In a bustling city, twins Akio and Kenji embark on an extraordinary journey. When Kenji mysteriously disappears, Akio's relentless search leads him to a series of uncanny encounters. As their destinies intertwine, a divide emerges between the carefr...
"Oh, he's awake. Good morning, Kenji-kun" Akio slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurry and disoriented. He groaned and looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. "Kenji...," he muttered, his mind still foggy. It wasn't until he saw the woman sitting next to him, sipping on her coffee, that he realized he was in a hospital.
"What...is this place?" he asked, his voice weak.
"You're in observation," the woman replied, pulling her chair closer to his bed. "It'll take a couple of hours or maybe more than that. Much...more than that."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Akio's heart started racing. "HUH? WHAT FOR?!" he blurted out, suddenly panicked.
The woman sighed. "For that little bump on your head. We looked for many eyewitnesses but nobody saw what happened during your spar with the Phantom."
Akio's hand flew to his forehead, feeling the small, clear white horn. As he touched it, a loud, high-pitched scream escaped his throat, mixed with fear and confusion. "What...what's happening to me?" he stammered, his eyes wide with terror.
"You've turned into a monster." She left, closing the door behind her. He could feel the weight of the world crashing down on him as he struggled to process the woman's words. "A monster?" he thought to himself, feeling a wave of despair wash over him. He looked down at his body, seeing the thin, flexible tubes attached to his arms and head. "How could this have happened?" he wondered.
. . .
His eyes were hardly opened and his back had an itchy feeling about it. He had been there for eight hours. Akio's heart sank as he heard the woman's words. He was turning into a monster, a fifth type of horned-oni that had never been seen before. He tried to move his limbs, but they refused to budge. He was completely immobilized, trapped in his own body.
Rila noticed the fear in his eyes and tried to reassure him. "Don't worry, we'll find a way to reverse the effects of the blood. We're conducting more tests to understand how it works." She paused for a moment before adding, "But I have to be honest with you, Kenji. This is uncharted territory for us. We don't know what the long-term effects of the transformation will be."
Akio's mind was racing. He had so many questions, but he didn't even know where to begin. He tried to speak, but his throat was dry and scratchy. The woman noticed his struggle and poured him a glass of water. He took a few sips before speaking again. "What's going to happen to me now? Will I ever be able to lead a normal life again?"
The woman sighed, her expression serious. "I wish I could give you a definitive answer, Akio. But the truth is, we don't know. Your case is unique, and we'll need to conduct more tests to understand how to treat it."
Akio felt a sense of hopelessness wash over him. He lay there in silence, lost in thought, while she continued her tests and observations. Akio's eyes moved towards the badge pinned on her chest saying Haruka Rila.
