Chapter 62: The Garden’s Touch

The Earth-Tenders formed a half-circle around Grace and her patient, a middle-aged farmer with blue-purple corruption veins running up both arms. Willow stood at the front, her elegant features set in a skeptical expression.

“Whenever you’re ready,” she said, folding her arms.

Grace wiped her sweaty palms on her robes. Great. An audience. Just what she needed.

[Don’t mess up, don’t mess up, don’t mess up…]

She took a deep breath and placed her hands on the farmer’s forearms. His skin felt ice-cold, like touching a corpse. Grace closed her eyes and focused, channeling divine energy down her arms and into her fingertips.

Golden light bloomed beneath her palms, spreading out in delicate tendrils. The farmer gasped as warmth returned to his limbs. The corruption veins resisted at first, then began to recede, dissolving into golden particles that faded away.

“The cold is gone,” the farmer said, staring at his now-clear arms with wonder.

“Rest now,” Grace told him, trying to ignore the Earth-Tenders’ intense stares. “You’ll feel better soon.”

「Villagers Healed: 14/100」

Willow stepped forward, examining the farmer’s arms with clinical precision, running her bark-textured fingers over the skin where the corruption had been.

“Impressive,” she finally said, slowly. “Complete purification, not merely suppression.”

Grace tried not to look too pleased with herself.

“Thank you.”

“However,” Willow continued, and Grace’s pride deflated, “your method is incredibly inefficient. At this rate, it would take you days to heal everyone in the village.”

“I’m working as fast as I can,” Grace protested.

“I don’t doubt it. But your technique…” Willow gestured at Grace’s hands. “You’re pouring divine energy into each patient individually, one at a time. It’s like trying to water a forest by carrying buckets to each tree.”

Diana, standing nearby with arms crossed, scoffed.

“You have a better idea?”

“As a matter of fact, we do.” Willow turned to her companions. “Aspa, Fern, demonstrate.”

Two Earth-Tenders stepped forward. One placed her hands on the ground, while the other held small seedpods that glowed with emerald light. The first Earth-Tender—Aspa, apparently—began to sing in a low, melodic voice. Green energy spiraled from her fingers into the earth, spreading outward in a circular pattern.

“Earth-Tenders specialize in purification rituals that work through the land itself,” Willow explained. “We don’t heal individuals—we cleanse entire areas at once.”

“So why isn’t it working here?” Mara asked, gesturing to the corrupted tendrils still seeping from Ivy’s tree.

“Because this corruption is too deeply entrenched,” Willow admitted. “Our methods alone cannot reach its source.”

“But my purification can,” Grace said, understanding dawning.

Willow nodded.

“Precisely. What if we combined approaches? Your divine energy channeled through our purification ritual could reach all the villagers simultaneously.”

Grace’s eyes widened.

“That’s… possible?”

“Theoretically. It would require considerable energy from you, however.”

Diana stepped closer to Grace.

“I dunno. You’re already exhausted. This could drain you completely.”

“If it works, it would save days of individual healing,” Mara pointed out.

Willow looked at Grace with those ancient eyes.

“The choice is yours, little angel.”

Grace glanced at the rows of sick villagers still waiting for her help. At this rate, she’d collapse before reaching even half of them.

“I’ll do it,” she decided. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

“First, you need to restore your energy,” Willow said. “Our ritual will require everything you have.”

[Great, and I was just about to learn how to do that…]

“I can help with that,” Petriel said from behind Grace, making her jump. How long had she been standing there? “I-if you still w-want to learn that technique…”

[Oh… Right.]

Grace’s cheeks burned.

“Yes! I mean, sure, if it’ll help.”

“Excellent,” Willow said. “We’ll prepare the ritual circle. You recover your strength.”

As the Earth-Tenders moved outside to begin their preparations, Petriel led Grace to a quiet corner of the barn. Her usual nervousness seemed to have retreated somewhat, replaced by professional focus.

“Sit, p-please,” she instructed, gesturing to a bench.

Grace sat, watching as Petriel arranged her herbs on a small cloth.

“So… this technique,” Grace began awkwardly. “Does it, um, always involve…?”

“Kissing?” Petriel finished, her cheeks turning pink. “N-not necessarily. That was… the advanced version. For life-threatening injuries.”

“Oh. Good. That’s good.” Grace wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed. Wait, disappointed? What was wrong with her?

“For energy restoration, we can use a s-simpler method,” Petriel continued, grinding herbs with a small mortar and pestle. “But it still requires physical contact and… um… shared breath.”

“Shared breath?”

“You’ll see.” Petriel mixed the crushed herbs with water from a small flask, creating a paste that she dabbed onto her fingertips. “Close your eyes.”

Grace obeyed, heart pounding. She felt Petriel’s fingers touch her forehead, drawing what felt like symbols on her skin.

“This creates connection points for divine energy,” Petriel explained, her voice steadier now that she was in healer mode. “Now don’t move.”

Grace held perfectly still, eyes closed. She heard Petriel take a deep breath, then felt the other angel’s face very close to her own. Before she could react, Petriel’s lips were hovering just above hers—not touching, but close enough that Grace could feel her warm breath.

“Inhale as I exhale,” Petriel whispered.

Grace did as instructed, breathing in as Petriel breathed out. A rush of tingling warmth flooded her lungs, spreading outward through her body. It felt like drinking sunlight.

“Again,” Petriel whispered.

They continued the rhythm of shared breath, each exchange sending more energy coursing through Grace’s tired body. The herbs on her forehead warmed, then cooled, channeling and directing the flow.

