The forest near the Ashen Vale trembled with an unnatural silence.
Ren crouched beside a ridge, scanning the misted tree line. Behind him, Arin stood with her arms folded, storm glyphs flickering across her forearms like restless lightning.
"Still nothing?" she asked.
Ren shook his head. "No movement. But something's coming. I can feel it."
Arin's lip curled. "Let them. I haven't electrocuted anything in three days."
Despite the tension, Ren smirked. "You get irritable when you're not blasting enemies?"
"I get bored. And boredom is dangerous."
A sharp snap echoed through the trees.
They turned—too late.
Something massive and fast launched from the mist.
A silver-scaled beast, low to the ground but long as a house, came crashing into the clearing. Its eyes glowed with divine imprint markings — not natural. Tamed by someone. Weaponized.
System Alert: Divine Beast – Tier C+ "Echo Serpent"Status: Corrupted | Origin: Trial of Erased Memories
"The Trial again?" Ren muttered. "It's tracking me."
Arin stepped forward, cracking her knuckles.
"I got this."
She moved in a blur.
Wind and lightning surged as she launched herself into the air, landing hard on the beast's back. It hissed, snapping its tail and sending her flying—but she twisted mid-air and blasted the ground with a thunderburst to soften her landing.
Ren jumped into the fray, sword drawn.
Together, they danced—Arin's storm magic and Ren's precision strikes syncing like instinct.
But the beast adapted fast. Too fast.
It coiled suddenly, tail whipping—then shot a burst of mirror-light from its throat.
Ren saw it too late.
The blast hit squarely, knocking him back into a stone outcrop.
He gasped as pain bloomed in his ribs. Arin shouted his name.
"Ren!"
She moved—too fast, too reckless—and took a tail strike to the shoulder.
She crashed beside him, coughing.
Ren reached for her. "Are you okay?"
Her lips tightened. "Just a scratch—"
Blood trickled from her temple.
"Don't lie to me," he snapped. "You're hurt."
She didn't answer.
The serpent reared again, charging another blast.
Ren cursed under his breath. He didn't have enough strength left to summon his pact defenses.
Arin reached for him—but not with her hand.
With her heart.
System Trigger: Dual Pact Sync Activated – Temp Bond Compression (Emergency Use)Effect: Arin's core linked directly to Host. Temporary stat boost shared.
Arin grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "We finish it. Together."
Their eyes met.
And for the first time… she wasn't smirking.
She was trusting.
They moved as one.
Ren charged, Arin behind him. She surged forward, released a scream of raw storm energy that turned the sky white. The serpent hissed, blinded.
Ren vaulted off a stone, his sword glowing with the full power of the bonded thread between them.
He struck clean.
The beast fell in one final burst of light and ash.
Silence returned.
But their breaths stayed loud.
They collapsed near each other on the grass, barely able to move.
Ren turned to look at her. "You idiot."
She laughed, weakly. "Takes one to know one."
A soft drizzle began to fall — not rain, but Arin's residual storm energy dispersing.
She lay there, staring up at the sky, chest heaving.
Then she said it, almost too quietly to hear.
"You asked me once why I always push you."
He turned his head to her. "Yeah?"
She swallowed. "Because the only other person who ever protected me… died trying."
Ren shifted closer.
She didn't stop him.
"You're not a weapon, Arin," he said gently. "You're someone worth protecting."
Her lips parted slightly.
"You sound like Lyra."
"I mean it."
He reached out and brushed a lock of blood-streaked hair from her forehead.
Her breath caught.
His hand didn't move.
System Update: Pact Intensity Spike – Arin (Affinity Level 71% → 82%)Warning: Emotional Pressure Near Kiss Threshold
"Ren…" she whispered.
He leaned in slightly.
Then paused. "Tell me to stop."
She didn't.
So he kissed her — not rushed, not wild, but deep and slow. Her fingers curled into his shirt. Her lips trembled beneath his, but she didn't pull away.
When they broke apart, her cheeks were red, storm glyphs glowing faintly across her collarbone.
"That was… overdue," she muttered.
He grinned. "Agreed."
Affection Milestone: Thunder Kiss LoggedShared Trait Unlocked: Arc Storm Sync – +10% Agility when bonded in battle
They rested side by side beneath the breaking clouds.
Neither said anything more.
Because sometimes, after thunder… there's only peace.
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