Around two hours after Dr. Montez had left my room, and an hour after Kami had told me she was going to visit one of her injured friends and be back, I finally broke out of my silence and rose from my bed. I stretched out for the first time in a whole week, doing my best to ignore the soreness and pain.
Slowly, I began to stretch every part of my body. My arms were the most sore, and it seemed it would remain that way no matter how much stretching I did. I still felt pain from my chest any time I overextended my arms.
I placed a hand over my chest and listened in silence for a moment, attempting to feel my pulse.
ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP!
And just as Dr. Montez had said, I felt an irregular beating of my heart. My heart was beating quickly, even though I was currently just in a resting state. If my heart was beating this quickly while I was just resting, what would happen if I actually started doing any sort of physical activity?
Even though Dr. Montez had just warned me not to do this and told me that I needed to rest, curiosity got the best of me, as I wondered what would happen if I attempted to channel my mana.
It was most definitely a bad idea; however, nobody was watching me at the moment, so it should be okay, right? I just need to do a quick check to see what my limits are and how restricted I actually am. Yeah, it'll just be quick.
After rationalizing my next actions quietly to myself, I closed my eyes and began to channel my mana throughout my body. Or at least, I tried, because I very quickly realized that the flow of mana in my body was being restricted by something. As I tried to push through, I was met with resistance.
"What the..." More than just a little bit confused, I stared down at my hands for a few seconds before closing my eyes and trying once more.
Once again, as I tried to unleash the mana flowing in my body outwards, nothing happened. The flow was being restricted from traveling whatsoever.
ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP!
My heart began to beat quicker and quicker with each attempt; however, I kept. I continued to try and force my mana to flow despite the restrictions. It literally felt like the mana that should have easily flowed through my veins and blood vessels was being purposely blocked off by gates or something similar.
It felt like someone had turned all of the mana in my body into lead.
ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP!
I continued to strain, trying my very hardest to force something to come out. Before I knew it, I felt the gates crumbling, and my mana slowly began to flow—
ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! -
And then my heart stopped beating.
I felt mana explode from my body wildly.
As I lost consciousness, I saw flashing red lights, blaring alarms, and many people rushing towards me.
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"Mana flows through your body through the same circulatory system that your blood does. Meaning, as your heart pumps blood, it also unconsciously pumps mana along with it. Of course, the bodies of mages have special functions that allow you to exercise control of your blood vessels and veins in order to increase or decrease the flow of mana in your body. Because of your weak heart, the process of hastily trying to pump mana could very much mess with the electrical pulses in your heart and kill you. For that reason, we've established limiters in your body to stop the flow of mana but allow the flow of blood."
I listened to the nurse's long explanation while bowing my head in shame.
"Once again, I'm sorry." I apologized for the thousandth time. My idiotic actions, taken even after I was expressly told not to do it, ended up with me blacking out and nearly having a heart attack. Because of that, the heart monitor went off, and a legion of nurses and doctors was forced to rush to my location. No matter how I looked at the situation, it was a completely selfish move on my part. I had only ended up causing people to stress and worry for no good reason. Not to mention I had taken care away from people who had really needed it.
"It's not about being sorry; it's about understanding the risks that come with your actions. Your sister, Kami, told me that you're the type of person to disregard your own condition no matter what. According to her, no matter how bad your own condition is, you'll ignore it. I'll tell you right now, for any patient I treat, and any patient treated at this hospital, a mindset like that is completely unacceptable."
"Yes, ma'am." I felt like a child being scolded by their mother after causing trouble. Shame couldn't even describe how embarrassed I felt at the moment.
"In fact, considering that your stay has been extended, I'll have a whole extra week to remove this lack of self-care on your part. Every day from now until you're discharged, you will follow the steps I give you and proper self-care and know when to know our limits. Along with that, at the end of every day, you will prepare me a minute speech about the importance of monitoring your own condition and taking rest when necessary!"
"But, isn't that a bit excessive?" Even though I undoubtedly deserved everything coming for me, and the fact that this really couldn't compare to a punishment, I still thought it was a bit over the top.
