Chapter 250 - Dwarf Healer ( Part 2 )

Two days passed.

Ferd didn’t leave the workshop.

He was working at night under the blessing of Mora trying to heal injuries Jennie received from Zuko. The green light was filling the room until shadows disappeared in the corners. He was stitching her ribs, repairing the damaged organs and closing the wounds inflicted by the sorcerer. He was trying to recreate the channels through which her magical energy was flowing, making the body work once again.

Several times, her heart almost stopped beating.

Each time, Ferd poured more healing magic into her body.

"Not today," he whispered with the disheveled beard and red-eyed. "Did you understand me, girl? You won’t die here today. I wasted two days of my life trying to deal with your obstinate body, and I’m not going to waste my efforts for nothing."

The green light became even brighter.

Jennie’s fingers started twitching.

Ferd leaned closer to her.

"Yes, that’s it."

Her breathing stabilized.

"C’mon. Return to the world of the living."

The last pieces of healing magic entered her chest.

Finally, her pulse became stable.

Ferd collapsed onto the edge of the table. For a few moments, he sat quietly.

Then he laughed. Relieved and tired.

"Obstinate little..."

He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"You’re alive."

But his job wasn’t done yet.

The right hand of Jennie was still lying motionlessly.

On the third day, Jennie opened her eyes.

The ceiling above her was unknown. Wooden beams were covering the roof, while the sunlight penetrated through the small window. The air was filled with smells of different herbs, metal, and something cooking near.

For some moments, she was sitting immobile. She couldn’t remember where she was.

Then everything came to her mind.

Black Capital. Zuko. Lilia. Rudy. Snow.

Her breath caught.

She suddenly tried to sit up, and a wave of pain stabbed her in the chest.

"AH!"

"Be careful!"

The dwarf rushed towards her.

"Do you realize how much effort I made to keep you alive? Don’t move anymore before you damage the things I fixed!"

Jennie couldn’t hear him at all. She looked around the room.

"Where..."

Her voice sounded hoarse.

"Where am I?"

"Walden. My workshop."

"Who are you?"

"Ferd. A healer, blacksmith, occasionally – miracle worker, and right now – the most tired dwarf in the whole kingdom."

Jennie stared at him. Then she looked down.

All her injuries were bandaged with the clean cloth, and the clothes were substituted for the simple linen shirt. She felt rather weak, but her body was healed enough to be moved.

But she looked at her right hand.

It was lying beside her, pale and immobile.

She tried to move her fingers, but there was no reaction.

She tried it again. And failed again.

Her breath became shallow.

"My hand..."

Ferd’s face changed. "Don’t push yourself."

Jennie raised her right arm. The unusual pain went through the wrist, but her fingers didn’t respond to her movements.

"Why can’t I move it?"

Ferd brought a chair beside the bed.

"I’ve set the fractures straight. Your bones have been fixed, and the surrounding tissues have begun healing."

"Then why..."

Ferd looked at her for quite a while.

"Because there was a lot more damage beyond the bones."

Jennie gaped at him.

"Nerves."

Ferd folded his hands.

"Entire system of nerves which are responsible for movement and sensation have been damaged too much to fix. Magic which attacked you has damaged them too severely for my healing magic to fix them."

Jennie said nothing.

Ferd continued cautiously.

"I can repair flesh. I can mend bones. With Mora’s help I can even repair certain damaged organs. But nerves are something else. They deliver the signals allowing you mind to communicate with your body."

He looked at her hand.

"Your mind is delivering commands, but your hand just can’t receive them."

Jennie stared at her fingers. She attempted again. No result.

Small, almost inaudible sound escaped from her mouth.

"No..."

Ferd leaned forward. "I am sorry."

She shook her head. "No, you don’t understand."

Her voice started to tremble.

"I need my hand."

"I know."

"I need to fight."

"I know."

"I need to kill him!"

These last words escaped from her throat. She pushed the blanket away and attempted to rise. Her legs almost immediately gave out under her. Ferd caught her before she could fall to the floor.

"Enough!"

"LET ME GO!"

"You can barely stand up!"

"LET ME GO!"

She lashed out at him with her left hand. Weak attack failed to move him.

"Zuko..."

Her voice broke.

"Zuko..."

She collapsed to the dwarf. Left hand gripped his shirt, and her body started shaking.

"He killed them..."

Her words broke into pieces.

"Rudy... Lilia... Snow..."

Her eyes grew wide as if she were witnessing their death again.

"I couldn’t save them."

Ferd didn’t say anything.

"I couldn’t save even one of them."

Her knees failed. Ferd carefully placed her on the bed.

Jennie covered her face with left hand.

"I should have been strong enough."

Her voice was muffled by her hand.

"I had five Divine Swords. I beat Draven. Everyone thought that I can protect them."

She started to laugh. Horrible, empty sound escaped her throat.

"And what did I do?"

Her shoulders shivered.

"I was watching them dying."

She hit the bed with left fist. First time. Second time.

"I was watching them dying, and I couldn’t do anything!"

Third hit didn’t come. She couldn’t anymore.

She bent down, hugging her useless right hand to her chest.

For the first time since she became Jennie Queens, she finally lost hope of pretending. There was nobody here who needed her to appear to be fine. No enemies to scare, no friends to comfort.

Only truth.

She lost. Completely.

And she lived while the people she loved were dead.

Ferd stood beside the bed, unable to find words that could help somehow. After a while, he quietly placed cup of water on the table. And left her alone.

Jennie didn’t touch it.

She looked at her right hand until the sun disappeared.

This night the room turned cold.

Jennie sat beside the window, watching distant stars. Right hand lay motionless and pale in her lap. She tried to move her fingers for hours now. Without success.

First, she tried to send magical energy into damaged nerves. Then she tried to activate Divine Swords, although they weren’t with her anymore. Nothing responded to her attempts.

She lost her swords. Lost her companions. Lost her queen. Even her own body which used to protect others was no longer obedient to her anymore.

Gentle golden light appeared behind her.

Jennie didn’t turn around.

"Go away."

Light brightened.

Familiar voice answered.

"Jennie."

She closed her eyes.

"Not you."

Air shimmered. Woman appeared in the center of the room. Her long hair was shining as golden lights. Her eyes held shine of creation itself, and her presence forced surrounding shadows to retreat.

Miasa.

Goddess of Creation. Being who gave Leonis KingHeart new life. Being who created Zuko. Being whose decisions led to tragic events happening in the world.

Jennie slowly turned her head. For a few moments, she just gazed at the goddess.

Then she laughed. "Of course."

Miasa’s expression softened. "How are you feeling?"

Jennie looked at her right hand. "How do you think?"

"I know that you are suffering."

"No." Jennie lifted her eyes. "You don’t."

Miasa fell silent.

Jennie rose, leaning on the window.

"You know everything, don’t you? You know about Rudy. You know about Lilia. You know that Snow is dead, saving me."

Her voice raised.

"Then why did you let it happen?"

Miasa’s expression became tight. "I didn’t want anyone to die."

"But they did!"

Jennie’s shout resounded through the room.

"Rudy is dead! Lilia is dead! Snow is dead! Zuko killed them all, and I couldn’t do anything!"

Her eyes burned.

"And where were you?"

Miasa looked down.

Jennie took shaky step towards her.

"You gave me this life. You made me Jennie Queens because you wanted me to live, not to become some weapon."

She swallowed hard.

"That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?"

"Yes."

"Then explain me something."

Jennie lifted her injured hand.

"Why did you give me a life I can’t protect?"

Goddess didn’t answer.

"Why give me people to love if you will let them die in front of me?"

Her voice cracked.

"Why give me a second chance if I will still lose everything?"

Miasa closed her eyes. "Because I can’t control each choice of each living being."

Jennie stared at her. "You are Goddess of Creation."

"Yes."

"You created the world."

"Yes."

"You created Zuko!"

Golden sparkles flashed.

Jennie moved nearer. "Then stop him!"

The face of the goddess looked sorrowful. "I cannot just delete him."

"Why?"

"Because he is my son."

Those words hung in the air.

Jennie froze for a moment, and then her eyes became wide with shock.

"Your son?"

Miasa nodded. "Zuko was born from me. He is more than my creature that I can delete whenever it becomes inconvenient."

Jennie looked at her.

"Have you seen the destructions he has caused? Have you heard about the thousands of people he has killed? Has Rudy told you that Zuko killed her parents and almost killed her? Lilia died trying to kill him and save me. He used the body of Snow to make her a sacrifice for the World Tree."

The tone of her voice became icy.

"And now you are telling me that you cannot stop him because he is your son?"

"Jennie..."

"No!"

She hit the window frame with her left hand.

"Don’t call my name as if you understand my pain!"

The goddess shrank.

Tears formed in her eyes, but she did not look away.

"Why did you give birth to him? Why did you let him become a monster? Why did you not try to stop him? You had a choice!"

Her voice dropped to the whisper.

"Why did you not do anything?"

Miasa did not say anything.

Jennie turned her back.

"I hate you."

The goddess stayed motionless.

"I hate you for giving me this life. I hate you for making me believe that I could help them. And I hate you most of all because I have some stupid desire to ask you to fix everything."

She trembled.

"Give me back the lives of my friends."

Miasa looked at her. "Jennie..."

"Give them back!"

Her voice echoed in the room.

"Give back Rudy! Give back Lilia! Give back Snow!"

She fell to her knees.

"Please..."

That word was barely audible.

For one dreadful moment, Miasa looked as if she was ready to hug her. However, she did not because she knew that no hug would help them.

"I am sorry," she whispered.

Jennie lowered her head. "Then you are useless."

Miasa flinched.

