Author's Note: Well, it's about time, isn't it? Actually, a massive clash of unforeseen events, including a huge workload, a spell of depression, family related work (moving/remodeling) and a rather stupid accident while assembling furniture (I tore open the side of one of my fingers with an electrical screwdriver…kinda made typing painful for a while) meant updating the story had to be put on hold, so apologies to everyone for the wait!
In order to make up for it (and for narrative reasons as well), I will switch the chapter order, resulting in a surprise, as this chapter and the next are extremely important, and also introduces the second to last OC to the story. Let's go then!
Chapter 51: Kill Your Hopes and Fears (Part Seven: Empire)
The Imperial Military Hospital…
Najenda took a deep breath as she placed her hand on the door's knob.
After all her experience as a soldier and leader, visiting the wounded and injured, especially those under her command, was something she couldn't cope with as well as she did with death; after all, death was familiar to her…while dealing with breathing, bleeding reminders of her failure as a leader was a situation she could never get used to…specially after leading Night Raid, were the possible death of its members was a fact each and everyone in the assassin unit accepted.
She turned the doorknob with a firm turn of her artificial hand, and was instantly hit with a wave of cold air, which made her breath visible with every exhalation.
"General Najenda…I wasn't expecting you to attend today's checkups"-A male voice said as Najenda closed the door.
Standing a few meters from her was a middle aged man, whose main defining features were slicked back dark hair and glasses; he wore black pants and a shirt with a loose tie, and over his shoulders a long, stylish doctor's white coat covered his back, while its empty sleeves laid on each side, as the young man's arms were not inside them…probably because they weren't big enough for the gauntlets the man was wearing on his hands.
"I took some time from meetings and intelligence briefings to visit, Doctor."-Najenda said with a smile. The man who refused to be called anything but Doctor had been a top medic in the revolutionary army, and despite rumors saying his refusal to reveal his name was due to him being either a nobility born imperial deserter, an illegal practitioner, or even both, his skill in saving lives and keeping soldier's in fighting form had quickly ensured him the entitlement to his secrecy…and being chosen to wield the glove like Teigu that he currently wore, Glorious Hands of God: Perfector, which had only made him even more effective as miracle worker in medicine on and off the battlefield, to the point he had easily been reincorporated into the reformed Imperial Army.
"I am glad you did, General. With General Kaskade…unavailable, I'm afraid I have no one else to report my findings to directly."-Doctor said.
"General Kaskade has delegated all her duties to me, given the current situation the Empire faces, so she could fully focus on her research. As hard and…inconvenient as it is, I'm afraid her talents and time are off the table for the time being."-Najenda sighed.
"I understand, General. I mostly worry that General Kaskade might neglect her health and well-being while immersed in her research. I'd appreciate if you could check up on her as soon as possible."-Doctor said, in a tone of voice that suggested more than basic professional concern.
"I'll do so as soon as I can, Doctor"-Najenda replied, slightly wincing at the thought, as she had more than enough personal experience with dealing with Kaskade while she was obsessed over her works and projects, and every single time she had been called or forced to deal with it, she had marveled that Kaskade didn't drop dead of exhaustion, malnutrition or forgoing basic hygiene; Najenda suspected Grujen might have something to do with it, but given the general weirdness of the general situation every time, she preferred not to investigate any further.
"I assume the current…temperature of the room means the patient's condition remains the same?"-Najenda asked as the cold air again made her warm exhale visible.
"I am afraid so, General…you can see for yourself"-Doctor said as he gently pulled open a curtain that divided the entire room.
Najenda had to held a gasp, even if the sight before her was the same she had encountered several times since the day the Dark Wall had emerged, and the Empire's new enemies had revealed themselves.
On a simple military hospital bed, Esdeath laid on her back, her body covered up to her chest by a simple sheet, which stopped right before the tattoo mark that her Teigu had bestowed upon her.
Her head laid on comfy looking pillow, and her long flowing light blue hair had been carefully combed and placed down her back. Her light, porcelain like skin seemed less pale than usual, mainly because of the contrast created by the light layer of frost that covered sheets, mattress and bedframe, spreading over every surface and object on the room, with the frost extending up until the division created by the curtain. Only the exposed skin, face and hair of Esdeath were clear of the layer of thin ice that dominated the room.
However, it was not just the sight of the immobile and vulnerable Esdeath that made Najenda hold her shocked reaction every time that damned curtain was pulled open.
There was also the figure sitting on the bed next to her, watching.
Someone less observant or who had entered the room for the first time would had confused the sitting figure for a statue whose life like properties were only matched by its unnatural aspect.
At first, the white figure seemed to be a lifeless statue, but on close observation, a whiff of visible breath emanating near its face at small intervals revealed it was a breathing, living being, in the form of a young male human wearing simple military boots and pants, while naked from the waist up…but as the observer's eyes followed upwards, there was the sensation that something was amiss, or rather wrong, with the frost covered young man, and curiosity thoughtlessly made the observer move to the side, in order to fully see the young man's figure.
