Free Web NovelChapter 361: The First Blink Of Eternity
[Music recommendation: NOLIVE - Crushed in Silence]
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With the fire tornadoes finally calming down, everyone sighed in relief. But the relief did not last long, because the destructive and powerful magical circle set in motion by Ivan was expanding at a speed that made everyone nervous as they watched it destroy everything beneath it, closing in on where all of them stood.
And Evelyn was very well aware of this fact, so she finally closed the distance between them and, in a voice filled with countless emotions, called out, "Ivan."
But Ivan did not respond. He continued to remain lost in his oblivion, his burning eyes fixed on the sky, completely unaware of his surroundings, while the circle beneath him continued to expand at an alarming rate.
Before her death, Eve had died every moment without him. She had died to touch him, to feel him again, to be wrapped in his arms and hear him repeat the beautiful, loving words he always whispered to her. Yearning was too small a word to describe what she had felt every moment he was not beside her. She had gone as far as conjuring his image before her just so her eyes could see his face once again.
And now that she stood here before him, alive and breathing, her emotions could no longer be restrained when she saw him like this. To see him like someone who had lost everything.
Reaching out, she finally cupped his face with her trembling hands once more, and her heart thudded against her ribs at the feeling of being able to touch him again.
Her thumb gently traced across his cheek as she called softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Ivan... my love, please stop and look at me."
Tears continued to stream from her golden eyes as she traced his features, only to realise the cracks that had begun to appear on his skin, with molten, lava-like veins visible beneath. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest as she realised he was about to destroy himself in the process.
Sliding one hand to his neck, she called again, her voice trembling, "Ivan, please stop... look at me. I’m here... your Eve."
She closed the remaining distance between them and sealed his lips with hers, hoping that, just as it had happened in the past, it would work again. But even as seconds passed, he did not respond.
No matter what she did, it did not reach him. It was as if he had been so consumed by his rage, grief, and every overwhelming emotion at once that he had shut down all of his senses, unable to register anything happening around him.
"So you won’t listen to me anymore, will you?" Eve spoke softly. Her eyes continued to gaze tenderly at his face, where cracks had begun to appear at his neck and jaw, slowly spreading toward his cheek.
Looking at the damage, she whispered, "You stubborn man."
She sank her teeth sharply into her lower lip to draw blood. Gripping his jaw firmly, she sealed his lips once more. Her tongue probed the seams of his mouth, forcing her way inside to make him taste the iron and divinity of her blood.
A lone drop of blood escaped from their joined mouths, but Evelyn did not care.
Welcomed by the warmth of his mouth once again, she melted. She slid her hands from his jaw to tangle them in his hair, pulling him closer as she delved deeper.
As she did, her divine blood, pulsing with ancient power, slid down his throat. His heart, which he thought had forgotten how to beat, reacted intensely. It was as if he were being brought back to life.
With the burst of that familiar, heavenly taste flooding his senses, Ivan’s pulse quickened. His hands, which had hung lifelessly at his sides, twitched slightly, as if the taste of her blood was finally forcing his senses to awaken once more.
His eyes, which had been wide and burning with a bright, relentless fire since the moment he let go of Evelyn’s body, finally blinked for the first time in an eternity. The first thing that flooded his senses was a surge of overwhelming power pulsing through his veins, followed by the source of that power seeping into him through his mouth.
Then he felt it. Something warm was pressed against his lips, and gentle, delicate fingers were tangled through his hair and the nape of his neck. His first conscious thought was simple: ’Warm. It is so warm.’
With that realization, his body, which had been stiff and strained, began to tremble as his brain received signals from every nerve. It was as if every cell of his entire being had been jolted with electricity, forcing them to come alive and send a tingle across his skin.
All these sensations, all this warmth... there was only one person capable of making him feel this way. There was only one who owned his heart, soul, and body like a queen. There was only one woman he loved in all of existence, and only one he would continue to love for eternity.
Evelyn.
Her name flowed through his hazy mind like a sacred prayer.
His fiery eyes blinked again as he began to understand what it all meant.
Why was he feeling this? Had he finally done it? Had he destroyed the cruel world that took her from him? Was he in heaven now, finally reunited with his beloved to feel such overwhelming emotions?
’Yes. That must be it.’ Another hazy thought passed through his mind, justifying the only way he could possibly feel her again and exist in this state of absolute bliss.
With that, he closed his eyes and leaned in to finally respond to her deep kiss. His arms shot out and wrapped around her, pressing her soft, warm body against his own. He tilted his head and moved his mouth against hers, losing himself in her.
’Ah. This. This is so divine.’ His mind hummed as he kissed her like a man who had been starved for a lifetime.
"Eve..." He finally uttered her name with such reverence before kissing her harder, only to hear her sweet voice vibrate against his lips. "Ivan."
His grip instantly tightened around her. He held her as if he were terrified this bliss would be stolen away once again, afraid to be left all alone in the dark without her.
His own feelings were so overwhelming that he felt wetness trail down from his closed eyes to his cheeks once more. He continued to kiss her more fervently, as if he wanted to merge their souls together so they would never be parted again.
Lost and consumed in his beloved, he felt her delicate hands slide from his hair to his face. She brushed her thumb against his cheek to wipe away the tears that continued to slip from his eyes.
Through her quivering voice, he heard her whisper, "I am sorry, my love. I’m... so sorry."
He knew she was crying. He shook his head and reluctantly pulled back from her lips just slightly to whisper back.
"I’m so very sorry... I couldn’t... couldn’t protect you, Eve. Don’t leave me again. I can’t... live without you."
He lowered his head, burying his face in the warmth of her neck and breathing in her unique scent.
"But now we can live together forever," he continued, pressing her even closer against him. "Wherever we are, I do not care, as long as you are here with me again."
Eve, who had been stroking his hair lovingly, stilled as she heard his words. Her wet eyes snapped open as the weight of his meaning sank in.
’Did he... did he think they were no longer in the realm of the living?’ A soft sob escaped her lips as her grip tightened around his head.
She cupped his face gently, feeling the heartbreaking tears that continued to fall from his eyes, each one a painful squeeze to her heart.
She slowly pulled his head up, only to see that his eyes remained tightly shut.
Her lips trembled as she choked out his name. "I-Ivan... l-look at me. Look at me, my love. I am alive."
He shook his head, his voice a broken whisper. "I cannot let you disappear on me again."
’Oh, Ivan... does he think I will vanish the moment he opens his eyes?’ That thought felt like a thousand daggers piercing her heart, leaving her heavy with grief. She caressed his cheeks with extreme tenderness, as if he were something fragile that might shatter.
"Ivan... my love," she whispered, her voice steadying with desperate resolve. "Open your eyes and see for yourself that I am alive. Your Evelyn is alive and still here with you, in the land of the living." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Ivan went absolutely still as he heard her words.
Eve pressed a gentle kiss to his lips and whispered, "Open them, please. Open them and let me see those mesmerising eyes again."
