5 Survival & Death Correlate

Kaaaaaa!-- Kaaaaaa!--

'Birds...'

Pochannn!- Pochannn!-

'Waves... What happened...'

Opening a sliver of his eyes, a bright sun glared at his reticles making him temporarily blind.

His eyes shut, confirming his well being. Cold water rocked back and forth on his legs, trying to swallow him back into the sea.

'I'm alive...'

Turning over he coughed out sea water that was stuck in his throat, making his body grimey from his puke.

The sand roughly shifted on his face and body, making him feel very uncomfortable.

His head ached, throat parched, and his mind in a mess. Cracked lips and his dry tongue gasped for air, making sand shift into his mouth.

"Wa-Water..."

There was no answer, but the burning fire that cooked his skin. He was probably laying on the beach for a long while, making his skin sizzle, preparing a barbeque feast for the birds circling overhead.

His eyelashes dug into the soft white sand as his body twitched, trying to gain the strength to live. His will was there, but his vessel was not.

The birds flying watched as Jin Muryo was quivering for a way out, his muscles twitching, and limbs trembling to get out of the edge of the beach.

His body could not stand, so he used the power he had left to crawl his way forward, inch by inch. Eventually leaving the sea which cuddled his legs.

Minutes past, his power slipping away, but his heart burned, fueled by his dream.

'How can I die once I finally made it here!!?'

'How will I live to see my dream!!?'

'How do I deserve to live if I can't even do the first step!!?'

His last straw of humanity was what made hin not die yet, this was his dream, a man's will, his inner hope.

Inches became feet, and feet became yards, his body finally touched the first essence of rocks and dirt.

His head could not afford to look up, the action required too much energy. He had to keep crawling till he found food! Water! Anything to keep him afloat!

Dirt and rock made its way between his finger nails, sharper rocks cut the skin in which he crawled, even his face not being spared.

Wounds began to appear again, the whip injuries opened, he was running out of time.

More time passed, he still had not found anything. His strength was beginning to escape, his dreams starting to fracture. His hope starting to vanish, but no fear of death appeared in his eyes.

He continued forward till he met his first sign of life. His hands hit a small creature, slimy and small. This was not the type of thing he wished to find, but he ate worse before.

Snail or bug, it did not matter, he crushed the life and brought it into his mouth. Sour, stale, green acidic juice...

Jin wished to throw up this in disgust. It probably tasted worse than animal dung, but he could not afford to be picky.

This was perhaps his last chance of life, he can't let it escape! The slime made its way through his dry throat, giving him little energy in return, to continue forth.

His whole face was purple and green from the taste, but it was what would keep his life. Having energy to open his eyes, he opened them, and crawled forth to the unknown.

This time not much time passed before he came across another source of energy. This time it was a small purple mushroom filled with orange yellow spots on top. Spotting the mushroom, he reached towards the food source, ripping it from its home.

Swallowing the unidentified species of mushroom, the bits and crumbs went down his throat.

This time it was strange burning like he was poisoned. It was very tasty however, like a special rare species of spice.

Licking his lips he wanted more, or perhaps it was just that thing from earlier tasted way gross than he thought?

He creeped on forth, not noticing strange things sprouting from his back, and his lips developing a red rash.

The next item was spotted! It was a tiny frog which glowed in the shade! This must give him special nutrients, enough to survive!

Catching the sorrowful frog awaiting his death, he ate it alive. This did not have a taste, but more like things exploding inside his mouth and body like fireworks...

The goo of its blood was disgustingly flowing down his throat though... He restarted his journey to find his next item! Not noticing at all that the color of his skin was rapidly changing...

Next he found his first real source of food! It was glowing red, and shaped as a little berry that grew on the plant in front of him, putting his mouth on the berry, he swallowed it.

'So Bitter...'

The taste was very bitter... He wondered just what type of island he found... Everything he ate so far was so gross...

He trailed forward once again, not noticing his wounds and scars were squirming for life... Going forwards he found his next item for the taking! A herb which was a colorful color filled with bright colors.

It was very pretty, and his next unsuspecting prey... Quickly swallowing it, he could no longer feel his pain! It had to be a legendary medical herb, like those if the wuxia novels! His luck was off the charts! Even his source of thirst and hunger was gone!

With this he stood and ran forwards! To find where he was! Egh- Wait... Jin Muryo was not moving at all... At this moment he knew he f-messed up.

Jin could not feel or move his body at all! His whole body was paralyzed, unable to budge! The strength which held his eyes slowly disappeared, making Jin slumber away towards his death, heart filled with regrets...

. . .

Bugs buzzed all around him, the forest was dense and not easy to traverse. Birds and animals howled into the air every so often, this was an island that was uninhabited due to its high danger.

Poisonous plants grew all around, deadly creatures walked, while the insignificant smaller species also had their defenses like poison.

The man solod these dangerous woods as he went exploring here year round for special rare ingredients. Normally there was no such dangerous islands in the four major seas, but exceptions existed every once in a while, such as this island which habitated in the South Blue sea of this world.

The middle aged man was a foodie and an adventurer, his strength rivaled those which resided in the Grand Line, so he generally had nothing to worry about.

Today he was out here once again, looking for the prized ingredients which have run out. It was still annoying to traverse such land however...

He walked through multiple bushes, past many dead trees, battled animals, and avoided poisons.

After days had passed, he has finally collected everyrthing and made his way back. His figure dashed speedily through the woods, eventually stepping onto a soft area of ground which made him slam into a tree ahead, causing multiple plants to be demolished.

Getting up from the rubble with no injuries, he looked towards the spot which he had stepped on.

'Huh? Why is there so much purple mushrooms here? Don't they only grow alone near the coast?'

Deciding to inspect what made this spot so special, he used his hands to explore the dense batch of purple mushrooms.

'The smell... Its so stinky... God...'

Since there was so much mushrooms, it was very annoying to him, so he decided to just rip the mushrooms out.

Pu!-

Once a section of the mushrooms was pulled, he face was filled with horror. Where the roots were pulled, blood surted out, and the skin near it glowed in all sorts of colors. The outlines of his wounds were even quivering like it was excited...

"Oh my god! Is this a human!??"

So surprised, he turned over the body, and it was indeed a person. The face was full of dirt and bruises, while being colored by a dense shade of purple and green. His lips were gigantically swelled, filled with cracks caused by a dark red rash...

"Just how stupid is this man... Did he eat everything poisonous like it was a treasure?..."

The experienced man guessed that this year's trip was going to be special in more ways than one...