For only God knows how long, I sat in silence and stared at the television hung on the wall with dull eyes. While it wasn’t current news, it gave insight into everything that had happened while I was unconscious—especially since the system refused to respond to my questions anymore.
According to the news, it had been six months since the war on Louisiana kicked off, and what was expected to be a month-long operation stretched out to five months. The Arican troops t unexpected resistance but eventually won. Since there was no talk about a human leading the orcs, I suspected Lee Bai escaped—but that shouldn’t be difficult, since he could cross between realms like .
I even suspected his base talent was also the [Door] talent I was given. While there was no evidence to back up this claim, the fact we both possess the [Gatekeeper] talent made believe our skill sets were the sa. The only difference should be the abilities accumulated along the way.
Not only did the war drag on much longer, but the casualties from all Arican soldiers involved in the invasion exceeded 500—recording the biggest loss the country has sustained in over a decade. To my surprise, the Limitless casualties were recorded to be ten.
Ten Limitless from neighboring states lost their lives in the invasion—and Deacon was one of them. His funeral, along with that of hundreds of Texas soldiers, was held a week ago. It was said he only succumbed to the On Pulse a month ago, and his family graciously donated his corpse for scientific research to find the cause and nature of the attack.
That was the only way they could get to the root of the problem and prevent another catastrophe.
The outco of the war was slightly satisfying since it ant I wasn’t the only loser in this conflict. I lost the Nightfall Dominion territory, and he lost Louisiana. Plus, the fact that my territory was a dying planet while his was a pri territory...
It was safe to say he lost more than , and that was enough to make my heart ache less.
However, all the losses didn’t an I ca out empty-handed. The victims of the war were referred to as heroes of Arica—and that applied to as well. The system had given 5,000 experience points for the nationwide recognition, and the Arican governnt also awarded 5,000 contribution points to honor my efforts.
The military had leaked so of my achievents in the war, and when I checked my phone, I realized my fight with the Orc Berserker was currently one of the most-watched videos in the country—with over 30 million views and 20 million likes. My profile on the official Limitless site was now one of the most followed, only behind the top Guardians.
Many people truly believed I was the strongest Limitless of my generation—and wished to be a part of my journey to greatness.
While I lost my territory and a world I could have called mine, I gained fa in a new world—and a chance to beco sothing more.
"The raid on Nightfall Dominion territory took three months... and now I’ve been asleep for six. That’s nine months," I muttered, shifting myself to the edge of the bed with a heavy expression. "That ans I only have three months to gather 2,700 contribution points and et Dayvon’s achievent of graduating in one year."
My rivalry with the human who possessed an S-rated talent was still fresh in my mind like it happened yesterday. I had lost a good portion of my strength and my territory, but I hadn’t lost this race—to not only et but surpass him.
Slowly, I slid off the bed and gently placed my feet on the ground—it was cold, but I wasn’t complaining. Bit by bit, I shifted my weight from the bed to my legs. It had been six months since I last used my body; weakness was only natural.
Bam!
It was then the door snapped open. Honestly, the first person I expected to see was Pala or Natasha, since I guessed they’d be the ones to check on my condition—but to my surprise, it was neither of them. Jake stood at the entrance, his hair ssy, with dark circles underneath his eyes like he hadn’t slept well for a while.
He was in casual clothes, with a brown jacket that failed to block his body odor—proving he hadn’t bathed in days. It had only been about 30 minutes since I regained consciousness, so either he was close by, or he had been in the hospital for a while. The second explanation seed more plausible.
"BIG BROTHER!" he scread, running toward with his arms spread wide.
[Door activated!]
One door appeared in front of , and the next door appeared above the bed. I didn’t bother watching as he ran into the door before crashing onto the hospital bed, causing it to shake lightly.
"Relax... My body’s still weak. Your silly outburst will only do more harm to my already fragile body," I said in a plain tone, gently letting go of the bed and rising to my feet.
My legs were a bit shaky and wobbled repeatedly, but I could stand and that was all that mattered. Even with the permanent stat loss, I was still considered one of the strongest humans in terms of physique, so it wasn’t surprising that I didn’t need physical therapy to get back on my feet.
Strangely, it was silent.
So I turned my attention to the bed, wondering if the small fall had killed Jake—only to catch him looking at with tears welling up in his eyes.
"What’s wrong?" I raised an eyebrow, but he shook his head and wiped the tears away without giving a response.
Jake pulled out his phone and took a picture without my permission while sniffing loudly. For so reason, I wasn’t hot-tempered anymore—or furious or impatient.
’Does this have sothing to do with the hole in my chest?’ I wondered, but didn’t voice my concern.
I patiently waited until he slid off the bed and approached , gently hugging .
Maybe it was the coat, but I felt warmth for the first ti in a long while. But this ca with a stench that made want to puke. I could hear him sniffing, making the entire mont even more disgusting.
"Get off ," I said while gently pushing him away—not because I wanted to be gentle, but because I might end up harming myself if I overexerted my weak limbs.
Jake listened and let go. Watching him sniff back mucus running from both nostrils was the most disgusting thing I’d seen—but after eting the Abyss, nothing really moved anymore.
"Take a look." He showed his phone, and my eyes narrowed slightly at the image on the screen.
It was an image of kneeling at the center of the buffer zone, looking into the distance. My eyes were pitch black, my lids were painted black, accompanied by cracks that spread through my entire face. Even my bulging veins were black, standing out against skin that was pale as paper.
However, the most horrifying thing about the picture was the black blood that rolled down from my eyes, nostrils, ears, and mouth—dripping onto the floor and forming a small pool beneath .
"This is how we found you after a rescue party was sent when we lost communication with your team," Jake explained. "Only you and Sergeant Deacon survived."
It took a while, but I eventually nodded after I’d seen enough, and Jake slid to the next picture.
The next photo was split in half—one side showing in a cylindrical tank, the other showing Sergeant Deacon in another. I still looked mostly the sa, but Deacon was emaciated to the point where his skin clung tightly to his bones.
That scene was still fresh in my mind—like it happened yesterday. I rembered waking up to that gory image of the Sergeant before being dragged back into darkness. Jake noticed my eyes drift and quickly slid to the next one.
"This was about three weeks later. We all expected you might regain consciousness around that ti, but you relapsed—and your condition worsened, deteriorating to the sa level as Sergeant Deacon," Jake explained in a shaky voice.
My eyes narrowed as I looked at the image of my skeletal fra within the tube. It was like I had no muscles or fat—just bones and skin. The sight made my brows knit as I heard Jake sniff again.
"To be honest, I thought you would die there..." His voice was too shaky to fully understand, but I didn’t really care.
I’d seen enough.
Gently shoving his hand aside, I staggered forward with my weak legs and grabbed the bed as soon as I reached it. Slowly, I sat down before shifting my attention to Jake—only to see his phone in my face with the picture he had just taken monts ago.
I didn’t look like a corpse anymore, but I had lost a considerable amount of weight—my bones slightly visible. My skin was also deathly pale, but it complinted my hair, which had grown down to my shoulders.
"I’m just happy to see you’ve recovered so much," he said, but I simply looked over the phone and t his watery eyes.
My emotions were non-existent. I didn’t even feel bad for myself anymore.
Maybe it was the news of losing my territory that made numb.
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