Kaiser fell into deep thought, his mind spiraling into an unexpected and oddly introspective debate.
He only ever had one first kiss in his life—or rather, he had not had it yet—so the importance of the moment warranted deep consideration. After all, this wasn’t something trivial for a growing man, like the first hug Kai had received. That was taken by Zara, amidst the chaos of a burning mansion, only for her to betray him in that dreadful moment, frozen in his chilling embrace as she ripped his heart —literally. It had been a uniquely unpleasant experience, one he was not keen to repeat.
And now, here he was, on the verge of what might be his first kiss. But never, not once, had he imagined it unfolding like this.
Back on Earth, Kaiser had entertained mundane dreams for his future: grow up, meet a girl, fall in love, and eventually share a romantic first kiss—perhaps even lose his virginity to that special someone. Maybe it would be awkward, maybe magical, or maybe taken by chance with a stranger in a bar after one too many drinks, or be bought by money.
But this?
Summoned by gods, cursed for cursing them, thrown into the chaos of the Shattered Realms, battling humans and monsters for the sake of the goddess, crossing the southern end of the world and now lying in a desolate, godforsaken wasteland beneath an oceanic sky—only to have his first kiss stolen out of pity while dying of hypothermia.
At least it's better than being hugged by a bloody lady with wolf-like ears who just massacred countless men before dying the next instant.
When the heck does getting a hug and kiss become this hard? Kai swears he saw many guys get plenty of it easier!
The sheer absurdity left him conflicted. Should he accept it? Technically, it would not be a kiss of love, but one of necessity, a trick of circumstance rather than sentiment. But… wasn’t it still worth something? A girl—an actual girl—was about to kiss him, and here he was, hesitating like some prudish saint.
He groaned internally. 'Why am I even debating this? Is CPR even considered a kiss?'
Who cared about the technicalities? It was the experience that mattered, even if it came from pity. Besides, the girl’s voice, soft and soothing as she muttered under her breath, had a certain charm. Maybe she was attractive. Yeah, maybe, he couldn’t know for sure, but he chose to hope.
Still, something about her voice tugged at his memory. It felt oddly familiar, like a distant echo from his days at the academy. He had heard it before, but he couldn’t quite place it.
As he wrestled with his thoughts, the girl suddenly sighed heavily, pulling him out of his reverie.
“…I’m sorry. For personal reasons, I can’t perform mouth-to-mouth. Please forgive me.”
Kaiser’s fleeting hopes crashed and burned. 'So my life is worth less than a girl’s first kiss… figures. Why did I even bother hoping?' He thought bitterly, wanting to die right here an now.
He prepared to give up entirely when the girl continued.
“The best I can do is body heat transfer. Thank God he’s unconscious… and please, *please!* stay unconscious until I’m done, or I might just die of embarrassment.”
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Kaiser froze, her words reverberating in his mind like an alarm bell.
'Body heat transfer?'
Before he could fully process it, he felt her hands on his chest, unbuttoning his uniform. His eyes widened in realization.
*She’s undressing me!*
Panic surged through him. A kiss was one thing—a slightly mortifying, slightly amusing thing—but this? Being stripped down in his sleep for “treatment”? That was crossing a line.
He refused to be stripped and molested by a girl!
Kaiser’s instincts screamed at him to stop this madness.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—stop right there!" Was what he's about to blurt out when he remembered he had to act mortal, yeah, a dying human fighting for his life.
His eyes flew open, but he barely stopped himself from sitting upright. He had to act like he was still half-dead.
'Yeah, like a dying mortal would.'
“Ugh… wh-where am I?” he rasped weakly, his voice dripping with theatric frailty. If there were awards for acting around, he was sure he would just earn one.
The girl froze, her hands pausing mid-motion, and he braced himself for the fallout.
The two stared at each other, an awkward silence settling heavily between them. It was, undeniably, one of the strangest and most mortifying situations either had ever been in. A girl stripping a guy on the floor inside a tent—both at a suitable age for such boldness—was already scandalous enough. Reversing the roles would not have made it any better.
