Chapter 10: So much for a heartfelt goodbye
Sleep didn't come easily to Mikel. In fact, after the night he had, he didn't get a wink of it. Not out of fear, but because the remnants of adrenaline still surged through his veins.
"Just put this on your bruise. It'll take a while..." As the doctor spoke, Mikel pressed the ice pack against the large bruise on his shoulder.
His hospital gown was pulled aside, revealing the angry blotch of purple and red on his skin. He stared at it blankly.
"But based on your results, there aren't any complications from the surgery..." The doctor's voice began to fade as Mikel's mind drifted. "Does it hurt?"
"No," Mikel answered quickly, even though he hadn't really been listening. He met the doctor's concerned eyes—his gaze steady, unflinching. "It doesn't hurt at all."
The doctor smiled. "I see. Today, we'll run one last round of tests. Hopefully, the final set before we can finally send you off."
"..." Mikel nodded, his eyes drifting to the nurses and junior doctors gathered around.
The nurse from the day before was no longer with them. Everyone acted like nothing unusual had happened the night before. Even the old man sharing his ward was going about his day like always.
It was as if everything that had happened — the Nightbound, the fight, the man named Stefan, the Blood Chain, and Doom — were all figments of his imagination. Just a nightmare, meant to fade over time.
But alas...
He knew it wasn't just in his head. Not with these messages scrolling across his vision, congratulating him for completing his first objective and "leveling up," not with the strange beaded bracelet on his wrist, and definitely not with this faint graduation song still echoing in his head.