His arms fell too heavy to lift or raise.
His legs, too weak to be bent or move.
His breaths were shallow and weak.
"How do you feel?" She repeated.
His fingers ached as he clenched and pushed his fist against the bed below.
Such thin fingers he had.
"Fine... I feel fine..." The young man answered between tired pants.
In truth, he didn't feel fine at all.
"That's good. That's good." The red-haired woman said, a sliver of doubt in her voice.
He didn't feel fine, and she could tell.
The nurse lowered her gaze towards the board she held.
The pen in her hand moved.
The young man scratched his head.
He could only do so for a few seconds, as his thin bicep muscle quickly started cramping up.
"Agh..." The 17-year-old patient tried to hide it, but the nurse was a bit too good at picking up such things.
He knew she could tell.
After all, they had been together for six years already.
For the last six years, he has been a patient.
For the last six years, she has been taking care of him.
For six years, he has been locked in the hospital they were in.
"Any chest pain? Trouble breathing? Dizziness?" The nurse asked.
"None. Doing juuust fine."
Waking up even more tired than he was the night before.
Out of breath after simply sitting up.
A cramping bicep from scratching his head.
"Your parents are coming to see you tomorrow. They'll..."
The young man absent-mindedly moved his gaze away.
He stared at the window by his side.
Or rather, at what lay beyond it.
"Are you listening?"
"Mm." He nodded, despite not really listening.
There was nothing new to hear after all.
"You have physical therapy later with Mike, right? He told me you've been making good progress this last month."
"Mm. I guess..."
"That's exciting, right? I'm sure by this time next year, you'll..."
The young man's ears filtered out the rest.
In the prison that was his room, nothing changed.
No matter how much time passed.
No matter how much effort he put in.
Everything remained the same.
Not even Mina's usually intoxicating cheerfulness and optimism could move his heart anymore.
In the prison that was his room.
The young man truly hated it.
He hated the TV he had in front of him at all times.
He hated the air conditioner that always adjusted the temperature for it to be just right.
He hated how comfortable the bed below was.
In the prison that was his room.
But the real prison wasn't the room, no.
The real prison wasn't something he could escape from or attempt to leave.
The real prison, he was born in.
It restricted his movements at all times.
Unfairly and unjustly tied him down.
Kept him from doing so much.
It kept him from doing everything.
"I think I'll sleep some more before the therapy." He said with a weak voice.
"Mm." The red-haired nurse nodded cheerfully. "I'll come get you sometime before, 'kay? Make sure you rest well!"
Even though he had just slept for about ten hours, he was still incredibly tired.
His muscles didn't want to move.
His heart rate increased.
It was such an arduous task, going from a seated to a lying position.
The young man curled his body up under the white blanket.
Breathing was getting tedious.
Why was that? Why was it that others could do it so easily?
His whole body felt tense.
His muscles had a brick's elasticity, and rubber band's strength.
He lay there, unmoving.
Twenty minutes later, his eyebrow twitched.
The young man opened his eyes.
It had started.
He was convinced it had.
Nothing more than a hunch, but the young man trusted that hunch.
With clenched fists, he pushed himself off the bed and sat up.
It hurt a bit less than it had earlier.
He bent his knees and turned around.
His muscles felt a bit more flexible than they had earlier.
It had started after all.
The young man took a deep breath as his feet dangled.
Slowly, and carefully, he lowered them.
Slowly, and carefully, he moved his bottom closer to the edge of the bed.
His triceps, with which his was supporting his weight, trembled. But they didn't cramp up.
The young man pushed himself off the bed.
And stood up.
Upright, the young man stood.
He didn't stumble. And he didn't sway.
Slowly, a foot rose. He stepped forward.
It only took three steps to arrive at his destination.
Heavy breaths exited his month.
His destination.
The furthest place he could get to without collapsing.
A place he could only get to occasionally too.
His body only allowed him this privilege when it was happening.
He looked through the window, and there it was.
In a way, it was his dream.
Without realizing it, the young man lay a hand against the glass window.
His dream was so close that he could peek at it.
The distance separating him from it was, at most, 200 hundred meters.
And yet...
***
The roots wrapped around Mark's body tightened.
