CHAPTER 19: CH 19: SECOND RESCUE - PART 1

Berry’s throat tightened as he stared at the half-buried figure in the snow. His mind raced in circles.

’A person... out here? Frozen like this? What do we do?’

"Lucian... what should we do?"

Berry’s voice cracked, panic rising in his chest. His arms trembled as though the weight of the scrap he carried had suddenly doubled.

Lucian didn’t answer immediately. His sharp eyes lingered on the still body, then he exhaled slowly, steady as ever.

Without hesitation, he crouched down and brushed away the last of the snow from the figure’s face. His gloved hand hovered near their lips.

A faint puff of air touched his fingertips.

"They’re breathing."

Lucian said evenly, his tone calm against Berry’s rising fear.

Berry sagged with relief, a shaky exhale leaving him.

He immediately set down the load of parts he had been carrying, his eyes flickering between the frozen figure and the pile of scrap. His chest tightened with a cruel realization: this was a choice.

On one hand, the gears, metals, and broken machinery Lucian had dragged from the junkyard were essential.

Berry had learned enough these past few days to know that Lucian’s "reactor" wasn’t just a pet project.

It was hope—hope for warmth, for survival, maybe even for restoring some kind of future to the wasteland. Without these parts, progress would stall.

But on the other hand... he looked down at the pale face in the snow. A child. Their eyelashes were coated with frost, lips cracked and blue.

Every shallow breath looked like it might be the last.

Berry’s stomach twisted.

’If we leave her, she won’t survive another hour.’

His moral side screamed at him to act. To save her.

But the practical side—the side that had grown sharper after working under Lucian—whispered that abandoning the reactor parts would delay everything.

What was one life compared to the survival of many?

His hands clenched into fists.

"Damn it..."

Lucian’s sharp gaze flicked up at him. He didn’t say a word, but he didn’t need to. Berry’s dilemma was written across his face.

For a moment, Lucian simply observed him in silence. Then he straightened, brushing snow from his gloves.

His eyes were cold, detached, as though he had already decided to let fate take its course.

That was when it happened.

Ding!

The system’s mechanical chime rang sharply in Lucian’s head, cutting through the icy wind.

[System Notice: Warning! The protagonist’s future party member is in critical condition.]

[If left unattended, depression value for the protagonist will increase drastically.]

[Mission Objective: Prevent negative outcome. Secure the individual’s survival.]

Lucian’s jaw tightened. His calm expression didn’t falter, but his mind stirred with irritation. Of course the system wouldn’t let him ignore this.

It was always like this—pushing him, forcing his hand when he’d rather walk away.

He sighed, long and tired, his breath fogging the air.

"Tch. Figures."

Berry blinked at him, confused. "What?"

Lucian waved him off.

"Put the parts in that hollow tree trunk. We’ll come back for them later."

He gestured toward the side of the clearing, where a thick, gnarled tree stood with its bark split open by age.

Berry hesitated, his brows knitting.

"But... Lucian, these parts—"

"Do it. The kid won’t last if we waste time arguing."

Lucian snapped, his tone firm.

For a beat, Berry froze.

Then, slowly, relief washed over him. He knelt by the tree and carefully tucked the heavy scrap into the hollow, covering it with snow and branches until it blended with the forest floor.

When he stood again, his shoulders felt lighter—not just from setting down the weight, but from the decision itself.

"Alright. Let’s save her."

Lucian crouched once more and carefully pulled the small body out of the snow. She was lighter than he expected, brittle, like a bird’s skeleton wrapped in too-thin flesh.

Her head lolled against his arm.

"Move. You carry her. I’ll lead."

Lucian ordered curtly, shifting the child into Berry’s arms.

Berry nodded firmly, cradling the frozen child against his chest as though shielding her from the wind could make a difference.

Together, they moved quickly through the snow, retracing their steps back to the clearing.

By the time they returned, the girl’s shallow breaths had grown weaker. Berry’s panic spiked again as he looked down at her pale face.

"She’s fading, Lucian—what do we do?"

Lucian was already moving.

"Don’t put her near the furnace."

Berry’s head snapped up.

"What? Why not? She’s freezing to death!"

"If you put her next to that heat, she’ll die faster. The shock will stop her heart. Use lukewarm water first. Gradually."

Lucian’s voice was sharp, certain. He grabbed a bucket and scooped snow into it, his movements quick.

Berry’s lips pressed into a thin line, but he obeyed. He set the girl gently on a makeshift cot and hurried to help.

Together, they melted the snow over a controlled flame, cooling it until the water was only warm to the touch.

Lucian dipped a cloth into the bucket and wrung it out. He pressed it carefully against the girl’s arms, her legs, her chest.

Slowly, methodically, he worked to coax life back into her.

Berry watched with tense eyes, his fists clenching as he waited for some sign, any sign that it was working.

Minutes dragged on. The water darkened as dirt and frost melted away, soaking into the cloth.

The girl’s skin flushed faintly, pink replacing the deathly blue. Her chest rose a little more strongly.

Berry let out a shaky laugh of relief.

"She’s... she’s coming back."

Lucian didn’t smile. He didn’t even look up. His eyes stayed fixed on the girl as he wrung out the cloth again.

"This isn’t over," he said quietly. "She’s alive, but she’s fragile. One mistake, and she won’t last the night."

Berry nodded quickly, determination hardening his face.

"Then we won’t make mistakes."

Lucian said nothing. But in his mind, the system’s chime echoed still, a constant reminder.

This wasn’t kindness. It wasn’t sentiment.

It was necessity.

Because in the tangled web of fate the system forced him to navigate, this half-frozen girl was more than a stranger.

She was a piece of the protagonist’s future.

And Lucian had no choice but to keep her alive.