The First Patient

{New York, October 4th 2001}

I emerged from the shadows into the bustling streets of New York City, my senses tingling with anticipation. As I reappeared, I thought once again of the magic compass I had been given more than a year and a half ago.

With a flick of my wrist, a tendril grew from my shadow bringing the compass before from my shadow to my hand.

I started thinking about the ill people I needed to cure for my newest labor, slowly the needle quivered, started moving and finally settled, pointing steadfastly in a direction, south west.

Without hesitation, I called upon the shadows once more, allowing them to envelop me as I prepared to teleport to my next destination. In an instant, I found myself standing amidst the vast expanse of Texas in a dessert, the sun's heat beating down on me.

Glancing down at my compass, I noted its new direction, now pointing north and slightly east. With a determined resolve, I continued my teleportation, each jump bringing me closer to my ultimate destination.

From shadow jump to shadow jump I continued teleporting between the differing states trying to locate the state in which a person was ill.

It was a boring process, and each jump took a lot of my stamina as I kept on teleporting between the different states, finally I was able to trim down the location until I was able to locate one of the ill people was in Tennesse since whenever I passed it the compass changed directions towards it.

{4 months later}

A few months later I kept on searching through the state of Tennesse, little by little until I was finally able to locate the hospital where it seemed the patient was hospitalized.

I surrounded myself with Mist making myself invisible to the mortal eye, I looked at the compass following it around the corridors, I stepped into the hospital's ICU. I entered a room where a man with a dim orange aura around him, and a slight yellow around him as well.

The man turned to face me his eyes widening, he then asked with a slight cough "You shouldn't be in here, kid, actually how the hell did you get in?"

"You can see me, interesting." I commented to myself. "Have you always been able to see through the Mist or is it a side effect of the snake bite?" I questioned to myself.

"Wait how do you know about my snake bite, the doctors themselves said that it isn't that." The man asked me as his eyes widened.

"So the snake bite is also invisible to mortals." I concluded, when the door to the room suddenly opened as two nurses came in. The nurses started changing his droppers at his side, "Hey can you see that kid?" The man asked towards a nurse by his bedside as he pointed at me.

The nurse turned to look at the place where the man was pointing (where I was standing) "Uhmm, no Robert I can't, do you see anything else in the room?" The nurse asked with a clear ton of worry in her voice.

"What do you mean you can't see him, he is right there." The patient, who I now knew was Robert continued saying while I just stayed silent with a slight smile on my face at his actions.

The other nurse at the other side suddenly pressed a button on the wall, "Dr Smith to ICU room 24, Dr Harris to room 24." "

Why are you calling the doctor I am as fine as I was yesterday, can you please take the kid out of this room he is stressing me out." Robert started saying with a slight tone of worry in his own voice.

Soon an old woman wearing a doctor's coat with an orange and greenish aura around her entered the room. "Robert," Dr. Harris said, her voice gentle yet authoritative. "How are you feeling today?"

Robert's eyes turned towards her and he talked to her. "Doc, you know how I feel, the same as before. Like I've been run over by a herd of stampeding buffalo."

Dr. Harris chuckled. "Well, we'll try to make that feeling a bit more bearable." She adjusted the IV line, her gloved hands deft and practiced. "We've run every test imaginable, but nothing seems to explain your hallucinations."

Robert's gaze shifted to the corner of the room, where I stood, my Mist-woven form still hidden from mortal sight. "What about him?" he asked, his voice hoarse. "The kid over there. He's been watching me."

Dr. Harris followed his gaze, her brow furrowing. "Robert, there's no one there. You're feverish, and your mind is playing tricks on you."

"But he talks to me," Robert insisted. "He knows about the snake bite. Said it's invisible to mortals."

Dr. Harris exchanged a glance with the nurse, who looked equally perplexed. "Robert," she said gently, "you're not making sense. There's no kid here, and you don't have a snake bite we already checked on your first day here."

I stepped closer, my curiosity piqued. Robert's aura shimmered a mix of orange and yellow, like a fading sunset. His connection to the Mist becuase of Apollo's snake was undeniable. "Robert," I whispered, my voice remaining unheard by Mortals with the help of the Mist, "I can help you."

His eyes widened, and he coughed, clutching his chest. "Who are you?"

"Call me Asklepios," I replied. "Someone who was tasked with healing you. Your snake bite it's magical in nature you were wounded by a divine snake."

Dr. Harris and the nurses exchanged alarmed glances. "Robert," Dr. Harris said firmly, "you need rest. We'll adjust your medication."

"No!" Robert's voice cracked. "Listen to me. The kid—"

"Enough," Dr. Harris interrupted. "We'll discuss this later."

The doctor and nurses finished adjusting his medication, and the left the room a somber looks on their faces, probably because he was getting worse.

"Well now we can get down to business without you going all crazy, can't we." I questioned Robert as I approached his bed.

"How are you going to heal me?" Robert asked with a sigh in resignation. "I am not so sure myself it is the first times I am going to do this." I replied while I scratched the back of my head.

"Wait you don't know!" Robert questioned me once more, "Hey, I am just a kid it's good enough that I am going to heal you just let me have some time." I replied to my first patient.

"Don't yell we don't want the doctors thinking you are crazy." I said with a wide grin as I summoned my shadow tendrils.

[Greek Myth Fact: Today's fact will be about Diomedes, a Greek hero in the Iliad (honestly I almost named my mc Diomedes just because of how badass this dude is). Diomedes is one of the main heroes on the Greek side in the Trojan War, he is also known as second Achilles just because of his sheer dominance. He makes his appearance in book 5 and is given the ability to see between Gods and Humans by Athena, he then goes on to demolish almost every mortal on the battlefield and even wound Aphrodite, later with the help of Athena, Diomedes also battles Ares and stabs his entrails making the god of war flee back to Zeus, I really recommend you guys to read more about him the dude is a beast XD.]

*Author Note: I started a patreon called Joanjudo Stories it will end up having 10 chapters in advance, access to the secondary fanfic (will write in spare time) and polls to decide some of the future plots/characters.*