"Answer my call, Raphael," Raia whispers.

As soon as the flaming longsword appears in her hand, she rotates and thrusts the blade into the chest of the person behind her.

It's an elderly woman with short gray hair dressed in a white hospital gown. She lets out a weak screech before collapsing unconscious on the floor, and a black teardrop shape slips from her body.

A lost spirit.

"Raphael, pour thyself with Absideon and destroy the darkness thy blade touches. Purify the tainted soul and deliver it to Elysium," Raia chants softly, and the flame around the blade of her sword turns purple.

"Flame of purification!" She slashes her sword at the lost spirit, purifying it with the holy purple flame.

The lost spirit flickers like a flame before disappearing into thin air. Raia's flaming longsword vanishes from her grasp and reappears as a silver cross necklace.

She and Nathan stand motionless, holding their breath, their gaze fixed on the old woman's unconscious body. Nathan exhales a sigh of relief after a long silence.

Because the old woman is only possessed by a lost spirit, her body will not fade away because she still has her own soul.

Nathan carries the elderly woman in his arms. The sound of rushing footsteps fills the quiet corridor as a young woman rushes toward them. Her raven hair is neatly tied into a bun and she's dressed in a blue scrub dress. A member of the hospital staff.

"What happened?" the hospital staff asks.

"She lost consciousness, but she's fine," Nathan responds softly, then leads the elderly woman to an open room nearby.

Raia leans against the wall next to the door, arms crossed, as Nathan places the old woman on the white bed.

"Are you related to her?" the nurse asks Nathan.

"No. But, Miss, could you kindly look after her and stay with her? She needs someone she can rely on."

The nurse comes to a halt and looks at him, her eyes filled with confusion. Nathan walks out of the room and closes the door behind him before she can ask him.

As they walk down the corridor, they come across an open room with a man lying on a white bed. He keeps groaning as the female doctor attends to his bleeding arm. When the scene fades from their view, the whimpers of pain from every room become louder, echoing in Raia's head like pleadings for mercy and bringing back unpleasant memories.

Their cries, however, are like dull knives, doing little to no damage to her defenses. Their voices ricochet off her ice wall and begin to wane until they are nothing more than a distant melody, replaced by soothing silence and rhythmic footsteps. She ignores them all and walks on as if nothing has happened.

Unfortunately, I am not the healer that the world expects.

Endure your pain and let me have my peace.

***

Fluffy white clouds scatter around the blue-tinted sky, drifting lazily in the gentle breeze. The sun shines bright above the sky, casting golden rays in all directions.

A crunching sound fills the air as Nathan bites into his apple, and a sigh of pleasure escapes his mouth as he munches. He and Raia are leaning against the railing on the hospital's rooftop.

Nathan glances at Raia and offers her the bag of apples. "You don't really wanna eat?"

Raia pulls an apple from the bag and takes a bite, the familiar juicy taste spilling into her tongue. A gust of wind blows, and her hair dances like a wild ocean wave.

She's staring blankly out the window at the afternoon sky, her mind preoccupied with what happened in the corridor. She felt it. She sensed the Outcast's despair before she saw it. That had never happened before. However, sensing the presence of an enemy is quite useful. But, for some reason, she isn't thrilled with her newfound ability. Feeling someone else's despair is but another curse.

"I had no idea." Nathan's low-pitched voice cuts her off in her thoughts. "I had no idea there was a cost to using your power. It must be hard for you."

When Raia's brows sink and her eyes turn cold, Nathan raises his hands as if in surrender. "I'm not pitying you, okay?" He sighs and meets her chilly gaze with soothing ones. "I just can't believe someone has to go through that just to . . . heal."

Raia snorts, and her mouth twists into a bitter smile. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard from anyone. Of course, nothing is free in this world. Everything has a price. That's why I'm paying for this power I don't even want. You could think that's cruel, but that's life. This world is a harsh place. Knowing and accepting that reality is something people must be equipped with."

Nathan stares at her for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. He then raises his head and gazes upward at the sky.

"I know."

***

There's nothing but blackness and silence . . . and him. His body can't even feel anything other than empty air as he continues to plummet into an endless pit. He doesn't care if he opens his eyes or closes them because he sees the same thing either way. Raiden only sees one thing.

Emptiness.

He closes his eyes and allows himself to sink deeper into the abyss. His mind is as void as his surroundings. His heart isn't beating at all. It's eerily quiet, almost deafeningly so. Is he even alive?

When he opens his eyes, he sees something different. A faint orange light hovers above him, but he can't tell what it is. And he doesn't care at all.

The orange glow drifts down to him until it is close enough for him to see what it is. It's a red rose with a long stem covered in reddish thorns and two leaves shaped like wings. It is surrounded by orange sparks, making it visible in the darkness.

Raiden's mind is empty of thoughts, so he just stares vacantly at the red rose before the darkness swallows him and takes away the few seconds of consciousness he has left.

His eyelids flutter open, revealing a pristine white ceiling. He blinks, perplexed, as familiar voices pierce his ears.

"Kara!"

Cyrus rushes to his side, his eyes brimming with concern. Sonnet is standing next to him, staring at him in the same way.

"Bishop Galbraith? Miss Sonnet?" Raiden's voice is laden with confusion.

"How are you feeling?" Cyrus inquires, eliciting a puzzled look from the boy.

"I'm okay?"

Raiden shifts into a seated position and stretches his arms. The white blanket that has been wrapped around him falls off his shoulders. He looks down at his sloppy brown shirt for a moment before the memory rushes back at him.

"Where's Raia?" he asks, his voice agitated.

Cyrus smiles at him. "She's okay, don't worry."

Relief fills Raiden's heart. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Almost a week."

Raiden looks up at him, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Almost a week?"

Raiden's eyes widen as realization washes over him in waves of horror. He leaps from his bed and examines himself. He isn't wearing any bandages, and there are no bruises, markings, or even the tiniest ache to indicate that he has been injured by Loki in any way. But he's not a fool. He remembers how bad his body was at the time, and he's certain he had broken bones. It's simply impossible for those to disappear in a week.

He grinds his jaw and glances at Cyrus and Sonnet, a hard expression on his face. "Where's Raia?"

Cyrus frowns. "Raia? I've already told you she's fine. There's no need to be worried."

Rage hisses through Raiden's body. He clenches his fists so tightly that his knuckles turn white. "Dammit! Why did you let her heal me? Do you even know what happens if she heals someone?"

Sonnet gives Cyrus a worried look as the man approaches Raiden.

"You don't have to be upset, Kara. She did it on her own. She healed you because she wanted to," Cyrus informs him calmly.

"I'm just . . . wait, you're aware of the consequences, but you still let her?" He pauses to look into Cyrus's eyes, but the man lowers his gaze. "What the hell? Do you have any idea how bad my wounds were? Raia suffered from those pain!"

Cyrus pushes up his glasses. "I know, but Raia still chose to heal you despite the magnified pain she will face."

"Wait, what do you mean by magnified pain?"

Cyrus maintains a stone face as his gaze pierces the boy's golden eyes. "Raia feels twice the amount of pain of the person she heals."

The blood drains from Raiden's face and his heart stops. He feels as if he can't breathe as he takes in what Cyrus has just revealed to him.