1 day later -----
Sho's POV:
"Where in the hell am I?" I asked to the blank wall in front of me. 'It seems I have been brought to the hospital, logical enough seeing my red-tainted body,' I thought, laughing in my head. ' I don't hurt much anymore compared to when I lost consciousness; the jolting pain I felt at this moment is something I won't ever forget.
I still could hear a buzzing sound ringing in my ears every minute or so. I had rested numbly and sat on my bed trying to figure out what to do. I soon saw a blue button on a tablet, sitting on my right desk with a tiny text saying. *Call for help* It was an emergency button to press if you had any problems. I pressed it because I had had problems.
After two rotations of the clock's minute hand, two doctors arrived. One female, 26 years old or 27 years old. A male, over 35 years old, who was attracted to the women.
''Oh dear, you have finally woken up. How do you feel, Mister Sho?" the man asked, taking the lead in the inspection and questioning of the patient, as a senior should do.
He did it to leave a good impression in front of the junior doctor.
''I feel good. I mean, I haven't had the opportunity to try walking, and I'm quite curious to see for myself if I'm in good physical shape or not. Mentally-wise, I feel fine; my ears are ringing slightly from time to time, but it's bearable. Probably just a recoil from a long sleep. By the way, how long have I been out?'' I answered, self-assured and coldly, before asking my question.
"Oh dear, before we can allow you to walk, we must first conduct a thorough check-up to ensure your body's readiness. I'm sorry, but we cannot take any risks of further injury. However, I'm confident you'll be back on your feet in no time. I'm relieved to hear that you're feeling mentally well—it must be quite a shock after all, waking up after a 6-day coma."
''Oh, 6 days only? Here I thought I had woken up 10 years in the future and had to prepare myself to see my parents in the grave.'' I joked cynically. I had no idea why I made such a crude and dark joke myself. But that joke surprised them for sure.
''....'' x2
Both doctors's stunned silence resonated in the air, making me laugh like a maniac. 'I'm sure they'll think my mental state is fine now.'
"My dears, there's no need to worry. Everything's going to be alright. My personality and humor are just a little... unconventional, that's all. Don't be too shocked. I still need treatment, after all. I can't have you both malfunctioning before you try to treat me." I reassured the two frozen statues.
''No, no, no, it's fine; I was just caught off guard.'' Answered the male doctor.
"Yeah... me too. But now we'll have to proceed with more questioning to ensure you're eligible for a full examination of your body." The girl said with bright eyes that indicated a pure gentleness and kindness of heart.
''Nah, no need for all that bullshit; I'll just take a walk and see if my bones break or not.'' I declared confidently, probably sounding crazy to the two baffled, now sweating statues in front of me.
''W-wait No! Don't do that,'' the male statue declared.
''P-p, please do not move Mr. Sho,'' asked the female statue.
Sho took the risk and still decided to stand up. His legs were fine apparently; he could stand and even walk as he took a few slow steps forward, grabbing his jacket, which was hanging onto a clothes rack. He felt cold.
''Mr. Sho, are you alright?'' Asked the man in fear, an honest fear that completely forgot he had to leave any sort of impression.
The girl remained still, obviously less experienced due to her younger age; hence, she didn't know what to do when faced with a crazy patient like me.
"I'm good; my legs aren't about to give up, which I thought would be the case any seconds after standing.''
''Why'd you even take such a risk if you had thought so far and right?'' Reasonably asked the male doctor.
''To avoid wasting time on all your bullshit procedures, my time is an invaluable resource after all,'' I responded in an angrier tone than it should've been.
"...'' x1
''Please, child, do not be angr...''
''I'm not a child, lass. My name is Sho, and I believe I am more mature than you are, so you should choose your words with a little bit more discernment, kid.'' I said in a serious and dark tone.
I didn't know why I was acting so impatiently and rudely after waking up from my coma; it felt out of place. This was not my usual behavior and personality, especially considering how confident and charismatic I had been. I'd typically be much shyer and restrained in my answers and would never joke around like that, let alone disrespect a doctor as kind as her in such a way. This temperament was not mine...
''Alright... Sho.., are you sure everything's fine?'' The girl was definitely negatively impacted by my words. She was sad. I was sad too.
Sho just couldn't show it. I just couldn't express it.
''Yes, I am fine. Do not worry. Jokes aside, my legs aren't hurting at all; instead, they feel stronger and more stable than they have ever been. I repeat, jokes aside, that means I'm being serious.''
''Wait, s-stronger? Is this even possible?'' Asked the shocked woman.
''Indeed, it is'' I affirmed.
"To be honest, Mr. Sho, we've conducted numerous analyses of your body and have already observed muscle growth in both your arms and legs. However, as a precautionary measure, we couldn't simply allow you to walk out," explained his colleague.
"I'm sorry that we didn't tell you this earlier, Mr. Sho, but we did this for your safety; I hope you understand," added the man.
''It is fine, I understand; just proceed with whatever you were supposed to do. Just let it be quick, please.'' I concluded with more warmth of heart than in all of my previous sentences.
After the man reassured the shocked woman and asked her to leave so he could proceed with my examination, he immediately started.
