[After spending the afternoon helping Klara, she decided you felt like a father to her, someone who always understood what she needed. You reached a father-daughter bond. Hearing Klara call you "Father" made your emotions complicated beyond words. At thirty years old you felt an odd, bittersweet sense that your life as an old man was finally starting, even if Klara's "help" would probably throw everything into chaos. Reward gained: Klara's Path Power branch skill — Family. When hit, 35% chance to remove one negative effect from yourself.]
Kael Arclight had never expected this option to complete in such a way.
That Klara would call him father and that the choice would resolve in that instant felt almost theatrical.
The reward itself struck him as strange.
While Kael wondered at it, a sudden force descended like an invisible wind and slipped into him without a sound. It felt less like power and more like a gift from somewhere beyond the world. It was warm and gentle, carrying an odd, unnameable mystery.
As it entered Kael, the feeling spread quickly. He sensed an unseen energy wrapping his body, flowing like a stream through his limbs and core, washing away the fatigue and the tiny injuries left by years of hard training. Where it passed there came an uncommon ease, as if some parts of him were being quietly repaired.
"What is this…" Kael frowned and looked down at his hands.
He lifted them and inspected them closely, though nothing obvious had changed. Still, he felt a soft force like an invisible armor covering him. His breathing grew lighter, and the flow of chakra inside him felt smoother. There was an unfamiliar lightness to his body.
"What kind of power is this?" he muttered, suspicion shading his voice.
He tried to call it, but it did not behave like the Destructive Path power he knew. That power was wild, oppressive, and hungry. This felt entirely different. It was calm and protective, like a support that stood ready without demanding use.
When Kael tested himself, the force remained private and reticent. It did not respond to his will in the way his destructive power did. Instead it behaved like a passive shield that would activate on its own when needed.
"This cannot be a Preservation Path," he thought, the expression on his face shifting into puzzlement.
"Klee big brother."
Klee had been waiting for a response, her small face earnest and expectant. Kael blinked and came back to himself.
"All right, I will not run," he said, letting a short smile break through. "Wait until you are out. We will talk about the bombs later."
"Okay!" Klee bounced with delight and tugged his sleeve, snuggling into a childish, teasing tone. "Klee's the best! Bye now, big brother. Remember to wait for me!"
Kael ruffled her hair and said, "Go on. Hurry back and confess quickly. The sooner you do, the sooner your confinement ends."
Klee nodded hard, slung her pack over her shoulder, and hopped away singing. From a distance she called back in a bubble of childish insistence, "Kael big brother, you must wait for me! No running away!"
Kael watched her go, pinched his chin, and thought it through. Getting on good terms with Klee was useful. If she corresponded to Klara, would future rewards keep arriving?
Still, he had errands. He would first go to the Adventurers' Guild and turn in the commission.
Soon Kael reached Mondstadt's gate.
"You're back," one of the Knights on duty said, eyes wide as he recognized Kael. "Do not break anything. There might be a dangerous monster, and the uproar came from the northwest of Winefall Lake. If you had been out farther, it would have been much more dangerous."
Kael simply drew a breath and managed a small smile. To some extent, this was his responsibility.
"Understood. Thanks," he said politely, then continued toward the Adventurers' Guild.
"Welcome back, adventurer Kael," Katheryne greeted him with a formal bow as he entered. "What can I do for you today?"
"I need to turn in a commission." Kael set the Lampgrass he had collected on the counter and spoke.
After the handoff, Katheryne gave him a bag of Mora. "Go and get a proper meal," she suggested.
With Mora in his pouch, Kael walked toward the Deer Catcher restaurant. He never skimped on food.
He opened his panel.
[Name: Kael Arclight]
[Age: Thirty]
[Origin World: Jarilo-VI]
[Talent: None]
[Path Skills: I Want to Help (Klara), Family (Klara)]
[Attribute: Physical]
[Evaluation: Thirty years of stumbles may yet have meaning. The gears of fate are finally turning. You stand at the starting line of change.]
"No talent, attribute physical. What is this," Kael murmured, pinching his chin. He wondered if Klara's skills were what created this entry.
He stood there, considering the panel, when in the distance the Windrise road led him onward toward the headquarters of the Knights.