And then the observer's mind would break a signal of shock and horror, signaling the body to scream in terror and surprise, as the figure's true aspect was revealed.
Because the young man's right arm wasn't that of a human being; instead of soft skin and nimble fingers, there was a clawed hand with barbed spiked and talons emerging from its plate life scaled skin, which continued covering the young man's arm up to the shoulder, were the unnatural, beastly appendage seemed to end…but closer inspection revealed a few thick growths continuing up the neck, decreasing in thickness as they carried on though the youngish, handsome face, culminating their ascend with thin, almost nerve like strands digging themselves into the right eye…which was no longer the green color of its opposite but a bloody red and bright monstrosity, with a slit pupil further denoting its bestial origin.
Najenda didn't bother saying the name, or even trying to talk to the figure that sat next to Esdeath; after all, she had tried before, on countless occasions on every visit, but she had never gotten any response; as far as anyone knew, Doctor included, the young man, after he had awakened, had simply sat on the side of his bed and stayed there, looking down at General Esdeath's silent and unmoving form.
"She remains the same?"-Najenda asked while staring at the half frozen scene.
"I am afraid so. According to the few notes I have from General Kaskade after I assisted her with healing and stabilizing the patients after her unit arrived in the Capital, it seems that General Esdeath's body instinctively used her Teigu's powers to prevent further organ damage and blood loss, essentially keeping her in a cold powered stasis...but even after the General and I repaired the damage, General Esdeath remained in this "stasis". General Kaskade has hypothesized that while the physical damage was undone, the toll on her mind might had been far more than she could handle…after all, her Teigu already had a history of being volatile and unpredictable, and given that we have no records of the Teigu itself acting in this manner, along with General Esdeath's previous medical history…"-Doctor said as he read from a handful of documents, which he handed to Najenda.
"To cut it short, Esdeath had never suffered injuries of this caliber previously, which coupled the massive toll her Teigu took on her body…means it simply shutdown to a bare minimum in order to maximize the survival chances of its host body"-Najenda said as she read on.
"Exactly. We are in the complete dark and out of options, as far as the Empire's Medical and Teigu knowledge goes."-Doctor said.
"But Tatsumi…according to these notes, he is supposedly fine, all things considered?"-Najenda asked as she glanced briefly at the sitting figure.
"Well, as you can see, the General and I didn't even have to do anything to him; by the time he was brought in here, his wounds had already healed…but then he started to scream in pain as his arm began undergoing its…change. General Kaskade forbade giving him any anesthesia or even attempt amputation or removal of the growths and scales. I was aghast at her orders, until she confirmed her hypothesis, as you can see here."-Doctor said as he pointed with a gloved finger at a section in the papers Najenda held.
"I see…his body actually absorbed and fully incorporated Incursio's core, with his arm acting as a starting point for the core to try and adapt itself to its new host. But the growth stopped at his arm and hand, along with his neck, right side of the face and right eye."-Najenda read out loud.
"Exactly. However, we have no data or previous research to theorize why the growth stopped. General Kaskade confirmed the growth was over because the core had stabilized inside Tatasumi's body, but we have no idea why it stopped in the first place, or if it's even permanent…so he remains in observation."-Doctor finished.
"It says here that he has not eaten or gone to the bathroom? After all this time?"-Najenda asked in disbelief.
"Well, you see, why would he? Eating and its related bodily functions are essentially the way the human body obtains energy and nutrients…but since Tatsumi's body has absorbed and assimilated Incursio's core, he has a constant source of energy now, so why would he even need to eat or even create any bodily waste at all? From a medical perspective, he might not be fully human, as brutally honest as it sounds."-Doctor replied.
"I see. So all we can do now is wait and hope for the best."-Najenda sighed, as he placed the papers inside her uniform, and walked towards the door, with Doctor following her.
"In my opinion, that is all we can do, General. We are not just facing an enemy that is inhuman, but one that also seems to act and operate in an inhuman way, after all."-Doctor said as he closed the door once both of them were outside. He turned a key into the door's keyhole, which was instantly followed by several thick metal bars emerging from every side of the doorframe, locking the door firmly in place and making the room behind it pretty much impossible to break in or break out of.
"I know…I read the notes Kaskade left, along with the few reports Grujen brings from her laboratory from time to time. Crippling Esdeath, our most powerful Teigu user, and turning Tatsumi into what might be something like them. It makes no sense, giving away so much to your enemy…unless…"-Najenda said.
"Unless what?"-Doctor.
"Unless the bastards actually want us to become like them"-Najenda said as they walked away.
And inside the locked room, behind the curtain, a layer of frost fell to the ground, as an inhuman arm gently moved and laid its clawed hand rest against the figure that laid on the frost covered bed.
"Esdeath…"-Tatsumi whispered as his right eye flickered.
Next Chapter: Tatsumi faces his fears…and makes his choice.
