The moment Aryan collapsed, he lost consciousness immediately. The receptionist, Ayush, and Vikas were paralyzed with shock. The receptionist rushed toward him, followed closely by Ayush and Vikas. The old lady stood there, watching Aryan with a suspicious gaze.
"He touched the forbidden power, and this is the result he got," she muttered to herself.
The hospital called for healers immediately, but since many people were injured, there was a severe shortage. Most of the healers present were low-rank, so A-rank healers were summoned. Meanwhile, Rei's party was out of danger and in stable condition. All the available healers gathered around Aryan and began casting healing spells, but none of them had any effect on him.
The old lady gave all the healers a temporary ability boost, but her power had reached its limit, and she couldn't maintain the boost for long. An S-rank healer, who was away on a mission, was requested. By then, the receptionist had to leave for her job, and the old lady, having no further reason to stay, left as well. Only a few healers remained, taking turns to heal Aryan because his very existence was fading away.
On the other side, Ayush and Vikas were sitting outside the room, consumed by sadness. "Do you have any idea what happened to Aryan? And how?" Vikas asked. "He was right there with us, and then suddenly, this happened."
Ayush had no answer. His mind drifted to the past, remembering when he was 14 years old. Back then, Ayush had no friends, and no one talked to him. He didn't have a father; there was only his mother. She worked constantly and was always stressed, and her mental health was poor. Because of this, Ayush began to feel depressed. By age 14, he was entirely alone, and people often mocked him publicly—in class and outside—for his looks and his clothes. Ayush wasn't good at studies or anything else.
When he was 16, his mother committed suic*de. Ayush was so broken that he couldn't even cry at her d*ath. He had spent his entire childhood alone because his mother would go to work, come home late at night, cook, eat, and go to sleep without saying a word. He hadn't spoken to her in months before she died. After her death, his aunt took care of his expenses.
Ayush was bullied every day, after some month's one day, he saw aryan bunking school. The boy saw him and got scared, saying, "vro, please don't tell anyone." Ayush just said "Okay" and walked away. Later that day, while walking home, he saw the same boy again. Aryan called out to him. Ayush thought he was just another bully and tried to ignore him, but the boy came up to him.
"Hello?" Aryan said. "You didn't tell anyone, right?"
"No," Ayush replied.
"Your name is Ayush, right? I'm in your class... wait, have you seriously never noticed me?"
"No," Ayush said.
"Whatever. My name is Aryan. I'm in your class. Want to be friends?"
It was the first time Ayush had heard someone ask to be his friend. He was shocked, said "Okay," and quickly walked away. Aryan looked confused, wondering why Ayush reacted that way to a simple friendship request.
The next day, Aryan came to school, walked up to Ayush's seat, shook his hand, and said, "What's up, bro? We're friends now, right?" Before Ayush could reply, a group of bullies came and started mocking him. "Look at Ayush, he's so weird. He doesn't talk, his hair is weird, and his clothes too."
Aryan got angry. "Oi! Nobody asked you. Don't come here giving unwanted advice." The bullies left. Then, another boy entered the class. Aryan rushed to him, greeted him, and brought him to Ayush's seat.
"This is Vikas, my cousin and best friend," Aryan said.
"Nice to meet you," Vikas said. "This is the first time Aryan has introduced someone to me as his friend."
Ayush looked at Aryan. Aryan felt shy and said, "oii, he's just a friend. It's not like he's my boyfriend. He was cool, so I introduced him."
"But I never said he was your guy," Vikas teased with a creepy smile.
"I'M STRAIGHT, YOU IDIOT! He's just a friend," Aryan yelled, flustered.
Vikas laughed creepily. Aryan was about to say something when Ayush let out a small laugh. Aryan was shocked. "Whaa...t?, are you laughing at me!"
Ayush looked down, still smiling.
Just then, the teacher arrived. He called Aryan to the front and said, "You bunked yesterday." Aryan looked at Ayush, since only he knew. Ayush looked shocked and signaled that he didn't tell.
"No sir, I didn't bunk. Ask anyone... ask Ayush, he saw me." Aryan immediately realized what he just say.
The teacher punished him, making him stand in front of the class for two periods. While the teacher was teaching, Vikas kept making faces to tease Aryan. Ayush tried to join in and tease him too, but the teacher caught him. Thinking Ayush was mocking him, the teacher made him stand next to Aryan.
Vikas tried to tease them both, but the teacher caught him too. "These kids nowadays..." the teacher muttered, and kicked all three out of the class. Standing in the hallway, Ayush looked at them and couldn't help but laugh. They all started laughing together.
They told Ayush about themselves. Ayush didn't say much about his own past, only that people mocked him but he didn't care. Aryan explained that he and Vikas had been causing trouble together since childhood and always got into problems as a pair. Vikas came from a rich family, while Aryan did not, but they spent Vikas's money together.
"Don't trust Aryan when it comes to school," Vikas warned. "He can disappear at any moment."
"Shut up!" Aryan shot back. "You only come to school to flirt with girls."
Are friends really like this? Ayush thought to himself, smiling with a sense of relief. After school, Aryan asked Ayush to go to the mall with them. Ayush refused, but they dragged him along anyway. They shopped for themselves and then made Ayush buy baggy, oversized clothes that were in fashion.
Ayush thought about how they had been friends ever since. They went everywhere together. Since they arrived in his life, he finally understood what "fun" meant. They had fought two or three times, but it never lasted more than a day. On Vikas's suggestion, Ayush joined a gym, and Vikas paid his fees. When Ayush first visited Vikas's house, he was shocked to see it was ten times larger and more luxurious than his rented room.
Ayush returned to the present moment. He looked at Vikas, who had fallen asleep in the hospital chair with his mouth open, snoring loudly. Looking at him, Ayush felt a sense of relief.
"No," Ayush whispered. "Nothing will happen to Aryan. Nothing can happen to him."
By night, a lady with pink hair, around 25 years old, entered the room. She showed very little emotion, maintaining a calm and serious demeanor. As soon as she saw Aryan, she thought to herself, "Again?"
She looked at the exhausted healers. "I'll handle this. You all can go."