Chapter 8\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as I agreed, a familiar tugging sensation engulfed me. Then, my surroundings dissolved into a blanket of blinding white.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When my vision cleared, I found myself standing right outside the hospital\u2019s ICU. The corridor reeked of disinfectant that made my stomach churn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beyond the glass door of the ICU lay a version of myself I barely recognized. It was Caroline\u2019s body, her face deathly pale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A web of tubes ran from her body to the surrounding machines. The flickering waveforms on the screen were the only sign that she still clung to life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Standing guard by her bed was a figure so thin he was almost unrecognizable. It was Albus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remembered him, neatly dressed in his white lab coat, his tone gentle as he recounted funny moments from his experiments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But now, his hair was a disheveled mess. It clung to his forehead unevenly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The white lab coat that once fit him perfectly now hung loosely on his frame as if draped over a rack of bones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He crouched by the bed and clutched the patient\u2019s wrist tightly. Staring blankly at the monitors, his spirit was seemingly long gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The floor creaked under my weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Albus reacted as if a start button had been pressed. His head snapped up instantly. He tried to speak, but his voice failed him. For a long moment, no sound came out. Eventually, a dry, rasping sound rattled from his throat. It sounded like the wheezing of a rusted bellow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol?\u201d he asked tentatively, his voice so raspy it was barely recognizable. \u201cIs it you? Is it really you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that, I let out a sigh. Then, I replied, \u201cYou\u2019ve lost so much weight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Albus broke down, tears streaming down his face as he carefully offered me a pastry from the desk. \u201cI know these are your favorite, so I bought out every last one in the city. Please, try one\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took one, put it down, and indifferently replied, \u201cThey\u2019re too sweet. I\u2019ve outgrown them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he heard that, his hand jerked to a halt, and he wept all the harder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ignoring his grief, I said, \u201cGet Martin, Oscar, and Nathan. I need to speak to them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They arrived quickly, the sound of their footsteps growing louder as they approached.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oscar came in on a crutch, walking with a pronounced limp. His complexion was even paler than Albus\u2019, while his gaze was heavy with exhaustion and despondency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once, this was the dashing superstar who had always shielded me. Now, he could barely even stand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then came Martin, the ever-calm, all-powerful head of the Berglings. He was dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt, but his\u00a0<\/p>\n
sleeves couldn\u2019t mask the scars on his wrists.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a dense patchwork of old and new injuries-a truly gruesome sight to behold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Martin spoke first. \u201cYou\u2019re back,\u201d he said, his voice carrying an unmistakable tremor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oscar staggered toward me, his eyes red with unshed tears. \u201cCarol, I failed you\u2026 You can hit me or yell at me, do whichever you want. Please don\u2019t leave again, okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Agitated, they both reached for my arm. However, I stepped back with a frown, irritation written on my face. \u201cDo not come any closer,\u201d I warned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that moment, a sudden flurry of footsteps echoed from the hallway. It was Nathan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 8\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could hardly recognize him. Once the most dazzling figure in Heidorot\u2019s elite, his hair was now stark white. There was a frantic, almost crazy look in his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His gaze was pinned on me as he approached, one heavy step at a time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCarol\u2026 my Carol\u2026\u201d he mumbled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathan reached out to pull me into an embrace, but I stepped aside, letting him grasp at nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hands suspended in the air, despair flooded his features as he continued, \u201cCarol, we learned our lesson. Please give us another chance. Just one?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m only back because this world is on the brink of collapse. I won\u2019t let your obsession drag more innocent people into it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, my gaze swept over the lifeless body on the bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStop lying to yourselves,\u201d I added, my tone dripping with sarcasm. \u201cDo you really think keeping her on life support while messing around with pointless occult rituals will bring her back? Caroline died a long time ago. That thing lying there is nothing more than a soulless husk.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 8\u00a0 As soon as I agreed, a familiar tugging sensation engulfed me. Then, my surroundings dissolved into a blanket […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-only-when-i-gave-up-did-they-care"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}