Kael didn't remember standing up.
One moment he was on one knee, lungs burning, the echo of the Enforcer's death still ringing in his ears and the next, he was upright, supported by an unfamiliar steadiness in his body.
Not strength.
Coordination.
Nyra Voss stood a few steps away, staring at her hands like they belonged to someone else.
"…That wasn't adrenaline," she said quietly.
Kael flexed his fingers. They moved instantly, perfectly in sync with his intent. No lag. No hesitation.
"No," he agreed. "It wasn't."
The last blue fragments of the Grayline Enforcer faded into the air, leaving behind a faint shimmer on the cracked pavement.
The system chimed again.
Zone Threat Reduced.
Bonus Evaluation in Progress…
Kael's panel expanded without prompting.
Zone Clear Contribution Registered.
Performance Rating: S
Additional Rewards Granted.
He exhaled slowly. "That sounds good."
Nyra looked up sharply. "You got an S-rank rating?"
"Apparently."
She clicked her tongue. "Unbelievable."
The rewards finalized.
Experience Gained.
Rare Drop Acquired.
Kael blinked.
Rare?
The panel shifted, displaying a small, glowing icon.
Item Acquired:
Refined Core Fragment (Uncommon)
Description:
A condensed energy core extracted from a high-tier zone entity.
Can be used for enhancement, crafting, or system exchange.
Kael didn't know what most of that meant yet, but one thing was clear this wasn't normal loot for an outer-zone run.
Nyra noticed his expression. "What did you get?"
"Some kind of core fragment."
Her eyebrows rose slightly. "From an Enforcer?" She shook her head. "That thing wasn't supposed to drop anything like that."
Kael didn't reply. He was staring at another message.
Level Up!
Level: 4 → 5
Free Stat Points: 5
He felt the change ripple through him, deeper this time. Not just muscle or reflex, but something more fundamental like his body was becoming better at becoming better.
Nyra watched him closely. "You leveled again."
"Yeah."
"…You're joking."
Kael shook his head and allocated the points.
AGI +3
STR +2
STR: 15 → 17
AGI: 20 → 23
The difference was immediate. The world felt lighter, clearer, as if friction itself had been reduced.
Nyra exhaled slowly. "You're going to be a problem."
"That bad?"
"That interesting," she corrected.
They moved cautiously after that, circling the area to make sure no other high-tier threats were lurking nearby. Grayline was quiet too quiet but the system confirmed it.
Zone Status: Stabilized.
Nyra relaxed slightly, finally lowering her blade.
"Most people would've died back there," she said. "Or run."
Kael glanced at her. "You didn't."
She smirked. "I don't like letting things think they can kill me."
He snorted softly. "Fair."
They found a relatively intact stairwell leading down into a subterranean service tunnel safe enough to sit and catch their breath. Kael leaned against the concrete wall, sliding down until he was seated.
Only then did the exhaustion hit.
Nyra crouched opposite him, resting her forearms on her knees.
"So," she said. "Explain."
Kael rubbed a hand through his hair. "Which part?"
"All of it," she replied. "The way you moved. The timing. And whatever the hell that thing was that just happened."
He hesitated.
The Omni Fusion System hovered silently, waiting.
He opened the Relationships tab again.
Slot 1:
Nyra Voss
Type: Companion
Bond Level: 29%
Status: Active
Relationship Fusion: Available
Under it, a smaller line blinked faintly.
Fusion Cooldown: None
Kael looked up. "My system lets me fuse… connections. Skills too, apparently. But the relationship part is new. I didn't even know what it would do."
"And now?"
"And now I think it lets us fight better together than we should be able to," he said honestly.
Nyra studied him, expression unreadable.
"That sounds dangerous," she said finally.
Kael nodded. "Yeah."
Silence stretched between them, filled only by the distant creaking of ruined metal.
Nyra broke it first.
"Most people form parties because they need to," she said. "You don't fight like that."
