The ridge path was a knife-edge of fractured stone. Kai moved with a predator's grace that felt both alien and instinctual. His enhanced vision painted the world in threat gradients—the safe footholds glowed faint blue, the unstable sections pulsed orange-red. He didn't think about balance; his body simply knew.
Behind him, Lena moved with cautious deliberation. Her new minor regeneration wasn't healing the wound completely, but it had stanched the bleeding and reduced the pain to a manageable ache. Still, every step was measured, every handhold tested.
"Don't look down," Kai said, not turning.
"Thanks," she muttered, her eyes fixed on the rock face. "Hadn't thought of that."
Ahead, the path narrowed further. A gap of about six feet separated their ledge from the next section, with a two-hundred-foot drop into a ravine choked with thorny, bioluminescent vines.
Analysis: Jump feasible with proper approach. Wind factor negligible. Survival probability: 92% for subject with enhanced reflexes. 64% for injured companion.
Kai stopped at the edge. "We need to jump."
Lena stared at the gap, then at the drop. "You're insane."
"It's the only continuous path. Going back would cost us three hours." He glanced at the timer in his vision. 13:41:22 remaining. "We don't have three hours."
"I can't make that jump. Not with my leg."
"You can. The regeneration has improved your muscle efficiency by approximately 18%. Your fear is the primary obstacle."
"Wow," she said flatly. "You're really good at pep talks."
Kai blinked. The sarcasm registered intellectually, but evoked no emotional response. He filed it away as data—companion utilizes verbal irony as coping mechanism—and returned to the problem.
"I'll go first," he said. "To show it's possible."
"Or to leave me here if I can't follow."
He considered this. "That would be inefficient. You have knowledge of the grove's parasites I don't. You're still an asset."
Lena shook her head, a faint, grim smile touching her lips. "Always an asset. Never a person."
"Personhood is a liability here."
Before she could respond, he took three quick steps and launched himself across the gap. The jump felt effortless—his body knew exactly how much force to apply, how to tuck, how to land in a roll that dissipated momentum perfectly. He came up on the other side, turning to face her.
Jump analysis: Optimal. Minor stress on left ankle (2% above baseline).
"See?" he called across. "Feasible."
Lena took a deep breath. She backed up as far as the narrow ledge allowed—only four steps. She wouldn't get a proper running start.
"Don't calculate," Kai said. "Just jump. Your body knows more than your fear does."
"Easy for you to say," she whispered, but he heard it clearly. His auditory sensitivity had increased.
She ran the four steps, pushed off—
—and fell short.
For a heart-stopping second, her fingers scrambled at the far edge, finding only smooth rock. She began to slide back toward the drop.
Kai didn't hesitate. He dropped flat, arm shooting out over the edge. His hand closed around her wrist with a grip that felt mechanical in its precision.
Her weight jerked him forward, his torso sliding over the edge. Stone scraped against his ribs. He braced his feet against a rock formation, muscles straining.
Stress analysis: Left shoulder dislocation imminent if force exceeds 287 newtons for more than 4.2 seconds. Current force: 241 newtons and rising.
Lena dangled, her free hand clawing at empty air. Below, the thorned vines seemed to twitch in anticipation.
"Pull!" she screamed.
Kai's mind became a cold engine of calculation. Direct vertical pull would dislocate his shoulder. He needed to convert her momentum.
"Listen carefully," he said, his voice eerily calm despite the strain. "When I count to three, I'm going to swing you to the left. There's a small ledge about eight feet down and three feet left. Do you see it?"
Lena looked, her eyes wide with terror. "I see it!"
"It's your only option. Ready?"
"No! But do it!"
"One. Two. THREE."
He didn't pull her up. Instead, he used her momentum to swing her like a pendulum. At the apex of the swing, he released.
Lena arced through the air, landing hard on the lower ledge with a cry of pain. But she was alive. She had purchase.
The sudden release of weight sent Kai sliding backward. He scrambled, found traction, and pulled himself fully onto safe ground.
Analysis: Companion secured. Shoulder integrity preserved (92%). Adrenaline spike detected but suppressed via pain gateway protocols.
He looked down. Lena was clinging to the lower ledge, about fifteen feet below him now. The ledge was narrower, and it didn't connect to the main path—it was a dead end with a sheer drop below.
"I can't get up from here!" she called.
"I know."
He assessed the terrain. The rock face between them was porous, riddled with small handholds. Climbable, but not by someone with an injured leg and no climbing experience.
Option 1: Descend to her level, attempt alternative route. Added time: approximately 47 minutes. Threat of unknown terrain: high.
Option 2: Leave her. Asset depreciation: total. Knowledge loss: moderate. Moral implication: negligible under current empathic parameters.
Option 3: Utilize Broken ability.
A new prompt flickered:
[THREAT SIMULATION] available.
Preview possible outcomes before committing to action.
Cost: Minor neural fatigue.
Kai activated it.
Instantly, his vision split. In the primary layer, he saw reality—Lena on the ledge, the rock face, the sky. In a semi-transparent overlay, he saw simulations.
Simulation A: He climbs down. They find an alternative path. They lose 53 minutes, encounter a previously unseen predator in the ravine, and Lena sustains further injury. They reach the Heart Tree with only 42 minutes to spare.
Simulation B: He leaves her. He proceeds alone, makes better time, encounters a different set of challenges. He reaches the Heart Tree with 2.1 hours to spare, but acquires a new injury from a trap he would have avoided with Lena's earlier warning about fungal growth patterns.
Simulation C: He attempts to pull her up using a different technique, leveraging a rock formation as a pulley. Success probability: 78%. Time cost: 8 minutes. Shoulder injury probability: 31%.
The simulations played out in seconds, his mind processing possibilities at accelerated speed. Each ended with a probability percentage for overall survival to the Heart Tree.
Simulation C had the highest probability: 84%.
He deactivated the simulation. The neural fatigue hit—a brief wave of dizziness, a metallic taste in his mouth. Acceptable.
"There's a rock formation to your left," he called down. "See the one that looks like a hook?"
Lena looked. "Yes!"
"I'm going to lower my belt to you. Tie it around your waist. When I pull, you need to push off from that rock with your good leg. It will give you upward momentum."
"You can't pull me up from there! The angle—"
"I've calculated the vectors. Just do it."
He removed his belt—sturdy leather, rated for 400 pounds. He tied one end to a secure-looking rock protrusion, tested it, then lowered the other end.
Lena secured it around her waist. "Ready!"
Kai braced himself, his feet against the hook-shaped rock. "On three. One... two... three!"
He pulled, not straight up but at the precise angle his simulation had shown. At the same moment, Lena pushed off from the rock with her good leg.
The combined forces created a parabolic arc. Instead of being dragged vertically up the cliff face, she swung upward and slightly outward, her trajectory bringing her not to Kai's position, but to a point about five feet to his right where the ledge was wider.
She landed hard, rolling, but safe.