Death After Death

[Congratulations, you have died for the 1st time!]

Along with the blue panel congratulating his death, the darkness disappeared as the sight of thousands of Majapahit warriors lined up in neat rows came back into view.

His body returned to its original state without the sunken chest and battered face after being trampled to death by the Sunda warriors.

Before he could comprehend what had just happened, an unbearable turmoil arose from within his stomach.

"Ugh! *Hoek!" Aditya puked out all the instant noodles he had eaten this morning.

His face was so pale that he could only crawl on all fours while holding his body from collapsing. Aditya tried his best to regain his senses but unfortunately his vision kept shaking.

His head was spinning, the image of the Sunda soldiers' feet trampling his body like glue that could not be removed.

Aditya had to vomit several times to regain his breath.

The sound of giggling and jeering could be heard from the Majapahit soldiers.

"Hahaha... look at that, the guy is vomiting."

"He must be really scared right now!"

"Hmm... how embarrassing is this so-called sunda warrior?"

"Hehehe... look at his face filled with tears, hahaha disgusting."

"Sundanese people are cowards, they are not as brave as us Majapahit people."

"That weak kingdom should have been bowed down under the great Majapahit kingdom."

"I no longer even intend to kill these cowardly Sundanese. What a disgrace! How dare they call themselves warriors!"

Meanwhile, the Sunda soldiers around Aditya were frowning. They were furious because Aditya's behavior embarrassed them all.

"Hey, what are you doing! Get up, you idiot!"

"Who is this guy? Why is he with us? Ugh..."

"You bastard! Stand up quickly or else you'll receive my beating!"

"OI! Are you not ashamed? Look at the Majapahit people jeering at us for your disgraceful behavior!"

"Where's your ball! Goddammit, get up right now you coward!"

"You have really disgraced the name of all of us don't expect to return to the Sunda army unit after this! I'll kill you myself!"

But those voices didn't register in Aditya's ears.

Right now, he was preoccupied with his own confusion.

Everything was happening so fast that he couldn't process it. He needed a moment to pause and think about what was happening to him right now.

Virtual reality was a technology longed for by every anime enthusiast on the face of the earth.

Living in a game world and meeting your idol waifu – who wouldn't want that?

However, the world wasn't yet capable of creating such technology.

Pulling a person's consciousness along with all their five senses into a virtual world was almost deemed impossible for now.

But the pain from his broken ribs piercing his lungs and his face crushed by the Sundanese warriors felt so real that he no longer felt like he was playing the game Pendant of War, but genuinely teleporting to the time of the Battle of Bubat.

Before Aditya could draw any conclusions, a voice so majestic sounded in his ears.

It pulled Aditya out of his reverie once again; it was Gajah Mada speaking the same dialogue he had heard before, a few minutes before his death.

"Wisesa! You are surrounded and there is no way out for you! Surrender and submit to the leadership of Majapahit, and I will spare your life and allow your daughter to marry my king, Hayam Wuruk!"

And once again, Wisesa, the King of Sunda, replied with the same dialogue.

"*Puih! Gajah Mada, don't expect me to surrender Sunda to Majapahit in this lifetime! If you really want it, take it from my corpse!"

They conversed once more, but this time Aditya could hear it clearly.

Essentially, Gajah Mada was pressuring Diah Pitaloka Citraresmi, Wisesa's daughter, to marry Hayam Wuruk. Not as a queen, but merely one of the king's concubines.

The marriage would also symbolize Sunda's submission to Majapahit.

However, Wisesa refused and declared that he would pay this insult even if it meant declaring all-out war on Majapahit.

Aditya wanted to curse Wisesa for not realizing their situation.

The Sunda forces, completely unprepared for battle, were surrounded by the Majapahit forces, fully armed and outnumbered fivefold.

Didn't Wisesa know the saying about retreating one step to advance three steps?

How could a king not realize that he only needed to agree to Gajah Mada's terms before returning to Sunda and declaring war on Majapahit?

At least that way, the two hundred Sunda warriors currently on the Bubat square wouldn't just be fodder.

But Wisesa was a warrior at heart. He refused to resort to deceit to escape his problems, even if it meant paying with his life.

How great was someone's pride that they weren't afraid to die? Aditya didn't understand.

But understanding wouldn't do him any good because right now, Wisesa had issued his command.

"ATTACK!!!"

But unlike before, this time Aditya knew what would happen.

So, with all his might, he pushed himself to rise as quickly as possible and began to run.

Before he could run further, other Sundanese warriors quickly caught up with him. Their running speed was so fast that each of them could leave Usain Bolt in the dust.

Aditya didn't know whether it was because he was in a game world or if people back then were truly this strong. But from being at the front, he found himself at the back, panting heavily as he chased after the other warriors.

Fortunate or unfortunate, no Sundanese warrior pushed him down again, perhaps because they all felt ashamed and disgusted by him, so no one wanted to get close.

But Aditya shouldn't be thankful for that because now he could live long enough to witness the horrors of medieval warfare.

Swords clashed, making loud ringing sounds that deafened the ears. Groans of bloodthirsty thirst were heard like demons rising from the deepest pits of hell. Flesh torn apart scattered on the ground like a feast of slaughtered animals. Blood spurted from bodies, filling the air with the smell of rusted iron.

Before he even got close to the battlefield, Aditya felt nauseous, his head spinning.

If it weren't for the fear of death crushing his heart, both his legs would have given out by now. His face was as pale as a piece of white paper.

His eyes trembled, unfocused, with pupils shrinking to dots. His mind was blank, his ability to think no sharper than a toddler's.

Confusion and fear mixed perfectly, making Aditya continue to run like a programmed robot.

