So, our temp guide showed us some more secret locations around, sharing some insider knowledge that could've proved essential when working here. In about two hours, we toured most of the 'safe' places, finally arriving before a sanatorium that existed in Sundown Alley. Calling it abnormal would be putting it mildly; after all, the mafia and gangs wouldn't be so nice as to leave this place be.
As we approached the gate, I felt an intense gaze carrying a faint killing intent fall on me. Sakura also detected it, shielding me with her body while drawing her sword.
-"Who's there?"-She looked around.
-"Tsk. Why did you bring them here, you useless cat?!"
-"I… They are not bad people…"-Our guide was terrified by the person talking.
-"I apologize for our announced arrival. I hope to meet with the head of this place; would that be possible?"-I showed courtesy despite the rather curt welcome we received.
-"Stop with that false shit."-The person finally appeared in our vision, causing Sakura to be even more alert.-"Why do you want to meet that woman?"
-"I have something to consult with her."
-"Whatever, you can enter, but that woman needs to stay."-He pointed at Sakura.
-"No, I'm responsible for his safety."
-"I don't care."
-"This…"-I furrowed my brows; while not afraid for my safety, leaving Sakura outside was not advisable.
-"Kalpas, please don't make trouble for our guests."-A gentle voice sounded from inside the sanatorium.
-"Tsk. Whatever."-The man named Kalpas let us in, but his gaze didn't hide his displeasure.
-"Thank you."-I nodded politely, making him avert his gaze.
-"This way."-The woman led us inside, taking us into a reception room.-"How can I help you?"
-"Miss, allow me to be direct. I believe you are hiding a large number of Honkai-inflicted patients, causing a heightened risk of a minor Honkai Eruption. In my capacity as a commander of Fire-Moth, I compel you to assist our investigation."-I place my official badge on the table.-"Your assistance will decide your punishment for your previous crimes."
The woman looked at the badge and then at me, before smiling lightly.
-"Good. I just hope you can do your best to save those poor souls. As for punishment, I will accept the judgment."
-"Thank you for your understanding."
-"No, I'm sorry for making trouble for you. But once again, please save those children."-She bowed to me.
As I was about to respond, I felt a strange feeling, as if something was guiding me. Before I could feel it more carefully, it went away. I knew this feeling wasn't an illusion, especially feeling my blood slightly 'boil' to clear that influence from me. Hearing me not respond, the woman looked up from her bow, her eyes clearly hiding some guilt.
-"I will do what I should and what I can, but don't use your power on me."-I met her eyes.
-"I'm sorry."
-"Lead us to the patients."
Minutes later, we arrived at the large building in the back. Inside, we were greeted by hundreds of young children, all in an advanced state of Honkai Sickness. Just looking at them, I knew that their situation was dire; if left alone, some wouldn't live for a week, but even with our current medicine, I could at most buy them a month.
Watching them try their best to live like normal children despite the pain they must feel made me both moved and pained. Yet I was powerless to do anything for them. This feeling of powerlessness was truly making me doubt myself; what was even my purpose here…
-"Are you the doctor that Sister Aponia invited?"-One of the children tugged my sleeve.
-"Yes, little one."-I forced myself to calm down, showing my trained smile.
-"Then can you help us?"
My smile almost broke; children always saw the crux of the matter and could ask the most cruel questions with hopeful eyes.
-"What's your name, little one?"
-"Misteln!"
-"Then I promise you, Misteln, I will do everything in my power to help you."
-"Mhmm!"-She nodded and showed me a brilliant smile, unaware that it was causing me real psychic damage.
I watched as she ran back to her friends, a myriad of thoughts hidden behind my eyes.
-"Eno."-Sakura called out to me.-"Do you need me to…"
-"No."-I shook my head.-"I've made my promise, so I'll do what I can. Call Mobius and Mei, tell them that I'll need some inhibitors and a place to operate."
-"You plan to turn them into MANTIS?"-She looked at me in disbelief.
-"Not full ones. I plan to perform a partial surgery to increase their resistance by utilizing some minor Honkai genes isolated by Mobius, not the whole genomes of powerful beasts."
-"Will that work?"
