Chapter 8
"Y-you're kidding?" With a wide eye, Bryson stutter with a small voice.
Because of Bryson's reaction, Ava looks down once again and bite her lips so hard that there's blood trickling down her chin.
Because of Ava's action, Bryson finally comprehend the truth of what Ava have said. Time seems to stop, the surroundings seems so quiet and Bryson's eyes lost its light, even the annoying voice in his head seemed so distant he couldn't even understand what it is saying.
This sudden information sends adrenaline rus.h.i.+ng into Bryson's brain making his thought process so fast he feels like the world is frozen in its place. Their first meeting and conversation early this morning flash into his mind in the speed of light, finally making him realize why he feels comfortable when talking to Alisha and why he feels so much empathy for her.
In all honesty, Bryson know how different his circ.u.mstance is from Alisha, he can't even begin to compare how lucky he was, but Bryson know how Alisha feels, he know it all too well, the feeling of being caged by weakness, the feeling of despair and anguish from being powerless while struggling to cling to every flickering light of hope.
Bryson whose eyes lost its light, turn his back to the still looking down Ava without saying anything, he walks away like a puppet whose strings are cut without knowing where his feet are taking him. When he finally raises his pallid face and look around with his lifeless eyes, he found himself standing at the hospital's courtyard where he met Alisha.
Still in shock and denial, Bryson's legs lost its strength and he let himself fall down the bench in which they have a conversation. Seeing the empty s.p.a.ce beside him, Bryson's vision becomes blurred and he felt his heart break.
'Magia stasis, it means her disease is magia burn... How ironic, while I'm being shackled by my scant amount of magia, she is being shackled by her tremendous amount of magia. What is this? Some kind of a sick joke?' Bryson looking up, can't help himself from cursing at the heavens from the unfairness of it all.
This sudden turn of events reminds Bryson of a scene in the past, his mother dying in his arms and his sister standing up to protect them while shaking from fear. 'It's happening again, me being powerless and doing nothing but watch as the people I care suffer. Even after doing my best to become strong to prevent it from happening again, the scant amount of my magia is still holding me back, and now I saw someone with a vast amount of magia that the sheer amount is killing her. What the h.e.l.l, is this some kind of a punishment game!'
Feeling this intense hopelessness, Bryson fail to notice that the sky he is looking at is already the night sky in which stars are showing off their glimmering light. This night sky is like his consciousness, it's turning dark and he is slowly losing his sense of self.
[That's right, fall, fall into despair and hopelessness. After you fall, I'll take over your body, in exchange, I'll make your dream of becoming strong a reality, so, fall Human, fall into the pit of despair.]
***
Early that night Ava is talking to her employer, the chairman of the collector's guild through a telepathic call using her magi-phone.
"I'm sorry chairman, it happened so sudden that I didn't
"It's fine, I understand that you're also shock by the sudden turn of events, in fact I'm actually grateful that you are there when it happened."
"Still, I felt that my hasty decision of letting the doctors put the young miss in a magia stasis without asking for your permission, incredibly rude and offensive."
"Don't beat yourself over it, secretary Ross, your decision of putting my granddaughter in a magia stasis without informing me is the right decision."
"I-I'm sorry chairman, but I don't understand."
"You made the right decision secretary Ross, because if you inform me first and ask for my permission, I would surely hesitate, and that indecisiveness would cost my granddaughter's life. So, thank you Ava, thank you for saving my family."
Hearing that, Ava can't stop her tears and it flow down her eyes. "Y-you're...welc...ome...chair.... man."
After the heavy silence, the chairman speaks once again. "Secretary Ross, I'm truly grateful that you love my granddaughter like your own child, you let her experience having a loving mother even though her real parents are gone."
"N-no, I-it's nothing l-like that." Ava said with a timid voice.
"Don't worry, I'm not angry because you replace her mother or anything like that, I simply wanna say that please continue looking after her even after this, I don't know if it help will her condition, but she will surely be happy if when she wakes up, and she find you beside her."
