I floated in darkness for what felt like an eternity. Nothingness surrounded on all sides. An empty silence that stretched on into infinity. It engulfed all of my senses. Sight, sound, touch, sll, even taste. Compared to the endless darkness, I was an insignificant speck.
Oddly enough, the darkness didn't feel malicious or indifferent. Rather, it felt comforting and soothing, like a mother's embrace. A part of wanted to stay in that darkness forever. Why continue fighting? Why endure more pain and suffering, when I could just remain in this place? Why not enjoy an eternity of peace?
However, the rest of couldn't accept it. I needed to return ho, I needed to return to my loved ones on Lumina. What was the point in existing without them? The darkness brought peace and comfort, but it lacked light and laughter.
They weren't the only ones either. I hoped to find a way back to Earth and reunite with my loved ones there as well. I couldn't do that if I stayed in this darkness.
As soon as I had that thought, sothing tugged on and I fell. I kept falling and falling, until I hit sothing. Rather, I felt myself enter sothing. It was like putting on an old suit, except with my entire being. Well, that wasn't quite right. There were no words to describe the sensation I felt. That was the best I could co up with.
One by one, my senses returned to . With each one, I beca more and more aware of my surroundings.
First was touch.
I felt an odd weakness. It was as if I hadn't moved for a long ti, leaving both stiff and lethargic. There was also sothing in my throat. Despite this, I could still breathe.
Second was sound.
I heard a rhythmic beeping off to my left. It started off slow and steady, but grew faster with each passing second. Off to my right, I heard a strange chanical breathing.
There was also another sound. It sounded similar to regular breathing, but loud and obnoxious. Snoring?
Third was sll.
A subtle, but foul, stench stung my nose. It slled like a combination of body odor and rot. I wrinkled my nose and tried to ignore it as best I could. Beneath it, I slled a sharp, stinging scent. Antiseptic?
Fourth was taste.
I tasted the object in my mouth, or tried to at least. It didn't taste like anything. However, now that I was more aware, I noticed that the object in my mouth felt like so kind of tube.
Fifth was sight.
I opened my eyes. Or tried to at least. It felt like soone had glued them shut. Despite this, I kept trying. I never gave up. My efforts paid off and I cracked open my eyes. I then closed them imdiately afterward as a blinding light pierced them.
The rhythmic beeping to my left sped up further.
After a few more tries, I managed to open my eyes and keep them open. At first my vision was fuzzy and out of focus, but soon beca clear. I found myself staring at a white ceiling. However, before I could look around further, I heard a rapid beeping. It sounded like so kind of alarm.
The snoring ca to an abrupt stop.
"Brandon?" I heard soone say.
The word sounded strange. I understood it, but it felt foreign and unfamiliar.
"Oh my god! Brandon! You're awake!" the sa person said, speaking in a foreign and unfamiliar language that I sohow understood.
I tried to look over at whoever it was, but they weren't within my line of sight and I was too tired to move my head.
I heard a door slam open. A mont later, a group of people appeared within my sight. They said all kinds of things, also speaking in that foreign and unfamiliar language. These people also looked odd. Rather, their clothing looked odd. Were they wearing… scrubs?
That's when it clicked.
These people were speaking English, not Common Tongue.
I stared at them in bewildernt and confusion as they checked over. A part of wondered if this was so kind of dream or hallucination brought on by Ash. The last thing I rembered, before ending up in that endless darkness, was the succubus pulling my soul out with so kind of black thread. Afterwards, Teacher killed Ash and severed that black thread.
What if this was so kind of lingering effect? Or worse, what if Teacher hadn't severed the black thread? What if Ash succeeded in separating my soul from my body? What if I was in their clutches right now?
Panic threatened to set in. No. If I was in Ash's clutches, then I needed to find a way to escape. If not, then I needed to find a way to destroy my soul. I'd rather die than let the succubus enslave and turn against my loved ones.
The beeping to my left sped up once more. I now recognized it as so kind of heart monitor. The people around , which were either hospital staff or Vanguard's infirmary staff, grew agitated.
