dev 8 - the return

Now, it was perhaps the most unfortunate part.

For the moment that Agrien mentions that she's ready to proceed, he nods to her once, before heading to the door briefly- he gestures her to wait, of course, knowing full well that this could be misunderstood if he doesn't elaborate.

"One moment."

It only takes under a minute, and he returns with the cloaked figure, who seems.. pretty down in general, so much so that they're staring at the ground in silence. If anything, there's a flicker of metal right arm upon them, and the familiar locks of hair that fall down from the cloak.

Who might that be?

Before anything else is said, he shoots a glance to Agrien; a brief elaboration on the public follows.

"I'll need you to help me removing the prosthetic, then work with me according to instructions I provide. It shouldn't be difficult on your part, but.. I still need you regardless."

"Could we come somewhere private? Upstairs, perhaps?"

The cloaked figure next to Nerin remains, for all intents and purposes, concealed; several hints glimmer here and there about who they are, but otherwise, there's no telling.
(Nerin)

A blink is made as Nerin brings the other figure into the Hospital. At first thinking it was going to be a patient of sorts, but ultimately she realizes that's not quite so.

Listening to Nerin, the ginger nodded, motioning with her hand for the duo to follow her.

"Alright...Come with me, let's work on this upstairs where no one can actually walk in."

The ginger said as she started moving to the stairs. No questions asked as of yet, at least not until she had a proper question to be asking. She knew Nerin well enough to not doubt his methods or ethics, and she would give him that much credit.

Still it would be strange to think she didn't have her own doubts about what they were going to be doing.

"Over here, I can clean it later, no worries."

She said as she directed the duo to her own bedroom. Not that she used it too often since she almost always slept on the workshop itself, but she figured it would be better to be working on a surgery somewhere more proper than in the middle of forges and other things.

"Make yourselves comfortable, and you may use the bed. I'll get us the utensils."
(Agrien Vandroy)

There's no telling who it is until the very end.

If anything, only after they arrive to the top of the floor, he sighs out in relief- upon ensuring that nobody at all is around, he carefully pulls down the cloak of the figure that came about with him. At that point, it becomes pretty clear to her..

It's none other than Zus.

Except the Boar of the Wild has long lost his spirit. He seems.. depressed, at best- and utterly destroyed at worst. It's not the wounds on his body, of course, but they exist as well in the form of the prosthetic that replaces his right arm; instead, it seems as if he's lost his spirit a long time ago.

Almost like he's devoid of any feelings about the situation.

"Here, Zus.. take a seat."

Figuring that Agrien would be okay with it, he leads his chosen-brother to take a seat on the first available and most convenient surface. A sigh escapes his lips- only now Nerin's true nature and feelings about this surface, that of clear regret and sorrow..

Having to see his brother like this.

"..So."

"This is.. what I needed help with. I need someone to lend me their mana for the process of restoring his arm- and I'll also need you to assist me with removing the prosthetic, and.. well, with the rest of the process."

"I'll guide you through."

His lips idly purse. Even now, he's not sure whether she would help him or agree to it.. and honestly, he wouldn't blame her.

"I'll warn you, it won't be pretty, but.. I really do need your help."
(Nerin)

Agrien's surprises didn't seem to have an end. She almost halted herself as she moved across her room when she noticed that was Zus. She knew the boar, not as good as Nerin, but he could be what she'd consider a friend nontheless.

That only made the whole procedure even more important.

Resting a metallic tray over the counter, Agrien had set aside a few scalpels, needles and who knows what else. She seemed to have brought upstairs all of the utensils she'd use at the hospital, and now she noticed who it was, it was more than worthy doing so.

"Gosh, Z...What happened to him?"

Of course, that question was almost irrelevant to be asking. More important than that would be how they could actually assist. Nerin seemed to have an idea, and Agrien was openly agreeing in help, as much was visible from her eager - and worried - expression.

Quickly so she removed her coat, throwing it somewhere around her bedroom, and simply standing close in her white shirt and black vest, like she normally did for treatments. No need for etiquette when she was right on her own bedroom.

