Harley stood at the other end of the tunnel, leaning on the wall. As soon as he got back, he immediately fell to the ground. A few seconds ago felt like years apart. The gap between life and death felt like an endless void. His mind was alive, back, and normal, yet his thoughts and everything that was human appeared dead.

  He was speechless. Pain crept onto his restored skin. The clothes he wore were back to perfect condition like nothing even happened, yet far into the tunnel something said otherwise. A glow of fading gold with the mist of red could be seen from afar.

  Those were the signs of the past, a past that was real, absolutely real. Harley slapped himself in an attempt to wake himself up like nothing had happened, exactly how an insane person would react. He delivered a single slap, his expression frozen in stone.

  That state became Harley for a few minutes until he suddenly stood up. He started to look for the dagger with his feet. Once he felt the dagger at the same place as before, like it was reverted back in time, he picked it up.

  Harley grabbed the hilt with both hands. He tightened his grip and stared at the blade intently. Then, without hesitation, he stabbed his left eye. A breath, no pause, he stabbed the other one, and immediately his heart.

  [3 Lives Remaining]

  Harley was back on the ground, sitting. His face blank, eyes that sucked all life that dared to come near it. Once again, he stayed in the same position for minutes until he stood up.

  Just like before, he looked for the knife and grabbed it. His eyes stared intently at the blade, the cold gaze of metal, a killer with no guilt. His hands shot up, halting an inch from his eye. “Stupid waste of a life.” He said in monotone.

  Harley dragged the screen indicating his lives and stared at it. Then, he slapped his face hard enough to leave a glowing red mark. Using his left index finger and the hilt of his dagger, he carved a smile on his face. “For the time being, I’ll lie.” His eyes widen, drifting nowhere.

  He took a stride forward, persevering through the feeling of death. “I never knew death felt like that. It was so painful that I fainted at each stab. Was it because of my trait that I was even able to wake up?”

  The glowing pool of blood replaced the previous eyes. It was not even halfway through the tunnel, yet death exuded from every corner. Harley marched forward, each step echoing through the still air, reaching halfway through the tunnel. Then, eyes emerged from the shadows. This time, he knew those were heads, and he didn’t even hesitate to move forward. Despite the gazes of the termites, his pace remained utterly the same.

  The glowing heads once again surrounded him, speed unmatched by the naked eye. Like before, with the same sequence, Harley grabbed a termite and stabbed it on the glowing head. The pain was just as painful as before, each ruining his body into garbage. Still, each cut opens an opportunity to kill. Once every termite was dead, body tattered to pieces, life fleeting into the air, Harley mustered all his remaining strength and stabbed himself in the heart.

  [2 Lives Remaining]

  He walked back to the spot of his second death and went on forward, wasting no time, every part of his existence wanting to get out. “Wait… do I want this to be done?” The cave turned into deafening silence. His entire body shook, shivering at the thought of his wishes. His entire belief crumbles in front of him. “Again? No, I already died… three fucking times! I don’t have a belief anymore… This is fun!” A true smile spread across his face, brighter than the sun, more blinding than even the white void.

  “Oh my God!” Harley paused, stretching his body. “I feel more alive now, what the fuck was that, I’m cringing to death.” He looked at his sword, preparing to kill himself. “Ah! Hahaha!” He laughed, staring at the light at the end of the tunnel. It was bright, so bright he yearned for it. Just one more group of rock termites lay at the end.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Treading closely to the end, the bright eyes lit in the dark, their numbers growing at each second. The end of the tunnel was guarded by 30 termites. Ten left Harley barely alive to kill all of them. He only had 2 lives remaining, it was oddly perfect. If he hadn’t killed himself, it was enough to kill 50 termites with each ten earning his death.

  “Can’t I just? Run for it again? Though… based on that distance, I’ll be reduced to bits before I even reach the end. I’ll kill more with just one life and make a run for it.” He shivered. “Ugh, without this lying trait, I would have gone insane. It’s like that one-fourth wall-breaking thing, hahaha!”

  “Wait a minute…” Harley turned around, walking back to the start. He stood in front of the pool of blood and crouched down. “I guess mindlessly walking made me stupid.” The ground was full of pristine bodies of termites. One tap of the dagger, and it rang out, sharp and solid, like striking stone.

  “The feet are not that sharp… but it’s still as hard as metal.” Harley gently placed his dagger on the floor and grabbed one of the dead termite bodies. He tugged on the arms a little, testing their strength. It resisted, they were sturdier than he expected. Finding another way, he stepped on the body and pulled the legs up with both hands. Struggling at his fullest, he eventually managed to pull the leg, rocketing his arms to the sky.

  “Oh my God! This is some hard as fuck leg. That drained a lot of my strength. But it’s good, this feel powerful.” The leg flared like nunchucks. Harley flung it on the termite’s body, dealing a crack. Though it lacked precision in aiming, its strength was undeniable.

  “Now I could use this as a sword… or… I could use it as a projectile. There are six legs for each termite, so that means 60 projectiles! Including the ones at the back, it’s 120!” Harley ecstatically jumped, landing on his dagger and almost falling. “Shit!” He looked down, then a thought came to his mind. Using his dagger, he once again pressed on the termite and pulled its leg. This time, one hand had the leg and the other struck to sever the leg using the dagger. Three bangs later, it was easily removed. “Oh my fucking God! I’m so stupid!”

  ***

  Thirty-one legs later, Harley sat on the floor, completely out of breath. “My stamina wasn’t made for this… at the same time, I’m so hungry I could die! And that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.” Harley transported all thirty-two legs as close as he could at the end. He stood, staring at the glowing lights, ready for everything. He knew that the moment he began to severe the legs, everything could have been in vain. Just one throw could agro every termite, making his effort just a pure waste of time.

  Harley held the legs on both hands. A single deep breath later, he threw, the legs swaying, each joint ruining the momentum every second. Then, on one single moment of uncertainty, one of the legs landed on the head, the light turning off and in a rushed gulp, the lights stayed still, unbothered.

  “Oh my God! It worked!” Harley quickly threw the rest, being more aware of precision at each throw. In the end, after all the legs, thirteen termites were killed. Then, Harley’s stomach grumbled from hunger. “Okay… It’s my time.”

  With everything he’s got, Harley jumped straight into the swarm of termites, determined to kill every last one and escape the tunnel. He pushed through the pain, groveling perpetually. Every bite dragged him to unconsciousness just for another jolt of pain to bring him back..

  Harley continued with unwavering will until he suddenly woke up at the start while fighting, instantly falling.

  [Last Life]

  Harley abruptly woke up, his eyes staring at the cold and eternal darkness called the floor. He lifted himself up quickly and looked afar. “Oh my God! Did I just! What? For a moment, I was screaming in pain, and then, instantly, I was staring at the floor. Damn… I’m really built for this.”

  Once his mind cleared, he mostly remembered everything. He was able to kill a lot of termites from the remaining sixteen. Harley quickly grabbed his knife and ran back to the exit, full of energy. Getting close to the exit, two lights remained. Without wanting to waste any more time, it was just a hit and run without care in the world.

  The two termites latched onto him, biting relentlessly, but he didn’t stop. The exit was only a leap away. One final step. The moment his foot crossed, the light engulfed him, and in an instant, he was no longer in the tunnel.