Thirstfall - Memory of a Returnee

"They... match your eyes."

The words come out before I think about how they might land.

Rhayne stands still in front of the case. The violet of the earrings reflects in her eyes, but it’s the red climbing up her cheeks that catches my attention. She opens her mouth, seems to search for an answer, and ends up turning her face toward the inside of the shop.

"My eyes," she repeats quietly.

"That’s what I said."

The answer doesn’t help.

Rhayne brings a hand to her hair, toys with a strand, and lets it go again. The silence between us takes on a strange shape, and I realize she understood that choice in a way that hadn’t crossed my mind while I was looking for equipment.

The seller is a middle-aged Diver woman, gray hair pinned in a low bun, small round lenses perched on the tip of her nose. Maybe a retired Rank D.

I ask her to open the case.

She brings a runic key to the lock and lifts the pair of earrings off the velvet stand. When she sets them on my palm, the small points of light inside the violet crystals keep moving, slow and steady.

"Let’s see if they suit her," I say.

Rhayne turns her eyes back to me, still red. "Now?"

"We’re in a shop. Seems like the right moment."

She hesitates before pushing the hair away from one ear. The simple gesture makes worse the awkwardness I was trying to undo, but backing off at that point would make the whole thing stranger.

I step in and fasten the first earring.

Rhayne goes still. I’m close enough to feel the warmth of her cheek when my fingers pass beside her face. Her breath catches for an instant, then comes back shorter, held in check by effort.

I move to the other side.

When I push the hair away, Rhayne lifts her eyes. Our faces are closer than I calculated, and the contact lasts only a second before she looks back at the floor.

I close the clasp, use my [LINK] passive, and step back.

The crystals react to her presence at once. The light inside them spreads through thin silver lines, recognizing the contact with Rhayne’s OXI.

An appraisal opens in front of me.

[Item Appraisal Complete.]

[Name: Moondrop Aegis][Rank: B — Tide][Type: Twin Defensive Earrings][Durability: 240/240][Growth Classification: Forge-Growth][Forge Stage: I — Unrefined]

[LORE]:"When the poisoned tide swallowed the observatory, two lights remained above the water. One watched over the keeper. The other watched over the soul standing beside her."

[Passive: Malice Resonance]Description: The paired stones detect hostile OXI, harmful intent, and negative energy entering their response radius. Each stone stores an independent defensive charge gathered from ambient OXI. Activation consumes no OXI from the wearer.

[Effect 1: Violet Aegis]When a qualifying threat crosses the activation threshold, one charged stone projects a Rank B defensive field around its assigned target. The wearer may also trigger either field manually.

[Effect 2: Shared Sky]Each stone may be assigned to the wearer or to one allied OXI signature within twenty meters. The defensive charge will follow its assigned target and activate when a harmful impact is detected. Assignment ends when the target leaves effective range or the stored charge is exhausted.

[Forge-Growth Path]Compatible materials may improve barrier density, response radius, charge recovery, and target capacity. Advancement requires refinement by a qualified Forge Specialist.

I read the effects a second time.

Each earring holds its own charge. Rhayne could keep both for herself, protect an ally without fully losing her own defense, or dedicate both barriers to the others. The automatic activation also means she can keep controlling the Battle Ribbon during chained attacks without stopping everything to raise a shield.

It’s exactly what was missing.

"We’ll take them," I tell the seller.

"That’ll be eight Plates, sir. How will you be paying?"

"Eight Plates. Drawn from my guild vault."

The seller smiles and pulls a brass reliquary from under the counter, about the size of a music box. Bluish runes shimmer across its surface, humming with a faint energy when she touches it. It’s a third-party funds machine. The device records directly into the system any transfer that belongs not to a Diver but to an institution.

Seeing the machine, Rhayne turns quickly. "No. I’ll pay for it myself."

"The item’s for the team and was chosen for the battle. That’s what the vault is for, and the guild owes you."

"I understand. But I’d still rather pay."

There’s little aggressive firmness in the refusal. She touches one of the stones, avoiding looking at me directly, the red still on her face.

"Rhayne, it’s eight Plates."

"I know how much it costs. I have that money."

"Then you know you don’t have to spend it."

She breathes deep and finally meets my eyes.

