The Kind of Evil

‎Sima entered Astrea's chamber and saw Astrea's body that was covered in bandages. He could see the dried blood on the bandages, and he could feel the pain from just seeing her. He then lowered his head at her, showing respect to the woman who saved millions of lives in South Neva.

‎"I thought a Divine Physician to be an old man. I'm surprised that the man who could cure and heal any wounds and diseases is a young man," Astrea said while she fixed her seating on her bed.

‎"I might look young, Your Holiness, but I'm already 117 years old. I'm aging, but very slowly," Sima answered as he walked into the room with Aurelia's permission.

‎Daryus and the others' eyes widened when they heard how old Sima was. It was terrifying to think that a handsome man was more than a hundred years old.

‎"So you know the secret of attaining eternal youth. I wonder what it cost you," Astrea asked as she watched Sima approach her.

‎"It cost me nothing," Sima smiled at Astrea. "If I may, Your Holiness?" He asked as he pointed his hand at her left arm which was covered in bandages.

‎Astrea found Sima's answer to be oddly suspicious and interesting at the same time. She then nodded and offered her left arm to him so he could check on the wounds that hadn't healed in the slightest for the past months.

‎Sima carefully peeled the bandages off Astrea's arm because he knew how painful it would be. When Serena, Daryus, and Aurelia saw the open wounds that revealed her flesh, veins, and even bones, Daryus and Aurelia couldn't help but flinch. They would never get used to them, no matter how many times they had seen them.

‎Sima didn't show any reaction and immediately pulled out a small stick made of pure silver from under his cloak. He carefully put the tip into the wound and slowly lifted the skin to check the severity of the wound. The sound of wet and sticky flesh combined with the view of flesh and skin being separated made Aurelia's knees weak.

‎"Hmm..." Sima slowly pulled the stick from the wound. "This is similar to what I saw decades ago. A dying body, but the difference is this body isn't decaying," he muttered as he looked at how red and healthy the flesh was.

‎"This isn't an illness, Divine Physician. This is the result of a human body trying to endure something beyond human capability and logic," Astrea said with a soft smile at Sima.

‎"Yes, it appears so," Sima nodded in agreement since he had never seen anything like this before. "Can you prepare hot water? I want to try something," he looked at Daryus.

‎Daryus nodded and hurriedly left the chamber to bring hot water. Sima was standing beside Astrea and observed her condition, finding it interesting. Serena and Videl kept staring at him, trying to dissect the person behind that eternal youth and handsome face.

‎Daryus came back with a bowl of hot water and put it on the bedside table. Sima pulled out his medical instruments and put them on the bedside table. All of them were made of pure silver and gold.

‎Sima dipped the tip of the needle into the hot water and let it sit there for a minute. Once it was sterilized, he looked at the tip and then carefully stabbed it into the back of Astrea's hand. He then pulled it out, watching the blood drip down.

‎Everyone wondered what Sima was trying to do by pricking Astrea's hand with a needle. When Sima wiped the blood and tried to squeeze more out, the wound had closed, and no more blood was coming out of it.

‎"This is interesting. The wound I made has already healed. However, the way wounds that you have from the war, it's as if the body refuses to heal them," Sima explained as he cleaned the needle and with a piece of cloth.

Nobody questioned Sima's words because he had shown them the proof of his words. Daryus and Aurelia were shocked, but then Aurelia stared into Astrea's eyes, knowing exactly what it was.

‎"It's called a stigma, it can be a sign of disgrace or a blessing," Aurelia pointed out as she kept staring into Astrea's eyes.

‎"A stigma?" Sima hummed as he nodded with understanding. "I have heard people claiming to have such a thing, believing they were chosen by the Gods. But it was always revealed they were making that up to gain attention. However, now that I'm seeing it myself, I would be blind and ignorant to dismiss this," he said as he crossed his arms, thinking of what he had just witnessed.

It was as Sima said, they heard a lot about people claiming to have a stigma. However, there wasn't a single case where it was the real thing that made the stigma itself questionable.

"So..." Daryus broke the silence. "Can you cure her?" He asked Sima.

"Nothing is as simple as yes or no. I'm just a human, not a powerful being. I can't guarantee that I can cure Her Holiness's condition, but I'll try my best," Sima answered as he looked at his tools, thinking about which was the best method to dissect Astrea's condition that could lead him to an answer that he was looking for.

Everyone watched every move of Sima's eyes when he was observing Astrea's body and his tools. They could see it in his eyes that there was nothing malicious or suspicious about his gaze. They knew how much he was interested in her condition and wanted to solve the mystery.

"This might take a while to solve because I need to learn how is this possible," Sima said with a serious expression, rubbing his chin slowly. "There are a few methods that I can use, but I don't want to take a leap blindly without knowing what I'm doing. Although I can't guarantee her to cure her condition, I have to be make sure nothing will harm her with what I'm doing," he continued as he crossed his arms.

"What do you have in mind, Divine Physician?" Astrea asked, interested in Sima's personality and way of thinking. She could tell that he was a wise man and someone who upheld integrity.

"I might need to grab a few ingredients to make potions and see how your body reacts to it, Your Holiness. I don't treat anyone lightly, not even a simple cough," Sima answered as he pulled out a paper and began to write something on it. "Doctor Daryus, I need you to find these ingredients..." he said as he passed the paper to Daryus.

Daryus looked at the ingredients, and he had never heard of any of the plants or herbs on the list that were used as medicine. He realized that his knowledge of medicine was still lacking, not even the tip of the iceberg compared to Sima's.

"I'll see what I can do," Daryus nodded with understanding and hurriedly walked toward the door.

"No need to rush. We are not in a hurry since Her Holiness's condition is stable. This isn't a threatening condition," Sima said as he watched Daryus walk at a fast pace.

Daryus turned around and was surprised at how laid-back Sima was, and yet he realized that Sima wasn't wrong. He never thought that a doctor or a physician would be so calm and collected, and somehow it reminded him of Rasmus who was always calm and collected in every situation.

"(I guess some people are amazing...)" Daryus thought as he left the chamber.

"You remind me of someone, wise and calm. However, he's quite the opposite. He's bold and confident, believing that everything would go down to his plan, and he did exactly that. You're more humble," Astrea said as she looked at Sima, who was busy checking his tools and making sure everything was sterile.

"Sounds like he was quite lucky, or perhaps he knew what he was doing. There's nothing in between that," Sima responded in a soft mutter as he held a scalpel. He didn't seem to be interested in the conversation, keeping his mind focused on the problem in front of him.

"Yes, he's a dangerous man. The same man that could convince Princess Asghar to bring you here," Astrea nodded in agreement.

The moment Anastasha's name was mentioned, he stopped checking his scalpel. He then looked at Astrea with a curious look.

"Whoever that man is, he's not someone you want to be around with, Your Holiness. Whoever associates with Princess Asghar, they're dangerous people," Sima said, and then continued checking his tools.

Aurelia and Serena didn't show any expression when Sima said that Rasmus was a dangerous person. They were quite surprised that he could hit the spot about Rasmus from that information alone.

"And yet here you are, Divine Physician. Are you not associated with Princess Asghar? If you're not, I believe you won't be here right now," Astrea raised her brows, staring at Sima.

Sima responded with a soft smile, not denying or admitting Astrea's provocation.

At that moment, the three of them realized that Sima was oddly similar to Rasmus. Both of them were dangerous in their own way, and both of them were mysterious, making it even harder to dissect Sima and his background.