Time seemed to flow sluggishly within the narrow crevice.
The shouts of battle and the booming of spells outside gradually grew distant, as if moving to the far side of the ruins, leaving behind only faint echoes and the ringing clash of steel.
The crushing tension lessened, but the delicate strain brought by their close proximity did not ease in the slightest.
The two of them remained pressed together, close enough to feel each other's body heat and every rise and fall of breath.
Kiriya's back was pressed against the cold, rough rock wall, while in front of him was Lina's warm, soft body.
The contrast of freezing stone and living warmth kept his heart hammering without pause.
He forced himself to hold still, his posture unnaturally rigid, terrified that he might accidentally brush against her hair—or worse, any place he absolutely shouldn't touch.
Lina didn't seem any more comfortable.
She could feel the strong, steady rhythm of Kiriya's heartbeat through his chest, each thump reverberating in her senses, keeping the heat in her cheeks from fading.
She tilted her head slightly, trying to put the tiniest bit of space between them, but it hardly helped.
"Uh…" Kiriya felt he had to say something—anything—to shatter the maddening silence.
His voice came out rougher than before. "I think… they've moved farther away?"
"…Yeah." Lina's reply was barely above a whisper, her breath brushing against the side of his neck like a ticklish breeze.
"They should be… the Silver Wardens must've pushed them back for now…"
Another brief silence fell.
"Should we…" Lina hesitated for a moment, then suggested softly, "Maybe… try to go out now?"
"Good idea." Kiriya agreed at once, though somewhere deep down, a faint, almost imperceptible sense of… regret? flickered.
"I'll check first."
He turned his head with painstaking slowness, trying to peer through the tangle of vines covering the crack.
The movement inevitably brought his jaw dangerously close to brushing against Lina's bangs.
Lina's body tensed all at once, but she didn't pull away—she simply held her breath.
Kiriya noticed, froze mid-motion, and murmured an apology. "…Sorry."
"…It's fine." Lina's voice was barely audible.
Kiriya focused on the view outside.
The plaza was a mess—several player "corpses" still lay where they had fallen, along with scattered potions and coins, proof of how fierce the fight had been.
Both guilds seemed to have already left this part of the ruins, whether because the battle had ended or simply moved elsewhere, he couldn't tell.
"Looks… safe now." He exhaled in relief and drew back, only then realizing that the way he'd turned to look outside had made their posture even more suggestive, their faces were nearly side by side, his cheek almost brushing her temple.
Lina clearly noticed too. She shifted slightly, trying to retreat a little. "Then… let's get out."
"Y-yeah." Kiriya quickly agreed, beginning to carefully edge backward.
But getting out of the crack was much harder than getting in.
They were practically wedged in there, and getting out quietly required extremely careful coordination.
"Hold still. I'll go back first…" Kiriya braced his hands against the walls, slowly pushing himself backward.
As he did so, Lina—pressed by the confined space—instinctively leaned forward.
"Ugh!"
"Ah…"
They both let out a pained grunt at the same time.
This time, it wasn't just hair—Kiriya's chin smacked into Lina's forehead, and her nose bumped against his collarbone.
"Sorry!" "Are you okay?"
They spoke over each other, both voices tinged with awkwardness and fluster.
"I'm f-fine…" Lina rubbed her forehead, feeling like her face was about to combust.
"I'm good too…" Kiriya ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek where his teeth had bitten him.
Somehow, this felt even more exhausting than fighting a stone gargoyle.
After a few clumsy attempts, they finally found a rhythm.
Kiriya squeezed out of the crack first, then immediately turned back and reached a hand toward her.
Lina looked at the hand reaching through the vines, hesitated for just a heartbeat, then placed her own hand in his.
His palm was warm and slightly calloused, gripping hers firmly yet steadily, pulling her out of the suffocating space.
Breathing the air of the more open space again, they both instinctively stepped back half a pace and quickly released each other's hands, as though burned.
Their gazes met for the briefest instant, then darted away, each looking elsewhere.
Lina raised her hand to tidy her slightly disheveled hair and armor, trying to restore her usual calm composure, but the flush on her ears betrayed her.
Kiriya, on the other hand, pretended to be calm as he surveyed their surroundings to make sure it was truly safe, then cleared his throat.
"Ahem… looks like it's over. Shall we… get moving?"
"Mm." Lina nodded, her voice regaining a hint of its usual coolness, though if one listened closely, there was still a trace of unease.
"Let's go. The sooner we leave this place, the better."
They set off again, one in front and one behind, keeping a slightly greater distance between them than before and saying nothing.
But the warmth, the touch, the breath, and the pounding heartbeats from that cramped space felt seared into their senses, impossible to shake off.
The wind in the canyon still wailed, but on their faces it seemed unable to dispel the faint, simmering heat that had begun to grow between them.
Back on the open ruins floor, an unspoken tension hung in the air.
That previous closeness now felt like a thin, invisible film stretched between them, making even their usual interactions strangely self-conscious and fraught with heightened awareness.
They chose a path that led away from the site of the guild clash, walking faster, as though both wanted to get away from this place that stirred such restless thoughts.
