Chapter 10: Regenerating the Heart?

As far as the eye could see, all I saw was darkness.

In that world, I could actually walk. But still, darkness. Not a single sliver of light anywhere. Alone, without light, in the middle of nothing but darkness. Truly pathetic, seemed like even in this world, not just the real one, I was still unlucky. A person cursed with bad luck his entire life.

"Do you feel unlucky in your life?"

I turned my head this way and that, who's there?

"If your life really has been unlucky..."

It felt like an invisible, gentle hand touched my cheek, bringing a strange sense of calm. Then it embraced me.

"...Then create your own luck."

"?! Wh-what does that mean?"

Then, everything vanished. Replaced by a soft voice.

"...yu, Bayu..."

"Bayu? Are you awake?"

I blinked my eyes—not that it made any difference, still couldn't see anyway.

NGIIIING!

Suddenly, a piercing ring blasted through my ears. "Aargh!!"

I tried to cover my ears with my hands, but I could feel my hands weren't responding at all.

Why?! Of all times...

"?! Bayu?! BAYU?! KRAAZ, GET OVER HERE!"

Faintly, I could hear Lunaria's voice calling out for Kraaz. Her voice was actually incredibly loud, but for some reason, this ringing sound was drowning everything out.

Come on, what am I supposed to do...

[ Nice to meet you, Bayu. ]

Eh? Why suddenly—

[ If you want to reduce this sound, use your telekinesis on the pillow to your right, 15 cm away. Pull it and cover your ears with it for now. ]

Uh..? Okay...

I tried my telekinesis at that exact distance, and yep, I got the pillow. Then I forced it to cover my ears.

Well, that helped some. Though there's still a little bit left.

"Master?! What's wrong?"

"Ah... help me sit up, Kraaz."

Kraaz helped me sit up, leaning against the bed frame. Once my hearing settled back down, I finally realized I was in a bedroom. Judging by the echo, this room seemed pretty spacious, filled with things that felt fairly luxurious. A room? But whose room would be this big? My guess landed on The House of Haavard. Probably Ansgar's. I'd have to thank him properly later.

"Seems like master's ability to move his hands disappeared, what happened? Weren't you fine before?" Kraaz bombarded me with question after question.

"Uh... long story. By the way, how long was I out?"

"Um... about 3 days. Your body was completely stiff, I almost thought you'd died, before the Vattendragan told me your heart was still beating."

Wow, that's a long time.

I let out a sigh. "Okay... let me explain..."

Flashback.

"...I, Ares Reyhim, 4th Knight of the Eldric Empire, am The Knightmage!"

[ Reward: Grant one wish, under a fair and equal condition. ]

I took a breath.

"I want the system to always stay by my side and help me, no matter the condition or time."

[ Are you sure? ]

"100%."

[ Warning: The wish you've requested is extremely demanding. Some of your existing rewards will be withdrawn to fulfill the requirement. ]

[ Right hand: disabled by force. ]

[ Left hand: disabled by force. ]

[ Hearing will be maximized to reach the system's operating frequency. Activation occurs after the user undergoes a full reset. ]

[ Reward claimed. ]

Ares leapt forward, ready to throw a punch at me. I closed my eyes, then smiled.

I'd already won, and Ares went down.

[ Reset in five. ]

[ Five...Four...Three...Two...One... ]

[ Reset successful. ]

Right after I finished treating everyone's wounds and reporting to headquarters, my body suddenly froze completely, losing consciousness.

Back to the present.

"...So that's what happened. Like you can see, both my hands stopped working entirely, haha..." I said. My ears now had earplugs I'd requested from one of the servants.

Kraaz nodded slowly, rubbing his chin. "Guess that's a pretty fair trade-off, actually... Since you didn't technically lose everything. Our contract bond wasn't taken from you. Maybe because that seal magic counts as a hidden reward? Or maybe because it's still connected through the Vattendragan's contract? Well, either way, this skill's still pretty useful. Would've been a waste to lose it."

"Hmm... but come to think of it, master's hearing actually got even sharper, right? Why would that happen?" Kraaz asked back.

