Rick felt sick to his stomach. The horror of it was perfect.Yuren was using the pain of the victims to power the machine that kept them numb. The people were trapped in a permanent cycle, powering their own empty prisons."And now," Yuren said, his solid blue eyes turning dark. "Because you caused a riot... because you showed them your false, messy medicine... the blue light is not enough. The city refused the peace. So, I switched the Cradle to the Eradication protocol. I am using the Hatred Root."The giant crystal flower pulsed. The light shooting up from it was no longer blue. It was a dark, bloody red."Zark paused the clock," Yuren said calmly. "He was a clever man. He gave you ten minutes. You have eight minutes left, Rick. In eight minutes, the red light will fire. It will not just hollow out their minds. It will burn their physical brains to ash. The valley will be perfectly, finally quiet."Rick’s erratic pulse hammered in his chest. THUD.The black poison of the Heaven's C

The dark water was freezing cold. It filled Rick’s nose. It filled his mouth. He was sinking deep, deep into the black lake beneath the Cradle of Renewal. The heavy metal of his boots pulled him down. His broken ribs ached. The black poison in his chest finally stopped burning.Everything was quiet. It was the heavy, final quiet of the end.Rick closed his eyes. He saw Luna’s bright, warm smile. He remembered the feeling of her hand in his. He was ready to rest. He had done his job. He had healed the machine. He had saved the world.But the world was not done with the Ghost Doctor.Suddenly, the water around him stopped feeling cold. It felt warm. It felt like a soft, thick blanket wrapping around his tired body.Rick opened his eyes.The water was no longer black. It was glowing. It was a beautiful, messy, bright green.It was his own magic. It was the Earth Pulse Qi. But it was not coming from his hands. It was coming from the lake itself. When Rick had injected Kael’s tear of sorr

Rick did not dodge. He did not step away. Rick stepped forward. Rick moved directly into the path of the deadly black blade.Yuren's eyes widened in shock.SHNK.The black blade pierced right through Rick’s lower stomach. The dark energy exploded out of Rick's back.Rick gasped. A horrible, freezing cold filled his entire body. His blood turned to ice. His legs went numb. The Hatred Root was inside him, trying to delete his organs."You..." Yuren stuttered. He held the handle of the black blade, staring into Rick's face, which was only inches away. "Why didn't you dodge? Why are you killing yourself?"Rick coughed. Bright red blood spilled over his lips. He smiled. It was a tired, painful, victorious smile."Because a surgeon," Rick whispered, his breath hitting Yuren's face, "has to get close to the tumor."Rick dropped his green Qi scalpel. He did not need a cutting tool anymore. He needed his hands.Before Yuren could pull the black blade out, Rick reached up with both of his glowi

The dark cavern was very quiet. Rick lay on his back on the cold, salty dirt. He was breathing very slowly. His chest moved up and down with a weak, rattling sound. The deep cut in his stomach was bleeding heavily. The dark red blood soaked into his green shirt and ran into the dirt.He was so tired. His body was completely broken. He had fought the High Saint. He had fought the Hatred Root. He had won."Rick. Rick, look at me."Luna’s voice was shaking. She knelt next to him. Her clothes were wet from the black lake. Her beautiful crystal arm was gone, leaving only a torn, bleeding shoulder. But she did not care about her own pain. She only cared about Rick.She pressed her real, human hand hard against his bleeding stomach. She tried to stop the blood."I am looking," Rick whispered. He forced a small, tired smile onto his pale face.Luna’s tears fell from her cheeks and landed on his dirty face. "You have to stay awake. The bleeding is bad. You are a doctor, Rick. Tell me how to f

Rick lifted his right hand. It was not bleeding anymore. But it was not solid flesh, either.Rick’s fingers were beginning to break apart. They were not turning to dust or ash. They were turning into pure, glowing green threads of Qi.The tips of his fingers unraveled like an old sweater. The glowing green strings floated up into the air and vanished."Rick!" Luna screamed. She grabbed his arm, but her hand passed right through his wrist. His wrist was turning into green threads, too.Yuren sat up quickly. He stared at Rick in horror."The cost," Yuren whispered. "Oh, gods, the cost of the merge.""What cost?!" Luna demanded, crying wildly. She tried to hold Rick's face, but his cheek was beginning to glow with the same green light."To rewrite Heaven's Record, the System needed an anchor," Yuren explained, his voice breaking with deep sorrow. "It needed a physical body to hold the new golden rule. Rick gave it his last spark of life. His body cannot hold the power of the entire unive