A Terminal Healer Needs an Obsessive Maniac-Chapter 139
Ryu Seo-Ha had long suspected that having a Baek Wing dimension core, something no ordinary human could handle, meant that he had some kind of encounter with a higher being in his past life. However, he had never imagined he had met one face-to-face. As scenes from various timelines unfolded before him like a panorama, one particular memory grabbed his attention, causing his eyelashes to tremble slightly.
"Child, close your eyes and imagine for a moment."
It had been exactly one year since he was left at the orphanage when the headmistress, handing him a warm cup of cocoa, began talking about something strange.
"You are driving a train that has derailed, racing toward a steep cliff."
At the time, Ryu Seo-Ha had been just beginning to open up his heart to the warm care of the headmistress, the first kind treatment he had ever known.
"Unfortunately, there is no way to stop the train."
He was still plagued by guilt over the lives lost in his past and frequently suffered from near-hysterical episodes in the dead of night, unable to shake off the feeling that he had failed to save innocent victims.
"Unless you separate the driver’s cabin from the passenger cars, both you and all the passengers will die."
The headmistress’s gentle manner of speech, filled with subtle manipulations, was perfectly designed to provoke the trauma of the young Ryu Seo-Ha.
"Would you willingly accept death alone in this situation?"
Even after all these years, he could still remember his answer from his past life with absolute clarity.
"Yes. If I don't make that choice, everyone will die, including me."
His answer came from a deep-seated wish to go back and save the victims of the serial killings, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.
"Even if falling off the cliff means you will suffer unbearable pain for a very long time before dying?"
"…How long?"
He had been so engrossed in the conversation that he had nervously asked in return, falling right into the headmistress’s line of questioning.
"It will be the same kind of pain you endured from the abuse you suffered under your father."
"…"
"Would you still choose to save them?"
"…Yes. I would."
His hesitation had only been brief, and his response, though stemming from a pure and innocent heart, had been unwavering.
"Such a good child."
He had thought that saving all the passengers, people who had loved ones unlike him, would be a death worth choosing. A noble sacrifice for the greater good.
"If this dreadful experiment yields the results we seek, child, you will be glorified."
But no matter how earnestly he had deliberated over his choice, no one could have foreseen the truth.
"Your noble sacrifice will allow humanity to break free from the cycle of repeating destiny."
Who would have known that the metaphor the headmistress—who had been temporarily possessed by a higher being—used would turn out to be eerily similar to what actually happened to him?
‘So, that cryptic conversation…’
Ryu Seo-Ha finally began to understand why his soul, originating from Baek Wing, had reincarnated into a body aligned with this world and Black Wing. He had uncovered the reason.
‘What kind of experiment is this?’
He had a rough idea of the purpose behind the cryptic dialogue he had shared with the headmistress in his previous life. It had likely been part of Baek Wing's attempt to secure voluntary consent from their test subjects, shifting responsibility for their “experiment” onto those very subjects.
But he couldn’t quite grasp the full meaning of the “experiment.” He wanted nothing more than to delve deeper into Baek Wing’s motives, to uncover what they had done to him.
However, no matter how crucial it was to unravel the mystery of his reincarnation, his primary goal was still to save Choi Kang-Hoo in all timelines. This experiment would have to wait.
‘First, I need to secure more lifespan.’
Turning his gaze to another timeline, he found himself staring at his younger self, just barely an adult. It was a scene from his past: after working multiple tutoring jobs during the day and snatching a few hours of sleep, he had gone to his night shift loading trucks. This was the moment just before he was hit by a freight truck and killed.
[SYSTEM: To intervene in the timeline XX22.03.18-T5.0244 of individual #S1272-EX1, 29,385 days of lifespan will be consumed. Do you wish to proceed?]
Ryu Seo-Ha’s long eyelashes quivered slightly as he considered the option. The amount of lifespan required was staggering.
Even if he had as much lifespan as a normal person, it wouldn’t be enough. The excessive demand was proof that his death had been deeply connected to the actions of a higher being in his past life.
‘What did they do to me?’
Ryu Seo-Ha wasn’t foolish. He had run simulations for this very scenario. He knew that if he sacrificed others like Choi Kang-Hoo, he could gain more than double the lifespan invested.
