Reward: +10 Charm!

The clearing was a battlefield.

The roars of the lizardling shook the air, spitting acidic shots that hissed and melted through trees and earth alike. From the bushes, Adam watched with bated breath, heart pounding so hard he swore it might burst from his chest. His sister Laylee stood at the forefront, calm amidst the chaos, her sword drawn low. She muttered something under her breath, and the runes engraved along the blade shimmered to life, wreathing it in vibrant flames. The air around her shimmered from the heat.

"Adam!" she barked without looking at him. "Get back to the estate! Get Crystal! Hurry!"

Adam flinched, nodding rapidly like a frightened rabbit. "O-Okay!" he squeaked, turning and crashing noisily through the undergrowth. But after a few heavy footsteps, he crouched down low again, hidden, watching. He wasn't going anywhere. He had no intention of leaving her alone.

Laylee breathed out slowly, her body relaxing into a stance that looked more like a knight preparing for a duel than a mage readying a spell. Adam's eyes narrowed. There it is… Laylee's fighting style. It was exactly like he remembered from the game. She would duel like a knight, chip away at the enemy's stamina and mind, and only when the perfect moment arrived, she would unleash her magic at point-blank range.

The lizardling moved first, a blur of muscle and scale. Acidic saliva drooled from its open maw as it hissed and lunged. Laylee ducked under its snap, flames trailing her sword as she counterattacked with elegant footwork. Around her, Hunters A, B, and C worked to corral the quickfoots, trying to capture their targets before the chaos sent the prized beasts scattering. It might have worked—if not for the acid.

A jet of venomous green liquid shot out. Hunter B, who was scrambling to catch a quickfoot, barely had time to scream before the acid tore through her like paper, leaving a gaping, steaming hole in her stomach. She crumpled forward without another sound.

Adam's breath caught in his throat. His fingers dug into the earth beside him. That wasn't some background event. That wasn't an expendable NPC. That was a human life, extinguished like a candle in the rain.

"Oh, now you've pissed me off," Laylee said, her face twisted in fury. 

Her fire-imbued blade flared hotter as she charged forward, the lizardling's tail sweeping toward her in a death strike. But she didn't falter. She dove into the attack, dispelling her flame sword mid-thrust. A magic circle bloomed at her palm, intricate and radiant.

"[Firebolt]!"

BOOM!

The spell detonated inches from the monster's head. A searing blast of concentrated fire engulfed the lizardling's skull. When the light cleared, only ash and smoking bone remained. The body slumped lifelessly, the ground trembling beneath its fall.

Adam leapt up from the bushes, his mouth open in shock. What the fuck?! That wasn't supposed to happen!

In the game, Laylee was supposed to fight desperately, lose, fall into the stream, and find Ignis's cove to awaken her true potential! This clean victory wasn't part of the script!

Laylee, panting from exertion, caught sight of him almost instantly. Her flame-wreathed sword dipped for a heartbeat, and her already fierce expression darkened even further. Her boots slammed into the dirt with each furious step toward him, her entire body radiating the kind of barely restrained rage only an older sister could muster. The kind of fury born not from anger, but from gut-wrenching fear.

"What are you doing here?!" she roared, her voice cracking through the clearing like a whip. "I told you to run! I ordered you to get help! Do you have any idea what could have happened if that thing had noticed you?!"

Adam took a half-step back instinctively, gulping under the force of her glare. It was like staring into a bonfire. But he steeled himself, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, trying to summon his best guilty little brother act. He lowered his gaze, biting his lip hard enough to make his eyes shimmer with tears.

"...I'm sorry..." he whispered.

It was a critical strike to the heart.

Laylee visibly recoiled, her entire face flushing crimson. She turned half-away, coughing harshly into her fist as if trying to suppress some dangerously soft emotion. But she wasn't finished. Not by a long shot.

"You reckless... stupid...!" she growled, turning back around to jab a finger into his chest, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make him flinch. "You could've died, you idiot! What would Mother have said if you never came back?! What would I—!"

She bit down the words, visibly struggling to hold herself together. Her shoulders trembled slightly with the adrenaline that hadn't yet left her system.

"You're a man! You're not supposed to fight! You're not supposed to... to stand near a battlefield like this! You're supposed to stay safe, stay beautiful, stay protected!" she snapped, and her voice cracked oddly near the end, like she hated herself for shouting but couldn't stop.

Adam bowed his head deeper, squeezing out a few extra fat tears just for good measure. Not fake ones either. Now that he was here, now that he saw death firsthand, they weren't that hard to summon.

Laylee's hand, which had been halfway raised to jab at him again, faltered. She hesitated, then slowly lowered it. She breathed out a long, shuddering breath, forcing her temper back under control.

"J-Just... just don't do something so insane again," she muttered stiffly, folding her arms across her chest. "You're not a knight, Adam. You're not even a trainee. You're... you're my brother."

