Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 517 - Chapter 517 Chapter 518 Treatment Ritual and Gunpowder

Chapter 517: Chapter 518: Treatment, Ritual, and Gunpowder Chapter 517: Chapter 518: Treatment, Ritual, and Gunpowder Upon seeing that her new patient was an elf, Heidi felt a bit surprised.

She rarely treated elves as patients–not just she, as a psychotherapist, but also most other types of “doctors” generally did not deal with elves.

This was because the elves, as a race, possessed physical traits that were the envy of other races; not only were they long-lived, but they were also rarely ill. Most of the time, they were incredibly healthy and able to survive well under harsh conditions. Along with their robust physical health, their mental resilience was often quite strong–perhaps as an adaptation to their excessively long lifespans, elves had very stable mental states. Although they were not as “stone-hearted” as the Senkin People, they were significantly stronger than humans.

It was precisely because they possessed these unique conditions that throughout history, many excellent pioneers and adventurers hailed from elven bloodlines. They were skilled and daring in their activities in the “frontier” waters, able to survive the hazardous fogs and illusions and return from their voyages. Today, in the many city-states across the Endless Sea, nearly two-thirds of those near the “Eternal Veil” frontier were established by elven pioneers, among which the most famous was known as the city of adventure, “Light Breeze Harbor.”

During Heidi’s years as a psychotherapist, she had scarcely heard of any elves who experienced psychological issues.

Of course, mortals always have weaknesses, even elves with their remarkable talents. Compared to humans, their development was slow, and their learning abilities were lower. Their excessively robust mental states also made it difficult for them to receive the blessings of divine powers–except for the power of the God of Wisdom, Rahm, which worked normally; the protections from the other three orthodox gods had very limited effect on elves. Oddly enough, the Senkin People who also possessed stable mental traits were much better off in this regard.

Many had speculated what caused elves to have this “resistance to divine blessings” trait. After all, the Senkin People also had high mental resilience but did not suffer from this negative characteristic of “weakened protection.” Among many theories, one widely circulated theory was that the traditional, ancient, and stubborn heretical worships in elven culture had caused them to be despised by the gods, with only the God of Wisdom, Rahm, “the protector of all rational beings,” still showing them mercy.

In history, before the new City-State era during the “Dark Age” and the “Old City-State Era,” this “abandoned by gods” trait of elves, combined with inherent prejudices between different species, even led to numerous bloody conflicts–but ultimately, the elves, using their invented steam rifles and potent explosives, reached a mutual understanding with the races of the mortal realm.

Thereafter, these long-lived and broad-minded races graciously accepted the reconciliation signals from humans and the Senkin People, and have coexisted peacefully with the offspring of those shorter-lived races to this day.

Heidi approached the bedside, tentatively checking the elf girl’s breath and heart rate, then opened her medical kit and methodically placed various potions and devices on a small table beside her.

Those days of conflict and darkness had become history, and the short-lived humans and Senkin People could only learn about the stories of their ancestors from books; even the long-lived elves regarded those long-past days as “insignificant matters” they or their parents might have experienced in their youth.

Today, the elves’ “abandoned by gods” trait still existed. Many of their ancient families not only embraced the teachings of the God of Wisdom Rahm but also preserved many mysterious and traditional “heretical beliefs”; however, this did not prevent them from becoming a very important part of the civilized world today.

In fact, due to their exceptional expertise in mathematics and mechanics, coupled with their deepening faith in the God of Wisdom Rahm, elves held a pivotal position in this era of “steam and electricity.” If not for their distinct disadvantages in population numbers, their influence across the Endless Sea might even have surpassed that of humans by now.

No matter what, in this era, no one incessantly discussed the Elves’ still-held “heretical beliefs,” nor their constitution that lacked the blessings of the three gods.

The delicate incense burner was lit, and a tranquilizing fragrance began to permeate beside the sickbed, under which the elf girl seemed to slightly relax her furrowed brows.

Heidi bent down, prying open the girl’s eyelids, holding a faintly glowing purple crystal before her eyes, slowly swaying it back and forth.

“You are still trapped in the Dreamscape, your anxious emotions forged into a self-protective cage, but you need help now, so you will leave a ‘key’ for someone you trust, and this deeply trusted person will appear in your Dreamscape, help you fight those things that frighten you, or help you find the exit from the Dreamscape…”

Heidi slowly oscillated the crystal, with the gradually rising incense smoke beside her, she whispered into the girl’s ears in a tone that seemed to contain magic.

