13. The Fever of Agony

Adrian's eyes fluttered open to the dim light of the hospital ward, but everything seemed blurry, as though he were looking through a fog. His body felt unusually heavy, and his head pounded relentlessly with a deep, throbbing ache.

A low groan escaped his lips as he tried to lift his hand to his face, but even the smallest movement sent waves of dizziness crashing over him. He blinked a few more times, trying to make sense of his surroundings, but everything felt disjointed, as if he were floating between consciousness and unconsciousness.

He tried to sit up, but his limbs refused to cooperate. His muscles were sluggish, his body unresponsive. When he tried to turn his head, the room spun violently, forcing him to grip the sheets beneath him in an attempt to steady himself.

The fever was burning him from the inside, his skin flushed and clammy as sweat coated his forehead. He felt as if he were sinking deeper into the bed, like his body was being pulled down by some invisible force.

"What's happening?" Adrian mumbled weakly, his voice hoarse and barely audible.

As he struggled to gather his strength, his gaze drifted to Ethan's still form lying peacefully on the bed.

What if he...wakes up and see him like this?

Suddenly he recalled...

{I came to save you.}

What Ethan had said in his dream. But that was in his dream...No one will come to save him or protect him...

With trembling hands, Adrian gripped the edge of the bed and tried to pull himself upright. His legs wobbled, and the room spun again, faster this time.

Before he could register what was happening, the world tilted sharply, and he felt the cold, hard floor meet him with a painful thud. His vision darkened, his mind struggling to cling to the last threads of awareness, but the fever was too strong, pulling him into a suffocating haze.

"Ethan..." Adrian whispered as his consciousness slipped away.

He still wanted to be protected by someone.

--

Ethan's soul had been floating aimlessly around the ward, watching Adrian quietly as usual. But today, something was different.

He saw the boy being dizzy and felt something was off.

His gaze snapped to Adrian just as the boy crumbled to the floor, pale and unconscious.

"Adrian!" Ethan called, rushing toward him, his translucent hands hovering helplessly over Adrian's prone form.

He knelt beside Adrian, his panic rising as the boy didn't move. "Adrian, wake up!" he shouted, his voice filled with urgency.

But Adrian couldn't hear him. No one could.

Ethan's ethereal hand passed through Adrian's shoulder as he desperately tried to shake him awake. "No, no, no! Don't do this. You need to get up!" Ethan's voice broke, fear clenching around his heart.

He had never felt so powerless in his life — or rather, in this strange existence he was now trapped in. For the first time, the helplessness of his soul-state hit him with full force.

Ethan hovered over Adrian, his hands trembling as he pressed them against the invisible barrier between them. He could feel Adrian's fever radiating off his skin, see the shallow rise and fall of his chest, but he couldn't do a single thing to help.

Ethan felt an overwhelming sense of frustration. How was it that the person who mattered most to him now was so close, yet so far out of his reach?

"I need help!" Ethan screamed into the void, his voice cracking as desperation clawed at his throat.

"Somebody! Anyone! Help him!" He whirled around, searching for a doctor, a nurse, anyone who could come and save Adrian, but the ward was eerily silent.

Realization hit him like a cold wave. Of course, no one could hear him. No one had been able to hear him since he had found himself in this state. He was nothing more than a soul—a helpless observer of the world he once knew.

He couldn't do anything. He couldn't call for help, couldn't even touch Adrian, couldn't do the one thing that mattered: protect him.

Ethan's soul trembled with fury and helplessness. He stood, pacing the length of the room, his fists clenched tightly by his sides. "No, no, no," he muttered, trying to hold back the rising tide of anger that threatened to consume him. He had never felt so utterly useless, and the pain of it was unbearable.

Ethan ran toward the door, hoping beyond hope that he could break through whatever invisible boundary confined him to this space. But as soon as he tried to leave, he slammed into the same impenetrable force that had kept him trapped for days. It was like an invisible wall, solid and unmoving, keeping him locked inside.

"Let me out!" Ethan screamed, slamming his fists against the barrier. His body was translucent, his hands passing through the door, but the barrier held strong.

"Adrian needs help, Let me go!!"

Ethan's fury boiled over, and he pounded against the invisible wall with all his might, his fists shaking with frustration. "I have to help him! Let me out!"

His soul surged with anger, waves of emotion crashing over him. For once, it wasn't the frustration of being trapped in his own body, but the raw, visceral need to protect Adrian, to be by his side in a way that mattered. He slammed his fists against the barrier again and again, his heart aching as he watched Adrian lying helpless on the cold floor.

The boy...can die...The fear hit him.

"Why can't you hear me?" Ethan whispered, his voice breaking. "Why can't I help you?"

In the midst of his frantic struggle, a soft groan escaped Adrian's lips. Ethan froze, his attention snapping back to the boy on the floor. Adrian's body shifted slightly, and his eyelids fluttered open, revealing glazed silver eyes clouded by fever.

Adrian blinked slowly, his gaze unfocused. For a brief moment, he looked up, his vision locking onto the faint, white silhouette standing a few feet away, pounding on thin air. His fevered mind tried to make sense of it, but the lines between reality and dreams were blurred.

"Wha… who…?" Adrian mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper.

Ethan's heart leaped in his chest. "Adrian, you can see me?" he asked, rushing forward.

But before Ethan could get an answer, Adrian's body shuddered with exhaustion. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed again, his body limp on the floor. The brief flicker of awareness had faded, and he was once again unconscious.

Ethan knelt beside him, his hands trembling as they hovered over Adrian's feverish body. He was so close, yet so untouchable, so unreachable. And it hurt. It hurt more than anything Ethan had ever felt.

"Please," Ethan whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "Please don't leave me. I…"

I see...So I love you...