“I wouldn’t try anything if I were you.” Zellin called out calmly. “You are in the presence of a princess.” He explained.

The man laughed out loud in response. “You mean this little one, here?” He asked as he abruptly thrust his hand out and grabbed the air, causing Coral’s image to appear out of the darkness. The man wrapped his arm around her neck and pointed a dagger at her face. “So you’re saying that if I kill this little girl, there will be deadly consequences?” He said unimpressed, with a mocking grin. Coral closed her eyes in fear. She was scared, as scared as she’s ever been. She couldn’t even struggle against the man’s unmovable body.

Zellin was about to explain further when the man suddenly released Coral, only to thrust his dagger under her chin, all the way into her brain. The dagger immediately took the majority of her health, inflicting the bleed effect. The shock from the dagger stabbing into her brain caused her brain to shut down soon after, and soon after that, she bled away the last of her health.

Zellin watched with wide eyes as Coral crumpled to the ground, and as her body glowed white before shattering into pieces, fated to disappear into nothingness, like so many monsters Zellin has killed before.

“Hahaha!” The man laughed. “Princess my ass. Now hand over your money lest-” The man called out before the sound was drowned out in Zellin’s mind. Zellin was completely still as he stared at the pieces of white light drifting in the air, his mind processing this information slowly. He suddenly felt a silent scream fill his mind with immense intensity. I was wrong, I was wrong, I was… He constantly repeated in his mind.

The world around Zellin suddenly started to move, and he realized he held his spear in his hands. Realization of the situation occurred within Zellin and tears streamed out of his eyes as he thought, come back, come back, please god…

There was a flood of thoughts that entered Zellin’s mind, and as was his nature, his urge to escape overwhelmed him. “AAAAHHHH!!!” He screamed with all his strength.

The world disappeared before Zellin into a white, hot rage and an intense pain filled his entire body. I deserve to die, he thought sorrowfully, before completely passing out.

Later that night…

Zellin struggled to open his eyes to see that he was back in his room. He looked down at himself to see that he was heavily bandaged. An intense pain filled his body whenever he willed himself to move.

He slowly recalled what had happened and tears, once again, began to stream out of his eyes. He sobbed softly, regretting everything; his decisions, his character. Is god fucking with me? Why would he reincarnate a useless fuck like me? I should have truly died back then, before all this…

Zellin opened his eyes and looked up at the sound of the door, to see Reyal walk into the room. When he saw that Zellin was awake, he turned on the lights to reveal his grim face and bandaged body. “Hey…” Zellin said dejectedly.

“Reyal, I-” Zellin tried to explain selfishly before Reyal cut him off.

“Zellin, it’s okay. She’s alive.” He said softly, causing Zellin’s tear-stained eyes to widen. “She was resurrected at a church, here, in the city. She’s back in her room, but she hasn’t woken up yet…” Reyal explained.

Zellin was dumbstruck for a moment before asking, “What happened?”

Reyal smiled wryly at the question. “I don’t really know.” He responded. “After Coral died, you lost your mind and began to attack, screaming at the top of your lungs. The rest of us joined the fight, but he we weren’t their match at all. Eventually I passed out and when I woke up, I was back here.”

Zellin immediately guessed the situation. Our guards knew that Coral would be resurrected and only stepped in to save us at the last second. Zellin could only smile wryly. He was happy that no one truly died, but he intensely hated himself for causing the situation.

“I see.” Was all Zellin said. After a moment, he struggled to get out of the bed.

“Easy, there. You look pretty banged up. Where are you going?” Reyal said, worried.

Zellin smirked in response. “Aren’t you also injured? I’m going to see Coral. I need to ask for her forgiveness.” Zellin said determinedly, as he struggled to walk to the door.

Reyal didn’t try to stop him and simply sat there in depressed thought. We all want her forgiveness… He thought to himself.

Zellin slowly managed to walk out of the door and walked down the hall for a distance before he approached Coral’s room.

He slowly opened the door and peeked in to see Coral sleeping peacefully on her bed, in one piece. Zellin let out a sigh of relief, thanking god in the process. He walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He pulled out a chair from a nearby table and placed it next to Coral’s bed.

He sat there for several hours, awaiting Coral’s return to the world. Zellin was sleepy, but his need for forgiveness let him ignore it.

