2025-10-14 16:02:21By sunrise, Salt Lake General was humming again, machines beeping, carts rattling, the faint smell of coffee fighting the sharper tang of disinfectant, but the whispering never stopped.
Rick kept his head down as he walked through the corridor. The overnight staff tried not to stare, yet their voices followed him like a second pulse. “That’s him, the kid who revived a dead child.”
“They said her skin turned gold.”
“Or maybe he just got lucky.”
He forced himself to smile at the nurses who dared to meet his eyes. Their smiles flickered back, half admiration, half fear.
He could still feel the phantom warmth of that glow under his own skin. It pulsed faintly now and then, a reminder of the moment when life had returned under his fingertips.
At the corner near Diagnostics, Isaac Voss waited, senior apprentice Yuren Sun’s chosen heir. Perfect posture, perfect coat, perfect contempt. “Morning, miracle boy,” Isaac said lightly.
Rick slowed. “Isaac.”
“They’re calling you the Golden Apprentice. Cute. Almost sounds divine.”
His grin didn’t reach his eyes. “I heard you broke three protocols last night. But who cares, right? As long as the cameras caught the halo.”
Rick folded his arms. “She’s alive. That’s what matters.”
“Alive because you gambled with forbidden meridians.” Isaac leaned closer, voice dropping.
“Don’t think that makes you chosen. It makes you dangerous.”
Rick’s jaw tightened. “You think I wanted attention?”
“I think you wanted glory. You always do.”
The hallway chilled. Behind them, interns pretended to study charts while listening. Rick exhaled. “Believe whatever helps you sleep.” He turned away.
Isaac’s whisper followed. “Enjoy your luck, Franklin. Miracles never last.”
Rick didn’t answer. He walked on, pulse loud in his ears. Outside the windows, the Salt Lake shimmered pale gold beneath the morning sun, a reflection of the light that still refused to die inside him.
By evening, the hospital quieted again. Rain ticked softly against the glass. Rick found himself drawn back to the pediatric ICU.
Lila lay asleep, color in her cheeks, a tiny bandage where the final needle had gone in. Her mother dozed in a chair, tear-streaked but peaceful.
Rick stepped closer, keeping his voice low. “Hey, little one. How’s the world treating you tonight?”
The girl stirred faintly but didn’t wake. Her pulse monitor beeped in calm rhythm, steady, strong.
He rested two fingers lightly on her wrist, the way Yuren had taught him, to listen instead of just measure.
And there it was again, the same golden rhythm, faint but alive, answering his touch. It wasn’t the machine’s beat; it was deeper, resonating through his bones. He whispered, “You remember me, don’t you?”
For an instant the sigil beneath his own skin glowed, subtle under the dim light. Lila’s pulse quickened in exact synchrony.
Rick jerked his hand back. The light faded. He looked around, empty hallway, silent monitors, nothing but the rain.
From the doorway, a soft voice spoke. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Rick turned. Master Yuren Sun stood in the shadows, coat draped loosely around him, eyes unreadable. “I wanted to check her condition,” Rick said quietly.
“She will live,” Yuren answered. “But you should ask yourself, why.”
Rick frowned. “Because I treated her.”
“Or because something treated both of you.”
Yuren’s gaze drifted to Rick’s wrist. Rick instinctively hid it in his sleeve. “You’re afraid,” Rick said.
Yuren didn’t deny it. “The world doesn’t reward miracles, Rick. It punishes them.”
The words hung heavy between them. The rain deepened, blurring the city lights beyond the glass.
Rick took a breath. “Then let it punish me. I won’t stop healing people.”
Yuren’s expression softened almost imperceptibly. “So said every healer who vanished into legend.” He turned toward the hallway.
“Master.”
But the corridor was already empty. Only the soft echo of footsteps remained. Rick looked once more at the sleeping child.
Her chest rose and fell, golden warmth flickering faintly beneath the skin, too faint for any machine to record. He whispered, “Stay well, Lila.”
Outside, the storm clouds thinned. First light touched the horizon, painting the Salt Lake in mirrored gold.
Rick stepped to the window. The reflection of dawn seemed to pulse with him, steady, insistent, alive. He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his heartbeat sync to that vast rhythm.
He didn’t see Yuren watching from a distant balcony, eyes shining with something between awe and fear. The old master murmured to the wind, “So the legend was true.”
Rick turned, sensing movement, but the balcony was empty.
That morning, as sunlight broke across the Salt Lake, Rick Franklin felt the world’s pulse beating in time with his own, and never realized it had already chosen him.