One of them approached with a syringe in their hand. In my panic, I tried to push them all off. I didn't expect much, because of my current weakened state. However, to my surprise, that weak push knocked half of the staff away.
I blinked in surprise. What?
That's when it dawned on . Right. Here on Earth, I was an S-rank hunter, or a Sixth Rank Awakened. Even in my weakened state, I was significantly more powerful than a regular human.
What if this was all real? What if I sohow made it back to Earth?
As I laid there, lost in my own thoughts, a face ca into view. It belonged to a man who felt both familiar and unfamiliar. He looked plain and a bit mousy, with pale skin, short brown hair, and brown eyes. He wore a set of blue robes embroidered with silver stars.
The large-frad glasses on his face gave him a bookish, almost harmless, air. However, I knew this man was anything but harmless. I witnessed firsthand the sort of destruction he could bring.
Francis Marlowe, my friend and teammate back on… No. My friend and teammate here on Earth.
The last ti we saw each other was when I died while fighting a Demon Lord. The rest of our team had fallen, leaving just the two of us standing. Francis attacked the Demon Lord with magic, while I moved in to deal the finishing blow. The Demon Lord retaliated in kind and killed .
The Francis before looked rough. He sported a ssy beard, and lines of exhaustion etched his face. He had always been skinny, but he looked even thinner now. It looked as if a stiff breeze could blow him away.
"Brandon," Francis said, a pleading look on his face. "Please, calm down. Otherwise, we'll have to sedate you. I don't want to do that, because I'm afraid you'll never wake up again."
I stared at Francis before I gave him a faint nod. He sagged with relief. Seconds passed, and the heart monitor's beeping slowed down.
"Good," Francis said. "Now let these good people help you."
I nodded again. Francis stepped back and the hospital staff approached again, this ti with wariness. However, this ti I let them do their work. They poked and prodded while speaking in dical jargon, which I tuned out.
Instead, I checked on my mana core. Rather, I check on this body's mana core. It looked as much as I rembered it, with six brilliant stars forming a small constellation. I noticed so damage, but that was to be expected. I took a blow from a Demon Lord, after all. Given enough ti, it would recover.
So, the Demon Lord hadn't killed after all. Instead, he knocked my soul out of my body, sending back to Lumina. anwhile, my body here on Earth remained alive in so sort of vegetative state. An empty, soulless husk. At least, that was my working theory so far.
That would explain this body's weakened state. It had been in a coma for the past several months. Still, it could've been worse. As far as I could tell, it hadn't suffered any crippling injuries.
That, in itself, was a miracle. With enough ti and physical therapy, I would be as good as new. If I wanted to, I could return to my life here on Earth and pretend all the events on Lumina had been nothing more than a dream conjured up by my head.
Fuck that.
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I needed to find a way to get back to Lumina. My loved ones over there were in danger. I couldn't stay here, safe and sound, while they fought off an invasion from the Infernal Lands. I needed to return.
But how?
After thinking it over for a while, I decided to put it off for now. First, I needed to focus on recovering. Why worry about anything else when I couldn't even get out of bed?
After the hospital staff checked over, they left the room. They even took the tube out of my mouth, which had been hooked up to an assisted breathing machine. Breathing without it hurt, and took more effort than usual, but I preferred it this way.
Soon, I was alone with Francis. I tried to sit up, so I could have a proper conversation with him. However, Francis put a hand on my chest and stopped .
"Here," he said, before pushing a button.
The bed underneath lifted up, allowing to sit upright while still supporting . Right. I had forgotten that hospital beds could do that. Getting used to Earth again would take so ti.
After sitting up, I looked around my room. It looked like a mix between a luxury hotel and a hospital room. It was big and fancy, with comfortable and expensive furniture. However, it was also filled with all kinds of dical equipnt.
Sunlight stread in from a nearby window. It guessed it was mid to late morning. The window showed a view of forested hills. It was sumr here, like on Lumina, making the sight particularly gorgeous.
