Leo couldn't comprehend how it happened. He couldn't stop himself from vomiting the blood welling up in his throat, his vision tinged a murky crimson as the sea of voices echoed and battered at his mind and forced him to his knees.
'PICK MEEEEEE!'
'SUBMIT! SUBMIT! SUBMIT!'
'Just give in and I shall lay the world at your feet"
The voices were incessant, drowning out even his own thoughts. He couldn't stay here like this. Not only would he lose his mind but his death would be all but guaranteed.
Even now, in the corner of his eye he saw an ominous clock counting down.
[Remaining Time : 7 minutes, 42 seconds]
He only had been given 10 minutes to make a choice. A choice that could be the difference between life and death
'No. I am not going to give up now. I can't! I WON'T' he howled.
He struggled to stand, his knees threatening to give way at any given moment. Looking around him, he found himself in the midst of an endless aisle of display cases.
Each case displayed some sort of mystical weapon, armor or accessory. He had no idea where to start and too little time.
'This Quest is Bullshit!' he groaned, unable to speak aloud lest he vomited more blood.
The task he had been given? Find a piece of equipment that has the power of adaptation or evolution and bind it to his 'soul' so that he could continue to live.
The catch? He couldn't have any information on the item until he picked one. He had to make a choice based off luck and his own intuition?
'How am I supposed to choose? That self proclaimed Goddess didn't tell me a thing about this!'
Despite his complaints, he began walking forward, each step labored and unsteady as if he was about to be crushed by gravity itself.
He only made it a couple steps before he doubled over, retching up another mouthful of blackened blood. He felt dizzy as if he was about to pass out.
'No! I can't sleep. I gotta…keep…going…'
The voices were too much, it was like they were gnawing on his mind, like millions of ants swarming his body and devouring him little by little. Just as he was about to collapse
'SILENCE!'
A majestic roar, akin to a massive lion ripped through his mind. Leo could feel his heart skip a beat as the whole world became quiet. It took him a moment to realize that even the voices were gone.
"Wha-heuk heuk"
He couldn't even say a single word without coughing blood. His breathing was becoming more and more haggard with each passing second. By the time that clock hit zero, he would most likely be dead. Both here and in reality.
With no solid lead, Leo could only pick a direction and pray. Ever so slowly, he began walking, leaving a trail of blood with each and every step.
Each display case featured some sort of mystical item like a greataxe made of moonlight, A shadowy crown or a chestplate made of light. While beautiful and enticing, something about them gave Leo the feeling that they were not the one. As if they weren't good enough.
'Why the hell am I being picky?!'
He needed to choose fast, he could barely breathe now. It felt like something was crushing his chest.
[Remaining Time: 42 seconds]
'Shit! Am I really going to die because I was indecisive at the last moment?!'
Leo felt despair slowly sinking in but he refused to stop moving. It was then that he noticed something different about one particular display. While the other ones were perfectly manicured as if they were museum pieces, this one was covered in dust and dirt.
Something deep down with Leo was telling him 'This is it! That's the one!'. Through the grime of the glass, he could faintly make out a pair of what could only be described as ancient bracelets laying there. Honestly, they didn't look impressive in the slightest, A mixture of rust and age gave it the impression that they would crumble to dust with the slightest touch.
Leo was more than a little skeptical about it but he didn't have time to look elsewhere. He hobbled as fast as he could to the dirty display but all the blood loss made him stumble and fall at the foot of it.
No matter how much he tried he couldn't lift himself off the ground, he had lost the ability to even support himself.
'No…! I can't fall….Not here…Not Now!'
Scraping together the last bit of his strength and willpower, he used the base of the display as a support and began dragging his body up, reaching out to put his hand on the glass.
Remaining Time: 0 Seconds.
Just as his hand touched the glass, Leo's eyes opened wide as he couldn't breathe, his lungs had shut down. He slowly collapsed backwards, his hand reaching for the glass where a bloodied palm print remained.
'I failed..? I…I am sorry…Luna. Forgive me…."
