Sainan High, mid-morning.
The classroom droned with the sleepy rhythm of a lecture. The teacher's voice blurred into the background.
Lala tapped her pen against her notebook, stealing glances at Haruna.
Haruna smiled politely.
Their bond had grown in silence.
Unspoken, but undeniable.
And within both of them, Scourge pulsed softly.
Not as a whisper. Not as desire.
As presence.
Then—
[Notice to Hosts: Partial Separation Imminent]
Lala blinked.
"Huh…?"
Haruna's hand trembled, her pencil slipping slightly.
They both felt it.
"I need to leave you for a while."
Lala straightened in her seat. He never leaves.
"Why? What's happening?" she asked silently, through their shared thread.
"To become stronger, I must suffer. I've tasted flame once. I need more. Direct exposure. Controlled pain."
Haruna's lips parted. She wasn't sure if she was hearing the voice—or dreaming it.
But her chest tightened all the same.
"You'll get hurt."
"Yes."
A long pause.
"I don't want you to hurt," Lala whispered, biting the inside of her lip.
"And yet if I do not, I remain vulnerable."
"You're doing this for us?" Haruna asked quietly.
Scourge didn't answer in words.
But in the thread between them came a pulse of emotion.
Love? Not quite.
Loyalty? Closer.
Necessity.
"I will return. But while I burn… you may feel it."
Then—silence.
A dark shimmer spread from Lala's lower back. No one saw it. Not even Peke, too busy watching a malfunctioning projector.
A filament, no wider than a breath, slipped free. Crawled down her leg, invisible beneath her skirt.
Then it was gone.
Off-campus.
In an abandoned lot behind a shuttered ramen shop, the biomass coalesced.
Scourge formed a partial shape—humanoid but not yet defined. His outer shell wavered, still tied to Lala's biology. A remnant of her structure gave it shape.
He walked barefoot into the rusted building.
Inside, gas lines. Industrial stoves. Burnt walls.
Perfect.
He exhaled.
Then reached for the ignition valve.
One click.
Then fire.
His body lit instantly.
He didn't scream.
But far away, in class, Lala gasped. Her back arched involuntarily.
Haruna winced, gripping her desk.
They both felt it.
The pain. The searing transformation.
Their eyes met.
He was adapting.
And they were connected.
System Log – Active Adaptation:
🔥 Thermal Pain Threshold: Exceeded
🔥 Biofilm Resilience: Upgrading
🔥 Evolution Node Triggered
🔥 Passive Gained: Fire Resistance Lv.1
🔥 [Additional Trigger Required for Full Immunity]
Progress: 58%
Scourge collapsed to his knees in the flames.
But he smiled.
Because every second hurt less.
Because this was how he grew.
Back in class, Lala wiped a tear from her cheek.
Haruna pressed a hand to her chest.
They didn't speak.
But they knew.
He would survive this.
For them.