"REX ROTENKAISER."

I opened my eyes, waking with a start, to Lissana holding her hands above me as I laid in my bed. A pale gold glow surrounded her and was most bright under her palms.

"Holy Bahamut, please heal this Human, who has served you well these past few weeks, let your warmth comfort him, let your fire blast past his resistances, may you cleanse his body of illness and impurity. O, Bahamut, Cleansing Flame, please see him recovered, please make him whole. Unsala."

The glow faded and she collapsed into a chair, gasping for breath.

"What happened?" I asked.

She looked at me and managed a weak smile.

"You collapsed." She said. "Shaking violently and foaming at the mouth, I feared you had died."

"I had a seizure? Weird." I sat up and winced. "I don't hurt too much, though it feels like I got hit by a car or some-"

My dream came to me and I looked at my hands. "I had a dream that I didn't come to this world."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I dreamed that I had not appeared for Nash to save me, and that I got hit by a car. I remember, in my dream, I think my legs were broken, and I couldn't feel them, and my father apologized to me, but it was too little too late and- Lissana, did I die or something?"

She shook her head. "No, My ancestor even came out as she sensed our distress. She spoke plainly, you were alive, and you were clinging tightly to life."

I see..." I said. "When I first came to this world, I wondered if this was some sort of strange coma dream, yet... when I saw what could have been, I was able to use magic, even though it should be impossible. It was small, but it happened, and now I'm questioning if this is real or if it's just some dream." I looked at my hands. "And part of me is terrified because I don't want to wake up. What if... What if all of this is just my brain's last attempt at something worthwhile, even though in reality I'm lying on a bed in some hospital slowly wasting away, my last story, on display for only one person."

"Do you truly believe this to be a dream?" She asked.

"I'd have to be the luckiest man alive otherwise." I replied. "There are too many elements to what has happened that makes this seem like wish fulfillment, to have power, and to be able to help others, to fight off things more powerful than me and to come out on top... There are too many elements of this world that seem designed to make me want to believe it's all real."

"Life is a dream." Lissana stated. "Whose dream, we cannot be certain, but we can be certain that it is a dream we all share. We play our parts, we live, we die, and we are reborn to move it onward."

"Ever onward." I said.

"You speak that phrase as though it holds special meaning to you."

I nodded. "I once shared a story on the internet-."

"Ah, the tubes full of cats." She said with a nod. She knew more about it than that, but she had found the mental image funny enough that it became an in-joke between us. It honestly helped make things feel more sane.

"Yeah. I shared a story, and I used that phrase quite often, but I stopped updating it because I had so many other ideas going on at the same time that I honestly lost track of it." I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs, while resting my head on them. "But, yeah. Everything's been too easy, and I'm waiting for the moment it all turns into a horrific nightmare."

"You are not concerned about it being a dream, but more of it becoming a nightmare?"

I nodded. "Coma dream or not, reality or fiction, it doesn't really matter. If the former, then nothing has really changed, I simply can dream with impunity. But, if the latter, then it means my actions have consequences. So, regardless, I have to treat it seriously, because it makes for a better story, and because I was never the kind of person to be selfish, even in my dreams."

I looked at my hands, they looked properly proportioned. I looked at my phone, which read 4:50, looked at Lissana for a few moments, then looked at it again. It read 4:51.

"Well, two reality checks indicate this is real." I muttered.

"Reality checks?" She asked.

"Basically, when you dream, your hands never look correct, and if you look at a clock, like my phone shows, it never shows the correct time consistently. I've never had a reality check fail me before, so this is real enough."

We sat in silence for a long time. Lissana finally broke the silence and asked, "Do you fear your world?" She asked.

"I don't really know." I replied. "I've spent most of my life unable to really do anything, and the moment I'm on another world, I try to find my way back because... I don't really know why. There's not really anything worthwhile, except my Mom, but- How much of it was me wanting to return to a lifestyle I couldn't realistically maintain? How long would it have taken before she lost her patience? Who was really holding whom back?"

"When death seeks the living, it brings our iniquities into focus." I saw Lady Wyrashe at the door, Lissana closed her eyes. "It was in this moment, I did indeed see what you saw, and it felt as though a long faded echo. Perhaps it was what could have been, your destiny suddenly shifted by the whim of another. Your name is Ryan, is it not?"

