Chapter 1: The Necklace of Dreams – Arianna

  “I miss you, Dad,” Arianna whispered. “I wish you were here. But don’t worry. I’m doing well. I’m totally managing and being a responsible adult.”

  She could feel the warmth of the sun on her back as she stood alone among the rows of weathered gravestones. It felt like her dad was hugging her from beyond.

  “It’s been four years since you ... left. But I can sense you watching over me.” Arianna smiled. When she imagined her father now, she still saw the strong man who had raised her on his own. In her mind, he was his normal self before the disease, not the husk of a man chemotherapy had left behind.

  “I know you didn’t want me to come to your grave every year. But, Dad, today’s your anniversary. Let me be here for at least today.” Arianna had to blink away the tears. Her father wouldn’t like seeing her cry.

  Instead, she sang the lullaby her father had sung to her when she was a child. It always calmed her nerves, and her father loved her singing it. He’d told her that the song was her mother’s.

  Her fingers brushed the edge of the stone next to her father’s. “I’m glad you’re not alone,” she said softly. “Mom had to wait 23 years for you, but now you’re together again.” He’d called her mother his one true love. When he had spoken of her, it was with such yearning that tears would gather in Arianna’s eyes. She could only hope to one day experience at least a fraction of her parents’ love.

  She crouched, brushing a bit of moss away from the letters. Her mother’s name, Mallory Sloane, was etched there, along with two dates: one marking her birth, the other the very day Arianna had come into the world. A life traded for a life.

  “I never got to know you,” she whispered, tracing the cold stone with her fingertips. “But Dad always said I had your smile. I hope the two of you are happy now.”

  For a moment, silence pressed around her while she was caught in her memories. Her father had been stern, but also loving. He hadn’t been one for overly emotional displays. And his last wish had been for her to be happy, to find a family of her own. She sighed. She’d failed at that. I’m sorry.

  Then came the sound of footsteps on the gravel path behind her.

  Arianna didn’t turn around at first. She stayed where she was, eyes on the two gravestones, because she already knew who had come. The footsteps stopped just behind her, and a familiar low called out. “Arianna.”

  She stood and turned.

  Brian stood there. The man she’d once thought could become her new family. The one who had held her during her father’s funeral, who had been by her side through the worst of it. He had supported her father during chemotherapy, too, when the treatments drained his strength day by day until his suffering finally ended.

  Brian wore plain jeans and a shirt, just like her, just like her father would have wanted. A small smile touched his face, gentle but tinged with sadness.

  They greeted each other with a hug. Though they had broken up, the embrace felt easy, natural. She still loved him, not as a partner, but as her best friend. Because before they’d been together, that’s who he’d been for her.

  “It’s nice of you to come here,” Arianna said softly. “Thank you.”

  “Of course,” Brian replied without hesitation. “Dean was like a second father to me. I’ve known him since I was a teenager and was practically living at your place. I miss him.”

  Arianna nodded, her throat tight. “He loved you, too.” She still remembered the relief in his eyes when Arianna had told him about them dating. He’d smiled and told her how happy he was that she was in good hands, that she wasn’t alone.

  Because her father had been alone, just like her mother. They had met at an orphanage when they were just children and bonded instantly. Both had no family, and after they had aged out of the system, they had to leave the only place they’d been able to call home. They’d moved in together, fallen in love, and soon had her. Her father had told her that even though their happiness together was short and her mother had gone first, she’d left behind a treasure.

  Arianna and Brian stood in silence for a while, letting memories of her father wash over them. Then Brian broke the quiet. “How are you doing? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

  Arianna answered. “Sorry. All these adult responsibilities, my job, and new friends. I just never seem to have time.” And it is a bit awkward to talk to my ex-boyfriend about how I’m doing. Especially when I’m doing fine, just fine.

  Still, she told him a bit of her life, her new job as an accountant, her work friends and the antics they got up to together. Brian chuckled softly, but his eyes stayed fixed on her. He listened as if every detail mattered, as though her words weren’t just mundane bits of office life but something worth hearing. He’d always been like that, patient, kind, and endlessly attentive.

