The System made me say her full name.
*"Mira Thorn."*
The words tasted like rust on my tongue as they activated the quest:
*[SECOND HARVEST: CHILDHOOD BOND]*
*[TARGET AFFECTION LEVEL: 94%]*
*[ESTIMATED SAN LOSS: 45 POINTS]*
Across our ruined wheat field, Mira straightened from drawing water at the well. Sunlight caught in her chestnut braid—the same shade it had been when we were six, when she'd given me half her bread during the famine winter.
"Kael?" Her callused hands tightened on the bucket rope. "Your eyes..."
My shadow lashed out without permission, shattering the clay vessel. Dark tendrils pinned her against the well stones.
*"Say my name,"* I growled through clenched teeth.
Mira didn't struggle. "Kael Veyne." She smiled sadly. "Always Kael."
The System flashed crimson:
*[WARNING: TARGET COOPERATION REDUCES EXP YIELD]*
*[RECOMMENDATION: PROLONG SUFFERING]*
I drove my knife between her ribs.
Mira gasped, but her hands came up to cradle my face. Blood bubbled at the corner of her mouth as she whispered: *"At least this way... I die mattering to you."*
Her body dissolved into shadow before it hit the ground. The System sang:
*[HEARTRENDER'S AGONY ACQUIRED!]*
*[EFFECT: PAIN → POWER CONVERSION RATE +50%]*
New scars carved themselves down my arms in branching lightning patterns. When I retched, black bile ate holes in the dirt.
---
Lira found me burning Mira's ribbon in the embers of her family's hut.
"You didn't even bury her."
The golden script of her System shimmered between us:
*[KINSLAYER DETECTED]*
*[PURIFICATION PROTOCOL ENGAGED]*
I laughed as her healing light seared my new scars. "Going to fix me, little saint?"
Her hands trembled against my skin. "I have to try."
For one heartbeat, her golden light almost... *fit*. Like a bone snapping back into place. Then my System roared to life:
*[CONTAMINATION DETECTED!]*
*[COUNTERMEASURES ENGAGED!]*
Black tendrils erupted from my shadow, slamming Lira into the charred wall. Her scream echoed Mira's last breath.
The System showed me something new—a progress bar I'd never seen before:
*[SOUL FRAGMENTS HARVESTED: 2/5]*
*[FINAL REQUIREMENT: KILL LIERA VEYNE]*
When the vision faded, Lira was gone. Only her blood remained, spelling three words in the ashes:
*I WILL SAVE YOU.*