"ON YOUR LEFT!"
Light's warning rang through the forest.
Too late.
Captain Sangiff had already crossed the distance.
One moment he stood several paces away. Next, he was directly in front of the girl.
A whip-like kick slammed into her stomach.
The impact was brutal.
The crimson-haired girl folded around the strike before being launched backward, her small body flying through the air.
'Not again.'
Light sighed internally and instinctively braced himself.
The moment the girl hit the ground, she rolled several times across the dirt before finally coming to a stop.
That was enough.
A sharp crack echoed through the clearing.
Black links materialized out of thin air.
They erupted from both Light and the girl simultaneously, rattling as they stretched between them.
Chains.
The physical manifestation of his blessing.
The moment the distance between them exceeded its invisible limit, the chains appeared to enforce it.
As always.
Light barely had time to react.
A violent tug yanked him backward.
"WHA—!"
His feet left the ground.
Unable to resist the blessing, he was dragged across the forest floor with almost the same force as the captain's kick.
Dirt and leaves flew everywhere as he rolled helplessly before finally coming to a stop several feet away from the girl.
"..."
"..."
Both of them lay there for a moment.
Covered in dirt.
Equally miserable.
Captain Sangiff casually walked over as if nothing unusual had happened.
"Alright. Cancel your arts."
The captain stretched his shoulders.
"Let's take a break. We should eat something."
Without waiting for a response, he continued past them toward a large tree where their supplies were stored.
Soon the sound of rummaging leather bags filled the clearing.
"You hear that?" Light asked while turning his dust-covered face toward the girl.
The girl turned toward him as well.
Her face was just as dirty.
She silently nodded.
Moments later, the faint glow surrounding her began to fade.
The crimson strands of her hair, mixed with patches of black, slowly returned to their natural color.
As they did, Light prepared himself.
He knew exactly what came next.
"Gah!"
He coughed from the sudden shock.
"Does the captain really have to kick that hard?"
Groaning, he rubbed his stomach.
The exact same spot where the girl had received the kick.
Another lovely feature of Soul Chains.
Whenever either of them stopped drawing upon their shared mana pool, all damage sustained while the blessing was active would be redistributed equally between them.
A mechanic he had discovered the hard way.
The first time it happened had nearly given him a heart attack.
Back then, he had been observing the girl's training session when their mana reserves ran dry.
One second he had been standing normally.
The next, pain erupted throughout his body without warning.
The shock had nearly knocked him over.
Coupled with the weakness brought on by mana exhaustion...
'Let's just say it wasn't pleasant.'
Still, Captain Sangiff knew exactly how much force to use.
The injuries looked worse than they actually were.
And because the damage was shared, recovery was often faster than expected.
Even so...
Some parts of his blessing remained incredibly inconvenient.
Particularly the restriction.
'You have no freedom.'
The words appeared in his mind as clearly as the day he first read them.
The chains.
It had to be the chains.
Whenever he moved too far away from the girl, the blessing physically prevented him from doing so.
No exceptions.
'At least it affects both of us.'
He still remembered the first time it activated.
Back then he had accidentally wandered too far.
The chains had appeared instantly.
Unfortunately for the unsuspecting girl, she had been dragged face-first across the dirt right alongside him.
Neither of them had been amused.
A few moments later the pain finally subsided.
Slowly getting to his feet, Light made his way toward the campfire Captain Sangiff was preparing.
His body still felt weak.
Mana exhaustion was difficult to describe.
It wasn't just physical fatigue.
It felt like something deeper had been drained from him.
Like every movement required conscious effort.
Finding a tree, he lowered himself against it.
Nearby, Captain Sangiff had already started preparing dinner.
His movements were smooth and practiced.
The kind that came from years of repetition.
A short while later, the girl quietly joined him.
Without hesitation, she sat beside him and rested her head against his shoulder.
Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Light didn't react.
At this point he was used to it.
Instead, he focused on the floating box hovering before his eyes.
[Mana: (3/400) ]
Thirty seconds passed.
[Mana: (4/400) ]
The number increased.
Slowly.
Painfully slowly.
According to Captain Sangiff, natural mana recovery was normally a sluggish process.
Without potions, magical artifacts, or specialized techniques, replenishing a large reserve could take hours.
Yet for some reason, Soul Chains seemed to bend that rule.
Whenever Light and the girl remained extremely close together, their mana regenerated several times faster.
