Bab 27: Whole
I layed there for a good hour with my arm covering my face. It wasn't the first time I thought of my past life, but it was the first time I recalled that period in time.
It was something I couldn't even think about before being reincarnated, something that should've stayed forgotten.
'I really didn't want to remember that.'
Though, it wasn't all useless suffering.
After seeing my sister's ailment, I knew I had to do something. Researching every single way to restore someone's nerves and motor functions became something of a habit. Even after a while, when I realized that there was nothing I could do, I still kept going. It was irrational, a waste of my time, but it was the only way to stop my mind from collapsing in on itself. If I kept looking for a way, maybe I could find one. That kept me going. Though of course, I found nothing that could actually help her.
That left me with a plethora of useless information on biology and medicine. That is, useless until I reincarnated.
With my knowledge, I could have probably advanced medical understanding by at least a couple of centuries. But I was no doctor. I feared that my attempts in doing so would only put more people at risk.
But now, I found a way to utilize all that knowledge. Even though it's been decades since I last studied medicine and my memories were hazy at best, I still had a clear starting point.
The whole topic of regenerative medicine is absurdly complex. Even in my past life, it was something that proved challenging to learn. The most important method of restoring tissue damaged or affected by disease was stem cell therapy.
Stem cells are the raw materials of the body. They can divide and create more stem cells, or they can divide into specialized cells like nerve cells which can be used to regenerate damaged tissue.
The body naturally does this, but adult stem cells are few and have limited abilities to repair tissue. Thus, stem cell therapy uses embryo cells that are around 5 days old, as they have a lot more potential for dividing and creating new cells.
Obviously, I had no lab equipment and no access to embryos, so I had to make do with what I had. Something which would test the limits of both my technique, the human body, and my own will.
I activated observation and looked into my own body. The majority of the very few stem cells a developed human has are located in the bone marrow, a soft tissue housing many blood vessels inside the bones.
It is widely believed that the stem cells inside the bone marrow can only divide into blood cells, with the idea of them dividing into anything else being a heavily researched topic.
Well, I wasn't tied down by scientific limitations. I could make my body do whatever I wanted it to.
But that did leave a question on my mind.
'Is this something I could also do in my past life? Or is there something about this world that is fundamentally different?'
The techniques I used seemed to be based on science, albeit somewhat loosely. So it could be possible that my old world also hosted secret breathing techniques.
Regardless, that wasn't something I would be able to investigate, so I decided not thinking about it would be the best option.
I stopped my train of thought and directed my attention towards my body again, focusing in on the bones, then the soft tissue within them. There, I saw cells forming, dividing and becoming red blood cells. There were thousands. A shockingly low number, and with them being less versatile than embryo cells, made it impossible for them to be used to heal any major damage.
Then, I stimulated the division of stem cells. I couldn't explain it, it was like seeing a magic trick. I gave the command and my body simply followed, no questions asked.
The process was long and it required all of my focus and attention, but slowly, what used to be thousands, turned into hundreds of thousands, then into millions and then billions.
I gave another command, this time I made the newly formed stem cells divide into specialized skin cells.
I then directed them using blood vessels to my finger, and started arranging them in a lattice like structure.
Within seconds, the blood stopped flowing from the injured finger and the damage was completely repaired as though it never happened.
It was incredible. Something that defied common logic. I had done it.
I finally found hope again.
So many emotions overflowed the tall dam I constructed within myself that even if I tried to sever them, they would simply come back.
"Haaaaa… Fuck yea! I'm a genius!" I yelled in excitement.
I probably had the stupidest grin on my face, like a kid in a candy shop. But still, I just couldn't contain it.
Now, failure was not an option. I had gotten that far, failing would've shattered everything I worked so hard to achieve.
In a while, everything I had to endure this past year would be worth it. The detachment, the isolation, the madness. Everything would be okay in the end.
Eventually, I calmed myself down and cut myself off again to focus on the task at hand. It would be a long journey ahead.
'I've been here for too fucking long.'
With that, I focused on my body again.
*
Much to my disappointment, the journey was in fact long.
It had taken me an additional 2 month to see any progress. And another 4 months for my 'project' to be complete.
Though, it wasn't without its fair share of troubles.
I had underestimated the time it would take to regrow a limb, as well as the energy it would take to create brand new cells.
I nearly died of starvation on multiple occasions, not to mention the pain of recreating a whole fucking arm manually. It was absolutely dreadful. I was constantly drenched in sweat, and by the end, my body was so dried up I couldn't even sweat anymore. I had to eat snow to stay hydrated, then filter it inside my body manually to make sure I didn't die.
Again, the worst part was the mental battle. If before I was on autopilot, now, all of my focus, attention and brain power had to be spent on the task at hand. These therapy sessions would last for hours on end until either my body or my mind gave out. Before, I was detached because of the monotony, now, I did not have the time or the brain capacity for any other thoughts.
Then came the trial and error.
My understanding of anatomy was good. I knew where all the bones, muscles and joints should be. Thankfully, I also had my other arm to help me with the intricate wiring.
On multiple occasions I had to stop and play test my new arm. Sometimes it would hurt as if my whole arm was on fire. Other times, I fucked up the nerves, leaving me with no movements or sensation.
If I knew everything beforehand, it would've been completed in a few days. But adding on having to perfectly place every nerve cell and synapse exactly where they were supposed to go added months to the project.
Unfortunately, after messing up, I couldn't just delete my cells. I had to kill them, but that gave way to the possibility of them becoming cancer cells so I just opted for cutting off the fucked up bits.
It was not pleasant.
Still, that was all an afterthought.
I admired my newly completed arm, looking at it for several minutes before finally deciding to try moving it. I was scared, if it didn't move that meant I had to redo the wiring, which would take a while.
Thankfully though, it moved. I moved every finger, one by one. I looked at my palms and clenched my fist. I moved my wrists, the joints were perfectly functional. It was done.
It felt weird. I had grown accustomed to only having one arm, moving around with two would take some getting used to but that didn't matter. I had my arm back.
I went around touching every little thing I could find, relishing in the feeling of having two arms. It was perfect, like I'd never lost it in the first place. It didn't feel different to my other arm, I had even copied the muscle composition which maybe added a few months to the process.
I couldn't contain my happiness. The detachment faded away momentarily as I felt like I had to announce it to the whole world. A feat so impressive that it spit in the face of what was thought possible.
I walked out of the house and approached the edge of the overhang.
"I DID IT!" I yelled at the top of my lungs into the snowy abyss below.
I stared down in silence for a while, my eyes overlooking the drifting cloud formations.
'I… did it.'Tears started flowing out as I just couldn't keep them in anymore.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone