Kade didn't have to wait long for an awakened healer to arrive. The second fastest sleeper beside the very broken Caster rushed to fetch one, and with the calling that there was one student with a sword through the heart, the awakened academy responded quickly.
Kade carried Caster's body gently out of the changing rooms. Where the healers could assess the two of them, the awakened might have been angry about the chaos that the two of them had caused, but when they saw Kade acting business as usual with the sword impaling his chest.
They were more shocked than anything.
So, he harshly dumped the legacy on the floor while the healers attended to him. They retrieved the blade and addressed the gaping wound. Luckily, their aspect combination of blood restoration and a sort of flesh mending did the job well.
Not to say he was okay at all. The aspects that the healer had didn't just magically restore his body; it required their skill and essence, but also some of his body to exert itself to allow these changes. Normally he would be fine as such...
But [Never Ending Fury] had run out, contradicting the name... Right now he was in a medical bed, slumped backward, stocked up on enough painkillers to last him the days.
He felt like shit; he had failed his objective of no-diffing Caster, ended up getting mortally wounded, and even went down once. At least he technically won, but it didn't make him feel any better.
And then there was the death stare from Dawn, the kind that felt like it could finish what the sword started. Nephis stood nearby too, unreadable as always, though her gaze flicked toward Dawn more than once.
The first time they'd met. Not that Dawn gave a damn.
"I said don't get hurt..." Dawn explained politely before twitching in irritation. "And the next thing I hear is you getting a sword through the heart!"
Her harsh voice overpowered the room. Kade tried to act like his usual self, but God, did that feel difficult when high on painkillers.
"Sorry... You were right—Legacies are something else. At least I beat the shit out of him... That's what matters." Kade sighed; he hadn't remembered the last time he felt so dead, even at death's door a multitude of times.
Nephis, who had been watching the two with partial curiosity, added.
"We trained so that you would avoid the threat of his sword effectively; it seems I didn't do a good enough job."
Dawn spared her an annoyed look and rubbed her head with a sigh.
"Thanks for helping him, Nephis. Really. But letting him fight Caster with a sword? Were you seriously fine with that?"
Nephis avoided her gaze. And coughed.
"Kade explained the benefits of his attribute; I expected that then such a boon would be more beneficial to him than it was."
The bedridden Kade lay in silence, desperate to receive some peace and silence. An experience he would have never thought to exist.
Dawn had other plans, and she nagged him about a lot of the details about the fight. Such as
"Such as: 'That was dumb'—' You're crazy—'How the hell were you okay?!'" — 'You fought shirtless...' — 'You talk a lot of shit for someone stuck in a hospital bed.'"
Nephis listened along blankly before excusing herself. Something about how it would be better for the two of them to have their own space. Kade didn't understand what she was on about right now; even thinking was a chore. At least it was one less person he had to pay attention to.
Cassie was nowhere to be seen. Which was probably due to her being isolated from the other sleepers, not hearing the whole commotion. Kade's only other buddy, Sunny, had decided to not show up; Kade knew the little street rat knew of what went down.
Though it didn't seem like the short sleeper seemed to want to attach himself to Kade.
It was a little hurtful, but Kade could see why.
'Does divinity make a person weird—strange, unique?' Nephis and Sunny were both abnormal in their own ways.
Neither had a clue how to interact normally without someone dragging them into it.
Most of the time, that someone was Kade.
Dawn only really stepped in when he was involved. She wasn't exactly cozy with Nephis or Sunny. Cassie was the only one she seemed comfortable around. And she wasn't here either.
Eventually, the conversation died down as Kade struggled not to fall asleep; the entire world felt heavy on his shoulders, and his eyelids felt weighed.
"Next time don't do stuff like this without me, ok?" Dawn offered lightly,
Kade shifted in his drowsiness. Muttering.
"Thanks... But what would you do...?
The blond girl looked a bit offended, the shimmering blue essence of memory starting to form at her side. and pouted
"I've been training with the government on how to be a good shot, you know. And also, how to use weapons of all kinds. To at least be able to function them."
The weave of essence exerting itself into reality,
An old, refurbished RPG from the days before the nightmare spell and the catastrophic wars that devastated Europe. Resting tucked and cozy on her shoulder.
