"Some are born to heal…
But when a soul falls out of rhythm, even a genius is just a blind man in the dark."
The room was paved with ash-gray stone, the ceiling high, a window cracked open just enough to let morning light slice through golden-threaded curtains. The air was heavy with a cold silence — the kind that never left Elberg Castle.
Suael sat on the bed, eyes resting on her hands. Tiny fingers, skin so thin and soft that the faint blue of veins shimmered beneath. This body… was fragile. She had once walked among torn souls, had watched the living twist in pain. But now, it was she who inhabited a body on the brink of breaking.
The door creaked open with a dry clack. She didn't look up. Footsteps approached — slow, light, but firm.
— I was summoned to assess your condition, Lady Suael.
The voice wasn't loud nor soft. At the doorway stood a slender boy, neatly dressed in an ash-white shirt under a black coat, a leather medical satchel slung at his side. His eyes — cold gray — cut straight into her like a surgical blade.
Suael raised her gaze. Their eyes met.
— You're Violet?
— The territory's physician. At least until you recover.
He approached without hesitation, pulling from his satchel a silver ring embedded with a clear gem. This was no ordinary tool for reading pulses — it could sense soul vibrations, measure vitality, and sometimes… detect what didn't belong in a human body.
Violet stopped before her.
— I won't hurt you. Just don't move.
— No one can hurt me, Suael replied — softly, but clearly.
Violet paused for a moment, then continued. The crystal stone glowed as it touched her forehead. A silvery-blue light spread out, forming circles of glyphs suspended in the air.
One second. Two seconds. Violet peered into the orb of light.
Then he frowned.
— Your soul… isn't right.
Suael showed no surprise. She blinked slowly.
— Is that so?
— It's not on the correct frequency. It's not childlike. Not human.
— And what do you think?
Violet was silent. He lowered the ring and stepped back slightly, his eyes never leaving her.
— You're not Suael Elberg.
The words struck like a knife into the cold stone floor. Not a conclusion — a confirmation.
Suael smiled faintly, for the first time since arriving in this world.
— And you're the first to say it aloud.
— Then what are you?
— A walking punishment.
Violet's brow furrowed. He'd never heard anyone answer like that. And never had he seen a child — barely eight years old — with eyes like that. Still as ancient rock. Deep as midnight.
— I should report this to the Duke.
— As you wish, Suael said, still gazing out the window.
— But he already suspects. Do you really think he wants the truth?
Silence again. Violet put his tools away, the leather bag snapping shut. Before turning to leave, he asked:
— Do you still remember being called Suael?
— Names aren't guilty. Even if the one who bore them may have died.
He paused by the door.
— If you're not Suael Elberg… then who are you?
Suael looked him dead in the eyes, unblinking.
— A verdict yet to be delivered.
He said nothing more. The door closed softly behind him. A breeze whispered through the crack, brushing past her hair.
Within Suael's vision, the Divine Balance system flickered to life:
Potential individual linked to special soul detected: Violet Elvine.
Suspicion Level: 58%
Emotional Fluctuation: 12%
Recommendation: Monitor – Potentially Useful.
She smiled faintly. That cold-eyed boy… was not simple. And those eyes — they had seen loss. A soul left unresolved.
Perhaps… he would be useful in this journey.
And if not...
She'd collect his soul first.