[Aria's POV]
"Marcus is coming here. In two hours."
Dr. Elena's hand froze on the radio. "What?"
I showed her the system warning. Her face went pale as she read.
"He knows about Sealed Ones. He's hunting you." Dr. Elena put down the radio. "Aria, we need to leave. Now. If he finds you—"
"He'll try to capture me. Use my power for himself." I looked at my glowing hands. "But here's the thing, Elena. I'm tired of running."
"This isn't about pride—"
"No. It's about choice." I met her eyes. "For five years, Marcus controlled me. Made my choices for me. Told me who to be, how to act, what to feel. Even my betrayal—that was his choice."
"So what are you saying?"
"I'm saying it's time I made my own choice." Power hummed beneath my skin, stronger than before. "Marcus wants to capture the 'weak' girl he threw away? Let him try."
Dr. Elena stared at me. Then slowly smiled. "You're planning to confront him."
"I'm planning to show him exactly what he lost."
"He'll have fighters with him. Armed and dangerous."
"And I have you." I turned to the three survivors we'd healed. "How many fighters can you contact in the next hour?"
The woman pulled out a phone. "Maybe five? Six if we're lucky. But they won't be equipped for—"
"They don't need to be." I pulled up my system screen, studying my abilities. "Marcus thinks I'm F-Rank. A helpless healer. He's expecting an easy capture."
"But you're SSS-Rank," Dr. Elena finished, understanding dawning. "He's walking into a trap."
"Exactly." My smile felt dangerous. Foreign. "Let him come. Let him try to take what he thinks is his. And when he fails..."
I didn't finish the sentence.
I didn't need to.
The next ninety minutes were chaos.
Dr. Elena's radio calls brought five fighters—three with C-Rank powers, two with D-Rank. Not impressive, but loyal. Good people who'd lost camps to raiders and wanted to fight back.
"This is Aria," Dr. Elena introduced me. "She's the healer I told you about."
They looked at me—young, small, fragile-looking—and I saw doubt in their eyes.
"No offense," one man said, "but we're about to fight a group led by an SSS-Rank user. How is a healer going to help?"
"She'll keep you alive," Dr. Elena said firmly. "Trust me. When the fighting starts, stay close to her."
I didn't correct the misunderstanding. Let them think I was just support. Let everyone underestimate me.
It was safer that way.
We set up in the hospital's main entrance. Barricaded the side exits. Created choke points.
"Marcus will come in confident," Dr. Elena predicted. "Probably with ten fighters, maybe fifteen. He'll expect you to surrender immediately."
"Let him expect that." I flexed my fingers, golden light dancing between them. "What's the plan after he realizes I won't?"
"We fight. We show him that throwing you away was his biggest mistake." Dr. Elena loaded a crossbow. "And Aria? When you face him..."
"Yes?"
"Don't hold back. Not for old feelings. Not for memories. He's not the man you loved—if that man ever existed."
Her words settled into my bones. She was right. The Marcus I loved was a fiction. A performance.
The real Marcus was the man who threw me to zombies.
My system pinged:
[Marcus's team detected: 1 block away][Combatants: 12][Power levels: 1 SSS-Rank, 3 B-Rank, 8 C-Rank][Confidence level: EXTREME][They believe victory is certain]
"They're here," I announced. "Twelve fighters. Marcus leading."
Everyone tensed. Checked weapons. Prepared for battle.
I stood at the center of the entrance, visible through the glass doors.
Bait.
Footsteps echoed outside. Then I saw them—Marcus and his team, all armed with guns and powers. Vivian was there too, her platinum hair reflecting moonlight.
And they were laughing.
Actually laughing, like this was a fun adventure instead of a hunt.
Marcus saw me through the glass. His eyes widened. Then he smiled—cold and victorious.
He pushed open the door.
"Hello, Aria." His voice was smooth. Casual. Like we were old friends meeting for coffee. "Surprised to see me?"
"Not really." I kept my voice steady. "My system warned me you were coming."
"Of course it did. Sealed Ones have enhanced system features." Marcus walked closer, lightning crackling around his hands. "Did your system also tell you that I know what you are? That I've spent the last twelve hours researching Sealed Ones and their hidden powers?"
"It mentioned something about that."
"Then you know why I'm here." He stopped ten feet away. His team spread out behind him, surrounding the entrance. "You're SSS-Rank, Aria. Hidden power. Probably something incredible, knowing your luck."
"Why do you care?" But I knew. I already knew.
"Because the system allows power transfer between willing participants." Marcus's smile widened. "Marry me—actually marry me this time—and you can transfer your SSS-Rank ability to me. Two SSS-Rank powers in one person? I'd be unstoppable."
Vivian's face went white. "You said we would—"
"Plans change," Marcus dismissed her. "Aria? What do you say? Marry me, give me your power, and I'll let you live. You can stay in my camp. Be my healer. Have a good life."
I stared at him. This man I'd loved for five years. This man who'd destroyed me.
And I laughed.
Not a bitter laugh. Not angry. Just genuinely amused.
"You think," I said slowly, "that I would marry you? Give you my power? After everything you did?"
"I think you're smart enough to recognize a good deal." Marcus's lightning grew brighter. "The alternative is I take you by force. Lock you up. Use your healing to keep my people alive while you rot in a cell. Your choice, Aria. Wife or prisoner. Pick one."
Dr. Elena moved beside me. The five fighters closed ranks.
