Shout out to all the people who faithfully read, comment, and vote for each chapter. 🥰 You guys spoil me!

{this chapter is dedicated especially to cessielib11 thank you for your support from the beginning & for your wonderful books, that's where I got my inspiration for this chapter}

~YAMI~

He wasn't afraid to make Charlotte depend on him if he needed to, it was better than watching her try and cover up her pain. Carrying her over to the stalagmites, he shifted her and instructed, "Grab my sword, you can use it to scrape off the dust we need."

He was met by a long pause. Then, without a word of reply, Charlotte twisted around in his arms to reach for the sword. Pulling out the long object from his hip, she awkwardly managed to hold it in such a way where she could scrape the surface of the stone.

When she had finished filling the pouch, she pulled the drawstrings closed and tossed it into the spacial pouch. During the whole process, Charlotte's hand hadn't touched the stone once, and by this time Yami was extremely curious as to what color her mana would manifest as in the stone. Instead of asking, he simply moved her so that her hand bumped into the stone. She exclaimed in curiosity as she saw the stone light up a true, deep blue.

"Oh, wow. Is this why they call it a Hikari stone?" She spoke the first words since he picked her up, and then turned to look at his face for an answer. Soft blue light illuminated the room, gracefully outlining her features as if they were underwater.

"Mhm, this color suits you... When you touch them, they transform your mana into light. If you focus on sending more mana into the stone, it will glow brighter for a longer period of time," Yami replied. She reached out her hand and touched the stone again, this time it surged with color, brightening the room even more.

The same color of her eyes, just like the color of a sparkling ocean at midday. Truly breath-taking. I wish I could live in those eyes... for the rest of my life...

"Look, over there," Charlotte said, breaking his trance. She was pointing to the entrance of what looked like a larger cavern that was down through a thin corridor. Now that things were calmer and the room was so bright, they could see their surroundings much better. Hikari stones dotted the pathway to the cavern, and as they passed each one Charlotte brushed her fingers against them.

Squeezing through the thinner spots, Yami refused to let Charlotte down. She had regressed back into a silent spell, but at the least that meant she wasn't complaining. Once they reached the opening, large stalagmite and stalactite pillars twice the size of the others marked somewhat of a grand entryway. The trickling sound of water rushed through the wide cavern, but it was too expansive for the weak light of the stones at the pathway to illuminate.

Wordlessly the pair went from column to column, infusing Charlotte's mana into each of them. She hadn't used much earlier, so she had plenty to lend out. This time she made sure to cover the stones completely with her mana, so they could fully utilize the light source.

"Do some yourself, I want to see your mana too," she whispered quietly, as if not wanting to disturb the magic of the cavern. Yami huffed, his mana was nothing compared to hers, but he couldn't deny her.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, then pressed both against the stone in front of them. A pale purple light, the color of twilight, shone forth as their mana mixed and combined inside of the stone. He very much enjoyed the warm, silky feeling of the back of her hand as he rubbed it over the cold stone.

After they had infused their mana in the last of the grand pillars, Yami turned to fully take in the cavern. Glistening gems were sprinkled over the cave walls and ceiling, reflecting the light like a million sequins. In the center was a pond that could fit two to three people, fed by a small waterfall at the back.

The ground was covered in a dense, lush moss that softened the otherwise hard surface of the cave. Yami leaned his head down to look at Charlotte. Why had fate been so nice to him recently? Being here with her was truly magical, and it was such a gorgeous scene that he didn't know what to do with his emotions, so he kissed her on the cheek.