Mai stayed seated where he was. The nausea didn't hit as hard anymore, but it still lingered, like a sour aftertaste. He rested his head against the wall, knees drawn in slightly, eyes half-lidded as the corridor continued to haze.

  Something small stood directly in front of him, nothing more than a blur. The world had lost its colors, everything bleeding together into dull light and shadow.

  "Mai…?" The voice came again, much closer now. "Are you—are you alright?" It was full of worry, which fought its way through the fog in his mind.

  That voice… He'd never heard it before, he was certain of that. It was feminine, light in pitch, closer to a teenage girl's.

  The blurred figure paced in front of him, its motions quick and uneven. His vision strained, trying to separate the form from the world around it. Slowly, his eyes readjusted, the corridor darkening at the edges as the shape in front of him brightened.

  A vivid teal-blue glow stood out where the figure paced, it was unmistakable. The wisp stood in front of him, its ears and tails flicking as it moved with panicked steps.

  "You scared me." The words rushed out. "You just collapsed. Please, Mai—say something."

  Mai's breath caught, his thoughts lagging behind what he was seeing. "Did you just… speak?"

  The wisp froze for a beat before it shot upward. She jumped in place, ears springing upright as her tails flicked wildly behind her. "You're okay—you're okay!" the words tumbled out. "I didn't know what to do if you were—"

  She cut herself off mid-ramble. Her ears twitched as she looked at him again, her head tilted slightly to the side, confusion knitting across her small face. "…Wait. You can hear me?"

  The wisp straightened, eyes widening as understanding clicked into place. Her head snapped back up, her glow brightening with sudden excitement. "Oh, well, of course you can! Mai, you can hear me!"

  She bounced up and down in front of him, unable to keep still.

  Mai stayed seated against the wall in stunned silence. His confusion only deepened as his own thoughts struggled to catch up. He lifted a hand weakly, palm half-raised between them. "Slow down," he said, voice rough. "Please. Just, explain… what's happening?"

  The wisp froze again before nodding and calmly sitting near his feet. "Right. Sorry," she said, quieter now. "I just… this is a big deal. I've been waiting a long time for this." She looked at him and then spoke more simply. "It's because you got a Token."

  Mai blinked, then nodded. "A what?" The words had barely left his mouth before something surged through his mind. A sharp, rushing pressure that made his vision hazy once more. His hands flew up on instinct, fingers digging into his temples as the corridor warped around him. The coin he’d picked up flashed through his mind, followed by a single word.

  Token.

  It echoed the same way it had before. Then, just as suddenly as it came, the sensation ceased, the pressure vanishing. His vision returned, and his breathing evened out.

  He lowered his hands. The wisp had gone still again, ears lowered and eyes fixed on him with renewed worry.

  "I'm fine," Mai said, shaking his head to rid himself of the feeling. "Really." He exhaled before looking back up at her. "Please—continue."

  The worry didn't leave her expression, but she nodded and pressed on. "That coin you got—it's called a Token. They're the generators of Lunis." She hesitated, ears dipping shyly before she continued. "So they're technically… the reason I exist. Which is why you can hear me now."

  The word Lunis hit him harder than he expected. Mai's eyes widened as the meaning of what she'd said caught up all at once. He'd been too wrapped up in everything else to notice what should have been obvious.

  Slowly, he looked down at his hand, and with very little focus, a small flame flickered to life above his palm.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  He stared at it, his breath shallow as it settled in his chest.

  He was a Lunar.

  "Stop!" The shout snapped him out of the moment. Mai flinched, instinctively closing his hand as the flame dispersed. He looked up at her, confusion written across his face.

  "What?" he asked.

  The wisp took a quick step toward him. "You've already drained all the Token's Lunis," she said. "It needs time to build more."

  Mai frowned, lowering his hand to his side. "Drained…?"

  She nodded. "Right now, the Token's empty. Until it recovers, anytime you use an ability, it won't draw from it." Her ears dipped as her tone turned more serious. "Instead, you'll pull in Lunis from around you to make up the difference."

  Mai nodded, knowing where this was heading. "And if there isn't enough—"

  The wisp cut him off, nodding. "Then it comes from you. Your life force."

  Mai smiled and reached his hand out, petting the wisp's head. "Then, I thank you."

  All tension eased out of her almost immediately. The wisp's ears relaxed as she leaned into the touch.