"You chose a piece of jewelry thinking of me, said it matched my eyes, and put the earrings on me. If you pay for them too, I’ll spend the whole day trying to decide what that means."

This time, I’m the one left without an answer.

Rhayne realizes what she just admitted and turns her face away again.

"It’s equipment," I add.

"Then there’s no problem with me buying my own equipment."

The logic has a few cracks, but pushing would take the conversation into ground neither of us came prepared for.

"All right."

The seller puts the payment reliquary away again.

Rhayne confirms the purchase with her own Diver Mark. A normal transaction, and eight Plates vanish from her account. The ownership bond registers. The crystals gain a steadier glow, adjusting to her OXI signature.

The seller sets a small mirror on the counter.

Rhayne studies the reflection carefully. The violet drops end just above her neck, and the luminous points seem to follow the movement of her eyes. For a few seconds, she forgets the awkwardness and simply admires the result.

"You look beautiful," I say.

She turns her face to me. The red comes back hard.

"Th... thank you."

The word comes out low, but with a smile that stays as we leave the shop.

Outside, the market has grown busier. I open the squad channel as we walk.

"Everyone to the Oathring. Full gear, and before inspection. The event starts during the day, and I don’t want anyone stuck on the wrong side of a line."

Oliver confirms first. Veric answers right after, saying he’s already on his way. I hear Zhang Xi beside Oliver, telling him to pass along that she’ll arrive in time.

I open the Safe Harbor forum and create an administrative notice for Richard.

[ADMINISTRATIVE NOTICE — RICHARD BOULEVARD]Bring the coach to the Oathring’s commercial area. Enter through the supplier access and wait for Zhang Xi before opening the panels.

The reply arrives as we cross the widest part of Silver Star Street.

[REPLY RECEIVED]Already on our way. Stock’s been checked and the paperwork is ready.

I close the forum.

Rhayne walks at my side, touching one of the earrings now and then to confirm it’s still in place. When we turn past a storefront, I catch her reflection looking at me. She notices the same instant and shifts her attention to a tool stall that clearly doesn’t interest her.

I don’t comment.

A few minutes later, our eyes meet again. Rhayne holds the contact longer before lowering her hand from the earring and looking out at the street, still wearing a faint smile.

The crowd thickens as we near the Academy district. The team event runs over a longer stretch than the individual matches, demanding inspections, formation registration, barrier preparation, and intervals to let the field recover. Plenty of people arrived early to get a seat.

The sound of the Oathring reaches the streets before the structure comes fully into view.

The last time we were here, the arena served betting matches, its stands packed with people of every kind, most of them not to be trusted. Now temporary platforms extend the seating across several social tiers, ringing the central field until they almost touch the upper passages.

Guild banners hang from the outer structures. The four columns that feed the barrier are lit from the base, casting lines of force over the center of the arena. Suspended magic screens, which weren’t here before, display schedules, registered teams, odds, and replays of battles from other dates.

Lines advance through the inspection gates. Sellers fill the side areas while commercial coaches enter through separate accesses. Azurea Royalty guards control the flow of people, and staff run between the corridors with lists, signs, and equipment crates.

The field has changed too. New markings divide the floor for team combat, entry zones on opposite sides, and smaller pillars set up for compositions that need cover. The barrier is still down, but the OXI stored in the four columns makes the air vibrate above the arena.

This was built to manufacture reputations.

’Rahul Sharma knows how to put on a show.’

Rhayne stops beside me and takes in the stands. "Rahul really put money into this."

"Yes. And he expects to pull out much more."

"You still don’t know what the surprises are?"

"I have a few suspicions."

Richard’s coach appears at the supplier entrance, closed and ordinary among vehicles loaded with drinks, food, and goods. Nobody looking from the outside would imagine the small, organized shop behind those wooden panels.

Zhang Xi hasn’t arrived yet. Richard steers the wagon into the position I marked, near the arena’s main entrance, but keeps everything shut.

We head toward Richard, who’s about ninety feet off.

Rhayne looks at me again on the way. This time, when I notice, she doesn’t look away right off. She touches the violet stone by her face and lets the smile show before turning her attention to the supplier gate.

I’m about to say something when I see who’s waiting near the area set aside for the teams, arriving alongside Zhang Xi.

I stop walking.

"We’re fucked..."

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