I died for the first time when I was six.

  That’s not a metaphor. Heart stopped. Lungs collapsed. No pulse. Cold skin.

  Then, I opened my eyes.

  Since that day, I learned one terrifying truth:

  The moment I stop breathing… I become invincible.

  Not strong. Invincible. No pain. No blood. No weakness. No mercy. But there’s a catch—I only have as long as I can hold my breath. And when it runs out… I die. For real, maybe.

  I never tested the limit. I never told a soul. Not even my mom. Not even Yuki.

  “Third years, please gather in the gymnasium for the welcome assembly,” said the voice on the intercom.

  The start of our final year in high school. Class 3-A. Seat 13. That’s me—Ren Hoshino, your average quiet kid with a hoodie addiction and a dark, deadly secret. I keep my head low. Grades decent. Clubs? None. Friends? Few. Enemies? Too many.

  Especially Shindo Daigo, the jock-turned-bully who’s made it his life mission to remind everyone that I don’t belong here.

  “Hey, zombie boy,” he grinned, slamming my locker shut as I reached for my shoes. “Still alive? Shame. The world’s waiting.”

  I smiled politely. “You’re projecting again, Daigo. You should talk to someone.”

  He didn’t laugh. His goons did. But I was already walking away.

  The gym was packed. The air smelled like sweat and chalk. Students sat on bleachers, half-asleep or whispering rumors. I sat beside Yuki Asano, my childhood friend—the one person who saw through my blank stares, who remembered the real me, even if I didn’t.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Ren,” she said, poking my arm. “You’re spacing out again.”

  “I’m here,” I replied, blinking.

  “Are you sure?”

  She smiled. That kind of smile. The one that makes you forget the world can be cruel.

  Before I could answer, the principal tapped the mic.

  “As you know, there have been several attacks in nearby districts. Please be cautious. We’ve requested additional security.”

  That’s when it happened.

  Boom.

  The gym doors exploded. Smoke. Screams. Black-clad men poured in with masks and rifles.

  “Terrorists?! What the hell—” someone shouted.

  “Everyone on the ground!” a man roared, firing into the air.

  Chaos. Crying. Teachers cowering. I froze.

  But I wasn’t scared. I was thinking.

  Do I do it? Do I stop breathing… here? In front of Yuki? In front of them all?

  I was still debating when Daigo lunged like an idiot. “You think I’m scared of you punks?!”

  They shot him.

  Chest. Clean shot. Blood everywhere.

  He fell. And no one moved.

  That’s when I stood up.

  “Ren?! What are you doing?!” Yuki shouted, grabbing my wrist.

  My heart was pounding. But my mind was clear. My lungs were full.

  “I’m sorry, Yuki.”

  “Sorry for wh—?”

  I took a deep breath. And then…

  I stopped breathing.

  Time slowed. The bullet they fired at me shimmered mid-air.

  It hit me.

  Bounced.

  I walked forward.

  Another shot. Hit my head. Nothing.

  The terrorists started shouting. “What the hell is this kid—?!”

  I grabbed one by the throat. Crushed his windpipe with two fingers. Another came swinging a bat. I didn’t flinch. My arm snapped up—broke his jaw.

  I wasn’t human. I wasn’t anything.

  I was invincible.

  Three minutes. That’s all I ever dared to hold.

  When I was done, six men were unconscious or broken. The rest fled. Daigo was alive, barely. Help arrived. Cameras flashed.

  And me?

  I collapsed in the shadows. Lungs starving. The world is darkening.

  I gasped. Breath rushed in. Pain returned. Vision blurred.

  But I was alive.

  And I made a mistake.

  I turned… and Yuki was staring right at me.

  Mouth open. Eyes wide. Tears falling.

  “Ren… what… are you?”