Kai woke up to the system screaming.
Not literally.
The system did not have a voice. It had never needed one. Its usual method was to appear in front of his face with cold blue windows and ruin his morning.
This time, the window was red.
That was new.
Kai stared at it from beneath his blanket.
[Emergency Quest Generated.]
“Oh,” Kai said.
Ember’s arm tightened around his waist.
She was still asleep beside him, wings folded around them both like a dark canopy. Her tail was wrapped over his legs, and one of her horns was dangerously close to poking his cheek.
Kai blinked at the red screen.
“That seems bad.”
[Quest: Retrieve the Forgotten Relic from the Forest Dungeon.]
[Location: Blackroot Hollow.]
[Time Limit: 3 Days.]
[Reward: Unknown.]
[Failure Penalty: ███████]
Kai sat up so fast Ember’s wing slid off his shoulder.
She opened one eye.
“Kai?”
He kept staring at the screen.
The failure penalty was blacked out.
Not blank.
Not missing.
Redacted.
That somehow made it worse.
Ember sat up immediately, all sleep gone from her face.
“What is wrong?”
“The system gave me a quest.”
She glanced around the cabin as if looking for something to attack.
“What kind?”
“The red kind.”
Ember’s eyes narrowed.
Kai read the message out loud.
When he got to the penalty, Ember’s tail went still.
“Redacted,” she said.
“Yeah.”
“What does that mean?”
“I think it means it won’t tell me.”
“That is suspicious.”
“I noticed.”
“Refuse.”
Kai looked at her.
“What?”
“Refuse the quest.”
Kai pointed at the red screen.
“Did you not hear the part where the failure penalty is hidden?”
“Yes. That is why I do not like it.”
“That is exactly why I don’t want to risk ignoring it.”
Ember frowned.
“If an enemy hides its claws, you do not place your throat near its hand.”
“Right, but if an enemy says ‘do this or something terrible happens,’ I don’t just sit there and test how terrible.”
Ember stared at him.
Kai stared back.
The system chimed.
[Quest acceptance recommended.]
Kai rubbed his face.
“Of course it is.”
Ember stood from the bed, her wings stretching behind her. The movement filled half the room, and Kai ducked as one wingtip nearly smacked him in the head.
“Careful.”
“You moved into my wing.”
“I was already here.”
“My wing is larger.”
“That is not how blame works.”
“It is today.”
Kai sighed and got out of bed.
The red window remained in front of him, bright and unpleasant.
[Accept Quest?]
[Yes / No]
Kai stared at the options.
Every instinct he had told him not to press anything the system wanted him to press.
Unfortunately, every other instinct he had was louder and more panicked.
“What if redacted means death?” he muttered.
Ember’s head snapped toward him.
“It will not kill you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I would not allow it.”
“I don’t think you can claw a system penalty.”
“I can claw many things.”
“That doesn’t answer the problem.”
Ember stepped close enough that her wing brushed his back.
“I will go with you.”
Kai looked at her.
“You don’t have to.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Yes. I do.”
“Right. Dumb thing to say.”
“Very.”
Kai took a breath and pressed yes.
The window flashed.
[Quest Accepted.]
[Route marker unlocked.]
[Warning: Blackroot Hollow contains unstable mana density.]
[Recommended party size: 3-5.]
Kai stared.
“Recommended party size what?”
Ember leaned over his shoulder.
“What did it say?”
“It says three to five people.”
Ember looked unimpressed.
“We are two.”
“Yes, Ember, I can count.”
“I am worth more than one.”
“That is probably true, but it still recommended five.”
“Then it is afraid.”
Kai blinked.
“Of the dungeon?”
“Of me.”
Kai wanted to argue, but honestly, the system might have been.
The route marker appeared as a faint green line on the edge of Kai’s vision, pointing northeast through the forest. Beyond the cabin. Beyond the safe paths he knew. Deeper than he had ever gone.
Blackroot Hollow.
Even the name sounded like somewhere people went to make bad decisions.
Kai gathered supplies while Ember watched over his shoulder.
Food. Waterskin. Rope. Knife. Bandages. Flint. A spare shirt. Dried herbs. His weapon.
Every time he packed something, Ember inspected it like she had personally been offended by its existence.
“That rope is weak.”
“It’s normal rope.”
“It is weak.”
“It’s rope, Ember.”
“If it breaks, I will carry you.”
Kai paused.
“That is not plan A.”
“It is mine.”
He decided not to ask what plan B was.