I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat was so dry that I ended up having a coughing fit. It took several monts to recover.
"Water," I croaked out.
Francis took a plastic cup with straw in it and held it to my lips. I took several small sips of water.
"Thank you."
Speaking in English felt weird. It didn't help that my voice sounded like it belonged to a stranger. Ha! After spending the past several months as Gabriel Sturm, this body no longer felt like mine. It felt like it belonged to soone else. In a way, it did. I wasn't the sa person I used to be. Now, I was more Gabriel Sturm than Brandon Norwood.
"How do you feel?" Francis asked. "Stupid question, I know. However, I can't think of any other way to start this conversation."
I snorted, which almost prompted another coughing fit.
"What do you think?" I said. "I feel like shit."
Francis chuckled.
"You look like it too."
I rolled my eyes.
"I still look better than you." I softened my voice. "You've had a rough ti, haven't you?"
Francis took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded.
"Yeah," he said. "We all have." He rubbed his face with his hand. "The doctors said that the chances of you waking up were… Well, pretty much zero. We thought we had lost you forever." His eyes teared up and his voice cracked. "I'm so glad we were wrong."
I didn't know how to react to that. If it weren't for Ash ripping my soul out of my body, which led to returning to Earth, I would've never woken up. Rather, Brandon Norwood would've never woken up.
"How are the others?" I asked in a blatant attempt to change the subject. "Did the rest of our team make it?"
Francis nodded, his eyes a little red.
"Everyone made it," he said. "Bloodied and bruised, but they made it."
I sighed with relief. Good. That made my sacrifice worth it.
"I texted them earlier," Francis said, holding up a small, thin rectangle made of glass and tal. Ah, a smartphone. "They'll be here in about an hour or so."
I couldn't help but smile. While I wanted to return to Lumina as soon as possible, I had missed my loved ones here on Earth. I intended to spend as much ti with them as possible before I left.
Assuming I found a way back to Lumina.
I shook my head. No. I would return to Lumina. I did it before, I could do it again. Not only that, but I would find a way to make travel between Earth and Lumina possible. Sohow.
I sighed. I had my work cut out for .
"What's wrong?" Francis asked.
"Nothing," I said. "Just lost in my own thoughts." I shook my head. "So what happened while I was in a coma?"
Francis shrugged.
"Nothing much," he said. "After you killed the Demon Lord-"
"After we killed the Demon Lord, you an," I said. "I dealt the killing blow, but everyone contributed."
Francis rolled his eyes.
"After we killed the Demon Lord and closed the Gate, the Guildmaster put us on a year-long dical leave and brought us here to rest and recover." He made a sweeping gesture. "This is Elmwood Care Center, or Hunter's Rest as everyone likes to call it. Think of it as a mix between a luxury resort and a dical facility. It specializes in long-term recovery for hunters."
Hunter's Rest. I had heard of this place. It was rather famous within the hunter community. No wonder everything looked top notch.
"A year-long dical leave?" I asked in a joking tone. "You guys must be bored out of your mind. I know I would be."
Like , the rest of my team never liked sitting still for too long. They were always training, hunting, and so on. Lounging about and doing nothing felt like a waste of ti. For us, taking a year-long dical leave seed like pure torture.
"You'd think that, but no," Francis said. "We were all too busy moping, waiting for you to wake up."
He gave a wry grin, letting know he was joking. However, I noticed that his words contained a hint of truth.
"I'm sorry," I said in a quiet voice. "I never ant to hurt you guys. It's just… If I hadn't…"
Francis held up a hand to stop .
"I know," he said. "I was there, rember? If you hadn't dealt the final blow, that Demon Lord would've killed us all before invading Earth. You saved countless lives." He shook his head. "Still, I just wish you hadn't almost died in the process."
For a mont, I considered keeping the truth from Francis. I an, it sounded crazy. I transmigrated back to my ho realm, in my old body no less, and ended up fighting against a demonic invasion.
What if Francis thought I was insane, or that my experiences back on Lumina were so kind of dream?
