"26-year-old Champion Rank Adepter, Jasmine Brown, has contributed another accomplishment to our kingdom's record in the Empire, as one of the few individuals to solo a B-Rank dungeon by herself...."
*********
"It has been confirmed that the head of the Rose family, Andrew Rose, has ascended to the rank of Legend on Friday, raising the family's power to a new level as they became one of the very few families in the kingdom, and the world at large, to have four living Legend rank Adepters..."
*******
"Rumours have...….."
"Dungeons have started to appear….."
"Jasm....."
"The Rose fami...….."
*********
After spending several hours repeatedly listening to the same news report on the same station, Jaxson slowly turned to look at the woman lying on the hospital bed beside him and smiled feebly before speaking.
"Mom, am I not useless for not being able to awaken, despite having your and Dad's blood?" Jaxson spoke weakly but got no response at all as the hospital room he was in stayed as silent as it had been each and every day for the previous three years.
"Perhaps if I had been an ability user myself, you wouldn't be lying on this bed sleeping every single day, and dad wouldn't have left us if you both hadn't tried to save my useless self," Jaxson said as his lips started to tremble. He took a deep breath and continued, his voice still shaky.
"I'd thought that when I awakened and grew stronger, I'd go into the rifts and dungeons myself and look for a solution for you, but in a few hours, I'll turn 19. Which basically means I'll be normal for the rest of my life, and be forced to just watch you die like this."
"Why am I such a useless person?!" Jaxson shouted in a hushed voice, as he eventually broke down and began crying. His sobs, though, were drowned out by the sound of the hologram depicting news of the Adepter world.
As Jaxson sat close to the woman on the hospital bed, he was overcome by emotions and forgot his age, crying uncontrollably to release the frustration and helplessness, he had been burying within him.
Thankfully, the room where Jaxson was crying was soundproof. Thanks to the passive casting of a sound-shield spell by enchanted items in the room, such as the curtains, carpets, and panels.
All of the objects mentioned in the room had been imbued with a sound-shield spell, to block any external noise from entering the room and disturbing the patient. Additionally, the spell also prevented any noise generated within the room from escaping and disturbing other patients in the hospital. It was a common spell that was employed in numerous establishments and for individual purposes.
Beside Jaxson, the woman on the hospital bed was a sight to behold, with her sickly, yet ethereal, beauty. Her skin was almost translucent, highlighting the delicate curves of her face. Her faded green hair seemed drained of life compared to the vibrant emerald green that it was years ago. Her face was serene, with full lips that held a hint of natural colour, and high cheekbones that exuded regality.
But as the tubes connected to various parts of her body indicated, she was not in the best of health. She suffered from a rare, life-threatening, magical ailment. One of the most feared types. The disease had left its mark on her appearance, with faint, intricate patterns of vines and leaves glowing with a soft, verdant light on the left side of her face, spreading from her temple down to her jawline. The vines seemed frozen in time, growing from within her and adding a mystical aura to her already captivating appearance.
Unfortunately, as lovely as the mark's appearance is, it is something that no one wanted. Even Guardian-rank creatures avoided coming into contact with it.
Some magical diseases could be treated or suppressed. While others made even the most powerful people in the world shudder at the mere mention of them. Unluckily, the middle-aged woman on the bed had the latter, and she wasn't even one of the truly powerful individuals in the Adepter world.
*Knock* *Knock*
Jaxson was in the middle of crying again when he heard a knock on the door. He hurriedly wiped his tears away with his sleeves and turned to face the door.
As the hospital room door swung open, a woman who appeared to be in her late thirties entered the room. She moved toward the hospital bed in the centre of the room, keeping her head down as she stared at the hologram projected above her wizwatch. Luckily for Jaxson, she was too preoccupied with it to even notice his presence. Thus, allowing Jaxson to "save face" by quickly cleaning his.
The woman was dressed in a white robe with various lines decorating different parts of it. On the left side of her chest, Jaxson saw the symbolic badge indicating her profession as a nurse.
"So it's Mrs. Emilia on duty today." Jaxson said to the woman in the room, who immediately let out a surprised gasp upon hearing a voice suddenly address her. When she turned her head in the direction she heard the voice from and saw Jaxson, she realized there was actually another person in the room. Her expression then relaxed from her momentary surprise.
