Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 394: Marcus the Healer

Chapter 394: Marcus the Healer

Marcus, the boy that challenged a Great Noble and did exceptionally well. He was an apprentice to a Sangoma, a spiritual healer called the thwasas. No older than seventeen, his connection to the divine realm and his knowledge of both the spirit world and healing were far beyond his years. Kazi had been impressed from their first meeting and appointment.

Kazi had hired Marcus for 10,000 points per session, or a pouch of 33 gold coins. The sessions had become a routine part of Marta’s life over the past month, with this being the eighth check-up. Twice per week, Marcus came by to check on Marta’s progress, both physically and spiritually.

Marcus sat on the floor, loose red blouse pooled on his lap. Legs crossed, behind Marta, he placed a hand on her back.

"How are you feeling, Marta?"

So young and yet he carried a lilting rhythm that made his words feel soothing.

Marta shifted slightly. Her blonde hair fell over her face, and she absentmindedly pushed it back behind her ears. She wore a faint grimace that she tried to hide.

Kazi noticed the strain on her face and gestured toward her. "Tell him, Marta," he mouthed softly. His eyes, one glowing faintly with a supernatural hue, locked with hers. "He needs to know."

Marta sighed, her hands fidgeting in her lap as she avoided both Kazi’s and Marcus’s gazes for a moment. "It’s... the phantom pain," she admitted finally. "It’s getting worse. More intense than before."

"Worse how? Is it constant or does it come in waves?"

Marta hesitated again, then sighed, frustration blowing up. "Both. Some days, it’s like this dull ache that never goes away. Other times, it’s sharp, sudden, like my limbs are still there, but twisted and burning. It’s hard to concentrate on anything else when it gets bad."

"Did it happen in class?"

"No, not really."

"Tension must help then." Marcus reached into his satchel and retrieved a small pouch, setting it gently on the floor. "Have you been using the painkillers I gave you?"

"...only sometimes."

Marcus sighed softly, not with disappointment, but with understanding. "Marta," he began, sounding much older than he was, "those painkillers aren’t only for managing pain. They’re to help your body cope with the adjustment. I know you don’t want to rely on them, but you may have to. Permanently, in fact."

Marta looked up at him, shell-shocked. "Permanently? W-what?"

The look he gave explained it. "I can double-check but I doubt I’m wrong."

"Y-you’re saying I’ll need them for the rest of my life?"

Marcus replied gently, "This particular brand of phantom pain is linked to the mana channels in your body, and since you’re still using magic and therefore mana, those channels are struggling to adjust to the loss of your limbs. Every time you use mana, your body is misfiring and you’re putting stress on yourself, and that’s why the pain is intensifying."

"But..."

"You mentioned it not occurring during class. I believe it’s because tension helps with it. You are tense during class, your mana channels tighten up, and the pain is lessened. If you don’t take the pills, then you might never be able to relax again."

Marta closed her eyes, letting out a frustrated breath. "But I..."

"Whether you use magic or not, it won’t make a difference, so I’m not suggesting you stop on that front. It’s like exercise, you should be doing it. But you need to recognize that, like exercise, it will be tough. Using magic is going to come with this pain. Lots of pain. Your body is trying to recover, but it’s not the same as it was. It will never be the same as it once was. You’ve lost too much magical energy, Marta, and your body will keep struggling to cope with that unless you give it what it needs."

Exercise. Train. Cast spells.

Kazi understood so far. "What exactly does she need? Last time, you said not to go overboard with mana food, to wait and see when her body is ready. So what now?"

Marcus glanced at Kazi, appreciating the question. "Now you can fully commit to it. Monster meat, potions, mananinjections, anything that’s high in magical energy. She needs to replace the energy she lost from her limbs. Her body can only recover fully if it has the right resources to draw from and consuming mana is the best way to provide that."

"I’ll make sure she gets more of that then," Kazi said. "Anything else?"

Marcus leaned forward, his hands hovering just above Marta’s shoulders. His fingers twitched, as if he were drawing something out of the air. His eyes closed, and his lips moved in a quiet chant, a language older than their grandparents.

He was speaking to the spirits, asking for their help. The magic circle Marcus had already laid out glowed hot red. The candles and their flames went away.

The chant became silent. An echo.

Resonating with the world through tone alone.

What a coincidence. This was what Marta wanted to research in her thesis. Divine chants passed down through generations. The chant was rhythmic, soft, and without volume, as though the ancestral spirit Marcus invoked was speaking directly through him.

Marta shivered slightly under his touch. He was no longer physically in contact with her. The spirits, however, had connected.

He was searching. He was asking.

After a moment, Marcus’s eyes opened, and he lowered his hands. He met Kazi’s gaze.

"Her mana channels are still weak, but they’re slowly strengthening," Marcus said. "Her body is healing, but the process is slow. She’s pushing herself, exercising and all that, which isn’t a bad thing as I mentioned previously, but she needs more time and she needs to lessen the intensity. That’s why the pain is so intense—it’s her body’s way of telling her to slow down."

"Not too much and not too little, huh," Kazi muttered.

"It’s a delicate balance. I apologize, it’s just the way it is."

Marta huffed, her frustration bubbling back up. "I don’t want to slow down."

"I know," Marcus replied. "But this isn’t something you can rush. You will get stronger, Marta, but it’s going to take time. Patience is part of the healing process."

Marta looked away, her lips pressed into a thin line. She didn’t argue. Marcus was right, even if she hated admitting it.

Marcus cleaned up the magic circle and took his leave, leaving Kazi and Marta alone once more. When he disappeared from her dimension, Marta let out a long breath, her hands still resting in her lap.

Kazi watched her for a moment before speaking softly. "You’re stronger than this, Marta. You’ll get through it."

She looked at him, her eyes a little softer now. "I know. It’s just... hard."

Kazi smiled gently. "Everything worth doing is."

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