Crackle!

Lyra's lightning cracked through the air, splitting one of the beasts clean across the chest.

The smell of burning fur filled the forest, and her hair whipped with static as another monster lunged toward her.

"Gray! A little help here?!" she shouted, swinging her arm. A golden bolt snapped out, blasting another creature back into the trees.

Up above, Gray was hanging from a thick branch, upside down, legs hooked lazily around it. His arms dangled freely, and he was staring at the sky through the leaves.

"Hmm…" he murmured. "Do I really have to move…?"

Another monster charged Lyra from behind, and she zapped it instantly, her golden eyes twitching.

"YES! You lazy idiot!"

"Fine, fine…" Gray sighed heavily, letting his head hang lower.

He raised his right hand slowly, tightening his fingers.

SPLURT!

All at once, thin, near-invisible threads shimmered faintly in the sunlight, stretching across the forest like a spider's web.

The moment his fist clenched, the threads snapped tight, slicing clean through everything they touched.

The monsters froze mid-step.

Then, one by one, they fell apart, limbs sliding off bodies, black blood soaking into the earth.

Silence followed.

Gray loosened his grip and let out a small yawn.

"There. Happy?"

Lyra stood surrounded by twitching corpses, arms crossed, her golden lightning still flickering faintly around her shoulders.

"Was that so hard?"

Gray blinked at her from his upside-down view.

"It spends too much mana," he muttered.

"You mean it spends too much effort," she huffed.

"You say that like there's a difference." He tilted his head, smiling faintly.

Lyra glared at him, her cheeks puffing slightly.

"Next time, I'm letting them eat you."

"Then you wouldn't have a husband," Gray tilted his head, a smirk creeping across his lips.

Her face went bright red instantly.

"H-HUSBAND?! Who said anything about marrying you?!"

"You did. Just now. By not denying it fast enough," he teased calmly, stretching his arms while still hanging upside down.

"I—! That's not—!" she stammered, glaring harder, but her voice betrayed her flustered tone.

Gray chuckled, finally dropping down from the branch and landing softly beside her. "Relax, Lyra. I'm kidding. Mostly."

"Mostly!?" she hissed, stepping on his foot.

"Ow—okay, okay, fine!" he laughed, raising his hands in surrender. "Let's just find the next crystal before you start throwing lightning at me again."

"Hmph."

———

Two hours passed.

They walked through winding paths, crossed over fallen trees, and even scared off a few more stray monsters.

But no sign of another crystal.

"This is ridiculous. We've been walking forever." Lyra sighed, pushing her brown hair behind her ear.

"You know… maybe we're missing something." Gray leaned against a tree, arms crossed lazily.

"Like what?" she asked, turning her head.

"Like the fact that the first crystal showed up after I teased you."

Her eyes narrowed instantly at his words.

"Don't you dare—"

"What if," he continued, pretending to think, "we take it a step further? Maybe the forest wants us to… make out."

"GRAY!" she shouted, face completely red now.

He smiled innocently.

"It's called a theory, Lyra. For science."

"I'll show you science!" she yelled, lightning sparking faintly between her fingers.

Gray chuckled softly, brushing off his shirt.

"Fine, fine… no experiments. Yet."

He then lifted his head, gazing up through the trees where bits of sunlight filtered through the leaves.

"Around three hours left," he muttered.

Then, casually, he pointed to something in the distance. "How about we take a dip in that lake over there?"

"What lake?" Lyra frowned, looking around, but all she saw was trees and rocks.

"Get up here," Gray said with a small smirk, jumping back onto a high branch.

Crackle!

With a quick step and a burst of lightning, Lyra landed beside him.

And the moment she did, her eyes widened.

There it was, hidden deep in the forest, surrounded by shiny stones and gentle mist, a clear, sparkling lake.

Sunlight hit the surface like diamonds, and at one end, a small waterfall cascaded down silver rocks, the water catching golden reflections in the light.

Lyra's expression completely changed as her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"It's beautiful…"

"Told you." Gray smiled faintly, watching her from the side.

"LET'S GO ALREADY!" she suddenly yelled, grabbing his wrist.

"Wha— hey, wait, I didn't—!"

Too late.

Lyra was already dragging him off the branch, lightning flickering under her feet as she rushed through the trees, heading straight toward the glittering lake with a wide grin on her face.

Gray could only sigh as the wind whipped past them, his hand still firmly caught in hers.

