Those three days were hell for Jack. He wasn't sure what state Jerry was in—his body was still breathing and functioning just fine, but he couldn't feed him anything due to his throat, and could only resort to injections.
Beyond that, what truly scared him was the lifelessness of the fainted Jerry. He had barely moved. He somehow didn't need any excretory functions for the whole three days, and Jack's only shining hope was the injury.
Regular changes were, of course, a must, and when Jack loosened the bandage after the first day, he was astonished to find that all the injury had turned to scabs.
But the real shocking thing happened on the second day! As he slowly peeled off the bandages, the scabs came off as well, revealing brand-new pinkish skin underneath with zero sign of scarring!
Jack was shocked. An injury this bad had the possibility of scarring even an Ancient, let alone a Normal!
Only a Pure could heal to such an extent akin to regeneration… Jack clenched his hands.
He, however, knew that Jerry wasn't a Pure; he was a Normal… a slightly special one. Just like him.
***
Within the system space, Dina had also come to such a conclusion via Zero's words.
Although the next thing he said was rather troubling:
"Sometimes the identity evolves in ways even we cannot tell. This is because once the soul of the Transmigrator has taken over the identity, higher intervention is required to predict the identity's evolution."
"This is something we prefer not to do due to the high risks involved with intervention."
In simple terms, even Zero himself wasn't sure what Jerry could become.
Due to her paranoia, Dina decided to add the possibility of Jerry turning out to be a Pure into her future plans.
Nothing wrong with preparations.
"Which means there's a chance I can still talk?"
One of the core reasons Dina was reluctant to return was due to this. However, it was only a minor reason—it was impossible for something so superficial to disrupt her mission. Even going blind could be managed.
The major reason why she had not yet returned was because of the meter.
Was it guilt? Sorrow? Misery? Bitterness?
Dina wasn't sure, but watching the meter steadily rise with each passing day, she decided to bide her time and watch just how much progress could be made.
It turned out to be an excellent decision, and watching the meter rise from 30% to 38%, Dina was ready to spend the rest of her life in the space if necessary.
Though she found Jack's situation quite pitiful and knew none of this was his fault, when push came to shove, the mission was of first priority.
She held no resentment for the boy, albeit a little grudge for being locked outside. She didn't despise him for ditching Jerry. After all, just like Zero had said, he was but a child.
Dina wasn't remotely planning to come back soon, but still had shame, so she had Zero use a function that restrained Jerry's excretory needs.
As for Jerry being scrubbed down by the teen… this was still within the range of shame she could endure.
"Zero, just to confirm one last time, I won't be paying for all of this, right? You'll write a statement worthy of freeing me of any penalties, right~?"
Zero glanced at the shameless partner of his, who batted her lashes heavily to create a dramatic effect, and couldn't help but shake his head.
"I'll see what I can do."
"Hey, that's not reassuring at all!"
Zero: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Dina: (눈‸눈)
"Anyways, seems like I'll be returning today," Dina said, standing up from the sofa to stretch her stiff body.
Staying in the system space was satisfying because, despite having almost everything behind a paywall, the Bureau was kind enough to allow the Transmigrators access to any and every kind of food and food item they wanted for free!
This was why cooking was a very rampant thing among Transmigrators: as long as you could buy the needed materials, every foodstuff would be freely provided to you.
And although none of the Bureau workers needed food, the satisfaction it brought still remained. Simply put, it was like eating in a dream except, in this case, the taste and satisfaction remained.
So after days of eating whatever she wanted, Dina was a bit reluctant to leave. Had it not been for entertainment services being behind a paywall, the system space would be even more perfect!
However, what prompted her to leave was very important. As soon as Jack found out Jerry was a special Normal just like him, the meter spiked from 38% straight to 45%.
After that, it stopped moving completely, and Dina had a hunch it probably wouldn't move again even if she stayed for a whole month.
She decided to strike while the iron was hot. She could faintly guess why the meter had risen so drastically and already had a plan to raise it even more.
Hence, after a final contemplation, she faced Zero with a wide grin before waving cheerfully.