Until he found himself in the midst of battle, his eyes witnessing a Sundanese warrior slashing the throat of a Majapahit warrior before being pierced in the chest by another Majapahit warrior nearby.

This scene was nothing but a dogfight, a battle royal, where it was unclear who was the enemy and who was the ally.

With a brain almost dysfunctional, Aditya could only stare blankly.

A sword swing, seemingly coming out of nowhere, aimed for his neck.

Only the sheer terror made Aditya reflexively throw himself backward. But alas, no matter how fast his reflexes were, his untrained body couldn't move fast enough.

The sword swing failed to decapitate him but managed to leave a gaping wound on his neck.

Feeling the pain from his torn flesh, Aditya's consciousness returned, only to make him suffer from the gash on his neck.

Blood spurting from his veins soaked his body.

With his airway severed, his lungs could only inhale the blood seeping through. His brain, trying to save the body, commanded his hand to cover the wound. Taut nerves sent danger signals in the form of endless agony.

Suffering.

The sensation of drowning in his own blood was all Aditya felt at that moment.

Until his body began to feel cold from the dropping body temperature due to blood loss. Lying amidst the field, he gazed at the blue sky until his vision slowly faded.

Silence echoed as darkness crept in.

[Congratulations, you have died for the 2nd time!]

And Aditya opened his eyes again, only to find himself back before the battle began.

"HUFT! HUFT! HUFT! HUFT! HUFT! HUFT! HUFT! HUFT!"

This time, Aditya didn't immediately vomit but sucked in air hastily, like a fish returned to water.

"Hoek!" Of course, afterwards, he vomited all the contents of his stomach.

Mockery from the Majapahit side and anger from the Sundanese side filled his ears again. But once again, Aditya ignored them.

His body was struggling to regain normalcy due to the stress-induced mental state. If not controlled soon, Aditya was likely to experience brain death due to stress.

As he was almost calm again, Wisesa's order to attack, sounding like a curse, echoed once more.

"ATTACK!!!"

Aditya's legs reflexively pushed his body to run as fast as possible.

With trembling eyes filled with confusion, he once again witnessed the horrors of battle. His face turned pale, and his stomach churned at the scent of blood in the air.

Then, once again, a sword appeared from nowhere, piercing Aditya's chest.

His heart burst instantly, blood spurting from his mouth. But this time, he was fortunate because death came swiftly due to pain beyond his brain's endurance.

[Congratulations, you have died for the 3rd time!]

But unfortunately, the suffering and shock returned when he lived again.

"AAAAARRRRRRGHHH!!"

Aditya screamed, clutching his chest as if a sword had pierced it.

Perhaps this was what was called the placebo effect because now Aditya truly saw his chest gaping, blood scattered everywhere.

He died.

[Congratulations, you have died for the 4th time!]

After coming back to life, Aditya became calmer, but unfortunately, confusion was still evident in his eyes. His brain was now racing against the rapidly approaching death to find an explanation.

"What?! Why?!"

Perhaps it was because his brain had adapted to the pain, or maybe it was because his body felt numb. But this time, Aditya managed to carve out words in the form of a question.

He looked around, seeking answers to his latest death.

His eyes met those of the Sundanese warrior who had forcibly turned his head before his first death.

Aditya's eyes widened as he stared at the hatred-filled gaze of the Sunda warrior.

"What are you looking at? Look ahead, fool! Don't show fear to those Majapahit scum!" the warrior snapped menacingly.

Aditya didn't respond, but the warrior's sternness reminded him of something more important.

The Pendant of War wasn't a Death Game; it was a Torture Game. In a Death Game, defeat meant death, but in the Pendant of War, defeat meant torture.

...

Humans never realize they're living in an illusion.

Every time they plaster a smile on their faces, they try to reject the truth that death can come at any time.

No matter who, when, or where, death will come to pick them up without anyone being able to prevent it.

However... they're lucky because death will only come once.

But what happens if death can come many times without any limit?

Now, Aditya finally realized why some say death is the sweet release.

"I need to get out of here!" he exclaimed.

But once again, time was not on Aditya's side.

Wisesa's command echoed once more, and Aditya felt cursed.

"ATTACK!"

As before, Aditya pushed his body to run.

But this time, he was much more aware than before. Although his mind was filled with questions, he tried to postpone finding the answers.

What mattered most now was avoiding the death that was about to claim him.

He tried to slow down to reach the back lines of the Sundanese warriors rushing forward.

But his weak body couldn't resist the current brought by these warriors.

Despite their similar size, with Aditya even appearing taller than these ancient people, the muscle mass they possessed was vastly different.

As a result, Aditya was swept away by the tide and once again found himself thrust into battle.

Aditya's eyes quickly surveyed his surroundings.

His senses seemed dulled as if trying to block out the scent of blood that made his head spin.

At the very least, it made his mind clearer than before.

However, this newfound clarity was not a blessing in a deadly battle; it was a curse that would leave him even more severely traumatised than before.

Aditya saw a blood-soaked Majapahit warrior running towards him with his sword raised.

Quickly, Aditya raised the sword in his hand to parry the Majapahit warrior's strike.

However, Aditya, who had never wielded a sword before, couldn't handle it properly.

*Clang!

His timing to block the attack was off, and before their swords could meet, the enemy's blade grazed his neck. Although Aditya managed to deflect the blow, he wasn't strong enough to fully stop its momentum.

As a result, the enemy's sword slashed his shoulder, cleanly severing his entire left arm.

"AAARRGGHHH!!!!"

Aditya screamed in agony, feeling the pain from his severed limb.

His entire train of thought vanished, replaced only by the excruciating pain raging through his mind.

The Majapahit warrior sneered at Aditya's cowardly screams but remained kind enough to swiftly decapitate Aditya, putting an end to his suffering.

[Congratulations, you have died for the 5th time!]