"-Alright. Removing his prosthetic is not very hard, it's just a matter of figuring how the doctor who installed it did it, and then undoing that. I can do it."

She agreed, standing closer to both as she rested a hand on Zus shoulder, mostly paying attention to Nerin.

"It's Z we're talking about Nerin, you don't have to ask twice. Just tell me how we're going to do it, and I'll help."
(Agrien Vandroy)

At the very least, she was willing to help.

That much calmed him to an extent, knowing that he won't be alone during this process. This arduous process in which he could potentially harm himself, for he knows where this energy would be coming form.. or rather, the excess of it, to restore and fuel Zus' mana circuits to a much greater degree than before.

"..If you've ever read the newspaper, these Cadets and Knights that ventured to the sewers and had to fight against Syndicate agents - it was us." He pauses briefly, then remarks once more.

"He.. almost died that night. I had to chase out the Syndicate agents when the rest of the Knights have fallen, or else they all would die; I was the last man standing, and I had to save everyone's life, but.. Zus already lost his arm by the time I was able to help."

"He was frostbitten, and the ice was spreading to the rest of his body. I.. had to amputate it right there." One could only imagine the horror and despair he experienced that night. Having to amputate the arm of your brother, all to save them..

"--And I was the one to do the surgery afterward, installing it. I expended upon my resources and contacts to get him prosthetic, so he wouldn't have to keep suffering, but.."

"It broke him. Him, almost dying- he perceived it as the ultimate failure, and.." He quietly sighs, albeit pensive- yet, he steels himself to not fall for this sorrow. ".. well, he's like this now. He changed."

For worse. For so much worse.. and Nerin believed that he could at least try and restore his brother. Though.. there's no need to touch up on that sensitive subject, is there?

They had work to do.

"Right. Uh--"

"Please begin by unscrewing the bolts connecting the prosthetic to his arm. I'll prepare the rest of the tools and then begin restoration process. Throughout this whole time, I'll need to tap into your mana and for you to keep him stable."

"I'll.. do that part."

For now, he merely puts on the gloves.
(Nerin)

Agrien had heard of the operation by comments, and briefly read it on the newspaper, but both accounts made it sound a lot lesser than it probably was. To hear it from someone who have been there, and even more so, in detail, gave her a whole new idea about what the members of the Order actually had to go through on their daily basis.

Even if that was a one time happening, with the constant Syndicate attacks, those things should be coming far more often than she'd like to believe.

"It broke his spirit, I can see, yes. For a proud warrior like him to lose and, to lose his arm at such conditions...It's understandable. But you're right, we'll do everything we can to help him."

And she meant it.

With a tug on her hair backward to keep it from falling over her shoulders, Agrien reached for the utensils as she kneeled on the floor besides Zus, reaching for his prosthetic arm with both hands and using that tool to unscrew the bolts positioned there, so they could eventually remove and disassemble it entirely.

"How are you going to be using my mana for that, Nerin? I've never did something like that before, so consider me uneducated on mana transferring procedures." she explained as she carefully placed piece by piece from that arm on the tray besides her, with her knees by the wooden floor. "This might actually be a good chance to learn with that, too..."
(Agrien Vandroy)

Nothing can replace actually being there.

No newspaper, no rumor, no tale from third party could ever reflect the raw emotion of fear for another's life, desperation for the blood on your hands, and hatred for those that almost took something precious from you- even if Nerin never truly comments on what's happening in his heart.. it can be seen in the strong frown that persists on his countenance.

In the flicker of the eye that speaks of pain,
yet one ushered silently, then snuffed out.

Why? Because he had work to do. For someone so young, perhaps, he was exceptional.. in so many ways that only few could recognize- for someone so young, he's already experienced something that others would not experience in the ages to come. Perhaps, never at all..

"It's not just that, he.. lost faith in everything and everyone, including himself. He thought himself a failure- for I had to rescue him and put my life on the line."

"I never blamed him for this loss. I tried to help, but.."

The bitterness echoes in his voice, but he shakes it off. Instead, when she carefully disassembles the prosthetic, he already begins his work- steadily, a single hand is placed onto shoulder, carefully trailing down to where his arm ought to be - and invasion of the mana circuits begins.

