Am I a Healer? You'd Better Think So!-Chapter 58: Devourer’s Oath (2)

Meru started explaining things like a teacher. First of all, her father's name, back when he lived on Earth, was Bruno Wube. That little detail wasn't in the book. Darian had the same last name — he got it from his father, and obviously, that wasn't a coincidence.

But it wasn't Meru's father who made that happen, even if it was the will of the heavens. She explained there were rules, and he couldn't interfere directly with people's karmic cycle. Everyone had to make their own choices. Whether everything ended in ruin or peace, that was just a reflection of people's own actions.

Still, in the book, Darian knew Earth's universe was special. Bruno Wube was born there, and when he came back after a long time, he found out he had way deeper roots there. Some ancient power of the universe had passed through Earth — and that was what triggered what he eventually became.

But that power... it fused with the laws of that universe, all because of what he did.

There were only two options: destroy the entire Earth universe to remove it, or let it merge completely with the universe. That way, everyone would be born already carrying a piece of that power.

That's where the Awakened came from. That power was born with them, and during their lives, they might or might not awaken and use it.

There were two key traits someone needed to awaken it: willpower and imagination. It was that way because that ancient power had been created at the beginning of the world, made to help mortals. There were eight others like it, each one with a different purpose.

At first, it wasn't a problem. But as Earth's tech — and the tech of other planets — advanced, people stopped working with their hands and let their imaginations run wild. It didn't take long for the number of Awakened to explode, and then chaos started to spread.

That's when the will of the heavens stepped in. And since it had direct ties to these events, there was karma involved, giving it permission to act — even if with limits.

As someone who'd read a ton of Earth's 21st-century fantasy, he created a superhero system, gave them purpose and rewards. Whenever someone awakened, he'd step in to shape that power toward that purpose.

But the ancestral Awakened... they were rare cases where the will of the heavens couldn't interfere. That person had karma with the world and had to make their own choices. Their powers would still adapt to the system, but there were no strict rules or hard limits. Basically, that person had permission to do whatever the hell they wanted.

The will of the heavens created the altars and changed Earth's geography — and that of other planets — to separate people better and avoid war.

It also used his old Earth family — the ones behind that hidden organization — and made them help out to clear their karma. Humans naturally chose to form empires, dividing themselves more cleanly.

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As for the Divine Protection Universe, it was a very special place, right on the edge of being destroyed. So it was the perfect bridge to connect both universes and let them help each other.

Now, about the connection between the protagonist and Darian, and the fact they shared the same last name — that was because they had karma together.

Darian was born into the same family, naturally. So when the will of the heavens saw that, it understood Darian had been born at the perfect time to fulfill something huge. But Meru didn't say anything more about it. She changed the subject:

"This book from this universe is an old compilation of my father's deeds. He tried to erase all traces of himself, 'cause knowing he existed could cause problems. But some people refused to destroy the records. Since he couldn't just force them, he directed everything into a single book in each universe — and sealed them. Only people with karma tied to him can read it. And by doing so, they connect to him. You could see it as a legacy for the next generations."

"There are four other books like this, in four different universes. The mission in this universe you're in is considered rank D. The others are, naturally, in places ranked C, B, A, and S. Everything was planned so you could grow step by step and get them."

"The missions for those places will come gradually. In five years, the next one, and so on. You need to get stronger and do whatever it takes to reach those places, got it?"

Darian swallowed hard. The clan he was temporarily in was C-D rank. He didn't know if he would stay there, but now he would be forced to join an S rank clan in order to access the lower missions?

Not to mention, even if he was in a clan like that, there was no guarantee he'd actually get chosen to go.

Meru almost read his thoughts and added, "The missions are sent to Earth, not to the empires. They have a rotating agreement among themselves. My father can't change that. You'll have to find your own way to get them."

Darian froze. How the hell was he supposed to pull that off?

"Oh? Where's that courage from before?" she mocked. "If they won't give you the mission peacefully, then just take it by force. The world's simpler than you think. Be fair to those who are fair — but some idiots only understand strength."

He took a deep breath and nodded. Meru saw the determination in his eyes and continued:

"Back to the beginning. I said I'd destroy your universe earlier, right? That wasn't a lie. We're just postponing it for now, since you showed at least a bit of potential."

"But... he wants to destroy the place where he lived too?" Darian asked, tense.

"It's not his fault. It's the karma of the people. If you can't fix this... things will get a lot worse. Better for everything to be destroyed early." she said coldly. "Anyway, do your best to grow and find the other four books. If you fail or die along the way, don't worry. Your universe — and the Dragoness's universe — will be wiped out not long after."

Darian was speechless. Not long ago, he was just a coward; now, he was just trying to survive. He always thought he wanted to fight and grow stronger just to protect his siblings... and now two entire universes were counting on him?

He took a deep breath and muttered, "Well, fuck the world. I'll make it happen."

Meru nodded. "Now, let's get to your abilities..."

She explained that the source of Darian's curse didn't come from the marks themselves. That only came up after he awakened, and it was Meru herself who placed it on him at the time.

"I had to use all the power from your awakening to form the marks. I did that on purpose. Remember this — you can't reveal yourself while you're still weak, or some people will figure out you're not normal. When an anomaly appears and starts growing... they clip its wings fast before it becomes a threat."

Darian's eyes widened. "What? And my siblings?"

"Those twins — once they awakened, the laws of the world gave them their own paths and a foundation for future power. What they'll become is a question mark. They could end up being a threat you'll have to destroy, or powerful allies. But for now, they're not a real danger. Nothing's gonna happen... probably not until they reach five rings. So yeah, another reason for you to get strong fast." she replied calmly.

