"As expected," the doctor said quietly when the MRI screen finally went dark.
The words sounded calm, but the expression on his face betrayed him.
For the last several minutes, he had remained seated before the monitor without moving, staring at the scans that had appeared one after another across the screen. The machine had already completed its process, yet the doctor still looked trapped inside the images.
Then the MRI machine shut down with a low mechanical hum.
The doctor slowly stood from his chair and walked toward the cylindrical scanner. The white-blue lights around the machine dimmed one after another until only the ceiling lights remained.
"You can take him out now."
Juson immediately stepped forward.
The sliding table was pulled out from inside the tunnel-like machine. Herik lay motionless on it, eyes open now, staring upward at the ceiling as though he had just woken from somewhere distant rather than from a medical scan.
Juson carefully lifted him into his arms.
Herik's body felt lighter than before.
Too light.
When Juson carried him toward Yokina, Herik quietly turned his head toward him. For a brief moment, something inside the child seemed calmer. Not happiness. Not comfort exactly.
Relief.
But the kind that could not be explained.
Yokina rushed toward them the moment she saw Herik awake. She took him from Juson immediately and held him tightly against her shoulder.
This time she did not hesitate to look at his face.
Herik remained silent, leaning weakly against her chest while his tired eyes moved between both of his parents.
Behind them, the doctor stood near the monitor again.
His attention was no longer on the family.
It was on the scans.
Those strange formations along the child's spine refused to leave his mind.
Clusters.
Small pale patches buried near the spinal cord.
At first glance they resembled abnormal tissue growths, but they lacked the irregularity of tumors. They looked almost organized.
As though something had gathered there intentionally.
The doctor stared at the blank monitor.
Then a soft beep echoed from beneath the screen.
He looked down.
A small rectangular notification appeared.
> Records Saved
For some reason, the sight of those words pulled a faint smile across his face.
The message disappeared a second later.
Behind him, Yokina gently brushed Herik's hair aside.
"How are you feeling?" she asked softly.
Herik did not answer.
He only leaned closer against her shoulder and closed his eyes briefly.
Juson watched him carefully.
The exhaustion in Herik's face bothered him more than the scans themselves.
Outside the MRI room, evening had already deepened. The hospital windows reflected darkness now instead of daylight.
Juson finally turned toward the doctor.
"We should head home," he said.
The doctor nodded too quickly.
"Yes. You can go."
Juson frowned slightly.
"Is he alright?"
The doctor hesitated.
For a brief moment, his eyes shifted back toward the monitor behind him.
"I still need to review the scans properly," he replied. "But for now, let him rest."
Yokina stepped closer.
"When should we come back?"
The doctor paused again.
His fingers tightened slightly against the edge of the desk.
"After a few days," he answered. "Bring him again if the condition changes."
Something in his tone felt distracted.
As though part of his attention remained trapped behind them inside the machine.
Still, neither Juson nor Yokina questioned him further.
They thanked him quietly and left the MRI room together.
The door closed behind them.
The second their footsteps disappeared into the corridor, the doctor locked the room from inside.
Immediately, he returned to the monitor.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Quieter.
The doctor pressed a key.
The screen lit up once more.
Cold white light spread across his face.
For several seconds he simply stood there staring at the dark loading screen, unmoving, almost hypnotized by anticipation itself.
Then the scan appeared.
Herik's spinal cord filled the display.
The doctor froze.
His eyes widened slowly.
"What…"
He leaned closer toward the screen.
The clusters were clearer now.
Not random.
Not organic.
Small pale formations spread along the spine like dust gathered inside cracks.
The doctor's breathing slowed.
They almost resembled particles embedded beneath the nervous system itself.
Not growing outward.
Growing inward.
The printer beside the desk suddenly activated with a mechanical click.
The doctor walked toward it without taking his eyes off the screen completely. One by one, he began printing the images.
The machine beeped softly as the first scans emerged.
Another beep followed.
Then another.
Outside the hospital, far from the silent MRI room, a louder sound cut through the night.
A car horn.
Juson's car moved steadily through the dark streets.
The city traffic had already thinned, leaving only scattered headlights beneath rows of street lamps. The roads looked emptier than usual.
But Juson's thoughts were not.
Hakiten's behavior earlier continued circling inside his head.
The fear.
The trembling.
The strange warning about memories.
None of it felt normal anymore.
Yokina sat behind him with Herik resting quietly beside her.
Streetlights passed across the windows in slow intervals, painting pale bands of light over their faces before disappearing again.
"Are you still going there?" Yokina asked after several minutes.
Juson kept his eyes on the road.
"Yes."
"It's already dark."
He did not answer immediately.
The engine hummed softly beneath them.
Finally he spoke.
"There's something I need to ask him."
Yokina smiled faintly.
"You two became close pretty fast."
Juson barely reacted.
"I'm worried about him."
That answer ended the conversation.
The road narrowed as they approached their neighborhood.
After several more turns, Juson slowed the car in front of the house.
The headlights illuminated the gate briefly before dimming again.
Yokina stepped out first with Herik in her arms.
Juson remained inside the driver's seat.
He rolled the window down slightly.
"I'll come back within an hour," he told her.
Yokina looked at him for a moment before nodding.
"Come back early," she said quietly. "I'll wait."
Juson watched them walk toward the house.
Herik rested silently against Yokina's shoulder, unmoving beneath the porch light.
Only after they disappeared inside did Juson drive away again.
The street became silent once more.