The Crimson Mystic Legacy Chapter 10: Chapter 10: The Nurse

Read chapter 10 of The Crimson Mystic Legacy by CRIMODAS on NovelPedia.

Uzi slowly opened his eyes; the scent of flowers flooded his nose, thick and sweet, almost cloying. A wet cough rattled beside him. He turned his head, wincing at the pull in his shoulder, and saw an old man in the next bed; he couldn't have been younger than seventy, skin papery, veins like blue rivers under translucent flesh. A vase of vibrant blooms sat on the nightstand, petals bright against the dim room, their perfume heavy enough to taste. The guilt slammed into Uzi like a fist. Everything he'd failed to stop; the kingdom burning, souls twisted, Rathra's laugh echoing in the dark. He had to fix it. Had to. He pushed up on his good arm; pain exploded through his shoulder, white-hot, buckling his strength. A sharp cry escaped before he could choke it back, and he collapsed onto the pillow, breath sawing in and out. Boots pounded in the hall. A younger guy in a yellow doctor's coat burst through the door, eyes wide, stethoscope swinging. He took one look at Uzi gasping and bolted back out, shouting something muffled down the corridor. Ten seconds later; exactly ten, Uzi counted in the haze; Dr. Elara Voss stepped in, blue glasses glinting under the harsh light. Her coat was crisp, her expression a mix of stubborn worry and nerdy triumph. "Up already?" she squeaked, marching to his bedside with clipboard in hand. "Fascinating recovery curve, but reckless! Lie still; your sutures are fresh, and that shoulder's a biomechanical disaster waiting to happen." Uzi gritted his teeth, the flowers' scent suddenly suffocating. "I don't have time." "You have exactly the time your body allows," she countered, already checking the bandage with gentle, precise fingers. "Now breathe; I need to assess inflammation levels before you even think about heroics." Dr. Voss set the clipboard aside with a decisive click; her squeaky voice turned brisk as she adjusted her blue glasses. "Right; tests first. We'll start with vitals; pulse, blood pressure, oxygen saturation. Hold still." She clipped a small sensor to his finger; a machine beside the bed beeped softly, numbers flickering on a glowing screen. Uzi watched, fascinated; the device hummed with a faint blue light, wires snaking to a panel that displayed wavy lines and digits in real time. Next came a cuff around his arm; it inflated with a hiss, squeezing tight before deflating, the screen updating with more readings. "Heart rate's elevated; not surprising after that episode," she muttered, scribbling notes. Then she wheeled over a cart laden with tools; a handheld scanner that she passed over his chest and shoulder, emitting a low whir as it projected holographic grids onto his skin, mapping bruises and fractures in glowing red outlines. "Ultrasound probe next; non-invasive, but it'll feel cold." She applied a gel to a wand-like device and pressed it gently against his ribs; the attached monitor bloomed with grainy images of bones and tissues, swirling in shades of gray. Uzi winced at the chill, but his eyes stayed locked on the screen; shapes shifted like living shadows inside him. "Reflexes and motor function," she announced, tapping his knee with a small hammer; his leg jerked involuntarily. She repeated it on his arms, knuckles, even his splinted foot, noting each twitch. A pinprick test followed; tiny needles testing sensation across his limbs, charting numbness or pain on her chart. Finally, she drew a vial of blood with a swift needle jab; the tube filled crimson, and she fed it into a compact analyzer that whirred and spat out results in seconds; chemical levels, mana traces, all scrolling in neat columns. "Remarkable resilience," Dr. Voss said, her nerdy enthusiasm bubbling up as she reviewed the data. "Mana depletion's minimal now; fractures knitting faster than textbooks predict. But this..." She trailed off, wheeling a full-length mirror over from the corner; its frame hummed faintly, edges glowing as if powered. "Look." Uzi sat up slower this time, ignoring the ache; he stared i