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Chapter 90. Departure To The Ruins
Morning light crept over the valley like a slow-moving wave of gold. It touched the roots of the living mountain first, then slipped across the grass that had grown overnight, then flowed down toward the stone paths Rick had carved. The air smelled fresh, like earth after a gentle rain, though not a single cloud floated in the sky. Everything here breathed. Everything lived.Rick stood at the valley’s edge with his pack open, sorting bottles one by one. He moved carefully, almost reverently, as though each vial held something sacred. His face was calm, but his eyes were sharp, focused, and touched by a quiet weight. The Elixir of Mercy was tucked deep in a padded pocket of the pack. Several stabilizing mixtures, dried herbs, silver needles, and Qi-thread tools filled the rest.Beside the pack lay a small wooden box carved with rune lines. Inside it rested the Homunculus Seed, sealed in a thin layer of glass crystal. It pulsed gently, faint blue light flickering like a heartbeat wai
Chapter 89. The Soul Elixir Completed
The valley was quiet the next morning, too quiet for a place that had recently woken into strange life. Mist curled low around the roots of the living mountain, drifting like pale ghosts between stone ridges. The air tasted heavy, thick with the scent of soil and something faintly metallic, the lingering echo of Qi storms that had raged during Bloom’s sealing.Rick sat alone near his alchemy circle, shoulders hunched. His hair was unkempt, his breathing slow and low, and his right hand kept trembling no matter how tightly he held it against his knee. Before him lay rows of cracked vials, scorched bowls, and half-dissolved Qi crystals. The experiments from last night had not stopped until dawn.He had failed nearly every attempt. But he was close. He could feel it.The formula he sought drifted at the edge of his mind like a shy whisper, a fragile truth that refused to step fully into the light. The Elixir of Mercy, the perfect Soul Elixir, the one that could heal life and memory w
Chapter 88. The Limits Of Perfection
The morning light in the valley was soft and pale, but it did not feel warm. The air carried a quiet unease, as if the world sensed that something new walked within it. Bloom sat on a stone near Rick’s alchemy circle, its vine-like legs folded neatly beneath its small frame. Its eyes glowed softly, pulsing in rhythm with a faint echo of Rick’s heartbeat.Rick stood a short distance away, breathing slowly, hands trembling as he heated a small flask with controlled Qi flame. His face was tired, the shadows beneath his eyes darker than before. He had not slept properly since the night Bloom was born. Luna stood at the edge of the circle, arms crossed over her chest, watching both of them with a mix of protectiveness and dread.Bloom watched Rick’s hands carefully, its head tilted like a curious child. “Why do your fingers shake?” it asked softly.Rick forced a weak smile. “Because I am still hurt.”“But you made me even while hurt,” Bloom said. Its voice carried a gentle innocence tha
Chapter 87. The Soul Bloom
The night in the valley was quiet, but it was not peaceful. The silence felt heavy, like the land itself was holding its breath. Rick had placed the Homunculus Seed on a smooth stone platform inside the ring of obsidian slabs he had carved with his alchemist code. The small seed glowed faintly, a soft white light pulsing inside its crystal-like skin. It looked harmless. It looked innocent.But Luna stood several steps away, her body tense, her eyes fixed on it as if it were a coiled snake waiting to strike.Rick knelt beside the platform, studying the seed. His fingers hovered above it but did not touch. He breathed slowly, steadying his heart.His pulse felt uneven ever since the first experiments. It was like two rhythms inside his chest were arguing with each other, one mortal, one divine.Luna finally spoke, her voice low. “Rick, this thing is not alive. It should not become alive. It is wrong.”He did not look at her. “It is a vessel. Nothing more.”“That is the same excuse use
Chapter 86. The Homunculus Seed
The valley had grown quiet over the past few days. The strange Qi rain had stopped falling from the sky, the shimmering plants had settled into steady rhythms, and the air felt heavier, as if the land itself held its breath. The dawn light stretched across the ground like a thin golden sheet, touching every root and stone.Rick stood at the center of the Alchemist’s Ring, surrounded by the obsidian slabs he carved his laws into. His eyes were shadowed from lack of sleep, and his hands trembled slightly. But he did not stop. He had collected a small pile of pale Qi crystals from the valley’s heart, crystals formed from the titan’s lingering essence and the valley’s healing hum.Luna watched him from a short distance. She sat on a rock with her legs pulled close, her expression troubled. Her crystalline arm glowed softly in the morning light, but her eyes were fixed on Rick’s movements.“Rick,” she said, her voice calm but tight, “you have been at this since last night. You need to
Chapter 85. The Alchemist’s Code
The sun had not yet risen, but the valley was already awake. The strange new life growing across the land pulsed with a slow glow, like soft breath moving through soil. Roots shimmered faintly under the earth, veins of Qi running through stone and water. Rick stood in the center of the clearing, the air cold against his skin, his breath rising like mist.He had not slept. His eyes were heavy, but they held a sharp clarity, the kind that came from painful truths finally settling in the mind.Behind him, Luna stirred from her makeshift bedding, rubbing her eyes with her good hand. Her crystalline arm shimmered with early light, casting rainbow reflections on the stone wall beside her.She stood slowly, watching Rick with worry. “You are awake again,” she said, voice soft.Rick did not turn. His attention was fixed on the obsidian slabs he had dragged from the valley’s edge. Dark, smooth, heavy stones lay arranged in a circle around the clearing. They reflected nothing, light simply sa
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