As a psychiatrist, she had many methods to aid her patients, and in the normal treatment process, she naturally excelled in using surveys and psychological suggestions to determine the mental states of her patients and provide targeted counseling; but in less normal circumstances… she had many remarkably effective techniques.

These remarkably effective techniques included clubs, golden needles, and gunpowder; of course, concentrated incense, Magic Potions, and ritual crystals were also included.

After all, being a psychiatrist was fraught with peril, her daily interactions were not just with insomniac, tense students and office workers–there were also filth that popped out of these patients’ “Dreamscapes” and “imaginations.”

“Now, you are beginning to feel a bit more at ease, because the person aiding you will soon appear in your Dreamscape…”

Heidi continued speaking gently, meanwhile, she noticed a faint silver glow emerging deep within the pupils of the elf girl, which was a sign that the blessing of the God of Wisdom Rahm was beginning to take effect–fortunately, although Elves had a “forsaken by god” constitution, they could still normally receive Rahm’s blessings, which eased Heidi, a Believer of the God of Wisdom, considerably.

“You left a ‘door’ for ‘truth,’ that door is very close to you, you have already given the ‘key’ to open it to the person aiding you, now, you hide in a safe place, quietly waiting for that door to open…

“You are at peace because you know that the one who will walk through that door is the being you trust the most…”

Heidi spoke softly, and with her final word, the elf girl’s breathing noticeably became longer and more steady.

This was temporary.

Heidi was already prepared for the next “treatment.”

She quickly left the side of the elf girl, taking the purple crystal pendant she had just used for hypnosis, and lay down on an empty hospital bed nearby.

She clutched the purple crystal she had received from her father, softly reciting the prayer to the God of Wisdom Rahm, and slowly closed her eyes.

After a moment, she opened her eyes, looking somewhat puzzled as she sat up.

She had not successfully sunk into any Dreamscape–had the hypnosis not worked?

Heidi got out of the hospital bed and cautiously checked the surroundings before walking over to the bed where the elf girl lay.

Her “patient” was still quietly lying there, showing no signs of waking up.

After rechecking several times and attempting hypnosis twice more to no avail, Heidi realized she simply couldn’t connect to the elf girl’s Dreamscape.

A sense of defeat washed over her.

She sat defeated beside the hospital bed for a while, pondering alternative treatment plans, before sighing after an unknown amount of time. She got up, stretching her slightly stiff shoulders and neck, and moved toward the door of the hospital room.

Before she reached the door, footsteps could be heard outside, followed by the sound of a key turning. As the doorknob turned, a government office worker in a deep blue uniform opened the hospital room door.

“Miss Heidi, how are things progressing?”

The worker seemed to have been waiting outside in the “safe area” for a long time and asked about the treatment’s progress with a sense of urgency.

“There’s been no effect–the regular hypnosis didn’t work. I might need to prepare some more potent ritual or Magic Potion,” Heidi shook her head regretfully while she spoke and lifted her hand to reposition the purple crystal pendant at her chest. Then, she picked up her hefty briefcase. “I need to go back and think about the next steps for the treatment plan.”

“…Alright, I suppose you did your best,” the worker sighed, showing a great deal of understanding, “Earlier, other psychologists tried as well, but all failed to break through this patient’s Dreamscape–because the situation is too strange, the clergy sent from the church are very concerned there might be some weird spiritual contamination brought about by the extinction of the sun, and they take this matter very seriously… But there’s nothing that can be done, even experts like you find it challenging; indeed, we cannot rush it.”

Heidi nodded slightly.

She faintly felt the purple crystal pendant on her chest emitting a slight warmth.

“Do you need us to arrange transportation for you to go back?”

The worker asked politely.

“No need, my car is parked outside,” Heidi shook her head.

“Okay, then I won’t walk you out. You can just head back the way you came–I’ll go check on the patient again.”

Heidi hummed in acknowledgment and smiled warmly at the worker before turning and walking toward the long, deep corridor outside.

Behind her, the government worker in the blue uniform also turned and walked towards the still-sleeping elf girl.

Footsteps echoed behind her, about five meters away.

Heidi silently picked up the briefcase, reaching toward a secret compartment at the bottom, then emotionlessly turned around and pulled the trigger.

“Bang!”

The bullet pierced the back heart of the figure in the blue uniform, bursting into a hazy cloud of blood.