Surviving by a thread

[Blessing purchase completed - Better Yesterday (15,000 Coins)]

As soon as Lex bought the blessing, his mind cleared. The fog lifted, and his thoughts became sharp and focused. His mind wasn't the only thing that improved. His body, which had been shutting down, began to heal.

It was strange—no, supernatural. It felt like something pulled at him, like invisible hands trying to drag him somewhere. Not a place, but a time.

The sensation wasn't painful, but it was overwhelming, as if his very existence was being re-threaded into something whole. Yet, despite the feeling of movement trying to move him, he hadn't gone anywhere. He was still here, still in this dying body, yet it was no longer dying.

His heart, which had slowed to a near stop, jolted back to life with a forceful thud. Oxygen flooded his brain. His skin, previously pale and bloodless, regained color. Muscles that had torn apart knitted themselves together as if being rewritten back into their...previous state.

Lex glanced down at his severed hand lying on the ground, but something was off. It wasn't just lying there—it was vibrating faintly, flickering like a broken hologram. For a moment, it looked like it was glitching, as if it didn't belong in this reality. Then, in a blink, it vanished altogether.

Lex raised his arm instinctively, and there it was—his hand, perfectly intact, as if it had never been torn off.

As for the tentacle inside him? It was still there.

His body didn't recognize it as part of himself, and as his muscles restored, they started to squeeze it. Bones regrew, trapping the foreign invader like an iron vice. Flesh filled the gaps, tightening around the tentacle with crushing force.

The parasite reacted instantly, trying to retract, but Lex was faster. His fingers clamped onto the muddy tentacle, holding it in place so it couldn't escape.

The tentacle thrashed, desperate to retreat. The parasite screeched as the pressure built—then snapped.

The severed limb twitched violently before going limp.

The creature reeled back and fell on the ground, its antennae twitching wildly. Its long, insect-like legs scraped against the ground in an attempt to stand back. But this time, it was Lex who gave it no time to recover.

His hand quickly retrieved the knife of the hungry family that fell on the ground, and in one swift motion, he lunged.

The parasite screeched, but Lex was already on it. His knife plunged forward, piercing the weakened chitin. The blade activated and shredded the exoskeleton as easily as cutting through paper but did not sink deep enough to kill.

The creature thrashed around, its remaining tentacles striking out in desperation. Lex pressed on and slashed again. This time, the blade found its mark, cutting through the parasite's main body and spilling its foul-smelling ichor.

However, the parasite didn't die. It kept struggling, its movements growing increasingly frantic. So Lex could only stab again and again, making the creature bleed heavily.

After a moment, Lex stopped as the parasite tried to crawl away using whatever it could. Its tentacles, once whip-fast, now dragged limply, unable to even lift themselves.

Lex stood still, his bloodied mask hiding any expression, but his eyes were cold and unblinking as he watched the creature's struggles grow weaker and slowly bleed to death. He didn't move or speak; he just observed until the parasite stopped moving altogether.

[You have killed a Titan's Hollow Parasite. 1,000 coins have been awarded.]

[Total earnings: 19,380/200,000]

[Coins: 1,137]

"Let's just end it and get some sleep. I'll also have to change some plans," he said, his voice low and tired.

He crouched beside the dead parasite, his knife slicing through its rubbery flesh with ease. The work was messy, but he didn't mind. He'd done this enough times to know what he was looking for.

Once he retrieved the two parasite pouches, he stood up, wiping his knife on the creature's remains. He turned and started walking back the way he came.

As he moved, he pulled up the details of his new blessing, eyes scanning the floating text in front of him.

[Name: Better Yesterday]

[Stars: LOCKED]

[Effect: Upon receiving fatal damage, the user will be reverted back to the best condition they have experienced in the last 24 hours.]

[Activation condition: Must be a player. Must have an aspect related to the element "time". Must have an aspect related to the element "past". Must not have used "Better Yesterday" in the last 24 hours.]

[Cooldown left: 23h33m]

Lex let out a quiet sigh, his breath fogging up a bit the inside of his mask. "This wasn't exactly the blessing I planned to buy first," he muttered, his tone a mix of resignation and faint approval. "But it's a good start."

The blessing was powerful. It could save his life in a pinch, even in its most basic blessing form.

Although Lex rarely invested in defensive or healing blessings like this one in the tutorial because of his "I can just retry" mentality, he had to concede that this one had enormous potential.

Once this blessing evolved into a trait, its real potential would show—but that was a problem for future Lex

Lex's mind was racing, his thoughts moving rapidly. He had a lot of work to do, and he needed to figure out how to maximize his resources.

"I should first get more pouches from parasites," Lex thought, his gaze shifting to the three parasite pouches in his hands. The translucent organs glinted faintly, their yellowish liquid sloshing slightly as he turned them over.

His attention drifted to his robe, and he let out a sigh. The Worshiper of Decay's Robe, once already ragged and patchwork, now looked like it had been through a shredder. There was one massive hole right in the middle where the parasite's tentacle had impaled him.

Smaller holes were sprinkled around on the rest of the robe. If it had looked tattered before, now it was barely holding together.

Surprisingly, though, there wasn't a single drop of blood on it. Not his, at least. Better Yesterday had done its job, rewinding his body to its best condition in the last 24 hours.

The wounds were gone, the blood wiped from existence as if it had never been spilled. The robe, however, hadn't been so lucky.

[Name: Worshiper of Decay's Robe]

[Stars: ★★★]

[Effect: Reduces the effects of environmental toxins by 23%.]

[Requirement: Must be a player.]

"Because of the damage, the effects are reduced from 30% to 23%," Lex muttered, running a hand over the torn fabric. "But it's still better than nothing."

He then turned his attention to his mask, lifting a hand to touch its smooth, cold surface. Unlike the robe, the Worshiper of Decay's Mask had come out of the fight unscathed. The long beak and round lenses were still intact.

"At least one thing's still in good shape," Lex said, his voice muffled by the mask. He adjusted it slightly, making sure it was snug against his face. The mask was his lifeline down here, more so than the robe so in a sense, he was lucky.