In a room darkened by the night, with only a few rays of moonlight streaming through the window, Arthur stared straight ahead. A supernatural and hideous creature stared back at him.
He trembled.
Not from fear, but from excitement.
His eyes lit up with a strange glow in his pupils. He seemed to be seeing his most cherished wish come true at that moment, for his eyes shone like stars with their own light.
He was not excited to face this beast. He was lying on the ground, badly wounded by the injuries it had inflicted on him in the last few seconds. He was not a hunter capable of facing these supernatural beings.
But his longing was about to be fulfilled.
'To die...' He swallowed hard with excitement. 'I'm finally going to die.' He repeated to himself, and a smile spread across his face.
Those who know him know that the last time he smiled was when he was a newborn, upon seeing his mother... sadly, since then, his life has been full of misfortune.
At the young age of 25, he has been on the brink of death so many times that he has stopped counting, but it is surely over 100,000.
The suffering of feeling his bones ripped apart by a car, crushed by a train, shattered because he fell from the fifth floor... all the ways to die that could exist in that mythical serie were not enough to cover how many times he has been close to death, in different circumstances.
But he had survived.
Not only that, but his body recovered more and more quickly each time, even from severe injuries that seemed impossible to heal, yet it was all for nothing.
Every step he took was a fear unto itself, dreading the next way life would surprise him to leave him on the brink of death.
But this was the last time.
'I'm the only one in this neighborhood... nothing can save me now.' Despite those harsh words running through his mind, he was happy.
'It's been a long journey...' He smiled and stared more intently at the terrifying being in front of him.
It looked like something out of a horror movie. Its body was large and skinny, with strange, pus-filled bumps and an extremely large tongue that protruded from its mouth due to the lack of teeth, which had rotted away for some mysterious reason.
Its long but strangely muscular arms resembled frog legs, although its grip was surely capable of exerting several tons of force. It was what, in this era, was known as an Evil Creature, capable of instilling terror in all its prey.
But it did not frighten him. It gave him hope. Being so large, it was surely powerful; nothing could stop it... right?
The hideous creature finally moved toward him, its yellow teeth seeming to glow as its sharp tongue approached. It was a quick, impossible-to-dodge attack. And even if he could dodge it, he wouldn't.
He longed to die and leave this shitty life behind.
The sharp tongue that orchestrated a powerful attack pierced his ribs in seconds, causing Arthur to vomit blood, but in his mind, he complained.
'Go to the heart, you idiot!' If he could speak, he would yell that at it. Unfortunately, the pain was not something easy to bear, so he had to remain silent. Then he saw the tongue retracting to attack again. But this time, the aim was perfect. It was going straight for his heart.
His end had come... finally.
Even he didn't know how many times he had thought about it.
As his eyes closed, not wanting to see this cruel world for the last time, his nose suddenly felt cold. At the same time, his body was suddenly sprayed with a green, foul-smelling liquid.
The cold running through his skin prevented his nose from perceiving the foul smell, but that cold alone forced him to open his eyes.
Then he witnessed the arrival of a beautiful woman carrying a sword.
That mighty sword easily cut through the creature's tongue, arms, and entire body, shattering many things into pieces...
The creature's body. The house. And a hope.
Arthur suddenly trembled and felt an intense pain in his heart, more terrifying than having his ribs broken and his stomach pierced.
It was a pain he could not bear, and his body fell forward... lifeless.
[The conditions have been met.].
-
Arthur opened his eyes and sighed when he saw the familiar white ceiling.
"I didn't die..." He sighed with deep sadness.
He had been in hospitals for so long, for as long as he could remember, that just by looking at the ceiling, he could tell which one he was in.
Turning his head to the right, it was no surprise to see the familiar name of Dr. Jack Parker's hospital.
He looked under his sheets and noticed that the wound on his stomach had already healed.
"Three days have passed," he realized.
Any wound that doesn't kill him will heal in three days, a mystery of his body that he still doesn't understand. Not even doctors can explain it.
He sat up in bed and clenched his fists.
"This is a bulls—" Just as he was about to complain, something strange suddenly flashed before his eyes and immediately caught his attention.
[The conditions have been met.]
His eyes blinked repeatedly as he stared at the message, which did not come alone.
[You have successfully survived the brink of death a total of 151,001 times.]
[Congratulations, Arthur.]
[You have awakened the System.]
[Welcome, Hunter Arthur. The misfortune is over.]
His lungs were deprived of oxygen for several seconds as he forgot to breathe from the shock. But he quickly regained his composure.
'Did I get the System? Me? The Dead Man Alive?'
He didn't know whether to be excited, feel desperate because his life could never be peaceful, or... Maybe now he could kill himself? Since he would be able to face the most dangerous creatures head-on...
'Wait.' He read the last line. 'The misfortune is over? What does that mean?'
He put his hand to his chin. Being a Hunter is a magnificent thing; they are the only beings who can fight evil creatures, making them the heroes of a world increasingly plunged into darkness.
They are acclaimed by all and adored by many. These guys have supernatural abilities capable of destroying entire cities or splitting mountains; they are the closest thing in the world to a god.
But being a hunter who is constantly on the brink of death... it doesn't look good, even if it's him.
While he was dazed, he frowned and looked at the ceiling.
'It hasn't fallen,' he thought.
By now, the ceiling would have fallen on him, bringing him back to the brink of death. It was a common occurrence; in fact, he was surprised that the doctors and nurses at this hospital had brought him to a room with a ceiling when they all knew what a walking disaster he was.
That could mean that maybe... his misfortunes were over.
His eyes lit up.
'What is my ability, if I finally awakened?'
He turned to look at the system; other windows appeared there. Several were welcome messages; others explained how to use the system.
He focused on the main one. He already knew enough about hunters and their powers not to know basic things like how to use a system.
[Ability: The Dead Man Alive.]
| Use: Consume the souls of dead beings.
| Benefit: By consuming a soul, you will gain all the power it had and become stronger.
| Condition: Each time you consume the soul of any living being, your own soul will be rewritten, and you will go back 24 hours in time, retaining all your power, the power gained from consuming it, and your memories.
| Problem: By absorbing a soul, you will change the events of that soul, rewriting it and drastically changing the predictable future.
Arthur stared at each section of his ability. He was so used to supernatural and ridiculous things that even awakening took it in stride.
But this ability was different… wasn't it too ridiculous and amazing? Even dangerous.
'Shit. I don't know what to think. This is good, right?' He began to get excited. The story, for him, began to take a different turn.