The red, dim light spreads in web-like pattern. A technique that he's been working on. As Nerin floods Zus' circuits with his own mana, something begins to stir.. spreading out as if it were a virus.

"Here.. I'll show you." He carefully takes Agrien's hand, shifting it closer to where his own is laid. "At the same time.. please cleanse his wound with another hand. You can retrieve your second one briefly, in case you need it."

"It.. shouldn't be that long."

With that said, the red light so ever begins spreading out further and further.. maybe a flickering hope to see him well enough once more.

Maybe the light to guide his brother back.
(Nerin)

That kind of therapy, the manamancy of sorts, was certainly out of the fields of expertise Agrien was versed in. She was much more a traditional magi doctor, and as such, the experiment was going to be something almost brand new to her.

She knew of it's existence during her studies, but she never had the chance to either participate in a session like that, and much less to oversee one happening. Still, she trusted Nerin to know what he was doing.

Following his instructions, Agrien allowed her hand to be placed where Nerin guided her to, resting it there with the soft touch of her own precise digits. She never lied when she said she had an actual precise pair of hands that she would rather not damage, a few years ago, and that much would become rather visible by now.

Her touch was firm, but at the same soft with not much more pressure than it should have, but enough to make the contact.

"These things have much more damage onpeople than the physical one, I know that much. That's why I always refrain from performing amputations unless absolutely necessary."

The girl sighed, but she knew Nerin didn't have much of a choice, and to make that decision on the fly at a battle situation, it must have been a hell of an experience for the Cadet.

Still, she did as instructed, keeping her hand as it was and using the free hand to cleanse and tend for Zus wound to the best of her ability. Nerin was in charge for that procedure, and Agrien right now was being more of an assistant, something she was more than comfortable with for as long as it would help Zus with his condition.
(Agrien Vandroy)

In truth, it was far beyond that.

The technique of imprinting. To alter one's flesh at expense of your own mana.. and some of the lifeforce as well; though, knowing him and Agrien to be magi, he figured that two of them curing a single person like this would mean that they'll be able to actually mitigate most of the pressure done by this doing, something that he already foresaw.

Because alteration such as this? It does not come easy.

"I know.. I know that amputation damages the mana circuits as well, which is why I've been working on restoring them." A pause is given, during which he adjusts the pattern webs spreading all around the body of his brother.

"It's a technique of Biomancy, imprinting. Through alteration of mana circuits, the body is forced to adapt accordingly, changing and mending its shape - but the price is heavy cost of mana for even smallest of the things, on top of that, requiring surgical precision." Which is why he's studied to be a doctor.. to know the body so much.

"And.. lifeforce."

Peculiar, curious word. Something that he's ready to invest.. and already the crimson light pulses within the arm, constructing something entirely else- he takes upon example of Zus' other arm, constructing the essential, opposite replica of it - all to begin the slow, yet steady process of regeneration.

Something to take a while.

"Before you get scared.. no, this won't injure you in any way - but you'll feel very tired afterward."

She could already begin to feel it. The crimson light.. spreading from the hand that laid close to Nerin as he shifted his own, essentially, invading Agrien's circuits as well.

It spreads rather quick, much like a virus.

"Do not be afraid. It won't hurt."
(Nerin)

And feeling it she was, already. Agrien had a rather strong, potent kind of mana in some senses, though it was mostly untapped, wild mana. She never had a proper training on how to cast her mana into spells like most people did, another reason why she wasn't a combatant person.

As such, her mana was mostly raw, untrained and untouched. Strong, but likely very bad filtered, to which Nerin could understand as he could already feel the extremely high amount of mana to be found in her body, and to be tapped for that biomancy process.

"I can see what you're talking about." she said with a faint smile as she already felt a strange pressure on her forehead, as if she have been performing a high amount of force for something and all of her blood was going through her head. Not quite what was happening in practice, but the feeling would be similar. Soon enough, a strange heat as if a fever from under her skin would be travelling from her hand to her arm and the rest of her body, indeed like a virus and an infection, but one she knew Nerin had under control. "Lifeforce, though...?"

