Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 1. Who Are You?
‘Where am I?’
When Grace regained consciousness, the only thing that existed in the space beneath her feet was Darkness.
It felt as though she’d woken from an impossibly long sleep, but when she opened her eyes, there was no light to be found—only her own gaze, wide and unfocused.
“…I don’t know.”
After a brief moment of examining her surroundings, she abandoned the attempt to make sense of it all and sank to the floor in defeat.
Everything simply exhausted her.
‘I must have died, then.’
There was no pain anywhere in her body—that was proof enough.
The terrible agony that had gripped her relentlessly in recent days, never once letting her rest….
It was completely gone.
That single fact alone was enough for Grace to confirm her own Death.
“Sigh.”
A long breath escaped her lips unbidden.
She had lived such a grueling existence. What glory could possibly have been worth such suffering?
When she’d learned that her illness was beyond Healing, there had been a strange comfort in it.
‘I must have been far more exhausted than I realized.’
Having others’ lives rest entirely in your hands—that was far more draining than most people could imagine.
“It was all because of that cursed Black Forest.”
The Black Forest.
A forest of Demons and Monsters that had begun appearing in the world at some point.
Black Trees sprouted thickly in spaces that had been ordinary and empty, cutting off everything around them in an instant.
The forest’s size varied.
The crucial thing was that people within the Black Forest’s boundaries could not leave.
The Black Trees would only vanish once every Demon within the Black Forest had been destroyed, and only then could the people trapped inside escape.
Yet because entry from the outside was always possible—as if the forest welcomed new prey—mercenaries and soldiers would venture in to rescue those trapped within.
As such incidents occurred frequently, patients never ceased to flow in.
The more severe the injuries, the more likely people were to seek out Grace instead of an ordinary healer, so she was perpetually busy.
“I don’t think I could do it again, even if asked.”
The faces of countless people she had treated over the years flickered rapidly through her mind.
Pride? Satisfaction?
No, it was something else.
Exhaustion.
Yes, exhaustion.
Just thinking about it made her gag—an overwhelming, suffocating weariness pressed down upon her.
‘And I hadn’t even lived that long.’
She’d lived such a short life, yet now there was nothing but a strange sense of relief that it was over.
Not a trace of regret remained.
“How is this possible?”
Clearly, something had been deeply wrong with the way she’d lived.
[…please.]
“Hmm?”
Grace, lost in thought, suddenly lifted her head at the faint sound reaching her ears.
Light began to pour forth from a distant point, as if it had been waiting for this very moment.
‘Is that where I’m supposed to go?’
Grace rose slowly to her feet, drawn by something invisible, and moved toward the light.
[Please…..]
As she walked, the unfamiliar voice continued to drift through the Darkness, growing clearer with each step.
The closer Grace drew, the more distinct the sound became.
[Please… please, help me.]
She stopped dead.
The soft yet piercing voice cut through her, and she had no choice but to halt in her tracks.
“What now?”
It was a plea she had grown sickeningly weary of.
‘Save me… please….’
‘Help me! Please, please help me!’
‘Please… my child… please…..’
She had heard such pleas her entire life, until the very sound of them made her feel ill.
“Sigh.”
But why?
Wasn’t I dead? Why do I have to hear things like this even after dying?
“It’s an auditory hallucination. This is just an auditory hallucination…….”
[Please, just…….]
“…….”
Grace exhaled a long breath and ultimately moved forward again.
After all, the only thing visible in this Darkness was that light.
Whatever it was, she had to go toward it.
[Please… help me.]
Before long, a young woman—appearing to be in her mid-to-late teens—came into view.
She sat crumpled on the ground, weeping pitifully.
Yet Grace felt no particular emotion whatsoever.
‘It’s not as if I’ve only seen this once or twice.’
She’d spent a lifetime watching people cling and cry.
Her emotions had run dry long ago—too parched now to be moved anew, to share in their suffering.
[Please…….]
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”
[Please help me.]
“Help you with what? I don’t see anything obviously wrong with you.”
[Please… please help me.]
…Just go.
Grace glanced at the woman repeating the same words and turned to leave.
There was no point—conversation had to be possible for anything to matter.
Whoosh.
[Please… help me… please help me.]
“…….”
But the next moment, seeing the woman reach toward her with a pale, outstretched hand, Grace couldn’t help but falter.
The desperate look in her eyes, as if pleading—take my hand, please—made Grace finally exhale deeply.
There was nothing difficult about taking her hand.
Grace stepped closer and, gripping the woman’s hand firmly, pulled her to her feet. She’d been bothered by the sight of her crouched on the ground all this while.
Whoooosh!
“……!”
But in that instant, a brilliant light poured forth from the woman, consuming everything around her in a heartbeat.
“What is this……!”
[Thank you…… Really… thank you so much.]
No, explain yourself!
She needed to understand what was happening, but her eyelids kept falling shut.
As the woman’s voice reached her—muffled and distant—Grace lost consciousness once more.
[And… I’m sorry, truly…….]
* * *
‘…What is this now?’
Is this what Death is supposed to be like? Why does a dead person keep collapsing?
‘Sigh.’
You’d have to have died to understand. This is my first time with Death, after all.
She remembered grasping the woman’s hand and being engulfed in bright light, but what came after was a complete blank.
‘How much longer do I have to be like this?’
What irritated her most was her current predicament.
‘I wish I could at least open my eyes.’
Her entire body felt impossibly heavy, as though weighted down by something immense. She couldn’t move a muscle.
Perhaps this was what it meant to face Death…….
‘So what comes after?’
Shouldn’t some grim reaper or demon come fetch me by now?
How long does this go on?
‘It’s nothing like what I imagined.’
Usually, the spirit leaves the body and sees its own corpse, watches the people around it grieve, and then whoosh—gets dragged away somewhere, doesn’t it?
What is this suffocating, bleak situation?
“…Les…….”
That was when.
“Sere…….”
What is this sound?
A faint sound began to reach Grace’s ears as she lay trapped in the suffocating darkness, unable to move.
Had someone finally come to fetch her?
“…Grace!”
Grace?
The voice lifted like a spell breaking, and the heavy air that had been pressing down on her vanished in an instant.
Grace felt bewilderment wash over her as she slowly forced her eyelids open, strength flowing back into them.
As her blurred vision sharpened and came into focus, she blinked several times.
“Are you awake?”
The voice from moments before cut through her ears again, sharp and urgent.
She turned her head toward the sound and found a boy standing there—eleven? Twelve years old, perhaps?
When their eyes met, a short sigh of relief escaped the boy’s lips.
‘What is this situation?’
Could this be the reaper who came for her? A demon?
‘Certainly not an angel.’
She’d sold whatever conscience she had long ago—she wasn’t shameless enough to hope for heaven even in death.
What exactly is this kid?
“Who are you?”
“…What?”
“I asked who you are.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
Watching the boy’s face twist with indignation, Grace let out a hollow laugh.
It had been a long time since anyone had called her crazy to her face.
“I’ve done plenty of mad things, sure, but asking a stranger who they are—does that really count as madness?”
“You’re asking your own brother who he is? What kind of answer are you expecting?”
…Brother?
“Excuse me? You?”
I never had any siblings.
When did my parents, who died long ago in my childhood, make one?
As the boy’s expression grew increasingly twisted, the furrow between Grace’s brows deepened as well.
Who exactly are you?
Click.
Just as the two of them stood staring blankly at each other, the door swung open wide and several people rushed in.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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