Disclaimer: All respective rights/ownerships go to their rightful owners. I claim no ownership besides any OC. I only wish to write a story :d.

Death has been a concept I've always thought about since I started my career as a hunter. Each and every time I went out and swung my sword and cleaved through anything. Every time I got hurt or came back exhausted. I always thought about it, the end. I had always thought I'd find myself surrounded by monsters and fighting with all I had to escape alive. That's how I imagined my end would be (if it came), and in fact it, almost did a few times.

Of course life never goes the way you think it would.

Admittedly, the way I did go out is rather satisfying anyway. You don't get the chance to save a person really (usually because saving that person leads to your death) in life as a human. Typically, only once does such an event happen and it's usually a rewarding experience. Saving a girl, the future of Lastation, it's a good way to die….

If I was actually dead. As the constant beeping makes me quite aware that I'm not.

I'm not sure what's going on as I still have my eyes closed and am suffering a large amount of pain. The last thing I remember before losing consciousness is seeing the Ancient Dragon preparing for the final attack on me and large amounts of pain with possibly destroyed body parts. Oh and the blood, lots of blood.

Taking this chance to survey the damage, I first try to move my body parts. Arms? Check. Legs? Check. Hands and feet? Check.

Looks like everything is in working order and more importantly, attached! I'm really surprised considering the damage I toke and how some of my bones felt before. Well, Lastation is the most advanced nation, seconded by Planeptune. Must have been some new technology that helped heal me to such a level.

With that, I open my eyes…and face the horrible brightness!

Ack! Seriously this is way too bright! Someone turn it down please!

"Well, I have to be one lucky guy" I say as I gloss over myself. After getting used to the lighting (and panicking), I can see that I'm not in a full body cast or anything. Literally everything is in place. I expected to be horribly dismantled somewhere even after testing myself, but I guess the Goddess deemed me to live a normal life.

With the most pressing things checked out I survey the hospital room I'm currently in. I'm all by myself here, which is concerning. Usually hospitals have patients share, but this room is obviously meant for one person. I was given a private room it would seem. This is a little concerning as private rooms are meant for the wealthier. It has the typical dark colors and steampunk theme that Lastation has. Aside from the beautiful window side to look out from and big TV, this is your standard hospital room.

"Now the biggest question is how am I alive?" I ask myself as I lay back down with my arms crossed.

Really, aside from a minimal amount of pain I feel throughout my body I'm perfectly fine. Last I remembered in my near death state was a lot of pain and many things not being in the right place anymore. Of course there is what happened to the Ancient Dragon. Did she manage to kill it by herself? Did she die? Did someone else come and save us? It'd be hard to believe someone else coming out there, as West Wind Valley is pretty far out. So many questions as to what occurred but there is one thing I can be completely sure of.

I'm alive. With the condition I last remember being in, it must mean that everything turned out okay. The girl is likely alive and somehow, someway, everything turned out okay.

Now to acknowledge the elephant in the room that is to my left.

There, being shined upon by the sun is a woman with long blue chest length hair with her head resting on my leg. She has a light blue blouse on with a simple pair of black jeans on.

Suddenly, I feel a surge of guilt and fear go through me. Looking at her I can see that she hasn't been taking care of herself. Her normally straight hair with some sort of random style in it isn't there. Instead it's all frazzled, she has bags under her eyes and appears thinner from when I last saw her.

Ever since the Avenir incident and the "event" she had become increasingly protective of me. She'd be like a mother bear, fiercely protecting her cub against any sort of danger no matter how small it was. Although there was a big result in this. This result being that she wouldn't take care of herself very well. Of course she was against me becoming a hunter but I had my reasons beyond supporting Lastation. But….one blaring question suddenly formed in my head. With the appearance she currently has, it's obvious this state of hers has been going on for quite some time and so the question is….

How long have I been out?

With this realization I had suddenly sat up, but this sudden motion seems to have caused her to rouse from her slumber. I'm a little scared as she slowly sits up and rubs her eyes before groggily looking at me. The effects of seeing me awake are instantaneous. She immediately jolts straight up and regards me with wide, unblinking eyes. Before I know it she's standing up and slowly approaches me. Her entire body is shaking and the corners of her blue eyes begin to tear as she lifts a shaky hand to my cheek.

