Eren’s entire world crumbled into a hazy mess. Black spots permeated his vision, starting from the right side of his face where Geister’s punch landed with great force.
His body slacked before the force hurtled him to the wall, cracking the concrete behind him.
"You crazy bastard!" Geister’s anxious shout was muffled even as he rushed towards him.
The last thing Eren remembered before he passed out was the feeling of that prickly sensation in his body, relieving him, empowering him, giving him that short instance of consciousness to look at Geister and smile.
Now, Geister was truly convinced that Eren was a masochist.
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The voices of a man and a woman awoke Eren from his peaceful slumber. The intensity of their arguments were the only pulling force that kept him away from that eternal sleep. Ever the snoop, he was.
"Athan... I can’t believe you."
"Really? After everything I’ve done, this is the thing you can’t believe? I’m offended."
"You took on a student?! And a cripple at that? And you didn’t even tell him that it’s not going to fix his—"
"Shush, my dear. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here."
The disappointment in the woman’s voice was all too clear. All too familiar. It was filled with warmth and vitality. Enough to bring up emotions from deep in Eren’s heart that he thought he pushed back so long ago.
The man’s voice, on the other hand, was cold. Aloof. Yet he was Eren’s master. His role model. His friend.
Eren opened his eyes, wishing to see those two bickering old heads again.
"You’re so stupid. I can’t believe you’ve done this."
Bright white light assaulted his vision. The sterile scent of antiseptic washed away the fading memories still lingering in his mind.
Two figures appeared on his sides. On his left was a woman, frizzy black hair and bespectacled. Her doctor’s coat gave the scowl on her face a lot more gravity.
On his right was a burly man wearing green scrubs that couldn’t hide the history of his well-built muscles underneath. Crossing his arms against his chest in defense, his scars were on full display—like it always was.
"Come on, Elena. He’s fine," Geister shrugged.
"Don’t make me burn you."
Geister put his hands up in surrender. "Sheesh. Feisty as always, doctor."
Eren groaned as he pushed himself upright from the bed. The effects of his near-suicidal act had finally come to bite him.
"Oh look. You’ve awoken our crazy little patient. Can’t we just get along?" Geister pleaded.
"You shut your mouth. He’s not the only one experiencing a headache from that annoying voice of yours. Get out." Dr. Reid didn’t look to be playing around this time. The ghostly green fire on her fist emitted real heat this time around, enough to scorch that look on Geister’s face.
"Fine, fine! I’ve had enough of your scars." Eren’s Physical Therapist retreated to the door. Before he left, he turned to Eren and gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, kiddo. I was too busy trying to relive the good old days to stop in time."
He didn’t give Eren a chance to say anything before he closed the door behind him.
If he had, Eren would have thanked him.
He might be experiencing a nasty migraine right now, but his body was the best it had ever been.
Ræzoň rewarded his ruthlessness, especially to his own body. Geister could have killed him. That punch destroyed skulls as easily as it did concrete, especially to a scrawny kid like him.
But he still executed his plan. He pushed himself towards Geister’s fist, seeking out pain instead of avoiding it.
And because of that, the bottleneck in the [Masochist’s Dream] had been broken. He was keenly aware of the spiny sensation now covering his entire body. Like warm, bubbling blood rushing back to alleviate the numbness in his extremities.
Finally, with his progress unimpeded, he’d experience great progress with his goal of finally walking on his own two feet.
"Eren..."
But for now, it seemed that he had to deal with the aftermath of his admittedly suicidal-act.
"What you did today was idiotic. It’s self-destructive," Dr. Reid admonished. "Were you that desperate to start your Awakener Training? You purposefully got yourself punched. And for what? You wanted to experience it for yourself and hope to learn how it works? No one perfects the Foundational Moveset in a single day, much less in an hour."
Eren kept quiet, playing the part of a child getting lectured.
Advancing the [Masochist’s Dream] was the main reason why he wanted to get punched. But it was true that he hoped it would let him glean a little bit of information about its proper execution. He couldn’t. But at least now he knew how it should feel.
"I knew that bastard’s still stuck in the past. But I didn’t think he’d bring you along with him. You’re not supposed to learn those moves yet."
Once all of her grievances were laid out, Dr. Reid sighed and turned on her doctorly persona. She asked him if he was okay, prodded where he was hurt, and prescribed him some medicine to go along with it.
"I’ll be assigning you to a new Physical Therapist from now on. Strictly simple walks and exercise only."
"Yes, doctor," Eren replied.
Satisfied, she soon left him alone to recover.
He didn’t tarry any longer. He pushed himself off the bed and planted his feet squarely on the tiled flooring.
That usual pang of pain was gone. Completely. His thigh muscles were still a little bit tight, but it was nothing a few stretches couldn’t fix.
He took a step. And then another. And another.
With each stride, his awkward posture became more confident. More assured that he wouldn’t crumple after the next step.
Fifteen days after his coma, Eren could finally walk on his own two feet. It was truly a momentous progress in his goal. But it wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning. Now, it’s time to start considering his Ascension Art.