When he reached for his cloak, Ember took it first.
“What are you doing?”
She sniffed it.
Kai stared.
“Did you just smell my cloak?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make sure it is yours.”
“It was on my chair.”
“Chairs can lie.”
“No, they can’t.”
“You trust too easily.”
Kai took the cloak from her.
“You have a very strange relationship with furniture.”
“Your furniture is fragile and suspicious.”
“My furniture has suffered enough.”
Ember followed him outside, still looking displeased.
The morning air was cold and damp. Mist clung to the trees, and the forest smelled like wet leaves and old bark. Kai could see the green route marker hovering faintly ahead, a thin line only he could follow.
Ember stepped beside him.
Her tail immediately curled around his wrist.
Kai looked down.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“We’re walking.”
“Yes.”
“This makes walking harder.”
“It prevents separation.”
Kai sighed.
“We’re going to a dungeon together. I’m not wandering off.”
“You say that now.”
“When have I wandered off?”
“You slept without warning last night.”
“That’s called going to bed.”
“It was sudden.”
“It was nighttime.”
Ember considered this.
Then her tail loosened slightly, but did not let go.
Kai decided that was the best he was going to get.
They entered the forest.
For the first hour, nothing attacked them.
That almost made Kai more nervous.
Ember moved easily over roots and rocks, her wings folding and shifting to avoid branches. Sometimes she hopped lightly onto fallen logs, tail swaying behind her for balance. She looked completely natural there, like the forest had been built around her.
Kai, meanwhile, tripped twice.
The second time, Ember caught him by the back of his shirt.
He dangled for half a second.
“Ember.”
“You were falling.”
“You’re holding me like a kitten.”
“You are not as graceful as one.”
“Please put me down.”
She set him on his feet.
Kai adjusted his cloak with what little dignity he had left.
The system chimed.
[Terrain adaptation suggested.]
Kai glared at the window.
“I’m walking fine.”
Ember looked down at a root Kai had nearly tripped over.
“No.”
“Not you too.”
The system flashed.
[Correction: Companion is correct.]
Kai pointed at the screen.
“You don’t get to take her side.”
Ember looked pleased.
“The system learns.”
“That is what worries me.”
They stopped near a stream around midday.
Kai refilled the waterskin while Ember stood on a rock above him, wings half spread in the sunlight. Her tail flicked lazily as she watched the trees.
“Try transforming,” Kai said.
Ember looked down.
“Now?”
“Why not? We’re taking a break.”
“We are going to a dangerous dungeon.”
“Exactly. If you can transform even a little more, that might help.”
Ember tilted her head.
“You want me to become a dragon for battle.”
“I want you to be able to visit your mother safely.”
“That too.”
Kai narrowed his eyes.
“Ember.”
“What?”
“Are you actually trying?”
Her face went very still.
“Yes.”
Kai stared.
She stared back.
The system chimed softly.
[Truth value: Incomplete.]
Kai blinked.
Ember’s eyes snapped toward the space in front of him.
“What did it say?”
Kai hesitated.
“It said incomplete.”
Ember’s tail stiffened.
“I am trying.”
“To transform?”
“Yes.”
“Completely?”
Ember looked away.
Kai waited.
Her wings folded tighter against her back.
“I am trying enough.”
Kai sat back on his heels.
“That is not the same.”
“It is close.”
“It is not.”
Ember looked annoyed.
“You said I can stay until I transform.”
“Yeah.”
“So I am training.”
“Slowly.”
“Training is training.”
Kai stared at her.
A thought began forming in his head.
It was slow.
Very slow.
It had to climb over several layers of Kai being Kai.
Finally, he frowned.
“Are you dragging it out?”
Ember looked directly at him.
“No.”
The system appeared.
[Truth value: False.]
Kai’s mouth fell open.
Ember growled.
“I hate it.”
Kai pointed at her.
“You are dragging it out!”
“I am being cautious.”
“That is a fancy way of saying yes.”
“If I transform incorrectly, it may be dangerous.”
“That part is probably true.”
“It is true.”
“But you’re also doing it because it means you get to stay longer.”
Ember was silent.
Kai felt strangely proud of himself.
He had figured something out.
Then Ember stepped down from the rock and came closer.
“Yes,” she said.
Kai froze.
Oh.
She admitted it.
That was not where he had expected the conversation to go.
Ember stood in front of him, her expression guarded but not ashamed.
“If I transform quickly, you will send me to Mother quickly.”
“I’m not sending you. I said visit.”
