All Chapters of Divine Healer: Rise of Charlie Kirkland: Chapter 1
- Chapter 9
9 chapters
CHAPTER 1 — The Judgment Hall
The Judgment Hall was already full before the bells stopped ringing. Stone benches rose in steps on all sides, packed tight with elders and disciples. Whispering filled the air like insects trapped in a jar.At the center of the hall, a wide circle was carved into the floor. Runes glowed dull red along its edge. Charlie knelt inside it, alone.His wrists were locked behind his back. Black suppression chains wrapped his arms and chest, pressed into his skin, and pulsed at a steady rhythm. Each pulse made his shoulders jerk.Two enforcers stood behind him. Their armor was clean and polished. Their hands never left their weapons.Charlie kept his head level. His eyes stayed forward. He did not look at the crowd. A gong struck once. The whispers died.An elder stood from the high platform. He was thin and bent, with a voice that carried without effort. He unrolled a long scroll and held it with both hands. “Charlie,” he said. The name echoed and faded.Charlie did not answer. The elder be
CHAPTER 2 — Exile into the Wild
Charlie woke to a hard pull at his chest. His arms were locked at his sides, bound by light that pressed into his skin. The transport talisman hummed under him, cold and flat.He tried to move his hands. The light tightened and burned. His fingers went numb.Wind tore past his face. The sky above was pale and empty. No walls. No roof. Only open air.Shapes stood around him as the hum slowed. Boots scraped stone. Metal rings clinked.“Still breathing,” one voice said.“Doesn’t matter,” another replied. “He won’t be long.”Charlie turned his head. Three enforcers stood near the edge of the platform. Their cloaks snapped in the wind. Their faces were calm. “How far is far enough?” one asked.The tallest enforcer looked out over the land. Red rock stretched to the horizon. No roads. No towers. “Here is fine,” he said.“Too close?” the first asked.The tall one shrugged. “If he crawls back, we’ll hear about it. He won’t.”Charlie opened his mouth. His tongue felt thick. No sound came out.
CHAPTER 3 — Heal or Perish
Charlie lay on his side in the ravine. Dust stuck to his face and mixed with blood. His chest rose, then stopped, then rose again.His heartbeat skipped. It felt wrong, like a wheel catching on broken stone. His fingers twitched and went still.A thin stream of blood ran from his mouth. It soaked into the dirt and vanished. The wind moved above him. It did not reach the bottom.Charlie tried to breathe. Air scraped his throat. He coughed once and red spilled out.His vision narrowed. The rocks around him blurred and then sharpened in pulses. Each pulse came slower than the last.His hand slid across the ground. He grabbed at nothing. His heartbeat stuttered again. A long pause followed. Then a weak thud.His eyes rolled back. He forced them open. He saw faces. A boy with a broken arm on a dirty cot. A woman with fever shaking under a thin blanket. An old man gripping his wrist, eyes wide, breath short.Charlie pressed his lips together. His jaw shook. Those faces faded. Darkness close
CHAPTER 4 — Emergency Treatment
Charlie hits the ground hard and does not pass out. His head strikes stone. His body twists. The air leaves his chest in a sharp burst. The pain comes all at once. It does not fade. It grows.His eyes try to close. They do not. A flat tone sounds near his ears. It is calm. It does not repeat. Light snaps on in front of his face.A red grid fills his vision. Lines cut across his body shape. Small boxes lock onto his limbs and chest.He tries to blink. The grid stays. Another tone sounds. Short. Sharp. Text appears, white on red. “LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS: DENIED.”His jaw tightens. His hands claw at the stone floor. The pain spikes again. Harder. Focused.His back arches. His breath breaks into short gasps. The grid zooms in. His ribs glow bright yellow, then red. A thin line traces one rib. It flashes. “STRUCTURAL MISALIGNMENT DETECTED.”His fingers scrape stone. They leave dark marks. He tried to scream. His mouth opens. No sound comes out. The pain shifts. It presses inward now. It fe
CHAPTER 5 — System Rules