Even the canyon wind seemed to sense the mood, no longer howling mournfully—just brushing softly past them, unable to blow away the lingering warmth on their faces.
After walking for a while, they came to a steep slope littered with loose stones that looked difficult to climb.
"Careful, this part's not very stable." Kiriya stepped forward first, testing a protruding rock for stability before naturally turning back and offering a hand.
"I'll pull you up?"
This was something they'd done countless times before during their adventures, yet right now, looking at that hand—long-fingered, scarred by battle but still warm—Lina's heart skipped a beat.
She hesitated only a fraction of a second before placing her hand in his, whispering, "…Thanks."
His grip was warm and steady as always, wrapping securely around her hand.With his help, Lina climbed the slope easily.
But just as she steadied herself and was about to let go, Kiriya didn't release her right away.
His thumb moved almost unconsciously, brushing lightly over the back of her hand.
The touch was feather-light, yet it sent a jolt of tingling electricity up her spine.
Lina recoiled as if burned, yanking her hand back, her face flushing crimson all the way to the tips of her ears.
She quickly turned around, fussing with her not-actually-messy armor and cloak, her voice carrying the faintest tremor.
"…L-let's go."
Kiriya froze. The motion had been entirely instinctive.
By the time he realized what he'd done, Lina had already leapt back like a startled deer.
He stared at his hand, still faintly tingling with the memory of her soft warmth, feeling a mix of regret and a strange, restless excitement.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose and muttered, almost at a loss for words, "…Uh, right."
They walked on in silence once more, but the tension between them didn't fade—it only grew thicker, clinging to the air like static.
Every accidental glance felt like a spark falling into dry tinder, igniting a flash of nervous energy.
After a while, they passed through a narrow cleft in the rock, and the view opened up.
A small, crystal-clear underground pool lay before them, fed by a trickling spring.
Faintly glowing aquatic plants lit the little space with a gentle radiance, making it feel serene and otherworldly, as though cut off from the harsh canyon outside.
"Let's rest here for a bit?" Kiriya suggested, his voice softer than usual.
"We've been walking for a while."
He needed a moment to calm the wild beat of his heart.
"…Alright." Lina agreed quietly.
She needed the space to gather her thoughts.
She knelt by the pool, pretending to be captivated by the glowing plants, but really just using the cold water to cool her burning cheeks.
Kiriya leaned against a nearby rock, but his gaze couldn't help straying toward her.
The soft glow outlined her slender, graceful back, her snow-white hair falling like a curtain, swaying gently as she moved.
At that moment, the usually calm and decisive Frost Knight seemed… uncharacteristically fragile and impossibly captivating.
Lina could feel the weight of his gaze on her back, making her even more flustered.Her heart picked up speed again.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm as she reached into her pack to fill her waterskin.
And then, the stone beneath her foot suddenly shifted.
"Ah!" She gasped as her balance gave way and she pitched forward toward the icy pool.
In the blink of an eye, a shadow moved faster than thought.
Kiriya lunged, arm shooting out, catching her firmly by the waist and yanking her back just in time.
Lina fell straight into a warm, solid embrace.
The momentum made them stagger, Kiriya's back slamming against the nearby rock with a dull thud, but his arms held her tightly, shielding her from falling into the water.
It all happened in an instant.
When Lina came to her senses, she found herself pressed flush against Kiriya's chest, his arms wrapped securely around her waist.
They were even closer than they had been in the crevice earlier.
Her hand had landed against his chest, and she could feel the rapid thud of his heartbeat, the heat radiating through his clothes.
Kiriya froze as well.
Her soft warmth filled his arms, her faint, cool scent lingered in his nose, and when he looked down, her ice-blue eyes wide with shock and fluster, were right there.
Her long lashes quivered like butterfly wings, tugging at something deep inside him.
Time seemed to stop once more.
The soft glow from the pool bathed them in a gentle light, the air heavy with the clean scent of water plants and the sound of their mingled, quickened breaths.
He didn't loosen his grip.
Her fingers curled unconsciously, clutching at his shirt.
Their gazes locked, tangled, as if bound by invisible threads.
Kiriya's throat bobbed, his gaze dropping—drawn helplessly to her slightly parted lips.
An unfamiliar, overpowering urge welled up inside him, blanking out all thought.
Lina seemed to realize what he was about to do.
Her eyes widened further, filling with panic, shyness, and something else—something faint, secret, and unspoken.
She didn't pull away. She just held her breath, heart pounding like a war drum.
Their faces drew closer, millimeter by millimeter—
And then—
Ahem!
A loud, deliberate throat-clearing came from the narrow crack they had just passed through.
They jolted apart as if struck by lightning, the speed of their separation making it seem as though nothing had happened at all.
Lina stumbled back several steps, her face crimson, fumbling with her hair and armor that didn't need fixing, too flustered to look toward the source of the sound.
Kiriya quickly masked his expression with his usual cocky facade, though his ears were burning red.
He turned sharply toward the intruder, voice edged with faint annoyance and wariness."Who?!"
And there, standing casually at the crack's entrance, was a figure neither of them had noticed before.