No. That was an excuse. Francis was one of the few who knew the truth about my first transmigration. Him, and the rest of our team. Not only that, but I had a way to prove that my recent ti on Lumina wasn't a dream or sothing I imagined.
The real reason why I hesitated to tell Francis the truth was because I was a coward. I put my team through hell by almost(?) dying. They were going to be hurt when I told them that I planned on leaving them again to return to Lumina. That was the real reason for my hesitation.
However, in the end, I decided to tell Francis the truth. He deserved it. My entire team did. That didn't make feel like less of an asshole.
Besides, Francis was one of the smartest people I knew. If anyone could figure out a way to get back to Lumina, and facilitate travel between the two realms, he could. I just needed to convince him to help . He might not, just to keep here on Earth.
"Actually, I think I did die," I said, biting the bullet. "At least, my soul left my body."
Francis blinked at , before clearing out his ear.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I think I'm more tired than I realized. It almost sounded like you said you died and that your soul left your body."
I nodded.
"It did," I said. "Do you rember what I told you about my first life?"
Francis gave a wary look and nodded.
"You an how your soul originated from another realm, but then you died and transmigrated here to Earth?" he asked.
"Yes. Well, I ended up back on Lumina after the Demon Lord struck ."
Francis stared at for several monts, before he narrowed his eyes.
"Start from the beginning," he said. "And explain everything."
So I did. I stuck to the bare minimum, but I otherwise told Francis everything. How I returned to Lumina, learned about the First Tiline, and ended up fighting in a war against demons.
When I finished, Francis closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.
"I can't believe this," he said.
"I know it's difficult to take in-" I started to say, but Francis cut off.
"Not that," he said. "We already know that other realms exist. I can accept the idea that you transmigrated back to your ho realm. I can even accept the idea that the gods of your ho realm turned back ti and created a bunch of regressors."
Francis' eyes snapped open and he glared at .
"No, what I can't believe is that you almost got yourself killed. You have a tendency to be reckless to the point of suicide, but this is ridiculous. Facing a Fourth Circle wizard as a Second Star martial artist? You fucking idiot! What were you thinking?!"
I stared at Francis, flabbergasted.
"Seriously?" I asked. "That's what you're angry about?"
"Yes!" Francis looked like he wanted to strangle . "What is wrong with you?"
"It was necessary!"
Francis leaned forward until his face was less than an inch from mine.
"Was it?" he asked. "Or did you charge ahead because you thought it was better if you got hurt instead of others?"
I opened my mouth, but no words ca out.
"I thought so," Francis said, shaking his head. "You and your fucking martyr complex."
I glared back at him.
"I don't have a martyr complex," I said.
Francis poked my shoulder.
"Yes, you do," he said. "You get yourself hurt to protect other people, your loved ones get angry at you, and you promise to do better next ti. But that's the thing, you never follow through with your promise. You keep getting yourself hurt." He gestured between the two of us. "We've been through this song and dance over a dozen tis since we've t." He let out a long, drawn out sigh. "At this point, I'm half-convinced that you're a masochist."
I looked away from him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said.
"You know, your refusal to acknowledge this particular fault of yours is why you keep going through these sa patterns of behavior," Francis said.
I gave him a sideways glance.
"What? Are you my therapist now?"
Francis snorted.
"Given how many tis I've had to listen to your whiny bullshit, I might as well be."
I gave Francis a betrayed look.
"You fucking asshole."
"It takes one to know one."
The two of us glared at one another for several seconds, before we both burst out into laughter. Well, Francis laughed. I ended up coughing again. After I recovered, Francis gave another sip of water.
"I've missed you," I said.
"I've missed you, too." Francis put a hand on my shoulder. "Seriously though. I know you still carry the scars from your first life, but you need to value yourself more."
Francis' words touched upon the part of myself that I've worked hard to ignore. So, I chose the easy route and continued to ignore it.
I opened my mouth to say sothing, but before I could, the door to my room burst open.
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