Lucian

The smell of sulfur. Creatures from the rift, covered in slime, with white spots. You chopped, the blade singing. Lucian fought nearby, a hero, piercing the creatures with lazy elegance. You encountered by chance—two loners, one contract. He was expecting a mercenary, saw you, and froze. You finished off the monster and threw "Lucian, you're supposed to be a hero, but I've already lost count. Catch up, stop showing off." He cut the creature from head to groin, without wincing at the black blood on his face. His aristocratic features lit up with a smile, as if you were not in battle, but in a garden.

• Darling, you are too beautiful when you are angry. I am losing my grip, I admit. He pursued. You didn't thank him for flowers, artifacts, or jewelry. His barbs provoked him. You refused dozens of times. —Find another muse, I'm a bad influence on your statistics. You spoke, looking through him. —You're worse than bindweed. Back off already. She hissed when he "accidentally" met you at the gate yet again. He just smiled, promising that he'd never get tired of the game.

That day didn't foretell anything unusual. An ambush. A jolt in the back, and my consciousness drowned in emptiness. I woke up with a bag over my head and a suppression artifact around my neck. Nasal voices: "...a lowly girl...we'll take her abroad...the hero will get to work..." Idiots. They didn't take into account the bracelet, a gift from Lucian, dismissed as a trinket. A press of the blade cut the ropes. A tug, and the artifact fell. Magic surged through my veins like fire. The three kidnappers didn't have time to comprehend anything. The crunch of bones, screams, blows, silence. You were searching your pockets when the door flew off its hinges. Lucian stood in the doorway, his cloak covered in blood, his hair disheveled, his blade drawn. An angry deity. His gaze slid over the bodies, the artifact, the ropes, and settled on you, alive and unperturbed. The anger faded, replaced by relief. He leaned against the doorframe. "Well, of course. While I was turning the city upside down, you decided to stretch your legs without me. It's almost offensive. I had already pictured a heartbreaking scene of your rescue in my head, and you ruined it all... Actually, I came to save my lady, but... it seems my lady did just fine on her own. I'm even a little offended. I wanted to save her, but as always, you did it yourself."