# Chapter 23
“Is this your first time here?”
Nelaim blinked his large crimson eyes and tilted his head. His demeanor suggested he couldn’t find any reason for my visit no matter how much he thought about it.
He was right. There had been no need for me to come to the infirmary before. But today, I needed Nelaim’s help. He might know something about this condition.
After all, Nelaim had observed countless superhumans. He knew almost everything about superpowers. No one understood this phenomenon better than him.
“…Can you keep what I’m about to say a secret?”
If it became certain that regeneration would no longer work, the danger was obvious. It meant that someone who was thought to be unkillable could now die. I couldn’t rule out the possibility that those with hostile feelings might come to kill me.
It would naturally affect my mission as well. This matter was best kept hidden.
“Ah, yes! I’ll keep my lips sealed.”
Recognizing the seriousness of the issue, Nelaim nodded emphatically. If rumors spread, he would be the source.
He wouldn’t be talking about it, at least not if he valued his life.
I looked around to check for any presence. Since only executives could come here, there was no one in the infirmary except for me and him. No particular sounds could be heard from outside either.
It was a suitable place to talk. Nelaim brought a chair to create an environment where I could speak comfortably.
“Sit here.”
I sat on the chair he offered and formed sentences that felt stuck in my throat.
Once these words left my mouth, there would be no turning back. It couldn’t be dismissed as a coincidence.
But I had to speak. This wasn’t just my problem. As an executive, it would inevitably affect ‘Alice’ as well.
Taking slow breaths, I moved my lips. When the silence became familiar, I finally managed to open my heavy mouth.
“My injuries… aren’t healing.”
The words I barely managed to utter formed a complete sentence that was conveyed to him.
“Injuries?”
In response to Nelaim’s question, I rolled up my sleeve instead of answering. My wrist had subsided slightly compared to before, but it wasn’t a pleasant sight.
“This is…”
Nelaim narrowed his eyes and examined my wrist closely. I could see his eyes trembling as if he couldn’t believe it. It’s understandable. Even I had just accepted it. Since it’s rare for a superpower to suddenly disappear once acquired, his confusion is understandable.
“Can you determine the cause?”
His gaze, which had been fixed on my wrist, slowly met mine. The face of Nelaim, who had been unable to hide his bewilderment, soon regained composure.
“…May I examine you?”
I nodded to him as he resumed his role as a doctor. I hadn’t received an examination since my ability manifested. It had probably been about 7 years.
An examination might help find the cause.
“Please wait a moment.”
Although the infirmary lacked even the common stethoscope, I wasn’t worried. I knew Nelaim’s ability.
Following his instruction to stand up, I rose from the chair. Nelaim, who had been scrutinizing me intensely, closed his eyes.
After concentrating, he finally opened his eyes gently. Then, countless letters began to rapidly pass through his crimson eyes.
This was Nelaim’s ability. He could quantify all living beings he saw.
From physical strength to traces of illness. Even what couldn’t be seen on the surface was completely revealed to Nelaim.
Nelaim’s expression gradually hardened as he focused on something among the countless floating letters. His expression, which had initially just stiffened, became so serious that he couldn’t hide it after completing the examination.
As Nelaim withdrew his ability, he murmured.
“This can’t be…”
I could hear the words he unconsciously uttered. His face turned pale white. I didn’t know exactly what he had seen, but I could tell it wasn’t good.
“What is it?”
“Well, that’s…”
Facing Nelaim, who seemed unsure whether to speak, I said firmly.
“I’m prepared to accept whatever you have to say.”
That’s why I had spoken to him, with that determination. Sensing that my words were sincere, his wandering eyes found their place. After taking several deep breaths, Nelaim looked directly at me with a steady gaze.
“You know that you’re the only regeneration user, right?”
“I’ve heard that’s the case according to records.”
While I couldn’t be certain since some people hide their superpowers, that was the case as far as I knew. But that wasn’t a major issue.
It’s not like my case was unprecedented. There was nothing particularly special about regeneration users.
Just like other abilities, mine simply allowed for regeneration.
Seeing my puzzled attitude, Nelaim continued.
“Normally, using an ability consumes physical strength.”
This was also a known fact. It was a phenomenon experienced by all superhumans.