"How do I fight?"
"Like someone who doesn't rely on anyone," she replied. "But still benefits from having them there."
She tilted her head. "That's rare."
Kael shrugged. "Guess the system liked that."
Nyra snorted. "The system doesn't like anything."
She stood. "Come on. We should head back before something bigger wanders in."
They exited Grayline together.
The moment they crossed the boundary into Astra Prime's safe zone, the world snapped back into focus.
Sound returned all at once voices, engines, distant construction. Giant screens mounted on reinforced towers flickered with live feeds and scrolling data.
Kael flinched slightly as a notification burst across the nearest display.
LOCAL ZONE UPDATE:
Grayline District — Threat Reduced
Solo Clear Contribution: REGISTERED
Nyra cursed under her breath. "Damn it."
Kael stared. "That's public?"
"Very," she said. "You just painted a target on your back."
People were already reacting.
Heads turned. Murmurs spread. Some panels displayed Kael's name briefly before flickering away, restricted by access permissions.
A group of guild recruiters near the ranking hall straightened simultaneously.
Nyra grabbed Kael's wrist and pulled him into the crowd. "Walk. Don't look important."
"I don't look important," Kael protested.
"You just solo-contributed to a stabilized zone," she shot back. "You look like a paycheck."
They ducked down a side street, slipping past surveillance drones and automated checkpoints until the noise dulled behind them.
Nyra released him once they reached a quieter block.
"You're going to get offers," she said. "Fast ones."
"I'm not interested."
She gave him a sideways look. "You say that now."
Kael opened his mouth to respond when his panel pulsed again.
[Notice]
Relationship Fusion Status: Active
Synchronization: 58%
Nyra felt it too.
She stiffened slightly. "It's still… on."
"I didn't turn it off."
She studied him, then nodded. "Don't. Not yet."
That surprised him.
"Why?"
"Because I want to see what happens when it stabilizes," she said. "And because…" She paused. "…it doesn't feel bad."
Kael swallowed.
The system chimed softly.
Bond Level Increased.
Nyra Voss: 29% → 31%
Neither of them commented on it.
They stopped near a reinforced café that had survived The Convergence with minimal damage. Inside, hunters rested, compared stats, and argued loudly over drops.
Nyra gestured toward it. "We should lay low for a bit."
Kael nodded.
They took a booth near the back. Kael ordered water his hands were still shaking slightly now that the danger had passed.
Nyra leaned back, eyes scanning the room.
"Grayline's going to get crowded after today," she said. "More teams. More competition."
"That bad?"
"Depends on how you like your odds."
Kael considered that.
His gaze drifted to a figure across the room.
A woman sat alone at a corner table, long pale hair pulled back in a loose tie. She wore a sleek, high-grade combat coat, and a faint aura of cold radiated from her—subtle, controlled.
Her panel wasn't visible to him.
But his system reacted anyway.
[Notice]
Potential Relationship Vector Detected.
Data Insufficient.
Kael blinked.
Nyra noticed his pause. "What?"
"Nothing," he said quickly.
The woman looked up at that moment, eyes like clear winter glass meeting his.
For a brief second, Kael felt the temperature dip.
She studied him calmly then returned to her drink.
Nyra followed his gaze, then smirked.
"…Oh," she said. "That one."
"You know her?"
"By reputation," Nyra replied. "Elira Frostveil. Independent caster. Doesn't join guilds. Doesn't lose fights."
Kael's panel pulsed faintly.
The Relationships tab flickered then went still.
Nyra leaned forward slightly. "Careful, Kael."
"Why?"
She smiled, sharp and knowing.
"Because if your system reacts to people like that," she said, "this world is going to get very complicated."
Kael leaned back, heart still racing not from battle this time, but from possibility.
Outside, Astra Prime buzzed with activity.
Rankings shifted. Zones updated. Power rebalanced itself in real time.
And somewhere deep within the system's logic
Kael's anomaly continued to grow.