Mrs. Emilia exclaimed "So it's little Jaxson!" as she walked towards him.
Jaxson just responded with a forced smile.
Due to the unique nature of his mother's condition, only a select few people were capable of caring for her. As a result, Jaxson had seen each of the caregivers numerous times over the last three years, making it easy for him to identify them.
"When did you get here? You look so worn out." When she finally approached Jaxson, Mrs Emilia questioned him.
"Since....." Jaxson hadn't even finished his sentence when the woman suddenly placed her left hand on his right shoulder, emitting a weak milky light that entered Jaxson's body, causing him to inhale sharply as his tired body became more energised.
Jaxson appeared more lifeless than usual today. So Mrs Emilia decided to cast a simple spell on him designed to restore his energy.
"Thank you," Jaxson said, feeling a little relieved and lifting his mood.
"It's all right. So how long have you been here?" Mrs Emilia repeated her question as she turned her head and walked over to look at a medical device in the room. The equipment displayed data on a hologram that was displayed a few centimetres above the box.
Mrs Emilia was no longer by Jaxson's side, as the hospital bed served as the barrier separating them. The large medical device was on the left side of the bed, which was opposite where Jaxson was positioned.
He remained silent as he patiently waited for her to finish what she was doing before responding to her earlier questions since he could tell that she was now preoccupied with something else that was connected to his mother.
She tapped on a series of data on the hologram and then let out a long sigh before turning to smile at Jaxson.
Seeing this, Jaxson interpreted it as a cue for him to respond to her unanswered query.
"I came to the hospital six hours ago," Jaxson said as she turned to look through the transparent glass walls behind her that showed the scene of the world outside from a very high height.
The sky was currently filled with countless stars that shone brightly. Even with all the lights provided by the various establishments, like that of the insignia the female nurse wore on her uniform that was on a skyscraper, one could tell it was already very dark outside.
Seeing the atmosphere outside, Mrs Emilia turned to look at her wizwatch, which acted as a normal watch when its other functions were not being used.
[9:38 PM]
"It's getting late, Jaxson. You should start heading home now since visiting hours are almost over." Mrs Emilia said, "Have you even eaten lunch today?"
"I had a small meal in the hospital cafeteria, thank you."
"That's good, but get ready to leave before 10." She said as she approached Jaxson and affectionately rubbed his head.
Jaxson didn't say anything or show any reaction to her actions because he was already used to it.
He was 15 when he first met Mrs Emilia, so he can't blame her for still seeing him as a child.
She was about to leave after saying a few more words of concern to the boy, who she sees as a kin of sorts now because of her familiarity with him and sympathy for his mother's condition when Jaxson interrupted her.
"How's mother's condition?" Jaxson asked as his voice got lower in the end, but Mrs Emilia was still able to capture everything he said as she took a deep breath before replying.
"She's all good Jaxson."
"How good?"
"Good in the sense that she's not going to die anytime soon." Mrs Emilia said, clenching her fists slightly because she felt she needed to be honest.
For a while, only the breaths of three people could be heard in the room as Mrs Emilia continued to look at Jaxson, who was focused on his mother on the bed.
Silence.
"I see, and thank you very much for your assistance regarding my mother, Mrs Emilia," Jaxson said as he turned his head to look at her behind him with a genuine smile on his face this time, but if one were to examine his expression closely, one would notice that the sadness in his smile is just as genuine.
Seeing as Jaxson did not experience a breakdown as he did a few months ago when his mother's illness got a little worse, Mrs Emilia had a relieved look on her face as she walked back to Jaxson to rub his head a little before finally leaving the room.
After Mrs Emilia left, only the holovision continued playing, and the room was once again silent.
Jaxson turned to face his mother and extended his hand to hold hers.
He held his mother's hand muttering, "Mother" and remained motionless for a few more minutes.
********
[9:53 PM]
Jaxson stood up and let go of his mother's hand, saying, "I should get going now." but not before taking a deep breath and kissing her forehead.
As he quietly left the hospital room without turning around, he muttered, "Sleep well, Mother."
He'll never know that the unconscious woman on the bed opened her mouth and muttered something a few seconds after he left.
"Jaxson"