The morning sun was warm and bright. It shone through the large glass windows of the healing temple.The temple was called the Clinic of the Green Thread. It sat on top of a small hill in the center of the new city. The building was beautiful, but it was not perfect. It was made of brown wood, red clay, and smooth gray stones. Green vines covered the walls. Beautiful lotus flowers grew in clay pots by the front door.Inside the temple, the air smelled like two different worlds.On one side, it smelled like science. It smelled like strong, sharp alcohol, clean white soap, and boiled water. On the other side, it smelled like faith. It smelled like sweet incense, dried herbs, and the warm, electric feeling of magical Qi.Luna sat at a heavy wooden desk in the back room of the clinic.She looked out the window. She saw the sick people waiting in the courtyard. There were mothers holding crying babies. There were old men with coughing lungs. There were farmers with cuts on their hands.L

The man took one final, rattling breath. The iron veins completely covered his throat. His eyes rolled back. His body went completely stiff, heavy, and hard. He did not dissolve into dust. He turned into a solid statue of cold, dead, black iron.He was dead.The clinic was perfectly silent. The patients watched in horror.Luna knelt on the floor. She held the dirty leather pouch in her hand. Her hand was shaking so badly she could barely open the strings.She pulled open the pouch. She tipped it upside down.Two objects fell into her palm.The first object was a broken piece of wood. It was smooth and old. It was the top six inches of a wooden staff. The wood was splintered and cracked, like it had been smashed against something very hard.The second object made Luna let out a loud, broken sob.It was a piece of gray cloth. It was torn from the bottom of a familiar, dark gray coat.The cloth was stained with blood. The blood was not the black poison of the Heaven's Cure. It was not t

The boy shook his head. "He is not safe. He is in the dark. He stayed behind so I could run."The boy looked at the glowing green lotus leaf in his hand. Then, he looked back at Luna."My master told me you would take care of me," the boy said. His quiet voice cut through the loud thunder. "My master told me you would teach me how to heal ghosts."Luna stared at the boy.Teach me how to heal ghosts.The cycle was beginning anew.Ten years ago, Rick had found a scared, broken girl with a terrible wound. He had taken her in. He had taught her that pain is a conversation. He had made her his partner. He had taught her how to heal.Now, Rick had found a scared, broken boy with silver eyes. And he had sent the boy to her. Rick wanted her to be the master now."Come inside," Luna cried, standing up quickly. She picked the little boy up with her one strong arm. He was incredibly light. He weighed almost nothing. "We have to get you warm. We have to get you out of this rain."Luna carried the

Blood did not flow from the tiny cut. Instead, a thick, heavy, sparkling silver paste began to ooze out of the wound. It looked like liquid mercury."It is so heavy," Luna whispered in shock. She used a clean white cloth to quickly wipe the silver paste away. As soon as the paste hit the cloth, it hardened into solid metal dust."Keep pushing, Elian!" Luna commanded. "You have to push the green light down, forcing the silver poison up and out of the cut!""It is fighting me!" Elian groaned. Sweat poured down his face. "The silver poison is cold! It is trying to freeze my magic!"Luna worked with incredible speed. With her one hand, she wiped the silver paste away, cleaned the cut with pure water, and used a long silver needle to keep the vein open. Her fingers moved like lightning. It was a beautiful, desperate dance of science.Across the table, Elian provided the faith. He poured his young, messy, passionate life energy into the boy's chest. He fought the cold silver poison with the

Elian watched his people. His heart filled with intense, burning pride. He was so glad he was a doctor. He was so glad he could help them carry their heavy memories. But then, the quiet night changed.The sweet smell of lotus flowers vanished. A sharp, bitter smell hit Elian’s nose. It smelled like cold iron and burning plastic. It was a smell that did not belong in the natural world.Silas stood up quickly. He grabbed Elian’s coat."Master Elian," Silas whispered. His voice was shaking with sudden fear. "Look at the water."Elian looked out at the center of the giant lake. The water was no longer perfectly still. It was shivering. Tiny ripples spread across the surface.And the lotuses were changing.In the very center of the lake, a patch of glowing green flowers began to dim. The bright, warm green light turned a sickly, pale gray. Then, the gray turned pitch black.The petals of the black lotuses shriveled up like dead leaves. With a soft hiss, the black flowers dissolved into dar