However, she only gave me a triumphant smile. "There is no 'excessiveness' when it comes to the care of my patients! Now, be a good boy and get some rest, won't you?"
I nodded, apologizing once more as she left the room. I tilted my head down in shame, even though there was nobody in the room anymore. There really was no defending my actions. Even now I couldn't believe how idiotic I had been. It didn't help that because of my own stupidity, I had been lectured like I was a child. I deserved it, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
I sighed deeply before grabbing for the rubber band that was on my wrist. I slowly pulled it back before letting it snap back and hit me on the wrist. I continued that motion up and down my arm. Even through the bandage, I could feel it.
It was one of the many alternatives that Dr. Montez had suggested to me. I tried out a bunch of different things with the nurses, and this happened to be the only one that really stuck.
Snap!
Snap!
Snap!
Maybe it was because the sting of the rubber band was just enough for me to not resort to outright scratching. The nurses had told me I should keep it to a minimum, as the wounds on my hands could reopen. However, that warning had gone in one ear and out the other.
Snap!
Snap!
Snap!
I continued to pull the rubber band back and allowed it to snap against my arms and wrist. I probably would have kept going until I actually started bleeding; however, I was stopped by the feeling of someone lightly tapping my forehead.
"You don't look good when you're dejected, Raiden."
I looked up and saw a radiant sun standing in front of me.
Blonde hair and a bright smile. She was dressed in bright colors.
Seeing her, I couldn't stop the smile that appeared on my face.
Noticing my smile, her expression brightened further. "That's more like it! We have a lot to discuss anyways, considering you've been asleep for almost a whole week."
"It's been a while indeed, Hikaru."
Is it just me? Her smile doesn't seem to fully reach her eyes.
I was, in fact, not seeing things.
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After we had completed our friendly greetings, and Hikaru had adequately assessed my condition, Hikaru took a seat in the visitor chair next to my bed and stretched her feet out.
And wow, weren't those shoes limited edition?
I was so distracted by her rare shoes that I didn't see the sneak attack coming until it was too late.
One clean blow. A singular flick to the forehead. Before I could even react, Hikaru had charged up a flick and delivered it straight to my forehead, causing me to flinch backward and grab my forehead. "Ow! What was that for!"
There might have been tears welling in my eyes; however, I just brushed it off. No way a singular forehead flick would bring me to tears.
Even an extremely powerful one.
However, there was no denying that her flick hurt. I could feel the heat emanating from my forehead, and I knew without even having to look that a bruise had formed there.
Now that I was thinking about it, this forehead flick might have brought me to tears.
"Raiden." Hikaru was still smiling, and she looked as cute as ever. However, there was nothing cute or harmless about her tone of voice.
"Yes?" I shivered unconsciously as I responded to her call.
"I recall, during the midst of the Fangless Python attack on Theta Magic Academy, we made a series of promises, didn't we?"
Hikaru fiddled with some of the jewelry on her wrists, never breaking eye contact with me.
My mind drifted back to the promises that I had made to Hikaru. "Yeah, I do recall that. Although I wouldn't really call it a series. They were two disjointed pr-"
Hikaru didn't even bother to let me finish my statement and cut me off. "Do you remember the content of those promises?" She spoke slowly.
For some reason, danger sirens were blaring in my head. I remained calm, however. "Of course. The first one was made right before my battle with Greed. I promised you I wouldn't lose. And I didn't."
Hikaru nodded. "And the second?"
"The second one..." I very quickly realized where this was going. "Well, I— I promise— I said I was going to be okay?" I pretended to not remember the promise I had made; however, that simply was not going to work on Hikaru.
"More specifically, you promised that you wouldn't go out and overexert yourself. Your words were that all you would do is deliver your message to the P.A. system and regroup with us."
"And that's what I did!" I immediately rushed to try and mend things over. "We did end up regrouping along the glass skywalk. I even made sure to make a cool, badass entrance and everything." I really was proud of that entrance. It was a literal last-minute save, as I descended down and foiled Pride's plans. I don't think I could recreate it if I tried.
