Damned Healer

After seven days sailing down that river, the group had already gathered half a dozen powerful shadows. At that point, Darian pulled out the sect emblem and sent a message. The group then took a detour, moving away from that area.

Their pursuers didn't have Darian's exact location, as long as he kept moving. If he left one spot, it would take a few hours before the sect leaders could confirm his new direction. That was the time they had to rush off somewhere else.

That wouldn't be a problem if they were in a normal region. The pursuers could just use the system's power, and their speed would be insane, catching him fast. But inside danger zones, moving quickly was the same as suicide.

Darian and his group had been moving for a few hours when a Chromaraic Elder from the sect showed up in the skies, closing in quickly. He specialized in controlling the winds, which was why he'd been sent to catch up with Darian's group.

When he landed, the Chromaraic saw those six terrifying shadows and swallowed hard.

There were two Chromaraic, two demons, and two medium-sized beasts; all of them, when alive, had been well-known figures. If they dug into the records of other sects, they'd probably find their identities. But now, they were nothing but empty shells; the souls that once lived in those bodies were gone, leaving only their power behind.

"Follow the one with my mark in silence. Then wait for further orders." Darian told the shadows, then gestured to the Chromaraic as a small red rune-mark floated his way.

That was to make it easier for the shadows to obey, since their intelligence was pretty limited. The command was simple: just follow whoever carried the mark. The Elder would bring it back to the sect along with them, making things much easier.

Without delay, the Chromaraic Elder triggered the system's Wind Laws, covering the shadows in runes. Then he shot back through the skies to the sect as fast as possible, taking all six with him.

Darian took a deep breath and read the karma around. He quickly realized their pursuers had already started moving toward them, way too fast.

"Let's go." he said, pulling several wind and lightning runes out of his inventory. Combined, they boosted the group's speed massively, and they dashed south.

In seconds, they reached a new danger zone in the wild world, right on the border between the Yin side and the Yang side.

"ATTACK!"

Suddenly, shouts echoed through the sky and the ground.

Darian saw dozens of enemies from other sects guarding the entrance to that place. The reason was obvious: it was an extremely dangerous region, but full of Yin and Yang roots, essences with huge value to the sects.

Darian snorted. A huge wave of runes came out of his inventory, and without hesitation, he suddenly activated Tempest Blink, catching the enemies off guard.

*Vup!*

Since the region was massive, there were lots of defenders spread out over a wide area. Even if they noticed the invaders, it was easy to pierce their lines and rush inside at high speed.

Inside, there was a dense, extremely humid forest. Every tree and plant was insanely poisonous and could attack suddenly, even though they didn't give off anything suspicious.

Once they landed safely, Tir focused completely on sensing the earth. He would be the one in charge of finding the sect's treasures.

Awel took her true form and merged with the air, searching for shadows. Eleri grabbed Darian's hand, excited to fight.

If it were that easy to invade this forest, the bigshots of the Wilding Kin Sect would've done it already. The problem was, once inside, finding the treasures and pulling them out of the ground was a thousand times harder than just surviving. Doing that while being chased made it way more complicated—and after that, they still had to escape alive.

"They got here pretty fast." Darian muttered as he felt the massive army of several sects entering the forest to hunt them.

Awel quickly transmitted the location of the shadows. With that, Darian led the group through the safest paths, keeping as far as possible from enemies.

...

After a full day of running, they had put a good distance between themselves and the pursuers, and now they could move more calmly.

Up ahead, a small lake appeared, along with a waterfall.

Eleri turned to Darian, disappointed. That place was just plain water, with almost no strange power at all. Nothing valuable would come out of it.

Darian sighed lightly. Eleri reminded him a lot of Lucy in the past: energetic, anxious, and full of expectations. But sadly, after their mother's death, Lucy felt the weight of a harsh life and stopped acting that way. She had lost all the innocence and naturalness she once had.

Lucy only ever got a little happy again when she was at home, safe, just with family and with Niara, who she had accepted.

But Eleri... Darian wanted to protect that purity and naturalness, letting her grow mentally in a softer way. At the same time, he had to keep her under control and safe.

Tir stopped by the edge of the lake and focused fully on sensing the earth in a wide area. He had to find those roots and was giving it everything he had.

Awel, exhausted, closed her eyes. Darian picked her up and carried her on his back, where she drifted off into a deep sleep.

Eleri huffed and sat down near the lake.

Darian took a deep breath, letting that peaceful, pure air fill him. Even in the middle of that poisonous, dangerous forest, the waters here stayed crystal clear, adapting without being corrupted, flowing naturally...

"?"

Suddenly, Darian had an idea.

He turned to Eleri and spoke lightly, "Don't you wanna go in the water for a bit?"

She jumped up, "Brother coming in with me?"