"I'm sure she will also be happy if she also sees you there when she wakes up."
"Yeah... Anyway, we will transfer her to the lab run by the collector's guild by tomorrow. I've already called all the doctors that I trust, and I will also prepare the necessary doc.u.ments for the transfer, so protect her for a while, I'll also send two collectors that I trust, they should arrive in the hospital three hours from now."
"Thank you, chairman, additional eyes to station in other areas would truly help, especially because visitors are not allowed at the intensive care unit."
"That rule is certainly troublesome, it's one of the reasons why I don't want her to stay in the hospital in that kind of condition."
"Anyway, I'll cut off the telepathy now, be careful out there secretary."
"Copy that chairman."
After the chairman cut off the telepathy, Ava couldn't stop herself from letting out a sigh from being tired.
'The chairman, he's doing his best to hide the loneliness in his voice, but it's too forced it comes out as unnatural, he must really be devastated.'
While Ava is thinking about such things, she saw a nurse who seems to be trying to avoid her gaze while walking in the hallway leading into the intensive care unit.
'Looks like it's time for their rounds, hmmmmmm.... it's a little early for that though.'
After around 6 minutes have pa.s.sed, Ava saw another nurse intending to go to the same intensive care unit as the first one.
'Hmmmmm? That's strange, each staff is a.s.signed to round a particular area, so only one nurse should round the area of the intensive care unit, wait, it can't be!'
Panicking, Ava run and call out to the nurse with a loud voice that wakes up the other sleeping visitors in the visitor's area.
"OY!! ARE YOU THE STAFF THAT IS a.s.sIGNED TO ROUND THE AREA AHEAD?
"W-why?" Surprised by the sudden action of ava, the nurse stutter in her words and slightly backdown.
Not minding the reaction of the nurse, Ava scowl at her. "JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!!"
"Y-yes." The nurse answer in a small voice.
's.h.i.+T!!' Hearing that, Ava run in desperation while simultaneously activating physical enhancement magic and acceleration magic.
***
While all of that are happening, Bryson is still on the hospital's courtyard with a blank look on his face.
[Come on human, give in already, don't make it a lot harder for me and yourself.]
Bryson feel as if his consciousness is falling into a dark cold abyss, and like a serpent, all of his hidden dark emotions are coiling around his body preventing him from moving. As if that is not enough, the serpent bit his neck and the its venom enter his system making his body feel numb.
[Come on just a little bit more.]
"A....ck... ack..." Bryson let out a weak whimper as if his in pain from being poisoned.
Inside Bryson's consciousness he saw small light at the top end of the abyss he is falling in. Bryson tries to raise his hand struggling to get away from the serpent's grip.
[Aaaahh, d.a.m.n it human! Give in already! Why the f.u.c.k are you being stubborn for?! FALL ALREADY!!]
"Nnnnn....nnnnn...." Bryson continues to struggle until finally he manages to get his hand off the serpent's grip and raise it trying to reach the light. Unfortunately, the light is so distant that his arms can't even reach it.
[GIVE IT UP!!! IT'S NO USE!! YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH EMOTIONAL ANCHOR TO STOP ME!!!! RAAAAAAAHHHHGGG!!!!] The Demon king desperately try to bury Bryson's consciousness that he let out a war cry.
At that moment, a sudden burst of magia is felt that the Demon king lose his focus for a moment. That moment of carelessness allows Bryson's consciousness to be set free from the serpent and rise once again.
"HHHHHHPP!! W-what happen?!" Letting out a gasp, Bryson look around confuse for a moment and felt a raging magia coming from the VIP building. After about 40 seconds, Bryson felt another burst of magia clas.h.i.+ng into the raging magia he felt first.
[TCHHH!! G.o.dd.a.m.n disturbance!] The Demon king said with an irritated voice.
'What's that?! It feels like two powerful combat magi are fighting!! And on the VIP building no less!' Without minding the complaining Demon king, Bryson rush into the VIP building.