Eryn’s bedroom felt less like a room and more like an operating theatre prepared for war. The Windows were shuttered, door was locked, and furniture pushed back toward the walls. Ma had insisted on clean linens, a small, futile gesture of normalcy.

  I swallowed against my memories as Katherine tied Eryn to the bed with thick rope, “for her protection and ours,” she said. Only Eryn’s right hand remained free, the green gem clutched tight in her glove. Arclight lay beside her left. The doctor had checked Eryn’s stats, and confirmed she was indeed at her breakthrough.

  I sat nearby, chair pulled close. Knut and Nabeeh stood guard outside the door.

  Ma and Pa kept vigil downstairs.

  I closed my eyes and took a slow breath.

  “Communication check. I know how strong you are and I’ll be right here the entire time.”

  Roq relayed my comment.

  “She’s scared, but ready. Thank you for believing,” Arclight said, relaying Eryn’s reply. "Maintain focus now, my wielder. Erect psychic barriers against the pain. Fight it off and observe it objectively."

  “No. Don’t fight the pain," Roq said. "Use it, Eryn. Let it hammer you stronger. Weakness breaks, strength bends and reforms."

  “Tell her I love her.”

  I needed her to know.

  “Tell her I believe in her completely.”

  "Riftrot! Sappy nonsense right now?" Roq complained.

  "The Hammerlord conveys… significant emotional attachment and confidence," Arclight said. “Wielder acknowledges the same."

  I opened my eyes and met Eryn’s eyes, smiling. It’d have to do. Memories of my own breakthrough rose fresh in my mind. The agony and uncertainty of it all, the pain and aftermath. I had to trust she was tough enough to face it all too and become stronger for it.

  “I’m ready,” Eryn said, and Katherine gave her a nod.

  “Good luck, scavenger,” she said.

  With a deep breath, Eryn touched the gem to her forehead.

  The reaction was instantaneous and violent.

  Eryn’s body went rigid, spine arching slightly off the bed as her breath caught sharply. Her eyes flew wide open, pupils dilating.

  I barely restrained myself from rushing over, a wave of nausea and protective fury washing over me at seeing her pain. My hands clenched, wanting to rip the gem away, shield her from the pain, take it all on me, anything.

  “This is why we don’t let family watch,” Doctor Ridley muttered, voice tight with focus, though her eyes held sympathy. “Get a grip, boy, or get out.”

  I forced down the panic.

  Focus. Help her.

  “I’m fine,” I said.

  “Then tell me what to do,” the doctor said, her brows furrowed.

  Arclight spoke first.

  “Her body struggles,” the bow said. “The blunt hammer spoke true. The gem is tearing her apart. It is building her back too, but it is inefficient.”

  “She is screaming, Ash,” Roq added. “I don’t like it.”

  “Hold on,” I told Ridley.

  “The gem is changing her core,” Arclight continued. “It is making channels for her mana. Heal her solar plexus, and then the entire body.”

  “No!” Roq said. “Focus on her nervous system first. Strengthen it, increasing her chance at survival.”

  Their voices weren't angry or humorous, just focused and analytical.

  I shook my head. Her screaming and agony was torture to watch, and yet I had to translate their suggestions to instructions, something that would be believable.

  “She’s being pulled in two directions, both the creation of a healer and that of being turned into an adventurer,” I said. “We have to steady her first. Heal her nervous system first, which will strengthen it. Then work on her solar plexus, feeling for where her mana core will be.”

  Katherine’s eyebrows rose with surprise.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” I said, swallowing. “I am.”

  She seemed surprised, but did as I asked, her hands glowing as she slowly ran them from the top of Eryn’s head down to her toes.

  Eryn trashed against the bonds and her fingers clawed the sheets.

  “You fool,” Arclight said. “Why do you listen to the blunt instrument when I am here to guide you? Trust not the hammer to do a scalpel’s job! She’s resisting the gem, notfully accepting the healer’s path”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “Because of you!” Roq said. “I hear how you speak to her. Of the hunt and the prey and the sinking of teeth into my monsters.”

  “Strengthen her core, Ash,” Arclight said. “Once that is done we can fix her hunter’s reflexes. That which she yearns for.”

  “What is she saying, Roq?”

  “She’s just screaming…”

  Damn it.

  I clenched my jaw, feeling the weight of responsibility as I realised I believed Arclight. Eryn was trapped between two paths, that of the healer and the hunter. But how was that even possible? It was a healer class gem, and yet she still tried to go the other way?

  Katherine finished her initial healing of Eryn and moved onto her core, the light flaring beneath her hands as she focused on one specific area.

  Eryn’s lips parted in a silent cry, sweat coating her brow as the internal conflict intensified underneath the healing.

  “I’m not sure what is happening,” Doctor Ridley said, “But you spoke true about it doing something at least.”

  “Eryn needs stamina more!” Roq said. “Healing drains strength. Stronger lungs and heart is what she needs to endure!”

  “She needs clarity and precision for the hunt and healing,” Arclight said. “Focus next on her head and eyes, and only then her heart and lungs.”

  Katherine raised an eyebrow at me.

  “I… I’m not sure,” I said.

  The doctor lowered her hands and Eryn’s struggle seemed to stabilise. But then a fresh wave of conflict seemed to surge through her, and she bucked more violently than before.

  Katherine took a slow breath and slowly ran her hands across Eryn’s body while Roq and Arclight argued in my head.

  “Strange,” Doctor Ridley said. “I can sense something of the breakthrough. By monitoring for damaged tissue I can see her body breaking down, and healing. But…” She frowned. “It’s as if there is something inside her fighting it? Like two forces tearing at her?”

  “Exactly,” Arclight said. “She must choose. The healer gem demands full commitment, but her spirit resists.”

