The sound of the stream was soft, steady, familiar.
Isaac sat with his back against the willow tree, arms resting loosely over his knees. The sun had climbed higher now, cutting through the leaves in beams of pale gold. His eyes were closed, but his mind was busy.
He could still see her status.
Altered-Bloodline. Dormant traits. Unknown stat: sealed.
It wasn't just strange. It was deliberate. Engineered, maybe.
A soft rustle broke the silence.
He opened one eye to see Lira stirring beneath the blanket of dried leaves and moss he'd pulled over her the night before. Her eyes blinked slowly, adjusting to the light.
Then she saw him watching—and flinched.
Isaac raised a hand. "Morning."
Lira sat up, hesitating. "…Did you… watch me sleep?"
"Only a little," he said with a faint grin. "Just making sure you didn't burst into flames or start levitating."
Her mouth twitched in a reluctant smile, then faded.
"I didn't sleep well," she admitted. "Dreams. Not visions, just… echoes."
Isaac tilted his head. "Of the cult?"
"Of before." She pulled her knees to her chest. "I remembered a melody. I used to sing it with my brother. I haven't thought of that in years." Her voice caught slightly. "I think it was stolen from me. The memory. Like they scraped it out just to see what I'd become without it."
Isaac was quiet for a moment.
Then: "Maybe it's coming back. Maybe whatever they tried to erase… is reawakening."
Lira looked up sharply. "Do you think so?"
"I know so." He hesitated. "One of my new skills—it's called Soulpiercer Sight. It lets me see people's… stats, class, background. Even things they might not know about themselves."
Her brow furrowed. "You used it on me?"
"Yeah," he said gently. "I wasn't trying to pry. I was trying to understand. I saw that you have a sealed stat, and that your bloodline was altered somehow. You've got dormant traits—something buried deep inside you. The Spiral Cult didn't create that. They were trying to exploit it."
She was silent.
Then: "What else did you see?"
"Your stats. You're not far behind me, Lira. Your intelligence is higher than mine. Your MP is almost equal. You're not weak—you're waking up."
Her lips parted, uncertain whether to be surprised or afraid.
"And what about you?" she asked. "What does your status say?"
Isaac's expression darkened slightly.
"Race: Unknown. Bracketed as 'Undead-Linked.' No class. No bloodline. Just… a body that doesn't fully belong to the living."
Lira's voice was soft. "You never told me."
"I didn't want to freak you out." He glanced down at his open palm. "But there's more to it. You deserve the truth."
He took a deep breath.
"I'm not from this world."
Lira blinked. "…What?"
"I died. In another world. It wasn't dramatic—just… an accident. I don't even remember the moment clearly. One second I was there, the next… I wasn't." He stared at the dirt beneath his feet. "When I woke up, I was already inside a coffin. Buried. Rotting. No heartbeat. No breath."
She said nothing, frozen in place.
"I couldn't move at first. Couldn't speak. Couldn't even scream. Then a voice—the System—gave me a choice. Five skills. All powerful. I picked Resurrection first. It brought me back… just enough to crawl through the dirt."
Lira's hand slowly went to her mouth.
"And then," Isaac added softly, "I met you. You were the first living person I saw. You were being dragged off by cultists while I was still trying to remember how to walk."
Lira lowered her gaze. "…So the grave... the dirt... the blood..."
"I was climbing out."
Silence hung between them, fragile and raw.
Then Lira spoke, her voice faint. "And you chose to help me. Right then."
Isaac nodded once.
"Why?"
"Because I saw someone who wasn't supposed to die. And because…" He hesitated. "Because you looked like you were still trying to fight. Even if no one else could see it."
Her throat tightened. She stared at him for a long moment, then whispered, "Thank you."
Isaac smiled slightly. "I didn't come to this world with a destiny. But if I have one now—it's something we build together."