Darian clenched his fists, tense. Meru went on:

"My technique, on the other hand, was imprinted on your soul one day before your tenth birthday. You don't remember it because I erased your memories. But on the night before your birthday, I visited you myself and left it there. As for your mom, she got a visit from my mother — who gave her the book she wrote herself."

With that cleared up, she started with the basics. Without the two marks, Yin and Yang, he could only use the simplest effect.

"The most basic passive skill is called: Master Lord of Karma!"

She announced it with excitement, leaving Darian deep in thought. He already knew the effect well — he could feel, see, and read people's karma.

It was a gamble: to unlock the second skill, he had to awaken on his own. Only then would the marks be carved into him.

"The second skill is the power of the Abyssal Chaotic Devourer!"

She said it in a grand voice again. Her naming style was kinda over-the-top... Darian remembered the book — her father had very questionable taste when it came to names. His own wife even wrote that in the book, so yeah, guess it ran in the family.

It was the ability to consume an enemy's karma — but only after their soul was completely severed from the body. In other words, after defeating them. The devoured karma would be purified, turning almost all of it into white power — though a small bit of darkness would always remain.

That was why he always ended up with 99% white power. She explained that keeping 1% of evil was necessary — Yin and Yang needed to coexist to maintain balance.

"When you've got these powers available, your third skill kicks in: the power of the Supreme Kamico Warlock!"

In short, he could manipulate the laws of nature and life, like the clone had done... and he could also cancel them out with ease.

Darian swallowed hard hearing that. Most blessings were based on natural and life laws. That meant... he could become straight-up invincible against certain people, no matter how strong they were?

That third skill also included using both white and black power. She broke it down in more detail.

White was sacred — healing and purifying. Actively, it could heal any injury — even soul damage — as long as the body was intact and still had a bit of life left.

But there was also a passive effect: as long as the white mark existed, Darian was immortal. He could come back to life, even after his soul or body was destroyed. The catch? It would burn through all the white and black power he had stored.

Every time he devoured karma, part of it would automatically be stored in the marks to fuel this passive skill. Whatever got stored couldn't be used actively, even if he wanted to. Because of that, this passive ability had already been triggered twice — and he hadn't even known.

"Don't go thinking you're immortal and start doing dumb shit. You've only fought insects — and you still died to them. Even among the strongest on Earth, there are people who can sense where your laws are and destroy them in battle. If you fight them, they'll kill you for real," Meru warned, making Darian seriously reflect.

Black power, on the other hand, was the opposite. Actively, it was made for attacking and destroying. It could wipe out anything alive or connected to life. Even in small amounts, it could pierce through any defense.

Yeah, it was absolute power — but only against living beings or things tied to them. If he tried to destroy, say, a mountain made of rock... black power wouldn't do jack. But if he was fighting someone using a weapon, that weapon — because it was linked to the user — would be affected, even if only slightly.

Passively, black power created connections. Evil drew in more evil. Darian could use invisible threads of dark karma to track, pull, or manipulate that energy from afar. It was something he'd already messed around with a bit, but it still had loads of untapped potential.

"The fourth and final skill is called: Apocalyptic Marks of the Celestial Judge!"

Darian was stunned by how enthusiastic she sounded saying such an overblown name. Then again... she did have the power to back it up, so if she wanted to be dramatic, who was gonna stop her?

This skill let him create sub-marks linked to his own. She named them shadow mark — created using black power — and light mark — formed with white power.

When attached to someone's soul with their consent, the mark formed an unbreakable contract. It only worked on people who had a strong amount of light or darkness in them. People who were more neutral — like Lucy and Lucius, who had gray auras — couldn't be affected.

The shadow mark created a Shadow Spirit. The target would feel all the pain they'd caused others — like every victim was turning on them. At the end of the judgment, their soul had to choose: accept their sins and submit to Darian... or refuse.

If they refused, they'd be completely devoured — and that would make Darian stronger in different ways. But if they accepted, their soul would merge with the mark and become a part of Darian. Basically, it was like a criminal slave working off their sentence.

As a Shadow Spirit, their level would be equal to a law level: starting at Mortal and leveling up to Divine, Immortal, and Calamity.

"To level up, it has to defeat other prey with dark karma. It'll absorb some of the karma, and you'll get the rest, like you devoured it yourself. At Calamity level, it can fight a full group of nine-ring humans on its own and still stand a chance — depending on the situation. It's a real calamity... pretty cool, huh?"

She explained it playfully, and Darian just nodded — clearly a bit freaked out. After all... he could have an army of these monsters if he fed them right...

The light mark, on the other hand, gave rise to a Spirit of Light — totally different from the shadow one. It was like giving the person a second chance at life.

No pain, no suffering. The soul would sense Darian's intentions and could choose to reincarnate or stick around to help him.

To level up, it needed to do good things — generating positive karma. It would absorb a bit, and Darian would get the rest automatically.

"With this, you can tell what kind of person you're dealing with. But, like you've probably noticed, someone's past is just that — the past. Don't judge the present based on actions from a previous life."

She warned him, and Darian nodded again.

"Alright, I explained everything in the simplest way I could. But... you're not exactly smart enough to make the best use of this just with knowledge."

Then she paused, and her voice went cold:

"You read how my dad raised my mom with harsh discipline... I went through the same kind of hell. But we were family, and he couldn't stand seeing us suffer so much. You, though? I'll push you to the absolute limit and won't give a damn. You ready?"

Darian just nodded, even though he had a feeling he'd never forget that day...

And yeah — she's gonna make damn sure he remembers.