Today was the day, murmuring and coughing of the mass of humanity surrounding him. Like a heavy blanket of pain and suffering, the aura of the waiting room presses into Valgrum`s psychic. Both past and present stroked their tendrils along the could’ve been and failure of long ago. It was just too much for him anymore. Aged beyond even the continual plates, nothing and no one was left for him in this now alien time period.

Mana had all but faded, the cloud that had wrapped this planet at its birth long been used and burned away. Leaving the small crystal in Valgrum’s palm one of maybe 5 such masses left in the known universe. Mankind had even discovered mana remnant’s calling it “Dark Matter,” the density so low as to not even equal a nanogram. Not surprisingly the gods and magic itself not even equaling to a cricket fart.

A small smile crossed his face at the thought, as he looked down at the sparkling crystal. Reflecting a color that no longer existed in this universe. The people around him ignored him, though he wore clothes that spoke of wealth far beyond what someone waiting in a 3rd rate chi town hospital should have. Money that could easily give him the best treatment, why was he sitting here in a children’s Hospital? Valgrum had decided to end it all, he had already given away what wealth he had. All that he had left was his life and the largest chunk of mana for nearly a lightyear.

This hospital had the largest number of terminal children in Chicago, in fact all of the state of Illinois. As a last act, being the only remaining mage, hopefully enough to pay for some of his past transgression. Removing his glove and clutching the crystal tightly, Valgrum whispered in a language long forgotten. Light brighter than a welding arc leaking from betwixt his finger as he finished the chant startling the people around him to start to shout as with a last breath Valgrum, Healer of past deity’s pharaoh and presidents, last mage of the 7th Era died.

Gimorith Talrner, aka Grim to the few people he can stand woke up feeling something beyond odd. For one he sat up easily, it felt like someone had been yelling at him all his life had finally shut up; the pain was gone. Like a blanket covering his senses suddenly pulled away he could see, hear, feel better than he could ever remember. Scowling Gim remembered as he awoke there had been something Infront of his face for the briefest time, like a colored sheet of paper with text.  Must have been a dreaming, he should his head hearing suddenly people starting to yell and crying out.                              

Pulling back the sheets, Grim looked down at himself amazed. He was still thinner than some of the mummies he had seen in his school work, but the skin lesions, the lumps, the sickly yellow of his skin was gone. He made a fist, amazed at the strength he could put forward as feeble as it was, it was leap beyond anything he could do before. Grim had suffered from DIPG or Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. It was usually just a horrible brain tumor that killed kids off when they were young. He on the other hand had the “pleasure” of having a mutation of DIPG that spread everywhere.

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Somehow it never spread faster than his body could handle, baffling doctor and earning him at least funding to cover his medical bills. Being an orphan Gim had never known his birthmother, she had given him up at birth. And it wasn’t until he turned five and started to get sick that they found the cancer, they gave just a few weeks in the beginning. But every time they checked; the tumors had stopped just before enveloping critical areas.

And like that, he lived on. Slowly losing strength, mobility, and most importantly freedom. It would have been easier in some ways if Grim hadn’t been so intelligent. Soaking up knowledge like a sponge, with not much to do laying in his hospital bed awaiting another doctors almost bored assurance that he would be dead soon. So Grim with his sallow and sunken face and “Grim” disposition had long grew disgusted with the patronizing doctor telling him he was going to die with disinterest, had made Grim just a little Sarcastic with a dark humor.

Crying and praying started coming from the room next to his causing Grim to sigh. Yes, were all dying at least give me some peace and quiet.  Thinking fuck it, he turns and places his legs over the side of the bed.  Well let’s give this a try, placing his feet firmly Grim stood from the first time in ten years. Or that’s what he pictured in his head, what actually happened was he tried to stand and instead collapsed like a cheaply made Halloween decoration.

Rolling his eyes Grim sighed deeply from the floor noticing a warm fluid leaking under him. He’d ripped his IV out and the saline was spreading over the floor. Strangely very little blood came from his arm. Yea it hurt but at this point after so many operations and “Treatments,” his sense of pain was extremely muted. After crawling to the arm chair Grim pulled himself to his feet standing shakily as he held onto the chair.

Wobbling over to a mirror he had demanded to have installed. He looked, well not good but no longer a corpse more like a microwave Pow survivor. Still beyond skinny, but there was some muscle and running his fingers over his head finding some hair. Well just a step above peach fuzz but hair none the less.

“Grim!” one of his few friends the janitor Mr. Davis burst through the door panting. Looking at his with his mouth agape at Grim’s appearance. “You’re all better, its true!”

“What’s happening? what’s happened to me?” Grim grabs at lapels of Davis’s uniform.

“It’s a miracle, everyone’s healed, it’s like they were never sick. And that’s not all look at this.” Davis pulls up his pant leg showing his naked right leg, his naked Flesh leg. He had lost it in Iraq, and had to take a janitor job do to his pstd. David was one of the few people that Grim could get along with.

“But how is this possible, how is any of this.” It doesn’t make any sense.

David grabs Grim’s arms gently, “you know I’m not one to place any weight in the supernatural, but what else could it be Aliens? God? , What I can say for sure is when I woke up this morning, I didn’t have my leg, and now I do”

Wary, emotions rolled inside Grim as he searched David’s face for deception. “Wait did anything weird happen today? Well weirder than all this,” he gestured between them.

“Well, there was one thing. Some rich old guy died in the waiting room. Funny he’s the only guy dead or even hurt.”

Yeah, that is weird, suspicious even.