Alarms ripped through the quiet of Salt Lake General at 11:47 p.m.“Code blue, pediatric ward!”Rick Franklin sprinted down the corridor, white coat flaring behind him. The smell of antiseptic clung to the air, mingling with panic. Through the glass of Room 9 he saw the child, six-year-old Lila, her skin waxen, monitors screaming irregular rhythms. “Pulse forty and dropping!” a nurse shouted.“Adrenaline, now!” Dr. Harris, the attending, barked. “We’ve lost hepatic response. Renal failure cascading, someone page ICU!”Rick forced his breath steady. He was only twenty-four, still the youngest apprentice under Master Yuren Sun.But in that moment the noise faded; he heard only the faint, stuttering beat from the monitor, Lila’s heart fighting to exist. “She’s not stabilizing,” Harris snapped. “Prep time of death in, ”“Wait.” Rick stepped forward. “Let me try something.”Harris shot him a glare. “This is no time for experiments, Franklin.”“It’s not an experiment. It’s a pulse-stabiliz

The hospital’s atrium glittered with cameras and white coats. Banners draped across the mezzanine read “In Honor of Life Restored.”Rick stood beside Master Yuren Sun at the podium, heart pounding louder than the applause.Yuren’s voice carried over the crowd. “Apprentice Franklin achieved what we deemed impossible, reviving a collapsed Golden Pulse.”Polite clapping rolled through the hall; reporters leaned forward, holo-recorders glowing. Rick managed a stiff bow.Across the rows of physicians, he caught Isaac Voss’s expression, smiling just enough to hide the contempt in his eyes.When the crowd quieted, Yuren’s tone shifted, almost too soft for the microphones. “Yet, even golden light can blind those who gaze too long.”A murmur rippled. Rick blinked, uncertain whether it was a warning or a proverb. After the ceremony, Yuren placed a hand on his shoulder. “Come by the study this afternoon. We need to talk.”Rick forced a smile. “Yes, Master.”The cameras kept flashing; every lens

The message arrived before dawn. “URGENT: Hospital Board Inquiry. Attendance Mandatory.”Rick read it twice, the words blurring on the screen. His stomach tightened. The rain outside hammered the window in steady rhythm, too much like a pulse he didn’t want to hear.Evelyn stirred under the covers. “Another emergency?”He shut off the screen. “Board meeting. They want to review the Lila case.”Her voice thickened with sleep and dread. “Already?”“Someone leaked footage,” he said quietly. “Probably internal.”Evelyn sat up. “Rick… don’t go in there alone.”“I have to.”He dressed in silence, the glow of the golden rune briefly lighting his wrist before fading beneath his sleeve.The boardroom smelled of disinfectant and tension. Seven members sat in a semicircle, holo-screens casting their faces in pale blue light. Yuren Sun stood at the far end, hands clasped behind his back, calm, unreadable.The chairman, Dr. Mei Zhao, adjusted her glasses. “Dr. Franklin. We’ve received an external

The apartment was dark except for the soft pulse of the city outside the window. Rick dropped his coat on the couch and pressed the heel of his hand against his eyes. Every heartbeat still throbbed like an echo from the trauma ward. A voice came from the shadows. “Rough night, Doctor Franklin?”Rick spun toward it. A tall man stepped out of the dim light, gray suit, precise posture, the faintest scent of cigar smoke following him.“Victor Harrington,” Rick said slowly. “You don’t usually visit people unannounced.”Victor smiled, all teeth and civility. “Unannounced visits tend to reveal the truth, don’t they?” He glanced around the small apartment. “You’ve been busy. The city hasn’t stopped talking about your little miracle.”Rick exhaled. “If you came for gossip, you can find it on any screen.”“I came for an opportunity.” Victor pulled a small black card from his pocket and set it on the table. “The Syndicate’s Council is watching you. They think you’ve touched something ancient, s

The hospital basement wasn’t on any floor plan Rick had ever seen. It lay below the morgue, metal doors, no label, only a flicker of cold light at the edge of a half-hidden stairwell.He hadn’t planned to come here. The System had guided him.[Descent coordinates verified] the voice whispered inside his pulse.[Source signal beneath primary structure.]“Great,” Rick muttered. “Haunted hospitals and invisible voices. Perfect combination.”The hum in his wrist brightened. He took the stairs. At the bottom, the air felt heavy, thick with rust and something older. Banks of sealed drawers lined the walls, discarded medical prototypes, analog monitors, broken holo-panels.And at the center: a door marked by a faint golden ring, the same pattern that burned beneath his skin. Rick reached for it. “Should I be opening this?”[Access recognized. Healer authorized.]The ring flared; the lock disengaged. The door slid open to a chamber lit by a single pulse of amber light, spreading across the f