On the seventh exchange, Petriel’s lips brushed against Grace’s—maybe accidentally, maybe not. Grace’s eyes flew open to find Petriel staring at her, their faces still inches apart.

Then, Petriel moved forward.

Grace froze for a heartbeat, then melted into the kiss.

It was clumsy and impulsive. Divine energy surged between them, vastly more powerful than the shared breath had been. Grace felt her exhaustion vanish, replaced by vibrant strength flooding every cell.

「Skill Upgraded: Intimate Healing (Lvl 2)」

+5 Compassion

Compassion: 29/100

They broke apart, both breathing heavily, staring at each other with wide eyes.

“That was…” Grace began.

“The advanced technique,” Petriel finished, her face scarlet.

“Effective,” Grace managed, feeling stronger than she had in days.

Petriel nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Very.”

An awkward silence stretched between them.

“So now I just…” Grace made a vague gesture with her hands.

“Yes,” Petriel nodded too quickly. “We should—”

“Join the others,” Grace agreed.

“Right.”

They practically ran outside, careful not to look at each other.

The Earth-Tenders had created an elaborate pattern of seeds, flowers, and crushed herbs in a wide circle around Ivy’s tree. Grace spotted Diana watching her approach, one eyebrow raised at her flushed face.

“Feeling better?” Diana asked with a knowing smirk.

“Shut up,” Grace muttered.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking it.”

Willow approached before Diana could respond.

“Are you recovered, Lightsinger? The ritual is prepared.”

“I’m ready,” Grace confirmed, amazed at how true it was. She felt like she could fly to the moon.

“Excellent. Stand here, in the center of the circle.”

Grace took her position. The Earth-Tenders formed a ring around her, each holding something green and growing—a seedpod, a flower, a leaf.

“When we begin, channel your purification energy into the ground,” Willow instructed. “Our ritual will amplify and distribute it through the root system connecting all living things in this village.”

Grace nodded, suddenly nervous again.

“And this will help Ivy too?”

“We hope so. At minimum, it should weaken the corruption’s hold on her.”

The Earth-Tenders began to chant, a melodic sound like wind through leaves. Green energy spiraled from their hands into the circle of plants surrounding Grace. The pattern began to glow.

“Now,” Willow commanded.

Grace knelt and pressed her palms to the earth, channeling her golden energy into the ground as she’d been instructed. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the earth beneath her hands began to pulse with light—not just her gold, but a blend of gold and green, spiraling together in harmonic patterns.

The light spread outward through the ritual circle, following the pattern the Earth-Tenders had created. It raced along the ground like liquid fire, branching and splitting into countless threads that disappeared beneath the soil.

From the infirmary, cries of surprise and relief rose as the blended energy reached the sick. Grace felt the connection to each of them, like touching a hundred hands at once. The corruption in their bodies yielded to the combined purification, dissolving into harmless particles.

「Villagers Healed: 100/100」

「Quest Complete!」

「Reward: +10 Compassion」

Compassion: 39/100

The energy continued to spread, touching every living thing in the village. Plants stood taller, flowers bloomed brighter, and even the air felt cleaner.

As the ritual reached its peak, one of the Earth-Tenders—a slender figure with leaves growing from her scalp instead of hair—suddenly gasped and staggered backward, staring at Grace with wide eyes.

“Impossible,” she whispered.

The ritual’s light dimmed as the others turned to look at their companion.

“Laurel?” Willow asked. “What is it?”

“Her energy signature,” Laurel said, still staring at Grace. “I’ve felt it before. Only once.”

“Explain,” Willow demanded.

“It’s like… hers, but not exactly.” Laurel seemed unable to look away from Grace. “Like an echo, or a reflection.”

“Whose?” Diana stepped forward, suddenly alert.

Laurel swallowed.

“Eternia’s.”

A heavy silence fell over the group. All eyes turned to Grace, who shifted uncomfortably under their stares.

[… Should I just say “yeah, that’s cause Eternia literally made me”? I don’t know.]

“That’s ridiculous,” Diana broke the silence. “Eternia has been gone for centuries.”

“I know what I felt,” Laurel insisted. “I was there during Eternia’s last visit to our grove. That energy—golden, but with an inner light unlike any other divine power—is unmistakable.”

Willow studied Grace with new intensity.

“Is this true, Lightsinger? Are you connected to Eternia somehow?”

“I—” Grace floundered, unsure what to say. “Seems like it, yeah.”

Before anyone could press further, Grace felt it. A familiar cold sensation crawling up her spine, making her wings stiffen. She’d felt it enough times now to recognize it instantly.

Demons.

She scanned the tree line surrounding the village, seeing nothing. But the feeling persisted—not the immediate threat of an attack, but the certainty of being watched. Observed. Studied.

“Grace?” Mara asked, noticing her sudden tension. “What is it?”

“We’re being watched,” Grace whispered, still searching the shadows. “Demons. They’re out there.”

Diana immediately drew her sword, the golden blade gleaming in the fading light.

“Where?”

“I don’t know exactly. But they’re close.”

Willow signaled to her Earth-Tenders, who moved into defensive positions around the ritual circle.

“Why would they just watch?” Mara wondered.

“Because,” Willow said grimly, “they’re learning. Adapting.”

Grace suppressed a shiver, still staring at the darkening forest. The cold feeling remained, but the shadows revealed nothing.

Whatever was out there wasn’t attacking. Not yet.

It was waiting.

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