Zellin watched Coral’s sleeping face with gentle eyes, careful to avoid anything that might disturb her peace. I never knew how much I cared for her, until that moment… He thought to himself. He never wanted to experience something like that ever again. In both of Zellin’s lives, no one had ever died on him. As such, the pain of loss bit into him at that moment like the cold in middle of a snowstorm. Like he was naked in that storm… Vulnerable, and only wishing for escape.

It wouldn’t have hurt that bad if Zellin didn’t care for Coral the way he did. It almost makes him want to regret caring in the first place… Such was Zellin’s selfishness. He needed Coral’s forgiveness like he would need water in a desert. It was necessary for his survival in this world.

It wasn’t until dawn when Coral’s eyes began to flutter open. She looked at Zellin’s smiling eyes before remembering what happened. As her memories flooded in, so did the pain. Her tears flowed out uncontrollably from her closed eyes. “Get out.” She said quietly.

Zellin didn’t quite understand. “Coral, I-” He tried to say before getting cut off.

“GET OUT!” Coral screamed. Zellin really didn’t understand; in the instant before her death, Coral had felt everything. The blood streaming out of the hole under her chin, and her stunted thoughts as the dagger pierced her brain. She tried to scream, but her broken mind wouldn’t allow it. Before it ended, she had felt the pain in full.

“Coral, please.” Zellin said, attempting to dissuade her.

“No, Zellin! I – said – GET OUT!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, her tear-stained eyes unable to even look at Zellin.

What could Zellin do? It felt like his heart was breaking, and he was helpless to do anything but leave the room, struggling not to cry.

Zellin closed the door behind him, and leaned back against it, tears once again staining his face. Fuck, I’m pathetic. She’s the one who died, and I feel like I’m the one who needs pity. “URGH!” He exclaimed, digging his nails into his hands. FUCK ME!

“Zellin, are you OK?” Came a voice.

Zellin opened his eyes to see that it was Sasha, holding her hand out as if she was afraid he would collapse. “Fuck off, Sasha! What the fuck are you even still doing here!? Get the fuck out!” Zellin yelled, letting out her frustration on Sasha, before storming off as quickly as he could.

Sasha could only sigh helplessly at Zellin’s distant figure. He’s still a child. If he wants to survive in this world, he’s going to have to grow up. Sasha thought to herself before re-opening the door to Coral’s room.

Coral was sobbing quietly with her eyes closed, and didn’t notice Sasha as she walked over to sit next to her. Sasha waited for her sobs to slow before she spoke. “You know, I’ve died before.” She said, causing Coral to open her eyes and stare at Sasha with empty eyes. “I was burned to death with magic. The pain was excruciating. Until today, I’ve never fully recovered, but it's not so bad. You just gotta keep going, y'know?” She says with a smile.

“Why?” Coral asked quietly.

“Because of my sister.” Sasha said, an unexpected softness in her eyes. “When someone truly cares for you, you’re not allowed to give up, because to give up would be to spit in that person’s face. You can only repay that love by living.” Sasha explained. “What about you? Anyone worth living for?”

A bitter look suddenly appeared on Coral’s face. “No one cares about me. I thought my father did, but he let my guards watch me die. I thought my friends did, but they ignored my opinion which lead to my death.” She said, looking down with despair in her eyes.

Sasha sighed in response. “I wouldn’t make that decision just yet.” Was all she said before she got up and left the room.

Coral stared at where Sasha’s figure was. She sighed and closed her eyes. For some reason all she could think of were her carefree days back at the academy…

Zellin was sitting on a bench in the courtyard, staring blankly at the slowly brightening sky. He tried to stay as still as possible, as silent as possible, hoping everything would just pass by him. I should probably leave after today... He thought to himself. I’ll find a good bar, get good and drunk, then, hopefully, I’ll die from alcohol poisoning.

“Zellin.” Came a voice from behind Zellin. He looked up to see that it was Liu, bandaged and using a crutch to walk. “We’ve been summoned.” Liu said.

“The king?” Zellin said with a raised eyebrow. “Why bother? I’m leaving soon anyways.” He said in disdain.

Anger flashed across Liu’s face, and he grabbed onto Zellin’s throat from behind with immense strength, allowing his crutch to fall to the ground. “You pathetic fuck.” Liu said with gritted teeth. “I’ll kill you before you run away. Coral just died, you asshole! What we need to do right now is stay by her side! Let me know right now if you can’t, cause I’ll end you right here if I have to!”

let me know if there's any mistakes, didn't edit it thoroughly yet...