'Uh…'
A man's groan was heard from inside a room, within another room, within a cave, within a hill, and within a small island.
"Oh, he is waking up!" Lysandra called out to her cutest daughter, Elara, and then went inside the cave.
Elara quickly chased after her mother in a hurry. She had been waiting for the last two days for the human boy to wake up and say 'something' to her for rescuing him. A 'thank you' would be enough to brighten her day for the next couple of weeks—no, maybe months—no, maybe the next few years!
Elara was very excited and also very worried for the human, as he had not woken up at all in the last two days. Lysandra had told her not to worry, but even then, Elara had visited the boy at least 24 times per day. Well, she was that free, anyway.
Lysandra could see Elara's enthusiasm clearly and could only sigh with melancholy in her heart… Daughters would eventually leave their mothers for their lovers. This was a tragedy all mothers had to share.
Lysandra and Elara went in, but Eric was still groaning.
Elara moved a chair beside the bed and asked worriedly while staring at the boy, "Why is he only making painful noises? Is he in a lot of pain? Why don't we feed him some more elixir?"
Lysandra, who half-sat and half-leaned on a cupboard behind her—directly below Eric's feet—rolled her eyes at how her daughter was so worried about a boy that she didn't even glance back at her mother and demanded rare elixirs just to reduce the pain of a mortal human boy.
She sighed once again in her heart. Indeed, daughters were meant to backstab their mothers after growing up. This was her destiny.
Just as Lysandra was about to tell Elara not to worry, Eric woke up.
His closed eyelids trembled a few times, and then he slowly lifted them.
Elara's vibrant green eyes gleamed with joy and excitement. "Oh… He's awake!" she whispered with a hint of deep anticipation in her tone.
Lysandra rolled her eyes once again and glared at the waking-up 'Prince Charming' of her daughter's in annoyance.
But the moment the boy's eyes opened, Lysandra's heart suddenly shook violently. Her eyes snapped wide open, her pupils narrowing like thin needles.
Lysandra knew exactly what had just happened, as in her thousands of years of living, this had only occurred six times before—this being the seventh. But all the previous six times had been toward people who were already well-acknowledged Master Ranks by then.
Among them, one had already reached similar heights as her, and two others were still a few steps behind. But sadly, the other three had disappeared into thin air… She could guess what might have happened to them, but she was helpless to do anything.
Leaving the past aside, this was her first time—no, more importantly, how was this even possible for a mortal to trigger her instinct so clearly? This was like knowing the taste of an unknown fruit long before it was even born—or rather, before the tree had even grown!
Totally inconceivable and impossible—she must be hallucinating!
Lysandra checked again and again, and her pupils could only tremble with shock each time.
She wasn't hallucinating.
Lysandra was completely speechless and stood stiff for an unknown amount of time.
Eventually, she turned very emotional and even remorseful.
'Why now, Celestia? Why? Why so late…?'
She felt very unjust in her heart.
The world didn't have such a long time for a young person to sprout and then grow.
'So why… why…'
Lysandra just stood there with a dazed expression.
Similar to her mother, Elara was also startled the moment Eric opened his eyes—but for a completely different reason.
Her anticipated smile froze completely stiff…
After Eric opened his eyes, he blinked a couple of times, and what he saw left him completely speechless.
Two eternal beauties were staring at him…
Eric quickly understood that he must have already perished, and because the death mistress was busy napping, two angels had arrived to pick him up.
As Eric lay on a bed with his back slightly propped up—like a hospital bed—his eyes first fell directly on the figure below his feet.
Sitting on furniture, or something like it, was a gorgeous MILF wearing freaking white lingerie and nothing else! She had long green hair and eyes, but she seemed frozen, staring at him blankly.
Eric wasn't sure why this MILF was wearing such a shameless dress. And it was definitely not a bikini!
Perhaps the heavens had a new policy update that he wasn't aware of. But this lady was definitely the most beautiful adult woman he had ever seen—except she looked scary for some unknown reason.
'Hm, maybe because of her ears? Long ears?'
Eric felt he had seen similar ears recently. Maybe it was another new heavenly policy update he still didn't know about?
But he felt quite distasteful internally—he preferred hell more. Heaven was for hypocrites, miserable do-gooders. He belonged in hell!
At this moment, something within him strongly drew his attention toward the girl sitting on a wooden chair beside the bed he was lying on.
This girl was seated in a graceful posture with a gentle smile—which now seemed frozen.
Eric, who had just turned toward Elara, was similarly thunderstruck. It was like a horrifyingly lethal arrow had penetrated right into his—
This fair-skinned, gorgeous young girl was probably around his age. She had vibrant, bright green, short, slightly wavy hair. Her skin was doll-like, her eyes large, expressive, and light green—almost luminous—matching her hair. She had a natural blush on her cheeks and also long, pointed ears that suited her perfectly.
