Damned Healer-Chapter 203: Keepers

Darian’s eyes widened at first, but soon... a clear wave of anger showed in his and the twins’ eyes. Mallory, that woman, felt it right away and smiled slightly.

"Looks like there’s some resentment... I get it, totally understandable. But please, hear me out for a bit."

And yeah, it was obvious why. Neither Darian nor the twins had any memory of their father — her brother. Their mom had to work herself to death, with not a single relative from either side lifting a finger to help. Sure, no one was technically obligated, but after she passed... the least they could’ve done was show a little decency and taken them in for a while.

It didn’t take much. Just not letting them starve for a few years would’ve been enough. Back then, Darian was already planning to use his curse to make money. If he’d had that bit of stability, he wouldn’t have taken half the risks he did. Things could’ve gone way smoother.

At some point, he’d asked about their family, but his mom just said they had no one and shut the topic down. It was obvious now — she was carrying a mess of emotions... and a whole lot of anger.

And now, after they’d busted their asses surviving alone, they suddenly showed up? The three of them were holding back from straight-up cursing this woman on the spot.

Mallory noticed the silence, sighed, then quickly bowed halfway down.

"I apologize... on behalf of my family. The truth is... we didn’t know where you were. Of course we tried to find you... but I won’t make excuses. We should’ve tried harder. We all... we all had some resentment over everything that happened. No one really gave it their all."

She spoke as politely and sincerely as possible. Then lifted her head and looked at them. Her eyes, her expression, everything about her seemed genuine... like someone who’d finally found lost family after years.

But...

Neither the twins nor Darian flinched.

The twins could sense it — their blessing let them feel her karma. This woman looked like a pretty, delicate flower... but was covered in thorns. And those thorns? Poisonous.

As for Darian, his eyes could see it crystal clear. Her karma was dense. Dark. He’d seen way worse people before, sure... but she was just a human. Not even a Spiritual Guardian.

She noticed their complete lack of reaction and was honestly surprised. She was used to dealing with every type of person imaginable. Figured three kids wouldn’t be an issue... but clearly, these three weren’t normal.

"Come in," Darian said, finally, keeping himself calm.

Hearing that, the twins huffed but nodded, politely opening the door to let her in.

Niara, picking up on Darian’s emotions, instantly jumped onto his shoulder, staying alert and ready to back him up.

None of them were in the mood for niceties or small talk. They led her to the living room, motioned for her to sit, and waited for her to start talking.

Mallory glanced at the three, smiling softly. "The eyes... you’ve got my brother’s eyes. But the looks... yeah, you take after... her. Your mother."

"Don’t waste our time," Darian said calmly. "Start by explaining how the hell you ’didn’t know’ where we were."

She turned to him. No point explaining how they found him now — Darian was already well-known in the Empire. And his last name alone made his origins obvious. A bit of research was all it took.

"Do you know where our family comes from?" she asked calmly.

He nodded coldly. "You’re part of the secret organization that once received the words of Heaven’s Will... helped rebuild Earth... and created the Spiritual Guardian system we have now. Once things stabilized, you vanished."

Darian had already explained that to the twins before. He’d learned everything from Meru back then. Honestly, he always knew this karmic family bomb would show up eventually.

Mallory was even more surprised now. Her red eyes glowed faintly. He’d dropped that info so casually... but it was clear he knew way more. How the hell did this kid know stuff that was supposed to be top-secret?

She sighed, then started lightly, "Alright... from the beginning. Your father’s name was Darius. I’m two years older. It was just the two of us — the only children of the family’s former leader. As for our family... we never really disappeared. Our work just... changed. We became Earth’s connection to the rest of the universe. What we do now is insanely important. We’ve got ties to every empire out there."

"The current family leader holds power and responsibilities pretty much equal to Earth’s emperors. That’s why both of us — me and Darius — had to prove who was more capable of taking that role."

"Darius... he was always super focused. Super driven. Sometimes..." She smiled a little. "...he was kinda dumb when it came to emotions. Especially with women. It was even funny... I’d introduce him to my friends, they’d totally hit on him, and he’d just... not get it. Thought they were joking or something."

The twins and Niara all squinted at her in perfect sync. Then they sighed together. Okay. Now they were starting to understand where Darian’s weirdness came from. A family curse, clearly... but at least that meant he was trustworthy. If their dad was like that... he was probably a good guy.

Mallory looked straight at the twins. "Back then, when Darius was nineteen... he awakened. But his awakening... it was... terrifying. An ancestral awakening."

It was clear now — she knew about the twins. Everyone went dead serious. The fact that the twins had that kind of awakening was supposed to be top, absolute secret.

Nobody really knew why, but the Empire kept that hidden like their lives depended on it, instead of bragging about it. Honestly, their level was way above what anyone with a single ring should have. Plus, the Empire seemed dead set on supporting them, helping them grow as much as possible. That’s probably why they threw them into that special mission, even with just one ring.

"But... he and your mom were already in a pretty serious relationship. Darius knew damn well how brutal life as a Spiritual Guardian was. Given his wife was human and would only live to about a hundred, he figured becoming a Spiritual Guardian wasn’t for him. He’d rather live peacefully as a mortal... by her side," Mallory said, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Anyway... let’s skip ahead. Darius... he was way better than me. Way better. In contacts, in skills, in everything. But... unfortunately, my brother was tricked." Her tone shifted — heavy, sharp, serious.

"He got involved with the Immortal Keepers... people he should’ve never, ever messed with."

Seeing the confused look on all three of them, she nodded, clearly satisfied. But it felt... off. Like she didn’t actually wanna explain — or maybe she was pretending.

Darian connected the dots fast. His voice was cold as ice. "They’re tied to the Spiritual Sovereigns... right?"

"Y-yeah..." she blinked, visibly caught off guard. "I... can’t really go into too much detail... but yeah. Above the nine rings... they call themselves Spiritual Sovereigns. But it’s not that simple. When someone upgrades their rings into... something else... they enter an unstable state first. Kinda like... level zero. Their power isn’t even close to a proper Sovereign yet."

"To stabilize... you have to do something insanely hard, insanely complicated... and some say... something downright evil. The people who refuse to do that call themselves the Immortal Keepers."

Darian got it instantly. The two Phoenixes had already explained it to him — that to evolve as a Spiritual Sovereign, one had to absorb the Immortal Chaos Essence from the universe itself... basically killing the universe in the process.

So... these Immortal Keepers? They were the ones who had the right mindset... the ones who refused that path. Which probably meant... that golden silhouette from before was one of them. And these people... could be potential allies.

She went on, "...the Immortal Keepers aren’t exactly ’good guys’ either. Honestly... they’re a pain in the ass across the whole universe. A bunch of races are straight-up sworn enemies with them. Even Earth... in the past, we’ve had tons of powerful figures wiped out by them — totally unjustified. That’s why... they’re our enemies."

"Sorry if this sounds harsh, but... your father didn’t just have secret ties with them. He had plans. Plans that would’ve seriously screwed over all of Earth’s empires. That’s why... my brother... was labeled a traitor to Earth. And that’s why... he was captured... and executed."

She said it with her voice shaking, like it hurt her to even speak it.

Lies.

Even she didn’t believe her own words.

As for Darian... his eyes sharpened. Oh, he was sure now — this woman... she played a big part in his father’s death. Which meant...

He locked his gaze onto her. Slowly, his red eyes started glowing.

She could lie. She could erase every trace, every piece of evidence... but no one. No one in the universe could ever hide... from the gaze of the Master of Karma.