"Oh, how horrible, how terrifying. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared."
"To be ripped of all dignity and humility, to be stripped down like this... ah. Ah..."
Zad returned to Zero Point, but this time, his mind was completely and utterly shattered. Words couldn't explain the damage. All that echoed through that space was a single, unending scream—"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh."
He wasn't being dramatic. It was real. It was insane how they had murdered him.
Stripped of all rights. That was all Zad could think.
Memories from past loops flooded in, each more suffocating than the last. He tried to suppress them, to push them aside, but the pain of his death refused to let go. It clung to him, clawing at his thoughts. "Agh... is this the consequence of such a horrible death?" He couldn't think. He couldn't focus. His body still reeled from the agony. He kept screaming, as if the crowd was still tearing him apart. He didn't understand what was happening, but the pain kept rising and never stopped.
"Agggggggggggggggggh... please... STOP IT."
The pain was overwhelming. And it brought one truth with it. Dying wasn't easy. It wasn't a reset button. It wasn't an escape. Dying horribly would break him further every time. That was the cost.
He had tried to recollect himself, to think clearly, but he couldn't. The memory of being thrown into the crowd by the cloaked figure replayed in endless loops. The crowd hitting him, cutting him, laughing while smashing objects into his skull. They played with him like a rag doll.
Suddenly, through the thick fog of pain, something pushed into his mind. A voice. Not imagined. Not false. Something real.
The worse your death, the worse your time in Zero Point. Dying in agony damages your mind. Choose your death carefully. This is both a power and a curse. There are many weaknesses to Zero Point. This is a warning. We share the same goal.
Zad knew it wasn't just a thought. It was a message. A warning. He had to be careful. He couldn't afford to keep dying like this. There were consequences. Harsh ones. The voice carved itself into his thoughts. Even while screaming in agony, even with his mind collapsing, he held onto the warning like a lifeline.
"H... huh...?"
The message became etched into his soul. It would stay there, no matter how many loops came. Then, Zero Point itself began to crack and shatter, as if telling him there was no time left. No mercy. No more breaks. Get up. Go back.
"I... I didn't even grasp what happened to me... agh... why..."
He thought he had time to recover. But he didn't. He had wasted too much time breaking down. His screams had gone on longer than the time Zero Point had allowed.
Point of resurrection. Fifteen minutes before execution. Confirmed.
Even if the pain was unbearable, even if his body and mind were in ruins, he had to push forward. Light surged into his back, dragging him out of the void. The voice of the Shaytan didn't return this time. Not through the agony. But the light... it was too strong to ignore. It forced him out.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH—"
And then, it all returned.
The same place. The same sand. The same air. The same faces. He was back.
"Yo, big bro, are you okay?"
"..." Zad couldn't respond. His mind was a mess. Total silence. The scene around him moved as if nothing had changed, but his thoughts were somewhere else entirely.
Amal tilted her head, eyes wide with concern. "Your eyes... it's like... you saw death and came back."
He didn't realize it, but his face told the story for him. His expression was blank, as if his mind had been broken. Drool slipped from the corner of his mouth. Dark bags hung under his eyes. Even in this new loop, the weight of that last death clung to him. His soul had been scarred.
So, what will Amal do to help him?