She was wearing a delicate, light-colored dress—white with a floral pattern. A floral crown adorned her head, resting among her beautiful green hair. She also wore a necklace with small, light-colored floral designs.
Too many flowers!
But none of this horrified Eric.
Gazing at this absolute beauty—who had an innocent and cute vibe—Eric felt an extremely pleasant sensation explode inside his heart and spread throughout his body.
Eric's mouth and eyebrow started twitching.
He knew this feeling well—and where it was coming from. He had experienced it three times in his past life and remembered it vividly!
The first time had been when he'd gone to the countryside for a week to attend a relative's wedding. There were many people, and suddenly, on a certain day, he'd come across a girl while moving around. The moment they'd glanced at each other, it was as if a nuclear explosion had occurred—the world suddenly brightened with colorful hues. He'd been barely 13 or 14 back then.
The girl had been of a similar age, and both had halted for a moment—as if time had stopped—both staring into each other's eyes. But Eric had quickly come to his senses and moved on.
Yes, he'd been a coward!
Well, a little shy, too. Back then, he'd considered himself a 'badass,' 'arrogant' young master—he wouldn't talk to any unknown girl!
The girl had been one of the most naturally beautiful people he'd ever seen in his life on Earth—though most hilariously, later, he'd gone to her house with some relatives and learned she was his long-lost cousin…
But the girl had still secretly passed him her phone number while shaking hands as he was leaving. And of course—as an 'arrogant,' 'naive,' and 'badass' young master—he'd never called her.
He'd thought she lived too far away—at least two days' journey by car or train—and besides, she was his cousin. Even if the blood relation was distant.
Next time, around one or two years later, he had to go to another house, not far from his, to get some medicine for his parents. When he arrived, a similar 'Thunder rumbled,' 'Earth trembled' event happened. Both stopped and stared at each other blankly by the door, but quickly snapped out of it, and she let him in.
He got the 'package' after some small talk with her mother. While leaving, he similarly had a new phone number in his palm.
Eric back then truly didn't know whether to laugh or cry—what was with the phone number being passed through handshakes?
He felt the heavens were mocking him: "You little bastard, you refused to go into a long-distance relationship, so how's this!? Less than half a kilometer away from your house!"
Of course, Eric back then believed that going against the heavens was what a "man" should do. So, of course, he didn't call that number...
This was also why young girls often sought mature lovers instead of boys their age. Same-age boys were often dumb, but mature men knew how to 'hit' them in the proper location to score 'critical hits.'
The last one was shorter. He went to a new school during his late high school years—it was a big school. Similarly, a 'Thunder struck, Earth danced' event occurred. Another top beauty—or rather, the top beauty of that school.
While both stayed dazed, the 'phew phew' girl took the chance to shoot her arrows into both young fools' hearts.
But Eric was one of the rude 'bad boys' in his young adult years. Though he used to 'play' some naughty games with female friends, he wasn't the kind to initiate conversations with unknown girls.
Perhaps something might have happened, but Eric hardly attended that school and ditched most of his classes. After half a year, due to circumstances, he had to switch schools again.
So, goodbye!
Basically, all three events were mutual 'love at first sight.'
These were the three 'major' events Eric remembered—of course, there were some 'minor' ones too... ahem, ahem.
But after growing up, he was glad he hadn't pursued any long-term relationships. He had seen too many 'romantic' relationships worldwide, and very few couples stayed happy throughout. Meanwhile, he had been happy being single his entire life—though he never truly lacked female 'companionship.'
What made Eric tremble now was that the 'phew-phew' lady was back with her mischief!
He could clearly feel the world brightening; the star seemed generous, casting its light around them. His heart thumped loudly in his chest, whispering that he had found 'the one.'
Of course, how many 'ones' existed in the world? Only 'Mr. Heart' would likely know...
Eric was no naive child to be fooled by Mr. Heart's excitement, Ms. Star's generosity, or the OLED HDR settings in his eyes. But nonetheless...
This feeling was too pleasant!
His body warmed in an overwhelmingly sweet way, his vision turning soft and hazy—everything became unbearably sweet...
Elara, on the other hand, was equally stunned. It wasn't the boy's handsome looks or striking blue eyes, which held an inexplicable, magical pull. Those didn't matter—she had seen countless beautiful boys and girls back home. Elves were among the most beautiful races, though other races had their specialties. It wasn't his appearance, yet she couldn't logically understand what was happening—nor did she want to.
At this moment, she felt... irrevocably in love. A deep yearning, an eagerness to spend her life with him—to follow him anywhere, do anything for him, share every moment, and never be separated. For now, she just didn't want to remove her eyes from him—forever, if possible.
And so, both new lovebirds stared at each other, not even wishing to look elsewhere, away from each other's eyes.