The sterile chill of the hospital room pressed down like most on Arion's skin,yet the tension in the air was unmistakably human.when the door opened ,he knew it before he saw it some unspoken invisible thread in his chest tighttened.
Two people entered.
A tall man with dark gray at the temples and sterness set deep into his brows,a woman slighter with soft brown eyes rimmed in red .her finger were clenched around a small silver pendant ,as if it alone kept her grounded .
They were strangers.
And yet they looked at him as if the world itself had stopped spinning.
"Arion" the woman whispered,her voice trembling
He blinked,his name again,so familiar yet so foreign.
The man moved first,crossing the room in two purposeful stride,then stopping just short of the bed,as if u sure if he could bear what he might find.his jaw tightened but his eyes betrayed him wet, glistening.
"You're awake"the man said "you're really awake"
Arion said nothing ,he didn't know what to say .these people they weren't his family.not really,he was not their son,not anymore ,but his lips parted and a sound escaped him raw ,cracked uncertain.
"Yes"
The woman stepped closer,her eyes brimming now "we never left,Arion" she said "not really,we visited every day and prayed and wished you come back " she smiled "five years was. Worth it baby"
Five years,he didn't care but they had waited that long for a boy who was dead ,long gone.
He watched her sink to her knees beside the bed, reaching for his hand ,he tensed but allowed it.
Her touch was warm ,real for a second a second only ,he let herself close his eyes.not surrender but in calculation.
I finally said " I'm sorry" he said at last "I don't remember you, or really anything"
The man his father nodded,exhaling through his nose "it's alright,we didn't expect you to ,not after everything".
""You were " the woman sniff's. "So small ,you always tried to act brave , even when those boys " her voice faltered " even when they ...they "
"I was eleven " Arion said slowly"when it happened "
She nodded"they hurt you beat you unconscious, the doctor's said your brain ....might never wake again"
His fists clenched beneath the sheets.the Arion of this world had been weak,soft, powerless.
He was not that child.
"I don't feel like him" Arion muttered.
They exchanged glances.
"You have grown up muly boy"the man said quietly "your voice,the way you speak , your eyes " ..
Arion's cut him off " I'm sorry if I'm not what you expected".
The woman squeezed his hand."you're our so .we should be the one's sorry,sorry for not protecting you enough
"Whatever, whatever happened... whatever changed you're still Arion to us .
A foreign emotion bubbled up not guilt I he taught,not warmth, something in between like the crackle of a fire in an abandoned hearth.
He didn't push her hand away.
The next morning, sunlight filtered in through the window, Arion lay with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling as the system voice stirred within his mind once
|Recovery protocol initiated begin phase one muscle reintegration,daily objectives: stand,walk,perform basic mobility : tip mutation energy will accumulate faster through physical stress and effort.|
He snorted "Even the system wants me to suffer"
The nurse a cheerful,sharp eyed woman named Mira entered just as he tried to swing his legs off the bed ,she caught him mid struggle and hurried to help.
"Whoa,slow down there, soldier". She said " doctor said you'd start physio today ,but let's not break anything on you before your first march".
Arion's legs were like driftwood light but unresponsive,his muscle burned even before they held his weight.
Mira helped him up ,and Arion gritted his teeth as his feet touched the cold floor his knee buckled .
Pain stabbed through him ,so more he took deep breath filling his lungs,shame followed
He had once been able to command fire with a flick of his hand,to split mountains.now he couldn't even stand .
|Effort registered muscle activity 6%, mutation energy+0.5|
The number were pitiful but they were something,a start