Dave's eyes fluttered open, his vision swimming as he tried to focus on his surroundings.

The cold, hard, white marble surface beneath him sent an icy chill through his battered body. As his sight cleared, he found himself staring up at a white, vaulted ceiling, intricate flowery patterns etched into the pale stone above.

A face swam into view, hovering over him. It belonged to a woman with striking features - her skin was a pale lavender, and her hair seemed to be made of living vines. Her large eyes, a deep emerald green, held compassion and a hint of something harder, more pragmatic. She had two stripes on each cheek, short, gray, pointy horns and a dark nose.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," she said.

As she spoke, she lifted her hands from Dave's body.

A dark Kitlix sparkling with green shimmers that was formerly perched on Dave's chest stretched languidly before hopping onto the healer's outstretched fingers, rushing onto her shoulder.

Dave tried to speak, but his throat felt like sandpaper. He managed a weak groan instead. As he attempted to sit up, a sharp pain lanced through his body, causing him to wince.

"W-where am I?" He croaked.

"Healers Hall," the woman answered.

It was then that Dave felt something cold and heavy around his neck. His hand flew to his throat, fingers tracing the smooth metal of what could only be a collar.

Panic surged through him. "What... what is this?" he sputtered, already suspecting the answer.

The healer's voice became very matter-of-fact. "You were brought to me on the brink of death, Mr. Adventurer. The magic required to save your life was... substantial."

Dave's mind stuttered in disjointed flashes, trying to piece together what had happened. The metal bugs, the fight, the long walk back to the city, the handshake with the terrifyingly dangerous fox - it all came flooding back.

He looked at his wrist. The ID token on there showed him a rather harsh [-196 S, 86 Co].

The healer sighed. "The blood healing you required was pricey. A healing I was gracious enough to provide, despite your lack of funds. The collar ensures you'll work off that debt."

She handed him a cup of water and he chugged it greedily.

Handing the empty cup back, Dave struggled to sit up, ignoring the protest of his aching muscles. He looked around for his bug and razor-cat-bird filled bag. "Wait. I have Quest items that..."

"Questing nearly got you killed, as you went into the wilds without any armor like an idiot," the healer retorted, her tone sharpening. "Your debt is to me so you'll work under me directly. If you have a skill useful to me you'll last longer here. As I am a healer, I will not be using the pain control dial on you. Fail to cooperate and I'll simply sell you to another party. The bugs you fetched and the Felislice corpse were taken to Dvaliss smithy as per your Quest plate and subtracted from how much you owe me."

Dave swallowed nervously as he went over his stats.

Name:

Dave Walter

Age:

33

Species & Subtype:

Human

Core Affinity:

Phantomancer

Level:

4

Anima:

86/86 + [34.5542]

Anima Stamina:

4/4 + [19.9642]

Mana:

4/4 + [0.1853]

Mana Regen:

4 m/hr + [0.0354]

Strength:

0

Agility:

0

Dexterity:

0

Vitality:

0 + [34.4832]

Charisma:

0

Magic:

0

Foresight:

0

Intelligence:

0

Wisdom:

0

Skills:

Phantom Sight

Phantom Absorption

Postmortem Parleyer

Wraith Wingman: Sherlock

Affliction:

DeathStrand 22:52:14

Finances:

[-196 S, 86 Co]

State:

Collar Bound Healer's Assistant

Dave felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold, white marble beneath him. "Wait, I'm still cursed, I think! There's something called DeathStrand in my affliction list. I... You need to scan me for it... please!"

The healer cut him off with a wave of her hand. "No. I've examined you very thoroughly and fixed everything that was wrong with you. Whatever affliction you think you have, it doesn't exist. You've had a lot of broken bones and torn muscles, some half-healed bones, lots of deep cuts and a blood poisoning Affliction called The Kiss of Felislice. I healed it all. You're welcome. You might have problems down the line due to the nature of the Felislice, but we'll handle that too... if it shows up."

"Check me again!" Dave insisted, his voice rising. "It's got a countdown and everything!"

"A countdown?" The healer's emerald eyes narrowed, studying him intently. After a long moment, she spoke, her voice just as firm. "I assure you, there is nothing wrong with you beyond the injuries you sustained. Whatever you think you see... it's not real."

"It's real, I swear it!" Dave insisted. "I can see it in my Stats!"

