Upon mention of checking in on the patient, the couple's necks snapped towards the Innkeeper with the speed and ferocity of a fired bullet. They had been in close communication with nurse Jubilation since they appeared, but she could not provide them with any information.
Truth be told, Sophia was very hesitant to bring her son here in the first place. His condition was extremely fragile and had been preserved using special means in her Ramos family. Unlike her, a cultivation and battle maniac, her family's area of influence was in herbs and medicine. They were one of the most prominent families, if not the most prominent family, when it came to refining medicine to aid in cultivation.
In their oldest and most secretive plantation grew a tree so old that it surpassed any historical records. It was an average sized tree and looked no different from a regular pine tree. One could not sense any spiritual energy from it, nor could they detect any anomaly. Combined with the fact that it was in a forest, its speciality was almost undetectable. It was only by accident that the Ramos family had discovered its use, and then slowly discovered its peculiarity.
The pinecones from that tree could be removed, and then replaced with any kind of plant or herb, and the tree would nurture it endlessly. A normal plant would gain spiritual effects in only a few weeks, and spiritual plants would be strengthened in only a few months. The affinity, type or requirements of the plants seemed to be completely irrelevant, as that tree would nurture them all.
This was a closely guarded secret of her family, and even its code name was simple 'Pine tree' to avoid arousing curiosity to anyone who might one day steal or stumble upon confidential documents.
While Sophia herself had no knowledge or interest in medicinal matters, her parents were another matter. Therefore, when Rafael was injured, they were able to react immediately. Using a special technique, they wrapped the then young man in a hemp bandage and coated his skin with an artificial sap. Then, treating him like a plant, they attached him to the tree..
Like this, the boy had continued to live for almost 15 years. But he had only continued to live, he was not healing. So when a few days ago Marlo returned and claimed he had discovered a way to heal their son, she was desperate to believe him, but she did not dare to hope.
If they removed him from the tree, it was unknown if he would live long enough to go anywhere. He may as well die within a few minutes.
Filled with her built up rage, frustration and desperation, she attacked Marlo with a ferocity she had never before revealed. After letting her vent a little, Marlo finally used his strength to stop her. He did not have time to waste, as not only was his own body's condition unstable, he knew full well that the situation on Earth was rapidly deteriorating.
As much as he wanted her to understand reason and come with him willingly, he would have to force things until they reached the Inn. With strength that far surpassed anything he had before, Marlo controlled his wife and traveled to Spain in the fastest jet he had. Once there, he brought her directly to the tree. At this point, she had stopped struggling and was only filled with a desperate prayer in her heart that what Marlo said was true.
Removing Rafael from the tree would endanger his life, which was a decision she, as a mother, simply could not take. As much as she knew that this was not a solution, as much as she knew that Marlo would not joke about such things, she could not make herself do it. Ultimately, all she could do was watch as Marlo did everything.
Marlo removed the artificial fruit and revealed his son's body. He did not stop to look at it, to reminisce or feel sorrow or pity. He directly poured a bottle of Botlam's Dew down the kid's throat and used a Golden key, transporting the three of them to the Inn.
Everything after that had been very uneventful so far. While Rafael did not die immediately, like Sophia suspected he would, despite being in the Recovery pod he did not seem to be getting better. Wasn't this only slightly different from how things were before?
During this time Marlo had explained to her what the Inn was, as well as what he knew about the Innkeeper. Which is why his arrival, along with him saying that he had some news about the 'patient', immediately attracted her attention.
"The good news," Sophia said immediately.
Lex smiled, as even without the need for the suit, he could feel her motherly love.
"The good news is that in 3 weeks and 4 days, the patient will be completely healed. After that, you can take him to the Organic Reconstruction room, where he will be able to regrow his missing limbs."
Elation and happiness hit Sophia like a tsunami. She chose to blindly accept what the man said, despite it being against common sense. Considering Rafael's condition, how could he possibly be healed so quickly, if at all? In truth, this was not quick at all. It must be remembered that even Marlo, a golden core cultivator, healed much quicker than that. The fact that it would take three weeks was a true testament to how devastatingly injured the boy was. In fact, his status had clearly stated that without the aid of whatever it was in his heart that kept him alive, the Recovery pod would not be able to heal him at all.
Sophia was desperate for any kind of good news, which is why she gladly accepted it, but Marlo frowned. If, after three weeks, his son would be healed, why was there still some bad news?