  After a while, Arianna tilted her head. “And you? What’s new with you?”

  He hesitated, fingers combing through his hear as if weighing whether to speak. Finally, he cleared his throat. “I’m… dating someone.”

  Arianna smiled immediately. “That’s great. I’m so happy for you.”

  He sounded unsure when he asked. “You are?”

  This time Arianna couldn’t help but laugh a little. “We’ve been broken up for two years, Brian. I don’t expect you to be miserable all the time. I was the one who broke up with you, remember?”

  It hadn’t been a bitter end. On her part, the feelings had always been more like a friend’s love than a partner’s. She’d hoped, once, that deeper feelings might come, but they never had.

  After her father’s death, when depression had swallowed her whole, Brian had been the one to hold her up. Some days she couldn’t even leave her bed, and he never left her side. But when she had finally found a little light again, she knew she couldn’t keep dragging him into her darkness. He was too good, too dear, to burn out under the weight of her grief. So, she had ended things, not because she didn’t care, but because she did.

  Arianna thought of the man who had helped her find purpose again while fingers brushed the sapphire pendant resting against her chest. She’d felt so alone back then. If it hadn’t been for Cassis, she didn’t know where she’d be today. And he hadn’t even done anything special. He’d just needed her. His survival had depended on her. And for him, she’d clawed her way out of her darkness, small step by small step. Because she had loved him in a way she had never loved Brian.

  She felt bad about it. But back then, Cassis had only been a man in her dreams. He hadn’t been real. Still, she’d been in love with him. She knew it was crazy, loving a man who only existed in her dreams.

  Brian spoke again, his voice a little nervous. “I’m dating Yvette.”

  Arianna blinked. “Yvette? From high school?”

  He nodded quickly, almost sheepishly. “Yeah. We kind of ran into each other. She’s back in town and is now working at a bakery near my apartment. We started talking, went out a few times, and… she’s really nice. I like her.” His cheeks flushed slightly as he said it.

  Arianna’s smile softened. “I’m so happy for you.” She meant it with all her heart. Brian deserved happiness. She just wasn’t the right person to give it to him.

  Back at home, Arianna still carried a small smile. Everyone’s moving forward, she thought. It’s just me who’s standing still.

  She sank into the couch, the quiet of the apartment wrapping around her like a blanket that was just a little too heavy. The world outside kept spinning, Brian finding love again, her old friends building their lives, while she felt caught in place, stuck between what she had lost and what she hadn’t yet found.

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  Her hand rose almost unconsciously to the silver necklace resting against her collarbone, fingers brushing over the sapphire pendant set at its heart.

  “At least I have a purpose,” she whispered, voice steadier than she felt. “Someone to support.”

  Her fingers continued tracing the delicate silver chain of the necklace resting against her collarbone. She had found it by chance in an old antique shop, its deep sapphire gemstone calling out to her in a way she couldn’t explain. That night, when she had worn it to sleep, she had her first dream of Cassis.

  He had looked like he could have strolled out of one of her favourite romance novels: tall and strong but lithe, with dark hair and golden eyes that burned with determination. His body was scarred from countless battles, each mark a testament to his survival. She had watched him fight from behind a glowing screen in a dark room. Her presence had been unseen, but her words, her voice, had been able to reach him.

  The world in which Cassis lived was governed by a system. The people who could use mana were called awakeners, and they fought the monsters that were invading their world. That system had deemed her a virtuous deity, granting her VP—Virtuous Points—whenever she did good deeds in her waking life. With these points, she could buy weapons, armour, potions, and anything else to keep Cassis alive.

  At first, the solitary man had ignored her, frustrating her to no end. But in the end, she’d worn him down. Arianna laughed out loud just recalling his grudging acceptance that she wasn’t going anywhere. She’d become Cassis's exclusive patron, finally able to use the power of that contract to buy cheaper and better items. In turn, Cassis had become her avatar, receiving more strength from the mysterious system.

  For the last ten years, they’d worked together to keep him alive in a world that did its best to kill him. She had worked hard at being virtuous in her real life and bought him anything that would help him survive. She had seen him rise from F-rank to A-rank, a lone warrior in a world consumed by destruction.

