Chapter 195: When the Holy Light Reaches Afar
Ethan wasn't sure if John had been under an overwhelming amount of stress lately.
But recently, whenever John spotted a competent assassin, his first instinct seemed to be...
Recruit them into the clinic.
Ethan's original plan had been simple.
Resurrect Cataleya's uncle and grandmother.
Earn another Blood Oath Marker.
Complete the transaction.
Then everyone would go their separate ways.
Yet somehow...
As the conversation went on, the topic had shifted from "resurrection" to "joining the clinic."
This wasn't a case of "If you can't beat them, join them."
It had somehow become—
"Die once, then come work here."
John even suggested bringing Eve into the clinic as well.
Ethan didn't object.
The girl had always admired both John and Helen, and she was already familiar with the clinic.
Giving her a legitimate job—one that kept her away from a life of constant travel and endless bloodshed—wasn't a bad thing.
With both Cataleya and Eve joining...
John naturally found himself promoted to...
Head of Security.
Ethan had no idea what Helen had said to convince Cataleya.
Judging by the outcome, however...
The discussion had gone remarkably smoothly.
Of course, Cataleya probably wouldn't officially start until she'd settled the loose ends of her current life.
As for whether John intended to help with that...
That was no longer Ethan's concern.
That was business between the Head of Security and one of his future security officers.
Ethan only had one responsibility.
Bring people back.
Then a thought suddenly occurred to him.
Helen now served as both Receptionist and Human Resources Manager.
Natasha was the Administrative Director.
John was the Head of Security.
Though the Rayne Clinic was small...
Its organizational chart was becoming surprisingly complete.
...No.
Not complete.
Ridiculously complete.
Counting everyone...
John.
Natasha.
The newly recruited Cataleya.
And Eve.
All four were perfectly capable of serving as bodyguards.
A clinic.
Six employees.
Four security personnel.
Ethan fell silent for two seconds.
"...Shouldn't we start hiring doctors and nurses?"
The only problem was...
Where exactly were they supposed to find them?
---
Cataleya led Ethan and John to where the bodies had been stored.
Natasha accompanied them as well.
The location...
Was the morgue beneath the Continental Hotel.
Using the Continental's network, Cataleya had transported both bodies to New York.
They had been preserved impeccably.
Even their appearance had already been carefully prepared.
It was obvious she had long ago resigned herself to the worst possible outcome.
If miracles didn't exist...
Then at least they deserved a dignified farewell.
According to her earlier account, Emilio and her grandmother had been attacked inside their home.
"Where was their house?" Ethan asked.
"Chicago," Cataleya replied.
"..."
Ethan slowly closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.
Is this world doing this to me on purpose?
John, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm.
"We can rent a refrigerated truck and transport the bodies back."
Cataleya blinked in confusion.
"...Why?"
Natasha turned toward Ethan.
"They have to be resurrected where they died?"
Ethan fell silent for several seconds.
According to how Resurrection had always worked...
Yes.
But now...
"...Maybe not."
He looked toward the two peaceful bodies lying in the morgue.
"Let's try it first."
---
They rented a room inside the Continental Hotel.
The door closed behind them.
The thick carpet swallowed every footstep until even the sound of breathing became distinct.
The Continental guaranteed both security and privacy.
Its guiding principle had always been simple:
They didn't need to understand. They only needed to respect it.
Whether you brought in the living...
The dead...
Or even an inflatable doll...
No one at the Continental would ask a single unnecessary question.
Cataleya stood by the window.
Her arms hung at her sides, but her fingers had turned white from how tightly they were clenched.
She was stretched taut, like a bowstring pulled to its limit.
Her uncle and grandmother lay peacefully on the bed.
Their expressions had already been carefully prepared.
Had it not been for the absence of breathing...
They would have looked as though they were merely asleep.
John stood quietly against one wall, his expression steady.
Natasha positioned herself just behind Ethan.
She wanted to witness the entire process from beginning to end.
Ethan walked to the bedside and took a slow breath.
New York.
Their souls...
Were in Chicago.
Over a thousand kilometers away.
The old Ethan...
Could never have accomplished this.
But he was no longer the man he had once been.
Besides...
When he had pretended to resurrect the cult leader, he'd managed to brush against the edge of that distant soul, despite being separated by an entire continent.
Back then...
His power simply hadn't been enough.
This time...
It was different.
---
Ethan gently adjusted the grandmother's body before placing his palm against her chest.
[Resurrection.]
Warm, gentle radiance descended.
Like morning sunlight spilling across an old wooden window.
Her body twitched ever so slightly—
As though stirred by a faint electric current.
Then...
Everything fell silent once more.
Cataleya's eyes widened.
She stopped breathing altogether.
She had clearly seen it.
Her grandmother's fingers had curled ever so slightly.
Just a tiny movement.
Like the unconscious twitch of someone dreaming.
