𝕄ℍ𝔸: BLACK-LIGHT

Chapter 20 // Hosu Hospital

Ray blinked his eyes open, groggy and disoriented. The sterile white of the hospital ceiling greeted him, and the distant beeping of medical equipment filled the room. His vision slowly focused, and he saw two familiar figures by his bedside.

Nemuri rushed to his side and pulled him into a tight hug, her voice trembling with emotion.

Nemuri: "Rae-Rae! You scared me to death! Don't you ever do something like that again!"

Ray winced at the intensity of her grip but said nothing, still trying to piece together what had happened.

Johnathan stood nearby, arms crossed but his face betraying his concern.

Johnathan: "When I heard the news, I couldn't believe it. I came as fast as I could. Are you alright?"

Ray looked between his parents, confusion etched on his face.

Ray: "What's going on? Why are you both here? What happened?"

Before either of them could answer, the door opened, and a doctor walked in holding a clipboard. His expression was neutral but serious, his white coat immaculate as he approached the foot of Ray's bed.

Doctor: "Good, you're awake. We've got the X-ray results back. I wanted to go over them with you and your family."

Ray slowly turned his head toward his parents, catching the sudden tension in their expressions. Nemuri's grip on his hand tightened, and Johnathan's jaw clenched slightly.

Ray: "Why do I feel like I'm not gonna like this…?"

Johnathan ignored his son's comment, stepping closer to the doctor.

Johnathan: "Just tell us the results."

The doctor cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, looking directly at Johnathan and Nemuri before addressing the room.

Doctor: "Ray's condition is the result of something we call Quirk Genetic Aberration Syndrome. It's a rare condition where quirks, often from genetic experimentation or inherited instability, cause an overload in the body. This overload leads to mutations and unpredictable transformations, similar to what we observed during the incident."

Ray tilted his head, clearly lost.

Ray: "Quirk…what? So, what? I'm a little weird? You're gonna have to break it down for me, Doc."

Johnathan stared at his son, his expression unreadable, but the weight of his words was palpable.

Johnathan: "What you have, Ray, It's a disease. One that causes quirks to become unstable and uncontrollable."

Ray's brow furrowed, trying to process the information.

Johnathan: "This…this isn't the first time it's happened in our family. My grandfather, your great-grandfather, had it. He wasn't as lucky as some. He… he took his own life when the disease took over. He couldn't handle the transformations, the loss of control."

Nemuri turned her face away, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Johnathan: "My father he knew the risk. He tried to counteract it by marrying someone with a light-based quirk. The idea was that a light quirk might balance out the instability."

Ray: "And? Did it work?"

Johnathan let out a long sigh.

Johnathan: "It didn't. If anything, it made the disease stronger. But I was lucky. My case was caught early in my life. They found a treatment that stabilized my quirk before another rampage could happen. I thought…I thought we'd be able to do the same for you, but when we tried....You know the rest."