Dave choked as he stared at the updated clock of:

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

[DeathStrand 22:51:44]

"Shit... I have only twenty two hours left until the timer runs out!"

"The Felislice you've encountered was high level, its steel curse must have poisoned your mind," the healer shook her green dreadlocks. "Hallucinations are a common side effect. They will fade and your mind will clear, given a day or two. Don't worry."

Dave opened his mouth to protest further, but the healer held up a hand, silencing him. "I will permit you to rest for five minutes more and then we'll go get started."

"No, no, no," he stammered. "I don't have time to..."

The healer squinted at Dave and then placed a hand on his shoulder, her green Kitlix leaping onto Dave's chest. The creature's crystalline body pulsed with a soft, soothing light.

"Calm," the healer commanded, her voice resonating with power. The Kitlix's lime-tinted light intensified, and Dave felt a wave of tranquility wash over him. His racing thoughts slowed, and his breathing steadied.

"Isn't that better?" the healer asked. "Now, listen carefully. You're going to be working for me now. My name is Sylphaera Artuci, but you will address me as Master Sylphaera. You'll work for me until your debt is cleared. I'll be a nice Master. If you've a talent for Vitality, you might even become a Healer like me someday! There's no need to be scared, Dave. You are an Adventurer no longer."

Dave nodded, feeling strangely at ease despite the situation. "Yes, Master Sylphaera," he sighed noticing that his token ID now said [Healer's Assistant] instead of [Iron Adventurer].

Master Sylphaera led him out of the room for patients, to another white gothic room. A large glass bowl filled with a variety of Kitlix, their crystalline bodies shimmering in a rainbow of colors stood in its center. The white-robed Kitlix handler was standing behind the bowl, a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and wire-rimmed glasses. A beige Kitlix sat on the man's shoulder staring at Dave with pale eyes.

The man's name tag read [Gaius Flintosh, Senior Bonding Specialist of Kitlix Chapel.]

"Greetings, Master Healer," Gaius bowed to Sylphaera. "I see that you have a new... assistant?"

"Yes," Sylphaera nodded. "Run the affinity test, yeah?"

"Sure thing," Gaius nodded. "Go ahead, applicant. Put your hand into the bowl and we'll see if any of these take a liking to you," he instructed.

Feeling desperate to find a cure for his affliction, Dave kept all of his points in Vitality. As he approached the bowl and put a hand into the rainbow of gem-critters filling it, a green Kitlix seemed to perk up, its eyes fixed on Dave. It leaped out of the bowl and onto his outstretched hand.

"Hrmm," Sylphaera whistled in approval. "Consider me impressed. You actually got a green to come up to you."

"Go on now, give her a name. She will be yours for life," Gaius said, blue stained glass featuring Healers and their Kitlix reflecting on his wire-rimmed glasses.

Dave stared at the green Kitlix nestled in his palm.

"For... life?" Dave swallowed. He glanced uncertainly between Gaius and Master Sylphaera, searching for any sign that this was some kind of elaborate joke.

"That's right!" Gaius nodded. "That's a level 34 Vitalix! Consider yourself very lucky! I've never seen a Kitlix that high level so purposefully choose someone before! Ordinarily, new applicants get level zero newborns or Kitlix that match their level."

Master Sylphaera nodded. "Forget about being an adventurer, Dave! You're clearly an incredibly talented healer," she said. "I thought you were only level four, and yet you've somehow got a level thirty-four Green accepting you!"

Gaius clapped his hands together, his enthusiasm palpable. "Indeed! This is pretty much unheard of!" he exclaimed. "Your magical green alignment must be ridiculously pure for something like this to happen! Go on, give her a name, while I fill out the paperwork."

"Thanks," Dave nodded. He watched as the green Kitlix bobbed her head at him, almost as if encouraging him to make a decision. "Healy," he decided.

The Kitlix emitted a happy trill, rushing up Dave's shoulder.

Gaius beamed at Dave, jotting something down in a leather book. "Healy it is! Now, let's begin the bonding ritual! Token please!"

Dave handed his token to the man and watched as Gaius began the bonding.

The Kitlix Specialist's movements were fluid and practiced, his hands tracing intricate patterns in the air as he muttered incantations under his breath.

