Nick quickly put Horua down and stepped back.
Right now, Nick only hoped that Horua would survive.
The doctor took out a small bag with different medical equipment and slowly took out some kind of tool that she put on Horua's chest.
Half a minute later, she put the tool away again and put some other tool around Horua's arm for a while.
After that, she used a light to look into Horua's vacant eyes.
The more time passed, the stronger her frown became.
"What's his name?" she asked.
"Horua," Nick answered.
"Horua, can you hear me?" she asked in a friendly manner as she looked into Horua's eyes.
Horua didn't answer.
A moment later, she shined her light into Horua's eyes again.
"I know you're awake, Horua," she said. "Your pupils are constricting when I shine my light into them. That only happens when you are conscious."
Horua didn't do anything.
For several minutes, the doctor kept talking to Horua as she touched different parts of his body.
Yet, Horua never showed any reaction.
A bit later, the doctor actually slowly lifted Horua's arm and let go.
Nick's eyes widened when he saw that the arm didn't fall.
The arm actually remained in the air!
"Horua?!" Nick asked with hope.
However, the doctor just furrowed her brows.
The next moment, she snapped her fingers a couple of times in front of Horua's face, and she even acted like she was about to snip Horua's eyes.
No reaction.
Eventually, she only sighed and slowly lifted Horua into a sitting position and leaned him against the wall.
"I need to talk to the two of you," the doctor said as she stood up.
Nick knew that she was referring to Wyntor and him.
"Of course," Nick said.
Nick walked over to Wyntor, and the doctor followed him.
Wyntor looked at the doctor with a neutral expression. "What's the diagnosis?"
"First, I need to know what happened," the doctor answered. "I know that Zephyx Manufacturers are very secretive, which is why I only need a rough explanation."
Wyntor nodded. "Of course."
"Wait," Nick said, interrupting Wyntor.
The two of them looked at Nick.
"I will tell her," Nick said with a deep breath. "After all, all of this is my fault."
Wyntor looked at Nick for a bit but nodded.
Then, Nick told the doctor about his idea to make Horua a Zephyx Extractor so that he would have a future outside of the Dregs.
The doctor was disgusted by Nick, but she kept a professional demeanor.
'At least he feels guilty,' she thought with a snort.
When it came to the Dreamer, Nick only said that Horua had a nightmare.
"A nightmare?" the doctor asked. "A nightmare or the Nightmare?"
"A nightmare," Nick answered. "You know, a bad dream."
The doctor frowned and became quiet.
"That explains some things," she said. "With all of this information, I can be more certain in my diagnosis."
Nick and even Wyntor listened intently.
"The boy, Horua, is awake currently," the doctor explained. "His reflexes and autonomous bodily functions are working fine. This means he won't just die suddenly or stop breathing."
When Nick heard that, he released a sigh of relief.
At least Horua wouldn't die.
"But?" Wyntor asked.
"But," the doctor continued, "his mind has become isolated. His actual consciousness does not interact with the outside world anymore. That means his mind doesn't get new information and also can't share information with others."
"You could say he is conscious but sleeping, in a way. Although, this is a strong simplification of what is actually happening."
Nick looked with worry at the doctor as Wyntor frowned.
"What does that mean?" he asked.
"It means he will continue being in this state for an indeterminate amount of time," the doctor said.
"He won't move on his own. This means he can't eat, drink, or go to the toilet on his own. The only thing he can do is sleep."
Nick took a deep breath. "Can we do anything about this?" he asked.
"It's difficult," the doctor said. "Since we can't really interact with his consciousness, we can't solve the issue. This is a mental problem, and if we want to save him, we need to somehow wake his mind up."
The doctor sighed. "Sadly, that's very difficult. After all, information can only enter a mind when the owner of the mind actively absorbs it."
"We can't just force his mind to listen."
Nick felt his chest tighten. "Is there anything I can do to save him? Maybe one of the recovery baths?"
"No," the doctor said. "Things like recovery baths work on injuries, and Horua technically isn't injured. In a certain way, nothing is wrong with his body."
"The only thing you can do is to keep him alive, talk to him, and hope that he wakes up on his own."
"He might wake up tomorrow."
"He might wake up in a week."
"He might wake up in a year."
"Maybe in ten years."
"Maybe never."
Nick looked at the ground with a horrified expression.
This was difficult to come to terms with.
Horua had turned into this, and it was Nick's fault.
"What if he comes into contact with the Specter again?" Wyntor asked.
The doctor's expression became strict and chilly. "If it's a Specter that feeds on mentality, it can probably change things in Horua's mind, but Specters that help people are not very common."
"But could it help?" Wyntor asked.
The doctor didn't answer for a couple of seconds. "Yes, but the chances are higher that his mental state will worsen or that he will die," the doctor said coldly.
Wyntor nodded. "Thank you. You can send the bill to us later."
The doctor tried her best not to snort.
"Doctor, how can I keep Horua alive?" Nick asked.
The doctor glanced at Nick with a neutral expression.
"Three meals a day that are easy to digest and swallow. Two liters of water a day. Regular change of clothes. His bodily waste needs to be cleaned regularly. Once every two days, you have to wash him. Thrice a day, you have to massage his legs and arms, or he will die of a thrombus."
"A thrombus?" Nick asked in confusion.
Even Wyntor didn't know what that was.
"If you don't move your extremities for a long time, your blood vessels get constricted, and a clot can form in one of them. When the extremity gets moved, the clot travels through the vessels and can get stuck in your heart, lungs, or anywhere else."
"That part will essentially not get any air and die off, killing you with it."
"If you want to keep him alive, you need to do all of that."