Waking up in the hospital

A murmur echoed in his mind, urging him to regain consciousness slowly. Fully awakening, his eyes fell on an unfamiliar white ceiling.

"Phew... how tired."

A faint voice left Kane's lips as he scanned the place. He saw only white walls and a television. He tried to move, but every part of his body screamed in pain; moreover, he noticed something connected to his left arm.

He had a probe in his arm, so he lay back down again, assuming the Silver Hand guild had led him there. However, the constant murmuring in his mind wouldn't stop; it was getting louder and louder.

Kane knew that the corruption of his two traits caused this murmur. The trait "Black Thorn Symbol" was passive, causing corruption continuously. In addition, he had been using his traits too often.

This gradually affected him, as the level of corruption in his body was high, given that those traits belonged to large existences.

Under the influence of the traits, he spoke that way to the Silver Hand guild group. Although Kane did not regret talking to them like that, they were supposed to be the help, but they just stood by and watched the whole battle without intervening.

A single mistake or oversight could have meant his death or the loss of a limb.

Kane sighed again and opened the status window, ignoring the constant mutterings in his mind.

[State Information]

Name: Kane Jineman

Title: None

Rank: Low

Trait: Symbol of the Black Thorns, Mark of the Emperor of Calamity.

Class: Minor Destroyer

Level: 15

Strength: 33

Agility: 32

Endurance: 33 

Mana: 60

Additional stat points: 25

Unique Abilities: Replicate.

Primary Skills: Devastating Flame Lv.1, Infernal Cataclysm Lv.1, Field of Ruin Lv.1

Skills: Intermediate Dagger Mastery Lv.1, Puppet Mastery Lv.2, White Sun Lv.2, Matrix of Chaos Lv.1

—

After looking at the status window, a small smile appeared on Kane's lips. He had already escaped his mortal fate, but now he needed to think about the upcoming events in the city.

He needed to make a detailed plan for what lay ahead and strengthen himself. What had happened with the story-eating monster was not expected.

Kane also had to find a way to remove the corruption from his body to be calmer and avoid waking up one day with a distorted personality or, worse, a second personality.

'I must also make some money to invest in that company...' he thought, sighing internally.

He realized everything he had to do: earn money to invest in MystTech Innovations, find the ingredients for the potion that would purify his soul, and prepare for the next shard of the historical void. In addition, he needed to reach level 20 to be ready for the following events.

'I have more and more things to do...'

With a slight noise, the door to the room opened, and a beautiful, sensual woman walked in, swaying her hips with a tray in her hands.

It was Carol, the nurse in charge of her recovery.

"Ara, looks like you're awake already," she said.

Kane looked at her but said nothing. Carol reached over and pressed a button on the nearby control, and the bed rose diagonally. Then, she placed the tray on a table next to the bed.

"How long have I been unconscious?" asked Kane.

"Five hours."

"Five hours?"

"Yes, five hours," Carol repeated as she added. "Don't move too much; I will change your shirt."

Kane complied, and Carol changed his shirt with surprising ease. As she did so, she inspected his face closely. Something about him stood out from the rest of her patients, and she couldn't help but admire his beauty.

His eyebrows looked like they had been drawn with a master's brush, and his nose and chin, shaped at perfect angles, defied any attempt to measure them with simple instruments. His crystal blue eyes, long black hair, and intertwined white locks gave him a unique and special touch.

After admiring Kane's beauty, Carol left the room, leaving him alone again. However, it wasn't long before the door opened again.

A woman of about forty or forty-four entered. Her black hair, adorned by delicate white locks intertwined like silver threads, reflected a serene and mature beauty. Deep as the ocean, her blue eyes radiated warmth, and her soft smile illuminated her face with a natural elegance that only time could sculpt.

It was Isabella Jineman, Kane's mother. Beside her was a boy of about thirteen, with short black hair and brown eyes, whose appearance was very similar to Kane's, though with some differences.

This was his younger brother, Thomas Jineman.

Isabella entered the room with silent steps, the weight of anguish reflected in every movement. Without a word, she picked up two chairs with trembling hands and sat beside her son's bed.

Her eyes rested on him, full of worry, pain, and fear but also of a love that seemed to want to embrace him completely.

Kane, lying down, avoided her gaze.

The air in the room was thick, charged with an unbearable silence.

Isabella tried to break through that invisible barrier after a few seconds that seemed eternal. Her voice came out soft, almost broken, accompanied by a slight smile that barely hid her inner torment.

"I didn't know my eldest son...was named Merlin Hermes," she said, forcing a slight joke that couldn't mask the truth of her suffering.

Kane averted his gaze, pursing his lips into a tense line. The emptiness inside him was growing deeper and deeper. He didn't know how to respond to that affection, which felt uncomfortable and strange.

And the murmurs in his mind didn't help either, echoing like dark echoes.

'Shit! I don't know what to say,' he thought, feeling his heart racing, caught between guilt and bewilderment.

Suddenly, he felt the gentle touch of a hand on his. Turning her head, she saw her mother, her eyes filled with tears that barely contained the despair. The pain she had tried to hide now overflowed in every word, in every sigh.

"Son..."

She began, her voice cracking with anguish.

"You have no idea how worried I was when they called me from the hospital... when they told me you had been admitted..."

Isabella's voice broke for good as tears slid freely down her cheeks.

"I-I felt... as if my world was falling apart, as if it was breaking into a thousand pieces in front of my eyes... Seeing you lying there, so... so fragile... I thought you would never wake up."

Her sobs were almost inaudible, as if she wanted to hold them back, but the pain was too great to keep inside. She leaned into him slightly, clinging to his hand tighter, seeking comfort in the simple contact.

"What would have become of me, Kane? What would have become of me if I had lost you...?"

The words choked in his throat, each one weighing heavier than the last.

Kane felt a knot in his chest. Guilt and discomfort are all mixed together. He wanted to tell her he wasn't her son, but the words wouldn't come out. Silence filled the space again.