I swear I didn't think dying once would make me scared of pixels. But here I was, gripping the reins of my majestic, slightly deranged horse named "Muffin," staring at the misty entrance of the Doom Forest like it was the mouth of hell.
Rank A Quest: Exterminate the Lich of the Old Castle.
Reward: 50,000 gold and one chance to never emotionally recover.
"Relax," Kael said, riding beside me on his ridiculous Shadow Hound, which growled like it was auditioning for a villain role. "You look like you're about to puke."
I turned to him, glaring. "Because I am! Do you not remember what you said? We can die here for real, real! Like, actual-death-death, Kael!"
He grinned, too calm for someone about to face a skeletal freak in a death forest. "If you die, I'll carry your corpse home myself. Promise."
"Oh my god, romantic," I deadpanned, even as my stomach flipped. "Just what every girl dreams of, being carried home like roadkill."
His laughter echoed through the mist, low and amused. "You're getting used to this world fast."
"I'm trying," I said, adjusting the sword on my hip. It felt wrong in my hand, like it didn't belong to me. "But Leonhart was a knight. I'm just... me. And the sword doesn't listen. It feels like I'm swinging a refrigerator door."
Kael looked at me, eyes sharp but fond. "Then stop forcing it. You're not him. You're you. Let the sword follow you."
He said it so easily, like it was simple. But he didn't know what it was like, fighting inside a body that didn't fit, trying to breathe through armor that felt too heavy and too wrong.
Still, when he dismounted and came over, my brain didn't focus on philosophy. No, it focused on the fact that Kael was now behind me, warm, close, hands sliding down my arms as he adjusted my stance.
"Relax your shoulders," he murmured, voice brushing against my ear. "You're locking your joints. Feel the balance in your hips."
"My hips are perfectly fine, thank you very much," I muttered, though my voice cracked.
"Mm," he hummed, and I could feel him smirk against my hair. "Then use them right."
Excuse me?!
Every single person who passed us on the main road froze. I heard whispers. Gasps.
"Kael and Leonhart?"
"Are they...?"
"No way, right?"
Kael, of course, ignored them completely. He adjusted my grip again, fingers brushing mine, his chest practically pressed against my back.
And me? I was one more heartbeat away from screaming.
Because one, he was way too close.
Two, my brain was screaming, flirt back, flirt back, you idiot!
And three, everyone around us still thought we were two hot guys having a "training moment."
"Better," he said finally, stepping back. "You move like a swordsman again."
"I move like a confused dancer having an episode," I muttered.
He chuckled, mounting his hound again. "That's the spirit."
We rode deeper into the forest, the air growing colder with every step. The trees were twisted, bark dark as ash. The fog moved like it was alive. My heartbeat wouldn't slow down.
"Hey, Kael?"
"Yeah?"
"Do liches still use fireballs?"
He turned slightly. "No. They prefer necrotic bursts that melt flesh from bone."
"...Great! Amazing! Love that for us!"
He smiled again, calm, unbothered, infuriatingly hot. "You're cute when you panic."
I froze. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
Oh. My. God.
There was a pause. Then I realized something. "You... You see my soul, right? So you know I'm a girl."
"I do."
"And you're flirting with me?"
He tilted his head. "You started it."
"I DID NOT!"
"Your blush says otherwise."
I wanted to die again. Preferably before the lich could do it for me.
We finally reached the old castle, a decaying ruin half-swallowed by roots and fog. The air smelled of rust and old bones. My sword felt heavy again, and my breath caught.
"This is it," Kael said, scanning the area. "Stay close."
I nodded, gripping the hilt tight. We pushed open the cracked doors. Inside was darkness and cold whispers.
A voice echoed through the hall, deep and hollow.
"You dare disturb my slumber..."
"See?" I whispered. "He's angry! Can we leave now?"
Kael only drew his daggers, eyes gleaming. "Now it gets fun."
And then, everything exploded into chaos.
Skeletons rose from the ground, their swords clattering. The lich appeared, cloaked in shadows, eyes burning blue. Kael moved first, slicing through undead with speed I could barely track.
I followed, heart pounding, slashing clumsily, but each hit was real, every impact sharp enough to rattle my bones.
"Duck!" Kael shouted.
I didn't think. I dropped, barely dodging a wave of black energy. It grazed my arm, pain flared like acid.
It hurt. It actually hurt.
"Are you okay?" Kael's voice broke through the noise, and I saw his face, real worry, not just for a teammate.
"Yeah," I breathed. "Still alive. Kinda!"
He grinned. "Then don't die again. I'm getting attached."
"You're....what now!?"
But no time to argue. The lich raised his staff, summoning more undead. I charged forward, Kael beside me. We moved together, my strikes following his rhythm, my panic blending into instinct.
He threw a dagger, it hit the lich's shoulder. I followed up, slicing through its chest. The creature screamed, staggering back, and I yelled, half terrified, half triumphant, "Take that, you bony toaster!"
Kael actually laughed. "You're insane."
"Thank you!"
Then the lich gathered energy again, darkness swirling around him. Kael pulled me back, arm around my waist, just before the spell burst forward, obliterating the floor where I'd stood.
I gasped. "Okay, okay, I take it back! You're useful!"
He looked down at me, smirk twitching at the corner of his lips. "You keep saying that."
"Because you keep saving me!"
"Then don't stop needing me."
Oh no. No, no, no. Don't say stuff like that while holding me like a damsel, Kael!
The lich shrieked one last time before Kael's blades and my sword finally cut it down. It exploded into ashes. The ground trembled, the air cleared, and the forest fell silent again.
We stood there, me panting, sweaty, slightly emotionally compromised; him perfectly composed, like he hadn't just fought an undead king.
Quest Complete.
I leaned against a broken pillar. "If that was Rank A, what's S?"
Kael wiped his daggers clean. "Something we'll probably regret."
I groaned. "Then remind me to never quest again."
He grinned, looking back at me. "You'll change your mind. You're having fun."
"I almost died!"
"You almost lived."
"...You're impossible."
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "But I'm what makes your heart flutter."
I blinked, heartbeat stuttering. "Maybe... because I like trouble."
He smirked. "Good. Then you'll like me."
And that's when I realized: I might be trapped in a man's body, but apparently, that didn't stop me from falling headfirst into this disaster.
Because Kael? He wasn't just dangerous in battle.
He was dangerous to my sanity.