Elemental Magnetic Star

Chapter 177 Stars Illuminate

Surviving in such a harsh environment, maintaining balance while coexisting with the abyssal alien forms, Flame Wave had thought he had grown to a certain height, far beyond what he used to be.

However, it was only when he had to confront the monster, the Whisker Whale, face-to-face that he realized how insignificant he was. So insignificant that his every move was trivial in the eyes of the other, like a parasite; not to mention being directly looked at, the creature didn't even need to open its eyes.

The Whisker Whale probably kept its eyes closed all year round. Flame Wave once thought that monsters growing in the dark didn't need eyes, so he never distinguished its head from its tail. Until one day, a beam of light, sharp as a knife's edge, pierced through the long-standing gloom, appearing suddenly in the dim space.

This peculiar phenomenon immediately caught Flame Wave's attention. He had been desperately searching for an exit without success, and any change was the greatest opportunity. Perhaps, just maybe, Raina Grace was right in that change?

The light seemed close at hand but was actually very far from where Flame Wave was. He controlled a parasite and headed towards the direction of the light beam, taking a long time to finally arrive. During this period, the light beam extinguished many times, or rather, the times it truly shone were few and far between, only occasionally and for a very short duration. If one wasn't paying close attention, it would be easy to miss.

It wasn't until he approached the source of the light that Flame Wave began to understand what it was. It looked like a huge volcanic crater, but a volcano's eruption would emit lava, not light. It was only when the "volcanic crater" closed that Flame Wave ventured to explore and guessed that this might be the Whisker Whale's eye—its only eye.

When the eye opened, it resembled a huge volcanic crater, but without lava eruption. Sometimes it was a direct surge of snow-white light beams, and at other times, it was like a deep lake, sparkling, swallowing all light.

When the eye closed, the edges of the eye socket were hard as rock. As it moved, layers of skin would slowly push outwards until a huge gap opened. This process had no pattern, sometimes lasting a long time, other times quick and sudden.

When the eye opened and the light burst forth instantly, it was like the sun rising, illuminating everything around it brightly and clearly. The eye displayed a dazzling orange-red color, like magma, with intense light, projecting into the sky and turning white, which was the color Flame Wave saw from afar.

At certain moments, the opened eye could also remain relatively calm, showing a deep dark blue, like the stars in the night sky flickering in and out of sight.

However, once, when its eye showed a lake-like deep blue, like the deep sea swallowing all light, it held endless mystery and depth. It also contained a crystal-clear texture, as if embedded with countless gems, each radiating a soft, gentle light.

In the gleam of these gentle lights, Flame Wave discovered the figure of Raina Grace. She seemed to float in the water, gracefully dancing like a blooming flower, freely and unrestrictedly floating in this gem-like deep blue. Her bright and clear eyes smiled at him through the deep blue water.

This scene was like a wonderful dream, and Flame Wave felt he had fallen into a mysterious magic, unsure if this was a reminiscence of the past or truly Raina Grace, unsure if this was an illusion or reality. Yet, he preferred to believe this moment was a miracle; he was close to Raina Grace, and she was waiting for him in this dream-like deep blue world.

As long as there was a sliver of possibility, even if it was a miracle, Flame Wave had endless patience to wait until the day he became divine.

Every opening and closing of the Whisker Whale's eye was like the rhythm of a universe, with mystery and the unknown being played out and extinguished between its opening and closing. This eye seemed to be the ruler of the abyss, as well as the guardian of endless mysteries.

And a mere mortal, trapped in endless darkness, dared to attempt to capture the Whisker Whale's thoughts from the glimpses of deep blue light seen by chance, to understand the mysteries of the abyss? No, he might have no capability to challenge the Whisker Whale, to challenge an intelligence he knew nothing about.

But if Raina Grace was behind that unknown, if the secrets of the abyss were closely related to her, whether to become divine or demonic, or to let go of everything, he was willing to become a devout pilgrim, approaching the final outcome with humble reverence.

So when she walked out of the light, traversing mountains and rivers, the entire universe, in a lifetime, and finally returned to his side, it was like a meteor crossing the night, illuminating all the stars in his heart, making him fearless in this vast chaos from then on.

For Raina Grace, it was truly traversing mountains and rivers and the cosmic wilderness in a short time. Although the journey was full of hardships, seeing Flame Wave at the end of the journey was like the greatest reward and miracle.

The Whisker Whale began to slowly close its eye, and the beam of light under Raina Grace's feet gradually disappeared. Flame Wave was startled, falling into a moment of confusion, as if everything that had just happened was a dream, and he was about to be engulfed in darkness again.

In the instant when his consciousness returned to reality, driven by some burst of strength, he leaped to a place he had struggled to reach with all his schemes and efforts before, recklessly throwing himself at Raina Grace, catching her trembling body in his arms.

Feeling the warm, intimate touch in his embrace, he held onto the body he had longed for day and night, then closed his eyes tightly, to stop the unstoppable tears, afraid that the illusion would shatter.

"Hey, did you come looking for me?" Raina Grace caressed Flame Wave's face, her smile brimming.

"Yes," Flame Wave replied softly, afraid to disturb the dream-like happiness in front of him, "If I didn't come looking for you, would you not have come back?"

"I'm sorry for making you worry," Raina Grace apologized, "It was an accident. And I came back quickly, didn't I? What's wrong with your eyes, are you hurt?"

"Quickly?" Despite not wanting to break the warmth of the moment, Flame Wave was still hurt by Raina Grace's casual mention of departure. He opened his eyes, "You call this quickly? If you hadn't come back, I would have aged."

Raina Grace laughed at Flame Wave's jest, "You're already over a hundred years old, how much older could you get in a hundred more days?"

"A hundred days?" Flame Wave couldn't laugh, "You count the days you were away in days?"

"Isn't that so?" Raina Grace didn't understand why Flame Wave was so serious. Wasn't this supposed to be a day of joy? "Actually, I exaggerated a bit. It wasn't even a hundred days because the food color pills you gave me couldn't last a hundred days."

"What? You mean you've been sustaining yourself on food color pills alone, without any other source of food?" Flame Wave couldn't believe it unless Raina Grace was telling the truth and she had only experienced a few dozen days.

"Yes. Really, those food color pills saved me, or else I might have..." Raina Grace didn't finish, just leaning into Flame Wave's chest. Without the food color pills Flame Wave had prepared for her, they might not have been able to reunite. How regrettable that would have been.

Flame Wave was frightened, holding Raina Grace tightly, his voice filled with disbelief, "But, I've spent ten years here..."