The flickering flames from the campfire cast dancing shadows on the tent walls, the faint crackle of burning fabric the only sound in the still air. Kaiser’s deep, dark brown eye, so dark it appears black locked onto hers—eyes like pink diamonds, dazzling and almost otherworldly. There was something strikingly elegant and utterly captivating about them, as if her very gaze radiated a sense of perfection, at the same time, harshness of its burden concealed beneath her charm.
And then, recognition hit him like a thunderbolt.
Hazie.
There was no need for introductions.
Kaiser felt the blood drain from his face as his brain scrambled to process the situation.
'H-hazie? The Haziel, Haze, but often called Hazie?'
Yes, Hazie. No student on campus would not recognize her elegance, due to her beauty and achievements. She's the girl who had been the epitome of perfection at their former university. She wasn’t just any girl; she was *the* girl. Top of every subject, and famed for scoring flawlessly in all written exams, performance, and excelling at every sports team she graced, and the only heir to a billionaire family. Hazie was the dream of every man and, frankly, a fair number of women. She had been untouchable—so far above him that he might as well have been dirt beneath her designer shoes.
And here she was, dressed in an exquisite suit of armor that seemed a seamless fusion of knightly regality and modern innovation. Unlike the bulky, clunky suits forged by blacksmiths, Hazie’s armor was a masterpiece of craftsmanship. Its smooth, silver plates interlocked with matte black obsidian pieces, fitting her graceful yet athletic frame as if tailored specifically for her. The complexity of its design was awe-inspiring—where traditional armors had maybe thirty or forty components, hers boasted over a hundred intricately engineered pieces, all put together like a mechanical puzzle to clad her body in a fashionable manner.
But the pristine perfection of her armor had been marred by battle. Chipped edges and scratches hinted at fierce combat, while several parts appeared to have been intentionally removed—likely for better mobility after sustaining damage, and the parts seems to be conveniently removable. The most noticeable wound was on her right leg, where cold blood had smeared her obsidian plates. Despite the wear and tear, she carried herself with an effortless grace that only heightened her allure with a touch of toughness. Over her shoulders was a thick, expensive-looking cloak made of white cotton and blue leather, slightly tattered from the elements yet retaining its regal aura. That cloak is likely from Earth, brought here like the uniforms they wore when being transported here.
Kaiser felt his heart sink. Of all people, Hazie had been the one to find him. And not only had she found him, but she had been *stripping him*.
The universe had given him a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be undressed by the literal dream girl of his youth… and he just wasted it.
Truely, what a shame.
'You idiot,' he cursed himself.
His sad, forlorn gaze of a lost man was not an act anymore. No, this was genuine despair. He admired Hazie’s brilliance, her achievements, her beauty—just like every other guy had. However, truthfully speaking, he had never held any deep feelings for her. It was more like an unattainable admiration from afar like one would feel for an unreachable brilliant star, or awe to a celebrity. Still, the absurdity of being stripped by someone so unattainable amused him. Or at least, it *would have*, if he weren’t such a colossal screw-up.
The silence between them grew unbearably thick until Hazie, cool and composed as always, broke it.
She calmly reached for the buttons of his black jacket and fastened them back up, as if what she had been doing moments ago wasn’t at all strange. Her movements were confident and efficient, her expression betraying none of the embarrassment Kaiser felt radiating from every pore. It's as if she put on her usual mask for others to see, confident, elegant, a bit impassive and commanding, differ to the one Kai heard mumbling to herself when his acting unconscious.
“You’re alive,” she said, her voice smooth and steady, though there was a faint note of relief in her tone. “That’s a relief. I thought I lost you there for a second…”
She paused, then smiled—a smile so disarming it made Kaiser’s heart skip a beat. But also wary.
“Kaiser.”
Her voice lingered on his name like a melody, and he could do nothing but stare, still caught somewhere between disbelief and mortification.
He frowned in confusion.