The girl asked as she closed her eyes for a moment, resting both knees on the floor still as she felt her legs faltering for the time being, but she never did let go of either Zus wound, and Nerin's, allowing the movement and managing of her mana to continue.

"So...This is what you have in mind. I guess I can understand it, I mean- You're...Trying to bring life back to him. I would never think that to be possible at this level. B-But I can see it should be working."

Her smirk formed again as she pressed her eyes closed together, essentially offering her mana for that procedure to continue.
(Agrien Vandroy)

The process does not necessarily hurt.

True, it may look intimidating to a degree.. but there's nothing about it which is immediately hostile- if anything, it's something that feels like she's constantly working on something - a rising beat of her heart accelerating, the blood flowing through her veins quicker and quicker.. much like she's forced to put herself through anaerobic exercise, one that pushes her to her limits.

And it just doesn't stop.

In return of the mana being drained from her, and in return of Nerin investing his own as well, the crimson patterns keep pulsing on Agrien's body, steadily draining her of the raw, untapped mana- it didn't seem like he cared much for the fact that it was not filtered.. rather, the potency was met with a smile.

"..You're not as simple as you appear to be. You have a lot of potential, Agrien."

A lot of potential which he must take. It'd be one thing to violently take her mana, but.. she did agree to help, right? So this means he isn't doing anything wrong. Instead, the odd patterns are steadily constructed over Zus' non-existent arm, the crimson light swirling about.

Until first steps are made.

The bone protrudes out of Zus' shoulder, making for a skeleton appropriate for his arm. First signs of veins, arteries, muscle and flesh begins to grow at a rapid pace- and while this happens, Agrien can feel herself nearly faint. In fact, it's almost like Nerin already knows this would happen - to which he quietly mutters.

"Stay awake.. no matter what, keep your eyes open."

A re-assuring whisper, but one that didn't seem to help much her condition; she'd have to fight the urge of passing out as well. Still, with the mana being steadily pumped out.. the draft of the new arm ismade.

Something one could only see in the miracles, maybe.

"Correct. The lifeforce revolves around sacrifice of it, to ensure another can be restored. It's a slow process, and he'll need recovery after this anyway, but.."

"It's the beginning."
(Nerin)

Nerin's words would seem to be almost like a whisper even if he were speaking out loud in every single sense of it. Her senses were failing and even her sight was already sporting a blank and darkening visual. Truth be told her green eyes were actually still open, but she was seeing but a blur of Nerin's silhuete in front of her instead.

Small drops of sweat came from her forehead, for that was truly stressing for her whole body in a way she had never experienced before. But as if a magnet drawing metal to it, she couldn't remove her hand from where it was anymore. Her skin glowing in red from under her skin through that absorbing and transferring procedure as it kept sucking off her mana.

It was true that if Agrien were a combatant she would be a strong one. She had a more potent mana than most, only she never trained or used it in any way. The pool inside of her body would be much as large and deep as Nerin's own, if not even maybe more. The difference was how raw and pure her own was, while his was already trained for his own casting and combat.

"I'm...Awake."

She said, but her voice barely came out of her already dry lips. It looked like she was feverish, her body heated from the constant pressure of her mana being drawn to Nerin's experiment, and Agrien could barely hear or see anything. Not even that skeletal formation that came to be from Nerin's own arm.

But she was holding on as much as she could, which certainly wouldn't be much longer.

At that rate it would be just a matter of minutes until the ginger simply couldn't hang on to what she did anymore, and her eyes would simply fall shut and her limbs dulled and numb, resulting in the girl falling to her side, half leaning against the bed, half kneeling on the floor.

But for the time being, she was still conscious, but a thread, but still allowing Nerin to continue.
(Agrien Vandroy)

Gladly for her, it was almost done.

At one point, Zus' arm began to carefully form through the technique of Biomancy's imprinting, the shaping of mana serving as conduct for the process in which the limb would slowly be restored. It's not fully function per se, mind you.. for it would still need proper restoration even after this, and recovery as well.

