Sekiro: 18 Tips & Tricks The Game Doesn't Tell You
9. You Can Die More Than Twice
Yes it's called "Shadows Die Twice", but as I covered in my "major changes" writeup, if you're patient and skilled enough, this can extend to multiple deaths on any given run.
See, Sekiro's respawns are denoted by two small purple/pink icons on the bottom left of the screen. When you perish in combat, one of these goes away, but an inky black streak will appear over both pips.
This means that respawns are blocked (which they would be on your last life anyway), but once this streak goes away, you can begin filling up your "second life" icon once again, by killing enemies.
Use stealth to off grunts as any enemy death refills a chunk of the meter, and when it's full, that's one more additional life for that particular run.
Basically you can die as many times as you like away from boss encounters, providing you kill enough enemies to refill the node.