Her voice dropped to a whisper on that last part.

"And I don't ever want to see you hurt," she said, softer than the wind.

Adam smiled awkwardly but stayed quiet, his gaze drifting behind her—to the fallen body of Hunter B. Without waiting for permission, he walked toward it.

Laylee tried to stop him, reaching for his arm. "Adam, don't—It's not something you should see—!"

But he shook her off gently. He knelt beside the body, heart thudding painfully. The woman's face was frozen in shock and pain, blood pooling around her. Swallowing thickly, he closed her eyes with two trembling fingers, murmuring a silent prayer.

This isn't a game anymore, he reminded himself. This is real. Death is real.

If he messed up... he wouldn't get a do-over.

He wouldn't respawn at a checkpoint.

Standing slowly, Adam turned back to Laylee—only to stagger as a sharp, electric pain ripped through his mind, like someone had jammed a blade of ice straight into his skull. He clutched the side of his head, gritting his teeth as a wave of dizziness crashed over him.

And then, he heard it.

A voice. Low, ancient, crackling like a bonfire during a storm. Yet despite its alien tone, there was something eerily familiar about it—something that curled around his heart and tugged at it, like a forgotten memory. It was soft and brutal all at once, both a whisper and a command, like a lullaby sung by a dying world.

Foll$JF the. . SOKream.**

Seek. . the he*RT. . of Primal Fire.

The voice fragmented, distorted like a broken record, but the meaning was clear.

Follow the stream.

Find the source.

Find her.

Adam gasped, his eyes blinking rapidly as the voice receded like smoke in the wind, leaving behind only the sound of the birdsong and the quiet trickle of water nearby. His heart hammered wildly against his ribs, his body frozen between fear and an inexplicable, yearning pull.

A heavy, calloused hand clapped down on his shoulder, grounding him back to reality.

Laylee stood beside him, breathing heavily but steady now, her brows furrowed in concern. She squeezed his shoulder firmly—strong enough to jolt him from his daze.

"Are you alright, Adam?" she asked, mistaking the faraway look in his eyes for lingering shock. Her voice was softer now, steadying. Reassuring. "It's over. You're safe."

She misunderstood the dazed, distant look in his eyes, thinking it was the aftershock of the battle, of seeing death up close for the first time. She gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"There'll be a proper burial," she said softly. Her voice was quiet, almost reverent. "She deserves that much."

From the brush, Hunters A and C appeared, each carrying a limp quickfoot by the legs, their faces tired but shining with pride. They had succeeded. Against all odds, they had succeeded.

Laylee straightened up, brushing back a few strands of hair that clung to her sweaty forehead. Despite the exhaustion weighing on her, she carried herself with the poise of a true lord. "With two quickfeets... and a lizardling corpse..." she murmured, glancing back at Adam with a small smile, "the estate will be quite happy with today's haul."

Adam forced a grin, trying to shake off the strange tremor still lingering in his chest, trying to pretend like he hadn't just heard a primal voice calling him. "Are we gonna eat the lizardling too?"

Laylee chuckled at that, the sound light and genuine—the first true laugh he had heard from her in so long it almost hurt. "No. Only the leather's valuable. The meat's poisonous. Unless you want to grow a second head."

He snorted. "Sounds metal."

She paused, hesitated for a moment, her crimson eyes settling on him with a strange intensity. It wasn't just the relief of survival. There was something more in her gaze. Something searching.

"...Adam," she said, her voice suddenly softer, more hesitant. "I don't know what's going on with you lately. I don't know why you've changed, or how. These... dreams you say you have, the way you carry yourself now..." Her fingers tightened slightly on his shoulder, as if anchoring herself to the boy in front of her. "It's not normal."

Adam's smile faltered for a second, but he said nothing. He could feel her doubt, her confusion... but also her pride.

"I don't understand it," she admitted, her voice growing firmer. "But today, seeing you standing here, not crying or panicking like most men would, seeing you brave enough to stay even after I yelled at you to run... I'm proud."

She let out a long breath, her crimson hair shimmering in the morning light, her golden gaze unwavering.

"I'm proud to call you my brother," she said at last. "The young lord of the Blake family."

Adam stared at her, stunned, the words burning themselves into his chest. Pride. Acceptance. Family.

The fire of determination flared up inside him, stronger than ever.

No matter what came—demon, monster, god—it didn't matter.

He would protect this.

He would protect her.

He would protect the smiles of his family.

He clenched his fists tightly at his sides, etching the vow into the deepest part of his soul.

Right then, a familiar crisp ding! sounded in his mind.

[Quest Completed!]

✅ [Blast To The Past!]

Reconnect with your sister Laylee like in the past.

Reward: +10 Charm (Assimilation in 48 Hours)