TWO SOULS, ONE WOUND.

For an instant, Asimil stood at the threshold of the Harmony Clan. The digital sky of Altverse was a canvas of violets and electric blues where crystalline islands floated. Simply a wondrous sight. The lights of the citadel, globes of golden light suspended in the air like giant fireflies, emitted a warmth he would never find in the dim bulbs of his room.

Asimil took a deep breath of that virtual air. It wasn't real but... It felt so alive and clean. And he smiled. It wasn't a strained or fake smile; it came from deep inside him, it was authentic, as if an atrophied muscle finally remembered its function.

— Look at those bargains! — he said, his voice ringing clear and steady as he walked past the virtual market stalls. A holographic elf was offering potions that sparkled like liquid emeralds. His tone sounded like him...but it didn't feel like the him on the sidewalk. It was stronger. Lighter. Happier. Here the word "deals" didn't smell like money fights, it smelled like adventures. It was the version he chose to be.

Asimil entered the Harmony Clan. The castle of dark wood and beams intertwined with blue neon lights was more than a building; it was a beating heart. The bustle was a symphony of welcome: voices discussing strategy, intense laughter, the metallic clink of virtual glasses clinking. The smell of wood, sweet data beer and stardust flooded his senses.

He belonged here. The phrase popped into his mind, not as a wish, but as a rediscovered memory. As if a forgotten version of him had already laughed at these tables and shared stories by this very fireplace.

In the crowd, he saw him. Sacres. Asimil mentally labeled him "a great friend," "his rock," even "a father." It was an instant loyalty, a trust that had no logic for the short time they had been connected. As if his soul, even if his mind didn't, remembered this man pulling him out of the mud at his weakest moment. He was sitting at his usual table near the holographic fireplace.— hey, Asimil! — he called me in his low tone.

The man, with ebony skin and imposing musculature, radiated an unwavering calm. Asimil approached and sat down opposite him. A glass identical to his own appeared before him.

— How was the patrol mission? — he asked. The question, so direct, made Asimil's happiness turn pale.

— The usual — Asimil answered without filters, pushing a small bag of coins on the table with his finger. — I fulfilled the assignment, checked the entire perimeter of the forest and chased away a few lesser beasts. The reward? Barely that and Borin's taunts that someone has to do the errand boy's job. —

Sacres followed his gaze to the measly bag of coins. His expression showed a hint of understanding. — Listen, Asimil... what in one corner of the clan is a source of derision, in another is the pillar that supports the others. Without these patrols, the roads would not be safe. Without those "errands," the assault teams would have no supplies. I see your dedication doesn't change, huh? But the perception of those around you... that should change. —

His words about the hidden value of his effort struck him. Sacres always said the right thing, what he needed to hear. — Remember this — he added in a serious but warm voice — Let your smile change the world, not the world change your smile. —

Asimil wanted to cry, but his pride wouldn't let him. That bubble of paternal calm vanished as a crescendo of voices rose from the back of the room. The energy of the place changed, became electric.

— Who arrived? — he asked. 

— A new girl... it seems — said Sacres, with a slight arch of his eyebrow.

Asimil turned his head. And he saw her. She was surrounded, the center of all the attention. Her reddish hair, liquid emerald eyes, porcelain skin and wide, confident smile made her seem like she was from another universe. She was unnerving. Alluring. Dangerous.

— Who is she? — he asked, unable to look away.

Sacres took a moment to respond. His gray eyes glowed with a faint iridescence. He was using his Eye of Clairvoyance. — I haven't decided yet — he murmured, his cautious tone putting Asimil on alert.

A surge of sensations pushed him to stand up. As he walked past the edge of the crowd, their gazes met.

And the world stopped. Her emerald eyes bore into his, and for a split second, Asimil felt a vertigo, a phantom pain of such immense loss that stole his breath. The fleeting image of a ruby ring shimmered in his mind and faded. It was an instant, but in it he felt the weight of a broken promise. He could see a micro gesture on her face, an almost imperceptible hesitation, as if she saw not a novice, but a ghost that disturbed her. Then the coldness returned like a steel door slamming shut, and she dismissed him with a neutral assessment, returning to her conversation.

— Heh, nice and cold too — he thought, the impression sticking like a dart.

It was then that Gromm, the orc warrior, deliberately stumbled against her. — Oops, sorry, little princess! —

What happened next was not as expected. Noelia's smile faded. Her eyes cooled to icy. — Next time, watch where you're going — she said, her voice cutting through the air like steel. — Or learn to control your avatar. Clumsiness is no excuse for rudeness. —

— What's wrong with him? — Asimil muttered as he turned back to Sacres.

— Maybe it's just direct — Sacres whispered, though his tone said he didn't quite believe it. — Or...— he added, lowering his voice until only Asimil could hear him, — she's hiding something. Maybe she doesn't want to be touched, even here. Or maybe, Asimil... seeing your face while she was being touched awakened something she prefers to keep buried. —

A shiver ran through his body. Sacres was right. That girl, Noelia, was an enigma. And for some reason, Asimil felt that enigma and he were connected by an invisible and painful thread. The other world was calling him back to his duties, but for the first time, he felt that the real story, the most complicated one, had just begun right here. And she had red hair and her name was Noelia.