-"I don't know, but that's the only possibility now."
She grabbed my hand, squeezing it to show that it'll be all right. I could only respond weakly, aware of the statistical chances standing against those children. But only by acting wouldn't I leave any regrets, or at least that's what I desperately tried to tell myself. After a few deep breaths, I stopped thinking about myself and started to work for the children.
First, I got to stabilizing the current situation of the children, distributing the inhibitors and helping them with the symptoms. Due to their advanced stage of Honkai Sickness, I could only focus on minimizing their pain and discomfort; even the inhibitors barely worked at such advanced stages of the sickness.
As such, I had to quickly change my approach, focusing more on preparation for the surgeries. My previous idea was a cautious approach, stabilizing first and then carefully preparing the children for the operations, but now I didn't have enough time for that. So, I adjusted the dosages of medication, urgently preparing the most ill.
Three days after our arrival, the first child fell unconscious, a last warning before the end. Ten minutes later, a young boy landed on my operating table. I had already performed a few MANTIS surgeries alongside Mobius, so I had experience with what to do. Yet all that knowledge couldn't prepare me for the distress that came with operating on a small child.
But that feeling didn't stop me from completing the operation. Six hours; that's how long I had to work until I confirmed that the last step was done. For some, it doesn't sound like a long time, merely a workday. Even organ transplants would often last longer, yet few can truly understand the exhaustion of being constantly concentrated on even the smallest of the details.
The MANTIS surgery is like fighting against the patient's whole body, forcing it to change and adapt against its will, so it requires constant adjustments and attention to detail. But I persevered, managing to complete it without any issues. Everything I could do, I did; now the rest was in the hands of the universe. And the universe is a cold place.
Two hundred thirty-eight minutes… Two hundred thirty-eight minutes after the surgery, the boy died from the gene rejection. I watched how the already cold body was secured into a contamination bag, prepared to be sent for disposal due to high Honkai contamination. When he was taken away, I stayed in the empty operation room, my hands clenched but not shaking. I didn't know how long I remained like that; it was only after Sakura approached me that I moved again.
-"Eno…"
-"I forgot..."-I looked at her, my gaze filled with powerlessness.
-"Forgot?"-She tilted her head, not understanding what I meant.
-"I forgot what it is to be helpless."-I tried to show a smile, but failed.
-"You did what you could."
-"Yes, but it still wasn't enough. You know, I always considered myself a calm and steady person. I learned long ago how to react to emergencies, how to be in control even if something surprises me. I got used to that feeling, to the fact that I always could achieve what I set out to do."
Sakura walked to my side and hugged me, not saying anything, just keeping me company. We stayed like that for a good hour before I could collect myself.
-"Good?"-She asked me.
-"No, but that can't stop me."
She nodded at that, leaning slightly to kiss my forehead.
-"No matter what, I'll always stand by your side."
-"Thank you."
When I stepped out of that room, I promised myself not to stop until those children had their last breath remaining. And fate quickly started to test my conviction. For the next month, I performed an average of three surgeries a day, often foregoing any sleep. But I didn't surrender, didn't compromise, and truly gave it all.
But the outcome tarnished all that. None of the children survived longer than a day after the operation. When the last girl appeared on my operating table, I couldn't help but be dazed, recognizing her as the young Misteln who talked with me back then.
Seeing that previously vibrant face, now pale and covered with purple Honkai marks, broke something in me. Before I began the procedure, I contacted Vill-V, asking her to deliver the Divine Key she had finished not long ago. If I can't even save that one young girl, then my existence in this whole 'dream' is meaningless.
This surgery proved exceptionally draining, taking over twelve hours before it was finished, but even after that, I didn't step away from the girl for even a step. I observed Misteln all night, watching for any signs of rejection. At a day mark, I was almost beside myself; finally a success. But then, not even an hour later, the first signs of trouble appeared.
Honkai sickness marking appeared again on Misteln's skin, a clear indication of failed adaptation. I quickly administered inhibitors, taking her back to the operation room in the process to better monitor the situation. The problem was, there was no way to reverse the rejection once it began. The only way forward was to start again.