  Countless times, she had begged him to trust others, to find teammates, to let someone else bear some of the burden. But he was stubborn. Arianna loved him, but he constantly infuriated her by refusing comrades and taking unnecessary risks.

  Tonight was no different.

  Arianna watched Cassis fight against a nine-headed hydra. The monster looked like some four-legged dinosaur from ancient times, but with nine serpent-like necks writhing in the air. Each head was lined with dagger-sized teeth that gleamed in the sunlight, sharp enough to tear through steel. The hydra itself loomed as tall as a two-story house, and yet Cassis stood alone before it.

  He had refused to go with a party, even when venturing into the wildlands to forage. And now he had to face this nightmare by himself.

  One head lunged, and Cassis parried cleanly with his sword. But the hydra didn’t fight fair. It struck with all nine at once. He wove through the frenzy, blocking, dodging, and parrying where he could. He was an expert at close-quarters combat, but even his skills couldn’t stop every strike. Arianna bit her lips. She couldn’t distract him now.

  She felt the phantom pain of the shallow wounds that accumulated across his body, slicing even through the expensive serpent-scale armour she had scraped together the points to buy him just yesterday.

  At least his dragon-slaying sword could wound the beast. Each swing cut through its hide, flames searing the edges of the wounds. But he was burning mana constantly to keep Fireblade active. At this rate, he would run dry.

  Arianna still said nothing. She simply tracked his every movement, her breath catching each time fresh blood marked his armour. She checked her remaining VP. Not much left. She could buy healing potions, maybe one mana recovery potion if she rationed carefully. Better to let him endure the wounds. He was used to them. He always said that pain was survivable. Running out of mana in a fight like this was not.

  Still, her heart clenched when she saw him pinch his nose, a nervous tick he only did when he was in real trouble.

  The hydra lashed out. One head struck his left side, teeth sinking deep into his torso. Blood spurted. Cassis was wrenched into the air, and three more heads closed in, biting into his arms and legs. Arianna’s stomach lurched. If they tear him apart, nothing will save him! The potions only work when he is whole!

  “Cassis…” she whispered, still not wanting to distract him. He didn’t answer her.

  A moment went by, then another, during which the hydra kept biting into Cassis. Arianna cursed her inability to help. She could only watch.

  Then, suddenly, fire exploded outward from Cassis.

  Flames engulfed the hydra’s heads, searing flesh and scales alike. Screeches shook the air. Through the blaze, she saw Cassis break free and fall, crashing heavily into the ground. Blood poured from everywhere; even his breath came out in a spray of red. But three hydra heads lay severed on the ground, and the fourth burned to a crisp, still twitching.

  “Arianna,” his voice rasped through their bond, weak but commanding. “One healing. One mana recovery.”

  She reacted instantly, spending points without hesitation. He drank the mana recovery potion first, since it was slow to restore mana but essential in this fight. Only after that did he go for the healing potion. Watching him, pale and broken, left her trembling. She should be used to this by now, but each time she wanted to cry again.

  The hydra stirred again, screeching in rage. Heads whipped toward him, but Cassis rolled aside, half-healed and barely steady on his feet. Still, the potion worked quickly enough to let him rise again.

  He feinted upward, forcing the heads to strike, then darted low toward the creature’s legs. His blade sliced through sinew and scale. The hydra’s massive body staggered as its legs buckled.

  Cassis leapt onto its torso, hacking at the base of its necks. The remaining heads struck wildly, often tangling with each other in their frenzy. Wounds blossomed across his body again, crimson lines over blackened armour, but he pressed on.

  And then his body began to glow.

  Arianna exhaled shakily. Good. He’s using it. He’s going to survive.

  Another wave of fire erupted from him, brighter, hotter, unstoppable. It engulfed the remaining heads, reducing them to ash. The hydra’s colossal body remained, twitching, but the system message that flared before their eyes said it all.

  [Congratulations! You have slain Hydra (A-rank).]