I nodded, and she smiled. "It is a lovely name. I advise you to rest, the cause for your sudden collapse is yet unknown, and the night is still young."

"Lady Wyrashe..." I started.

"None have died by my touch." She stated. "Rest, Ryan."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I laid back down as she left, and Lissana opened her eyes.

"Ryan." She said. "I have never heard a name such as it."

"You can still call me Rex." I said. "I've grown attached to it."

She smiled. "Close your eyes, Rex, as I beseech the Gods to heal you."

I closed my eyes, and I drifted off to sleep...

The next morning, I awoke feeling better. I joined everyone at breakfast, though they all were understandably worried about me.

"Are you certain you should be walking around?" Cier asked.

"I feel fine." I said. "I think it was probably me not healing properly from the Felwight attack, which means I shouldn't channel Divine spells directly unless under circumstances where I'll die anyway."

"I would say that is still not careful enough." Nash stated. "How can you be certain you are about to die?"

"Falling from an extreme height at terminal velocity." I remarked.

"What is-?"

"I can answer that!" Beatrice exclaimed excitedly.

Lissana ate in silence, she looked tired enough that I didn't blame her.

"Is there anything vital you need to do today?" I asked her. "Anything that requires your immediate attention?"

"Nothing that needs to be done today." She responded.

"Then after breakfast, you should at the very least take a nap and get some rest."

"It would be foolish if I did not do my duty." She said.

"Your people will understand taking one day to recover." I said. I heard a clattering of silverware and glanced over to see Beatrice explaining gravity and its relation to terminal velocity. I looked back at Lissana. "You had to react to a sudden emergency, it is only right that you have time to recover from it."

She nodded. "You do make some sense." She said. She finished her meal in silence and, with Nash accompanying her, went to her bedroom.

"Alright, Cier, is there anything that needs to be done today that doesn't require extreme amounts of magical power?"

"Yes." He said. "I've been able to go through the backlog of the cursed items obtained from the brothel. I was hoping you would be available to test some more out."

"I'd be happy to." I said.

We finished up breakfast and headed toward the cursed items room, when I heard a knocking at the door. Cier took a detour to answer it. He looked surprised. "Lady Oren, you are here earlier than expected."

A young Human girl with white bandages covering her eyes came into the room with a Azurite close behind her. Sitting on the Azurite's shoulders was a Procyoni.

"I am afraid there is not much time left for me." I could barely hear her voice, it was so quiet. "I pray Lady Lissana would be willing to keep me for as long as she can."

"I will inform my Lady when she is able to, but I believe she will have no issue with your being here, Lady Oren."

I approached, the Azurite crossed its arms and looked at me.

"You, Human! Do not approach Lady Oren without speaking!" The Procyoni snapped.

"I'm sorry." I said. "I was about to ask Cier if this is the Lady Oren that Lady Wyrashe has told me about."

The Human faced me. "Are you the one Lady Lissana spoke of, the one who may be able to heal me?" She asked.

"Key word being may, Lady Oren. There are a few things I will need to do to determine how to identify your affliction. With your permission, and the permission of Cier, and your protectors, may I give an examination?"

"What will this 'examination' entail?" The Procyoni asked, his fur fluffed up.

"Observing the afflicted area, obtaining a sample to study, and determining if this is a curse or a disease. This will give me a better understanding of how to proceed, or if I can even help in the first place."

"He is still a novice with magic, and his most surefire way to heal another while completely bypassing their resistance to magic in turn greatly harms him." Cier stated. "Last night, he nearly died as a result of the backlash, and my Lady spent all night healing him."

"How can we know he can even do that much if he cannot heal himself?!" The Procyoni snapped.

"It was a very serious situation, and he was unconscious." Cier stated.

"I will allow this." Lady Oren stated. "Under the close watch of my protectors."

Cier led us to a room, and I asked him to get the microscope, as well as Beatrice. "She knows how to sanitize things after biological examinations." I said.

"Understood." Cier stated.

"Lady Oren, may I know and refer to you by your first name for the sake of expediency?"

