The voice in his head sounded incredibly weak now. It sounded like a patient bleeding out on an operating table."Doctor," the System whispered. "Please. It does not hurt anymore. I feel nothing. And it is terrifying. Save us."The box shattered into a million tiny sparks of white light and vanished into the wind.Rick stood alone at the crossroads. The silence rushed back in, heavier than ever before.The gods were begging him for help. The universe itself was his patient now."Rick?" A soft, weak voice called out from behind him.Rick turned around. Luna was sitting on the ground near his heavy bag. The translucent green Qi cocoon that had been protecting her was fading. She looked very pale. The journey, the lightning strikes at the Ash Forest, and the dark magic of the salt mountain had drained her.Her crystalline arm, which usually glowed like a bright star, was only giving off a very faint, dull shine. She looked completely exhausted.Rick quickly walked over to her and knelt d

Rick quickly reached into his bag and pulled out a small piece of clean cloth. He poured some normal water from his canteen onto the cloth. He held it out to Luna."Hold this over your mouth and nose," Rick ordered. "Breathe through the wet cloth. It will filter out some of the magic. And whatever you do, keep thinking about something that hurts. Think about the Kael. Think about Kael dying in the dirt. Keep the pain alive in your heart. Pain is our shield."Luna took the wet cloth and pressed it to her face. She nodded. Her eyes looked sharp again."I am ready, Doctor Gray," she said.Rick helped her walk out of the dark cave. They stepped onto the white salt. They began the long walk toward the giant metal gates of the research city.As they got closer, they saw a long line of people. Hundreds of travelers were waiting to get inside. They looked just like the group Rick had seen on the plains. They were dirty, tired, and broken. Many of them were crying. They had come seeking salvat

"I am Doctor Gray," Rick said, pulling his coat straight to look important. "I am an official researcher. Do not waste the cure on a street corner like a butcher. This level of extreme emotional chaos is very rare. It is a perfect subject for study!"The Enforcer tilted its white helmet. "Study is not required. Perfection is already achieved by the High Saint.""Nothing is perfectly understood until it is tested," Rick lied smoothly. He reached down and gently grabbed the boy's shoulder. The boy was shaking in terror. "Look at the amount of tears. Look at the high heart rate. If I can document how the blue light interacts with such a high level of sorrow, I can write a report for the High Saint himself. I will take this boy to my laboratory for controlled integration."The Enforcers seemed confused by this logic. They were machines of rules, and Rick was using scientific rules against them.While the Enforcers hesitated, Rick secretly pressed his thumb against the back of the boy's ne

In one bed lay a young man. His legs were completely crushed, likely from a terrible rockslide. Above his bed, a thick glass pipe pumped the glowing blue liquid. A soft blue light shone down from the pipe, bathing the man’s broken legs.Rick watched in shock as the bones under the man's skin snapped back into place. Crack. Snap. The purple bruises faded away to normal skin color. The deep cuts sealed shut without a single drop of blood spilling. It took less than a minute. The man's legs were perfectly healed.But as the physical wounds closed, the man's face changed. The pain and fear vanished from his eyes. A pale blue light filled his pupils. His mouth stretched into a wide, empty smile. He did not sit up to celebrate. He did not cry tears of joy. He just lay there, perfectly still, staring blankly at the ceiling.Rick moved to the next bed. An old woman was coughing up dark blood. She had a terrible lung rot. The blue light shined on her chest. Instantly, her coughing stopped. Her

The red alarm lights flashed in Laboratory Seven. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. The loud sound hurt Rick’s ears.Inspector Vane was on his knees in the doorway. He was a man who used to be a perfect machine. But now, he was broken. The tiny wisp of dark gray smoke from Rick’s bag had entered his eye. The smoke was pure human sorrow. It was the tears of a dying man.Vane’s left eye was a messy, chaotic human brown. His right eye was still glowing, solid blue."Please," Vane begged again. He grabbed the front of his torn black coat. "Teach me how to bleed."Inside the room, the woman possessed by Yuren laughed. It was a smooth, beautiful, terrible sound. "Oh, Vane," Yuren’s voice said through the smiling woman. "You let the dirt inside you. Enforcers! Cleanse him! Cleanse them all!"Rick did not wait. He moved faster than the wind.He grabbed the heavy iron mask from the table and shoved it into his bag. He grabbed the sleeping little boy with his left arm. With his right hand, he swung his wooden