Addiction.
I felt the awkwardness in the room as I let the silence drag slightly too long. So, I opened with a classic, "Did I get fucking STABBED by a hot chick?"
Jim's eyes went wide, "Is that what you remember before the tutorial?"
I smiled, "She was pretty hot, I have to say, 6/10, a little too much blood loss for my taste, but not bad."
He shook his head, "Stop being weird on purpose. Is that really how far back you are?"
I nodded.
"Shit man. I went through hell without you…"
I could see the pain rising in his heart, the Anguish wafted through the room like blood through water.
I felt like Bruce from finding Nemo for a moment, 'Delicious.'
Jim shoved me, "What the fuck was that look in your eye man?"
The people around us were like gnome statues, "I felt your pain…actually, I can smell more pain, this way."
I instinctively stood up and noticed my shoe had fallen off when I- 'Oh, right, my foot disintegrated. But now it's back?'
I bent down and grabbed the leather shoe as I looked through the wall and took a deep sniff.
Jim yelled, "Martinez, stop him!"
I felt the hand grab my shoulder as I tried to go to the pain. It was tight, but I could break throu- nope, I was stuck.
'This Martinez guy works out.'
I turned to see his face blank of struggle.
"Strength build?"
I felt the pain blow away in the wind as I noticed the sound return.
He just nodded slowly as he let go.
Jim was unwrapping his other leg when I noticed black sludge seeping from the wound bed.
"WHO CLOSED THIS?" It was literally all wrong. I wasn't that knowledgeable about healthcare, but hell, I know the muscle isn't supposed to be showing.
Jim nodded, "Anti-healing poison combined with limb amputation, nasty shit."
He continued, "The sludge is from us trying different potion mixtures, some help, but it is hit or miss."
I nodded.
"Fantasy bullshit."
He nodded and sighed, "We got a Revelation that you were coming. Your guy must have been a real big shot. He told us very little, but mentioned that you'd be a resource that cities might wage war for."
Jim's eyes wandered around, "We figured I'd be best for first contact, but you know how red tape is…"
I blushed, "Yeah, I suppose I am pretty rare…how is the leg?"
He smiled, used to my subject hopping, "Brand new. Feels…incredible."
He looked at the other leg and then met my eyes with a plead for help.
I smiled in return, "Shit. That's all you had to say!"
"ALAKAZAM!" the purple mist spread over the area with ease and began to work more quickly.
I dropped to the ground as soon as I felt my foot give way. I didn't want to go unconscious again.
The process was even faster and Jim seemed to be handling it much better.
Only 20 seconds for a new leg.
I was a limb printer.
Given that I could watch, after his toes began their wiggle party, I noticed my own lack of sensation.
My foot had been severed and was open to the air with a thin black ash coating. It was weird, I could see my arteries pulse but not squirt blood.
The Colonel erupted, "GET THE DOCTOR BACK IN HERE!"
He knelt down as he took his belt off, "You fool. Do you know how valuable you are? Did you even make sure your cooldown was up?"
I watched the beating as I noticed my health had dropped by 22 whole points, but it was climbing by 1 every six seconds.
I noticed the timing of my wound.
'If I use my spell on cooldown, it could kill me, especially in combat…'
I didn't have a method of restoring my own HP other than waiting.
I saw the looks of concern on their faces. I was being weird. Obviously. 'My foot fell off into dust like it was Thanos snapped. Plus. I achieved a medical miracle by yelling a joke magic word.'
No wonder these people were apprehensive.
"I will be fine, I am healing. I actually think this is normal for me."
I noticed that the doctor was back, he was standing in shock.
"HOW?" He walked up and got down on the floor to watch my freakshow.
"It's unlike any ailment healing I have seen. This is miraculous." He held his glowing hand out and said, "He has no implicit debuff…it's temporary, what is Gray Health?"
He seemed confused at his own words as he leaned back.
Jim took that moment of silence to stand up slowly.
Martinez noticed and went to provide support, "Go slowly man, take it easy."
I locked eyes with Jim and noticed the huge smile plastered across his face.
He said, "Your leg should be back in 2 minutes and 12 seconds. No idea how you did that, but it is awesome."
I nodded, I could tell that it was growing at a steady pace and in lock-step with my actual HP.
Jim looked around, "A bunch of hardened soldiers with their jaws on the floor?"
He laughed for a moment.
Then he snapped to salute, "Colonel Workman, Squad-Captain Jefferies reports for orders."
Workman was clearly annoyed, "SC Jefferies, get your ass back to your Squad."
Then he gestured, "Take him with you, get him set up."
Workman looked at me, "The United States Army just drafted you, son."
—----------------------------------
I was getting carried princess style by Jim when I spoke, "We could have just waited for my leg to grow back…"
He nodded, "Yeah. Probably. But that wouldn't be much fun."
I watched our path but I was clearly going to get lost in this rat trap of a building.
He continued, "Plus, I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to go poorly when I brought you here."
We turned the corner and I instantly noticed "the smell" wafting through the air.
I wanted to get down and walk myself, but Jim was a fucking vice before the "Super Strength" and it was even worse now.
"Nope. You are going to sit here until you can control it."
I struggled and he laughed, "You know, you aren't even triggering Stamina Depletion, we gotta' get some meat on those bones. Hehehe, I could do this all day."
I felt the urge grow, it was so close, just give me a taste.
The presence returned.
It was confused at the constant urges, normally the pain would be the main deterrent, but the euphoria of a savior was adjacent to the addiction of solitude.
The pressure was increasing.
I could feel my head going numb under the pressure, my ears started tingling, my eyes were aching, my nose was burning, and I could taste the pain.
A message came, 'Convert .01% of the Anguish to mental pain.'
I felt the action open within me and I just let it happen.
Instantly I wept. My brain was shutting down, it was being bombarded with images of my parents. It was my fault. I needed them to go to the store.
It wasn't true, I knew that, but it didn't matter…facts were there, and they were being used.
It was my fault for not getting my shit together. The mother of my child was out there dying.
'I don't have a kid?'
But I felt it. Despair.
Anguish
The images were flowing through me and the being nodded in assent.
<This is the price of a Bearer.>
I knew that. I knew it was odd for me to be able to not feel pain. I didn't know why it was SO weird, but I could read between the lines. I could see the massive crack that I fell through, clearly something was happening in a way that was never expected.
'How do I resist?'
The being nodded, I saw it for a moment. It was a disfigured beast. A Behemoth among giants. No mouth, no eyes, no ears, no "face", and no discerning figures.
But I could FEEL the stare.
The ghost-like monster was flowing in the blackness and was enjoying this for a few moments.
No end of it was in sight.
Universes were a snack to something like this.
It was..abstract.
It was lonely.
I snapped back into reality as I heard the departing words, <Could you Bear MY Anguish?>
I felt warmth around me.
"STOP! FOR FUCKS SAKE, STOP!"
I came out of the fog and noticed the blood.
My bones were sticking through my skin, my body was in shambles.
I looked at my HP, [-0/200].
Jim was panting, "DUDE! WHAT THE FUCK?"
He was bear hugging me from behind. Blood was all over the ground, it looked like something straight out of an anime.
Jim kept yelling, "GET A HEALER! HIS HP IS 0, SOMEONE PLEASE!"
We were laying in the hallway when a man came out of the door in a hurry, "What the hell?"
He stopped as Jim yelled, "Doc, heal him, NOW!"
He nodded.
I noticed [+24 HP] and then I passed out.
[Debuff: Exhaustion Level 5] gained.