The calming mood of the medical ward evaporated in an instant, Kade's eyes wide with childlike wonder. He whispered.
"Is that a fucking rocket launcher?!"
Dawn smirked with a hint of smugness.
"Managed to convince them to hand me one of these." She paused before going into explanation mode. "I can't make spell tech things work when they're memorized, so I'm stuck with older relics and such. Even then my soul has a limit of what it can hold before it feels weighed down and uncomfortable."
Kade's eyes traced the intricate details of the intimidating weapon, and a laugh caught on his tongue.
"You'll have to show me more sometime... Right now, I'm way too tired to think much more..."
Dawn nodded, replying softly.
"Do you want me to leave?" Or is it okay if I can stick around...?"
Kade smiled, attempting a butchered shrug.
"You do you," he mused, closing his eyes to the relaxing darkness.
Dawn stuck around, reflecting on her life, occasionally watching the brawler's chest elevate and depress with each breath. She was glad he was okay; the new world was intimidating, and she was glad to have someone to stick by.
Especially one who thrived in such chaos.
The entire situation just reminded her that she couldn't leave him to his desires, lest he damage and sacrifice things from the consequences of his bright-eyed, confident attitude. She ought to build herself up to be strong and stable to be a support to someone who never had anyone.
It would be a hell of a goal, but she was confident.
Not to mention that she needed strength to fetch her father back from Song or take revenge if he had met his end.
Kade was the perfect person for both tasks.
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In a distant room, huddled in a dark corner, was the short boy with messy black hair. It looked like he was staring at the wall like some madman. If not for that, the sleeper was using his aspect to look through the shadow he had sent to observe Kade.
He had needed to gather some intel about his 6 million credit target, so a fight between him and the insufferable Caster was a fantastic opportunity. But as the fight went on, Sunny had realized that his potential target was much more of a presence than he thought.
He had beaten Changing Star, of course, but fighting Caster was a different notion that had its own challenges. Despite that, Kade succeeded. In a sense.
'THERE'S A JIAN IN HIS HEART; HOW THE HELL IS HE STANDING?!" Sunny screamed internally. It was a bizarre sight, something out of fantasy, to have a sleeper ignore such a brutal wound and then only to suddenly get the upper hand and win the fight.
Especially when the person looking so positive is doing so.
'This is going to be a lot more difficult...' Sunny could only think of trying to get an opportunity to behead the brawler. That seemed like the most fatal thing to someone acting immortal; either way, whatever aspect that allowed Kade to do that had limits.
Sunny did send his shadow to follow Kade to the infirmary. The prideful bastard looked quietly fucked up after the whole fact.
'I'll have to properly get an idea of his aspect and everything...' The hit job was really shaping up to be a challenge worth the 6 million credits. No matter how daunting it got, Sunny still found himself confident to do so.
His aspect was born for assassination, along with sneaking around. He could achieve what he wanted with enough grit and spite. The path just had to be the one most convenient.
Not to mention that his shadow watched Kade's somewhat girlfriend just magically conjure a bazooka into existence. That fact left Sunny even more shocked than Kade's entire deal. Mentally he assured himself to be as kind to her as he could in the future.
Less chance of being blown up into smithereens and letting her guard down around him.
'Backstabbing's what I do best... I'll just have to up my game.
--------------------------
A little more than two weeks had passed after the fight. Kade and Caster had been let off with a stern warning and talking-to. The legacy seemed completely fed up with the entire deal, only staring with hatred from time to time, while Kade bathed in the new attitude that the sleepers had of him.
They weren't disapproving anymore!
Now they were just more intimidated.
Either way, a win is a win.
Other than that, not much happened; same old story for Kade somehow. He was a bit focused on recovery and chats with the peers that actually talked with him. Namely Dawn, Cassie. With Nephis and Sunny being the rarer options.
He couldn't really use [Never Ending Fury] after the fact, since he had to save its storage for the winter solstice.
It would have been perfect if not for [Battle Lust] growing stronger and stronger by the day. Kade was finding it difficult to resist, and soon it felt like the itch would burst from his head.
But luckily, it would be over soon.
On the day of the incoming winter solstice.
Soon he would embark on the violence he so dearly missed.