Transcendent Gene
Chapter 112: Recovery [2]

Chapter 112: Recovery [2]

The meeting ended just as silently as it began.

"Everyone has a lot on their minds. Go rest and get your heads in control. We can talk about anything else later."

Natalia gave the order, and everyone dispersed.

She didn’t say anything about Gio’s arguments, but her silent approval was felt by everyone. That was why nobody questioned him afterward either.

He was allowed to leave on his own without anyone bothering him. It really was for the best.

Gio clutched his head as he walked to the dorms.

’How long has it been? A day and a half or so?’

He hadn’t slept in a long time. He spent the night prior training and barely rested his eyes for a few minutes before they set off for the first camp in the morning. The day after that was spent chaotically.

At the moment, it was hazy outside; just barely bright. A night had passed and the next morning had come before he knew it.

’My head...’

"Khhh..."

He kept a hand over his eyes, leaning against the wall and using his memory to get him to his destination.

He held it in for a long time. He dealt with the pulsing pain coming from inside his skull, allowing his adrenaline, concern, rationality, and other thoughts to drown it out.

But they weren’t drowning it out anymore. It broke the dam the moment he felt the first signs of peace, flooding into his mind and consuming everything.

"Haa..."

He exhaled deeply, fumbling across the wall until he found the keypad for his room. He lazily threw his hand over it, allowing it to scan him and confirm his identity.

And the moment the door slid open, he limped to the bed and collapsed.

’It’ll be long...’

It was the furthest he could think before the thumping in his head became unbearable.

His body relaxed. His tense muscles contracted and cramped. His eyes burned if he even kept them open a little. His ears were ringing at an ever-increasing pitch, perfectly in tune with the beating in his mind.

The consciousness he held onto for so long was bashed from every side by forces it was no longer strong enough to fight.

And so, Gio collapsed into a world of darkness.

As his thoughts implied, it would be a long time before he woke up again.

***

The somber atmosphere in the zephyr didn’t go away for several days. Raymond’s condition never changed, making it hard for anyone to take their minds off him. However, true to the words spoken when they gathered, they didn’t keep wallowing in the feeling.

Everyone did what they could. Natalia filled Raymond’s shoes, handling the administrative duties of the team and coordinating with the operation center to scout new mission targets.

The other team members had to find their own ways to pass the time. The zephyr moved far away from the beast control machine, camouflaging itself among the clouds. Its course wasn’t set for any particular location, as it was currently operating as a center for all missions being undertaken by sub-teams.

Reconnaissance wasn’t always done by the ground team’s members. There were several teams attached to the main one that specialized in various duties. For instance, Garrison’s Service Crew specialized in hauling operations and resource gathering.

The team’s Shadows were the ones who handled most reconnaissance missions. Shadows were agents present in almost every mid to large-sized squadron, trained from birth to be loyal only to those who commanded them.

They were moving busily this time, following the leads they found in the facility.

There were signs of the Apocalypse Church’s activities everywhere around the Wilds. Their search radius became larger and larger until even Natalia was forced to understand just how grave the situation was.

Alice, Amaya, and Jax rarely appeared on the zephyr anymore. If they weren’t out training, they were accompanying the Shadows or doing their own smaller missions to pass the time.

The only thought in their minds was getting stronger; strong enough for any kind of trap to become insignificant.

If they were stronger, Raymond wouldn’t have been forced to stay back to cover for them.

Raymond would disagree with them. He would blame himself for trying to study the enemy’s power armor when he should have been escaping.

However, that didn’t matter at all. If they were stronger, he wouldn’t have had the chance to do so in the first place.

In the end, they all separated to follow their own paths. Jason and Ulver stayed on the ship for the most part, but even they kept to themselves.

Gio was left alone with his thoughts. The training regimen he’d been following had been broken entirely.

’Well, I can’t let my efforts go to waste.’

If he couldn’t get stronger, he could at least maintain a routine that kept him active.

"Agh...!"

...if active was the right word to call it.

He opened his eyes 48 whole hours after closing them. He found himself lying on the bed in the oddest position, odd enough to make him want to move immediately.

That was where the problem arose.

He froze the moment he was on his feet, his hand on his hip like an old man.

"Ohhh...."

He groaned in pain, slowly stretching his waist and straightening his back.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this...haa..."

He didn’t even feel this bad when he first started training in this life. The last time his body felt the aftereffects of battle to this extent was when he first gained a Bloodline Sequence in the tower.

’I didn’t even do much physically. Why are my muscles in this much pain?’

Was it the consequence of being moved at Amaya’s speed without a body that could handle it?

’It’s true that she went a little crazy at the end there.’

Whether it was when they were fleeing the facility or returning for Raymond, she’d been pushing herself to the limit. That limit was far above Gio’s own.

His body didn’t break apart because she was able to offer him some slight protections. That didn’t mean he could completely avoid the consequences, though.

And the most important change...

He rubbed his eyes over and over again, but it wasn’t because he’d just woken up.

’I broke them.’

He’d physically damaged his eyes.

’If it was just my muscles, I’d bear with it, but my eyes won’t heal on their own. I should go to the med bay.’

It wasn’t just for his own sake. The date on his phone showed him that two days had passed since he fell asleep.

In two days, Raymond should have woken up, right...?

’Wrong.’

A sigh escaped Gio’s mouth when he reached the medical bay. Raymond was still the most obvious thing in the room.

The majority of the machines hooked to him had been removed after the immediate damage was healed. He was now only connected to three that provided him continuous life support as his body got used to its new form.

Gio went to the chair next to his and plugged himself into a machine. Through a needle he injected in his forearm, healing serum flowed into his veins and nourished his body.

He looked over at Raymond through his blurry eyes, waiting for them to return to their usual quality.

’This stuff is too miraculous. It makes me wonder how I’ll cope when I don’t have the convenience of the zephyr anymore...’

"...so you can’t stay dead when you’re hooked up to them. Hurry up and open your eyes already."

No response.

It was expected, but that didn’t make it better.

Just how long would it take for there to be any changes at all in his state?

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