“You will encourage me strongly.”
“That is… maybe true.”
“If I do not transform quickly, I stay.”
Kai swallowed.
The obvious answer was that this was bad.
Probably.
Maybe.
The system would definitely think it was bad.
But Ember was looking at him like she expected him to be angry, and Kai’s brain chose that exact moment to become useless.
“I mean,” he said slowly, “you still have to learn eventually.”
“I know.”
“And your mother should know you’re alive.”
“I know.”
“And we are currently going to a dungeon with a red quest, so being stronger would be helpful.”
Ember’s eyes shifted.
That point seemed to land.
Kai tried to build on it.
“What if the dungeon is too dangerous? What if I need your dragon form?”
Ember went very still.
“If you need it,” she said, “I will tear it out of myself.”
Kai stared.
“That sounds painful.”
“It does not matter.”
“It definitely matters.”
“If it keeps you alive, it does not.”
Kai’s chest tightened.
The system flickered.
[Attachment pattern unstable.]
[Proceed with caution.]
Kai ignored it.
Mostly because he did not know what caution would look like here.
Ember reached out and took his hand.
Not with her tail.
Her hand.
“I will train seriously,” she said. “For the dungeon.”
Kai blinked.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“And for your mother?”
Her grip tightened slightly.
“For Mother too.”
Kai nodded.
“That works.”
Ember looked at him carefully.
“You are not angry?”
“I’m confused.”
“That is normal.”
“Rude.”
“It is also true.”
Kai sighed.
Then he squeezed her hand once.
“I’m not angry. Just don’t lie about training.”
Ember looked offended.
“I did not lie.”
“The system literally said false.”
“I was speaking around the truth.”
“That is worse.”
“It is strategy.”
“It is lying with extra steps.”
Ember looked away, but Kai could see the small curve at the corner of her mouth.
They continued toward Blackroot Hollow.
This time, Ember trained as they walked.
Not constantly, but in bursts.
She would close her eyes for a few seconds and let heat shimmer around her body. Sometimes the shadow of something much larger flickered behind her. Once, scales appeared along her forearm before fading. Another time, her tail grew heavier and dragged a deep line through the dirt before shrinking back to normal.
Kai watched each attempt with nervous fascination.
The system tracked everything.
[Dragon-form stability: 8%.]
Then later:
[Dragon-form stability: 9%.]
Ember looked insulted every time.
“Nine is not enough.”
“It’s better than six.”
“That was also not enough.”
“You’re hard to encourage.”
“You are bad at encouraging.”
Kai opened his mouth to argue.
Then he tripped on another root.
Ember caught him again.
This time, by wrapping one wing around his chest and pulling him back against her.
Kai looked down at the wing.
“Convenient.”
“My wings are excellent.”
“I didn’t say they weren’t.”
“You thought it.”
“I did not.”
“You often look foolish when thinking.”
“I’m starting to feel attacked.”
“You are protected.”
“That is not the same.”
“It is close enough.”
By the time the sun began to set, the forest had changed.
The trees grew thicker. Their bark darkened from brown to nearly black. Roots twisted above the ground like veins. The air felt damp and heavy, and every sound seemed muffled.
The green route marker ended at the mouth of a hollow between two massive black trees.
A stone stairway descended into darkness.
Kai stopped.
The system appeared.
[Destination reached: Blackroot Hollow.]
[Dungeon entrance detected.]
[Quest objective: Retrieve the Forgotten Relic.]
[Warning: Entry cannot be reversed until first floor is cleared.]
Kai swallowed.
“That’s not comforting.”
Ember stepped beside him, her wing brushing his shoulder.
Then she paused.
Her wings shifted slightly behind her.
Kai looked at her.
“What is it?”
Ember’s eyes narrowed toward the darkness below.
“There is heat down there.”
Kai frowned.
“Like fire?”
“No,” Ember said slowly. “Like something waiting to burn.”
The back of Kai’s neck prickled.
The system gave no explanation.
Of course it didn’t.
Ember’s tail curled around his wrist again.
This time, Kai didn’t complain.
He looked down at the stairway.
Somewhere below waited a dungeon, a forgotten relic, and a failure penalty the system refused to name.
Kai took a breath.
“Ready?”
Ember’s grip tightened.
“With you?”
She glanced at him, eyes bright in the dark.
“Always.”
The system chimed once.
[Dungeon entry confirmed upon descent.]
Kai stepped forward.
Ember followed so close her wing never left his shoulder.
And together, they went down.