Chapter 12 – Too Hot to Handle

I thought we were just going to test her new powers.

I mean, she got a cool system upgrade. Lina deserved to try it out, right? A little fireball here, a flame-dagger there—standard magical girl flamethrower stuff.

What I didn't expect was a literal firestorm in the middle of a peaceful meadow. The grass was gone. The trees were scorched. The clouds above us had fled in fear.

And I had no eyebrows.

"Okay!" I shouted over the roaring blaze. "Let's call that a success and maybe—just maybe—cool down now?!"

Lina stood in the center of the scorched earth, eyes glowing orange, hair whipping around her like a solar flare caught in a tornado. The flames curled from her fingertips like they had a will of their own—and right now, they were in a mood.

"I can't!" she yelled, her voice vibrating with heat. "It won't stop! It's like my body wants to explode!"

That… was not great.

I turned to Iris, who was hovering under a magically reinforced parasol, calmly flipping through her notes. "Can you time-freeze her?!"

She gave me a blank stare. "Her mana output exceeds stabilization thresholds. I might freeze you by accident. And while I am curious what would happen if you were stuck in temporal stasis—"

"OKAY NEVER MIND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME."

Another wave of fire blasted across the field, narrowly missing a terrified flock of ducks that had been watching us like judges from some flaming version of America's Got Talent. One of them quacked in what I could only interpret as existential horror.

Lina clutched her head, sweat dripping down her brow, her breathing ragged. "Everything's too much! It's like I can't hold it in—!"

Without thinking, I rushed into the inferno.

"Raizen, no!" Iris called out.

I didn't care. She needed someone.

The heat punched me in the gut the second I got within five meters. My shirt caught a small flame. I patted it out furiously. My shoelaces disintegrated. My lungs burned.

But I kept walking.

I reached her—barely—and placed both hands on her shoulders.

"Lina," I said, trying to keep my voice steady, "breathe. Look at me."

Her eyes flickered, flames licking the edges of her vision. "Get away, idiot! I'll roast you!"

"Too late for that. Pretty sure my socks are already medium-well."

She laughed—or tried to. It came out shaky and wild. "I don't want to lose control again… I don't want to burn you."

"You won't," I said softly, "because you're not alone in this. You're never alone. I'm here. We're here. And you don't have to carry this fire by yourself."

For a moment, the world held its breath.

Then, the flames dimmed.

Not gone—but no longer screaming. Like they'd decided to simmer instead of rage.

Lina's knees gave out, and I caught her—right before we both collapsed into a patch of very, very warm dirt. Her head rested against my chest, and the fiery glow faded from her eyes.

"…You always say stupid things," she mumbled.

I let out a laugh. "It's my love language."

A small smile tugged at her lips. "You look ridiculous. Your eyebrows are gone."

"I feel ridiculous. My underwear's probably ash."

She blinked. "Wait… was that your last clean pair?"

I looked off into the distance like a soldier recalling the war. "They died heroes."

Lina giggled, low and warm. Not fiery. Just… warm.

A familiar chime echoed in my head:

System Notification: Link: LinaStabilization AchievedInfernal Heart: Full Synchronization Level 1 Complete

Lina's power now responds to your emotional state. Beware spontaneous combustion during cuddles.

I blinked.

Well.

That was a terrifyingly sweet sentence.

Iris finally joined us, stepping lightly over the still-smoking grass. "You appear intact. Your hair is… salvageable."

"Thanks," I grumbled. "Glad to know my follicles have your professional endorsement."

"I will note the side effects of emotional syncing in my research log," she added, sitting down beside us. "You continue to be a fascinating anomaly, Raizen."

"Anomaly," I muttered. "Is that another word for 'human fire extinguisher with nice shoulders'?"

"More or less," Iris replied.

Lina let out another laugh—and this time, there were no flames. Just the soft, tired warmth of someone who had finally, finally let go of something heavy.

And as we lay there together, under a smoky sky with the scent of toasted grass around us, I realized something…

This wasn't just a Link.

It was trust.

Burning bright.

And way, way too hot to handle.

End of Chapter 12