Rehabilitation Therapist for the Broken Warrior – Chapter 54

Zion had no family.

He was found at the church in a small rural village, cradled in the cold embrace of his deceased mother, with a note bearing the name ‘Zion Laurel.’

It was a cold winter, and even though Zion’s mother had been dead for quite some time, the baby Zion, nestled in her arms, smiled brightly and welcomed the clerics who came to bring him back, unaware of his surroundings.

Zion likely never had a father from the start. He was the world’s savior conceived through virgin birth, at the cost of his mother’s life.

Her birth was both a prophecy of doom and a blessing to prevent it.

As foretold, no one interfered in Zion’s life, but he naturally walked the path of the sword and emerged to save people.

He gathered reliable companions and grew stronger.

And when the gate finally opened, he realized what he was and stood up to face the world, fulfilling his duty.

Perhaps, for Zion, there was nothing from the very beginning.

Be it a hero or a princess, no one can lose what they don’t possess.

What Zion had was solely his body, granted by the gods, and his mission, bestowed upon him by the gods.

And after the war, when everyone began to rise from the ruins…

“I can’t…”

Zion could no longer stand.

Having stood steadfast for all when everyone fell, Zion collapsed alone, ushering in an era where hope was no longer needed.

As Zion weakly exited the royal palace, she found herself unable to say to her friend, who was despairing from the sorrow of losing half her body, that she felt worse and was suffering more.

Iris was dead, and Hanamana had immediately returned to the land of the elves.

Zion had no one left to talk to, no place to go.

Now that Noa’s body had become like this, she couldn’t demand anything from the imperial family.

In the end, Zion returned to Iris’s grave.

Located behind the royal palace, in the national cemetery.

Leaning against Iris’s gravestone, Zion looked up at the sky.

She had no interest in what the sky, dotted with white and blue, looked like, or in how brightly the sun shone upon her.

‘What am I supposed to do now? Where should I go? What… what am I even supposed to be?’

All the light in the world shone upon Zion, yet she was in a state where she could see nothing.

Now, she didn’t even know what to do to live, not even the gods had told her.

*******

Noa found Zion 40 hours after she arrived at Iris’s grave.

Zion had done nothing for two days, and on the morning of the third day, the caretaker who cleans the cemetery on weekends found her, allowing the news to finally reach Noa.

Sitting in a wheelchair that was said to be developed for those unable to walk in the Noden Kingdom, Noa approached Zion.

For two full days, buried in tears, Noa had ultimately been reduced to a state of no expression while looking down at Zion, who was equally expressionless.

“Zion, you…”

Zion remained motionless, slumped against Iris’s gravestone, her limbs hanging limply, her head tilted downward.

If blood had been splattered on the ground, it would make her look like a corpse with a hole in its stomach.

“Why are you like this? We drove away the Demon King, ended the war, saved the world…”

What they fought for wasn’t out of hope for something in return.

They had only done what was natural as a part of humanity. They fought to survive, they fought to protect.

They just wanted everyone to live. They wished for a world where everyone could live without worry, just to be ordinary and happy. They hadn’t desired anything more than that…

“Why did it have to come to this…”

It’s just too much.

Why did Iris have to die while we were left shattered?

Noa crawled from her wheelchair, moving toward Zion.

The expression of the attendant pushing the wheelchair turned pallid, but he couldn’t stop Noa or interfere.

Noa’s once pure white and blue dress was gradually becoming dirtied but she ignored that as she reached Zion, who was completely still.

“Zion, aren’t you upset? Aren’t you angry? Why did it have to be like this for us? Why…!”

And as she came face to face with Zion, she finally managed to lift her head to meet Noa’s eyes.

“Noa…”

“…….”

And the cracked, parched lips of Zion managed to utter only one word…

“I… what do I do? Where should I fight?”

Upon hearing that, Noa’s heart sank, bursting into tears.

Ah, Zion. Poor, kind-hearted Zion. This child cannot possibly think like that.

A child who didn’t know how to resent or feel wronged. That even in this state, she could only say such things.

