Both souls were lost in the beauty of the instant, Kylie’s lips practically dissolving in Seth’s and his dissolving in hers.
She trembled for a split second before her arms crept up, cupping his neck, causing Seth’s muscles to clench.
All that raw potential power lay asleep in his arms, yet the gentleness behind his touch portrayed otherwise.
Dragging her even closer, almost consumed by the urge to become one.
A slow buzz hummed in the air, to the negligence of the couple, the bronze cells trembling from excitement.
The bronze sheen coated their silhouettes as the cells instantly entered a hyperactive state.
The same state Seth had once used to clear his class quest, the state that signaled the bronze cells were growing.
The gleam slowly solidified, as their primal instincts slowly overcame them.
Seth practically relinquished control, his hands slowly trailing down.
Kylie could feel this gentle trailing caress of his hands sinking lower, the press of him against her sending satisfying jolts up her spine.
His tongue pushed past the gates of her teeth and she welcomed it, her grip over him slowly growing tighter as her other hand dropped lower.
The instant was as delightful as it was exhilarating. Neither of the participants had ever experienced such... such a thrill.
Both being each other’s first kiss and now about to be more...
And just as Seth’s fingers poked into the rims of her pants, and her finger dragged down his abdomen dangerously close to his...
A mechanical whirr snapped both parties out of the instant. Seth’s head recoiled back, whipping toward the direction as screeching hisses of the metallic doors of the workshop parting followed.
Kylie stared hard at the man before her, her heart clenching in reluctance. This... she didn’t even know what was happening.
But she didn’t want it to stop. All her life, she never imagined she could feel so alive outside the world of her crafts.
This was the first man that made her feel this way. She didn’t care that they barely knew each other, but she knew right then and there all conflicts in her heart cleared — she was in love with him.
Suddenly, before the mechanical doors could fully part allowing whoever the interrupting evildoer was to step in, Seth turned back, his gaze meeting hers.
She still remained wrapped in his embrace and he in hers.
Meeting his bold gaze that held no remorse, only reluctance, finally some modicum of shame seemed to catch up to Kylie.
A rush of red crept up her neck. She practically jumped out of his embrace, turning away shyly.
Leaving Seth to scratch his head awkwardly as he observed her bashful frame. Well shit! he cursed inwardly.
Now with all that was done, what was he to say? What was he to do?
One has to understand he was just as clueless as Kylie to this new experience. Should he say sorry?
But he wasn’t sorry... fuck me! he cursed again, his inexperience made the awkward silence ring loud to his psyche.
The door fully parted and a bespectacled young man in a lab coat strolled in, his head bent, focused on a tab in his grasp as he scrolled through complex diagrams of genetic structure.
Only a few seconds later did he seem to feel the awkward stark silence in the air. He looked up, his gaze in search of Kylie, and he found her — but who was the stranger beside her?
Seth met his gaze in silence, his outward composure masking his flustered mind. But in that instant both men posed the same question.
"Who are you?!" The chorus resonated, their voices overlapping the other’s.
Seth frowned, while the man’s brows raised. A second of silence ticked and both spoke at once, not relaying the same content this time though.
"Her partner!" the man proclaimed proudly, adjusting his glasses.
"None of your business!" Seth started coldly, folding his arms.
This time reactions flipped. Seth raised a brow, while the man frowned, visibly displeased...
Seth felt an instant threat as he scanned the man up and down.
Clear yellow eyes, with dark sleek short hair, and a delicate face of a scholar. His chin was bare, and his frame was quite tall — not taller than Seth, but definitely taller than Kylie.
As much as Seth would have loved to say otherwise, this lad was absurdly handsome. Seth would picture him as a type of ladies’ man back before the Origin descended.
A very dangerous threat? he registered, his guard rising. Which was quite strange, because the figure in question was at most a maxed‑stat Shackled Realm evolver.
Kylie finally seemed to gather her composure, erasing her earlier image as she finally turned to face the duo, still intentionally avoiding meeting Seth’s gaze.
Not because she was shy, but out of fear that those charming eyes of his would make her lose hold of the composure she had managed to gather.
Both turned to her at the same time, asking at once, their voices overlapping each other.
"Who’s he?!" both asked, pointing each other’s way.
The tension was rife as both parties seemed to perceive a threat of sorts out of one another.
Instead of answering right away, she greeted the bespectacled young man in a lab coat. "Victor, you’re here..."
She went straight to introducing both to one another, wearing an uneasy smile. "Victor, this is Seth." She introduced.
Then turning to Seth, "Seth, this is Victor... my project partner." She quickly introduced and clarified while avoiding meeting his eyes, her heart pounding.
The room once more sank into silence, both processing. Seth’s gaze narrowed. "You have a project partner?"
While the other guy turned to Seth with widened eyes, exclaiming, "Seth as in Seth Duskreaver?!"
Glancing between the two, she sighed, answering both with a single reply. "Yes."
Victor’s gaze widened even further, staring at Seth. Who didn’t know of Seth Duskreaver? Well, he did!
One of the strongest evolvers of the human race, a prized genetic specimen to a genetic engineer like himself.
But still... this guy, what is he looking for with Kylie? he thought inwardly.
But recalling the earlier atmosphere when he walked in, his heart skipped a bit. D‑don’t tell me they are lovers? That’s not possible, right?
Victor had long had a crush on Kylie, because who wouldn’t?
She was a godly genius, paired with the beauty of a goddess, and her brilliant mind. She was exactly the type of woman he wanted in his life.
But if someone like Seth Duskreaver was interested in her...
No! There’s no way she will fall in love with a warrior. A brilliant mind like hers would only be attracted to a fellow brilliant mind! he declared inwardly... well, it was less of a declaration and more of a self‑convincing statement.
Meanwhile, Seth, still frowning, decided to just waive the matter. Kylie could have a project partner for all he cared, but she was still his!
He didn’t know where the confidence stemmed from, but he was so sure of this. In the end he came here for a reason, and this was the right opportunity to bring it up.
Turning back to Kylie, he wanted to speak, but realized he didn’t know what to call her.
Would calling her by her name be rude? After what just happened?
But if he called her so intimately, wouldn’t that be worse? They weren’t official yet. He had not even taken her out for a single date.
If not for the irresistible force of attraction that existed between them, outside that they had yet to establish a proper relationship!
In the end he decided to call her by name. "Kylie." He called, causing her to respond instinctively, meeting his gaze from which he caught a subtle hint of disappointment.
"I came to check on the bronze cell assimilation process. How did it go?"
Kylie didn’t hesitate to reply. "It went smoothly, thanks to Victor’s expertise, and he was able to help perfect the stem cell conversion."
Seth nodded, gaze flashing, and he asked the most important question he had — the reason he was here. "Do you think you can do it again?"