But he couldn’t bring himself to cut short innocent lives. Using the lifespan of his former self seemed like the least harmful option—he would simply die earlier in the past, and it wouldn’t affect his current self directly. However…
‘I need to confirm something.’
With no other choice, he decided to investigate the headmistress from his past life, hoping to find the clues needed to extract lifespan.
"All worlds are reset periodically."
The Baek Wing apostle’s words, spoken in the voice of the higher being she had heard in a divine revelation, echoed in his mind.
"To achieve this reset, a terrible catastrophe will one day befall your world."
After receiving the revelation, the headmistress had immediately started the orphanage, dedicated to preparing Ryu Seo-Ha for his role.
"But if a single, special soul willingly sacrifices itself, there may be a way to break the cycle."
This had all happened before Ryu Seo-Ha was even born.
"Can you comfort this beautiful, noble soul with love when it is most exhausted and worn?"
The Baek Wing higher being had deliberately orchestrated Ryu Seo-Ha’s unfortunate upbringing, ensuring he would be conditioned as a sacrificial lamb.
"We want him to carry the weight of humanity’s wishes across countless lives, so that he can make the choice to break free from the endless cycle of fate."
The conversation between the apostle and the higher being had been, in essence, a contract. Ryu Seo-Ha had unknowingly agreed to endure endless lives of suffering, in exchange for finding a way to liberate humanity across all dimensions.
"What makes this soul so special?" the apostle had cautiously asked.
Her question had finally revealed why Baek Wing had invested so much effort in this.
"Unlike other souls, this one generates far more potent mental energy when it struggles to overcome life’s hardships, rather than when it prays for divine intervention."
Higher beings fed on the wishes and spiritual energy produced by intelligent life. To ensure a constant supply of this energy, they would periodically reset advanced civilizations by unleashing catastrophes to force development back to square one.
However, if there were intelligent beings that no longer turned to higher powers and instead overcame their challenges through their own efforts, they would generate even stronger energy. The higher beings would no longer need to reset worlds if this kind of energy could be consistently produced.
"Through repeated experiments, we’ve discovered the unique qualities of this mutated soul. If we can find a way to instill those qualities in all of humanity, we can free them from the cycle."
The problem was that Baek Wing’s grand plan had been discovered by Black Wing’s information network. Naturally, Black Wing wanted Ryu Seo-Ha’s soul for themselves. Thus, the war between higher beings to monopolize this rare and special soul began.
In the end, Ryu Seo-Ha’s past world had become the Abyss, falling under Black Wing’s control. During their retreat, Baek Wing disguised Ryu Seo-Ha’s soul as part of Black Wing and hid him within enemy territory. This not only allowed them to protect him but also gave them a way to spy on Black Wing.
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‘So my peaceful childhood was merely a period of adjustment…’
Those ten years, seemingly ordinary and happy, had only been a preparation period while Baek Wing set everything in motion. And even then, due to the spiritual-physical disconnect, Ryu Seo-Ha had been sickly, never truly free.
“Pii-you?” Ruby chirped, as if asking if everything was alright, as it remained wrapped around him protectively.
[Status: Remaining lifespan: 5 days, 11 hours, 8 minutes]
Ryu Seo-Ha didn’t respond, overwhelmed by the internal conflict brewing within him. The shocking truth he had just learned paled in comparison to the moral dilemma he now faced.
Could he really steal the lifespan of innocent people to save his beloved Choi Kang-Hoo? His heart wanted to say yes without hesitation.
Clenching his eyes shut, Ryu Seo-Ha wrestled with the decision, knowing it would mean throwing away the values he had clung to all his life. Just as he gathered the courage to make the choice…
[Status: Remaining lifespan: 25,176 days, 7 hours, 36 minutes]
Suddenly, his remaining lifespan increased dramatically.
‘What…?’
Stunned by the sudden addition of nearly 70 years to his lifespan, Ryu Seo-Ha quickly checked the main core to find out why this had happened.
It didn’t take long to discover the source. The additional lifespan had come from an S-rank materialization ability.
The one who had provided it was none other than his older sister, Ryu Jung-Ah, back on Earth.