"Now, Dave," Gaius instructed, his voice taking on a formal tone, "please place your right hand on Healy's head and your left hand over your heart."

Dave complied, feeling a slight tingling sensation where his skin made contact with the Kitlix's crystalline body. Healy let out a soft, melodious trill, her emerald eyes fixed on Dave with an intensity that made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Fommi, if you please," Gaius said softly. The beige Kitlix on the man's shoulder began to glow, igniting with all of the colors of the rainbow. Its inner light pulsed in time with Gaius's words as he began to chant in a language Dave didn't seem to understand.

As the chant grew louder, Gaius sprinkled the powder in a circle around Dave and Healy. The moment the circle was complete, it ignited in a brilliant flash of green light.

Dave gasped as he felt a surge of energy course through him. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before - warm and invigorating, yet somehow calming at the same time.

Suddenly, brilliant green fireworks erupted from the circle, rushing across the entire room in dazzling arcs and spirals. The light show was breathtaking, filling the air with sparks that danced and swirled, fading away as they landed on Dave and his new companion.

As the last of the fireworks dissipated, Dave was left with a profound sense of connection to Healy. It was as if a part of him that he never knew was missing had suddenly clicked into place.

Bonded Familiar: LV 34 Vitalix Kitlix, Healy.

Dave's bracelet notified him.

Gaius lowered his hands, a broad smile on his face. "The bonding is complete!" he announced. "Dave, Healy is now your familiar. You are connected in ways that go beyond the physical realm. You are now officially a Healer's Apprentice, congratulations! Here is your token back!"

Dave smiled, enjoying the inner warmth of his new connection and then his eyes drifted to his token.

The number on it had changed to [-536 S, 86 Co].

"Wait," he stammered. "Why do I owe five hundred silver now?!"

"Yes, yes, Kitlix cost money. Don't worry, you'll work it off faster now that you've got a lovely green. There's no time to lose, I must teach you how to use your new Vitality Kitlix to heal specific parts of your body. Once we've gone over that, we'll move onto live patients!" Sylphaera pulled Dave out of the Kitlix Chapel before he could say anything else.

Over the next several hours, Sylphaera guided Dave through the basics of healing magic. He learned to channel Vitality-aligned mana through the Kitlix, directing its energy to mend internal injuries and ease pain in specific parts of himself.

"You're doing well," his new Master nodded. "Very well indeed. You must have had some experience administrating very deep specificity in your previous life."

"Yeah," Dave nodded. "I was a programmer."

"Don't know what that is and don't care," Sylphaera said. "Let's move onto live patients. Also, let's get you your own apprentice robe to replace this gray one."

With that, Sylphaera led Dave to a change room, where he picked out a white robe with green trim featuring a Vitalix Kitlix logo on the shoulder, similar to what his Master was wearing.

"Now, you look the part of a Healer," Sylphaera nodded with a smile. "Let's get cracking on healing idiots."

She led Dave across a multitude of white stone rooms where he got to look at horribly injured adventurers and practice his healing on them.

Despite the looming timer of the DeathStrand, Dave found himself absorbed in the lessons, his newfound ability to heal providing a small measure of comfort in the face of his potential impending doom as he moved from patient to patient with his Master.

'Maybe it won't be so bad... maybe when the timer runs out nothing will happen?' He thought glancing at the timer that was now at seventeen hours to go.

----------------------------------------

The day quickly turned into red-rune tinted night and then morning and evening.

After nearly fifteen more hours of non-stop healing work, only interrupted for snacking on sandwiches, brought by a collared, weary looking man in a gray robe, Sylphaera declared both of them on a rest break and led him to the dinner hall.

"Is it normal for Healers to work such long hours?" Dave asked. "Why don't I feel sleepy or tired?"

"Our Kitlix keep us upright for very long time," his Master explained. "That's the advantage of being a healer. Sleep can be just pushed back."

"Handy," Dave said.

----------------------------------------

Dave sat at the long wooden table in the Healers' dining hall, a bowl of steaming meat soup and a chunk of crusty bread before him. The rich aroma of herbs and spices wafted up, but he found it hard to focus on the meal. His mind kept circling back to the countdown ticking away in his stats, now down to just over two hours to go.

Was the affliction something that Cedez did to him? The world around him felt insanely real, not like a dream at all, didn't feel like a vision of the future. Maybe the vision was going to happen while he slept, perhaps.... he just had to switch all of his points to Foresight for it to occur?

