There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 610 - 604. Entrapment

Chapter 610: Chapter 604. Entrapment

The first thing Zein saw as he opened his eyes was the ceiling of a tent. The soft glow of the neon mana light told him that he was indeed alive.

How, he had no idea. He did not remember anything more after seeing Bassena’s face, because his vision was blurry with tears and his heart was screaming that he didn’t want to die.

Well...at least he remembered that part.

As he blinked slowly to get used to the light, Zein realized he wasn’t in his tent. The place felt new and rigid; only a bed, a cupboard, and a chair beside the bed. An IV pole was connected to his wrist. A medical tent? He blinked again and looked around some more. A personal medical tent.

Meaning he was still in the Deathzone.

Zein patted his cheat instinctively, but of course, he didn’t find any hole. That wasn’t all though; he didn’t find any bandage either. His clothes were new; a comfortable long-sleeved shirt and training pants. Since they were his own clothes, Bassena was probably the one who changed them for him.

Bassena.

Ah--Zein pushed himself up with his elbow, dragging his upper body up and blinking out the slight dizziness from sudden movement. He groaned and gripped the IV pole to help him sit up on the edge of the bed, wondering whether to go out or call for someone.

Before he could make any decision, however, he heard voices right outside the door, getting closer and louder. A bunch of familiar voices that brought a smile to Zein’s face.

"...come on, we can just go in together..."

"No, it’s my turn this time. Chief Han said we can’t crowd the room, so--"

The voice paused when the door opened and they saw Zein sitting on the edge of the bed. The guides gasped, and Dheera shoved everyone away before running toward Zein. "Captain!"

She dashed at Zein, but halted in front of the older guide, lowering the arms she wanted to use to hug him. Instead, she crouched and clung to Zein’s knees as usual. "C-Captain, how do you feel? Do you feel weird? Do you feel sick? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

Zein glanced toward the door, where someone had running back out screaming Han Shin’s name, and where Leehan was standing with shaking eyes and trembling hands. Ah...the kid was the one who saw him dying directly at that time.

"I’m fine," he patted Dheera’s hand on his knee and beckoned for the one trembling at the door. "Come here, Leehan. See for yourself."

Leehan stumbled as he stepped forward, and when he reached the bed, taking Zein’s hand, his face was a mess with tears and snot. He cried as hard as he did when Zein was dying, and Dheera started to cry too.

Haa...even though it was clear that he was fine. Zein chuckled as he patted the crybabies head, and then more crybabies appeared in his tent.

"Zein!"

"Zein!"

Han Shin and Senia weren’t exactly crying, but their eyes were glassy the moment they saw Zein was truly conscious. But the healer immediately rubbed his eyes and put on his professional hat.

"Get back, get back--I need to check him," Han Shin shooed the crybabies, who obediently stepped back to the corner of the room.

"Ah, can I have water?" Zein touched his throat.

"Water!" Senia clasped her hand and a glass flew to Zein’s hands, filled with water conjured out of nowhere.

Zein chuckled as he drank the pure water squeezed from the air, watching the glowing elemental spirits circling around him while Han Shin scanned his body. "I’m fine, ain’t I?" Zein tilted his head. Except for feeling a bit sluggish from lying down for who knew how long, he felt surprisingly fresh. He raised the hand connected to the IV tube and shook it. "Can you take this off?"

"Uhh...I guess..." Han Shin bit his lips and relieved Zein from the needle hesitantly. The healer kept glancing at him as if guilty of something, which made Zein curious.

"Who healed me?" Zein asked, prompting Han Shin to flinch. "I know you couldn’t. The corrupted energy prevented regular healing from taking place."

Han Shin blinked and raised his head. "Oh...that’s why?"

The blinking black eyes started to brighten up a little bit, and Zein realized that the healer had been feeling guilty for failing to heal Zein. Was that why Han Shin had been on the verge of crying since earlier? Zein chuckled and flicked the healer’s forehead slightly. "So? Who healed me? Or...what?"

Did they use some kind of artifact? If it was something coming from a Celestial Being, it might work.

"Do you...not remember it, Zein?" Senia asked carefully.

"My memory is rather blurry," Zein replied while moving his stiff wrist around. "...I don’t remember anything from the moment I saw Bassena."

