Still weak and tired, Houzi forced his body to limp towards one of the spring-like mushrooms growing on the ground. The beast locked its eyes onto him as Ax's body limped on its horns, his blood dripping down its horn.

  Sensing its eyes over his shoulders, his fur stood on its end. His skin shuddered in fear. His paws grip his staff as he uses it to support his weight, limping to the mushroom.

  The beast roared as it tasted blood.

  "It's not... it's not supposed to kill," he whimpered in fear.

  "He's dead... he's dead. Dead, actually dead," he cried out, terrified. His confident and overzealous outer shell cracking with each passing moment.

  "If it catches me, I'll die! I have to run; I have to escape!" he screamed, his voice growing hoarse.

  Houzi looked over his shoulder with fear in his eyes, terrified. The Odontotyrannos charged at him with blistering speeds; as he was about to reach the mushroom, he felt the ground rumble under him. Unable to see, he could hear it getting closer and closer with each second. As he reached the mushroom, it was already too te. As if he could feel it graze his back. His mind gave up.

  SHATTER

  He turned his head around to see the beast's head knocked off bance, as both the beast and Houzi turned their heads to see—

  "Axton!?" Houzi asked in surprise.

  "RUN! I'LL DISTRACT IT!" Ax screamed as he held a dagger and a gun. The beast roared in fury, eyes bloodshot from Ax's old blood seeping into them.

  As it changed its focus to Ax, Houzi gripped one of the ends of his staff with both of his hands and raised it over his head.

  With a guttural scream, he smashed his staff onto the top of the mushroom as hard as he could. It explodes in kinetic energy as Houzi is sent flying into the air, onto the top of one of the massive, ft mushrooms. Rolling as he nded, he stood up, setting his bearings straight, and walked over to the ledge to spectate the csh.

  With horror, he saw Ax's body being eaten. He died again?

  SHATTER

  CRACK

  His eyes widened. "He's a... gravewalker?", he mumbled.

  ***

  In the collection of worlds affected by the Codex, mortals have it easier to get stronger at inhumane speeds. Olympic athletes, in a matter of months, are the world's strongest competitors compared to those unaffected by the Codex in a year. Regardless of weight, sex, or height.

  When these mortals, however, are close to death. The Codex sometimes pushes their bodies past their limits, going further beyond. Gaining a permanent burst of strength in something called a 'Codex Spark.'

  There are rare cases where the Codex gives the user a supernatural ability, something known as an Oddity, most common in humans. These can sometimes be organized into categories. Ax's Oddity, 'Ouroboros Rebirth,' can be categorized as a 'Gravewalking Oddity.' Usually with few drawbacks.

  Gravewalkers, Seekers with oddities that let them walk off fatal injuries as if nothing happened. Usually by regeneration, however. In Ax's case, he literally 'comes back' from death. However, one major drawback seen in every gravewalker... is that it's 'significantly harder' to access Codex Sparks due to the nature of their ability, due to the nature of their oddity. For them, death is merely a checkpoint. Not a destination.

  ***

  Ax froze the legs of the beast temporarily to look up at Houzi. Seeing him alive put him at ease for a moment before he immediately locked eyes back at the Odontotyrannos, inspecting its body.

  "It's missing...", he mumbled as he didn't see any token or chain anywhere on its body. "Someone took it already...", he said as he realized there's no point in continuing this fight. As he prepared to run off, a thought ran past his head.

  'It... might still try to kill seekers; this monster might still try to taste more blood.' He turned around to look at it once more. As it was about to free itself, Ax put away his bronze revolver and raised his sword instead. With a mighty roar, it broke free from the ice trapping its legs.

  Crash

  Something heavy fell from above, immediately killing the monster. The impact made Ax fall back on the ground.

  One of the coordinators leapt in from above. A woman with deep purple hair carrying a warhammer the same size as her stood over the limp body of the Odontotyrannos. "Faulty beast," she compined.

  "You're not supposed to kill," she said as she looked over at Ax, her eyes wandering over to the two brutalized bodies, then to Houzi staring at them from above and finally back at Ax.

  "You there, Gravewalker," she said as she pointed her hammer at Ax.

  "I've heard about you from the others. Why did you help the stone monkey? Are you rivaling Seeker?", she asked, her voice commanding an answer.

  "What is your motive?" she asked once more.

  "I...", Ax hesitated.

  "Well? What is your desire? Is it worth not taking the token? Why did you help him?" she asked once more. Ax hesitated, but he parted his lips.

  "I... don't have a desire," he replied. The woman was confused.

  "I'm not from Nexus; I don't have any reason to be a Seeker. I can live life freely on Earth. However, every other Seeker. They all have ambitions, genuine wishes they want to fulfil. I don't want to take their token and pass unless I earn it," he expined.

  "I see..." she said as she rested her weapon on her shoulder.

  "So...? What about the two times you died?" she asked as she looked around.

  "I can always come back; it doesn't matter for me. But they can't," he stated bluntly. Catching her off guard.

  She took one look at his eyes and scoffed.

  "Either you have complete disregard for your own life... or you value all life. Either way, you're stupidly naive," she said half-sarcastically.

  "That being said. We're keeping an eye on you, Ax," she said as she leapt away.

  ***

  Ax looked around and jumped on top of the mushroom Houzi was supposed to be standing on. But he vanished...?

  "Where did... you...? Anyway, I don't have much time left," he said as night fell.

  He only had one day left for the first trial to end.