The first breath he drew outside the Scarder Lake cavern did not carry pain.
Snow fell softly.
Wind whispered across the rock face, tugging at the ends of his coat. Kel von Rosenfeld stood at the cliff's edge, a few steps apart from the others, watching the grey horizon bleed into thin streaks of pale moonlight.
He lifted a hand to his chest.
His heart beat steady.
No pulse of searing frost following each throb. No invisible claws scraping at his lungs.
His fingers trembled.
Not from weakness—
—from disbelief.
He let out a slow breath.
It fogged lightly before dissipating into the air.
"…It worked," he exhaled.
Though no one asked, the words slipped out anyway.
Perhaps to reassure himself.
Perhaps to acknowledge the miracle before the world changed enough for it to drown.
His plan, if reduced to logic, was simple.
Lift the curse.
Secure the contract.
Survive long enough to challenge destiny.
Twenty full playthroughs of Destiny had taught him strategy. Memorized event sequences. Gained mastery over dialogue choices. Unlocked hidden conditions.
He remembered the contract event—the "Scarder Lake Guardian Pact." In the game, it triggered under extremely rare conditions:
-Player must possess unique trait: "Lonely Will."
-Player must approach lake AFTER cleansing a major curse. - -Player must speak to the guardian without invoking authority.
Only five times in those twenty runs had Kel successfully pulled that off.
Five.
And now… he had done it again. Not as a player manipulating lines of code.
But as a boy speaking with sincerity.
That's new… he thought, lips curving a little.
He leaned back slightly, letting his eyes drift toward the cave entrance behind him.
Reina spoke quietly with Sera, their movements subtle beneath the snow. Landon adjusted his sword belt, his expression unchanged—but his posture lighter than before.
They watched him.
Not out of fear.
Not with concern.
With something akin to quiet acknowledgment.
He turned away from them.
And let his smile grow.
For the first time since arriving in this world, it was unshadowed.
A genuine smile—the type he had never allowed himself to carry long.
A spark beneath winter's throat.
"…I did it," he whispered, unable to stop himself. His voice quivered with restrained exhilaration. "I formed a contract with Sairen. A mythical entity. One of the top-tier spirits in the game lore…"
He laughed once, faintly. The sound quickly faded into the wind.
As a player, this is… insane. This is early-game power leap. Unprecedented.
He was reciting his own victory like a list.
"My curse is gone."
"My stats are higher than early protagonist class."
"And now…" His eyes narrowed in satisfaction, "…I have a mythical entity watching from behind me."
I actually pulled it off.
He raised his hand, running fingers through his hair. The expression on his face was almost boyish—rare softness replacing the cool restraint he usually maintained.
"This is… smooth," he murmured.
Even he could not deny it.
His words earlier—the phrasing, the tone, the emotional pacing—had been flawless.
Not manipulative.
Just right.
"Become my contracted partner."
He replayed the line internally.
Perfect timing.
Perfect delivery.
Perfect impact.
"Yes," Kel muttered with a calm grin in place of his usual stoicism. "Very smooth, Kel. Well done. That was exceptional social engineering, truly."
If Landon heard him now, he'd probably think he was losing composure.
If Reina saw this, she'd stare and pretend she didn't.
If Sera—
Kel paused.
The smile on his lips stilled.
His eyes lowered slightly.
Sera…
No.
Sairen.
The smile faded slowly. Not vanished—just altered.
Thinned.
Softened.
"…She's been alone," he whispered, voice losing its previous lightness, "for so long."
Snow landed on his lashes, melting into faint wetness.
"Since the lake was formed."
His fist curled.
He remembered the crack in her tone when he asked her how long she had guarded the lake. The subtle tremor when she reacted to loneliness. That hint of hesitation when she asked him—almost carefully—
"Do you mean I have been lonely?"
Loneliness deeper than centuries.
Not a creature trapped.
A guardian.
Bound not by malice.
By duty.
Kel's eyes lifted to the horizon again.
"It must have been painful," he murmured. "Watching people come here only when they were desperate. Seeing them leave once they were cured. No one ever looking back unless they wanted something more."
No one staying.
No one speaking to her as someone.
Only as a force.
He remembered the slight pause before she said her name.
"Sairen."
Like speaking it was both relief and ache.
Kel inhaled slowly.
Warm breath against cold air.
I offered her freedom.
He pressed a hand over his chest.
But can I keep that promise?
If he ever forced her, the contract would break.
If he ever used her as a tool…
She would sever the bond.
And he—
He didn't care about the cost.
He cared about breaking the promise.
"…I won't," he said to the wind. "I won't betray it."
People thought of contracts as power gains.
Kel didn't.
He thought of it as responsibility.
"I don't want her to walk the world through my eyes just because she's bound," he whispered. "I want her to choose what to see."
His fingers relaxed.
He let the weight of the contract settle in—not as pressure, but as warmth.
A silent presence humming faintly around his aura core.
Not oppressive.
Observing.
Sairen.
Watching.
Footsteps approached softly.
Reina.
"Kel," she said gently.
He turned.
She studied his face briefly, noticing the change in his expression.
"You're smiling," she remarked, not as observation—but as quiet acknowledgment.
Kel allowed himself a slight nod.
"It went well," he said.
"It did," she agreed.
Landon stood a few steps behind her, arms folded. Sera watched from further back, her fingers resting over her chest where curse no longer pulsed.
None of them prodded the deeper thought on his face.
None asked why his smile had dimmed.
They simply stood near.
Kel looked forward.
He exhaled once more, the last of the cold in his lungs fading into the snow.
Sairen…
I will show you the world that chose to forget you.
And I will not look away from whatever you show me in return.
A faint echo stirred in the air near his mind.
"…I am listening."
His breath paused.
Then he smiled again.
This time—not triumph.
Respect.
He turned toward his companions.
"Let's move," he said.
They nodded.
They walked forward.
Snowflakes spun quietly around them, caught in the wind trailing from his footsteps.
Behind his eyes, somewhere deep—
a presence drifted like moonlight upon still water.
Watching.
Waiting.
Not bound by chains.
Only by choice.
The lake had a witness now.
Kel von Rosenfeld—once cursed, once doomed—walked onward with lightness.
Not because he was no longer dying.
Because someone who had forgotten how to live…
had accepted his hand through the silence.