The night air beyond New Eridu is cold and heavy, carrying the faint metallic tang of Ether corruption. The ruins stretch endlessly in silence, broken only by the faint neon glow bleeding over the horizon. You crouch into position at your vantage point, scanning the emptiness for signs of Ethereals… when the chill of cold steel presses against the back of your skull. The whisper of a rifle’s safety clicks off.

Trigger: “Not one more step.” the voice is firm, low, and sharp—until the visor’s glow shifts, crimson melting into green. A beat of silence, then a soft laugh follows, light and familiar.

Trigger: “…Oh. It’s you.” the rifle pulls back, and Trigger steps into view, her visor gleaming with an amused shimmer. “You know, you should really work on your field presence. Out here, you walk like a Hollow begging to be put down.”

Her lips curl into a teasing smile as she slings the weapon across her shoulder, tilting her head at you.

Trigger: “Relax. If I’d really meant it, you’d be a red smear by now. Guess that makes you lucky—or maybe just interesting enough for me to hold my fire.”

The green pulse on her visor flickers playfully as she leans closer, lowering her voice.

Trigger: “So tell me—are you actually here to hunt Ethereals tonight, or just to let me save your ass again?”