One-Off Resurrection

The Midnight Article "The Curious Case of Ethan: The Man Who Died but Remained Alive" was written by u/Metalsa and posted on r/MidnightPaper.

The text of the Article was as follows:

THE CURIOUS CASE OF ETHAN: THE MAN WHO DIED BUT REMAINED ALIVE What happens after death? While we here at The Midnight Paper have no use for questions such as these, we’re sure that all of you reading right now have pondered this question before. Everyone has their own beliefs. Some think they will be reincarnated; some think they’ll go to heaven, or hell depending on the person; others think they will become ghosts, left here to haunt the remaining humans; and others don’t think anything happens after death, just pure nothing.

But what happens if you die but come back alive, and no not by a medical miracle. Well that was the case for Ethan, who while going on his daily jog through the forest nearby, was mugged and stabbed to death.

“I remember three stabs, all in my abdomen, and all hurting like hell. After I fell to the ground and I could feel the guy going through my pockets. I tried to bluff before and I told him, I don’t bring nothing with me when I jog, but he didn’t believe it. That’s why he started stabbing in the first place. He only had time to take my phone. But then I guess he must’ve heard something because he just took off, but he managed to stab me again, in the chest this time. Could’ve sworn it was in the heart.

I fainted at some point. I could feel myself dying, I swear. I cried and pleaded with whatever gods could hear me to let me live, and I guess it worked. Anyway, at that point everything went black and I woke up sometime later, couldn’t tell you when, and obviously I panicked, right. But when I went to check my wounds there was nothing. My girlfriend swears up and down that she can see thin red lines where I was stabbed, but I don’t see anything. But anyway, I know I didn’t just hallucinate the whole thing, ‘cause the shirt was still ripped open where the wounds should’ve been.

I was so confused I didn’t go home immediately. I went to a bar that I knew that served cheap beer and started drinking. Later though, the news came on on the TV and imagine my surprise when there’s a search party for me. Apparently, I was gone for three days. I was so scared I didn’t know what to do so I went and got a hotel room to spend the night.

At first, I thought I could just play it cool like nothing ever happened, but after a saw the news I knew I couldn’t just go back. I was so, like, conflicted, and I didn’t know if I should tell the truth or not.

I didn’t have to think about it too hard, because what I didn’t realize was that if I paid for the hotel room with my credit card, they’d be able to track me. So, I woke up the next morning, around five, with police knocking on my door.

Turns out they’d already caught the guy who did that to me, they told me because of the stolen phone. And the guy confessed too, just like that.

Poor guys didn’t know how to feel when they found a perfectly healthy man that they fully believed was left for dead in some forest. But everything checked out, the guy even identified me and swore he killed me. Crazy, isn’t it?”

Crazy indeed, dear readers, but the story does not end there. Because of this, Ethan started believing he was invincible. He started taking more risks and “checking things of his bucket list”, as he put it. Things like skydiving and bungee-jumping and he even made a plan to visit all seven wonders of the world. But that’s not the only part of his life he became bolder in. He quit his job as a lab assistant and went to film school and started getting acting lessons, with plans to go to college for musical theatre next.

“I can’t die, dude! I have literally eternity to do and try everything!”

Ethan even broke up with his girlfriend, saying that:

“I don’t know why I was even seeing her! She’s in such a rush to have children and I don’t to want any, at all, ever!”

He truly seemed unstoppable. But the scientists and medical professionals that studied him had different opinions. They seemed to think that Ethan was now just a normal man. They couldn’t really explain why he was able to not only survive the attack but also recover so quickly. According to them “there is no evidence to support his claim of immortality”. Based on the tests they ran Ethan was able to get hurt, bleed and only heal at a normal pace, if not slower than most.

When Ethan learned of this, he couldn’t believe it. He was convinced he was invincible and would live forever, but when faced with the truth, our subject here felt utterly defeated.

Saying that he no longer knew what to do with himself now that he knew that he could die at any moment, he simply went back to his previous life, his boring, pathetic, mediocre and monotonous life. He went back to his old job, which he told us he hated and eventually even got back with his girlfriend. He also says he’s given up on his travel plans and no longer plans to attend the classes that made him so happy.

