Chapter 201: Ch 201: Sudden Fever - Part 2

Noah’s body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside. Every breath caused another wave of pain to spread through him, and his guiding continued to flow towards Daniel despite Noah’s attempts to stop it.

He wanted to let go, but his body refused to listen to him. The dark hole in front of him needed to be filled, and quickly.

But his eyes were getting heavier, and it was getting harder for him to think. His eyes closed, causing him to faint.

The last thing Noah remembered was Daniel calling his name before everything went dark.

When he opened his eyes again, the ceiling above him looked strangely familiar. He tried to move his fingers, but even that small movement felt exhausting, and before he could understand what had happened, his eyes closed again.

The next time he woke up, there was someone holding his hand. Not only that, but he also felt something wet touching his forehead.

"Noah?"

Alan’s voice sounded distant, but the worry in it was obvious. He was looking at Noah with a sad face, making Noah reach towards him and pat his face.

Or, he tried to do that at least. But his hands had no strength left in them.

Noah slowly opened his eyes and found Alan sitting beside the bed. His usually confident expression was gone, replaced by something Noah rarely saw on his face.

Fear was covering Alan’s face, and he quickly leaned forward towards Noah.

"You are awake..."

Alan immediately leaned closer, but Noah could barely focus on him.

"What... happened?"

Noah’s voice was barely audible to himself, much less to Alan. But the esper heard him and hesitated to say anything.

"You collapsed."

Noah frowned, trying to remember what had happened before he lost consciousness. Well, that much had been obvious.

The moment he tried, a sharp pain pierced through his head.

"Ah..."

Noah immediately stopped thinking and closed his eyes again.

"Don’t force yourself to remember. You should lie down and rest for now."

Alan’s voice became softer, and Noah could feel a hand gently brushing through his hair.

Noah did not know how long he remained unconscious after that.

Sometimes he woke up to Alan sitting beside him, and other times he saw Daniel quietly replacing the cold cloth on his forehead. They seemed to be taking care of him in shifts, neither of them willing to leave him alone for too long.

Every time Noah woke up, one of them was there.

And every time he tried to ask what had happened, the pain in his head returned, making him give up.

Eventually, his body began to feel better.

The heaviness in his limbs gradually disappeared, his breathing became easier, and the pain that had been spreading through his body finally faded into something manageable.

When Noah opened his eyes again, he found both Alan and Daniel sitting beside him.

Daniel looked especially exhausted. His hair was messy, and dark circles had formed beneath his eyes, making it obvious that he had barely slept.

"You are finally awake. You have been asleep for two days."

Alan let out a relieved sigh.

"Two days?" ⅇℯ𝚕.

Noah blinked in surprise. It felt like he had slept for much longer than two days. His body was sore when he tried to move it.

He tried to sit up, but Alan immediately supported his back while Daniel adjusted the pillows behind him.

"Get up slowly."

Alan helped Noah sit up, and he decided to ask his question.

"What happened to me?"

Noah looked between them. Neither of them answered immediately, but Daniel lowered his head, almost as if he was feeling guilty about something.

"It was because of me. I am sorry, Noah."

Daniel looked up sharply, and guilt was swimming in his eyes. It made Noah feel bad, so he tried to console Daniel.

"You do not need to—"

"I am sorry. I should not have let you touch me. I should have stopped you. I should have realised something was wrong before it got this bad."

Daniel’s voice trembled.

"Daniel..."

"I am sorry."

He kept apologising, almost as if saying it enough times would somehow erase what had happened.

Noah looked at him helplessly, wanting him to stop but not knowing how to do that. He felt like nothing he said would get through to Daniel in his current condition.

So he could only let out a reassuring smile to try and make Daniel look up.

"It is fine. I am alright now."

He tried to reassure Daniel, but Daniel shook his head to indicate that the situation was not fine.

"It is not fine. You could have died."

Alan remained silent beside them, but Noah could tell from his expression that he agreed. And he was blaming Daniel for what happened.

Noah sighed and reached towards Daniel. But the other guide flinched at Noah’s hand coming closer.

"Please stop blaming yourself. I am here, aren’t I?"

Daniel stared at his hand before carefully taking it. His eyes became red, but he still nodded with hesitation.

"I am still sorry."

Noah could only smile helplessly.

"Then I forgive you."

Daniel held his hand tighter.

"Thank you."

Things seemed to have settled down for now, but the big question still remained. And Noah felt like he had to be the one to say it.

"I know that this all looks bad. But I still feel like I should ask to make things clear. Do you both have any idea what happened?"

The look Alan and Daniel gave him made it clear that they knew what happened and why it happened. But they were both pretending as if they had no idea, and it made Noah feel a little ticked off.

’Are they truly going to not tell me anything? Should I probe them a little more? No, I should look into this first and get some evidence before I accuse them and make them feel bad.’

Noah was not going to allow this pair to escape his clutches again without answering.