THE RETURN OF THE HEALER

CHAPTER 4 — “THE FIRST LIGHT”

Rain hammered the broken ruins like a war drum, each drop echoing the tension strangling the courtyard.

Ray knelt in the mud, breath ragged, chest burning from the cracks spreading beneath his skin. Lira crouched beside him, her hand trembling on his shoulder.

The Arkwright hunting squad surrounded them in a half-circle, sigils glowing like captured lightning. Their leader, a tall man with hollow eyes, raised his hand.

“In the name of Duke Arkwright,” he announced, “Ray Graham is to be captured or eliminated on sight.”

Ray flinched. “Eliminated ?”

Lira snapped, “You cowards, he healed someone! That’s his crime?”

“The crime,” the leader said calmly, “is that his existence threatens the kingdom’s stability.”

Ray pressed a hand over his chest. “I don’t… want to threaten anyone.”

“Intent does not matter,” another guard muttered. “The seal on him was placed for a reason.”

Ray’s voice cracked. “Then tell me why. Tell me what you people did to me!”

Silence. The guards stiffened, answering would reveal too much. Lira snarled, “They won’t. Cowards never confess.”

Ray’s breath hitched. The pain inside him pulsed harder, like the seal was pushing against itself, trying to rip open. The leader stepped forward. “Enough. Restrain him.”

Three guards moved at once, sigils aimed at Ray. Lira grabbed Ray’s face. “Hey, listen to me. Listen carefully.”

Ray tried to focus on her eyes instead of the glowing weapons aimed at him. “You are not helpless,” she whispered. “Something inside you is waking up. Let it.”

Ray shook his head. “I can’t control it.”

“Then don’t.”

Her grip tightened. “Let it protect you.”

The guards lunged. Lira shoved Ray behind her “Ray, MOVE!”

Ray threw his arms up, not to attack, just to shield, And the world exploded. Not outward. Inward.

A burst of pale, shimmering light surged from his chest like a heartbeat made of energy. It wasn’t a blast, it was a pulse, a living ripple that bent the air.

The sigils shot toward him, and dissolved the instant they touched the light. Ray gasped, stumbling back. “I- I didn’t do that!”

Lira hissed, “Yes you did! That’s a Healer’s first defense: a reflection pulse.”

Ray stared at the fading glow clinging to his skin. “It felt like, like instinct.”

“Exactly.”

The leader scowled. “Form a barrier. He cannot release another pulse.”

But the guards hesitated, not in obedience, but in fear. Ray’s eyes widened. “They’re… afraid of me?”

Lira whispered, “The Arkwrights fear only what they can’t control.”

“Then why do they act like they own me?” Ray muttered, voice shaking with anger.

“Because you’re a threat to their dominance.”

Before Ray could respond, a guard charged with a sigil-blade, slicing downward. Lira screamed, “RAY!”

Ray reacted without thinking, he grabbed Lira, pulled her against him, Another pulse tore from his chest. This one had force.

The guard was thrown across the courtyard, crashing into a broken column. Every guard froze.

Ray stared at his hands. “I—I didn’t mean to, did I hurt him?”

“He’s alive,” Lira said. “Healers don’t kill instinctively. Even when attacked.”

The leader’s jaw tightened. “So the Healer’s core is truly awakening…”

He signaled the squad. “Switch to lethal force.”

Ray’s blood ran cold. “You” Ray staggered to his feet. “You can’t be serious”

But they moved. Five guards launched spells simultaneously, arcing blades of mana, crackling chains, bursts of compressed air. Ray couldn’t dodge.

Lira screamed his name, And something snapped inside him. The world slowed. Ray saw every attack hanging in the air like fractured glass.

A voice echoed in his mind, soft, ancient, familiar. “Don’t fear what you are. Fear what you forget.”

Ray whispered, “Who… who are you…?”

The voice answered with warmth that wrapped around his bones. “Remember, Ray…”

His chest pulsed. The seal cracked. And the light surged. Ray lifted both hands, not shielding, not panicking, Guiding.

The incoming spells curved, and vanished into the shimmering sphere forming around him. A barrier of pale, translucent light now surrounded Ray, pulsing gently like a heartbeat.

Lira stumbled back, eyes wide. “You manifested a Healer’s Dome, Ray, that’s… that’s unheard of!” “What is it?” Ray gasped.

“A healing barrier,” she whispered. “It converts hostile magic into neutral energy. Only the greatest healers in history could”

A violent tremor cut her off. Ray crumpled, clutching his chest. “It hurts, so much”

“The seal is fighting back,” Lira said urgently. “You’re forcing an awakening it can’t suppress.”

Ray’s vision blurred. The voice whispered again. “Don’t break, Ray. Remember.”

Ray rasped, “I can’t… remember anything”

“Ray!” Lira grabbed his shoulders. “Look at me. Stay conscious!”

But the guards recovered. The leader shouted, “All forces, NOW!” Dozens of spells launched at once, lighting up the ruins like a storm.

Lira threw her arms around Ray, trying to shield him. Ray’s heart thrashed. Pain erupted through his ribs. He screamed, And the barrier flared.

A deafening blast of pale light erupted outward like a shockwave. Cracked stone shattered. Rain vaporized into mist.

Every guard was knocked off their feet, slammed into walls, columns, ground, stunned, not dead, but completely overpowered.

The ruins fell silent. Ray collapsed, panting in Lira’s arms. She held him tightly, shaking. “Ray… oh gods… Ray, stay with me”

Ray’s voice trembled. “Did I… hurt… anyone?”

“No,” she whispered. “You pushed them back. All of them. You healed the damage your blast caused.”

Ray blinked weakly. “I did?”

Lira nodded. Her voice cracked with something that shockingly resembled pride. “Ray… you didn’t unleash destruction. You unleashed correction. Only a Celestial Healer can do that.”

Ray looked at the unconscious guards, then at his glowing hands. “This… is my power…?”

“This is the tiniest fraction of it,” Lira said softly.

Ray’s breath trembled. “I don’t want to hurt people…”

“You didn’t.”

“But what if I do?”

“You won’t,” she whispered, “because you’re not like the Arkwrights.”

Ray dropped his gaze. “Lira… I’m scared.”

“I know.” She cupped his face. “But you’re still alive. That means the seal hasn’t won.”

The rain softened around them, like the world was catching its breath. Ray slowly sat up. “What now?”

Lira exhaled. “Now we run. Before reinforcements arrive.”

Ray pushed himself to his feet, unsteady but determined. “Lira… thank you.”

“You can thank me later,” she said, grabbing his hand. “Right now”

A faint crack echoed from behind. Ray and Lira turned. The leader of the squad, bloodied but conscious, rose shakily to his feet.

He lifted a communication stone to his mouth. “Lord Theron… the Healer has awakened. Repeat: the seal has cracked.”

Ray’s heart plummeted. Lira whispered, “We have to go. Now.”

Ray nodded, and they ran into the night, the sound of the stone relaying his awakening echoing through the storm.