NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Unexpected Gift
Aryan stood still, his mind in chaos as his heart rate began to quicken, the rhythmic beats pounding in his chest. His legs—the legs he had come to accept as lost forever—were now beneath him, whole and functional. He felt a wave of emotions flood through him: disbelief, confusion, a flicker of hope, and an overwhelming sense of awe. The air around him felt charged with something he couldn't quite grasp, and yet, he remained standing. He had never been able to stand so easily after the accident; even after months of therapy, his legs had never felt this strong, this… alive.
*How is this possible?* His mind raced, a thousand questions crashing into him, none of them making any sense.
The clock on the wall ticked steadily, each second stretching longer as he stood there, frozen in place, staring at his own reflection. He could feel his heart beating faster with every thought. *Was it the stone?* His mind grappled with the fragments of what had just happened. He could still remember the glow—bright, intense—then the voice, low and resonating, declaring, **"Your wish is granted."**
He flexed his fingers, feeling the cool air against his skin. It *did* feel real. His body—his legs—had been healed. But how? And why?
*This doesn't make sense,* he thought, forcing himself to breathe deeply. He was a soldier, not someone given to wild notions. *I need to understand what happened.*
Aryan steadied his mind, pushing through the rising panic. He reached up and tugged at his shirt, pulling it off to examine his body. His eyes scanned his torso, searching for any sign of the old wounds—those deep scars from battles long past.
But there were none. His skin was smooth, unmarred. There was no trace of the damage that had once crippled him. The marks from the battlefield—the ones that had once been his constant reminder of his past—had disappeared as if they'd never existed.
*Impossible.*
His body felt… whole, stronger than before. He flexed his muscles, testing the limits. The dull ache that had once haunted him was gone. His joints felt fluid, unrestricted.
Aryan shook his head, trying to make sense of it. *It's just a fluke. It's probably just temporary.* He muttered under his breath. *This is nonsense.* He couldn't bring himself to believe it. But then, how could he deny what he was feeling? His legs were healed. *It doesn't make sense.*
Still, he refused to fully accept it. *But I'll figure it out.*
He grabbed his running clothes and, without a second thought, changed into them. The night air was cool against his skin as he stepped outside. The park was deserted, the streets dimly lit by the faint glow of the streetlights. It was the perfect time to test his body—test the limits of what had just happened.
Aryan started at a slow jog, the rhythm of his feet hitting his mind, but only for a moment. Every step felt new. Every breath felt stronger, easier. He pushed himself harder, moving faster. The world around him blurred as he picked up speed, sprinting down the path, his body responding with the grace of someone who had never been crippled in the first place.
For two hours, he ran. He pushed himself through lunges, stretches, and high-intensity exercises, feeling the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins. He tested every muscle, every tendon, making sure there were no limits to his newfound strength.
When he finally returned home, his body was fatigued—exhausted even—but it was still just like any other human. He could feel the burn in his muscles, the ache that accompanied hard physical effort. No superhuman abilities had manifested. No powers. Nothing that suggested he was anything more than a man who had just gotten his legs back.
Aryan sank down into his chair, running a hand through his hair. *At least I can walk again.* His heart felt lighter, but there was still a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, a question he couldn't ignore.
*But I can't go back to the army.*
He thought about the medical personnel, the scientists, the government. They would want to know how he had healed. What had happened to him. And the truth was, he didn't have any answers. If they found out, they would experiment on him, dissect him, treat him as nothing more than a specimen. He knew the kind of attention that would attract.
He smiled to himself. *I don't know what happened, or how it happened, but I'm thankful.* maybe i should thank the Necklace it got shattered into many pieces after glowing and then disappear. O man .. this is all feel live anime . Haha
The words felt like a weight lifted off his chest. The second chance he had been given—his legs, his life—was enough. He didn't need to understand everything. He just needed to move forward.
But then, as the last word left his mouth, something clicked in his mind. The voice. *My wish is granted.* But he hadn't actually said that wish out loud. He hadn't *asked* for his legs back. He hadn't made any kind of wish for healing.
*Wait.* His mind flashed back to the moment when he had spoken in desperation.
*I said I wish I could be link with game characters characters.*
It hadn't been about healing. It had been about powers—about strength. *I wanted to link with character.* He hadn't asked for it, but that was the wish he had spoken, even if it hadn't been deliberate.
Aryan frowned. *Could it be that…?*
He shook his head, disbelief creeping back in. This couldn't be real. Could it? But the more he thought about it, the more he felt like there was something more to it. Something hidden beneath the surface. He had been healed, yes, but what if that wasn't all? What if this was just the beginning?
With determination in his eyes, Aryan walked over to his computer and powered it on. The game he had been playing was still running. *Eclipse Chronicles.* His character was level 98, just a step away from the final level.
As the screen lit up, Aryan focused on his character. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed something. Floating above his character's head, there was a word that hadn't been there before: **Link.**
His breath caught in his throat. *Link? What does that mean?*
Before he could make sense of it, the word seemed to glow with energy, just as the stone had done earlier. A green aura surrounded his body and the character's, linking them together in an odd, shimmering thread. But just as quickly, the word flickered, turned red, and the link was marked as **failed.**
Aryan sat back, his mind spinning. *What just happened?* He thought, his heart racing. His body had glowed, the same way his character's body had. How was that possible? And why had it failed?
Panic set in for a moment. *Is this dangerous? Is it something I shouldn't be messing with?*
But the curiosity was too strong to ignore. What was the link? Why had it failed? What would have happened if it had succeeded?
Aryan sat back in his chair, eyes wide with confusion, uncertainty, and a sense of wonder. *I need to find out more.*
He didn't know what this power was, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it had only just begun. And there was a part of him—a small, dangerous part—that couldn't help but want to understand it, even if it meant venturing into the unknown.