After all the struggle, the climb, and the impossible task she had just completed, Ria finally made it to Lisa's place.
The door opened before she even knocked.
Kri appeared first, shifting into a gentler form and moving toward her with an almost instinctive warmth. It wrapped around her in its own strange version of a hug—energy brushing against her tired frame. Lisa stood in the doorway behind, silent at first.
Both of them welcomed her inside, but their expressions said more than their words.
Kri floated beside her, silent… but in its mind:
She didn't break.I expected her to give in halfway, to lose resolve in the cave… but she didn't.She carried it through. Alone.
Lisa, meanwhile, watched as Ria collapsed into the couch, exhausted but alive.
I thought we'd have to go retrieve her...That she'd be hurt or broken or needing help.But look at her.Bruised, tired—but she made it.We really underestimated her.
Ria looked up at them, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
"So… what do I get now that I did all that for you? Are you happy now?"
Kri's form pulsed slightly, almost amused.
Kri: "It was your task. So you did it… for you. What's it got to do with me?"
The sarcasm was clear, but there was a deeper shift happening beneath Kri's surface. A ripple of something like respect.
Kri: "Anyway, are you okay?"
Kri: "Did you get hurt anywhere?"
"No," Ria said, her voice softening. "It's just that… I missed you. So much."
Kri flickered slightly, surprised.
Kri: "Huh? That's… different. Did you hit your head or something?"
"Never mind," she muttered, brushing it off.
She missed me?After all that?Strange human feelings… but they stay with you.Even me.
Then, after a quiet pause:
Kri: "I missed you too, to be honest."
Ria smiled. The two looked at each other, something wordless passing between them. Like kids after a long fight finally finding peace. They embraced again—strange and warm, even across their differences.
Kri, the ever-shifting creature of magic and mystery, wasn't human. But in that moment, it didn't matter.
"I'm so tired," Ria said as she stood. "I need sleep. Going to bed. Bye, Kri."
Kri: "Okay. Bye. Good night."
As she disappeared into the hallway, Kri floated back to the window, gazing out into the quiet night.
She did it.She didn't give up.She's not just stronger than we thought—she's becoming something else entirely.