Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 420: Ch . I have been gone for...

"Y-uh h-have be-n go-e for a whi–, Theo."

All Theo could hear were the bits and pieces of words that fell on his ears. It felt like he had been peacefully asleep for a really long time.

He tried to open his eyes and realized he couldn’t.

"H-s ey– twitc–d ag–in!"

Theo heard another voice in the distance, which felt more like a shout that was muffled into a low whisper.

’It’s time to wake up,’ he told himself, trying to open his eyes again.

However, nothing happened.

He felt a tug on his shoulder. The bed beneath him was clear to his senses.

But he still couldn’t move... not even a single finger.

’It’s time...’ he urged himself and tried again.

Still, nothing happened.

Only then did the panic begin to settle within him.

He kept trying to speak, to open his eyes, to hear properly, but the harder he tried, the more it felt like he was trapped inside his own body.

And yet... it seemed he wasn’t alone.

A wave of emotions called out from nearby, and Theo moved toward it.

When he reached it, he finally saw something for the first time.

A large insect head.

’Mantis!’ he called out, trying to move closer, only to realize that something was wrong. The mantis stayed the same distance apart as before, and despite feeling like he was moving forward, Theo felt like he wasn’t getting any closer.

’FUCKKKKK! What the hell is happening!’ he tried to scream, only to hear muffled sounds around him.

Theo then looked at the mantis and sent some emotions instead.

The mantis remained still in one place, staring at him. From it, Theo felt emotions of urgency... and anxiety, the kind it had only shown when something had gone terribly wrong.

Theo wanted to reach it, to console it, but the closer he tried to get, the farther away it seemed.

Soon, another set of emotions caught his attention, pulling him away.

He followed them, hoping for some answers.

This time, he saw the massive head of the ant queen and felt a brief sense of relief.

’Ant queen, show me what is happening outside!’ he shouted in his mind.

He tried going closer to the ant queen, but the same things happened again.

And in that moment, Theo became aware of something else.

The coldness.

The vast beast space void felt a lot colder than ever before.

It sent shivers through him and stirred emotions he had never felt before.

Soon, even the ant queen started showing some emotions, of fear and concern.

’Send me something I can understand!’ he shouted, making the head move a little.

But nothing more.

Theo felt like everything was driving him insane.

He once again started trying to move his body, managing only to make his eyes twitch.

"H- is res–ndi-g!"

This time, he heard a muffle; Theo instantly recognized the voice.

It was his mother’s voice.

Suddenly, he felt like his mouth was forced open and something cold touched his teeth.

Liquid poured into his mouth and slid down his throat.

But strangely, he had swallowed the liquid without choking.

Even though his senses felt really dull, Theo could recognize what the liquid was due to its taste.

’This... it’s the highest level of potion. I am sure of it...’

With no one else to speak to, not even his beasts or a human, he could only talk to himself.

He tried to calm himself down as the realization settled in.

They were giving him a higher-level potion set.

’I am going to be okay... right?’ He asked himself.

Flashes of memories surfaced, each one feeling like a painful burden.

Then all of a sudden, the liquid stopped pouring down his throat.

Then another one was poured almost immediately.

A sharp prick hit his arm, and he realized that they had used medical equipment on him or just an injection.

Theo felt like his consciousness was slipping away, even within that strange, half-aware space.

’I don’t...’

And that was it.

His mind no longer had the strength to fight. It was simply too tired.

_____

Outside, in the real world, Theo lay unconscious on his own bed, surrounded by all kinds of medical equipment around him. Medical specialists from the Merrick barony stood around him.

The entire family watched anxiously, their eyes fixed on Theo’s unnaturally calm face.

Just when the medical professional was done with the last bit of emergency procedure, he quickly turned to face the family, especially the baron and the baroness.

"We have succeeded in keeping the young master alive and breathing, my lord," he said.

The baroness sank back into her chair, exhaustion washing over her face.

The medical professional hesitated for a moment, but he continued nonetheless.

"But... the unfortunate part is that we couldn’t find anything wrong with the young master’s body. Which means... we can’t treat it..."

