Chapter 17: Gift
On the dark night in Forks, two people basked in each other's love.
No one knows how much time had passed since they broke through the thin veil that once separated friendship from romance.
Mark's eyes shimmered with a cerulean blue as he gazed into Edythe's golden ones.
Edythe looked into those brilliant cerulean eyes—it was like staring into the sky itself.
"I…" Edythe wanted to break the silence.
But before she could say anything, Mark spoke first: "Will you be my girlfriend?"
As a man, Mark felt he should take the initiative.
Upon hearing Mark's question, Edythe smiled beautifully, leaned in toward his lips, and replied:
"You're already mine. Don't even think about escaping!" Edythe took the lead.
Another passionate kiss followed—Mark was ecstatic and more eager this time.
He ran his hands along Edythe's slim, smooth waist, savoring the delicate curves of her soft body.
His hands moved up her back, down to her waist, past her hips, and came to rest on her thighs.
Edythe wasn't exactly shy either—her hands explored Mark's chest and slid down to his sculpted abs.
The atmosphere grew more intense. Mark's lips traced from her cheeks to her collarbone, then climbed to the base of her neck near her left ear.
Edythe's fragrant scent only made Mark fall deeper—he pulled her closer, kissing her elegant neck.
She simply enjoyed the sensation with her eyes closed, her hands drifting down to Mark's thighs to tease him.
Mark felt his "little brother" begin to wake—and realized it was time to stop. The worst feeling is being hungry and unable to eat.
He stopped kissing her neck and looked at her soft pink lips. After one last peck and a gentle bite, he pulled back.
Edythe gazed at him with love in her eyes and a provocative smile.
Mark caught her look and knew Edythe wasn't innocent—she did that on purpose, trying to tease him.
He pretended not to notice but thought to himself: One day, she'll regret playing with fire.
"So… we're officially dating?" Mark asked, just to confirm.
"Of course. You don't plan on stealing my first kiss and running away, do you?" Edythe teased.
Wait—don't girls usually say that about their "first time"? What does a kiss have to do with it? Mark thought.
But he didn't mind, and pulled something from somewhere. When Edythe looked, she saw that Mark was holding a small box in his hand.
She wondered where he got it from, but just watched, waiting for him to speak.
"Well, I have a gift for you. I hope you'll wear it at prom when I come pick you up," Mark said, handing the box to Edythe.
"I haven't even invited you yet. How do you know we're going together?" Edythe joked as she accepted the box.
She was eager to see what Mark had gotten her.
"Now that you're my girlfriend, you still plan to ask someone else? Keep dreaming…" Mark feigned jealousy.
Edythe just laughed, nudged him playfully with her shoulder, and turned her attention to the gift box. She asked, "Can I open it now?"
The box wasn't small—about the size of an adult man's palm. Judging by its design, it looked quite expensive.
"Of course—it's yours. Go ahead," Mark replied.
"All right." Edythe was filled with anticipation. After taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the box.
When she saw the necklace inside, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "It's so beautiful!"
Mark, watching from the side, was thrilled to see that she liked the gift.
"Do you like it?" Mark asked—even though he already knew the answer.
"I love it. I've never seen anything like this. Where did you buy it?" Edythe asked, looking at Mark.
It was a necklace with a black gemstone tinged with red. It looked almost carved from blood, and the chain shimmered like polished silver.
But what Edythe didn't know was that the materials used to craft the necklace came from another world.
The chain was forged from a metal called Lunar Silver—a mineral bathed in moonlight for billions of years, mutated and imbued with unique properties.
As for the heart-shaped crystal, it was a rare ore known as Dragon's Blood.
Its description stated that this gemstone was extremely rare and hard to find. In a certain fantasy world, when a dragon dies, there's an almost zero chance that a crystal like this will form.
It contains nearly infinite magical power within it. After Mark used his crafting skill, he created this necklace and named it: Eternal Night.