"Haa..."
The smoke from my last cigarette faded into the cliffside wind.
The unknown. Danger. Death. These words should have triggered fear. They should have ignited my survival instincts. Instead, I stood at the lip of the ravine. The tips of my toes touched the void.
My eyes scanned the drop.
Estimated height: 120 meters.
Wind speed: 15 knots from the southeast.
Canopy air resistance: Dense, three-layered.
My brain began drawing imaginary vector lines. Gravity: 9.8 m/s². Freefall time: Roughly 4.9 seconds. Terminal velocity at impact: Approximately 150 km/h.
Medically speaking, a human body—even one mutated by crystals—would burst like a dropped watermelon upon hitting the ground directly at that speed. But... there was the tree variable. If I hit the first branch at 40 meters, the force would distribute. Broken ribs (certain). Fractured femur (90% probability). Internal bleeding (certain).
Probability of Death: 98.8%.
Probability of Permanent Disability: 1.1%.
Probability of Full Recovery: 0.1%.
0.1 percent.
A faint smile touched my lips. The cigarette fell from my mouth into the ravine, serving as the starting marker.
"God..." I whispered to the wind. "If You really want me to stay alive, prove it with that 0.1 percent."
This wasn't suicide. This was a stress test. I wanted to see just how tightly the 'curse' of this life clung to me. Without any run-up, I let myself fall.
The wind roared in my ears, battering my face with brutal violence, threatening to tear my eardrums. Gravity pulled at me greedily, as if the earth were starving for my flesh. Terminal velocity. The trees approached rapidly. My heart finally beat—fast, loud, painful.
THUD!
My body slammed into the first branch. Snap.
CRACK!
Second branch. My ribs screamed.
BAM!
The ground welcomed me with absolute violence.
Silence.
My world spun. The sky looked fractured through the gaps in the leaves. Then, the pain arrived. It crept up from my legs, traveled up my spine, and exploded in my brain like neural fireworks. Warm blood trickled down my temple, seeping into my eye, dyeing my vision red.
"Cough..."
Blood spilled from my lips. And then, the laughter slipped out.
"He... hehe..."
It started quiet, like a rusted hinge being forced open. Then it erupted into uncontrollable hysteria.
"HAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHA!"
The laughter echoed at the bottom of the cliff, scaring off the birds. I laughed like a madman. I laughed because I could still feel pain. I laughed because God—or my own sheer bad luck—still refused to let me die.
"I survived... HAHAHA!"
I tried to move. My right leg didn't respond. The shinbone was protruding, tearing through the skin. With what little strength I had left, I clawed at the wet earth. My nails cracked as I dragged my shattered body inch by inch.
Like a deformed caterpillar, I crawled back. Refusing to die.