Of course, I couldn't turn time back, nor could I revert Misteln to the state before the operation; even if I could, that would still mean death for her. But I could do something drastic: a literal application of using poison to quell thirst. Using a stronger Honkai genome to overcome the one that was rejected.
But I didn't have any such genome on me, nor did I have time to test compatibility between Misteln and it. With time running out, I could only use something that I knew for sure would overcome any Honkai: my blood. Without thinking, I began to act.
First step, like previously, I had to stabilize her. To do that, I had to use the 6th Divine Key, using it to heal and keep Misteln alive. At the same time, I started to draw my blood, preparing it for a transfusion. When Misteln was put into a state of suspended animation, I started to perform the MANTIS surgery, replacing the Honkai genome with my blood.
Seconds ticked by, each feeling like an hour, requiring me to not only perform the surgery but also control the Divine Key while losing blood for the transfusion. Had it been me from outside, it wouldn't be an issue; bah, I could prevent all this without much trouble, but here… I couldn't let myself drown in my own helplessness.
So I continued. After five hours, the last sign of Honkai disappeared from Misteln, but the paleness didn't disappear, as she was now thrown from the frying pan directly into a fire. If Honkai rejection was bad, then the rejection reaction originating from my blood was outright tragic.
Before it even fully began, Misteln's hair lost all its color, turning into a pure white like mine; even her previously green eyes changed into a pale blue, almost silver. The power in my blood was slowly erasing her, turning her into pure Imaginary Energy. To save her, I had to anchor her existence, let her both remain alive while turning into Imaginary Energy: she had to become Stigmata.
So I did something extreme, separated a part of my own Stigmata, creating a Sub-Stigmata, a separate existence that was part of a whole. Implanting it onto Misteln, I watched with bated breath as the rejection progressed, but her self was no longer rejected, only adapted. Not even five minutes later, it was done.
Calling her state a human wouldn't be correct, but MANTIS had long ago left the constraints of that term; even alive wasn't able to fully define her state. She was a ghost, a living memory, an idea of a person named Misteln; all that was inscribed into her Sub-Stigmata, thus into my own.
She existed because I knew that she did; she was like a Heroic Spirit or an Ash from the Lands Between. A marvel worth my Noble Phantasm, Remembrance, that I created without magic. But it was not a time to admire; I had to finish everything. One last step remained: awakening her.
Slowly infusing her with power from the Divine Key, I observed how her body returned to function, and soon, I saw her eyebrow move. When she opened her eyes on her own, I knew that this time, I had won against fate. Smiling weakly, I greeted her.
-"How are you feeling?"
-"It doesn't hurt anymore."-She blinked, still waking up.
-"That's good."-I nodded, sitting on a chair nearby.
-"Dr. Eno?"
-"What's the matter?"
-"Thank you."
-"It was I who should be asking for you forgiveness. I failed to save…"
-"Mama Aponia told us how hard you worked."-She smiled slightly.-"I know that everyone was happy that someone tried so much to save them."
I was silent; no matter what, the outcome was what it was.
-"Even our parents, our family left us when we got slightly ill, but Mama Aponia, Uncle Kalpas, and Dr. Eno stayed with us, doing what they could. I'm happy that I met everyone, and while I'm sad that only I survived, I won't let it defeat me."
-"You are strong."-I encouraged her, hoping she could keep her conviction in this cruel world.
-"I hope to be like you. To help others no matter what."
-"I believe you'll be able to achieve it."
-"Then, can I ask you something, Dr. Eno?"
-"Sure, what is it?"
-"This… can I call you Brother?"-She looked at me with anticipation, though a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.
-"Why not. It'll be a blessing to have a sister as cute as you."
-"Brother Eno!"-She turned away, shy from my praise.
-"Rest well; don't let everyone worry about you."
-"Mhmm."-She hummed in agreement, closing her eyes to sleep.
I stayed for a while longer, just in case, but after confirming all was good, I stepped out of the room, where Aponia, Kalpas, Sakura, and Griseo were waiting. Seeing me exit, they waited for my words, but I only managed to nod to them before everything went dark. The culmination of exhaustion, blood loss, and relief finally made me collapse.