"A-Adam?" she says in such a terrified small voice that breaks my heart.

I grab her arm and slowly bring her into a comforting hug.

"Sorry for making you so scared Mom." I reply to her in an equally small voice as I rub circles on her back. I can't ever truly be sorry enough for causing her such pain again. So this is this is the best I can do for now. With that she slowly breaks out into a painful sob.

After some time, she's calmed down and is sitting back in her chair as she keeps careful watch on me. Her gaze is that of many emotions that I wouldn't be able to name any. In fact, there is so much raw emotion in it that it reminds of the first time they were like this. Except this time, I caused it and it's much worse now.

"I've been with you. The entire time you've been here. It's been nearly a month now you know?" she suddenly began with a hollow voice.

At the word "month" my blood went cold. For so long….

"You were quite the terrifying sight to see. Blood all over, broken arms, broken legs, multiple gashes, shattered ribs and even more. You can imagine as to how I reacted when I got the call and they described your condition to me. I r-rushed over so fast that I completely forgot what I was doing beforehand. The description did no good to how you really were. "she had started letting out more tears that lead to sobs while she spoke. For a time, we just sit here as she silently lets out her emotions. I can only sit here as she lets out her pent up emotions, after all this is my fault.

"*Sob*…. T-they had to work nearly an entire week endlessly on you. It was such a terrifying week. Every day it'd be something new. On the first day you were just silent. Only the slightest shred of a heartbeat could be found. It stopped twice that day. "I immediately placed my hand where my heart is at that. Even though I I'm clearly alive…..to think I died twice. My mother toke quick notice of this and slowly toke my hand off of it while giving me a smile. Although I must have caused her so much pain, she can still be so caring.

"The second day wasn't much better. They had been working into the next day and you started to convulse randomly "she began again once I had calmed down.

"They spent nearly the entire morning into afternoon just trying to get you into a stable situation. Your convulsions even caused you to nearly choke on your own blood. They had so many people around you, just t-trying to keep you alive. It was *sob* horr- *sniff* horrible." Hearing all this and seeing my mother cry even harder just from the memory…I feel so horrible and terrified. I can only imagine how she felt while all this happened in front of her.

Although, one question began to form in the middle of her telling me all this. How did I go from that state to this? I look and feel as if nothing ever happened…. but of out of respect for my mother, I decide to hold this question for now.

"Since you started to convulse, they had a team around you on the clock. Just to make sure nothing happened to you as they got ready for the… next day." The way she paused there, this won't be good.

"Then on the third day, when they finally had you stable enough they tried to fix the internal damage and return your dislocated bones back into place. I wish they didn't because you let out such horrid s-screams. G-goddess, the screams you let out as they were working on you. I-it was so p-p-painful to h-hear *sob*. The w-worst part yet was they couldn't even sedate you fully. Sedating you would be too much on your already weak body, so they just had to keep operating on you as you screamed. "At this point my mother had just stopped crying. The tears were all gone but she kept talking.

"From those three days they sat me down and told me you'd never live a normal life again if you left the hospital. They couldn't even tell me you'd leave confidently. There was just so much wrong with you. Failing kidney, punctured lung, cranial damage, and the list goes on. On the first day of the second week, things were going well. You were calm as they did more operations and examinations on you but… Halfway through the day you started to convulse again and with it they found something else." From the tone of her voice, it wasn't good.

"That leg injury you got from that spider long ago now. The poison from it, actually wasn't as harmless as we thought. It was actually a very deadly poison that slowly kills its victim. Usually it can be treated easily the second it's found but with the state you were in and that it had already worked up pretty far in your system…" She trailed off here as the obvious conclusion had been made. I should be dead.

"Only with a special operation could save you. It would safely remove the poison from the affected areas and fix your damaged organs as well. Problem is that it costed a lot of credits. Also with this being a relatively new practice, it wasn't guaranteed to work. You know we don't have that kind of money. After all, one of the reasons you became a hunter was to help provide." She gave a light smile at that but then her face suddenly contorted in raw anger.

"That's when she came in." She suddenly said with cold anger. I know exactly who is talking about, she never liked her.

