The forest outside Solmere was quiet.
Not empty.
Alive.
Sunlight filtered gently through the canopy overhead, painting shifting gold patterns across the ground while distant birdsong drifted through the trees.
Zee walked slowly beside Jax along the narrow trail, hands folded behind her back.
Unlike Bunny, she didn't bounce.
Unlike Nyxian, she didn't fill silence for the sake of hearing herself speak.
And unlike Llandra—
she never seemed to need control of a room.
Zee simply… existed softly inside it.
Jax noticed things about her when it was just the two of them.
The way she hummed quietly when she was relaxed.
The way her eyes wandered toward flowers growing near the path.
The faint warmth around her body whenever sunlight touched her skin directly.
Eventually they reached a small clearing.
Open sky.
Soft grass.
A shallow stream nearby.
Zee smiled immediately.
"I like this place."
Jax nodded.
"It feels peaceful."
"…Safe," Zee corrected quietly.
That word lingered.
Jax sat beside her beneath the shade of a large tree while she slowly pulled up her system window.
Translucent panels appeared between them.
"I haven't chosen my skills yet either," she admitted.
Jax smiled faintly.
"You waited for me too?"
Zee looked slightly embarrassed.
"…Maybe."
The skill list expanded.
Healing skills dominated most of the options:
restoration
cleansing
recovery amplification
protective barriers
Then Zee hesitated.
"There's another category though."
She selected it carefully.
The screen shifted.
Advanced Chi Circulation.
Living Chi Mantle.
Chi Disruption Strike.
Sacred Conversion.
Jax blinked.
"…Chi?"
Zee nodded slowly.
"It feels different than mana."
"How?"
She thought about the question carefully.
"Mana feels external," she said softly.
"Like asking the world for help."
Her fingers lightly touched her chest.
"Chi feels internal. Alive. Personal."
Jax studied the descriptions beside her.
Battle healing.
Life-force reinforcement.
Physical enhancement.
Disruption techniques.
A healer becoming harder to kill.
Interesting.
Then Zee selected her Legendary option.
LEGENDARY SKILL:
SANCTUM OF THE LIVING
A domain anchored to the caster's will.
Allies within its influence receive amplified healing, resistance to death effects, and delayed fatal damage.
Jax slowly exhaled.
"…Zee."
She looked over nervously.
"That's one of the strongest support abilities I've seen."
Relief softened her shoulders slightly.
"I thought maybe it was too defensive."
"No," Jax replied immediately.
"It changes battlefields."
He leaned closer toward the screen.
"This turns entire fights into wars of attrition your enemies can't win."
Zee smiled faintly.
"I liked it because…"
She hesitated.
"…people survive."
The simplicity of the answer hit harder than expected.
Jax nodded slowly.
"That tracks."
Silence settled comfortably between them again.
Eventually Zee spoke more quietly.
"In my homeland… they called people like me Solaris."
Jax listened carefully.
"At first we were celebrated."
Her expression grew distant.
"We healed sickness. Helped crops grow. Protected villages."
Then her voice dimmed.
"But eventually… people stopped seeing us as people."
Jax already knew where this was going.
"They saw resources."
Zee nodded once.
"When disasters happened… stronger Solaris were expected to sacrifice more."
Her fingers tightened slightly together.
"More healing. More life force. More of ourselves."
Jax felt irritation stirring quietly in his chest.
"They said light exists to burn itself away for others."
Zee laughed softly afterward.
Not because it was funny.
Because she'd heard it too many times.
"I ran away before they could decide how much of me belonged to everyone else."
Jax was quiet for several seconds.
Then finally:
"…Good."
Zee blinked.
Jax looked at her calmly.
"You should've run."
Something in her expression softened immediately hearing that.
No judgment.
No disappointment.
No expectation.
Just certainty.
They continued reviewing skills together afterward.
Living Chi Mantle offered passive reinforcement and durability.
Pulse of Renewal amplified group sustain.
Radiant Conduit allowed healing to chain through allies.
Chi Disruption Strike intrigued Jax the most.
"You realize this lets you interrupt healing and mana flow in enemies?"
Zee nodded slowly.
"I know."
"You'd be able to stop people from recovering."
"I know."
No hesitation this time.
Jax studied her carefully.
"You're okay with that?"
Zee looked down toward the stream nearby.
"For a long time…" she said softly, "…I thought being kind meant never hurting anyone."
Her eyes lifted back toward him.
"But if someone threatens people I love…"
Warm sunlight reflected softly in her green eyes.
"…then I want the strength to stop them."
Jax smiled faintly.
"That sounds healthy, honestly."
That earned a tiny laugh from her.
Eventually the choices finalized:
Sanctum of the Living
Advanced Chi Circulation
Living Chi Mantle
Pulse of Renewal
Radiant Conduit
A healer.
But no longer a helpless one.
Zee hovered her hand over confirmation.
Then paused.
"…Jax?"
"Yeah?"
"If I become stronger…"
She hesitated.
"…will I still feel like me?"
The question caught him off guard.
Not because it was dramatic—
but because it was honest.
Jax answered immediately.
"Zee."
She looked at him.
"You're choosing your own path for the first time in your life."
His voice stayed calm.
Steady.
"That doesn't make you less yourself."
A faint warmth gathered in her eyes.
"…Okay."
She confirmed the selections.
The world around them brightened slightly.
Not explosively.
Not violently.
Warmly.
Soft golden light gathered around Zee's body while mana and chi began weaving together naturally beneath her skin.
The air itself felt calmer somehow.
Safer.
Jax watched quietly as the glow settled around her like living sunlight.
Then Zee opened her eyes.
They shimmered faintly now.
Not bright.
Not overwhelming.
Enduring.
Jax smiled.
"There you are."
Zee tilted her head slightly.
"…There I am?"
"Not a sacrifice."
The warmth in her eyes deepened immediately.
Jax leaned back against the tree afterward, relaxed.
"So."
Zee folded her hands in her lap.
"So?"
"You're now a terrifying combat medic."
She blinked.
"…That sounds aggressive."
"You can literally deny death now."
"…Oh."
Jax grinned.
"You're basically a very cute war crime."
Zee stared at him for two full seconds—
then burst into laughter.
Real laughter.
Bright.
Unrestrained.
Completely unguarded.
Jax laughed too almost immediately afterward.
When the laughter finally faded, Zee leaned gently against his shoulder.
Comfortable.
Warm.
Peaceful.
Neither of them spoke for a while after that.
The forest carried the silence naturally.
Eventually Jax glanced down toward her.
"So what does the newly evolved Solaris want to do with the rest of her day?"
Zee thought carefully.
Then smiled softly.
"…Can we just stay here a little longer?"
Jax rested comfortably against the tree beside her.
"Yeah," he said quietly.
"We can do that."