Henry held Joshua tightly, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Luther. Meeting Henry’s gaze, Luther instinctively froze for a moment.
"You..." Luther murmured, but the person in Henry’s arms suddenly stirred before he could finish. Joshua’s dark hair swayed slightly as a faint groan escaped his lips.
Luther immediately stepped forward, grabbing Henry’s arm. "Let him go!"
Henry released his hold and lowered his gaze, only to see that his chest was soaked with blood.
Joshua blinked, his eyes still hazy. The pain in his head made it feel as though his skull were about to burst. He furrowed his brows and clutched his head tightly.
"Joshua, are you alright?" Luther asked, lifting Joshua’s face with both hands, worry evident in his tone.
At that moment, Henry also spoke up. "My car’s here. Let’s go."
Joshua had by then regained his composure. He wiped at his nose, only to find blood streaming down, and finally understood why everyone was so alarmed.
Lowering his eyes, he felt genuinely guilty. "I’m fine. Sorry for worrying everyone." With that, he struggled to stand up.
This time, he wasn’t trying to run from the hospital—he truly was fine. His ability would soon heal the damage inside his Sea of Consciousness.
Of course, the others didn’t believe him, especially Luther.
He looked at Joshua’s pale face—so bloodless that even his once-rosy lips were now as white as paper. Only the bright red of his blood stood out. Luther’s gaze darkened, but his voice was gentle. "I’m here with you, Joshua. Don’t be afraid. Let’s go."
Joshua had already stood up. He slipped from Luther’s grasp and walked toward the bathroom, mumbling, "I told you, I’m fine. Sorry for worrying you all, but I really am fine."
Just then, his hand was suddenly caught. Joshua looked up to see Henry staring at him, eyes red and fierce—yet on the verge of tears.
"Let’s go," Henry said, each word firm and unwavering.
Joshua opened his mouth, but facing Henry’s gaze, he couldn’t speak. His chest constricted painfully; the feeling was strange and unsettling. He couldn’t help but curl in on himself, clutching his chest.
He felt Henry’s grip on his hand tighten even more.
Joshua’s lips parted, panic flickering in his eyes. "Brother... Don’t... don’t look at me like that," he muttered.
"I’m not your brother," Henry frowned.
But Joshua stepped forward, covering Henry’s eyes with his hand. Stubbornly, he said, "Don’t look at me like that. I’m sorry, but I really am fine. I’m not lying to you, I swear. I can even give you a tube of my blood for testing if you want."
There was a touch of madness in Joshua’s eyes—but before things could spiral further, Luther suddenly pulled him back. "Alright, we get it—you’re fine. Henry, let go of Joshua."
As he spoke, Luther tugged Joshua away, pushing him gently into the bathroom. "Go wash your face. We’re really going to be late."
Luther turned to Henry, his expression cold. "Joshua’s mental state is already unstable, but from the looks of it, you’re even worse. Take your meds."
At least Joshua only lost control occasionally—waking up in the middle of the night or reacting to the mention of hospitals—but otherwise, he was mostly fine.
On the other hand... Henry became like this because of seeing Joshua’s condition.
A flash of realisation crossed Luther’s mind. Ever since Leonard had suddenly confessed to Joshua yesterday, Luther had started seeing everyone around him as suspiciously gay. And now, seeing Henry acting like this—like some deep, tragic connection bound him and Joshua—only made it worse!
Luther decided he had to keep Joshua away from Henry for a while. Surrounded by potential "threats," he needed to be on guard! He was the only truly safe person for Joshua to be around.
At least, that’s what Luther told himself.
Just then, Joshua came out of the bathroom, his face still damp with water droplets. He didn’t look well—if anything, the paleness only made him seem more fragile.
The moment he lifted his gaze, he was met with three pairs of worried eyes. Joshua couldn’t help but find it funny, but he knew they were genuinely concerned. He waved his hand lightly and said softly, "I’m really fine. It’s just a nosebleed."
"You know that’s not the point! Do you have any idea how terrified I was calling your name?! You looked like you were about to die!" Luther’s voice rose slightly in frustration.
Joshua scratched his cheek, lowering his voice. "It won’t happen again next time."
"There won’t be a next time." This time, it was Henry who spoke.
Joshua still didn’t dare meet Henry’s eyes. He felt as though his very soul was burning under Henry’s gaze—an almost unbearable heat, as if there was some strange connection between them reaching back to a previous lifetime.
At that moment, Justin stepped forward with a smile. "Joshua, you must be hungry. Let’s go."
Joshua felt as if he’d been rescued from a sea of fire. He quickly followed Justin, nodding eagerly. "Right! Let’s go."
Then he darted into the changing room—so fast it was like a gust of wind.
"Does your head still hurt?" Luther asked, pressing a hand to Joshua’s forehead. His face was still full of worry; he honestly wanted to drag Joshua straight to the hospital.
Joshua was sipping milk now—snow peach flavour, courtesy of Henry.
With the straw in his mouth, he shook his head.
"You really should’ve taken the day off," Justin said from the side, still concerned.
Joshua mumbled through the straw, "Don’t be fooled by how I look—I can dance through twenty songs in a row and not even get tired!"
At last, Nine disappeared, and Joshua felt noticeably lighter—at least the presence that could threaten his very life was no longer lingering in his mind.
But just then, a pop-up window suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Congratulations, you’ve obtained "Memory-Boosting Water x1."]
Joshua narrowed his eyes, his pace steady, though his fingers twitched slightly, betraying his reaction.
Still, he didn’t lose his composure. From this, it seemed the Idol System wasn’t entirely bound to Nine. So, was Nine the intermediary—or was the Idol System the one in between?
He hadn’t found any other invaders within his Sea of Consciousness, so where exactly was the Idol System connected to him? Or was it tied to the vague concept of a "chosen one"?
Joshua went ahead and accepted the reward.
[Note: It’s time to conquer the peak of knowledge! Want to have a photographic memory? Drink lots of water!]
Even the note sounded silly, but the reward itself wasn’t bad. Joshua didn’t precisely have a poor memory, but the idea of improving it further certainly pleased him.
"Hey, what’s with that look on your face?"
A man’s voice suddenly rang out. Leonard stood in front of Joshua, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. Because of the injury on his face, he was wearing a mask today.
Luther smirked and said deliberately, "You can thank yourself for that. Yesterday’s little ’incident’ was quite the shocker."
At that, Leonard frowned deeply. His eyes flashed coldly at Luther before shifting to Joshua—this time filled with concern and hesitation. Was Joshua really this drained because of him? Was he truly that awful of a person?
Joshua shot Luther a look. "Didn’t I say to pretend nothing happened? And you’re bringing it up again, Luther?"
Luther immediately shut his mouth. Leonard’s eyes brightened slightly.