Watching the genuine smile bloom on Elara's face again, Cassian's deep, gentle blue eyes seemed to light up as well, shimmering with a soft glow.
He leaned slightly in Elara's direction, his body tilting just enough to close the distance between them without seeming overly forward. He lowered his voice, which now carried a unique, magnetic quality, as rich and pleasant as a cello:
"Come a little closer, I'll show you... a firework."
A firework?
Elara's heart stirred for no reason. In this gray and white apocalyptic world, the word "firework" seemed so distant, so... unreal. But coming from Cassian's lips, it held a strange, convincing magic.
Her eyes brightened slightly, and driven by curiosity, she unconsciously leaned a little closer to Cassian.
Seraph, sitting on the other side, took it all in. She shot the two of them a meaningful glance, a knowing smile touching her lips, which she quickly suppressed. She turned her gaze back to the window, pretending she hadn't noticed anything, just intently admiring the monotonous snowy landscape.
Cassian slowly raised his hand, placing his well-defined, long, and strong hand gently between himself and Elara.
Elara's gaze was involuntarily drawn to his hand. His nails were neatly trimmed and clean, the tips rounded with a healthy, pale pink hue.
As Elara stared at his fingertips, she suddenly felt her short, ear-length hair being gently pulled by an invisible force, floating up slightly.
At the same time, from Cassian's fingertips, silvery-blue threads of lightning, as fine as a spider's web, began to emanate from thin air!
The tiny currents didn't crackle or pop; instead, they were exceptionally quiet. They spread out slowly from the center of his fingertips in all directions, intertwining and weaving together, finally forming a small, quietly blooming flower made of pure electric light.
Elara's eyes widened slightly at the fantastical and beautiful scene before her.
It truly was... a small firework blooming on his fingertips. It had no brilliant colors, no deafening sound, only the pure, silvery-blue electric light, blooming quietly and gently in the dim light of the vehicle, so beautiful it was intoxicating.
After fully blooming, the small electric firework detached from Cassian's fingertips and, like a living dandelion seed, floated slowly and gently towards Elara.
However, a hundred different emotions were now churning in Elara's heart.
Water and lightning dual abilities…
From her ten years of experience in the apocalypse in her past life, she knew of only one ability user who possessed these two seemingly conflicting but actually complementary powers, and who could wield them with such exquisite, powerful skill. A protector who had "coincidentally" saved her a few times, whose identity she never knew… but he had been low-key and gloomy.
Elara stared at the firework in a daze, lost in memory, unable to connect the gentle, even… overly tender Cassian before her with that man.
Seeing Elara staring blankly at the electric firework floating towards her without reaching out to catch it, Cassian thought she was hesitant or afraid.
He leaned in again, even closer, but still maintained a gentlemanly and polite distance. The unique scent from him, a blend of high-end woody notes and an oceanic fragrance, drifted over faintly, like a warm sea breeze gently enveloping Elara.
"Don't be afraid, it's very gentle," he said, his voice laced with a reassuring smile. "You can hold it in your palm. Do you want it?"
As he spoke, he moved his fingertips slightly. A clear stream of water appeared from nowhere and, like the gentlest cradle, softly enveloped the small electric firework, then slowly delivered it to Elara's palm.
The moment the water-encased "electric firework" landed in her palm, Elara snapped back to reality. She felt a tingling, extremely light sensation in her palm, as if a fluffy little animal was gently tickling her with its soft tail.
The feeling was strange and… interesting.
Elara finally couldn't help but reveal a vivid smile, but she suppressed her laughter. After all, this was the first time Cassian had shown his abilities; he probably didn't want to reveal his hand just yet.
Elara suppressed her laughter, quickly turning her head to pretend to look out the window, but her slightly shaking shoulders still betrayed her mood. The movement caused a soft tuft of her brown hair at the back of her head to stubbornly stick up, swaying in the air like a mischievous little antenna.
Watching that playful tuft of hair, Cassian felt as if a certain spot in his heart was being gently tickled along with it. His fingers… itched.
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn't resist. He quietly reached out and, with his fingertips, ever so gently, smoothed down the soft brown lock. His touch was light, a careful, tentative exploration, as if afraid of startling her.
Elara's spatial abilities gave her a preternatural sensitivity to the slightest changes in her surroundings. The moment Cassian's warm fingertips touched her hair, she was clearly aware of it.
But she pretended not to notice, maintaining her posture of gazing out the window. However, her honey-colored eyes, reflecting the pure white snowscape outside, couldn't help but curve into two crescents, full of sweetness and amusement.
And Cassian, likewise, pretended he hadn't seen the reflection of Elara's crescent-moon eyes in the window glass. He nonchalantly pulled his hand back, the soft touch of her hair seemingly lingering on his fingertips. But his slightly reddened ears betrayed the faint trace of embarrassment and… hidden nervousness within him.
Seraph, sitting on the other side, took it all in, feeling her own heart soften at the sweet, innocent interaction between these two.
"Oh my god, how can two people be so pure!" she thought with an inward laugh. Deciding not to be a third wheel any longer, she turned around and started cheerfully teasing Vespera, who was sitting cross-legged in the trunk area, diligently practicing and familiarizing herself with her new abilities.
For this mission, anticipating potential danger, Amily hadn't come along, staying behind in the relative safety of the villa. Initially, she had been full of worry about letting Vespera go out to fight alone. But Vespera had shown unprecedented insistence. The feeling of taking her own destiny into her hands, of fighting and protecting her companions with her own strength, brought an unparalleled sense of satisfaction and… fulfillment to her heart, which had been forced into early maturity and suppressed by her disability and the apocalypse.
As the vehicle continued towards the more remote suburban areas, the intermittent distress call on Zephyr's military signal receiver grew clearer.
At the same time, the scenery outside began to change bizarrely.
In a world of white, monotonous snow, a vast, abrupt patch of vibrant, flourishing green appeared without warning at the edge of their vision. It was… a "forest" that had appeared out of thin air! The trees were a bizarre mix of species—some resembled towering ancient trees from a tropical rainforest, others looked like temperate coniferous trees. They grew together in a chaotic, unnatural manner, forming a massive green barrier that stretched across the road ahead.
Elara looked at the strange forest and took a deep breath.
It seemed likely… that this inexplicable, danger-filled "forest" was what was blocking the military support team.
Just then, Jorah, who had been sitting in the passenger seat, somewhat idle now that he no longer had to fear the undead, suddenly stared out at the verdant forest with a dazed expression. A look of confusion and… longing crossed his face.
He subconsciously reached out his hand, as if wanting to touch the green expanse, and murmured to himself, "I don't know why… but I feel… a very strong pull from over there…"