"Probably so I could communicate with 'whatever's been guiding me' this whole time, the thing I've been calling the system. My hearing's so sharp now, I can actually pick up some pretty supernatural stuff too—vibrations from the earth, for example." I explained.

Kraaz nodded along. Not sure if he actually understood or not. Honestly, even I was a little confused, because as far as I knew, hearing at that range was usually reserved for creatures capable of picking up infrasonic frequencies—elephants, ants, that kind of thing. But my hearing had always leaned more toward the ultrasonic range, like bats. I'd emit sound and receive it back to map out my surroundings.

"...? Actually, why don't I try something?"

Kraaz tilted his head. "Try what?"

Sound needs a medium to reach our ears. Normally, sound travels through air, which is exactly why there's no sound in outer space.

I removed my earplugs using telekinesis, which made my ears instantly start ringing again. My face scrunched up slightly, but I held Kraaz back from interrupting.

"[ Wind element: Aerophone filter. ]" I chanted.

The air surrounding my ears shifted slightly away from them, creating a tiny vacuum pocket. Then I shaped a super tiny funnel out of air to receive sound, roughly like a wireless earphone, but a transparent version, made entirely of air. If most people used something like this to hear better, I was using it the opposite way, to filter and block sound instead.

"With this, I don't need those earplugs anymore. I can control the volume myself." I said, buzzing with excitement.

Cklek! The bedroom door opened.

"Ah, you're finally awake, our Hero." That commanding voice belonged to none other than the leader of The House of Haavard and mayor of Fortelessien, Ansgar.

"Ah, Lord Haavard. Thank you for taking care of me. I've really caused you trouble." I lowered my head. "No, no. Honestly, the one who's been taking care of you these past 3 days is Lady Lunaria. She's been incredibly devoted, hasn't left this room once." Ansgar waved his hand dismissively.

"Thanks a lot. You've saved me twice now." I turned toward Lunaria, smiling.

Lunaria turned her face away, blushing slightly. "I-I just wanted to repay you, since you healed my wounds..."

Vargaard, the head servant, cut in. "What Lord Haavard said is true. Lady Lunaria was even diligent about changing your compresses regularly. She seemed to already know exactly how to take care of Lord Bayu—"

"Hey! I-it's not like that!" Lunaria immediately jumped in to correct him.

"Before I joined, Lunaria used to feed master too, so honestly, I'm not even surprised..." Kraaz added mischievously, seeing his opening.

"Kraaz? Just be quiet." This time, Lunaria's face went completely red, her voice trembling with embarrassment.

Suddenly Herlentz strolled in. "Ohohoho! Already sounds like husband and wi—"

"OLD MAN, SHUT UP!" Lunaria immediately closed the distance in a flash, slapping her hand over Herlentz's mouth. Everyone burst out laughing, watching Lunaria become the target of all the teasing.

I laughed along softly too. Guess this winter was going to be filled with warmth after all.

***

A week had passed since that battle.

Ares and his forces became prisoners of war, though Vatur managed to escape. Some of the remaining Orchinid were captured, others retreated. The House of Haavard didn't rush into any death sentences, choosing instead to offer a second chance, letting them live as citizens of Fortelessien. Not entirely sure what was going through Ansgar's mind on that one.

We became heroes of the city. Fortelessien officially became our new home base, with Ansgar personally granting his approval. Herlentz was asked to train the local blacksmiths there. Lunaria was offered the position of Commander, taking over from Bjorn, but she turned it down. She chose to stay by my side instead. Kraaz, meanwhile, ended up with a heavy responsibility of his own too. He was tasked with helping the citizens and the Orchinid learn to trust each other enough to coexist peacefully. Harpha initially refused to train the troops, insisting her only master was me, but once I gave her permission, she complied. As for the Vattendragan? He stuck by Kraaz's side wherever he went.

Those weeks were filled with nothing but falling snow and the lake freezing back over. We didn't have anything nearly as hectic as before to deal with, just the occasional training session. The system—which, turns out, was named Seraphim—could now actually communicate with me directly. Though I had to open up my Aerophone Filter to hear it properly, which meant sometimes I'd miss other sounds entirely while talking to it.