"Oh..."

Hmm? Zein observed Han Shin and Senia, who seemed to be avoiding his eyes. He had thought the guilt was just about failing to heal him, but...what is this?

"You still haven’t answered me," Zein reminded them.

"Umm...it was Bassena..." Han Shin finally told him in a quiet voice.

Oh? Zein closed his eyes, vaguely recalling a vision of a giant white serpent with emerald eyes. Was that...

"The Second Skin of Immortality?"

"Y-yeah..."

"That works on me?" Zein tilted his head. For all he knew, that one was a blessing, and a blessing from a Celestial Being could not be shared without permission. Inside the Deathzone, there was no way Bassena could ’speak’ to Ophiucus. "How?"

Again, both espers looked restless, even flinching, which made Zein even more curious. He glanced at the guides in the corner, but they were as clueless as him--even Leehan, who was on the site that day.

It seemed like neither Han Shin nor Senia would give him an answer, so he asked the one question he should have been asking from the start. "Where’s Bas?"

"Oh--I-I sent someone to fetch him," Han Shin replied swiftly. It was obvious how glad he was that he didn’t have to answer the previous question. "I also gave a message to Radia, so he’ll probably be here soon with Joon."

"I see..." Zein nodded. "Where is he that you need to fetch him?"

"We’ve been looking for the last shard!" Senia replied a tad bit too excitedly. "There’s still one left, right?"

Ah, true...Zein nodded, glancing at the ring still safely circling his thumb. He could feel the presence of the six shards, pulsing gently. It seemed like they had fallen asleep somewhat when he was unconscious. Perhaps because his body went through hibernation during the healing.

"Umm...we’ve been going on shift scouring the rest of the uncharted region looking for it, but..." Senia continued while sighing softly. "But it’s kind of hard without any clue. The shards don’t want to follow anyone but you..."

Well, that was understandable. The last shard probably hid really well if even the Fallen Star hadn’t found it. No matter--Zein had woken up, so he could start looking for it using the other shards as radars. It would take that long if all they had to scour was the place they hadn’t been before. Probably...around thirty percent? Without the Fallen Star around, it should be--

"Ah," Zein finally remembered the most important thing. "It’s really over, right? The Fallen Star is truly--"

"Dead!" Dheera replied enthusiastically. "The Fallen Star is dead and we get rid of all the dungeons!"

"Mm, that’s good..." Zein nodded. It wouldn’t be funny if they go through all of that only for the Fallen Star to actually run away again. He’d roll on. the ground in frustration if the Fallen Star actually jumped into the sea or something. "How long had it been since then?"

"Err..." Han Shin raised two fingers. "Two weeks."

Hmm...that was quite long, but also not as long as Zein thought, considering he was almost dead. Should he say it was expected from a blessing?

But two weeks...was also not short. Especially not for someone like Bassena. Actually, he was rather surprised that Bassena wasn’t the first person he saw, or that he did not immediately appear in front of him.

Suddenly, he felt restless.

"Shin, is Bas alright?" Zein asked with a frown, and there he saw it--the healer flinched and averted his eyes.

"Umm...you should--"

The door opened harshly, and a man with bated breath stood on the frame, staring at Zein with widened eyes.

Han Shin bit his lips and swallowed, uncharacteristically stepping back from the scene. "You should...talk to him."

Zein stared back at the shaking amber eyes. The restlessness he felt spiked all at once that he couldn’t even aware of anything anymore. Just like the last time he saw Bassena, he could see or hear nothing but the esper. His heart beat so fast he almost thought he was having a heart attack.

But the moment the door closed and there were only the two of them, the restlessness vanished like a lie. He was rather familiar with this sensation; he felt it before--what did they call it? Separation anxiety?

But this...this was much, much bigger. Much stronger.

Blinked in confusion, Zein clutched his heart. He felt something...different. Something he did not realize before looking at Bassena. Before he was in the esper’s proximity. Something new and...

The blue eyes flickered. Bassena hadn’t moved a single step from the closed door, as if he was afraid of something.

As if he was afraid...of Zein.

Slowly, hesitatingly, Zein parted his lips. "Are we...imprinted?"

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