"Not exactly. Before, you asked me to teach you something like I did with Tir, right?" he said, seeing her face light up with a big smile. "Take your true form, I'll show you something interesting at the waterfall."

She nodded, and the metamorphosis faded, revealing a small bluish rune. Darian walked to the water's edge and sat down, placing Awel in his lap. Then he sent a bit of power from his ring to Eleri.

The small blue rune absorbed it all and then floated toward the lake. It flew straight to the waterfall's drop, exactly as Darian had told her.

"Use all the power I gave you," he said calmly, his voice almost lost in the roar of the water. "Feel the flow of the waterfall falling, and the water inside it."

The rune pulsed, absorbing the command.

Thanks to the blessing of the Heaven's Will that Darian carried, the Heavenly Elemental Spirits massively amplified his connection with the Laws of the world. Knowing that, Darian started the lesson with something simple and straightforward.

After a few minutes, he asked, "What do you feel?"

'It's gentle… but at the same time, strong and fast.' Eleri's voice echoed in his mind, still getting used to the new perception.

"The current of a river is what carries life forward and away. For that, it has to be like that," Darian explained. "Now, feel the lake just below. After the water falls, what happens?"

She focused for a while, then murmured:

'It feels calm. Everything changed once it entered this new place.'

"Good," he replied, satisfied. Even though she wasn't that smart, Eleri could perfectly feel the power of her own element. "Now, focus on the air outside the waterfall and the lake. Water flows everywhere, and even in the air, it's present in a lot of places."

Eleri went quiet, thoughtful. She had never noticed the water in the air before. After a few minutes…

'The water… it's chaotic and violent…' she muttered, surprised.

Darian nodded, "Perfect. Now, focus only on me. In my body and in most common races, we only exist because of water. Feel it inside me."

An intense, silent focus turned toward Darian, examining him in every detail.

Awel, resting in his lap with her head gently against his chest, slept lightly and peacefully. Darian softly caressed her hair.

'Brother Darian… the water is radiating kindness and peace. But at the same time, worry and attention.' Her voice carried a hint of sadness.

"Yes. But tell me: why is the water in the waterfall, in the lake, in the air, and in me all so different?"

'…'

Eleri reflected, trying to sense it again, but couldn't find the answer. Darian waited patiently, his hand still stroking Awel's hair.

'…the water… it adapts to the environment. It shapes itself to the oppressive, violent feelings of the forest… and also to the deeper intentions of people.' Her voice sounded completely different from usual.

"Exactly. Good job." Darian smiled faintly.

"You were born from water and carry all of that within you, but… instead of adapting, you want everything to change and fit what you want. Being yourself is very different from wanting the world to adapt to your desires. To live properly, you first need to respect the environment and the people in it. Wanting to be yourself isn't wrong, but you always have to do it according to the circumstances."

Eleri had been born from the essence of water. Almost everything alive contained water. And water, in turn, always adapted to the environment and to what people were. Eleri had huge potential to feel this perfectly. In theory, nobody could lie to her, and she would always be able to sense danger in her surroundings.

'Brother Darian… do I have to be different?' Eleri's voice sounded thoughtful.

"Not at all," he replied immediately. "When you're with people you trust and you're safe, never change or try to be something else. But never forget: life is a dangerous jungle. If you're not careful, everything you love can be destroyed… really fast. That's why we need you to give it your all to help…"

Eleri focused on Darian and then clearly felt his emotions. An intense pain radiated from him, reminding him of his mother and his younger brother and sister, who he missed deeply… all because he had been too weak to stay by their side.

He stared at the small blue rune, his eyes silently conveying a message.

Eleri felt a sting in her chest as she understood. If she wanted everyone she loved to stay by her side, she couldn't waste what she had by acting recklessly all the time.

Suddenly, the small blue rune in the lake shone brightly. Eleri returned to her humanoid form. Her eyes trembled, and she flew quickly toward Darian.

She stopped a meter away, staring at him anxiously, "I… I'll take care of everyone. I promise, I'll first feel the flow of everything and act accordingly."

Darian nodded.

"Good. But remember: everything has its right moment. In situations like now, you can be yourself and let others take care of you. But outside of here, everyone's counting on you to protect us too."

She took a deep breath, agreeing. Then she gently landed on Darian's lap, curling up beside Awel.

***

Days went by, and the eight sects hadn't managed to get anywhere near their target. Adding to what had happened in the swamp, which was spread by the demons who managed to escape alive… all the sects went into maximum alert.

Without delay, they sent secret messages—paying a heavy price for it—to the one who commanded them.

They detailed everything that had happened so far and waited nervously for a response.

In fifteen days, the answer came.

When they read it, all the sect leaders were first shocked. But then, they all felt massive relief. They just had to follow the natural flow, and in the end, everything would resolve itself.