Even Captain Sangiff wasn't entirely sure why.
His best estimate was around four times the normal speed.
Not amazing.
But still significant.
Several minutes passed.
The captain was busy cutting chunks of meat while preparing a stew.
The forest remained quiet.
Eventually he broke the silence.
"You know..."
His knife paused briefly.
Then continued.
"Girl."
He glanced toward her.
"What is your name?"
Both Light and the girl immediately looked up.
The girl's lips parted.
Almost as if the answer would come naturally.
But nothing came out.
Silence.
Slowly, her brows furrowed.
She searched her memories.
Again.
And again.
Eventually she lowered her gaze.
"...I can't remember."
A faint shimmer of light drifted from her body.
"I see."
Captain Sangiff nodded.
No surprise.
The subject had always been difficult.
Her name.
Even within the memories Light had experienced, it remained strangely distorted.
Blurred.
Muffled.
As though something was actively preventing it from being remembered.
Since they met her, they had simply referred to her as "girl."
Or "hey."
Neither option felt particularly appropriate.
Light expected the captain to leave the topic there.
Instead, Sangiff pointed a finger at him.
"Then boy."
Light immediately had a bad feeling.
"Why don't you give her one?"
Light nearly choked.
"What?"
The captain shrugged.
"A temporary one."
The girl's ruby eyes slowly turned toward him.
Watching.
Waiting.
Expecting.
The pressure was immediate.
He still remembered how he had tried this approach once before.
"Uh..."
Light scratched his cheek.
"I suppose I could."
The girl's gaze intensified.
Somehow.
"How about Olivia?"
Nothing.
"Or Emilia?"
Still nothing.
The girl's expression remained perfectly calm.
Yet Light somehow felt colder.
A faint glow began surrounding her again.
"...Or maybe not."
He coughed awkwardly.
The glow intensified.
Panic.
"Actually!"
Light quickly straightened.
"Why don't you pick one yourself? It's your name after all."
The girl's stare sharpened.
The glow became brighter.
'Wrong answer.'
"On second thought!"
He raised both hands.
"I'll think of one before we leave the forest. How about that?"
The glow immediately faded.
Crisis averted.
Captain Sangiff burst into laughter.
A deep hearty laugh.
"Oh, to be young."
Light groaned.
The captain wiped away a tear.
"Dinner will be ready in about forty-five minutes."
He pointed toward them.
"For now, do whatever you want."
Neither Light nor the girl moved.
Mana exhaustion had made that decision for them.
Instead, they simply remained where they were.
Keeping the captain company.
The sun gradually descended beyond the horizon.
The forest became bathed in warm shades of orange and gold.
Winter was approaching.
The days were growing shorter.
The three of them sat together in comfortable silence.
Only the crackling of burning wood and distant sounds from the forest disturbed the peace.
For a while, it felt strangely relaxing.
Then, unexpectedly, the girl spoke.
"How long until we leave the forest?"
Captain Sangiff looked toward her.
"With our current pace..."
He thought for a moment.
"Two more days."
The girl quietly nodded.
Then returned her head to Light's shoulder.
Tiny motes of light drifted around her.
'She really wants to see Euphy.'
Light hadn't asked much about her experience inside his memories.
Just as she hadn't asked much about his.
But he could tell.
Whatever she had witnessed had affected her deeply.
More deeply than it had affected him.
Especially her relationship with Euphy.
The silence returned.
Eventually, the rich aroma of meat and herbs filled the clearing.
Night had fully arrived.
Darkness swallowed the forest beyond the campfire's reach.
Only the warm flames kept the cold at bay.
"Dig in, lads."
Captain Sangiff lifted the lid.
Steam billowed upward.
"Tomorrow we'll focus on traveling instead of training. You'll need your strength."
Nobody argued.
After the exhausting day, the meal disappeared quickly.
Not long afterward, both the captain and the girl retired for the night.
The deeper hours of darkness were often the most dangerous.
Because of that, Light volunteered to take first watch while Captain Sangiff would take the second.
Soon the camp grew quiet.
The captain slept.
The girl slept.
Only Light remained awake.
Sitting beside the fading fire.
Staring into the endless darkness between the trees.
The forest stretched beyond sight.
Silent.
Ancient.
Watching.
For the first time all day, there was nothing demanding his attention.
No training.
No chains.
No mana.
No responsibilities.
Only his thoughts.
And somehow...
That was far more exhausting.