That was the last thought he had before his heart stopped and his body crumpled to the ground with a thud. His unfocused eyes remained open, staring at the sky, the unwillingness of accepting his fate etched on his face.
'What a Tragic Child. Following his heart even in the face of death. Was it Fate that led him to us? Or was it something else?'
Melodic voices heard by no one echoed in unison throughout the space as the case around the bracelets shattered. The seemingly fragile bracelets began to radiate a rainbow light as they began to float into the air above Leo.
'Ahh but to be sought out means we are linked. We must not let him die, no matter the cost. It is now our duty to see the future he yearns for. Today shall not be the day where this childs' story ends'
The bracelets melted into a stream of resplendent light before falling and engulfing Leos broken body. The dazzling light coursed through his body like a stream before settling at his heart. Through his skin, his chest began pulsating a prismatic light.
Soon even that light faded and the room fell silent once more.
THUMP..THUMP
That was until a heart started beating once more.
Mercys Grace Teaching Hospital was in chaos. Doctors and nurses who had been in charge of a young man confined to a bed with a mysterious illness suddenly began convulsing on his bed while playing a VR game his sister had brought for him.
The sister had demanded the doctors let her brother play a Neurological VR game and that it could possibly help heal him. The doctor in charge had scoffed at the nonsensical conviction the girl had but he couldn't tell her no. He knew just who was behind her and he was not willing to put his career and maybe even his life on the line to reject a simple request.
That doctor had sweat dripping down his face as he failed to pry the VR Headset Console from the young mans head. It was as if the console had been grafted and fused to his face.
He didn't want to be the one to be held responsible for this. Why was he dying on his watch?!
"Kyah"
A relatively new nurse covered her mouth and turned away, muffling her cry as she was unable to watch any further as blood dripped from beneath the console.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
The doctor screamed in frustration as he was forced to give up ,his patient was bleeding out and had to ignore the headset.
"He is losing too much blood! We are gonna lose him at this rate!"
A nurse cried as she wiped the blood from his nose and mouth.
"What the fuck is this illness! It's like he's suffering from a rejection from an organ transplant ... .But he has never had surgery!"
The doctor felt like he was going to tear his head out. He glanced at his mentor who was grading him on his performance. The old man had a frown on his face as he too didn't seem to understand what was going on.
The loud sound of an EKG flatlining interrupted the Doctors thoughts. The mans pulse was gone, if they didn't do something now, he was as good as dead.
"Charge the Defibrillators!" the Doctor shouted at a nearby nurse.
WIth the paddles in his hand, he placed them over the mans chest.
"CLEAR!"
*Bzzz*
The mans body arched briefly from the electricity coursing through his body but soon collapsed onto the bed again, unresponsive.
"Damn it! Again! CLEAR!"
*Bzzz*
Again there was no response from the young man confined to the bed.
The old man sighed as he shook his head softly.
"Call Time of Death"
His voice was heavy, the patient had just turned 18 and yet now he was gone.
The Doctor grit his teeth as he looked at the clock.
"Time of Death is 17:02. Cause of Death is Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Nurse please contact next of Kin"
The doctor stormed out of the room. He didn't want to be here when shit hit the fan. His behaviour made the old man frown but he couldn't do anything about it other than note it in his evaluation.
He noticed one of the nurses curled up in the corner silently crying.
'Must be the first patient she's lost'
The old doctor looked at the patients medical file and clicked his tongue.
Orphan, Only family member is his sister Soluna. The Doctor was about to leave the room and make the call that he always dreaded when the flatlined noise of the EKG vanished, instead replaced by the sound of a steady pulse.
"What….? WHAT?! EVERYBODY, COME BACK! H-HIS PULSE! HE"S ALIVE"
The old doctor shouted in shock. The young man had come back from the grave!
While the young mans body was still frail and barely clinging to life, somehow the once weak and thready pulse had become extremely healthy. The mans chest visibly rose and fell in a steady motion, meaning even the boys damaged lungs were improving.
The old doctor was flabbergasted, he had heard of the Lazarus effect happening before but in all of years of practicing medicine, it had never happened with him. The sudden upturn in his condition was so preposterous that he could only call it a miracle.