I Want to Die, But I Am Immortal

As soon as Adam heard the voice, he ripped the communication device from the man's vest. The small black box came free with a sharp tearing sound.

The Ghost Group member could no longer warn the others. Adam quickly shoved the device into his pocket and pressed the cold steel of his knife against the man's throat.

The man flinched, his eyes wide with fear. "You have five seconds to answer," Adam said, his voice low and empty of feeling.

He was serious. This was not a bluff. He needed to find these people to end the loop, and this man was his only lead.

A defiant sneer twisted the man's bruised lips. "You can do whatever you want," he spat, "but you can't escape—"

Before he could finish, Adam stabbed the knife down hard, pinning the man's other hand to the floor.

The man's hands were already in great pain, but now, a cold feeling washed over him. He finally understood that Adam was not an easy target. This wasn't just a schoolboy. This was something else. How did he even know they were after him? For a long time, they were the hunters. Now, the roles had changed.

Adam pulled the knife out, the blade dripping with blood. He looked straight into the man's eyes.

"It seems you won't give up so easily." He brought the bloody knife to the man's neck again.

The man flinched hard. "Okay!" he shouted, his voice cracking with pain. "I'll tell you! But I need a promise."

Adam just stared at him.

Seeing no other choice, the man continued. "My name is Suman. I don't do this work for fun," he pleaded. "I have a family."

Adam paused. Is he trying to get my sympathy? Something felt wrong. The man's eyes were shifting too much.

Then Adam saw it. His free hand, though shaking, was fumbling with something hidden in his belt. It was a trick.

Adam immediately punched him hard in the face again. The powerful blow made the man's head snap back. Suman finally realized he could not fool Adam.

This time, Adam twisted the knife in Suman's other hand. Then he took a second knife from his inventory. There was no escape. Suman's face was a mask of pain and defeat. He finally broke.

"Three houses away from your house," he gasped. "There is a team member waiting there. Another is outside your school. Our leader is named Cyan... you'll get his info from one of them." He gave a pained smile. "But you're out of luck. You caught me. In a little while, they will know something is wrong, and they will leave."

"...that you were waiting for us," the man gasped. "You may look like a kid, but you are dangerous. Your life is a curse."

Adam stood up, his face cold. He kicked the man in the mouth, cutting off his words. The man fell silent.

"You talk too much," Adam said with disgust. He took a gun from his inventory and shot him in the forehead.

As Suman died, Adam thought, I have to get to them. He now understood their system. They checked on each other every few minutes. If one was caught, the others could run.

Adam quickly checked Suman's body. He found a gold coin, a loaded pistol, and a few small tools. He also put the powerful sniper rifle into his inventory before jumping out the window and running across the rooftops.

A voice came from the comms device in Adam's pocket. "Team B, give your status."

Hearing that, Adam ran even faster, his muscles burning. He was a blur moving through the quiet streets toward his house.

The voice came again, more demanding. "Team B, give your status. Acknowledge."

Adam pushed himself to run faster, but then he suddenly skidded to a stop.

A new voice came from the device. A calm voice that froze him in place.

"Adam," the voice said. "So you have killed our man."

Adam slowly took the device out. He stood still, thinking about what to do.

The man's voice came again, with a hint of amusement. "You are too late. Our people have left. But still, I am surprised you knew about us. You didn't just know, you killed one of our men."

Slow clapping came from the device, like a small audience was celebrating his failure. Adam felt angry. He knew this was the leader of The Ghost Group.

Adam pressed the button on the device. His voice was a low growl. "You ran away today. But I'll be coming for all of you."

In a dark room, the leader, Cyan, watched several screens. He could see the area around Adam's house, Sophia's house, and the school. But Adam was on none of them. Instead, he had somehow directly attacked his hidden man. Is there a traitor? Cyan thought. It was the only answer that made sense.

He smiled when he heard Adam's threat.

"I also want to tell you this," Cyan said into his comms. "You were saved this time. And you probably saved that girl. But now, we won't target you. We'll target Sophia. Let's see how long you can protect her."

Saying this, he crushed the device in his hand. Elsewhere, his companions did the same.

Adam put the broken device in his pocket. He had a feeling it might be useful later. He ran, not to his own house, but to the location Suman had told him about. He reached the second floor of the empty house. The room was empty. The sniper was gone.

Adam went to his own house very carefully. He no longer saw his home as a safe place.

Then he remembered Cyan's words.

The chilling promise from Cyan, the leader of The Ghost Group. Lying on his bed, the exhaustion of the loop finally catching up to him, Adam spoke in a very low voice to the empty room. "This assassin group is not that easy. They want to take advantage of my biggest weakness."

Adam knew without a doubt that his only weakness was Sophia. She was the one anchor he had in this chaotic, repeating world. And it was not that many people had not succeeded in killing Sophia.

It was a painful, recurring scar on his soul. Many previous loops had gone by where Sophia was killed right in front of his eyes. He had seen it happen in countless brutal ways.

But Adam had somehow, through sheer force of will, managed to keep himself mentally stable. He had compartmentalized the horror, pushed it down deep.

Because he knew that in the end, after the reset, Sophia was alive with him again. That is why Adam was not completely broken yet.

He hadn't descended into the madness that such an existence would surely bring to a normal person. But Adam could not completely trust his Return by Death ability either.

He didn't know its limits. He didn't know if there was a final death, a loop from which he would not return. The thought was a cold stone in the pit of his stomach.

Thinking this, his mind a whirlwind of fear and strategy, Adam finally fell asleep. His body, pushed to its absolute limit, simply shut down.

Then Adam's eyes snapped open. His sleep was shattered by a sharp, piercing sound. His doorbell was ringing. In an instant, Adam was not tired anymore. He was very surprised, and he immediately became completely alert, every muscle in his body tense and ready.

He took out the gun from his inventory, the cold metal a familiar and reassuring weight in his hand. He didn't go to the front door.

That would be a fool's move. He very slowly went out from the back of his house, his movements silent and practiced. He jumped over his boundary wall, landing lightly on the other side.

Adam moved stealthily along the wall, staying in the shadows. He looked at the main gate from the outside to see who it was. He expected to see an enemy, another assassin from The Ghost Group.

But he was very surprised when he saw Sophia. She was standing there, in her school clothes, looking a little impatient. She rang the doorbell again. Seeing this, Adam was very surprised.

He felt a wave of relief wash over him, so strong it almost made him weak. He started to go inside, back over the wall. He put his gun back in his inventory, the weapon disappearing as silently as it had appeared.

Then Sophia heard a voice from behind her, a voice she knew well. "Sophia?" She turned around and saw Adam standing there, near the gate. She was surprised and a little confused.

"Adam, you are outside," she said, a small smile on her face. Adam opened the gate of his house, the metal latch clicking loudly in the quiet morning air. He looked at Sophia, his own expression unreadable. "Come inside."