Then...
Complete stillness.
Her fingernails dug into her palms.
She looked toward Ethan but didn't dare interrupt him.
Ethan's expression remained unchanged.
Yet...
He had already sensed it.
Far to the northwest...
A faint echo answered him.
A distant response...
Calling from somewhere unimaginably far away.
Unlike the cult leader's soul, which had felt impossibly distant...
This one felt different.
It was as though they were separated only by a dense fog...
Still existing within the same world.
There was hope.
Natasha folded her arms across her chest.
Her face remained calm.
Only her eyes grew more focused.
---
Ethan raised his hand again.
[Resurrection.]
This time...
He didn't allow the Holy Light to remain confined to the body.
Instead...
His consciousness followed the fragile connection established moments earlier.
Like a beam of light reaching deep into darkness.
The air suddenly grew heavy.
The invisible thread between them became clearer.
Something stirred in the distance.
Like a sleeping consciousness gently nudged awake...
Slowly turning over.
The grandmother's chest rose more noticeably.
Her heart trembled once inside her chest.
Then...
Silence returned.
Within Ethan's mind...
The connection continued thickening.
Resurrection had never been about forcibly dragging a soul back.
The soul itself...
Was moving toward the light.
Suddenly...
He understood.
Holy Light wasn't coercion.
It was a lighthouse.
Once its light reached a wandering soul...
All it had to do was continue shining...
Until the soul found its own way home.
---
The third cast.
[Resurrection.]
This time...
He didn't increase the power.
Instead...
He maintained a steady, uninterrupted stream.
The light stretched forward like a bridge.
Far away...
That tiny spark of consciousness finally began to move.
Ethan could feel the distance rapidly shrinking.
Not the physical thousand kilometers...
But the distance defined by the world's laws.
It felt as though the membrane separating life and death was slowly being pulled apart...
Opening just enough for a soul to pass through.
The room grew subtly warmer.
A gentle breeze seemed to drift through the still air.
Natasha raised an eyebrow.
She could clearly sense the surrounding energy field changing.
---
The fourth cast.
[Resurrection.]
The connection suddenly trembled.
Like a tightly stretched string violently plucked before snapping back into place.
A surge of returning power rushed back along the invisible thread, scattering outward.
The sensation...
Was astonishingly similar to resurrecting someone at the place where they'd died.
The grandmother's body jerked violently.
Her entire chest convulsed.
Cataleya nearly leaped forward before forcing herself to remain where she was.
Ethan's heartbeat quickened.
He could feel it.
The soul...
Had reached the body.
...One more.
---
The fifth cast.
[Resurrection.]
No dazzling explosion.
No blinding brilliance.
Only a gentle...
Patient...
Unwavering pull.
That small sphere of light slowly drifted closer.
Touched.
Then gradually seeped into the body...
Like a bird finally returning to its nest.
The grandmother suddenly drew in a massive breath.
"Cough!"
Air rushed violently into her lungs.
Her chest heaved.
Her heart began beating once more.
Her eyes opened.
At first...
Only blurred shapes.
Then...
Her vision slowly focused.
"...Cataleya?"
Her voice was dry and hoarse.
But unmistakably real.
Cataleya finally broke.
Her knees gave way beneath her.
She collapsed beside the bed and threw her arms around her grandmother.
Her shoulders shook violently.
She tried desperately to suppress her sobs...
Until only trembling, broken breaths escaped her lips.
Natasha remained standing where she was.
Her gaze never left Ethan.
There was no fear.
No shock.
Only a profound disbelief...
Something that logic simply refused to accept.
Ethan's face had turned slightly pale.
But he remained standing.
He had done it.
His Resurrection no longer depended on the soul remaining near the corpse.
There was no longer any need to transport bodies across the country.
As long as a soul had not completely dissipated...
He could call it home.
It was almost like a player in World of Warcraft who had released their spirit.
As long as someone cast the resurrection spell...
The soul could return to its body.
Of course...
For Ethan, the process was still exhausting.
But as the Holy Light continued growing stronger...
It would become easier.
He had become stronger.
Looking down at his own hands...
A new question quietly surfaced in his mind.
What exactly did it mean for a soul to "completely dissipate"?
Was it simply worn away by time?
Or taken somewhere else...
By another force...
Another plane of existence?
And if the Holy Light became even stronger...
Strong enough to shine into those distant realms...
Could it call back even souls that had been taken away?
---
After resting for several minutes...
He turned to the second body.
Emilio.
This time...
Ethan already knew exactly what to do.
One Resurrection after another flowed steadily and precisely.
Emilio suddenly inhaled sharply.
His lungs expanded.
His heartbeat resumed.
Without another word, Ethan followed it up with a full round of healing magic for both of them.
Then...
He, John, and Natasha quietly left the room.
Leaving Cataleya alone...
With her family.
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