One night, I rolled my wheelchair toward the window, closed but with the curtains left open. Sure, I couldn't actually see, but I could imagine it. Moonlight spilling across the dark night sky. Quiet. And alone.

Tok! Tok! Tok!

"Bayu? Can I come in?" Turned out to be Lunaria's voice. "Come in."

Cklek! Lunaria stepped into my room, wearing her pajamas. But something was off, why was she still wearing her mask?

"Bayu, there's something I want to tell you." she said, her tone serious.

"Hmm? Sit down. What did you want to say?" I rolled my wheelchair closer, toward the side of the bed. Lunaria sat down on it.

"How exactly did you heal my arm?" she asked.

"Eh... telekinesis. Why?"

"How is that even possible? Just reattaching it shouldn't have healed it that fast."

"Well, technically I moved millions of cells inside your body, forcing them to accelerate their regeneration. But it used up a massive amount of mana, that kind of thing counts as high-level magic." I explained. Why was she suddenly asking about this?

"That's exactly it! Can I ask you for a favor?"

"A favor for what?"

Lunaria removed her mask, revealing her burn scar underneath.

"Heal this burn completely. You can do that, right?"

I looked surprised. "Huh? Eh... actually, that does make sense..."

I tried analyzing the entirety of Lunaria's burn scar. Could I actually pull this off?

I removed my Aerophone Filter, trying to ask the expert directly.

"Seraphim, is this something that can be healed?"

[ Analyzing... ]

[ Possible, but the success rate is only 1%. This wound has existed for quite a while now, and the cells within have nearly stopped regenerating entirely. Do you still wish to proceed? ]

I smirked. Well, as long as there's no serious downside, why not try?

"Okay."

I put my Aerophone Filter back on. I adjusted my sitting position, and my body began releasing a faint aura of white mana.

"You ready?" I asked Lunaria.

"I'm ready." Lunaria answered firmly.

A second after she said that, millions of her cells suddenly sprang into motion. My concentration locked onto the burn wound across her body. These cells looked practically dead already, with almost no hope of ever fully healing.

It felt like diving straight into her bloodstream, weaving here and there, coordinating her blood cells to move quickly and efficiently. But the challenge here was genuinely harder than before, this time I was up against bacteria and viruses directly.

I ordered her white blood cells to attack. An epic battle broke out inside her body, one or two casualties on the white blood cell side, plenty more on the bacteria and virus side. But their numbers were simply overwhelming, they managed to push through the defenses.

My body wobbled slightly, sweat drenching every inch of me. Good God, this was insanely difficult. How had Lunaria managed to survive with this many bacteria and viruses inside her this entire time? Wait, wait, does that mean she's been fighting through the pain this whole time? She's been infected for this long, ever since that incident?

I honestly couldn't imagine fighting through something like this while running a fever the whole time. She was incredible, never once showing any sign of being sick. No wonder that 1% success rate wasn't surprising at all, there was just so much to heal, including this underlying illness.

Alright, let me try again. This time, I'll focus entirely on her immune system. I reinforced millions of her white blood cells with my white mana. With magic behind them, they should be able to turn the tide, even against an enemy outnumbering them by that much. Nearly half my white mana got drained just for this.

Thankfully, this time, it looked like it was working. The white blood cells started wiping them out, slowly turning the battle in their favor. Man, watching this fight was genuinely epic. Like 3,000 soldiers against 200,000, and somehow, the massive enemy force was the one retreating. Insane.

"Kh..!" Suddenly, my chest tightened. My mana was nearly depleted. I needed to hurry, I hadn't healed a single bit of the actual burn wound yet.

Seraphim... help me!

[ Release your telekinesis from the white blood cells. Redirect your focus toward regeneration instead. They're already capable of fighting on their own now. ]

Alright, I shifted my focus back. This time, I forced millions of other cells to move, driving regeneration forward. The right side of Lunaria's body began glowing, since my mana was now concentrated entirely there. They started rebuilding the tissue structure, all the way down to the nerve connections leading to her brain. Everything happened incredibly fast.

