Rain poured without end, drumming against the muddy road beneath Andy's worn boots. Each step sank into the earth, his tattered cloak clinging heavily to his back. At his side rattled an old sword — rusted, cracked, a relic of forgotten days.
"So this is what it means to be a hero…" he muttered with a bitter laugh. Once he dreamed of shining armor and triumphs sung in taverns. Now, all he had was hunger, cold nights, and a blade barely sharp enough to cut bread.
Suddenly, a scream cut through the storm.
"Help! Someone!"
Andy's head jerked up. Around the bend, a carriage lay overturned. Several bandits circled a noble girl, her white dress soaked and muddied, golden hair plastered to her pale cheeks.
"Hand over your jewels, princess," one bandit snarled, pressing a knife to her throat.
Andy's grip tightened on his sword. His mind screamed for him to walk away. He was starving, weak, hopelessly outnumbered. This wasn't his fight.
But his feet moved anyway.
"Let her go!"
The bandits laughed, cruel and sharp. "And what will you do, beggar? Wave that scrap metal at us?"
The fight was messy, desperate. Steel clashed, mud splashed, blood dripped. Andy staggered, wounded, his strength nearly gone. But in a reckless final strike, he brought down their leader. The rest fled, cursing into the storm.
Panting, Andy turned to the girl.
"Are you hurt?"
Her blue eyes glared into his — beautiful, yet cold with pride.
"I didn't need your help. Don't think yourself my savior."
Andy only shrugged, a weary smile tugging at his lips. "Fine. Next time I'll just walk away."
But before he could leave, a cold mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Couple System Activated]
Partner Identified: Andy & Nia Everhart.
First Quest: Protect your partner. Failure = Death.
Andy froze, blood running cold. "What… what was that?"
At the same moment, the noblewoman — Nia — staggered, clutching her head.
"A voice… strange… inside my mind…!"
Their eyes locked.
"You… you heard it too?" Andy whispered hoarsely.
Nia's lips trembled, her proud mask cracking, fear flickering beneath.
"Partner? With you? This has to be a mistake!"
[System Notification: Bond Level – 0%. Status: Unstable.]
The storm raged on, drowning the world in its fury. Yet all that remained was silence between them — and the unshakable truth. Their lives were no longer their own.
That night, beneath the endless rain, their story began — with a bond that could only be broken… by death.