The Goddess of Creation, who had created stars and brought the life to the worlds, stood motionless before a young girl, who could no longer move one of her hands. For the first time in a very long time, Miasa had no answer.

After a long pause, Jennie slowly got up. Her tears stopped. Something else appeared in her eyes.

A terrible determination.

"Tell me how to kill him."

Miasa looked at her. "What?"

"Zuko."

Jennie’s golden eyes were empty.

"I want to kill the Demon Emperor."

"Jennie, you cannot confront him in your current state."

"Then tell me how to become stronger."

His transformation changed the nature of his existence. Astraeus possessed the power of all seven Divine Swords, including Genesis, the Sword of Creation. The body of Zuko was not merely demonic. He became something that threatened the very laws of life itself.

Jennie looked down at her right hand. "Then I need the weapon that will destroy him."

Miasa looked at her with the strange expression on her face. "There may be such a thing."

Jennie looked at her at once. "Where?"

The God of War.

Those words changed something in the atmosphere in the room.

Miasa continued. "Her name is Susan. She keeps the weapons, which were made for the conflicts between gods. Among them are the relics that will be able to challenge the immortals, to break their divine protections and to kill those creatures, who will be immortal for other weapons."

Jennie did not blink while listening to her.

"If there is a weapon that can kill Zuko, she probably has it."

"Then I’ll find her."

"Jennie, listen to me. Susan is not a kind goddess. She admires strength, but she despises those who seek the power only because of the sufferings. She will not give you a divine weapon because you lost your friends."

Jennie smiled bitterly. "Good."

Miasa frowned. "Good?"

"I do not need her pity."

Jennie touched the silver thread around her wrist. Roxy’s protective charm stayed there, her little violet crystal lying on the skin. She closed her left hand around it.

"I want a weapon."

Her eyes became harder.

"I want enough power to make Zuko pay for what he has done."

Miasa watched her attentively. "Revenge will not bring them back."

"I know."

"Then why do you seek it?"

Jennie looked at the goddess. For a moment, her face softened.

She remembered Rudy’s laughter. Lilia’s smile on her last days. Snow’s dying words on the beach.

Do not let him decide what your life means.

"I do not know if killing him will make anything better."

Her voice was quiet.

"But I know what happens if no one stops him."

Jennie turned to the window. Beyond Walden, the Demon Continent burned under the sky, colored red by the awakening of the World Tree.

"If Zuko wins, he will destroy the line between life and death. He will transform the entire world into his own thing."

Jennie slowly lifted her head.

"And I will not let him do that."

Miasa looked at her for a long time.

"Hatred will eat you alive if you allow yourself to live because of it."

Jennie did not answer immediately. Then she looked at the goddess.

"Maybe."

Her voice was steady.

"But at least this time I will choose where I go."

The words hit Miasa harder than Jennie intended.

Leonis KingHeart had been reincarnated as a goddess because she wanted Jennie to be an individual. Neither a king nor a weapon nor a replacement.

And now that Jennie had lost everything, she was making another choice. A dangerous one. One driven by grief, frustration, and a wish for revenge.

Still, it was her choice.

Miasa backed up slowly.

"I will tell you where you can find Susan."

"Where?" Jennie asked sharply.

"Past the northern mountain range is the Celestial Battlefield, the place where gods used to fight against primordial creatures that sought to destroy existence. Susan is located in the Hall of Ten Thousand Weapons, where the remains of those ancient battles are stored."

"And how do I get there?"

"You will need to go across the battlefield and to her hall. However, know this, Jennie. Those weapons are not ordinary items. Some of them have their own willpower. And others ask for payment for those who want to wield them."

Jennie stared at her immobile hand. "I already paid my price."

Miasa’s face was full of sadness. "That is why I am afraid."

Jennie said nothing.

The goddess slowly started fading into the dark, her golden radiance dissipating. As she vanished entirely, she said just one thing.

"Jennie."

Jennie didn’t turn.

"You really are Leonis."

Pause.

"But you are Jennie too."

Those words echoed through the room.

Then Miasa disappeared.

Jennie stayed near the window, looking up to the sky.

For some time she didn’t move. Then she tightened the silver string around her wrist.

"Rudy."

Her voice was barely audible.

"Lilia."

She closed her eyes.

"Snow."

Names of each one came to her mind.

"I won’t forgive him . I will definitely kill him ."

Opening her eyes, she noticed that grief was still there. And it would remain there forever. But under it something else started to form.

Hope? No.

Purpose.

Jennie moved away from the window and grabbed Ferd’s cloak that was lying on her bed.

Right hand was still immobile. Divine Swords were no more. She was severely injured and her biggest enemy had become a god himself.

However, she was standing. Slowly. Painfully. On her own two feet.

"God of War, Susan..."

She looked at the north horizon.

"Get ready."

Her eyes became even harder.

"I’m coming to take the weapon that will kill the Demon Emperor."