"..!" Something started trickling from my nose. Blood, I was having a nosebleed. I'd genuinely pushed my mana to the absolute brink, nearly running out completely. At this rate, I could pass out mid-process, dangerous.

What should I do?

...! Kraaz reaching out through our contract bond..?!

"Master! I don't know what you're doing, but you're in critical condition! Why didn't you call me?" He immediately bombarded me through telepathy.

"...Kraaz...help me...Transfer your mana....Quick..."

Oh God? I'm already this exhausted, even for telepathy?

"Understood, Master."

A second later, a bright light washed over me. Eh? This doesn't feel like mana?

"Master, I'm transferring a massive amount of Cakra. Just so you know, it's not mine, it's the Vattendragan's. Make sure to thank him properly later, gotta go." He cut off the telepathic connection.

Cakra? The Vattendragan...? That actually made sense. Alright, I wasn't about to waste this.

"Huooo!"

The regeneration process sped back up. This time, I no longer needed to focus on just one thing at a time, I pushed everything forward at once. This borrowed Cakra was way more than enough, the Vattendragan really was something else. Just a minute after receiving it, Lunaria's body had already recovered 90%. Her white blood cells had already won their battle, all that remained now was the facial regeneration. Just a little more and...

Krak! The scab covering Lunaria's face cracked open, then crumbled away entirely. The light enveloping her body faded. Her face had returned, completely whole.

I let out a breath of relief, letting my body relax against the chair. "Fwaah... finally..."

Lunaria slowly opened her eyes, then tried looking at herself in the mirror across the room. "It... it actually worked..."

Tess! Tess! Her tears started falling.

"...Lunaria?"

"...Hic, hic, I thought I'd never get my face back, ever..." Lunaria cried openly, tears streaming down. I pulled her into an embrace using telekinesis. Then moved my own hands with telekinesis to hug her back properly.

I smiled. "How does it feel, having your face back?"

"...Hic, it's incredible... Huaa!" Lunaria hugged me back tightly.

Ugh, don't cry that loud, please. It's the middle of the night. If someone hears, I'm gonna be the one who gets blamed for this.

"...I know you didn't just heal my facial scar, you healed every illness inside my body too, didn't you? My whole body feels completely refreshed now."

I scratched my face, even though it wasn't itchy at all. "Eh, well... couldn't really help it. Wouldn't have healed properly otherwise."

Lunaria had calmed down by now. She took a breath, then let it out. "Do you want to try seeing my face?"

My eyes went wide. "Eh, can I really?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Alright, if you don't mind."

Slowly, my fingers moved with telekinesis, tracing across her face. Ooh, so this is what her face looks like...

Beautiful, that was my first impression.

Her skin was smooth as silk, clean and well-cared for, nothing like the rough, worn skin you'd expect from a fighter. Her eyebrows arched neatly, her nose was elegantly straight with a soft tip. Her cheekbones were perfectly symmetrical, graceful, beautifully proportioned. Honestly, my fingers didn't want to stop tracing every inch of her face. She smiled sweetly.

For the first time, I'd found someone with a face this incredibly, unmatchably beautiful.

"...You're beautiful..." I blurted out without thinking. I lowered my hand.

"...Thanks..."

"Your skin's so well taken care of, your face is so perfectly proportioned. Incredible..."

"Hmm..? You haven't touched that part yet, have you?" Lunaria asked, a hint of mischief in her voice.

Eh? Was there something I missed?

Lunaria held my face gently. "Try describing it yourself."

Cup!

A soft, gentle touch from her full lips, warm and tender, landed squarely on my right cheek.

"?! Ueeh?!" I froze completely, stunned solid.

"Teehee! Bye~" Lunaria then dashed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

This time, for some reason, my face felt incredibly hot.

Ugh, isn't it supposed to be winter right now? Why am I suddenly this warm? Ugh.

Ugh, what's going on with me? My heart's pounding so hard, ugh.

I lifted myself up with wind magic onto the bed, then lay down, completely unable to close my eyes. My mind was still stuck on what had happened just seconds ago. Something I never, ever saw coming.

Ugh, what's wrong with my mouth? I can't stop smiling, ugh.

***