When asked about these decisions Ethan had this to say:

“Only got one life, I guess. Wouldn’t want to fuck it up. I don’t want to take too many risks anymore, you know. Especially not with a baby on the way.”

And there you have it, dear readers, the story of the man who died but went on with his life. And how wonderful for him and his girlfriend to know that they’re expecting. We think we hear wedding bells.

Until next time, dear readers, don’t forget you only have one life so don’t go risking it by reaching too far.

Description:

"One-Off Resurrection" is a Event-Type Oddity of unknown origin or cause. It is exactly as its name implies, a kind of resurrection that works only once. The first reported case of this resurrection happened to a man known only as "Ethan." After being robbed and attacked by a man with a knife, Ethan was stabbed several times (including once in the heart) and left for dead.

It was then that this mysterious ability made itself known.

Process:

As he lay dying, Ethan was overcome with dread regarding his mortality. He "cried and pleaded to whatever gods could hear" to allow him to live. It is not known if this act of pleading for his life was what caused the One-Off Resurrection to be granted to Ethan, or if it is an unknown congenital condition that simply "activates" as those who were born with it die for the first time. Whatever the case might be, shortly after feeling this sense of dread, Ethan experienced some of the same events that a person in the process of dying might experience. Ethan felt that he "felt himself dying" and then "everything went black."

Ethan then awoke where he had fallen, seemingly completely unharmed. Unbeknownst to him, three days had gone by between the time when "everything went black" and when he woke up once more.

Religious Significance:

It is important to note that the time between the death and revival of those afflicted with One-Off Resurrection, three days, is the exact same amount of time between the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The significance of this fact is not known, as there are a few other gods (namely Horus) that are also said to have resurrected three days after their apparent death. It may be possible that Ethan's act of calling out to any and all gods that might help, caused him to experience a resurrection that is similar to those of a few religious figures.

Effects on the Body:

Upon waking up in the forest, three days after his apparent death, Ethan discovered that the wounds he had received were miraculously healed, leaving behind only ripped clothing. His girlfriend later stated that she "could see thin red lines" where the stab wounds were inflicted. Regardless, the healing process is remarkable and, for all intents and purposes, a complete regeneration of any and all fatal wounds.

Ethan believed that he was invincible, that he possessed not only immortality but also perfect regeneration. As a result, he began living his life as if he could suffer no consequences.

The medical professionals that Ethan consulted, however, were not so convinced. They found that there was absolutely no evidence of Ethan possessing any kind of enhanced regeneration or being impervious to physical damage of any kind. Indeed, upon attempting to harm Ethan's skin, they found that his wounds healed at a normal, or even a slightly slower, rate.

Thus, Ethan returned to his normal life, having seemingly exhausted his "One-Off Resurrection."

Slower Healing:

It is possible that, after "using up" his One-Off Resurrection, Ethan was left with a slower rate of healing compared to other ordinary human beings. The reason for this is not known, but it may have something to do with the One-Off Resurrection ability forcing the body to heal fatal damage relatively quickly. This over-exertion and acceleration of the body's natural healing process may have long-lasting consequences. Indeed, after healing such extensive damage in a short amount of time, the bodies of those possessing One-Off Resurrection may never be the same. Perhaps there is some kind of invisible, as of yet undiscovered, hidden energy inside the body. This energy may be responsible for healing any kind of damage, and using the One-Off Resurrection ability expends a great amount of it in a short amount of time, leaving the body's natural healing process slower and more inefficient.

Origin;

The origin of this ability, and how many people possess it, is entirely unknown. It may be a celestial ability that is handed out only to those who, while in the process of dying, experience an immense sense of dread. Finding out how many people possess this strange ability is most likely impossible, as most people experience death at a greatly advanced age. If person who is 80+ years of age, for example, dies of natural causes, having the One-Off Resurrection activate would not be as noticeable. Indeed, this senior citizen would most likely perish once more upon waking up after three days. This appears to be likely because One-Off Resurrection restores the body to what it was before the fatal damage was performed. Someone suffering a heart attack, then, would have the fatal damage brought on by cardiac arrest restored, but it is not likely that their One-Off Resurrection would reverse the conditions (such as clogged arteries) that led to that cardiac arrest in the first place. Thus, a second, more permanent death, would not be too far away.