So Zion, even now, is just sitting here doing nothing because she doesn’t know what to do?

“What do you mean fight, you fool… it’s all over now. We don’t have to fight anymore. So get up, okay?”

“Noa, I… can’t stand.”

“What?”

“My body won’t move. All of it. I can’t muster even a bit of strength. My body… it seems to be completely ruined. I… I…”

What… what does that even mean?

Why is Zion…? Suddenly her body would be ruined…

Noa grabbed Zion’s limp arm, examining it.

Zion’s arm was nothing but bone, thin and frail.

Noa moved her hands busily, touching various parts of Zion’s body, but there was hardly any muscle left anywhere on her.

Why? Just a short while ago, she fought against the Demon King; how could she be in such a ruined state now?

“Zion…”

Noa put her arms down and embraced Zion tightly.

“Why, why is it like this for you…”

But Zion didn’t return the embrace or even cry.

She couldn’t even lift her arms, and there were no thoughts forming in her mind.

She had already thought too much. And no matter how much she thought, Zion couldn’t figure anything out.

About what she should do… how she should live going forward.

*************

“I don’t know. I have no idea why this has happened…”

Despite calling in renowned doctors and clerics skilled in healing from the empire… no, the world itself, all the doctors who examined Zion shook their heads in unison.

No one knew why it had come to this, and no one knew how to treat her.

Unlike Noa, whose insides burned with anxiety, Zion remained completely blank.

“Perhaps, it’s just a thought, but… it might be that Zion’s role in this world has come to an end.”

“What… do you mean?”

“A hero is the adversary of the Demon King. Given that she was born as a sign of the Demon King’s appearance and has driven him away, now that peace has returned to the world, it seems Zion’s body suddenly… well…”

“Be quiet. If you can’t heal her, then just leave at once.”

The cleric summoned this time couldn’t do anything either and bowed his head in respect before leaving.

“Don’t worry, Zion. You’ll definitely get better…”

“Noa.”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe what that person said is right.”

“Zion!”

That can’t be true. Everyone is now supposed to begin a new life in this peaceful land, how could it end for Zion!

Who decides such things?

Noa gripped Zion’s shoulders tightly to prevent her from spiraling into unnecessary thoughts.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking something strange, right? That your role has ended? That can’t be true! You absolutely have the right to be happy! No, you should be happier than anyone in this world! So there must be a way for you to get better. The Creator must have left that somewhere! If not, if that isn’t true…”

Tears welling up in Noa’s eyes, trembling with anger and helplessness.

“Where is that kind of god in this world! Using Zion as a pawn and leaving her like this once she’s served her purpose! What… what does that even mean…!”

Zion interrupted Noa’s passionate outburst with her trembling hand, slowly raising a finger.

Noa, who barely touched Zion’s fingertip with her lips, could find no words.

And Zion shook her head vigorously, looking at Noa with teary eyes.

“I’m not doing my duty or obeying a mission that someone forced upon me. The Creator knew what I would do, sure, but that just means the Creator knew what choice I would make; He didn’t determine my actions. I just did what I wanted to do and searched for what I wanted to find. So don’t say such things, got it?”

Zion offered a faint smile.

But upon hearing those words, Noa immediately perceived that it was a lie.

‘It’s a lie. She’s surely making up a story that she’s saying to avoid insulting the divine.’

Zion didn’t know what she should be doing. Since the defeat of the Demon King, Zion had done nothing during almost all of her time.

Zion had nothing she wanted. She had always done only what was necessary. If that’s the case…

“Zion. Let’s go see the oracle.”

“Go? For what?”

“To the oracle. We need to ask the Creator directly if your role has truly come to an end.”

“Th-That’s…”

“Let’s go meet the Saint. If you say you won’t go, I’ll go by myself to ask.”

Noa’s determination was already decisive and irreversible.

Even though the idea of going to receive the oracle from the great mage Noa didn’t sit right with her, she was willing to do anything for Zion.

In the end, Noa couldn’t help but pray to the Creator before heading to meet the Saint with Zion.

A desperate prayer, pleading for Zion to be granted strength and meaning to live on.