Chapter 556 - 553: The Cage of Emptiness

Chapter 556: Chapter 553: The Cage of Emptiness

After hearing Xi’s words, the explosive flames suddenly wavered.

The Manager fell silent. As if Xi had struck a nerve, he retreated into the surging flames, seemingly trying to escape the question.

But Xi was now certain.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward and reached his arm into the flames.

’Emptiness. It’s definitely emptiness...’ Xi confirmed it once more. The Manager had indeed infused his own emotions into his healing.

Headless bodies had formed in the Matrix Tree grove. These bodies were incarnations of emptiness itself. That was why they constantly tried to "fill" the void within, ceaselessly merging with and absorbing all sorts of creatures to become those bizarre, fused lifeforms.

Now, this power of emptiness was spreading, and it would soon permeate the entirety of Senluo Island.

’Are the past events of Senluo Island replaying inside the Manager’s Healing Space? Is he controlling this? Why would he do such a thing?’

Standing in the flickering light, Xi felt lost. The sense of emptiness grew ever stronger, surrounding him, threatening to "absorb" him as well and fill its insatiable void.

Just as Xi was beginning to sink into the emptiness, a hand landed on his shoulder, snapping him back to his senses.

"Senior..."

"Where is the Manager?" Mo Ling asked in a low voice.

"Here, in the deepest part of the void..." Xi reached out. His hand seemed to break through a pane of glass. The surrounding flames instantly shattered, and shards of light rained down, stripping away all concealment.

When everything had faded away, the scene changed once more:

A pair of healers, one old and one young, stood at the edge of a cliff, seemingly in conversation.

"Elder Ladi, can I really not use healing?" the young healer asked dejectedly.

"Of course you can," the healer known as Elder Ladi said gently. "It’s just more difficult for you than for other healers because your Healing Space is chaotic."

"What does chaotic mean? Elder Ladi, am I sick?" the young healer asked forlornly.

"No, it’s not a sickness..." Elder Ladi placed his hand on the young healer’s shoulder. "It’s a kind of gift. The objects within your Healing Space are more ’real’ than those of other healers. Once your healing is complete, the subject doesn’t disappear. As you heal more and more of them, the number of things inside your Healing Space will grow, piling up and making your space increasingly chaotic. This affects your healing efficiency."

Hearing Elder Ladi’s words, the young healer grew even more dejected. "But isn’t that a sickness? Elder Ladi, is there any hope for me? I want to heal so many patients... I want to save the entire world..."

"Everyone else can heal patients so quickly, but I can’t. I can’t even find my patients, just wasting time... They all look down on me. They won’t let me help with treatments," the young healer complained.

"It’s not that they look down on you," Elder Ladi said soothingly. "They’re just worried the patients can’t hold on that long. We are healers; we must be responsible for our patients."

"But I want to prove myself," the young healer said meekly.

"That won’t be a problem," the Elder said calmly, extending a hand to point into the distance.

"Do you see the Sky Island below? That’s Senluo Island. The Elder Council has decided to establish a species preservation zone there to protect rare creatures. Your ability makes you well-suited to be its manager. If you can learn to organize your chaotic Healing Space, you’ll be able to heal the same subjects much faster than other healers. This is your gift, and it’s why you’re more suited for this than anyone else."

"You can record every creature that comes to Senluo Island in your Healing Space. That way, you can monitor their physical condition in real-time and even heal them remotely, managing them completely."

Elder Ladi explained patiently, and the young healer listened with great intent...

"Elder, how do I organize my chaotic Healing Space? I don’t feel like I can do what you’re describing."

"Don’t worry," the Elder said, patting the young healer’s shoulder. "One step at a time..."

"First, you need to build another Senluo Island inside your Healing Space."

"Then, as each creature arrives on the island, you will perform a ’healing’ on them. This time, the healing isn’t about curing an ailment. You just need to record their physical information into your space and place that data on the virtual Senluo Island you created. In this way, your Healing Space will ’overlap’ with reality, and you’ll be able to control everything on Senluo Island through it."

Listening to the Elder, the young healer solemnly agreed.

"Elder Ladi, can I still participate in other healings?"

"Of course. But you must fulfill your own duties first."

"I will!" Entrusted with this great responsibility, the young healer was no longer dejected. His abilities had finally been acknowledged.

And yet, the void in his heart remained...

Elder Ladi’s figure slowly dissipated. The young healer turned, and from the center of the ball of light, he looked toward Mo Ling and Xi.

"It wasn’t a great responsibility. It was a prison... I protect the creatures on Senluo Island, but I am also imprisoned by Senluo Island. I control everything on the island, and the island controls me. It’s a cage. A cage of emptiness."

"All the creatures on Senluo Island are your patients. How can you still feel empty?" Xi asked in disbelief.

"It’s not enough. It’s nowhere near enough," the young healer retorted. "I’m capable of healing an entire world. What is Senluo Island compared to that?"

"I want to witness unheard-of diseases! I want to save the terminally ill! I want to fight sickness head-on, not be some mascot on this cozy little Senluo Island!"

The light forming the young healer’s head began to rage once more, the blazing flames reflecting his ambition. It was this very unfulfillable ambition that had created his endless void.

Just as the fire was about to engulf everything, the Elder’s form reappeared beside the young healer. The hazy figure slowly bent down and embraced him.

The rampant flames immediately faltered, shrinking back.

"Elder Ladi, I still want to save the world."

"I know," Elder Ladi replied gently.

Holding the young healer, Elder Ladi turned toward the cliff, and together they gazed into the distance.

"Before you save the world, let me first ask you a question," Elder Ladi said softly. "Have you protected your patients?"

"My... patients?"

The young healer looked down at Senluo Island. In that instant, his burning ambition seemed to recede along with the flames.

The Matrix Tree grove, twisted beyond recognition.

The tangled, twisted remains of severed limbs and torsos.

The utterly bizarre fused creatures.

...

"Elder Ladi, I’ve cured them... They will never get sick again."

"No. I asked if you had protected them."