2025-10-15 23:56:28
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CHAPTER 8. Chains of Shame
The sun rose cold over New York City Medical Plaza, its brilliance cruel on the polished white marble. At the center stood the Syndicate stage, draped in banners proclaiming: “Integrity Preserves Divinity.”A voice echoed through the speakers: “Bring forward the condemned.”Chains rattled. Dr. Joseph Briggs emerged, escorted by two guards. His once-white healer’s coat hung in shreds; gray prison robes clung to him like mourning cloth.His eyes, still clear beneath the exhaustion, met the horizon, the same skyline he had once healed, one patient at a time.The crowd roared. Some shouted curses, others prayers. News drones hovered, recording every humiliation for the evening broadcast.A child held up a flower. His mother snatched it away. From the balcony above, Franca stood behind her father, Victor Harrington, watching. Her hands trembled, nails digging into her palm until blood welled, but she said nothing. Her father’s hand rested firmly on her shoulder, a warning disguised as co
CHAPTER 7. Master’s Verdict
The incense smoke curled like ghosts around the edges of Bill Gates’s private study. Shelves of ancient scrolls towered to the ceiling; relics of forgotten healers glimmered faintly in the lamplight. On the table lay his ceremonial robe, gold-threaded, heavy with authority, staring back at him like judgment itself.Bill sat motionless, eyes fixed on the holo-screen looping Joseph’s tribunal footage.The moment played again.The elderly patient convulsing, the golden glow flashing from Joseph’s hands, the monitors spiking before death.He pressed pause. The screen froze on Joseph’s face, wide-eyed, horrified, still believing the world would listen.“Medicine,” Bill whispered, quoting himself from decades ago, “is the art of humility before mystery.”He smiled bitterly. “And you touched that mystery too soon, my son.”He closed his eyes. Memory flickered, Joseph as a boy, scrawny, bright-eyed, scribbling meridian diagrams in a notebook too big for his hands. “Master, why does healing h
CHAPTER 6. Framed for Death
Three days after the rune explosion. New York Central Hospital shimmered under thin morning light. The city looked normal, but nothing felt the same. Not to Joseph Briggs.He walked through the glass doors, pale but alert, coat buttoned, the faint gold pulse under his skin hidden by fabric. The air buzzed faintly, he could hear everything: the thump of heartbeats, the flutter of lungs, the low hum of the hospital’s machines blending with the rhythm of life itself. Too loud.He winced as a nurse passed, her pulse jittered in arrhythmia, fear mixing with fatigue. “Morning, Dr. Briggs,” another nurse said, voice brittle. Her eyes didn’t meet his.Whispers followed in his wake. “He shouldn’t even be here.”“They said he caused an explosion in the basement.”“Why didn’t they arrest him yet?”He ignored them, scanning his ID at the security gate. The light blinked red. ACCESS: PENDING INVESTIGATION.He forced a smile. “System glitch.”The guard hesitated, then waved him through. He entered
CHAPTER 5. The Forbidden Rune
Basement Level 7, New York General HospitalThe elevator shuddered to a stop with a metallic sigh. Joseph stepped out into darkness.Only one flickering bulb lit the corridor, revealing peeling paint and a sign half-buried in dust: “ARCHIVES / RESTRICTED ACCESS.”He exhaled slowly. “So this is where they buried the truth.”A voice echoed behind him. “You shouldn’t be here.”Joseph spun. Vera Lin stood at the elevator doors, face pale. “They sealed this floor years ago. It’s off-record even for me.”He met her gaze. “Clara’s file was moved down here. You told me the Syndicate erased it.”Vera hesitated. “Then you already know what that means.”“It means they’re hiding something.”“And if you find it?”Joseph’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Then maybe I’ll finally know what’s inside me.”Their footsteps echoed through the dust-choked silence. Every door bore a golden seal burned into the metal, the serpent of the Syndicate.Joseph ran his fingers across one; the rune on his wrist pulsed
CHAPTER 4. Franca’s Ultimatum
Rain tapped the windows like an impatient heartbeat. The city’s lights bled through the glass, fractured and cold.Joseph slipped through the door, soaked and exhausted. His ID badge flickered red, “Access Under Review.” The silence inside was heavier than any reprimand.On the counter sat untouched dinner, cooling beside a tablet still projecting a Syndicate broadcast. Franca wasn’t in sight.He dropped his bag, running a hand through his damp hair. “Franca?”Her voice drifted from the balcony, calm but distant. “You missed dinner again.”He stepped closer, hesitant. “Emergency case.”“Always is.” She turned, the faint glow of citylight outlining her face, composed, tired, beautiful in its restraint. “Did they suspend you?”“Not yet.”She gave a small laugh, brittle, unamused. “Then they will. They’re erasing your records already. The Syndicate doesn’t forget disobedience.”He met her eyes. “I didn’t disobey. I healed.”Franca looked at him for a long moment, then set down her tablet
CHAPTER 3. The Healers’ Syndicate Rumor
Hospital Cafeteria, Mid-afternoon.The hum of conversation floated over the smell of burnt coffee and antiseptic. Doctors clustered around screens, pretending to read reports, but every few sentences drifted back to the same name. “Briggs.”Joseph sat at the edge of the room, untouched sandwich growing stale. He could feel their whispers, though he pretended not to. “Word is, the Syndicate’s noticed him,” someone muttered.“Noticed? They’re furious. Unregistered divine acupuncture? That’s a federal breach.”“They’ll audit the whole division.”Laughter, nervous and clipped. Joseph’s friend, Dr. Vera Lin, slid into the seat opposite him, voice low. “You shouldn’t be here. The moment your miracle hit the news boards, the Syndicate opened an inquiry.”He looked up, tired but steady. “If they want answers, they can ask.”“They don’t ask,” Vera said. “They investigate. Quietly. And when they do, people vanish.”Joseph leaned back, watching steam curl from his untouched cup. “Then I’ll be t
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