"I am Lady Vitria Oren." She said, "And for the sake of expediency, you may."

"Vitria, then." The Procyoni snarled at this. "I will need your bandages undone, I apologize in advance if I react strongly to it."

"I understand." She said before she undid her bandages. The worst thing about it was not the smell of rotting meat, nor the gray and brown scale-like growths across her upper face, but the fact that she no longer had eyes, but instead dark pits where they should be.

"Sura." I said to the Procyoni. "Would you please open the window?"

He obliged without a word, a fresh breeze blew in and I looked closely. It was horrific, her face was literally rotting off.

"Do you feel pain?" I asked.

"Yes." She said as Beatrice entered. I had honestly expected Beatrice to retch, but instead she looked fascinated by what she saw.

"Beatrice, we will be examining small blood and tissue samples. You have seen enough of both to know when something is out of the ordinary?" I asked.

"Yes." She said.

"Good. Vitria, may Beatrice also be granted permission to address you by name for the sake of expediency?"

"Yes." Vitria stated.

"I will first collect some blood samples, one from the afflicted area, and one from an unafflicted area. This will be used to determine if this is a disease or not."

"I understand." She said.

"The blood sample will not be used for any magic."

"This Contract is sealed." She replied.

"Good."

Beatrice had created a syringe using my description of them, and she was the one who collected the samples since she had more practice than I did, and steadier hands. She also collected small samples of flesh, and she examined it all under the microscope.

"Anomalies found in afflicted samples." Beatrice stated. "Testing antibacterial serum."

I smiled. Beatrice was a genius, and though my understanding of science had a lot of holes, she was quick to find out more than I anticipated just based on what she already knew. She had discovered the antimicrobial properties of penicillin mold- I couldn't even guess at the species name, or even what all strains there were- and had managed to create multi-purpose magical and non-magical disease curatives with her skill with alchemy.

"The serum is reacting positively, I am certain this is indeed a disease."

"That's unfortunate." I remarked. "This means the tissue is necrotic and will kill her, I do not know if I even have the power to restore her to full health properly, but-"

'You owe me a favor, Bahamut.'

'This will not be gentle, for I need you and your gift.' Bahamut answered.

"Vitria, what I am about to do is extremely dangerous to my own body. I require no hesitation from you, the longer this takes, the more likely I will die. Once I begin, there is no turning back."

"Is my life so worth another?" She asked. "Must you risk yourself, when it would be easier for me to die?"

"I once sought to die." I said. "And it was the kindness of a stranger that allowed me to live. What I offer is greater than I can do alone. It is not the divine favor of a God who has found favor in one who has devoted their life, it is the payment given to one who was used against their will. The payment of a debt in full. A true miracle delivered through a vessel that can overcome what can stop short a God."

The Azurite took a step back, it could sense what was about to come forth.

"Do you accept life, or will you die now?"

"I do not want to die."

I took her face in my hands and through me, Bahamut spoke. "Then live, and be healed."

It was painful and bright, I felt like I would burn up, that my ashes would be burned up, and that I would be no more. I felt Bahamut's talons within my spine, I felt His power tearing me apart, and before my eyes, I saw Vitria's face be healed, and I saw her eyes restored. Her eyes widened as what had slowly devoured her was systematically hunted down and destroyed.

I screamed, and Bahamut roared, but I could not leave the job unfinished.

My vision went red, a long gash opened up on my arm and it bled profusely, and then suddenly, it was done, and there was more. The power of a miracle was immense, and once released, it could not be stopped. Vitria stumbled back, and I held my hands against my chest. I could feel it, I'd used most of the power to heal her, there was enough, maybe, to heal myself. The gash slowly sealed, my vision slowly cleared, and the bleeding from my eyes, nose, ears, and mouth slowed to a trickle, and then suddenly, it was calm. I collapsed onto my knees, still utterly wrecked by what I'd done, but nowhere near as bad as I had been before.

Vitria was on the floor, her back to the wall, her eyes wide with shock, and her attendants were completely still.

"Bea-" I coughed up blood.

She brought over several healing potions, even she was shaking. I downed them all as quickly as I could, and spent two Divine spell slots on healing myself. It was then that I passed out...