First Death (cont'd)

Night 2
The dream started with something like a recap of the previous one. I saw (and felt) that death scene again. Immediately after that, the scene switches to the old witch. She chanted something and the magic circle glowed with a purple fluorescence.

And the whole world went black. I was dead, but, for some reason, conscious. I could see nothing. It was just me in a pitch-black world. But there was one thing I was certain of. My body was whole. I could feel the weight of my arms and legs.

It took a while, but I managed to gather some strength to open my eyes. My head was resting on a wooden platform. I lifted my head to find myself in a bar. The place where it all started. My first encounter with the man who would change my life.

I knew I was supposed to keep events as close as they were before or things might change... a lot. So, I listened attentively for that string of dialogue. And I found it, which also confirmed that I was at the right time. There was a whole group of mutants there. Their main topic was discrimination towards humans, the very thing I hated the most for as long as I can remember.

"Normal humans are pathetic. They're weak, yet we have to treat them as equals! What a joke! If I was one of those lawmakers, I'd make sure every normal human on the planet be our slaves. Bwahaha!"

That event was historically correct. And my actions were correct too. I stood up, walked to the bunch of mutants and gave one of them a punch they'd never forget.

"Normal humans are weak, are they? Well, you seem to be bleeding even though I just used half my strength!"
"You picking a fight?!"
"Come on. I can take all of you mutant bastards on!"

I punched another guy in the face and he dropped unconscious. It was then I realised that even though time went back, I still had not forgotten how to fight. So, that meant that events wouldn't go as they did if I were to fight normally. As much as I hate to do it, I held back all my speed and strength. The fight took a lot longer than I had thought, but finally, the fight ended with me lying on the wet mud outside the bar.

"This guy is tough... Never thought a normie could be so strong. But he's still not strong enough to beat all of us." They gave me another kick.

I was really in pain. After all, I had to keep letting them hit me until it actually hurt or it wouldn't seem real. I was a terrible actor after all. So, I laid there, slowly waiting for the pain to subside. Funny, it actually went away quite fast. I wonder if it was because I've experienced death once or because my body was stronger than it actually was.

"Good fight, young man. You fought well."

I turned my head to see an old man. Yes, that was him. The man that would change my life. I recalled our conversation back then and repeated my lines (well, as much as I could remember).

"What? You want to give me a piece of your mind too?"
"Haha... Do I look like a mutant to you?"
"How am I supposed to know? We look the same, don't we?"
"True. Now, get up, boy! It feels awkward talking to a man lying on the street!"

But I couldn't get up. All I managed to do was sit on the road.

"Good enough. Alright, I'll get straight to the point, boy. I'm a martial arts teacher and I like how you fight..."
"Very funny. You're choosing a guy who fought in a bar, and lost, as your disciple."
"A guy who picked a fight against 8 people, lasted 10 minutes and took out 3 in the process. Now, are you interested?"
"I've got no cash, pal."
"The training is free."
"Then, what's the catch?"
"You'll find out if I find you worthy. Don't worry. It's a good catch."
"And I should trust you, why?"
"Well... that really is up to you now, isn't it?"

I grinned. He was a good man, I could tell. Now or then, he is still the nice old geezer I knew.

After this were random images of friends I made while training under the old guy. It was tough trying to hide all the skills and it was actually pretty boring learning the same things again, but since this was where time stopped going backwards, I would have to live with it until THAT time again.

And I woke up after seeing another few more images of the training.