Damn, where am I, oh yeah, I was playing against Maximilian back in the training ground, ouch why is my body so sore? I can't move. And back here again—what was that thing radiating off Maximilian's body. It also affected my body too—shit that was terrifying and awesome too. Oh yeah, the daily cha…. Damn, my body hurts, feelings like my organs are being peeled off my skin.
Winston takes a few breaths, then accesses the core system. With his gaze fixed on his hands resting by his side, he readied himself for further discomfort as he flexed his index finger, navigating the core system. His eyes widened, realizing the core was halfway through its restoration. Not only was he shocked by the restoration, but his hearing was also remarkably sharp when he opened the core. Winston heard footsteps and noises from the hallway. When he closed the system, his hearing became normal again, Winston stopped for a while, staring at the ceiling, still unable to move. He opened the core again, and his hearing became wide again. He heard something that caught his attention from the hallway. The doctor who was looking after him was talking to some people before Winston could concentrate on the people in the hallway. The same sine wave he was hearing came back, and the voices he had been hearing were now audible. Opening and closing the core system, the click sound of the door being opened startled Winston.
In front of him were three people: one was wearing a doctor's white coat and wearing glass, beside him were two men wearing black suits. They held small notebooks in their hands. Both men looked at him from a few meters away from his bed. They gave the doctor space to properly examine Winston, after a few minutes, he looked at both men and the doctor nodded. The doctor didn't say anything to Winston; he only gently tapped Winston on his shoulder. "Don't agitate my patient, he is still not fully recovered. I gave him painkillers so that he wouldn't fall asleep. You have few hours," with that, the doctor left the room.
One man in black grabbed a chair and placed it on Winston's bedside. The other man leaned against the wall, guarding the door. "Good evening, Mr. Dalely, I am Q, and my partner over there is J. We work for the Football Federation Association League. How are you feeling?,"
"Oh, I am good." Winston was surprised by his newfound mobility; the doctor-prescribed painkillers enabled him to speak pain free.
"That's good, let me just cut to the chase: we are here because of what happened in the last match two weeks ago. Between you and Maximilian, if you can, please tell us what really happened there?"
What? Has it really been two weeks? Was I asleep, or was I in a coma? I need to recover quickly. I wonder if the league has already started.
The man in black, who was seated beside his bedside, noticed Winson had a sad expression on his face. "Don't worry, the league just started and you should focus on your recovery," the man in black on who was leaning against the wall, walked on the edge of Winston's bed—arms folded. He stared at Winston with a cold stare, the man's eyes had black rings around them. "Enough, what happened between you and Maximilian during the match? Only both of you got injured to where one of you got crippled."
Winston paused for a moment before he replied, "I don't know, the only thing I remember was different lights flashing in front of me."
Q, the man in black, seated on the chair, softly spoke after jotting notes in his notebook. "That's certainly weird, we interviewed everyone on the pitch, and nobody remembers what happened. In your opinion, what caused the different flashing lights."
The man who was standing at the end of Winston's bed walked over to the window and took out his cigarette pack and shook it until one cigarette popped up. As he lit the cigarette. He leans back and stares at Winston. "I wouldn't know, the light came in at such speed it blinded me. And that is what I witnessed."
Winston could not explain what happened during the match, as the two men left after asking a few questions and wishing him a speedy recovery. He was even surprised by his own ability; he didn't even know he could do that, let alone that a human being could do that. He wondered if it was the core purpose to fully equip him with these abilities. Before he could open the core system, a door knock startled him before he could attempt to reply. The door swung open and the club personnel came in. One grabbed the medical clipboard, and the other sat on the chair near his bed. The other went out to talk with the doctor. "Are you feeling Winston?" said the club personnel.
"I'm starting to feel better… By the way, how many games has the team played, and how many do we have left?" Winston asked,
"Fantastic—the league has just begun, and we drew our opening match thanks to Oswin's last-minute goal. If I'm not mistaken, we have six or seven games remaining. I'll check the match calendar for you."
"Oh, thank you, if you don't mind me asking, how's Maximilian,"
The two club personnel looked at each other, the one who was writing on his clipboard continued writing without looking at Winston, the other personnel shook his head, "Don't worry about that, just focus on your recovery. Since you are awake, we need you to heal as soon as possible."
"Oh, okay."
"For now, you need to rest. Tomorrow we will come and do some physical therapy. Okay, that all for now, please rest up,"
Trying to speak, Winston felt his body getting heavier, the painkillers were now wearing off. He drifted off into a deep sleep. A sine wave fluctuated so high when Winston opened his eyes, he was in the middle of a long stretch of hallway. A sharp tone suddenly sounded as Winston walked down the hallway.
[Vital Restoration: 51%]
Winston glanced behind him, spotting a dark abyss; the eerily dark void sent shivers down his spine. His bare feet made a tapping sound that echoed in the silent hall. A sharp tone rang out with every ten steps he walked.
[Vital Restoration: 52%]
Glancing up at the ceiling, Winston noticed the vital restoration number climbing. He picked up his pace and attempted to jog toward the long, stretched hallway. Naturally, he was in immense agony, and a white dot materialized.
[Vital Restoration: 59%]
After a while, the air became thick—pushing himself, Winston attempted to calm his pace. This time was not sprinting at full speed. He noticed that the air was becoming thicker, and it was even harder for him to breathe. He used his shoulder to drag himself along the hallway wall.
[Vital Restoration: 62%]
The hallway started releasing pressure from above, on his knees, he pushed himself to his feet. Then he kept walking. The more he walked forward, his body temperature overheated, drenched in sweat. I am so close to the door. Winston was being pressured by the thick air and the hallway pressure, and now his body was fluctuating with body heat.
[Vital Restoration: 70%]
At that moment, the hallway's pressure doubled, and he found himself on his knees, crawling like a toddler. He was still sweating profusely and gritting his teeth as he pulled his knees across the glossy floor, the only sound being a squeaking noise. This entire event was crushing his body.
[Vital Restoration: 80%]
His body heat made his vision blurry, Winston felt his entire body reaching its limit. He pushed himself harder than before after a brief interval. He was on his stomach, groaning loudly with each crawl.
[Vital Restoration: 90%]
Each pass increases the pressure. Now five steps until he reached a white, doorless, open hallway, pumping himself up, he forced himself up—Winston's appearance was akin to an Egypt mummy corpse. Winston forced himself into a full sprint.
[The Core: Vital Restoration Complete]
Screaming, Winston woke in his hospital bed, covered in sweat. A quick scan of the room eased his fear; he was still in the hospital. Damn, that was terrifying. Damn, it felt like I was in a scary movie. Winston stopped for a moment and looked at his body, he couldn't believe his body had fully recovered. He got out of bed and inspected his whole body, feeling completely surprised. The full moon illuminated Winston's body as it appeared through the window. Having finished inspecting himself, he grinned and commenced his nightly routine exercises.