Ian kept his word.
He returned at dawn, red cord tied to his wrist. The koi surfaced, heart pounding. For a moment he feared the thread of Mari he'd felt yesterday was just a dream.
But Ian crouched at the bank, calm eyes on the water. His will was steady, heavy with something the koi now recognized through Sense: grief sharpened into resolve.
"You're still here," Ian murmured.
The System stirred inside the koi's mind.
[Bond Protocol: Initiating]
[Candidate: Ian — Human Tamer]
[Proceed?]
Yes, the koi thought.
Something clicked into place. Sense wrapped tighter around Ian, tying them together. Ian inhaled as if surprised by the sudden weight, then exhaled, steadying himself.
"So it's real," he said. "You chose me."
[Bond established]
[Shared growth enabled]
The koi trembled. Mari had loved him like family. Ian was different. He carried a blade, a will, and the same fire that had burned Mari's last smile into memory.
That was why the koi's Sense had found him. Ian's thoughts burned with the same vow: revenge. Revenge for his sister. For their parents. For the entire village turned to ash.
And the koi, weak as he was, shared that vow.
—
A low rumble shook the ground. Heavy steps approached. The koi braced instinctively, but Ian lifted his hand.
A tiger-like beast stepped into view, striped in black flame. Massive shoulders, golden eyes, breath steaming with fire. The koi almost flinched, but Sense told him this will was disciplined, steady—bound to Ian by years of trust.
"This is Rakkel," Ian said, resting a hand on its head. "He's been with me since I was a boy. If you're my partner, you're his too."
Rakkel lowered his head toward the river, a predator's acknowledgment. No malice. Just acceptance.
The koi flicked his fins nervously but bowed his head back.
—
Training began at once.
Ian threw stones into the river, forcing the koi to Bounce through the splashes, tighter, faster each day. He wedged willow branches underwater; the koi tore them apart with Bite until his teeth cracked bark clean.
Rakkel sparred with Ian, claws crashing against his blade in controlled arcs. Their rhythm was a dance the koi studied from the water, learning what partnership looked like.
At night, Ian tied the red cord so it trailed into the river. The koi lay against it, feeling the bond hum through him.
"You're not a pet," Ian said one evening, voice hard with conviction. "You're my partner. We're in this fight together."
The koi pressed against the cord. For Mari, for Ian, for himself—he believed it.
[Bounce: proficiency +3]
[Bite: proficiency +2]
[Sense: tether stabilized]
—
They trained for one purpose.
"The Dark Fire Dragon," Ian said one night, staring into the flames of their campfire. His hand tightened on the red cord. "It killed Mari. It killed our family. It burned everything. I swore I'd find it, no matter how long it took. And now… I know where it hides."
The koi's heart thudded in his chest. Sense reached into Ian's will and tasted the oath there: grief carved into iron, vengeance unbending. That was why the bond had formed. They carried the same flame.
Ian looked down at him, expression grim but steady. "We'll face it together. You, me, and Rakkel. For Mari."
The koi flicked his tail. He was terrified—but he agreed.
—
Two days later, they stood at Ember Lake.
The collapsed caldera hissed and boiled. Steam rose in thick sheets. The stench of sulfur clogged the air. The ground trembled with each low growl from beneath.
Ian studied the basin. "We draw it into the lake. Rakkel will hold its eyes. You strike where you can. If we're separated, regroup at the east vent—the one that whistles."
The koi listened. A faint high note sang through the steam. He fixed it in his memory.
They waited.
The ground's tremors deepened. The lake rippled once, then twice.
The Dark Fire Dragon emerged.
It climbed from the molten ledge, wings scraping the cavern walls. Scales cracked with magma glow. Black glass wings shimmered in the firelight. When it breathed, flame did not stream outward—it appeared wherever its will demanded.
Ian's grip tightened on his sword. His will pulsed like fire through the bond. For Mari.
Rakkel growled, fire seeping from his jaws.
The koi plunged into the scalding water, pain already searing his scales.
The battle began.
—
Rakkel struck first, claws raking across the dragon's foreleg. Sparks and magma flew. The dragon snapped its head down, but Rakkel ducked and countered, a blur of flame-striped muscle.
The koi darted forward through boiling waves. Bounce carried him past sheets of scalding spray. He bit at the joint of the dragon's jaw, tearing a tiny sliver. Insignificant—but real.
Ian's blade cut at the knee joint, finding seams where heat had weakened the plates. Strike after strike, small wounds opened.
For a brief heartbeat, they looked like they could win.
—
Then the dragon drew in a breath.
Black fire spread across the lake. Steam curled into flames. Bounce saved the koi once, twice, but the fire curved unnaturally, appearing where he moved.
The koi screamed in his mind. His body burned.
Through the haze, he glimpsed Ian rushing forward, cord glowing, shouting his name. Rakkel roared beside him, leaping into the fire.
But the koi never saw what became of them.
[System Notice: Host terminated. Entering long sleep. Revival in progress…]
Darkness swallowed him.
When he woke again, the river would be cool, his body whole. But Ian and Rakkel? He didn't know if they had survived or fallen.
That ignorance cut deeper than any flame.
And his last thought before the void took him was the same as always:
I was too weak.