About 15 minutes later, Zane arrived before the largest and biggest hospital of City X, creatively titled 'Central Hospital'. Needless to say, to make the facility equally accessible to everyone, it was located near the middle of the city where the majority of people lived. This time, no one followed him—presumably the outfit change had worked.
His goal here was simple—this was where his sister was hospitalized, and he was here to visit her. Arriving before the front counter, he was greeted by the second receptionist he met on that day.
"Hello. I'm here to see my sister."
"Her name, please?"
"Zyra Silverdale."
"Identification documents to prove you are her family?"
Digging into his pockets, Zane took out his wallet, where his ID card was held. He'd picked it up from his room earlier before leaving for the hospital, along with his phone. After exchanging glances between the card and her computer monitor several times, the receptionist handed Zane back his ID.
"Room 249. You may go in."
"Thank you."
Politely, he walked away, stuffing his ID card back into his wallet and carrying on. Within minutes, he arrived before the familiar room where his sister lay, and entered only to find her deep asleep.
"… Zyra?"
There was no response. She wasn't dead, however, judging from the heartbeat monitor on the screen beside her bed. But to be sleeping at this hour…?
"…"
Silently, he walked over to her bed, and sat down in the chair next to it. Beneath the covers, a beautiful girl with dashing silver hair lay, pure and innocent. She had just turned 18 this year, yet she still looked like a child in Zane's eyes. When he saw her pleasant expression, he couldn't help but let out a gentle smile. The smile of a caring older brother—the smile of family.
Perhaps it was better that she was asleep. If she had been awake, she wouldn't recognize Zane as her older brother anyway—just a random man who came to visit her once every week for the past seven years. She probably even thought of him as creepy, but Zane decided not to think about that.
Just then, the door to the room suddenly opened with a clicking sound, and Zane turned to see who it was. In walked a female doctor wearing a pure white coat and round glasses, with bundled up hair and a solemn expression on her face.
"Dr. Rosin."
"… Do you have a minute? We need to talk."
Zane was wary, but he followed her out the room anyway and stood in the empty halls as the door shut tight behind him. Leaning against the wall, the woman named Dr. Rosin let out a deep sigh.
"… I'll be blunt. Your sister's condition is getting worse."
Hearing this, Zane's heart dropped a little. "… What do you mean?"
"Just a day ago, she suddenly fell into a deep coma, and has been like this ever since. Her vital signatures are all still looking normal, but yet again, the source of her mysteries symptoms are unknown. I don't have a good feeling about this—and as much as I hate to admit it, my instincts are usually correct."
"Even with your Analysis Specialization?"
Dr. Rosin nodded grimly. "Even with my Analysis Specialization. You know this. No amount of medicine we've tried has worked, and no specialists who looked at her were able to diagnose the problem. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before…"
She trailed off. At this, Zane fell silent for a brief few seconds. Then, in a quieter tone, he whispered.
"… I see."
Just that, nothing more. He wasn't angry about it. He wasn't even sad—or at least, he didn't show any emotions on the surface. It was simply acceptance.
But just as he was about to walk away, Dr. Rosin spoke up once more.
"However, there is still hope."
Zane stopped.
"One final hope. If this works, it can potentially cure your sister not only of her coma, but of her amnesia as well."
Slowly, Zane turned back around.
"… Tell me. What is it?"
Without even looking at him, Dr. Rosin pulled out an advertisement flyer of some sort and tossed it Zane's way. Easily, he caught it in his hands, and read what the front side said while Dr. Rosin explained.
"In a week, Levi Schubert, otherwise known as the Immortal Sage, will arrive in this city as part of his tour. To secure an audience with him is already hard enough, but I can get you an opportunity. What happens afterwards is up to you. Let me just say, though—it will not be easy. To convince him, you'll need a lot of money—I'm talking millions."
"Millions…?" Zane muttered in utter disbelief. "I don't even have fifty-thousand. How am I supposed to get several million dollars in one week?"
"Beats me. But if you can't scrape together that much by the time he comes here, well… you can say goodbye to your last hope at saving your sister."
With that, Dr. Rosin walked away, leaving Zane to glance down at the advertisement flyer on his own.
Levi Schubert, the Immortal Sage—a one-in-a-million talent with the insurmountably rare Specialization of Curing (not to be confused with Healing which was a more common, but still rare Specialization). His feats throughout the years were incredible—from saving a man on the brink of death to magically curing a fatal disease with a mere snap of his fingers, he soon gained popularity all across the world.
But naturally, that also meant to get him to do something, a lot of money would be required. After all, the miracles he creates were definitely worth the price.
'The only problem is… can I afford it?'
Zane, thinking that, clenched his fists and crouched down on the floor as he tried to think of a plan. Several million dollars in one week… even if he went Dungeon Hunting day and night, it wouldn't be enough. It was simply impossible, unless he won the lottery or something—which he did not want to bet on, with his shitty luck.
Unless he already had the money beforehand, accumulating that amount in such a short timeframe was too far-fetched.
But just as that thought crossed his mind, Zane stopped.
'Wait a minute… had the money beforehand? Who said I had to be the one with the money?'
Slowly, he pulled out his phone, and glanced at the number of one of the few contacts on there. Still, he hesitated. This was going to be a big commitment he was making, and certainly not one he was personally willing to do. However, the circumstances called for it, and for the sake of his sister… he had no choice but to comply.
'… Before that, though… there is one last thing I want to try.'
Gently, he made his way back into his sister's room, and pulled out one of his own daggers. Then, walking closer to the bed, he made a cut on his fingertip, and gently spread her lips with his other hand to make space. Carefully, he allowed a single drop of his blood to fall from his finger and into his sister's mouth.
Since Zane possessed the ability to cleanse diseases, impurities, and poisons through the power of his physique, he figured that it may have some affect on his sister if he let her drink his blood. Of course, this would in turn make her one of his Servants, but that was unavoidable for now. After waiting for a few seconds with nothing happening, however, Zane let out a grave sigh.
'… Well. It was worth a shot.'
But just as he turned around and prepared to leave, he suddenly heard the fizzling of a hologram appearing, and immediately spun back. There, hovering a few centimeters above his sister's face, was a System message.
[Divinity Prophet System — Status: Dormant.]
[Impurity
"What the… Divinity Prophet System…?"
No matter how one looked at it, this sounded like a powerful system. But… just what was the meaning of this? Divinity Prophet? Does that mean she would be able to tell the future, or something? And if it was dormant, then… would awakening it save her?
'Hm…'
Stowing those questions away to the back of his head for now, Zane figured that breaking his sister's coma was still top priority. However, to gather that much money in such a short period of time was impossible for him alone. He had to rely on someone else—and there was only one person who could work.
The only problem was… did he really want to potentially throw away his freedom for this? That would cripple his own development, and lead to many unnecessary troubles. But that was precisely why—if he was doing this, he was going to do this on his own terms.
Pulling out his phone once more, he dialed the number of the contact he had been staring at earlier. After just a few seconds, the other end picked up, and Zane spoke into the microphone.
"Veronica. About that offer… I'll take it—but only if you accept a few conditions of my own."