"She's not going anywhere with you," Dr. Elena said coldly.
"And who are you? Her new pet doctor?" Marcus looked at Dr. Elena like she was an insect. "C-Rank ice powers. Cute. But useless against me. All of you are useless."
"Maybe," Dr. Elena agreed. "But we're not the ones you should be worried about."
Marcus frowned. "What?"
"You came here to capture a helpless F-Rank healer who needed saving." Dr. Elena's smile was sharp. "You have no idea who you're actually facing."
"What's that supposed to—"
I let my power flare.
Golden light exploded from my body—not the weak flicker of F-Rank, but a blazing sun of pure SSS-Rank energy. It filled the entire entrance, bright enough to make everyone shield their eyes.
When the light faded, I stood at the center, power radiating off me in visible waves.
My system screen appeared above my head for everyone to see:
[ARIA CHEN - TRUE RANK: SSS][RESTORATION GODDESS][THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME]
Marcus's jaw dropped. "That's... that's impossible. F-Rank can't just become—"
"I was never F-Rank." My voice came out different. Stronger. Divine. "The system sealed me. Protected me. Hid what I really was until I was ready to claim it."
"You were SSS-Rank the whole time?" Marcus's face went pale. "When we threw you out, when we—"
"When you threw away the strongest person in your camp? Yes." I took a step forward. He took a step back. "You called me weak. Useless. Dead weight. And all that time, I could have healed infection. Could have made you all unstoppable. Could have been the most valuable asset in the entire apocalypse."
"Aria, wait—" Marcus raised his hands, placating now. Scared. "This is a misunderstanding. If I'd known you were SSS-Rank—"
"You would have locked me up. Used me. Kept me prisoner forever." My golden light pulsed. "You wanted to use me when you thought I was weak. You want to use me now that I'm strong. You've never seen me as a person, Marcus. Just a tool."
"That's not true! I loved you—"
"LIAR!" The word ripped from my throat. Power exploded outward, cracking the floor beneath my feet. "You admitted you faked everything! Five years of lies! You never loved me!"
Marcus's team was backing away now. Even Vivian looked terrified.
"Everyone calm down," Marcus tried, his voice shaking. "We can work this out. Aria, you're emotional. Not thinking clearly—"
"I'm thinking clearly for the first time in years." I raised my glowing hands. "You threw me to zombies, Marcus. Left me to die in the streets. Do you remember your last words to me?"
His face went white.
"'Die quickly,'" I quoted. "'It'll hurt less.' Those were your exact words."
"I was wrong! I'm sorry! I—"
"Now it's your turn to beg." My smile was ice. "How does it feel, Marcus? To be the weak one? To face someone stronger who doesn't care if you live or die?"
"Please." His voice cracked. "Please, Aria. We can start over. I'll treat you better. I'll—"
"You'll do nothing. Because I don't need you." I looked at his team. "Any of you who want to leave, leave now. I have no fight with you. But anyone who stays, anyone who tries to take me..."
Golden light and shadow darkness swirled around me—beautiful and terrifying.
"I won't hold back."
Ten of Marcus's fighters ran. Just turned and sprinted into the night.
Only Marcus and Vivian remained.
Vivian because she was too proud to run.
Marcus because he was too shocked to move.
"Last chance," Dr. Elena said. "Leave. Tell everyone that Aria Chen is protected. That anyone who comes for her will regret it."
"Or," I added softly, "stay and learn what Restoration Goddess really means."
Marcus's hand moved toward his weapon.
I raised my palm.
Golden light flared—
And the hospital's emergency alarm started blaring.
Everyone froze.
New voices shouted outside. Dozens of them. Hundreds.
Dr. Elena ran to the window. Her face went white. "Oh God. Oh no."
"What?" I demanded. "What is it?"
She turned to me, her expression horrified.
"Red Claw. They're here. Right now. They moved up their attack schedule again."
"But the warehouse—"
"They're not going to the warehouse." Dr. Elena's voice shook. "They're coming here. Someone told them about you. About the SSS-Rank Sealed One."
My blood froze. "How many?"
"All of them. The entire Red Claw faction. At least two hundred fighters."
"Two hundred?" Marcus breathed. "That's not a raid. That's an army."
Through the windows, I saw them. Figures with weapons and powers, surrounding the hospital completely. Cutting off every exit.
And walking at their center was a man radiating S-Rank power—the leader. His system screen appeared above him:
[DRAKE MORRISON - RANK: S][EXPLOSION EMPEROR][THREAT LEVEL: LETHAL]
His voice boomed through a megaphone:
"SSS-RANK SEALED ONE! YOU HAVE THIRTY SECONDS TO SURRENDER! COME OUT PEACEFULLY AND YOU'LL LIVE AS OUR HONORED HEALER! RESIST AND WE LEVEL THIS BUILDING WITH YOU INSIDE!"
I looked at Dr. Elena. At the five fighters who'd come to help. At Marcus and Vivian.
At the army surrounding us.
"What do we do?" Dr. Elena whispered.
My system screen flashed:
[EMERGENCY QUEST: SURVIVE RED CLAW SIEGE][ENEMY COUNT: 200+][RECOMMENDATION: IMPOSSIBLE][SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 0.01%]
Zero point zero one percent.
Basically certain death.
I looked at my glowing hands. Felt the power burning inside me.
Then I smiled.
"We fight."