Angel woke up shivering. The sky outside the cave was already dark, and the wind was howling, blowing snow in through the entrance. The temperature inside was dropping fast.
She turned her head immediately to look at Kain. His breathing was so shallow it was almost non-existent. A thin layer of frost had formed on his pale skin.
She quickly pulled up the system panel. [Skill Unlocked: Basic Fox-Fire (Tier 1). Generates heat.]
She didn't waste a second. She scrambled over to Kain and pressed her hands flat against his icy chest. She closed her eyes, focusing all her willpower on that tiny spark of warmth inside her.
A faint red glow flickered in her palms. The heat struggled to penetrate Kain's frozen skin, fighting to wake his dormant cells. The energy drain was immense. Sweat broke out on Angel's nose, and black spots danced before her eyes. Her body was on the verge of collapse.
Just as she felt she couldn't hold on any longer, Kain's eyelashes twitched. His icy vertical pupils snapped open, glowing with a feral, cold light.
Before Angel could react, his hand shot up and wrapped around her throat. With terrifying strength, he flipped her over, pinning her to the ground. The air was cut off instantly.
Angel clawed at his hand, her legs kicking weakly. "I'm... saving... you..." she gasped out.
The system screamed in her mind: [Warning! Consort hostility level spiking!]
Kain stared down at her face, his cold eyes flickering with a moment of confusion as he recognized her—the other reject. He let go of her neck and scrambled back to the corner of the cave, watching her with wary, icy eyes. A low hissing sound rumbled in his throat.
Angel coughed violently, rubbing her bruised neck. She glared at him, her voice raspy. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be a popsicle right now."
As if on cue, Kain's stomach let out a loud, rumbling growl. The extreme hunger made his already pale face look even more ghastly.
[System Prompt: Consort requires high-calorie food to resist hibernation instinct. Failure to feed will result in genetic depletion.]
Angel looked him dead in the eye. "I'll make you a deal," she said, her voice steady despite her weakness. "You go out there and hunt. Bring back food. And I'll provide the warmth you need to survive."
Kain stared at her thin body, his jaw clenching. He remembered the warmth she had poured into him earlier, but years of being treated as a monster had forged an iron wall of distrust around his heart. "I don't need anyone's charity," he sneered, his pride refusing to let him rely on another exile. He turned away, preparing to leave on his own.
Angel narrowed her eyes. She raised her hand and unleashed the Fox-Fire she had just recovered. A bright, crackling ball of red flame danced in her palm, instantly illuminating the dark cave with its warm, inviting glow. "It's not charity. It's survival," she stated flatly.
Kain froze. He stared at the flame, feeling the pure heat radiating from it. His cold pupils constricted into thin slits. He stood there, shivering, his body craving that warmth more than anything.
He weighed his options for a long second. Then, without a word, he turned and dashed out into the blizzard, disappearing into the whiteout.
Angel slumped against the wall, extinguishing the fire. The cold rushed back in immediately. She forced herself to her feet and searched the cave. In a corner buried under old snow, she discovered a crude bone knife, perhaps left by some past exile. She clutched it close and huddled against the wall, praying to whatever god was listening that the cold-blooded beast wouldn't die out there.
Two hours passed. The storm only grew worse. Angel had almost given up hope, convinced he had abandoned her.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps crunched in the snow outside. Kain staggered into the cave, covered in blood. He was dragging the massive carcass of a snow bear behind him.
He dropped the bear in front of Angel and then collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath. Deep, bone-deep gashes covered his body, bleeding profusely.
Angel was shocked by his terrifying combat power. She rushed over, placing her hands on him to channel the Fox-Fire, warming him up while she quickly grabbed the bone knife and sliced off the most tender cuts of bear meat.
Kain greedily absorbed the heat from her Fox-Fire, watching her skillfully roast the meat over the flame. A complex emotion flickered in his icy eyes.
The smell of roasted meat filled the cave. They devoured the food ravenously, their strength finally returning.
After the meal, Angel looked at Kain, who was staring blankly into the fire. She watched the way his muscles remained tense, the subtle tremors beneath his pale skin that told her the cold was still fighting him from the inside. She knew he was hiding something much deeper than just a low viability index. She decided to play her trump card.
"I can feel it, you know," she said calmly. "There is a terrifying power suppressed inside you. It's tearing you apart, keeping you trapped as a 'Cold-Blood'."
Kain's head snapped toward her, his gaze oppressive. "Don't joke about things you don't understand," he warned, his voice low and dangerous.
Angel didn't back down. "I'm not joking. I can help you break those chains," she said, her eyes locked on his. "But I can't do it from a distance. The only way to reach that deep into your genetic structure is through a Consort-Pact. Swear to be my exclusive hunter. Bond with me. My genes will act as the catalyst yours desperately need. I'll give you the power you were meant to have."
The system in her mind went crazy, flashing alerts: [Legacy DNA highly compatible! Deep bond required to unlock Tier 2 permissions! Complete the bond now!]
