"I’m sorry do I know you? Why are you sitting at my table first thing in the morning?" Alice asked with a twitching smile. Right now, she was in disguise. Long blue hair tied into twin pig tails that reached her calves. A set of blue eyes and round glasses. She wore a large red poncho reaching down to her thighs, a pair of shorts and tights and long boots. Rest next to the table was a silver rapier with a crystal attached to the pommel. However, despite the disguise, despite the change in her voice and habits, the Healer sat opposite her with a smile. "Ah so cruel. Didn’t we just meet yesterday?" The Healer chuckled, placing his umbrella down. "And I don’t believe that’s close enough for you to sit in front of me. What do you even want?" Alice pulled a face of disgust while eating her breakfast. "You know what I want. I just want to hear a little about how those you know deal with the corrupted tides. How they reverse the damages. In return, I’ll tell you how I do it. That’s a fair deal, is it not?" He offered but Alice shook her head. "You want four solutions for your third rate resolution? Can you even heal those who have been affected for a long time?" Alice rolled her eyes. The Healer scratched his cheek before freezing. "Wait... are you saying the other four can do it? Even with patients who have been affected for years?" The Healer widened his eyes, leaning towards Alice. Glancing at the Healer while chewing her food, Alice nodded her head. ". . ." The Healer sat back down. There are people who could undo the damage done over the years... "Pft... hahahahaha." The Healer began to laugh, covering his eyes with his hand. Alice frowned. She was about to say something when she saw tears streaming down his cheeks. "Years... They could’ve reversed the damage by years..." He muttered. "Are you... okay?" Alice furrowed her brows. With the Healer’s reaction, they were attracting quite a bit of attention from their surroundings. "Yeah, I am. Just regretful I only found this out now." He smiled bitterly. "Sounds like you had someone afflicted by abyssal powers." Alice finished her food and took a sip of milk. "That I did... My little brother." The Healer looked at the table with sadness in his eyes. "What do you think will happen if the mother drinks Abyss Blood while the baby is in the womb?" He asked, turning his gaze to Alice. "Shouldn’t it only affect the mother?" Alice raised an eyebrow. "It’s a coin flip. Depending on the time of consumption, whether early in the pregnancy or late, the chances can change. My... Mother was about to die when she was pregnant with my brother. She had two options laid out in front of her. "She drinks the blood and survives. Meanwhile, there is a chance that my brother will be mutated upon birth. Or... She doesn’t drink and both of them die." He was about to order a drink when Alice tossed something over. Catching it, he was surprised to see good quality mead from the best tavern in this city. "You looked like you needed a drink." Alice shrugged. Revealing a smile, he thanked Alice before taking a sip. "Naturally, my mother chose to drink and when my brother was born... He was almost killed by the doctors in fear. "A beast with no face, a single split across for a mouth. Arms longer than normal with extra parts that looked like a wing. Protruding spine into a small tail. Not quite beast yet not quite human. A consequence of drinking beast blood during pregnancy." He took a deep breath and sighed. "But my mother loved him regardless. She was sorry for what she had done to him and gave him as much love as she could. Aside from appearances, he was a normal kid you know? "He spoke like us, laughed like us. He had no eyes but he could see through a different sense. He was my little brother." The healer clenched his fist, finishing his drink in one go. "But you know how people are. They judge by appearances, fearful of what he may be. Most of the villagers knew what was going on. They knew that my brother was like the rest of them, only mutated due to the blood that was used to keep my mother alive. "Yet knowing and accepting what he looked like was difficult. And... the same didn’t apply to visitors who knew nothing. My brother had saved a pair of Hunters when he was playing in the woods. Despite bringing them out from the woods, when the pair woke up, they killed him out of fear." The Healer paused. He looked at Alice with seriousness. "Out of the four people that you know, would any of them have been able to undo the mutation placed onto my brother’s body? Would their power be enough for him to live a life of a normal person instead of being killed, mistaken for a beast?" Alice crossed her legs. Mutation during pregnancy... that was a tough one. For Arwen, that was a case of a mutation occurring earlier in her life rather than before being born. Undoing it was simply a case of revoking the contract. But in the case of this guy’s brother... Alice wasn’t sure. She wasn’t confident that she’ll be able to solve it. Especially he’s not the one who made the contract to begin with when drinking the blood. Simply a victim of the circumstances. There was no ’original form’ to return to as that was his base state. And out of everyone whom she knew could possible resolve this issue, there is only one. The Will of the Abyss. Knowing his control over the Abyss as well as being the librarian of the abyssal library of contracts, he is probably the only one who can undo the mutation happening at birth. "One of them might be able to. But it’s the first time I’m hearing a case of mutation happening at birth so I’m not sure. Depending on the... situation. There might be two people who can." Alice replied truthfully. Hearing this, the healer leaned back. He was lost in thought, thinking of what could’ve been. A normal life for his brother... "I embarked on my quest to find a perfect cure because I didn’t want more to end up like him. Of course, while a part of it is my own good will, the main purpose is to experiment and find the solution. "Can... you tell me where I can meet the people you speak of? Perhaps if I meet them, I’ll be able to form the perfect solution I’ve been pursuing." Alice tapped her finger on the table. "Sorry I can’t. The fact that you managed to undo the corruption, even if there is a restriction is impressive enough as it is. Any more than that and it’s in the realm of the divine." Alice shook her head. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⚑𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚑𝙣𝙚𝙩 "Divine..." The healer frowned. But after a brief pause, he widened his eyes. "You know about him don’t you?" "Know about who?" Alice creased her brows. "The Will of the Abyss." "!!!" Alice was now fully focused. Her eyes widened in slight surprise, not expecting to hear the Will come out of the mouth of someone uninvolved. "When I performed my first transfer, I found myself in a realm of white. Pure, untainted. And a single featureless person clapping his hands in applause. He didn’t speak much, only congratulating me for my feat." He explained while Alice listened intently. "I don’t remember much about our talks afterwards, just that I spoke to him about something. And... that I should call him the Will of the Abyss. "Is he the person you’re talking about? Someone who can undo the corruption?" He asked as Alice nodded her head. "Yes he is. You can think of him as someone similar to a God like Solaris, Enris and Lumiria. Only stronger I suppose." Alice nodded. She thought there would be more clues to his actions but that didn’t seem to be the case. Instead, the Will visited the healer simply because he managed to crack the boundary and undo the corruption using his own methods. "How long ago did you meet him?" "Hard so say, it’s been a while after all. But if I had to guess... I think about 5 or so years ago?" The healer scratched his chin. If it was that long ago, then Alice doubted he has anything to do with what’s going on currently. "Are you attached to this city or the places around here?" She asked. She wanted to figure out if there was a special reason he was operating in this place. "Not really. There are just more subjects for me to test things on since accidents happen all the time. It’s also easier to find targets that match the requirements." He shrugged. If he had no attachment, then it was perfect. A man who managed to get the appreciation of the Will. Someone who managed to figure out something that the Zenia’s have struggled with even after having access to her blood. Such a talent shouldn’t be given up so easily. "You want to figure out a solution right? To the corruption." Alice asked as the man nodded. "Alice Agnelia. That’s my name. And why don’t you and I form a contract?" Alice grinned, offering an opportunity to the Healer.