They crushed bone, cut his skin, and tore through his muscle.
The pain was excruciating.
But it wasn't his cries that were heard through the Forest.
Yarnha's screamed and screamed as if it was her skin being lacerated, as if it were her bones being broken.
A dark aura oozed out of the Monster's wounds.
'I won't...'
It blinked, and its eyes changed color.
'Go back there.'
Suddenly,
Crack-
Crack-
Crack-
Crunch-
Crunch-
Crunch-
"Ha... Hahahaha!" Crazed laughter escaped the Devourer's mouth.
***
The platform of earth flipped.
"Ugh-"
The two that were being transported hit the ground.
'She really... We're...'
Elisa looked around for a second.
'Outside the Forest...'
They had been left about a hundred meters away, on a large field of grass.
"I'm guessing this is the limit of her-"
The next second, the back of her hand was suddenly scratched.
"Agh. What was that for? Krista??"
The Moonlit Feline jumped off and away from her.
"Hey!"
The white-furred cat stared for a bit, before turning away.
"What are you...?"
The next second, the Moonlit Feline started running.
"Where...!"
It only took a second for Elisa to catch up after realizing it.
"I'm not letting you..."
With her arms spread to the sides, she barred the Moonlit Feline's way.
"Go back in there."
Krista bared her fangs, and a blueish aura started emanating from her body.
The ground and grass below started freezing, as a coldness took hold of the Moonlit Feline's eyes.
It was the first time Elisa had seen such a look coming from Krista.
It was the first time Krista had given such a look.
The Moonlit Feline hissed, and the area covered by frost grew larger slightly.
The silent Elisa and the hissing Krista stared at one another.
Simultaneously, their ears twitched.
The Moonlit Feline leaped forward, slightly to its right.
Elisa moved to intercept.
But just when her hands were about to reach for the Moonlit Feline's body, Elisa closed her eyes.
The next second, an incredibly bright light was emitted and shone through the starless night's darkness.
The running white-furred cat had turned into a Lioness.
Having closed her eyes before the light could be emitted, Elisa wasn't blinded.
Which is why, once more, it only took a second for her to stand in the Moonlit Feline's way once more.
"I'm not letting you go, Krista."
How cold the Moonlit Feline's eyes were, there was no need to describe.
Cold enough to freeze the ground below.
Cold enough for the air to get heavier.
Cold enough for it to turn into Frost.
The Lioness bared her fangs, her face twitching. Was Krista thirsty for blood?
Probably not.
After all, the one in front of her was none other than Elisa.
Yet, at this time, Krista couldn't care less about that.
At the moment, Elisa wasn't Elisa.
She was simply something standing in Krista's way.
Something separating her from her Master.
Something keeping her from getting to his side once more.
"I-"
Before Elisa could get a word out, the Lioness let out a mighty roar.
The intensity was enough to make Elisa's leg twitch.
The Lioness might have counted on her Master for protection many times, but at her essence, she was his Underling. His Protector.
And if he were about to face Death, the least she could do was face it too, by his side.
Elisa took a deep breath in.
"He has put his life on the line for me too many times already."
The next second, she unsheathed her Timeworn Elven Daggers.
"No matter what, I'm not letting you go in there. Not until Dawn."
The Lioness' eyes narrowed.
"I owe him... That much at least."
The Moonlit Feline roared powerfully. And Elisa's gaze was lowered to the ground.
Krista wasn't about to back off.
"I don't let you go, no matter what. This is what he would have wanted me to do. So please, Krista. Don't try to go in there..." Elisa whispered.
She looked back up.
"Please..."
A resolute expression and teary eyes stared at Krista.
"Don't make me hurt you."
Too easy. Too cowardly.
The Lioness roared as she stepped forward.
The nightmare Elisa had seen left an impact on her mind.
Scrambled thoughts.
Her father, her people, Raven, her village...
Too many things her mind wanted to focus on at once.
But one thing she was certain of, was the thing she did her best to focus on.
Protecting Krista until Dawn.
Protecting her until the Forest calms down.
"We'll go find him once the sun starts rising. If you can't accept that..." Elisa raised her Daggers. "I'll have to force you to wait."