  It went quiet. The only sounds breaking through were Mai's soft breaths, the low murr rumbling from the wisp, and the faint crackle of lingering embers in the chamber.

  They sat like that for a while. Mai kept his hand resting on her head, his fingers moving in slow, absent strokes. Both of them relaxed, the wisp finding a spot to lie in Mai's lap as he leaned his head back against the stone wall, closing his eyes.

  Everything in him loosened as his mind drifted aimlessly. In the quiet that followed, he noticed something strange. A faint warmth spread through him, slow and steady, as if something inside him was rebuilding itself.

  It wasn't uncomfortable. If anything, it felt wonderful. Like his body was piecing itself back together.

  Thoughts slipped loose from anything urgent or sharp. For a while, he just sat there, his hand moving in slow, absent strokes over the wisp's small head.

  A gentle movement dragged him back, a slow, careful shifting in his lap.

  Mai's eyes opened gradually, the calm of sleep still clinging to him. He stared at the wisp, who now sat upright in his lap, her ears angled forward as she watched the corridor in quiet focus.

  Shifting slightly, he adjusted where he sat beneath her, careful not to startle her as he straightened. "Sorry," he murmured, voice low and a little rough. "Didn't mean to doze off. Just needed a minute."

  Her ears twitched as she glanced back at him, her glow softening. "It's fine," she said quietly. "You probably should rest more."

  Mai shook his head, pushing himself a little more upright. "I can't," he said, eyes flicking toward the far end of the corridor where orange light still trembled along the walls. "At least not yet. I wasn't exactly subtle when dealing with that creature."

  The wisp nodded, though reluctantly, her ears dipping as if she wanted to protest, but knew he was right. Then her expression shifted, eyes widening as if something had just clicked. "Oh! I almost forgot!" She blurted, the words tumbling out as she sprang from his lap and darted toward the burning chamber.

  Mai blinked after her, momentarily thrown off. "Wait—"

  She skidded to a stop just short of the chamber entrance; the heat washing over her glow as she leaned forward and grabbed something from the ground in her mouth.

  Mai leaned forward slightly, trying to make out what she'd found. Then he saw the rope first, a torn length of it trailing behind her as she trotted back toward him. And at the other end, caught in the loop, was his dagger. The blade swallowed all surrounding light, its sky-dark surface broken only by faint drifting specks of color.

  She stopped in front of him and dropped the rope at his feet, tails flicking with quiet pride.

  Mai crouched, warmth spreading through him as he reached to free the dagger from the loop, but his hand paused midway. Instead, he gently rested it atop the wisp's head, fingers brushing softly between her ears.

  "You're absolutely amazing…" he murmured. He hesitated a moment before adding, "I don’t think I ever asked—do you have a name?"

  The wisp's ears twitched beneath his palm as she went still, clearly caught off guard by the question. Her glow dimmed slightly as she ducked her face behind one of her tails, voice muffled as she mumbled something that sounded like, "How did I forget that…"

  A chuckle couldn't help but escape Mai as he watched his companion collect herself.

  Her tail shifted aside, and she peeked up at him again, a hint of embarrassment still lingering—but a flicker of pride quickly chased it off. "I do," she said, lifting her chin a little. "It's Tirri… or—" She hesitated, then corrected herself again. "Well… I'm Tirri."

  “Tirri,” Mai repeated, the name feeling unfamiliar on his tongue. He nodded once. “It suits you.”

  Her teal-blue glow brightened at that, her ears lifting as if the approval alone had made her day.

  Mai gave her head one last gentle rub before finally reaching down to pull the dagger free from the rope. He slipped it back into place with practiced ease, the familiar weight settling against him.

  "We should get moving," he said quietly, glancing down the corridor.

  Tirri nodded, but not immediately. She lingered there a second longer than expected, her mouth parting as if she were about to say something. Her ears drooped, something unspoken lingering behind her eyes. Then she seemed to think better of it, giving a small, determined nod.

  "Yeah," she said softly. "We should."

  Mai studied her for a brief moment, catching the hesitation even if he didn't know what it meant. He didn't press, just nodded once in return and pushed himself to his feet, brushing the dust from his clothes.

  Tirri moved in beside him without a word, her steps light as they turned toward the corridor ahead. The orange glow from the chamber stretched behind them in wavering lines across the stone, shrinking with every step they took, the last of the firelight fading behind them.