Chapter 120: Healing for the Damned

Chapter 120: Healing for the Damned

The chamber was silent, wrapped in layers of protective magic and reinforced with ancient sigils drawn from both devil and vampire lore.

At the center of the room lay Valerie Tepes, her body suspended in stasis. Encased in a crystalline field of pale blue and silver light, she looked more like a sleeping statue than a girl who had once wielded a fragment of the divine.

Though the Sephiroth Graal had been sealed and removed from her, its absence left scars—her life force unstable, fragmented. A single wrong move could unweave the fragile threads of her soul.

Volundr stood at the threshold of the warded room, the vessel containing Twilight Healing cradled in his hands.

Kuroka and Caelum observed from behind the ritual boundary, their expressions solemn. They had all seen what Valerie endured to survive. Now, this moment was not conquest, but mercy.

"She's been waiting for this," Kuroka whispered.

Caelum nodded. "So have we."

Volundr stepped forward, his aura controlled, soft—less a flood, more a gentle tide. He placed the vessel on a silver pedestal beside Valerie's still body.

Ancient runes flickered to life as he invoked the integration rite, his voice low and resonant.

"By the bond of healing, let light bind with dusk. Let the wound find solace in the balm born of sacrifice."

The vessel opened with a whisper. A golden light—soft, warm, and pulsing—rose into the air and slowly descended over Valerie's chest. The light hovered for a moment, as if sensing her essence. Then, gently, it sank into her body.

A slow transformation began.

Veins that had long faded beneath pallid skin flushed faintly with color. Her breathing, once almost imperceptible, deepened. Her fingers twitched. The curse marks along her neck began to recede.

Caelum took a sharp breath, eyes wide. "It's working…"

Volundr kept his hand extended over her chest, guiding the flow of power. "She was meant to bear a different burden. Let this be her freedom."

The Twilight Healing Sacred Gear didn't simply bind—it harmonized. Valerie's body didn't reject it; it embraced it.

The light aligned with the remaining traces of her vampiric magic, stabilizing the fragments that had once spiraled out of control.

Minutes passed like hours.

Then—finally—her chest rose with a deep, natural breath.

Her lips parted. Her eyes fluttered faintly beneath closed lids.

The glow around her faded to a steady warmth.

Volundr lowered his hand. His voice was soft, almost reverent.

"She's stable. For the first time… in years."

Kuroka exhaled in relief. Caelum sat down against the wall, overwhelmed.

The silence that followed was not empty—it was sacred. A moment of triumph not won through war or domination, but through care and intention.

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Final Scene

Later that evening, Volundr stood at Valerie's bedside. Her expression, though still unconscious, was peaceful.

"You endured too much for too long," he said softly. "Now… rest. Heal. Then decide your own path."

He turned to leave, but paused as he sensed a subtle ripple of life magic behind him.

Her hand moved. Just a little.