"Aaaaaah! Help me! No, no, aaaahhhh!" I heard a panicked voice echoing around me. "Evacuate all patients into the basement now," someone commanded with urgency. "Don't worry, son, I'm here. I won't let those things harm you," a soothing voice reassured.
My mind struggled to wake up when I suddenly heard:
「Power source detected」
「Absorbing power」
「Host health: very low, chances of survival: 33.2%」
「Prioritizing revival」
「Abnormally low nanobots present」
「Using power to duplicate nanobots」
「Successful」
「Recommending duplication」
「Successful」
「Recommencing duplication until enough nanobots are present. Time left: 45 days」
「Consciousness detected, power consumption increased. Inducing sleep to increase recovery speed. Time left: 30 days」
「Damaged body parts: legs, eyes, left lung」
「Time left for total recovery: 150 days」
﹝Huh, what is happening? No, I have to wake up for Mom and Kim﹞
***
「Recovery completed」
「Removing host from induced sleep」
「Starting to store energy in the body」
「Recommended areas: blood circulation, heart, mind, stomach」
I was back in high school with Samuel, playing a card game. It was so much fun, but for some reason, I felt sad. I looked at the cards and saw my dad's face covered in blood. I screamed and woke up, finding myself in a hospital bed, covered in IV fluids and bandages. I was afraid to move but tried anyway. It felt normal. I looked at my legs and saw no scarring. Shocked, I remembered almost dying and losing both my eyes and legs. But now I could see and walk.
I went in front of a mirror and saw myself. Instead of a weak, moldy body, I had abs and looked better than before. I was lost in thought when suddenly a nurse rushed in, saying, "Congratulations! Looks like you woke up from your coma." I choked, trying to ask questions. "How long has it been? A month? Two months? Six months?"
"Why don't you sit down first?" the nurse said, looking worried. "Mr. Max, it's been 1.5 years since you were in a coma. I've contacted your family; they should be here soon. You don't need to worry. I think you should lie down."
But before I could lie down, I tearfully asked, "Dad, is my dad alive?"
Just as she was about to answer, the door swung open. I saw my mom and brother. Mom had her hand on her face, and I noticed wrinkles that weren't there before. Kim looked older, probably about 13 or 14 now. I raised my hands for a hug and said, "Guys, I'm back."
***
After the pleasantries, I asked Mom, "Mom, did Dad survive?"
Mom replied, "I have no idea."
I was perplexed. "Mom, this isn't a joke."
Kim intervened, saying, "Hyung, Dad has been missing since the explosion occurred. He was next to me."
"What?" I exclaimed. "I saw him in the debris. How did he disappear?"
"Son, I think you are tired. When the police were there, no one was next to you," Mom said.
I was struck but thought it was better since there was a chance he survived. If the people of Effortless wanted master control, they would try to force the answer out of him. Unease and despair ran through my mind. What if they were torturing him? What if they already got the master control and killed him?
We were silent for a few minutes.
I was about to tell her about master control when a noise screamed in my mind, and I too screamed,
「Good evening, Master」
"Ahh, who are you?" I screamed. My family and doctors were watching in shock and immediately started treatment. I was forced to bed.
「Reducing volume」
「Providing body with sedatives」
I felt calmer and my thoughts cleared.
﹝Who are you?﹞ I asked in my mind.
「I don't know」
﹝Why are you inside me?﹞
「To take care and provide assistance to the host」
﹝What are you?﹞
「I am a nanomachine database made by Dr. Dennis Miller」
﹝What???﹞
﹝Wait, I remember, Dad said he was working on a secret project.﹞
﹝Hey, where is my dad?﹞
「We do not know, sir」
﹝What happens if Effortless finds out and comes after us again to use you?﹞
「That cannot happen, sir」
﹝Why?﹞
「Because our code is linked to Dr. Miller's DNA. Only Dr. Miller and his kids can use me」
﹝I don't need you, get out of me!﹞
「Denied」
﹝What?﹞
「Bound to body, cannot extract nanomachines」
﹝How are you working? The main issue with nanomachines was data transfer and power sources. Are you using my life force???﹞
「That goes against our main code, Master. We cannot do anything that harms the host. We cannot interfere with the brain unless the host is in absolute danger」
「You have total control over us, but if we are removed forcibly, you will die」
﹝Why?﹞
「Since your body was damaged, nanomachines have reconstructed the body but the legs and spinal cord are still not completely fixed. You can walk around like usual due to us」
﹝Hmm, I need to think﹞
﹝Wait, what are you using as a power source?﹞
「After the explosion, we went dormant inside you. We only had enough power from the explosion shockwave to go too deep to be seen. We were unable to help in recovery」
「But half a year ago, there was unknown energy radiating through the planet. We tapped into that and started using it as a primary power source to help recovery」
﹝Unknown energy? Half a year ago? Oh, that screams... waittt...﹞
"Mom," I said.
"I woke up once half a year ago and there were screams. What happened?"
They were silent, then Kim said, "There was an annihilation. 20% of the world population died that day."
I was shocked. My mom put her hand on my thigh and said, "Monsters came out and were killing everyone. No weapon worked. That's when..."
My brother continued, "People gained powers." Kim opened his hand, and a fire was burning in there. "Some people gained unique skills and were able to open a status window, like in video games. There are still people awakening."
"You have kept this a secret, right? What happens if they find out and experiment on you?" I asked, worried.
"Haha, don't worry, hyung," Kim said. "We are needed." He showed me his phone. There were pictures of a circular mist of different colors with people entering but not coming out. "Remember the monsters that broke out? Well, we clear these 'dungeons' before they can come out so everyone is safe."
﹝Okay, weird but okay.﹞
"So how does one awaken?"
"No idea. Right now, we only know that people feel a sudden refreshment like when you try a new flavor for the first time but it's really nice. They then see a status window like in video games, but only they can see it."
"Also, the day the destruction took place is called Day Break. On that day, there was a website and app uploaded, which anyone can see."
Kim showed an app named 'SL.' He explained that this app allows you to read how to use the weird energy called Mana to use magic, martial arts, miscellaneous skills, etc. Though other people can read it, they cannot use mana. It's theorized that when a person is filled with mana and is compatible with it, they then awaken. After explaining other miscellaneous stuff, they left as visiting hours were over.
Finally, I said, "Yes, nanomachine, speak now. By the way, don't you have a name?"
「Master, please give me a name」
﹝Nano?﹞
「Please use a different name」
﹝Hmm, I was never good at names. How about XS?﹞
「Very well, name saved: XS」
﹝So, now what were you babbling about?﹞
「Master, after listening to Master Kim, I wanted to inform you that I have been blocking the unknown energy from reaching your brain. I believe this is why you haven't awakened.」
﹝Is it safe?﹞
「I do not know, Master. But as a failsafe, shall I add a few nanomachines to guard the brain?」
﹝Very well, after protection, release the unknown energy﹞
「Yes, Master」
「Commencing protection」
「Releasing energy」
「Error: Energy is penetrating defense; nanomachines are being absorbed」
「Error: Unable to understand energy」
﹝Stop, stop!﹞
「Error: Unable to stop the flow of unknown energy」