Hikaru slightly blushed; however, she quickly regained her composure. "I don't think engaging with the enemy before finally happening to come across me by chance can be considered adhering to the promise you made. And what about the first promise? The one that you stated you wouldn't lose?"
"And I didn't lose! I beat Pride, and I'm still alive, aren't I?" I stared at Hikaru with a triumphant expression, thinking I had gotten her with that statement.
"You call coming back with a hole in your chest and literally dying for a few moments, alive?" Her voice cracked a bit. "I don't think you have any idea of how worried everyone was." Hikaru's expression had darkened a bit.
I shut up when I realized that this was really no laughing matter. Just like Kami, Hikaru had been worried sick about me. I really had to do a better job of realizing things like that. And I had to stop cracking jokes in serious situations.
"I'm sorry."
"Raiden. Don't you think that naughty boys who break promises deserve to be punished?"
"Yea—hold on, what?" I was going to agree to whatever she suggested as atonement; however, when I heard the word punishment, I couldn't help but flinch a bit.
Unfortunately for me, before I could get off any words of protest, Hikaru had begun her onslaught.
It started with another flick to the forehead, which left me stunned, and opened to the rest of her combo.
In quick succession, without any chance to recover, I was assailed on every single part of my body with pokes, flicks, and even tickles.
"Ah! Sto- Not there—Com—"
I was literally left at Hikaru's mercy, as she mercilessly located all of my weak points and abused them. I thrashed weakly, but that did nothing to help my situation, as Hikaru continued to pepper me. They weren't harmful; they just tickled and stung, causing me to have to stifle laughs and giggles.
All I could do was lie down and try to minimize my cries as much as possible.
And suddenly, everything changed.
The lighthearted scene that we were just in was suddenly invaded by the sweet scent of an intoxicating perfume. Every time I blinked, I swear I saw the walls and ceiling turn pink.
ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP! ba-DUMP!
And just like that, I was back in that room. My limbs were made of lead, and I couldn't move. I had no control. My vision was blurry, and Eve was on top of me.
"If you two are finished with your 'discreet' flirting, I'd like to have a conversation with our resident sleeping beauty."
A mysterious voice spoke up. Both I and Hikaru turned backwards to see Masayoshi standing in the corner of the room. He was leaning against the wall, attempting to look cool despite the fact that he was bandaged up just like me and in a patient's gown.
Hikaru slowly pulled herself off of me and acted cool as if she hadn't nearly tickled me to death.
On the other hand, I caught my breath, making sure no one noticed just how much I had started sweating and just how shaken up I was.
What the hell was wrong with me? What Hikaru was doing was completely innocent, and yet my mind twisted it into that horrible scene again. I thought I had managed to break free from the grip that those memories had on me, but clearly, I had a long way to go.
Do you think she would have done that if she knew? Ariel asked from within my mind.
What kind of question is that? Why would she know in the first place?
What Eve did to me was something that I never wanted to relive or even think about again. It was something that I was much too ashamed to tell anybody else about either. Besides, it didn't kill me, right? So I should be a man about it.
Here comes that twisted thinking of yours again. Tell me, if that happened to Kami, and she never told you, and you found out yourself, how angry would you be?
Angry wouldn't even be the right word to describe what the hell I would feel in that situation. All I know is that I would stop at nothing to find the one who did it and kill them with my own hands. No, not even that. I wouldn't let them die. I'd inflict as much pain as humanly possible.
So what makes it any different in your case? If you've truly broken away from the old Raiden's ideals of self-sacrifice and self-neglect, shouldn't you confide in at least one person about everything?
Ariel had a point. A logical one. However, logic had no place in my own view of the situation. I was scared of how others would view me after I told them. Would they begin to keep their distance? Would they treat me oddly? Would they internally not know how to interact with me? I was scared of what treatment I would face if I told anyone the truth about how pathetic I was.
Do you think that even of the person and people close to you? Kami? Yuki? You'd think that they'd all react like that? Think about it for a bit, Raiden.