"And what about the bad news?" Marlo asked heavily.
"The bad news is that the patient's injury exceeds just his body. His soul has atrophied, and will require treatment as well, otherwise even when he is healed, he will not wake up. Unfortunately, at the moment, the Inn does not have the facility to heal the soul."
From her newfound zenith, Sophia quickly fell to her nadir. Belonging to a family focused on medicine, she knew exactly how difficult it was healing injuries to the soul. Simply put, her family had never actually succeeded in aiding anyone with a damaged soul. Resources that could affect the soul were practically nonexistent.
"You said 'at the moment'. Does that mean you could get something to heal the soul later?"
"Three weeks is a long time. It is entirely possible that such a facility may be available by then. Even if not by then, down the line, getting something like is highly likely. Of course, if you do not wish to wait, you can put up a request for treasures or medicine that heals the soul in the Guild room. You can pay in unique treasures or simply MP, and just wait for another guest to fulfill the request. You could also look for such treasures on your own in your own world.
"This is not a dead end, just another hurdle that you must face. How long it takes to overcome such a hurdle is the only thing that remains a question."
The parents felt a wave of relief mixed with distress hit them. Rafael's injury had truly weighed on them for a long, long time. Now that an end to their undesired journey was in sight, they became even more impatient, yet could not allow themselves to make a mistake.
"If you don't mind me asking, do you know how the patient was injured to such a degree? I'm afraid if it wasn't for the artifact in the patient's heart, even the Recovery pod would not be able to keep him alive let alone heal him."
His question was multifaceted. Firstly, he was curious about what actually happened to Rafael and how exactly he managed to live after getting injured so horribly. Even his soul was seriously damaged, so it could not have been something simple. Secondly, he was curious about what the artifact was in his heart that could keep him alive. If Lex could find something like that for himself, it would aid him greatly in case he ever got injured.
Yet their immediate response told Lex that the couple knew nothing about the artifact as they looked at each other with confused yet questioning gazes.
Finally, Marlo let out a sigh and said, "Come, let's take a walk. I'll tell you about my son."
Leaving Sophia to watch over Rafael, the two silently walked out of the room. There were a few moments where Marlo let sorrow show on his face, but he quickly controlled himself and brought himself back to normal. He wasn't exactly in his mischievous state, but anyone who looked at him would not be able to tell that this was a grieving father.
Marlo and Lex continued to walk in silence. The soft buzz of the various crowds in the distance was a nice change to the usual serenity of the Inn, and it lightened the mood considerably. This was a good thing, in Lex's opinion, as the situation was not hopeless. With time, Rafael would eventually be healed – even of his soul injuries. Lex had no doubt that if he continued to upgrade his Recovery room, a feature to heal the soul would eventually show up.
In fact, he was even certain that somewhere down the line, he would acquire a way to heal Rafael's crippled cultivation. That was not to say he would immediately return to his previous power, but that he would regain the ability to cultivate.
Having one's cultivation crippled was a strange thing, similar to Marlo's crippled golden core. Even those below the Golden core who had their cultivation crippled would not be able to cultivate ordinarily, even if their body healed completely. Lex did not know or understand the reason behind this, but that's just the way things were.
Eventually the two reached the hills where the Meditation room was located. Compared to the rest of the Midnight world, there were fewer people here. The night sky, lit with sky lanterns, made it seem like the stars were hanging just overheard. It made one feel like if one reached out their hand, they might just be able to capture it. But of course, it just seemed like that. Even the avian Beasts present in the Midnight world would be kept from touching them, just for safety purposes.
"Rafael was born just a couple years after we got married," Marlo said suddenly, his voice deep and somber. "He was a chubby little kid, and would play with just about anyone who would give him any attention..
"All his life, his mother spoiled him way too much. I was also approaching my peak back then, and combined with my family's background and Sophia's, there was no one who didn't try to fawn on him. Compared to the life I had lived, filled with pain and struggle and nonstop fighting, his life was too cushy.
"Maybe I should have been happy that I had managed to protect my son from suffering like I had, but back then all I could think of was that if he lived like this, he would grow up to be weak. So, I pushed him hard.
"From an early age, I started training his body. I started embedding discipline into his very bones. I treated him like a soldier, not like a son. To optimize the development of his muscles, I put the kid through medical baths. Too much strain on his bones would be bad at an early age, so I had him practice yoga to increase his muscle flexibility as I gave him combat training.
