Immortal Healer: Immortal Stonekeeper Prequel (2025) Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Rest Your Weary Soul

Read chapter 23 of Immortal Healer: Immortal Stonekeeper Prequel (2025) by Mercynarie on NovelPedia.

When the dust settled and the howling winds died down a few hours later, Duncan trudged back into the inn with Lucy. Thankfully, this building was built into the cave system, so it wasn’t blown away as easily. Fubuki, on the other hand, had left on her own to tend to her overturned stall. The other stalls fared just as badly. A literal hurricane had just torn through the entire market, after all. Still, the vendors wasted no time tidying their stalls with the aid of magic, so it didn’t take long before the market was functioning as per normal again. “So, what’s the plan?” Lucy asked as Duncan dropped his body onto the couch. “I… I know not,” he admitted. The woman frowned slightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “It means— ” Duncan raised his voice in frustration. “—I’m knackered cleaning up everyone’s mess! It means I don’t want to get involved anymore! ” Lucy chose to remain silent, which gave him a much-needed pause to recollect his emotions. Duncan lowered his voice. “Mayhap if I’d just stayed away back then, none of this bad luck would’ve happened. I should’ve just ripped up that bleedin’ letter and stayed at the hotel.” He fell silent as well, facing away. It wasn’t fair of him to snap at Lucy like that, but these few decades had taken a much larger toll on him as compared to the past few centuries. The wars were a part of it; he had never seen such brutality before the twentieth century. But there was something else in the air. People were getting more desperate, more violent. Even liminal spaces were popping up everywhere. Perhaps Kubo and Miguel were right. Maybe the world really was about to end. Duncan’s guilt grew in the tense silence, but he was spared from having to apologise when a set of hands wrapped around him tightly. “Tis not your fault, Duncan. None of this is,” Lucy breathed in his ear, although her voice sounded a lot more motherly than it normally did. “Thou owest the world nought.” Duncan looked at her with his jaw still clenched. “I can’t stop them from killing each other, and Yuri… Yuri isn’t the lass she used to be. What worth have my vow if she lives in defiance of it?” “You don’t understand yourself. I doubt you ever did.” Lucy shook her head slowly. “Ever have you gazed upon the world through such tainted glass, and ever has it marred thy sight. Verily, the world doth grow dark at times, but it is no patient of yours. You can talk about your vow all you want, but I reckon that is not the reason behind your purpose.” “Nonsense.” Duncan shifted his eyes away from her gaze. “Why else would I be doing this?” “Because you love them. You love mankind through and through. All that prattle about keeping a vow is but an excuse. The truth is, you want to help them. That is thy nature, Doctor Duncan Ward.” “They don’t deserve it,” he muttered behind gritted teeth. “They don’t— I can do this no longer. You haven’t a clue the things I’ve seen on the battlefield. The savagery, the— the pain … So much… pain…” “So the world is a little broken.” Lucy let go of him, but she kept her gaze. “And to speak plainly, so are we all. Yet you have no need to take it upon yourself to heal the world. You need only be who you already are: a good man.” The memories came back to Duncan one by one. Every scar, every war, every life he couldn’t save. He closed his eyes painfully, and more memories surfaced. Every smile of relief, every word of gratitude, every life he managed to save. Duncan opened his eyes slowly. Bugger it, Lucy was right on all accounts. “Since when were you such a sage, Carpenter?” he chuckled lightly. “Old people like us must needs have wisdom.” Lucy broke into a smile as well. “How else should we justify our years?” Duncan simpered audibly at the feeble joke. Lucy joined in as well, covering her mouth as she giggled. It was more than what it deserved, but still, it felt good. “So,” Lucy asked after a brief pause. “What is your plan?” “Kubo mentioned ‘taking the world’ earlier,” Duncan said. “No doubt he’s