"You did great today, apprentice," Sylphaera praised Dave. "You've got a genuine talent for healing. You can relax for the next few hours, get to know other apprentices and then have a nap and then we'll get back to the grind."

Dave nodded tiredly and closed his eyes briefly, reaching out to Sherlock. The phantom detective's violin played a somber, uncertain tune. It was clear that even Sherlock, with all his deductive prowess, was at a loss when it came to the mysterious DeathStrand.

"You really have no idea what's going to happen, do you?" Dave thought.

The violin's melody turned apologetic, confirming his fears.

"The name 'Death' in DeathStrand implies a finality," the violin seemed to suggest without words. "Canvas more Healers for information."

Looking around the bustling dining hall, Dave saw healers and apprentices of all shapes and sizes. Some had skin in various hues of green, violet or blue, others sported feathers or scales and horns. All wore the same white and green robes marked with the Healers Guild emblem - a green Kitlix curling into itself, surrounded by a green wreath featuring sharp, triangular leaves.

Gathering his courage, Dave cleared his throat and addressed the apprentice sitting next to him, a young woman with green antlers on her head. "Excuse me," he began, "I don't suppose you've ever heard of something called a DeathStrand?"

The apprentice Healer considered the question. "DeathStrand? No, can't say that I have. Is it some kind of curse?"

Dave nodded, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. "Something like that.... maybe. It's... it's got a countdown attached to it."

"A countdown? That sounds serious and... odd. Curses generally don't have countdowns, more like states of malady. Is there a malady state? Have you asked Master Sylphaera about it?"

"She doesn't believe it exists," Dave sighed, stirring his soup listlessly. "No malady state, just a countdown."

"Terri don't entertain his nonsense," Sylphaera commented from where she sat. "There's nothing wrong with Dave!"

"Okay, but what if there is?" Terri shook her antlers. "Maybe we should get a second opinion!"

Sylphaera sighed, rolling her green eyes.

Word of Dave's strange condition spread quickly down the table with Terri's chatty voice propelling it forward.

Soon, Healers of various ranks from Masters to their apprentices were chiming in, each offering their own theories or admitting their lack of knowledge on the subject. None had heard of a DeathStrand before.

Sylphaera tried to shove it under the hallucinatory delusion explanation, but the curiosity of the dining Healers was already captured by Dave's weirdness.

One of the apprentices, a twenty-some, brown haired man with a goatee and mustache, large long ears, violet eyes and violet-brown horns excused himself from dinner. In about ten minutes, he brought out a lanky man in a cyan robe with a Veritix Kitlix.

"Hey, I'm apprentice Dumpich," the Healer introduced himself to Dave. "Do you mind if Truth-Seeker Jimirr interrogates you? We'll keep the questions malady-related, don't worry!"

"Yeah, sure," Dave nodded, shaking Dumpich's hand with a smile.

The bald man pulled up a chair, his face expressionless.

"State your name and current occupation," Jimirr said, his voice flat.

"Dave Walter, recently collared Healer's apprentice," Dave replied, feeling the weight of the collar around his neck.

The Veritix flashed green, confirming his honesty.

"Do you believe you are currently afflicted by a condition known as DeathStrand?" Jimirr continued.

Dave nodded. "Yes, I do. It appeared in my status after... an encounter with someone in the city."

Again, the Veritix glowed green.

Jimirr raised an eyebrow. "Can you describe the symptoms of this alleged condition?"

"That's just it," Dave said, frustration evident in his voice. "There are no physical symptoms. Just a countdown timer in my status screen. It's at..." he checked quickly, "...just under two hours now."

The Veritix remained green, but Sylphaera scoffed from her seat nearby. "This is ridiculous. A Veritix can be bypassed by someone who truly believes their own delusions."

Dave turned to her. "How can a truth-detecting creature be bypassed?"

Sylphaera sighed heavily, as if explaining to a child. "The Veritix doesn't detect absolute truth, only what the speaker believes to be true. If you somehow genuinely believe you're afflicted, even if you're not, the Veritix will shine green."

"I believe that this man is a necromancer," Seeker Jimirr suddenly declared.

"What?!" The faces of the healers turned to Dave and the Truth-Seeker.