Even if Nerin perseveres, he looks extremely tired.

The beads of sweat were already gathered on his countenance, so much so that there's just no telling how exactly he holds on. Perhaps, it's the raw power that he gathered.. or perhaps, the sheer determination he has for restoration of his brother. Whatever the answer, it's clear that he's determined to finish it. And eventually..

The deep red light separates from Agrien.

Instead, it stills onto Zus' newfound arm, pale, and not yet adjusted for the new form. At that point, Nerin knew he'd have to implant the biomod as well - something that he's been working with as well, but before anything, he speaks out to Agrien.

"..Thank you. I mean it, I'm really thankful."

Even if she'd struggle to hear it, he gives her a moment of respite to actually come back to her senses. But.. their job isn't done yet, and both of them should know that.

"Please carefully place his new arm in a cast, and wrap it thoroughly in bandages. Make sure that it's secured inside, without exposure to environmental hazards."

At the same time, he continues his work, still. With his influence still spreading onto mana circuits.. now, the last touch was to be done.
(Nerin)

It would take her some time to completely gain her senses at it's fullest again, but at least as she was no longer having her mana sapped from her body, the condition stabilized.

Being such an untrained magi as she was, by one hand she would have quite a large pool to draw from, untapped and unfiltered, raw and pure. On the other hand, she didn't produce and recovered mana as much as a trained magi would.

Though she was still conscious, even if with the headache of the century and feeling as if she was on the brink of death.

Agrien however knew her work and job, and she was experienced enough to do all of what she had with closed eyes; not that she would have to by now, but it was a very similar experience. Nerin could notice her weak breath and her almost dragged motion from her hands, but she kept the firm touch and the precision any doctor would need.

"I'll...Keep it sealed, don't worry."

She said, her lips dry and her voice coarse as she continued her work. Disassembling the prosthetic was the hard part, assembling something new together was surprisingly easier for her. Or maybe that was just her slightly dulled mind working instead. Still, the remaining drops of efforts from Agrien were fully put on replacing that arm.

First the wiring of the mana circuitry that had to be connected to Zus' own, and eventually the bones to connect and make itself natural once more. The nerval system followed, so he could have movement of that arm again, and ultimately the muscle tissue.

As they had studied prior, the stitching would be made in every single level of his body. The muscle, flesh and skin. The circuitry would need some small discharge of mana to connect, but given the entirety of the activity that was happening there, that would be the easiest part.

Even if she was barely seeing, Agrien continued to attach that new arm, only trusting Nerin to be as precise and efficient as she wished him to be by now, for she certainly couldn't finish that on her own.
(Agrien Vandroy)

You can't rush an artist..

And he believed this to be an art. As such, when the construction of the new arm- one made of flesh, blood and bone was over- he'd proceed to utilize the biomods he's learned about in order to adjust his arm to be just as it was before; the imprinting of mana circuits also used in order to secure the connections that would otherwise remain faulty.

The minor tweaks of the arm's appearance was made as well.

The skin color, its precise proportions and size.. everything was adjusted to the same way as if it was before, and perhaps even better. Now that the flesh was made once more, the mana was used to enhance the flesh on the permanent basis; it's clear that majority of his work was with rewiring mana circuits, so much that they'd change entirely.

So much that it'd turn the flesh into something better.

But.. in the end, there's only so much that can be done, and with the final touches made, all he can hope for is that his arm would rejuvenate properly, rather than failing to be restored. With Agrien's finishing touches as well, now, he was convinced that he's done everything he could.

And if it wasn't enough..
Then at least he tried.

A deep, heavy sigh left his lips; practically looking paler than death itself, his breath remained heavy and labored, taking a moment to recover his strength - at least, enough to speak. At that point, he finally remarked.

"..We're finished."

"I'm thankful, Agrien. You've been a good help."

And then.. he leans away on the nearest furniture. Perhaps, they've just defied conventional biology through years upon years of his studies, practice and learning..

Or perhaps, he's in for rude awakening to see his work fall apart in the future.
(Nerin)