As time went by, the doctor walked out, sweat covering his face.
Kai's parents quickly ran to him, asking if Kai was okay. The doctor sighed and said, "Yes, he is, but it might take him a few days to wake up. He'll need to stay with me until he gets a little better."
Kai's mom then asked, "Can I see him?"
The doctor nodded. "Yes."
As she went in, Kai's dad tried to follow, but the doctor stopped him. Mr. Morris looked at the doctor in confusion.
"I need to talk to you alone," the doctor said.
They walked to the side of the house where no one else was. The doctor's face turned serious.
"I have some not-so-good news about Kai's situation."
Kai's dad gritted his teeth, not wanting to hear it. He sighed and said, "Give it to me."
The doctor began to explain. "On a normal day, Kai should survive this attack. But the creature that attacked him is currently in the process of synchronising with his soul core. While that's good news, it also means he's fighting for his life and his mind at the same time. He must win the battle of will against the creature. If he were only fighting for his body, he might be fine, or if it were just his mind, he might still make it. But both at once will reduce his chances of survival."
Kai's dad understood what this meant. He clenched his hands, looked at the doctor, and said firmly, "My son can do it. Kai is strong-willed. He will win this."
The doctor saw the resolve in Mr. Morris's face and nodded slowly. "I hope you're right, Mr. Morris."
Mr. Morris went back into the house to meet his wife and Kai, who was lying down. He came toward her and said softly, "Kai will be fine. He will come back to us."
She believed her husband, but she could not help how she felt. It felt like she was about to lose the one thing she lived for. It reminded her of the time with the Corrupted One.
She looked at her husband and said, "Why us? Why is all this happening to us? Did I do something wrong to deserve this? Did we do something wrong?"
He hugged her tightly and said, "No, you didn't. The world is just a messed-up place, and it chose us to be the receivers of its cruelty. But our son is strong. He will come back to us. He still has to be here to protect his mom."
He placed his hand on Kai's forehead and said, "Kai, you need to return and protect your mom. Remember your promise. Your mom still needs you."
Kai's temperature was getting higher each minute. His body was drenched in sweat. He was fighting for his life.
In his mind, he saw his dad telling him to come back and protect his mom. Kai whispered to himself, "I need to be there for my mom."
He wanted nothing more than to be with her again. He wanted to keep his word to his dad.
Then suddenly, a small creature attacked him. His body started shaking violently in the real world. His parents' hearts dropped.
"Doctor!" his father shouted.
The doctor rushed back in. Seeing what was happening, he said, "This is bad."
The parents' hearts sank. Kai needed to win his battles or else.
Inside Kai's mind, he was trying hard to defend himself against the creature, but it was too fast. Whenever he tried to hit it, his body automatically missed. He was confused. The creature was redirecting the Nyx inside him, changing its direction, which also affected Kai's attacks.
The creature seemed invincible, like there was nothing Kai could do. But he refused to give up. He would never give up.
His resolve grew stronger. He screamed and charged with more attacks, but none of them hit. No matter what he did, his blows missed.
He stood in his mind space, breathing heavily, refusing to back down.
The creature lunged at him again, but this time something changed. It was suddenly hit back. Kai landed his first strike.
The creature looked at him in shock, and Kai was just as surprised.
A dark aura surrounded Kai, almost like a protective barrier. The creature attacked again, but it hit the dark aura and fell to the ground.
Kai realised what was happening. He rushed forward, swinging rapidly. He struck the creature again and again. He unleashed a barrage of hits, beating it down with everything he had.
Then, suddenly, he received a strange signal. It came from the creature.
It didn't say any words but sent out a feeling — a message of surrender. The creature had accepted defeat.
Kai's eyes widened. He had won. He would live. Tears streamed down his face. His resolve had carried him through the edge of death.
He looked at the creature, unsure what to do next. Then, the creature began to glow. Its body slowly dissolved into light particles and glowing lines. The light moved toward Kai.
In the mind space, Kai's soul core — his true essence — was absorbing it. His core began to take form as the shadowy aura dissolved into nothing.
The shapes shifted endlessly. One moment it was a circle, then an oval, then a box. Finally, the shapes shattered, and his soul core took the form of the very creature he had defeated.
Kai had heard that others always had circular soul cores, but his was different. Still, it didn't matter. He had won.
His body began to heal rapidly.
Outside, his parents and the doctor watched in awe. They could feel that Kai's soul core had synchronised. His soul core had taken shape.
Kai's mom put two and two together and realised what had happened. Her eyes widened in shock, then softened with relief as tears filled them.
Her son had survived.
He had synchronised with the creature that once tried to kill him.