He didn't know how long it had been.
He only remembered that he started using Biological Nurturing II the moment after he kissed Rose, transferring waves of the pure power relating to Evolutius Crystals into her.
Thereafter, his sense of time seemed to have been warped as when he came to, he realized that he was falling!
The rock wall behind them had actually melted as their figures were falling back, and Achilles released vines shaped like a hand that cushioned their fall.
Rose was below him as she breathed heavily, her heart beating like a rabbit as her expression right now was enough to make him imagine dangerous things.
But he recalibrated his mind as he remembered where they were, getting off of her and helping her sit up on the hand of vines.
She wanted to say something, but she seemed too embarrassed to do so as her hair burned with green flames, her pupils radiating an even more iridescent green glow as she leaned her head on Achilles' shoulder while collecting herself.
She looked out towards the cavernous Catacomb around them as she regained her voice.
"You…Little Fatty, you're gonna make me a shy girl who can barely look at you in the eyes if you do things like that."
She could only say this as she remembered everything that had just happened clearly.
And yet beside her, Achilles seemed as stable as a rock as he also replied in a low tone.
"I don't think that's possible…"
For Rose to be shy enough to not even look at him in the eyes? He knew that he didn't have the charm for that.
Rose rolled her eyes at his words as she truly didn't think Achilles knew the power he had and just what he could make her feel, and she nodded to herself to use this time to at least gain a semblance of control that seemed to be slipping away little by little.
She stood up on the palm of the constructed vine and looked at Achilles with a determined expression, nearly faltering when she saw his earnest eyes that looked at her like nothing else existed around him.
When she saw such a level of emotion, she wondered if she was worth such a thing.
She only froze momentarily before she steeled herself and continued.
"Mmm, as the older one in this relationship, I will steer the ship towards grand directions and avoid any invisible icebergs."
Achilles raised his brows with a smile as he looked at her up and down, and she nodded defiantly while meeting his gaze.
He raised his hand in defeat as he leaned back on the constructed vine palm and looked at the ceiling of the Evolutius Catacombs.
"Alright, you're the captain of the ship, Miss Rose Adrian. I'll follow your lead."
He said such words as Rose nearly lost the control she was trying to establish, coming down beside him again as they enjoyed a precious silence.
It was a moment of peace.
Something he felt like he could not buy anywhere, something that felt invaluable.
He wanted a moment to last forever.
He did, but…his eyes were too drawn to that vibrant green Meridian flashing on Rose's hand as he couldn't help but trace it!
Meridian Transformation.
While his own body felt full and constantly undergoing change, he was able to use the Biological Nurturing II quality to actually transform Rose's body enough to the extent that she opened her first Meridian!
It seemed like a secondary product as he felt like his biggest accomplishment was that kiss.
Rose blinked as if she finally also remembered the tremendous power up her body had just obtained as she flexed her hand while sitting up.
"How do I even explain it? It's like…an engine or an organ I never knew I had was turned on. It pulses every second to release these heavy waves of power, and it's like I can draw out a tremendous amount of power from it whenever I want."
She moved her hand around as she traced the Meridian with her own fingers, marveling at its radiant glow.
"An engine or an organ…"
Achilles repeated her words and nodded as this description was unique.
Rose had such a thing as her flames had even melted the rock wall behind them, and yet he only felt a smidge of warmness.
These were the flames of a Meridian Transformation Advanced Human- a Unique one like Rose at that!
If his defenses were that robust, did it mean that even before awakening his own Meridian, he could match a-…!
His figure rose up suddenly.
His eyes became stern and heavy as he looked out far behind them!
He called out to rose beside him who was startled by his change, but his gaze became increasingly serious as the Thermoreception quality from the Organic Arachnida Lifeform picked up three sources of heat rapidly approaching here!
One vile sensation that felt distinctly familiar.
And in a few seconds…
A man clad in lightning stopped at the entrance of the wide cavernous space they were in, his figure adorned in an Evolutius Armament that looked like a reinforced suit.
He had a vibrant Meridian on his right hand as moments later, the figures of two others with a lit-up meridian in their hands also appeared!
A slender man with a red mohawk and a crimson meridian, and a slightly wide woman with a brown Meridian!
All three arrived and stared ahead in stupefaction as at the forefront, the visage of the Lightning Hand, Amos, shook his head with incredulity as he actually began to laugh right after.
"What the hell? Like, really…"
His eyes were locked onto Rose and her right arm as if he were staring at the most prized thing he had ever come across!
The moment they appeared, Rose became stern while standing right beside Achilles, but Amos continued to laugh as he shook his head with a sense of obsession and incredulity.
"You just awakened today, do you realize that? And now, you already have an awakened Meridian? Even the priciest Induced Acceleration Body Modification program in the City of Neon can't do that you know?!"
Dangerous blue lightning flashed around him as his gaze became that of utter infatuation.
Amos looked towards Rose as if she were a prized object he could not miss out on, his voice thundering out as he began to walk forward!
"What is your answer, Rose Adrian?! The contract and everything else is ready as I don't think I can wait any longer!"
His voice was booming.
But in its loudness, he failed to realize something.
The person he was not even looking at besides Rose.
The man he ignored while he roared at the woman beside him.
His eyes…became entirely covered by a dangerous purple light as out of nowhere, a lightning bolt covered with incandescent lights of blue, green, and purple flashed!