Chapter 7: Chapter 7
Well, I never thought I would find myself in this place - surrounded by darkness, all alone in this empty void. I have no idea how long I have been here. It feels like an eternity but who knows really….
One moment, I thought I had a bright future ahead of me. I had just graduated from the grueling years of studying Mechanical Engineering when suddenly COVID-19 struck me. After numerous vaccines, I never thought it could kill me. That was a waste of time to say the least.
Before I knew it, I was on my deathbed. That was not how I had imagined my life would end.
It's hard to believe that I never got to earn my first salary as an engineer or experience the joys of getting married. I always dreamed of having a boy and a girl - twins. Now, I'll never get to see that dream come true. But, at least my dad was right. Being an insurance adviser himself, he insured all family members and paid the premiums himself. It may not be a massive amount of money, but it will provide my family with a nice nest egg to fall back on.
Just as I was about to lose hope and resign myself to this sad fate, I saw a light in the distance. At first, it was faint and weak, as if it could disappear at any moment. But, I couldn't take my eyes off of it. It was the only thing in this void aside from me. It gained my curiosity.
With nothing to lose, I decided to follow the light. As I got closer, something strange started to happen. A flood of memories came rushing into my mind - memories of a boy. I watched him grow up, as if I was an observer watching a show.
In the beginning, the boy was happy. He had two individuals who were always by his side - I believe they were his parents. But then, tragedy struck. The boy's parents died, and I could feel the weight of his sadness and loneliness.
The boy was rich, that was for sure. He was surrounded by multiple maids and guards, but despite their presence, he felt a deep sense of loneliness. If I was there in person, I would hug the child and tell him everything would be okay, but sadly, I wasn't.
That all changed when a jolly and rotund man approached the boy. The man's jovial demeanor and wise advice quickly endeared him to the boy, and they became fast friends.
As I watched the memories unfold, a feeling of familiarity stirred within me. I couldn't quite place the man's face, but there was something about him that seemed important. Like it was familiar in some way. I just couldn't place it.
My own thoughts were abruptly interrupted as I drew closer to the glowing light. Memories of the boy and the man faded away, replaced by a blinding white light that engulfed me. It was as if I was being pulled into a vortex.
As I disappeared into the light, a sense of terror gripped me. I tried to pull away, but it was too late. The light swallowed me whole, taking me to a place I know not where.
"What do you mean you can't wake him up!"
"General Budo, you need to understand. This is not a sickness per se. It's the own body of the emperor that's failing him!"
Suddenly, I found myself hearing multiple voices. I don't know where they are coming from. I tried to move my body but unlike the void, my body remained still. I could only hear multiple voices surrounding me. One boomed with anger and the rest shivered in fear.
"You are the most skilled and most expensive doctors found within the empire. Don't tell me you can't save the emperor! A few days ago, the emperor was absolutely healthy!"
"We can't say for sure if the emperor can survive this. We are---"
"What are you doing!"
"Unhand him, General Budo!"
"...what are you doing....General...please...let..me...go...AH!!!!!!"
I could suddenly hear a piercing scream throughout my surroundings. It was accompanied by multiple loud sparks of electricity. I could feel my heart race with terror at the unknown occurrence. I was certain someone was being tortured or killed. After what felt like an eternity, the scream subsided, leaving behind an eerie silence that chilled me to the bone
"I have warned you before! I told you to do your job! If it requires a miracle to save the emperor. You will provide that said miracle. If the emperor dies, all of you will suffer a fate worse than your colleague!"
Those were the last words of the booming voice before he disappeared.
As I tried to understand the current predicament that I was in, a sense of weakness and exhaustion overtook me. Despite my efforts to fight it, I eventually succumbed to the overwhelming fatigue.
"I still believe this is a bad idea! To have this quack treat the emperor, how could we fall so low!!!" one voice exclaimed.
"We have no choice.... We did everything we can, if we fail now Budo will kill us all as well as our families," another voice replied, the desperation palpable in his tone.
"With the child emperor being the only direct line to the Imperial family, Budo doesn't want the line to end. This is the only way.... Stylish, I mean Doctor Stylish is our last hope, to insure our safety from the Budo wrath," a third voice interjected.
I suddenly found myself in the dark space once again, I could only hear the multiple voices in the distance. Their brokenness and despair could clearly be heard in the tone of each of their voices.
"Oh my, esteemed doctors in the field," a man spoke with pride and amusement, "I like the look on your faces. It has been years since we last spoke, and I still remember you bunch ridiculing my skills and talent. But look at you now, begging me to save you."
"Doctor Stylish, would you please continue the procedure," one of the doctors interrupted, clearly impatient and annoyed.
"Of course, doctors," Doctor Stylish replied smoothly.
There was a pause in my surroundings, and then I heard multiple steps coming towards me. Suddenly, I felt an injection somewhere in my body, and within a few seconds, I felt a burning sensation coursing through me.
"The emperor's vitals are spiking! What have you done!?" one of the doctors exclaimed in alarm.
"Trust the process. I'm waking the emperor up," Doctor Stylish said calmly.
The pain continued to course through my body, growing more and more intense with each passing moment. I wanted to scream and ask for help, but I found myself powerless to do so.
"Shit! The vitals are falling!"
"Budo's gonna kill us all!"
As I was about to lose consciousness, I suddenly saw the same white light in front of me that I had seen in the void. It burst with might, engulfing me.
"The vitals are normalizing..."
"How?!"
"The emperor is opening his eyes!"
I opened my eyes and saw four people surrounding me. Three of them had a look of relief on their faces, while the last one had a smirk on his face as he looked at me. The room was quite large, and I could see that both my arms were connected to multiple medical apparatuses.
"How do you feel, your majesty?" one of the four individuals asked, approaching me with a stethoscope in his hand.
'What the heck is going on?' I thought, confused and disoriented as they checked me thoroughly.
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