Back in reality, Masayoshi's nurse had come frantically searching for him, begging him to return to his bed, as he still wasn't in proper condition. Masayoshi, nonchalant as always, simply said he was fine until he tried to walk off of the wall and nearly collapsed.
At the same time, I heard the loud shouting of Erika outside and Nova trying to get her to quiet down.
It seems I would have to mull over Ariel's words later.
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After being reintroduced and nearly losing my life at the hands of Erika's inhumanely strong grip, we all were gathered within the waiting room meant for visitors, under the close supervision of many nurses.
They had all taken the time to explain everything that had happened in the past week I had been asleep. The attack on Theta was actually one of many attacks that occurred all around the world at once, launched by the Fangless Python and their leader Prometheus. It was an event that had now been called "The Spark."
Tensions were high all around the world, and the mages' association and governments were working overtime to prevent civil wars and maintain the image of unity among mages and non-magicians.
I also learned about the fact that the siege on Theta had ended with the 5 Witch's Reps being killed, and the rest of the fangless pythons being sent straight into the southern ocean by a portal gun developed by Riko and Ayung. I also learned of the high casualty count, as well as the death of Himitsu. At least he's suspected dead, as he was caught in the range of the portal gun with a fatal injury.
Concerningly, a majority of the students and teachers that had been ejected from Greed's vault had still not woken up yet. They were in comatose states, and there was no sign of what caused it. Even some of the best doctors and healers of the mages' association were left clueless as to how to wake them up, or even why they had ended up like this in the first place.
I was left in a long moment of silence after I heard about Phi's betrayal. Especially about the revelation that both she and I were suffering from a curse. I felt the wound on my chest begin to sear. A curse that didn't let me feel affection? That was impossible. I loved Kami. I loved Yuki. Phi had to have been mistaken.
However, that didn't change the fact that she joined the witch's side. Even more concerning was the fact that Hikaru said the witch had been holding a heart in her hands before they left. I couldn't help but gasp. That was my heart.
Hikaru had mentioned that Shindo was with her, and when I asked about his whereabouts, it turned out he had gone after Suijin because she had left the hospital breaking down.
I made a mental note to check on Suijin as well. According to everyone else, all of the responsibility that she took on during the battle and all of the things she had seemed to weigh heavy on her mind. She was also extremely worried about me. It didn't help that she had left the hospital completely out of character. Breaking down? That wasn't like her.
"On the topic of people waking up, didn't Yuri wake up the other day?" Erika asked.
Hikaru nodded.
Just then I remembered the last time I had seen him. He had taken Pride's javelin straight to the eye and nearly lost the whole left half of his face. I stood suddenly.
"What room is he in?" I had to see him. I didn't know exactly what I would say, but I knew I had to at least talk to him. Our relationship was more than a bit complicated; however, he had taken a javelin in the eye in order to ensure I could finish my strategy to beat Pride. So I at least owed him a thanks.
Hikaru pointed to a room down the hall. "But Raiden, be ready. His condition isn't what you'd expect."
As I walked down the hall, followed by Masayoshi, I wondered what exactly Hikaru had meant by, 'not what I'd expect?' Did that mean he was severely injured? With the skill of the staff in this place, I severely doubted that possibility.
I knocked twice on his room's door.
"Come in." A tired voice said.
I opened the door and stepped in.
The first thing I saw was Yuri, sitting upright on his bed. At first glance, he looked fine. When he turned around to face us, that's when I noticed the damage.
The medical staff had done an amazing job healing him; however, there were still scars along the left half of his face where it had been blown away from the javelin. The wounds on his skin looked like they could bleed at any moment. And there was an eyepatch covering his left eye. Around that area, his skin was red.
Aside from that, he looked fine.
"Yuri." I really didn't know what to say. "They did a good job healing you, didn't they?"
Yuri stared at me in silence for a few seconds before tilting his head to the side in confusion.
"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" He asked? His expression told me this wasn't a joke.
My eyes widened.
Yuri Hamani had lost his memory.