"Buh-bye."
He rolled his eyes before moving to click on the holographic interface:
With a 'Yes,' Dina's image faded from the gray space.
***
When Jerry awakened, the first thing he saw was a furry green head of hair, causing him to chuckle softly.
His head was all fuzzy, and his body was incredibly stiff due to not moving for a long time, and it took him a lot of struggling to stabilize himself and sit up.
However, through it all, the person beside him was so deeply asleep that he noticed nothing despite all the wriggling.
'He must be very tired… Poor thing.'
The teen before Jerry remained just as pale, except his brilliance had once again dimmed to a gaunt state, and he seemed to have gotten thinner.
Jerry sighed in dissatisfaction. After all that effort fattening him up! He cracked his fist metaphorically—well, he'd just do it all over again.
He decided to let the boy have his rest. Tending to a patient was no easy job, and with the surroundings not having turned into a pigsty, Jerry felt very proud of the boy.
Since he couldn't move, to avoid waking the boy whose head lay on his lap, he remained seated and decided to have a test run with his voice.
***
What awakened Jack was the alarm, which readied him for Jerry's injection. While Jack slept, Jerry had been practicing with his voice and had come to a drastic conclusion.
His voice was 100% intact! Not only had the external injuries healed, but the internal ones had fully regenerated. This wasn't just any healing—every damaged organ had been healed, and Jerry felt brand new.
The only issue was how dry his throat was due to not having eaten or drunk anything for days, meaning, despite being able to talk, he'd probably sound like a croaking frog.
But to appease the grieving mind of a particular teen, Jerry was willing to do so.
Hence, as soon as Jack opened his eyes, what came into his sight was a pair of smiling pink eyes and a grin, along with the male's raspy greeting:
"Hello… Jack."
***
Their reunion was nothing short of spectacular. At first, it took the teen multiple eye rubs and pinches to confirm he wasn't dreaming, and then he pounced on Jerry, bawling his eyes out.
He cried until his eyes swelled up and his voice became as raspy as Jerry's. Only then did he regain his calmness.
The two stared blankly at each other for a long moment before Jerry muttered, "Can I get something warm to drink?"
Jack nodded madly like a henpecked chick, then quickly vanished and soon returned with a large glass of milk.
Only after nourishing his parched throat could Jerry finally talk. His voice came out smooth and free, just as beautiful as it had always been.
"How long have I been asleep?"
Jack stared into the warm pink eyes and felt a wave of emotions swarm him: guilt, sadness, happiness, and mostly relief.
For days he had desperately longed to see those eyes. It didn't matter to him what expression was shown. Whether it be disgust, anger, or disappointment, he simply wanted to see them.
And now they were right in front of him as clear as ever, without an iota of negativity within them. Only then did he realize—Jerry didn't despise him.
He was just like that. No matter what happened, no matter what he did, he merely took it all and returned to him with a smile.
Within the deep darkness, he stayed through it all, accompanying him, protecting him, and showering him with love.
He was a… light. His… Light. His only warmth within this abyss of misery. And he never wanted to lose him.
He looked up to the man, who again smiled at him. "How have you been, Jack?"
Tears sprang up, but he bit his lips in a bid to restrain himself, only to be betrayed by a gasp which turned him once again into a crying mess.
"I'm sorry…!" he bawled. He had been so cowardly! So pathetically foolish.
Jerry gave a low chuckle while reaching out to the teen's hair. His motion was stiff and slow due to his condition, but with Jack suddenly leaning in, it became easy to touch his hair.
He slowly patted the hair. "It's… fine."
His words still slurred, but his intent was clear enough to communicate his message:
[Don't worry. I hold no grudge against you.]
That seemed to worsen the teen's condition as his tears grew louder while he threw himself in Jerry's arms.
"I'm so sorry…!"
Jerry sighed. Something told him he was better off letting the kid cry it out, or it'd never end.
Hence, the duo spent hours hugging each other, with Jack bawling his soul out and Jerry doing his best to console him.