He called in more doctors and helpers to conduct an in-depth inspection of my body and brain. I was told that it would last for probably 2 hours, which would be the exact amount of time before I could see my parents at the hospital; they had been informed of my awakening. They took me to do some short physical tests after verifying my bodily tissues and muscles state. Then I took a few trials and tests related to my intellect.
After the 2 hours had passed, I was told that the result of all my tests should be very positive. Although they still hadn't had the time to verify all their data and information, it was looking good for me.
But most importantly, my family had arrived. My father and mother, but not my sister because she was in another country for work. Both of them embraced me dearly and cried as they bombarded me with questions regarding my health and well-being. Doctors and whatnots had left to give us some privacy, and another 2 hours passed after the reunion, which had been barely enough time to catch up on everything that had happened during the 6 days I was gone.
They also asked me the obvious question, ''What happened that day for you to be in such a state?'' To which I said I didn't know myself. I didn't really fake amnesia or anything; I just said I didn't know. My parents were surprisingly understanding and didn't push the matter any further. They must have thought I was traumatized by the event; hence, they didn't bother pursuing the questions about how I got injured. They gave up rather quickly...
In the end, my parents had to leave because night-time was approaching, and I still had to stay one more day at the hospital before the results of my examination were out. They left reassured of my good shape, and I was finally at peace, alone.
I came to realize one thing in the downright silence that followed my parent's departure. I hadn't thought of ''Void-State'' even once before they had questioned me about my accident. I reflected that it was very ominous because I should have thought about it right upon waking up; at the end of the day, it was the source of it all. So when I tried to visualize ''Void-State,'' I realized that it had transformed; it had been mentally carved like a rune imprinted on my brain. Now, with just a mere thought, I could activate it, and I had grown even more adept in its usage. It appeared that I could also switch back from nihility to the ''Incomplete-Phase'' of void state, which was the first phase even before I unlocked nihility.
It was that premature stage that I seemed now able to use for way longer than before. I considered my mental state, and I felt no cerebral pain or restrictions. My body had been healed and strengthened. I could at least handle phase-0 of ''Void-State'' without trouble now, right? Without further delay, I activated the newly upgraded rune in my head and started channeling more and more information through each of my brain's neurons, speeding up the transmission of each of those pieces of information.
Upon further inspection, when I delved deeper into that ''Rune,'' I realized I could see clearly all the parts of my brain that were related to cognitive functions, intelligence, reasoning, and more.
Prefrontal Cortex, Frontal Cortex.
Temporal Lobes, Parietal Lobes, Occipial Lobes.
Hippocampus, Basal Ganglia, Thalamus, Cerebellum.
And way more.
Each of those sub-structures making up the main organ, "the brain," had undergone a terrific mutation. "Void-State," which used to be just a temporary means to improve all of my brain's cognitive abilities, had now become a chain encompassing every part of it. That chain was connected to a large and imposing dark-gold, gleaming rune, shining with otherworldly embroidery. Each chain was unwaveringly tethered to this divine rune, swelling with an aura that didn't belong to this world.
If this was what the "Premature-Phase" could do, then what about Nihility? With fear left ashore, I went forthwith, activating "Void-State—Phase Nihility."
Dust, planets, stars, galaxies—a whole universe unraveled in front of me, and no chaos nor any apocalypse resembling the end of the world trying to put an end to my reality now. This time, the universe was peaceful.
Entire worlds made their revolutions around me, so I reached for the stars close by. My mind left my subconscious, and I reclaimed control over my physical, real body with my newly found astral insight.
After understanding that I was able to move while using Nihility, I rushed for my phone and started a timer so I'd see exactly how long I could last, a pretty unnecessary measure. I then searched online for complex mathematical questions that only professional scientists and advanced-level mathematicians could even hope to understand. I read an article about a cure for a heart disease.
Scientists had published half of the completed formula so that maybe unknown geniuses could complete it and then make themselves known and hired. I read the 58 pages of the extremely hard scientific and mathematical document in only 4 minutes, memorized everything, and understood everything. I deduced the other half of the non-distributed formula by just reading its other half.
Time needed to read: 4 minutes
Time needed to deduce the formula's other half: 5 minutes.
I didn't even need to write anything down; I could calculate everything in my head, and at such an unprecedented speed too. This made me realize two things.
I had become the smartest human alive under the govern of Nihility.
And time wasn't the only factor deciding how long I could last while using Nihility now. But it also depended on what kind of thing I used it for.
Spending only 9 minutes to deduce 60 pages of a rare disease's formula is undoubtedly something that required a lot of energy, hence why I was so soon depleted of it. I let go of the stars and deactivated the rune. Here I also came to a heavy realization: even without ''Void-State'' activated anymore, I still remembered the whole formula's answers; I just couldn't calculate and deduce it a second time. And that didn't matter since, like I said, I had the formula's answer to cure this disease.
But I was awfully drained out by using Nihility, although not nearly as much as when I used it for the first time; I had almost died before even utilizing its functions after all. Thus I acknowledged the need to sleep that was surging rapidly out of me.
'Still, to think I needed to destroy an entire world, and rebuild it, just to acquire Nihility.'
'You truly are picky; what will it be the next time I want to surpass my limits?'
'What will I have to do?'
'I guess it'll be for another time; for now, let's just sleep and enter a comfortable world of quietness.'
'I really need rest after all.'