The room was dark except for the thin light from the ceiling crack. Dust hung in the air and moved when Charlie shifted his weight.He sat against the wall with his knees bent. His right hand pressed against his left forearm, where the skin was still red and wet.A faint sound ticked near his ear. It was not mechanical. It was flat and even, like a heartbeat with no body.The air in front of him blurred. A pale rectangle formed, sharp at the edges.Charlie froze. His fingers tightened on his sleeve. The rectangle stayed still. White text appeared inside it.[System Interface Unlocked]The words did not flicker. They did not glow. They were simply there.Charlie leaned forward a few inches. His breath stayed slow, but his shoulders lifted. Another line appeared.[User Status: Stable]The ticking sound continued. Charlie turned his head, looking for a source. There was nothing on the walls. No device on the floor.The rectangle shifted to the left, matching his movement. Charlie stopped
CHAPTER 6 — The First Patient
Charlie moved uphill through thin trees and broken stone. Snow lay in patches where the sun did not reach. His boots slid on wet leaves, and he slowed his steps to keep quiet.The air was cold and thin. Wind pushed through the branches and made a low sound. Charlie stopped when he heard something else under it.A faint scrape came from the rocks ahead. It was slow and uneven. He tilted his head and listened again.The sound came again, sharper this time. A short breath followed it. Charlie shifted his weight and moved toward it.He stepped around a fallen log. Rusted metal showed between stones. A steel trap lay half-buried in dirt and ice.A fox lay beside it. One hind leg was caught inside the jaws. The steel was old and rough, stained dark.The fox pulled weakly at the trap. Its body shook with each movement. Its breathing was fast and shallow.Charlie froze. He stood ten steps away and did not move. The fox lifted its head. Its eyes were wide and dull. It bared its teeth and made
CHAPTER 7 — Vitality Exchange
The fox lay on its side in the dirt. Its chest rose once, then again. Blood still darkened its fur.Charlie stood a few steps away. He did not move. His hands stayed open, fingers stiff. The fox twitched. One leg kicked. Its ears flicked.Charlie took a step back. Gravel slid under his boot. The fox rolled onto its belly. It pushed itself up with shaking legs. The wound along its ribs had closed. Only a thin line remained.Charlie’s jaw tightened. He watched the fox breathe. Each breath came easier.The fox shook itself. Dried blood cracked and fell away. Its eyes locked on Charlie.Charlie felt his arms go heavy. The weight settled into his muscles. His shoulders sank.He clenched his fists. The skin on his forearms pulled tight. The fox took a step. Then another. Its gait steadied fast.Charlie swallowed. His throat felt dry. His stomach twisted. The fox bared its teeth. A low sound came from its chest.Charlie’s knees bent without thought. He lowered his center. His muscles felt pa
CHAPTER 8 — Herb Sense Awakens
Charlie stood at the edge of the forest and did not move.The trees were close together here. Their trunks blocked the wind. The ground was dark with old leaves and wet soil.He took one slow step forward. Nothing attacked him. No sound followed. He took another step.Charlie closed his eyes and placed his hand on his chest. He pressed once, hard. The mark beneath his skin responded. His breath stopped. The world shifted.When he opened his eyes, the forest was not the same. Plants glowed. The glow was faint. It was not light like fire. It was more like a thin skin over each leaf and stem.Layers appeared. One layer faded as another came forward. Charlie turned his head slowly.Bushes showed pale green veins. Vines showed yellow nodes. Moss shimmered in dull blue patches across rocks.He crouched. The ground pulsed with small lights. Roots traced clear paths under the soil.Charlie reached toward a fern and stopped his hand short. A thin panel of symbols appeared beside the plant.He
CHAPTER 9 — Pain as Teacher
Charlie stood in the broken clinic and did not move. Water dripped from a cracked pipe in the ceiling. Blood mixed with it on the floor and ran in thin red lines toward a drain that did not work. The lights above him flickered and buzzed, going dim, then bright again, like the room was breathing.Three people lay on cots. The man on the left held his chest with both hands. Every breath made a wet sound. His eyes were open, wide and glassy, and they followed Charlie wherever he moved.The woman near the wall shook as if the cold had reached her bones. Her leg was crushed beneath torn cloth and metal. Bone showed through. Her hands clawed at the sheets without knowing it. The third body lay still. Too still.Charlie looked at them one time. Just one. He did not speak. He did not promise anything. He did not pray.He lifted both hands. His fingers spread apart, slow and careful, as if the air itself might break. Near his left wrist, a faint light appeared. The system icon flickered into