Yuna Shirosaki — Perspective
Elves really exist.
Even now, after everything that happened, it still felt unreal.
Magic.
Monsters.
Another world.
And now an actual elf standing right in front of us.
Elira Moonveil.
That was her name.
It matched her appearance perfectly.
Silver hair, pointed ears, pale skin… she looked almost unreal compared to normal people.
Beautiful in a way that didn’t even seem human.
But what bothered me wasn’t her appearance.
It was how tightly she held onto Kaito.
Even after he healed her injuries, she stayed close to him like he was the only safe place she had left.
And strangely…
That bothered me more than it should have.
I tried focusing on something else while we escaped through the forest.
The goblin sounds behind us were terrifying enough already.
Every screech made my body tense.
This world really wanted to kill us.
Still…
Even while running, my eyes kept drifting toward Kaito.
He stayed calm again.
Too calm.
Most people would panic in this situation.
But Kaito just kept moving forward while thinking about survival first.
Like fear affected him less than everyone else.
When Elira showed us the hidden cave, relief immediately hit me.
The moment we entered and the goblin sounds faded away, my legs almost gave out from exhaustion.
And honestly…
I meant it.
The cave felt cold and dark, but compared to outside, it felt safe.
At least temporarily.
Then Elira apologized softly.
“If I wasn’t attacked earlier… none of you would’ve been dragged into this.”
I immediately shook my head.
“That’s not your fault.”
Kaito agreed too.
“You don’t need to apologize.”
The moment he said that, Elira looked genuinely surprised.
Like she wasn’t used to kindness.
That expression made my chest tighten slightly.
But before I could think about it more—
The cave walls suddenly began glowing blue.
“…Again?” Reina muttered.
The strange symbols covering the walls slowly lit up one after another.
Ancient-looking patterns spread across the cave like veins of light.
Kaito’s expression changed immediately.
“The system reacted,” he said quietly.
Of course it did.
At this point, everything seemed connected to him somehow.
I looked toward the glowing walls carefully.
For some reason…
The light around Kaito looked brighter than around the rest of us.
Like the ruins themselves recognized him.
Then suddenly—
[Bond Synchronization Increased]
Target:
Kaito Arakawa
Current Resonance:
12%
“…What?”
My face heated slightly.
Why would the system suddenly show something like this?
And why did it specifically involve Kaito?
I quickly glanced toward him.
Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice my screen.
Good.
That would’ve been awkward.
But then I realized something worse.
If my system showed this…
Then maybe Reina’s system did too.
I slowly looked toward her.
And unfortunately…
She already looked suspicious.
Great.
Meanwhile, Elira quietly stayed near Kaito again without realizing how close she was standing.
And somehow…
That strange uncomfortable feeling inside me returned immediately.
This world was dangerous.
That much was obvious.
But now I was starting to realize something else.
The Genesis System wasn’t only changing our abilities.
It was slowly connecting us together in ways I didn’t fully understand yet.
And honestly…
That scared me almost as much as the monsters outside.