"...You're really impatient, you know that?" he muttered.

"Shut up and keep up!" she laughed, her brown hair flowing behind her like sunlight itself.

Upon reaching the lake, they could feel the cool air, filled with the soft sound of water splashing against the rocks.

Lyra ran ahead, her eyes gleaming like a child's.

"This place is perfect!" she said, kicking off her shoes.

Then, without hesitation, she began pulling off her outer clothes, revealing a bright yellow swimsuit underneath.

It was simple but flattering, a sun-colored two-piece with short ruffled edges that matched her golden aura.

Gray blinked once… then twice. His gaze lingered a little too long.

Lyra immediately noticed.

"D-Don't stare too much!" Her face flushed bright red as she covered her chest with her arms.

"Can you blame me? You look like you walked straight out of a summer painting." Gray raised his hands in mock surrender, a small grin tugging at his lips.

"You really have no shame, do you?" Lyra looked away, cheeks still glowing.

"None," he said easily, still smiling.

She gave him a sharp glare, one that promised lightning if he kept talking.And yet… he didn't stop.

He took a few steps forward, lowering his voice just slightly. "You know, when you blush like that, it makes you even prettier."

Golden sparks flickered faintly around her shoulders, tiny arcs of lightning snapping through the air.

"You're asking for it, Gray…" she warned.

He chuckled softly.

For a moment, neither moved, the quiet tension hanging between them, half danger, half warmth.

Splash!

Then Lyra suddenly turned away and jumped into the lake with a loud splash, sending water flying everywhere.

Gray blinked, then started laughing.

"Pfft… yeah, that's one way to cool down."

Lyra's head popped out from the water, droplets running down her cheeks.

"You talk too much!" she shouted, splashing water at him.

"Sure, sure," Gray said, rolling up his sleeves with a grin.

He ran forward and leapt into the lake, sending a bigger wave right toward her.

"GRAY!"

SPLASH!

"You bastard... Take this!" Lyra shouted, splashing water straight at Gray's face.

"Gah—!" He sputtered, blinking through the drops.

"Alright, you asked for it!"

He lunged toward her, sending up a big wave. Lyra tried to dodge, laughing uncontrollably, but Gray was faster.

He caught her from behind and lifted her easily.

"GRAY—!"

"Too late!"

With a grin, he spun once and dropped her backward into the water like a wrestling move.

Splash!

She popped up again, coughing between giggles.

"You— you idiot! That was so unfair!"

"Fair? You started it!" Gray said, brushing his wet hair back. "I'm just making sure you regret the challenge!"

"Not a chance!" Lyra dove toward him, wrapping her arms around his waist before pulling him down.

They wrestled in the water for a few seconds, laughing and gasping between splashes.

"Gotcha!" she declared, but the moment she said it, Gray twisted around and hoisted her again.

"Rematch!"

"Wait, no—!"

Too late.

He flipped her backward again into the water.

The sound echoed through the quiet forest around the lake. For a few seconds, Gray waited for her to resurface like before… but she didn't.

"Lyra?"

He frowned and dipped underwater.

Beneath the shimmering surface, he caught sight of her brown hair flickering like light itself, streaming deeper into the lake.

She wasn't drowning, she was swimming down on purpose.

"What are you doing…" he muttered under his breath and followed.

The deeper he went, the darker the water became.

Strange ripples of blue light glowed faintly along the rocky sides of the lakebed. Lyra turned, saw him following, and motioned for him to come closer.

Then she pointed ahead.

Gray squinted.

There, hidden behind a cluster of stones, was an opening. A narrow, swirling tunnel of water, glowing faintly with soft light.

Lyra swam straight in.

"Are you serious…" Gray muttered, but followed anyway.

The current pulled slightly as they swam through. It wasn't long, but by the time they emerged on the other side, something was different; there was no more water.

They stumbled out into the open air, dripping wet.

The passage behind them sealed itself with a faint hum.

Gray looked around in disbelief.

It was a cave with walls made of smooth, silver-blue stone that pulsed faintly with light. Drops of water glowed where they fell.

The ground was dry, covered in faint patterns that almost looked like runes.

"Where… are we?" Lyra's eyes widened in awe.

Gray brushed a hand through his soaked hair and exhaled slowly.

"Well," he said, glancing at the walls that shimmered like starlight.

"I don't think this was part of the forest challenge."

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