  “No,” Roq said. “You are the one resisting!”

  “Her mana channels split in two directions,” Arclight said, ignoring Roq. “It is wounding her, Ash. Make her choose.”

  “I think she is affected by the gem and her leveling experience,” I said, unsure who and what to trust.

  “Do not force her hand,” Roq said. “Making her choose will not work.” Then he did something surprising. He wasn’t an arsehole. “Please, Arclight. Do not let your savagery destroy her. It might break her. Let the paths be blended instead. Merge the healer and the hunter. Listen to me, just this once, you…” He seemed to take a breath. “Please. Help her create something new like I did with Ash. It is the only way she can survive.”

  I blinked, surprised by Roq.

  “Wait…blend them?” I murmured aloud, half to myself.

  Katherine glanced at me sharply.

  “What?”

  “Fine,” Arclight said. “That may be acceptable, and it might even work.”

  I swallowed, quickly improvising.

  “Eryn’s instincts are trying to follow two paths at once. Maybe she doesn’t have to choose to be a healer or a hunter. Maybe she needs to accept both.”

  Katherine shook her head.

  “That’s not how this works, Ash. It—”

  “Nothing of this is how it’s supposed to be,” I said. “But we don’t have a choice. Her body knows what she needs better than we do. Let’s trust her. Support her through both paths, let her find her own equilibrium.”

  Katherine stared at me for what felt like the longest time before giving a short nod.

  Together, the two soul weapons helped me guide Katherine’s healing, working on Eryn’s mana core, her eyesight, multiple rounds on her hands and arms, her back, her lungs and heart, and her legs.

  Through it all, Eryn shuddered, jaw clenched and eyes squeezed shut with pain. Her muscles seized again and again.

  Minutes turned to hours, and then even felt like an eternity, when suddenly the class gem’s light faded and it melted into Eryn’s forehead, disappearing just like it had done with me.

  Katherine dropped onto the bed, leaning against it. Sweat poured down her face, and her cheeks were red, hair plastered to her skull. She’d run out of healing energy a while back, and now only helped here and there when the regeneration had brought some back.

  “You’ve found your own harmony,” Arclight said, voice reverent, clearly talking to Eryn. “Storm and sanctuary together. Impressive.”

  Roq chuckled softly, a pleased rumble in my mind.

  “You are forged into something new. I always knew you were this strong, but I think you have surpassed Arclight.”

  Eryn’s convulsions ceased and her breathing steadied into deep, rhythmic breaths.

  Her eyes opened slowly, and I leaned over, brushing hair from her face.

  “Hey, you,” I said.

  Katherine sighed.

  “I can’t believe it. Three bloody hours. That is insane.” She exhaled a shaky breath. “And she seems stable. I think we actually did it.”

  Eryn looked directly at me, lips curving into a faint, exhausted smile.

  “Ash,” she murmured softly, voice thick with fatigue yet firm with newfound clarity. “That sucked.”

  I laughed.

  “Yeah, breakthroughs suck.”

  “It worked though,” she said. “You… Nabeeh was right.”

  “You did the hard part,” I said quietly, relief washing over me, and I undid the knots. The rope was digging into her skin, tighter now thanks to her breakthrough.

  Katherine watched Eryn closely, clearly fascinated.

  “What did it do to you, exactly? What class are you, adventurer?”

  Eryn lifted one hand, slowly turning it.

  “I’m not sure, Katherine. Give me a moment,” she rasped, closing her eyes. We just sat there, waiting, and waiting, until she started snoring softly.

  I chuckled and shook my head.

  “Yeah, I think anything else will have to wait, doc. Thank you. I mean it. Why don’t we go outside and let her sleep it off a bit.” Katherine seemed disappointed at that, but she pushed both hands across her face and hair, then let out a deep sigh.

  “Alright, let’s go. I need to talk to you and Knut about something.”

  I shrugged and opened the door for her, then followed out into the hallway.

  “Finished?” Knut asked, his knuckles white from squeezing his fists.

  “Yes, it is. Everything went as expected. It’s best Eryn tells us all when she wakes up. Nabeeh, can you go in and maybe wash her face and whatever? Keep an eye in case she needs help? Knut, Kathryn, and I need to have a chat.”

  I gave her a ‘don’t worry, we will tell you everything later’ look and she smiled.

  “Of course. I’ll take care of her.”

  She hurried over to the bathroom, and before we were down the stairs, she was already back in Eryn’s room, and shut the door behind her.

  “You two are so full of shit, and I want to know everything that’s going on!” Katherine said. “Knut! Ash! I thought we were on the same side!”

  Knut calmly made his way over to the kitchen counter, grabbed a keg off the floor, placed it on top, and poured us three mugs of beer. We all sat down in front of the fireplace and took a sip of our beers. Kathryn was pissed, and I could see it on her face and the way she held on to the mug.“Kathryn,” I started after a moment. “You trust Eryn, and you trust Knut. You saw what we’ve done for Dawnwatch so far, right?”

  She nodded her head, eyes staring at me suspiciously.

  “You’re not going to tell me anything, are you?”

  “No, at least not yet. Please, you have my word as a man, and our party leader, that I will tell you everything I can once this stuff with the forge is over. Think you could give us a week? Maybe you can even start writing your paper in the meanwhile on how to help people break through more easily?”

  She let out a deep sigh and then shook her head.

  “Knut, my dear, you’re sleeping on the sofa for the next seven days. I’m making that clear in front of a witness, so don’t come knocking. I have some thinking to do.”

  Kathryn stood and straightened her clothes, took a deep breath, and made her way toward the back door.

  “Doc?” I said, and she stopped but didn’t turn around. “Thank you. I owe you a life debt.”