BXBX NOVEL Chapter 276 275: Awake
Kat PoV
All I could feel as I awoke was sharp pains in my leg and a deep chill permeating my body, colder then I had ever been in a long time.
Opening my eyes, I groaned as I sat up, looking around me in confusion, my mind still in a haze.
I was sitting in a deep circular pit, the walls and floor made up of untouched stone coated in frost and pale blue lichens.
High above me was an opening into... a cavern of some sorts, the only sounds from above being the shrill sounds of wind blowing through the cavern and splashes of water droplets hitting the ground.
Remaining still, I strained my senses as I searched for anything hostile in the area around me, before sighing slightly in relief at a lack of anything nearby.
Though, that sigh of relief turned into a hiss of agonizing pain as I tried to move my right leg.
Keyword \'tried\'.
I couldn\'t feel my foot, and trying to move my calf resulted in my entire leg burning in pain, the heat unbearable when compared to the chill around me.
That wasn\'t my only injury either; my fingers were shredded to high hells, the bones able to be seen on some, and moving them sent shocks up my arms, making me grit my teeth as the pain only grew worse.
Besides my fingers and right leg, my entire body was covered in small cuts and bruises, and I could tell that I had a few broken bones as well; two ribs, my left femur, collarbone...
As I identified each part of me that hurt, the pain from those places grew, and tears formed in my eyes at this unimaginable agony.
Panting, sweat poured from my body as I gingerly lifted my hands, trying to ignore the throbbing aches that swelled around my entire body.
Willing my mana towards my fingers was just as torturous as moving, the strands of Ice Mana sluggishly flowing through my veins as I tried to get a basic healing spell out first.
What used to take me mere moments took me roughly ten minutes, as I would occasionally have to restart when the pain robbed me of concentration.
During those \'breaks\' of mine, I had a good chance to further evaluate my wounds, which only disgusted me further.
My right leg was thoroughly infected, the flesh around the open cut a spattering of greens yellows, inflamed reds, and some deep blues.
The achilles tendon was shredded inside my ankle, and the bone was scraped and chipped.
Pus leaked alongside blood as I lay there, and the longer I remained like this, the larger the puddle of blood around me grew as well.
I was slowly bleeding out inside a cave I had never seen before...
Gritting my teeth, I ignored the lightheaded feeling and began to trace runes again, hoping to get it this time.
With how battered my body was, I was surprised that I was still capable of using mana, but I wasn\'t going to spit in the face of this wonderful gift.
The deep blue runes in front of me shimmered in the air, some almost fading out of existence as I gasped and panted.
"C-Come on..."
Muttering to myself, I stared intently at the runes, trying to ignore the throbbing agony that was my leg.
Doing magic whilst suffering agonies that I\'ve only ever inflicted and never received was hard to do, but I eventually did it, much to my relief.
The sequence of deep blue runes flared, and a healing spell showered over my body, slowly healing me up.
All the small scrapes and cuts closed up, the bruised and torn muscles healed, and my fingers slowly grew new flesh as well, the old muscles connecting with the new ones I had grown.
However, my leg was a different story.
While the infections were cleaned out, the tendon was simply surrounded by new muscles and sinews that filled in the missing chunks of flesh, while the bone calcified back to its original state.
Everything on my body was healed, except for the achilles tendon.
It wasn\'t connected together, and because it wasn\'t connected...
Slamming my fist into the stone ground beside me, I growled in annoyance as my right leg remained unresponsive.
"Damnit... damnit! Argh... what the hell can..."
Gritting my teeth, I stared at my lame right leg before taking a deep breath, shaking my head.
"Calm down... stay calm... small steps first..."
Which was ironic, considering I was only able to step with my left leg.
Chuckling wryly at my own stupid joke, I rolled onto my stomach and pushed up, pulling my left leg up and unsteadily getting to my feet.
Standing on one leg, I looked around the small circular area I found myself in, pursing my lips as I finally truly took it in.
Roughly fifteen feet wide, the circular area was barren, the only loose items being my own equipment.
