’When was the last time I felt such pain?’
Cashel’s thoughts circled around that specific question as his consciousness returned.
The pain was very similar to the moment his body made contact with the blast that day, but it had only lasted a brief second before another bullet penetrated his head and ended everything instantly.
He still had no idea who might have shot him the second time, but he was thankful...mostly.
However, this pain was worse, and it was continuous.
Riiiiiiiiing
The terrible ringing sound filled Cashel’s ears as he became fully conscious, and thhe scent of cleaning agents and rubbing alcohol filled his nostrils.
His eyes fluttered open, and squinted slightly when a blinding white light penetrated his cornea and made his eyes tear up.
When he finally got used to the light, he parted his eyes, but the world was still a mosaic pattern, even more blurry than before.
’How long have I been out?’ he wondered. A soft groan left his lips when he tried to move. Then he noticed that familiar blue screen beside him. It was huge, with words constantly rearranging themselves and flickering.
He could almost read them, but not still quite.
Exhaling, Cashel shut his eyes and opened them again, then his vision cleared up a bit.
He noticed he was lying in a hospital bed inside what looked like a private ward.
Multiple machines beeped around him, and an unnecessarily large glass wall took up the space where the door should have been.
Outside the room, he spotted Andeen. She was in her uniform, wrinkled and stained with blood. Her usually neat hair was messy, held in a messy bun with many strands falling over her face and she gripped her staff so tight he was scared she’d break it.
The other person was a tall man in a black combat military uniform underneath a white doctor’s coat, wearing a serious expression as they spoke.
"....Three years?" the doctor asked, tilting his head slightly. "I had no idea you’ve been married for that long, jeez." He shook his head and jotted something down on the tablet in his arm. "Any history of hereditary illnesses or any chronic illnesses?"
Andeen shook her head, an exhausted sigh leaving her lips. "No, I make sure to run scans on him every month. He’s completely healthy."
"Any previous surgeries?"
"No."
The doctor paused. "But you said you bought him from the black market’s human trafficking sectors?"
Andeen nodded. "Yes. He was completely fine, no scars, no marks, nothing. That’s why I picked him."
Cashel grimaced slightly, ’Now that I hear it, I’m suddenly painfully aware of how crazy our relationship sounds.’ he smiled, almost laughing, but the pain wouldn’t let him.
The doctor made notes and sighed, "Then how long has he been coughing like this?"
Andeen hesitated, her fists tightened around her staff until her knuckles turned red. Then her head dropped as guilt, worry, and regret washed over her. "I don’t... know," her voice cracked. "I had no idea he was going through something like this. I couldn’t detect anything during the last check-up....I swear."
Cashel’s chest ached at the sight and tone of her voice. He truly wanted to avoid this, but he had no idea it would turn out like this. And those drugs... an obvious scam.
The doctor sighed once again, he placed his hand on her head and patted her gently. "Calm down. I understand. It’s pretty unusual, but it’s not your fault." He paused. "Judging from the amount of internal damage when I checked, it has been at least a month..."
Cough
Cashel’s voice echoed through the room, interrupting the doctor at that exact moment. Before he could raise his head to apologise, Andeen was already rushing inside without hesitation.
She reached his bedside in seconds, and her hands found his face. She ran her hands gently over his face, checked his breathing and his temperature, while Cashel just tried not to choke. He coughed into his palms only to be pulled into a tight hug.
"Don’t scare me like that again..." she whispered, her voice barely audible against his neck and Cashel could only chuckle.
He weakly wrapped his arms around her. He felt her shoulders relax, and somehow the warmth from her body eased the pain a bit. Even the ringing had subsided a little.
The doctor, who had silently walked into the room, looked at both of them, especially Andeen, like she was an alien. ’So the rumors are true,’ he thought, chuckling silently to himself.
Cashel pulled back slightly, "My ears..." Andeen pulled away completely, her expression shifting to a rather scary, concerned one. He explained how he was feeling: the fact that he could hear clearly but could still hear ringing, and that his body was aching.
After taking a diagnostic, the doctor smiled gently. "That’s normal after what your body went through. Give it time."
Cashel frowned, still confused. He watched the doctor move to the monitor beside the bed. After a moment, a smile appeared on his face, and he nodded to himself.
"I confirmed that would be the case," he snickered. "Congratulations, Mr. Altar."
Cashel stared at him. "...What?"
Andeen was also confused, sje glanced at the machine as well, but she couldn’t understand what was there. She could only identify the machine as a mana counter.
"Welcome to the world of Awakeners... Mr. Altar."
"Wait... what?!"
Andeen was also dumbfounded. She looked at the machine again, then at Cashel and her gaze lingered on him for a moment. "...Impossible."
She was genuinely confused. As an S-rank hunter, she could sense mana clearly, or even the slightest energy, but she couldn’t sense anything.
She had made sure to check many times over the three years, and Cashel was clearly past the age of awakening.
The doctor seemed to understand their reaction, especially hers. He placed his tab down at the foot of the bed and stretched forth his hands.
"Normally..." He began, a small ball of light appearing above his palms. "An Awakener emits mana naturally, but your husband... Cashel seems completely ordinary. Which means one of three things." The ball split into three: a small brown one, a red one, and a silver one. "Either he’s an F-rank, his mana is so dense that no one can perceive it, or only someone below his rank can sense it." He smiled. "It’s one of the rarest cases I’ve seen so far.
"And he’s been living with an active S-rank hunter. A normal human can’t stand that, especially after missions... and you go home right after them, correct?" Andeen nodded slowly. He clasped his palms together, causing the balls to vanish. "That’s it then. You’re the reason he’s like that."
Andeen shook her head frantically. His brows furrowed. She tightened her grip on Cashel’s shoulder, making him wince slightly.
"...rid of it."
He glanced at her, even the doctor also frowned.
"What?" they both asked in unison.
"Get rid of it!"