The sun had just begun to set over the horizon, casting crimson hues across the sky, as if the heavens themselves were bleeding magic. Yuuji walked behind Seraphina in silence, the heat of her presence almost unbearable.
"Why does her back look like it carries the weight of a hundred wars…"
He had barely known her for an hour, yet she already felt like a storm — unpredictable, powerful, and far beyond his comprehension.
They entered a narrow clearing, surrounded by glowing mushrooms and whispering trees. Seraphina knelt down near a broken ruin and tapped her finger against a hidden rune.
With a soft glow, a magical barrier activated—a dome of soft orange light enveloping them. The air turned warmer, safer.
"Camp here tonight," she said, not looking at him.
"O-Okay…" Yuuji muttered.
His legs finally gave out as he sat on a rock near the edge of the dome. His body still ached. He hadn't fully recovered from the summoning shock, and the emotional whiplash of dying on Earth was starting to catch up.
"I died…"
His voice trembled.
"Everything I knew is gone…"
He looked at his hands—small cuts from earlier were still visible.
"Why me…?"
Seraphina, seated near the flickering campfire she had conjured, glanced at him.
"You're not the first to feel that. Every one of us lost something."
Yuuji looked up, startled.
"You?"
She didn't respond immediately. Instead, she pulled off her gauntlets, her fingers scorched and calloused from years of battle.
"I was once just a girl from the Fire Meadows. I watched my sister burn in front of me because I wasn't strong enough to save her."
Her voice didn't shake. But her eyes… were far away.
"Strength in this world isn't a gift. It's a curse earned through pain."
Yuuji felt something twist inside him.
"I'm not strong. I've never been. I was just… normal. I can't even swing a sword properly."
"Then learn."
"And stop whining. You're still alive. That means you have a chance."
Silence settled between them, but not uncomfortably.
As the fire crackled and stars began to bloom in the night sky, Yuuji couldn't help but glance at her again. Her face, usually sharp and commanding, had softened. The shadows of the flames danced across her pale skin.
He realized she was… beautiful.
Not just in the way anime girls were. But in the way someone who had bled for others became beautiful—through scars and fire.
"Thank you… for saving me earlier."
Seraphina looked at him, surprised.
"You're welcome," she said quietly.
"But I didn't save you. I saved the prophecy."
"Still… thanks."
They stared at the flames for a while. The warmth began to melt the distance between them.
"Seraphina…"
"Hmm?"
"If I… if I really have to lead this squad… I don't want to be a burden to you."
She chuckled—just a little. It was the first time he'd heard it.
"That's the first decent thing you've said all day."
"Heh… baby steps, right?"
Their eyes met again. For a brief moment, something passed between them. It wasn't love. Not yet.
But it was trust. The first spark of it.
She reached into her bag and tossed him a rolled-up cloak.
"Sleep. We move at sunrise. And if you snore, I'll stab you."
"Heh… I'll keep that in mind."
Yuuji lay down near the edge of the dome, pulling the cloak over himself. The stars in Eloria looked nothing like Earth's—they twinkled in strange patterns, shifting as if alive.
But even in this magical world, one feeling remained the same.
Loneliness.
He missed Earth. His parents. His little sister. His life.
"Why me… why this…?"
Sleep tugged at him slowly.
But just as he drifted off…
A voice.
Not Seraphina's.
Not his own.
It was soft, melodic… and distant.
"The second Flame watches."
Yuuji's eyes snapped open.
"Who—who said that?!"
But Seraphina was already asleep—her hand resting on her blade.
"No one else is here…"
His heart pounded.
And then…
[New Connection Detected – Flame Resonance Initiated]
[Searching: Second Flame…]
From deep within the woods, unseen to him, a girl with silver hair and glowing teal eyes stood on a tree branch, watching him through the leaves.
Her lips curled into a smile.
"So… that's the boy fate chose?"
Her fingers glowed with moonlight magic.
"Let's see if he can handle me…"
To Be Continued...