The first light of dawn streamed through the massive crystal sculpture at the center of the Resurrection Plaza, scattering into warm, dappled patterns that drove away the chill left behind by the underground crypt.
The air carried the fresh, clean scent unique to early morning, mixed with the distant chatter of players and the cries of NPC merchants hawking their wares, brimming with life.
Lina held her new shield—[Guardian's Oath]—close to her chest, her fingers gently tracing the cold, intricate patterns across its surface.
Her eyes sparkled with the kind of joy one might have upon receiving a beloved toy.
But soon, as though recalling something, she tilted her head and let a sly smile curve her lips, breaking the heavy silence that still lingered faintly between them.
"Hey, Kiriya," she said, her tone playful and teasing. "You know, you now look completely different from the first time we met."
Kiriya, who had been watching messenger doves dart back and forth above the plaza—perhaps still replaying the fight in his mind—froze for a second and turned his head toward her. "...Me? Different how?"
"Like this," Lina said, poking his chest lightly with her fingertip and grinning. "Going berserk for a teammate, swearing to protect people, handing over loot without being asked... Hah! Thinking back to the beginning, a certain lone wolf used to be all cold and broody, radiating a big fat 'Keep Out' sign, turning down party invites without even looking at the sender."
She imitated the expression he might have worn back then, deliberately schooling her features into a blank mask and lowering her voice dramatically: "'No thanks. I can handle it alone.' Wasn't it something like that?"
Kiriya almost wanted to laugh at her poor impression of him, but outwardly, he kept his usual stoic face—though his eyes softened noticeably.
With a quiet huff, he countered, "Says the one who was even colder back then. You had that frosty aura, a face so serious I thought you were about to attend a military briefing, barely spoke a word. I honestly thought you were just a walking shield-and-charge machine."
He paused, his gaze lingering on Lina's now-bright, smiling face. A faint trace of real curiosity crept into his voice. "Who knew... You could actually smile like this? Talk so much, tease people like this. I'd never have guessed before."
"Hey! Who are you calling talkative?" Lina puffed her cheeks in mock indignation, though her eyes were laughing even harder now. "That's called professional composure, okay? A Frost Knight has to look steady and reliable, or no one would trust me to hold the front line. As for now..."
She patted the shield in her arms, her tone turning light and almost cheerful. "Maybe it's because I got a new piece of gear? I'm in a really good mood. Or maybe..." Her words trailed off, her gaze shifting back to Kiriya, her expression growing just a little more serious. "Maybe it's because I realized a certain lone wolf turned out to be a surprisingly decent guy—someone I can actually trust. So I don't have to keep my guard up so much anymore."
Kiriya turned his head slightly, as though not used to such straightforward praise. The tips of his ears flushed the faintest shade of red. He muttered under his breath, "...I only did what had to be done."
"Right, right, just what had to be done," Lina said with exaggerated agreement, graciously letting him off the hook before he got too flustered. She switched topics smoothly, patting her stomach.
"Anyway, that fight was rough. This death penalty debuff is making me feel sluggish, and I'm starving. Want to grab some food first? There's an NPC-run breakfast stall on the east side of the plaza. Their honey oatmeal and fresh-baked bread are amazing. Plus, I heard they slightly speed up debuff recovery."
Kiriya nodded. After a boss battle like that—and after watching Lina "die" right before his eyes—he could definitely use a breather. "Sure."
The two of them walked side by side toward the east side of the plaza, their shadows stretching long in the morning sun. Players bustled about around them: some hurrying off to grind mobs in the field, others—like them—winding down from a night of adventure and ready to enjoy a quiet morning.
"By the way," Lina said as she walked, using a repair hammer and whetstone to carefully mend the dents and cracks in her armor (a basic in-game repair function), "that burst of yours was insane. I was all the way back at the respawn point, and my combat log was still flooding with numbers. Twenty-seven hits? How did you even pull that off? Perfectly syncing clones is ridiculously hard."
When the topic shifted to combat mechanics, Kiriya's tone became much more natural. "Mostly thanks to Phantom Resonance. With it active, my commands sync to the clones almost instantly—no split focus needed. The key is predicting the boss's stagger frames and lining up skill cooldowns, using Blink Step to reposition so the damage stream doesn't break." He gave a concise explanation, though he spoke a bit more than usual when discussing his craft.
"You're basically a walking turret..." Lina muttered in awe. "Guess I'll just leave all the DPS to you from now on, Mr. Phantom Swordsman. I'll focus on being the shield." She shook [Guardian's Oath] with a proud little flourish, as though showing off a prized treasure.
"Hm." Kiriya grunted softly, then added after a pause, "...Your shield is just as important." Without her sacrifice and the solid front-line control earlier, he wouldn't have had any chance to unleash that damage.
The breakfast stall wasn't far, and soon the warm aroma of baked bread and hot porridge filled the air around them. They picked a quiet table near the edge of the outdoor seating area. An NPC server quickly brought steaming bowls of oatmeal, golden-crisp bread, and two glasses of milk.
Lina scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal and blew on it with a satisfied sigh. "Ahhh~ I feel alive again! Even if it doesn't really fill your stomach, the flavor feedback and the recovery boost are just too good."
Kiriya watched her unabashedly happy expression for a moment, then picked up a piece of bread and took a bite himself. The crust crackled perfectly, releasing a rich aroma of wheat, and a subtle warmth spread through his body. The weakness left by the death penalty debuff seemed to lighten, just a little.
The warm morning light, the delicious food, the safety of the plaza—and across from him, a teammate who no longer looked like a distant, icy knight but smiled with vivid life.
For a moment, the brutal battle in the crypt and the memory of Lina's death felt far away. A quiet, almost tangible warmth slowly replaced the hollow chill that had been weighing down Kiriya's chest.
So this is what it feels like to have a party, to have a partner? Not just a more efficient way to clear dungeons—but moments like this, simple and grounding, outside of combat.
"Oh, right," Lina suddenly remembered something, setting her spoon down as her expression grew slightly more serious. "We still haven't turned in the Monteil family quest chain. Even if there's no follow-up, we should submit it and see what that Watcher has to say. Who knows? The reward might be nice."
Kiriya lifted his head, a glint of analytical light flickering in his eyes. "Yeah, I got that notification too." His gaze dropped to his quest log, where [Investigate the anomaly in the West City Cemetery] now glowed as Turn-In Available.
Lina smiled, raising her glass of milk in a little toast. "So—after this breakfast, we go wrap that quest up?"
"Yeah," Kiriya said simply, picking up the second piece of bread.