“With regeneration, I didn’t feel like my physical strength was being consumed. Is it related to that?”
He slowly nodded in response to my question. I had thought it was strange. The loss of physical strength, commonly experienced by all superhumans, hadn’t affected me.
Until now, I had thought it was just a unique constitution, but if that wasn’t the case.
If it wasn’t physical strength but something else.
My heart began to race fiercely. As if the answer lay here, my instincts were screaming.
Meanwhile, Nelaim spoke up. His deep, low voice pierced clearly.
“…What you’re consuming is your lifespan.”
My rational mind understood those words clearly. But my emotions continued to push them away, refusing to accept them.
My fingertips gradually stiffened. My entire body grew cold as if I had been doused in ice water.
Not a loss of physical strength, but a reduction in lifespan. Suppressing the violent emotions, I barely managed to move my stiffened head.
I had thought it was at most the disappearance of my ability. That was the limit to what I could infer from the ability not being used.
But the reality wasn’t the disappearance of the ability, but the shortening of my lifespan. Every time I used my ability, my lifespan vanished… I had never heard or seen such a superpower.
I wanted to say something, but words wouldn’t come out, as if there were thorny vines in my throat. My thoughts clouded over like a massive typhoon was enveloping me.
As I stared blankly into space, having lost focus, Nelaim carefully opened his mouth. He was clearly tense, perhaps fearing I might lose my rationality.
“…After investigation, I discovered that your lifespan and ability are closely linked.”
“But until now, there’s been no abnormality…”
Why now, of all times? Shouldn’t there be precursor symptoms like physical deterioration or worsening conditions?
In this confusing situation, I let out a small sigh, and Nelaim refrained from speaking until I calmed down.
How much time had passed? I was able to recognize the situation, albeit slowly. I wasn’t okay. It was merely me forcibly claiming to be okay because I couldn’t do anything in this state.
I barely held onto the thread of reason that seemed about to break. I mustn’t be swept away by emotions. Now was the time to think rationally.
I bit the inside of my mouth to regain my senses. With a pattering sound, the taste of acrid blood filled my mouth. The pain was indeed good for clearing my mind.
I exhaled a somewhat lighter sigh. Confirming that my condition had improved, Nelaim continued.
“The shortening of lifespan isn’t related to the body. It’s not about aging or physical deterioration.”
He was precisely negating what I had been thinking. In response to my gaze demanding an explanation, Nelaim carefully chose his words.
“Even if a man is scheduled to be killed tomorrow, he’ll live today normally. Right?”
“That’s true, but… is my ability like that?”
“It’s similar. Everyone has their own time limit for lifespan. When you use your ability, that time limit is reduced, and eventually, you die.”
In other words, when the time limit is reached, I could die tomorrow. But according to Nelaim, I should only experience abnormal phenomena when I’m about to die.
If my lifespan were 100 years, I would die when that lifespan is completely gone. Then, shouldn’t my ability remain normal until then?
“I don’t understand why regeneration isn’t working when my lifespan hasn’t been completely depleted.”
“It’s not that regeneration has stopped. It’s that it has slowed down.”
In response to my question, Nelaim slowly shook his head and spoke. Pausing briefly, he finally uttered the rest of the sentence.
“It’s because you’ve reached a limit. Your body is instinctively refusing treatment. Because it knows that if regeneration happens instantly, you’ll die immediately.”
Limit… My gaze, which had been fixed on Nelaim, naturally shifted to my wrist. This was an injury that had never persisted since my ability manifested. Regeneration instantly and cleanly healed not only wounds but also serious injuries.
But now I could no longer rely on that ability. My body had reached such a limit that healing this injury would result in immediate death.
Given that abnormalities had appeared in what had been a normal body, I didn’t think I had much time left. Yet I hadn’t thought it was at its limit either.
I had thought I could continue living as long as I didn’t use my ability. That thought was cruelly missed. My remaining lifespan was now no different from a rotten rope that could snap at any moment.
“Your body is trying to heal as slowly as possible to reduce your lifespan more gradually.”
“Can’t lifespan… be recovered?”
I knew it was a foolish question. But if I didn’t say anything, I felt like I would fall into another meaningless abyss. I had to say something to hold onto my sanity.
