Chapter 1257: Giving A Gift To Akane

Akane’s breath caught. The rigid line of her shoulders wavered.

"I..."

She tried to speak, then stopped. Her gaze dropped for a second before she forced it back up to meet mine, but the usual sharp edge in her eyes had softened into something conflicted and almost fragile.

[He’s asking me to promise... the same way I always ask him. If I refuse, I’m a hypocrite. If I accept... I might not be able to keep it. But the way he’s looking at me right now...]

"I..." she tried again, voice quieter than before. The single word hung in the air between us, unfinished, as the tension in her body warred with the clear guilt and surprise still radiating from her thoughts.

I tilted my head slightly.

"What? Can’t do it?"

Akane lowered her head. The black mask hid most of her expression, but the way her shoulders dropped gave her away.

"...I am sorry for being so selfish."

I stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug again, one hand resting against the back of her head, the other firm around her waist. This time she didn’t stiffen quite as much.

"You’re not selfish," I said quietly. "You’re just too kind."

While I held her, I accessed the SUDIX System.

The interface unfolded in my mind. I navigated without hesitation, located the Healing Factor ability, and spent eight billion without a second thought. The moment the purchase was confirmed, I initiated the merge and directed the ability straight into Akane.

The transfer was seamless.

Akane’s body jerked almost imperceptibly against me. As a master of physical control, she felt it instantly—an infinite, steady life source flooding through every cell. Hidden micro-damage she hadn’t even been fully aware of began repairing itself.

Old strain from years of missions, residual internal stress, everything quietly mended. And yet the source itself never diminished. It simply remained, vast and constant.

Her eyes widened behind the mask.

"What did you do?"

I kept my expression blank and mildly confused.

"What?"

Her thoughts crashed through the telepathic link, sharp and disbelieving.

[It’s him... he gave it to me. This is his ability. He just... gave me his ability. Why is he treating me like this...?]

Akane’s hands shot up and gripped my shoulders hard. Her voice lost its usual controlled edge.

"Don’t fool me. What did you just do to me?"

She pushed back just enough to look at me properly, fingers still digging into my shoulders. The infinite healing energy continued to circulate inside her body, quiet and inexhaustible. Her breathing had grown uneven.

"This... this power. It’s not temporary. It’s permanent. It’s yours. Why would you give me something like this?" Her voice rose slightly.

"Do you have any idea what this means? An ability of this level doesn’t just appear. You transferred it. You gave me your own healing factor."

[He weakened himself. He must have. No one just hands over an ability like this without a cost. What if he needs it later? What if he gets hurt again and can’t recover because of me?]

"Jack." My name came out almost like an accusation. "Take it back. Right now. I didn’t ask for this. I don’t need you to protect me by crippling yourself."

She shook her head once, sharply, the black cloak shifting with the movement.

"You always do this. You throw yourself into danger, you spend things you shouldn’t, and then you act like it’s nothing. What if something happens to you tomorrow? What if you need this exact ability and it’s no longer there because you gave it to me?"

Her grip on my shoulders tightened further.

"I can feel it. It’s endless. It’s still full. That means you didn’t just share a fragment—you moved the entire thing into me. Why? Why would you do something so reckless just because I was worried?"

[He’s looking at me like I’m overreacting. I’m not. He doesn’t understand how dangerous it is for him to keep giving pieces of himself away. First he makes me worry, then he does this. I can’t... I don’t know how to deal with someone who treats their own life so lightly.]

Akane’s voice dropped, but the intensity didn’t.

"Answer me properly. What did it cost you? And don’t you dare say ’nothing.’"

I met her eyes through the mask and answered without flinching.

"You might need it more than me... because I know you won’t listen to me."

The words hit her like a physical blow. Akane’s fingers dug harder into my shoulders. For a second she just stared, the silence between us stretching tight.

Then her voice rose, sharp and angry.

"Who are you to make such a decision for me? Tell me—who are you?"

Her thoughts exploded through the telepathic link, raw and unfiltered.

[Who is he to decide what I need? He just handed over an ability that could keep him alive and acted like it was a casual gift. He doesn’t get to decide that for me. He doesn’t get to decide anything for me.]

She shoved against my chest, not hard enough to break free, but enough to put a small distance between us while still holding onto my shoulders.

"You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to look at me, decide I’m the one who needs protecting, and then strip yourself of something this important. What gives you the right?"

Her breathing had grown faster. The infinite healing factor still hummed quietly inside her body, a constant reminder of what he had just done.

"I am not a child. I am not someone you can just... gift things to when you feel like it. You made this decision without asking me. Without even warning me. And now you’re standing there telling me I need it more than you because I won’t listen?"

[He’s still looking at me with that calm expression. It makes it worse. If he had argued back, it would be easier. Instead he’s just... accepting it. Like my anger doesn’t surprise him at all.]