  Arianna sagged in relief. Her fingers hovered over the shop menu, but she forced herself to stop. His wounds were ugly, but not fatal. She couldn’t afford to waste her points on comfort. Cassis knew it too. He didn’t ask.

  Still bleeding, he knelt beside the corpse and began butchering it, collecting what he needed. Arianna turned her gaze away from the grisly work. Some things she didn’t need to see.

  But soon the howls of other monsters came closer. They had probably smelled the blood and death. Cassis got ready to face them.

  Finally, she allowed herself to speak.

  “Cassis, you can’t keep fighting alone,” she whispered at the blue screen in front of her, her frustration mounting as she watched him engage in yet another reckless battle with a pack of blue storm wolves.

  “I don’t need anyone else,” his response came out with his harsh breaths, curt as always.

  Arianna clenched her fists. “You’re going to die one day if you don’t get allies. Do you even care about your own life?”

  Silence. Cassis continued fighting the wolves, concentrating all his attention on the battle. Arianna didn’t even expect an answer. She had asked him this question so often over the last ten years. She had begged him to get comrades. He needed a cleric to heal his wounds, another warrior to fight beside him, a ranger to provide scouting and backup and a mage to give him more firepower.

  Others in that world had teams. And they were surviving, some even thriving. But Cassis refused.

  After he was finished with the fight, unexpectedly, his reply came: “I’ve survived this long without help. I don’t need to change anything.”

  Her heart ached. Why is he like this? She had spent years worrying about him, watching him come close to death over and over again. She couldn’t take it anymore. It was always the same argument, over and over.

  “I can’t take this anymore!” she screamed, her voice trembling. “If you don’t find teammates, I won’t come back.”

  She could choose not to wear the necklace to sleep. She could sever their connection. If he wouldn’t listen to reason, then maybe he needed to understand what it was like to be truly alone.

  Immediately, she regretted her words. Not coming back to him was unthinkable. He needed her. Even worse, she needed him.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  Why didn’t he take her concerns seriously? She needed to make him see, so the next words came out of her mouth without actually intending to. “I mean it.”

  A long pause. Then his final message: “Do what you want.”

  The dream shattered, and Arianna woke up in her bed, heart pounding.

  The next morning, the fight still weighed heavily on her mind. Anger and sadness churned inside her, but she had to push them aside. She had to go to work. Being an accountant wasn't the most exciting job, but she had enough excitement in her dreams, and it paid well enough. Her job felt more like a break than anything.

  "Seriously, I wish Cassis would acknowledge the hardships I go through for him," she muttered while getting dressed. But then she shook her head. There was no reason for him to do that. He had it far worse. At least she got to live her comfortable, albeit boring life. But he was constantly in danger. He really needed teammates. Otherwise, he’d die if he continued fighting alone. The thought alone made her sick.

  She couldn’t lose someone else, and definitely not Cassis. He was her anchor throughout her worst times. Sure, they didn’t speak about her private problems, but just knowing that he needed her, counted on her, made her feel like she still had purpose. He had to survive…

  Throwing on a coat, she stepped out of her apartment and into the bustling city streets. On her way to the subway, she barely noticed the people around her. Her thoughts kept circling back to Cassis. Had she been too harsh? Would he finally understand how much she cared? Would something change this time?

  It was still dark outside, as it was winter. She waited at the traffic light until it turned green and stepped onto the crosswalk. She’d go to sleep wearing the necklace today, too. Of course, she would. She resigned herself to seeing his arrogant smirk again. He knew she wouldn’t just leave him, not after all they had been through together.

  A deafening honk. The screech of tires.

  The sounds tore her out of her thoughts. Her head snapped up, and she froze. A car was barrelling toward her, too fast, too close.

  Her breath hitched. This is it.

  She could see the bright lights of the car speeding towards her. I’m sorry. I’m leaving before you. She closed her eyes.

  And then—

  Warmth. Strong arms wrapped around her. Her feet weren’t on solid ground anymore. It felt like she had fallen, yet she wasn’t hit, and she wasn’t in pain. Was this what they called shock?

  Her eyes flew open, and she found herself staring into golden eyes she had only ever seen through a screen. “…Cassis?” she whispered.