The first thing I saw was my First Fang, or what was left of it.
My thin steel dagger was shattered, the metal shards scattered around the ground off to my left.
Thankfully the broad dagger the Countess got me was still in one piece, though it had taken a rough beating to its edge, which was chipped and rolled.
Taking a deep breath, I used my Ice Magic to create a pair of crutches for myself, wanting to have a weapon by hand so I could protect myself.
Considering I needed to get my mana refilled to perform a deep healing spell on my right leg, I would desperately need something solid and physical to fight with, should the need arise.
\'Walking\' with crutches was an odd experience, and I almost fell three times as I tried to move eight some odd feet to the right.
Halfway through my walk, I noticed that my right ankle hurt with the movement, so I decided to apply a cast made of ice around it, hoping that the solid chunk of ice would keep everything stable inside.
With that done, I grabbed the broad dagger and sheathed it as best I could on my tattered belt, before sighing as I stared at the hundred foot high walls around me.
I would need to scale the walls to reach the Cavern, but that was unknown territory, filled with potentially powerful monsters or animals.
The best option would be to wait down in this hole of mine to continue gathering mana, but the problem with that was a simple one.
I was hungry.
Famished, really, as the last real meal I had was... three hours before the siege, and who knows how long its been between then and now.
I didn\'t know how long I had been unconscious for, and on a whim I asked the system if it knew.
Sitting down again, I leaned against the rock wall and looked up, staring at the ceiling.
\'Heya system, you there?\'
[Argh... that was... unpleasant. Uh, yeah, I\'m back...]
Chuckling softly, I asked \'Were you unconscious as well? Is that even possible?\'
[Yes..? Something similar... When you were pulled through the portal, too much happened to your body all at once for me to remain... \'conscious\'.]
Nodding, I stared down at my now healed self, before glaring at my lame right leg.
\'Yeah, I took quite the beating huh? Anyways, the first thing I need to do is go up...\'
Trailing off, I frowned as I listened to the system speak again, it\'s words sending shivers down my spine.
[Um... have you uh... noticed yet, or no?]
\'Noticed what?\'
Looking around, I searched for something in the area, before turning my attention inside myself when I found nothing.
Body was healing still, core was filling up slowly but surely...
Mana flowing fine...
Then, my eyes widened as I felt... nothing.
\'M-My bond...\'
A pulse of acknowledgment rang from the system, and I felt my heart constrict in my chest as that absence made itself painfully known.
Poking at the Soul Bond, I tried to find Jahi, to feel her through our Master-Servant bond, but there was nothing there.
I couldn\'t feel her at all, nor could I sense her.
\'W-Wait, but I\'m still alive, s-so she\'s alive, right?! RIGHT?!\'
[Yes, she is. But... it\'s odd. It\'s still... there, but it\'s not? Fascinating...]
Gritting my teeth, I took a few deep breaths as I tried to calm myself down, the constricting in my chest worsening at the system\'s words.
[Sorry! Kat, breath in... breath out... focus. In... out...]
Repeating that a few times, I managed to work through the anxiety that plagued my mind, albeit temporarily.
That thought that I couldn\'t see Jahi again...
That I would be alone...
It felt like the darkness was closing in on me from all sides, that I was trapped back in that void that I had once inhabited.
That I would be alone again, never to see the tall, muscular blue skinned Demoness that I loved so dearly.
Never to feel her touch on my skin, her breath on my cheek, her lips on mine, her warmth inside of me, her sweet scent mingling with mine, her-
Her everything.
All gone.
For good?
Temporarily?
When would I see her again?!
WHEN!?
...
..
.
..
...
Would she still want me?
...
..
.
..
...
Care for me like she used to?
...
..
.
..
...
Grabbing my head, I felt my heart pulse irregularly in my chest at those thoughts, only to have the system continue to try and calm me down.
Minutes blurred by as I remained in that hole, and I finally managed to get myself calmed down when the system asked a question that I had no answer for.
A question I thought I would never need to face.
[What are you going to do about the Nymphomania skill?]