"She has been visiting you every day since it happened. At first she would only stand by and watch it all. I didn't pay her any mind with you in the state that you were in but, when they told me of the poison and the operation. She stepped up to me immediately offered me to pay the whole thing. I thought for once she could actually do something out of good will. Without something in return, but then she said the second part. She'd pay for it all but only in exchange for you. Even when you were on your death bed that bitch still had that on her mind. I automatically said no, but then she gave me her contact information and went off. Makes you really think what is going on in her head." She said with such anger and grief. I'm not surprised that she would do that. Always was the type to get something out of anything, but my mom's tone at the end….

"After two more days later, you got so much worse. You'd gone pale and puked up multiple times even. Undone some stitches and reopened old wounds with many of the convulsions you'd have. I was getting so desperate. I was going to take her up on her offer. You were so broken, and I was so scared of losing you too Adam." With that painful admission, I broke into a cold sweat of fear.

"Mom don't te- "

"But then she came! The Goddess! Lady Black Heart! She came and somehow saved you! No operation at all! She somehow healed you and from there you gradually recovered! It was so incredible, she just came in when I was about to contact her and walked into your room with such determination in her. Then when she was done, she came out and walked right up to me. She told me you'd make it and that I didn't have to worry anymore in the most soothing voi. I almost instantly broke down and hugged her with my all. She just hugged me back as I said thank you over and over to her." Mom was crying tears of joy now. Her voice had gone from lost and defeated to the most elated I've ever heard from her.

I just sat there, completely shocked. The Goddess saved me? The Goddess of Lastation, Lady Black Heart. Saved. Me. To be honest, not much is known about the Goddesses besides that they are our protectors and basically give life to the land. Without them, us humans would be nothing. Yet, most of us don't even know what they look like in their human form or anything else. For her to save me when all was bleak and even allow my mother to hug her like that….

"It was incredible! You had gone from barely breathing to breathing just perfectly fine! It was as if nothing ever happened to you! Your entire body just started to come back. All the wounds and destroyed everything just went back to normal! With some instructions that the Lady gave to the hospital staff, you started to come back slowly but surely." My mom went on. I just sat there mostly in shock still, you could imagine a fly flying into my mouth with how shocked I was.

"But…" uh oh.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING ADAM AOI!?" She suddenly yelled out. I was honestly waiting for this part.

"I'm sorry mom, it's just that. Someone was in danger and I couldn't just leave them when I could do something, you know?"

"Even after I told you not to go out, with an injury still might I add and you still went out! Do you have any idea just how worried I was? Only for all this to happen! I was so scared and I swear my own heart stopped multiple times during all this! *sigh* But then again you did save the CPU Candidate…."

I just stared at her blankly.

"Umm, Adam, you do know who you saved. Right? You didn't just blindly run in with no concern whatsoever for yourself when you had an injury. Right? You didn't break one of the three rules I gave you. Right!?" She suddenly said with a cold, sweet tone of voice. All accompanied with a threatening smile.

"Uhh, well… *sigh* yea I did." There was no point in lying at this point. I expect more yelling or some form of physical puni-

"I'll excuse your mistake this one time since you saved the CPU Candidate, but please Adam. Be more careful, if not for yourself than for me?" My mom asked me in such a sad tone.

"Yea I'll try to be more careful with my life. Sorry to have made you go through so much."

"It's okay dear, just try not to make me sprout grey hairs yet. Okay?"

I nod back to her and we slowly embrace.

"Mom as much as I'd like to keep talking. Could I have some time? This was a lot to be told when I just woke up you know."

"Oh! Of course dear. I'm so sorry to have tossed all of this on you the second you woke up. It's just so been so crazy, I just couldn't help myself." We break apart and she makes her way to the door.

"If you need anything, just hit the button on that desk next to you. Also, I love you Adam." She says with a smile and swiftly leaves the room.

"Love you too mom." I say to the empty air and lay back down.

So…. I nearly died and the only reason I'm still alive and well, with my freedom is thanks to Lady Black Heart. I also unknowingly saved the CPU Candidate, and caused my mom great grief.

"And I still don't know what the date is…." I murmur to myself as I pass out from the shocking revelations I just had revealed to me. Sleep is always a good way to process stuff after all.

A/N: And there goes chapter 2! Hope you all enjoyed this, I had a blast writing!

I'd like to thank you all for the support so far. Little unexpected but very much appreciated.

If any of you have a question of any type, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer you.

Hope to see you all next chapter :3.

Have a good day/night and weekend!