I swung my spear at my co-{Guards} feet, but he jumped out of the way, awkwardly landing a few feet away. I pressed the attack, [Thrusting] my spear at his shoulder as he stumbled back. He dodged, but only just, and tried to stab to at my hand with his dagger from where he stood. I lightly thwacked him on the neck for overextending, then [Burst] out of his range.

He scowled, rubbing his neck as he held his dagger awkwardly. "That hurt," he whined, lunging at me again.

With the butt of my spear, I [Double Struck] his stomach. He clumsily tried to block but caught the second strike in his gut. Grunting, he fell into the snow and stayed there.

Sighing, I planted my spear into the ground and kicked him in the arm. "Get up. We're not done here."

"I'm dead," he muttered, closing his eyes. "Dead and tired. Let me revive in peace."

"We've hardly been going for five minutes."

"You hurt me..."

"I took specific care to use the non-pointy end of my spear the last time we sparred, man. You're fine, now get up."

He groaned. "I don't want to do this anymore...Why won't you let me train with my bow?"

I thought of the first-ever invader I killed. He'd been an {Archer}, like my co--{Guard}, and he'd been skilled enough to kill Crystal in one shot. But he'd also been well-versed in close combat. Well...He'd killed me relatively easy the first time.

Phantom pain crept up on me and I winced, rubbing the spot where he'd stabbed my chin. That memory spurred on others, filling my head with all the times I'd died. Spear to the chest, arrow to the head (twice), being cleaved in half by the {Great Warrior's} ax - all of these I felt again and again.

Wheezing in pain, I dropped to my knees, hugging my body tightly. The agony worsened each time I relived the moment until I felt like I was being shot, stabbed, and cleaved all at the same time.

Vision growing dim and ears ringing, I thought, No! Why me? Why me?! What did I do to deserve this? I don't wanna die. I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't-

"Flake! Flake! C'mon, answer me!" My co-{Guard} was shaking me roughly, shouting to get my attention.

I blinked, snapping out of whatever horrifying daze that had been. I wasn't dying. Not yet, at least. My body was fine - healthy, whole, and numb with just a tiny bit of frostbite.

I rubbed my hands together, breathing on to them. Glancing up at the worried young man, I gave him a grateful smile. "Th-thanks for that. I, uh...I guess I'm just...experiencing stuff."

He nodded, sitting down next to me. "From dying?" he asked, drawing a circle in the snow with his dagger.

"Y-yeah...I guess so."

He hummed in understanding, turning back to his drawing. I watched him make a stick figure holding a crude rendition of a bow and arrow, shooting at...another stick figure with a spear.

Frowning, I reached up and slapped the back of his helmet. He winced as the metal impacted his skull, but he was grinning nonetheless.

"Made you feel better, huh?"

"Nah," I said, getting to my feet. Brushing the snow off my gambeson and pants, I smirked down at him. "Made me wanna train your Stun resistance."

He couldn't run away fast enough.