"He was seven years old when I made him kill his first human."
At this point, Marlo went silent again. He did not look sad or regretful, and his voice was steady. One would assume he was talking about something nonconsequential, like buying shoes. Only he himself knew how much anguish he suffered.
"I made many mistakes in raising him, but the worst of it was comparing his life to my own. At each level, at each achievement, at each breakthrough, I would tell him that I had it much worse than him when I was his age, yet had far more achievements. I was not trying to tear him down. All I meant was that he had better facilities than I did, so that he could surpass me. More than anything, I wanted him to be better than I ever was. More than anything, I wanted him to be more successful than me.
"The kid was good. He took everything I threw at him and worked hard to overcome every challenge. But at some point…I don't even know when, his personality changed. He went from being that happy, friendly kid to someone desperate. He was training desperately, working desperately…searching desperately for anything that would make him good enough. Instead of training him, showing him how he could be great, all I did was constantly remind him that he was not as good as me at his age."
Another bout of silence came, this time hanging between the two men longer. Marlo was completely stoic. Someone who did not know him would assume he was completely fine, yet anyone who knew Marlos regular personality would understand just how unordinary this was.
"Many years later, when I heard the Morrison family was training their heir crazily, I forced them to accept me as one of his teachers. Instead of pushing him forcefully, I taught the kid at every level how he should be thinking, how he should overcome each challenge, and how he should view the world. I could not let someone else make the same mistakes I did.
"Although the kid was training at a level beyond what anyone his age should be doing, he ever developed the same desperation that Rafael did. All because of a simple choice – the choice to quit whenever he wanted. That simple choice turned everything that was happening from something that was being forced upon him, to something he chose to do. Every time he overcame an obstacle, it was a result of his own training. Every time he completed a mission, it was his own success rather than his families. Every time he felt overwhelmed, it was his own choice to continue rather than something that was forced upon him.
"Such a small difference, to be honest, brought about such a tremendous change. Instead of becoming desperate like Rafael, the kid has grown into a confident young man – because everything he did was something he chose to do to better himself, rather than something his family chose for him. If only I had done the same with my own kid.
"Back then I didn't see the problem, but I warped his personality. I wish I could say that the reason Rafael is in his current condition is because an enemy of mine attacked him, or he was ambushed, or something evil happened. Yet the simple truth is, he forced himself to cultivate too hard. He pushed himself beyond his body's limits.
"In his early twenties, he was about to break into the Foundation realm. It can't compare with that Alexander kid, but then again, he never had the same amount of resources either. But he forced the breakthrough before he was ready, which caused the spiritual energy inside his body to destabilize and explode.
"Back on Earth, cultivation techniques are tested for their stability, to ensure their chances of deviation are minimum, but it's impossible to eliminate them. His poor state of mind, his desperation to succeed, all led him down this path.
"Sophia and I weren't home when this happened, but fortunately, his grandparents were. They managed to keep him alive, but that's about all they could do. It was impossible to treat him.
"Sophia blamed me. She said I killed her son by pushing him too hard. To be frank, I can't honestly say she is wrong.
"You know, when I think back to that time, I can't remember what the rush was. I can't remember why I was in such a hurry to have him grow stronger so quickly. We had all the time in the world. Instead of pushing him to be as miserable as I was, I should have been teaching him how to live. Instead of having him kill people, I should have been teaching him how to defend himself and live the life he wanted to live. I just… I can't remember."
As Marlo vented his feelings, Lex said nothing. He was not sure what he should be saying anyway, and he was not tactless enough to ask him about the artifact again while he was telling him about his son. But this did reveal to Lex another question he had been wondering about.
It always felt peculiar to him, a multimillionaire high leveled cultivator spending his time teaching self defense class to a bunch of nobodies. But suddenly, Lex understood. Through them, Marlo was trying to relieve some of his guilt. He was doing for them what he wished he had done for his son. By teaching them to survive, he was giving them enough time to live long enough to actually enjoy their lives. From his expression, one could not tell that the mad giant was in pain, but if one analyzed his actions it was plain as day.
"As for the artifact," Marlo continued, "I have no idea what you are talking about. As much as I wished it was something I gave him, neither I nor Sophia have any treasures that would allow someone to continue to live in such a beaten up state. It's something we can only ask him once I find a way to heal his soul," Marlo said, with unwavering determination.
There was no pain in his voice, no regret in his eyes. There was only a mission.