Silence filled the whole room after that, and it lingered for a while.

"A-Are there any better physicians in the royal capital, my lord?!" Clara asked, her voice trembling, her expression close to desperation.

Elias couldn’t bear to look at her, but the situation was too dire for him to do anything.

The physician before them sighed and looked back at the baron.

"If this were some kind of detectable disease, we would have already identified it. The physicians in the royal capital may be more experienced, but they follow the same knowledge, my lord."

He paused, then added, "Still... I won’t stop you from trying, my lord."

The baron looked defeated for a moment, but he quickly resolved his will and stood up.

"There is no point crying about it. When he recovers, he will wake up," he said.

Everyone turned to him, his eyes carrying a hollow, lifeless resolve.

"...Honey," the abroness muttered, "call him."

A subtle pressure filled the room the next instant, but the baron quickly calmed himself, then slowly looked at her.

The expression on his face was one no one had ever seen before.

"Don’t say that ever again."

_____

An unknown amount of time passed.

Slowly, Theo felt his consciousness return. It was as if he had become himself again after a really long time and could think and feel.

And yet, his mind felt like it was fully numb.

"Kugh..." he groaned.

The next instant, the sound of hurried footsteps filled the room.

"SHOWING SIGNS OF CONSCIOUSNESS!"

"Give him the medicine again!"

Before Theo could even open his eyes or even try to react, something was forced into his mouth, another potion, but this time, he spat it all out right away.

The commotion grew louder than before, and his eyes snapped open.

He was already sitting upright, his back stiff and straight.

Everyone around him, dressed in white, stared at him in shock.

"MIRACLE! CALL MY LORD HERE, WE HAVE A MIRACLE!" an older man, clearly a physician, shouted with excitement.

Theo frowned slightly and looked down at his body. He tried to clench his fist. For a brief moment, he felt his strength return, but it faded within seconds, leaving his grip completely weak.

"Young Master Theo, our apologies for being this excited, but we couldn’t help ourselves," the old physician said with a little bow, though his eyes still gleamed with excitement as he looked at Theo.

"It’s not a pro..." Theo stopped midway and instinctively moved his hand to his neck.

"Please don’t force yourself. You have awakened, but your recovery is still far from complete," the old physician explained gently.

Theo nodded and glanced all around him. Doctors surrounded him from almost every direction, staring at him as though he were a Frankenstein that had been brought back from the dead.

Suddenly

BANG!

The door burst open.

Theo flinched, just in time to see the silhouette of a girl rushing toward him.

"YOUNG MASTER!"

Clara couldn’t help but call out as she wrapped her arms around him, careful yet unable to hide her warmth.

Theo tried to raise his hands to return the hug and tried to make them stay there, but the weakness he felt was still taking all his attention.

CRACK CRACK CRACK

A loud noise came from another door.

Theo turned his head toward the terrarium door, its surface rattling under repeated forceful impacts.

All the physicians quickly stepped back while Clara rushed over and opened the gate.

In an instant, Theo saw something skitter out, its legs moving rapidly as it leaped toward him.

His eyes flickered with emotions.

The mantis reached him and wrapped itself around him, all while being extremely careful.

Theo slowly lifted his hands and patted its head. It let out strange, alien sounds, enough to make all the physicians scramble to a corner in panic.

"...I am back," Theo said hoarsely, his voice rough as if his throat had worn after nonstop screaming.

A few minutes later, he lay back down as all the people started moving in his room.

When Theo saw his mother, she froze in one place, her expression unlike anything he had seen before.

Even without knowing the full context, he understood...

His mother had been devastated because of him.

The baron stepped forward, eyeing Theo before gently guiding the frozen baroness closer until she stood right beside Theo’s bed.

"Theo..." she whispered, her eyes filled with hope as she reached out with her trembling hands.

Theo instinctively raised his hand and held hers as it touched his face.

"H-How could you torment your mother for a whole month, Theo?" she said, her voice breaking.

Only then did it all click.

Theo finally realized what all the commotion was about.

The relief, the shock, the excitement on their faces.

It was because he had been unconscious for an entire month.