Chapter 56: Catch me if you Can
The sun had long dipped below the horizon, Leaving Euphoria bathed in deep, dark shades as night fell.
The students had finished their combat training hours ago, muscles aching, spirits alive from the day’s victories and tensions.
Lanterns flickered along the arena’s edges, casting soft light against the darkening landscape. Even the trees seemed to lean closer, their leaves whispering as if recounting the battles they had witnessed.
Bulb walked slowly through the quiet pathways of the training grounds, the hum of the cooling night around him. His boots pressed into the soft earth as he thought back to the day— Stephanie’s theatrics, Valkyrie chosing sky, as though they had a thing together and the unexpected turns of alliances.
His chest still bore the thrill of adrenaline, and yet a strange, serene tiredness pulled at his limbs.
By the time he lay down in his camp, the sounds of the night were a lullaby: waves crashing softly against distant shores, the gentle rustle of leaves, the faint hum of Euphoria’s ever-present magic. He closed his eyes, and the world melted away.
The next thing he knew, he was running.
Not in the arena. Not on the training fields. He was running somewhere else entirely— a place that felt impossibly real, yet too perfect to exist outside his mind.
Sand shifted beneath his feet, soft and warm, and the horizon stretched endlessly, tinged with the glow of a golden sunset that hadn’t quite set. The scent of salt and the faint tang of sea spray filled his nostrils.
Valkyrie was ahead of him, laughing as she sprinted across the beach, her wings fluttering with every graceful stride. Her orange hair streamed behind her like a banner in the wind. She turned her head just slightly, and her beautiful eyes met his, bright and challenging.
"Wait for me!" Bulb called, breathless, but not from exertion— something deeper made his chest thrum. The word carried an intensity he hadn’t realized he could summon.
Valkyrie glanced over her shoulder, smirk teasing, "Catch me if you can!" she called, and the sound of her laughter bounced along the water’s edge.
Bulb’s legs pushed harder, sand spraying beneath his boots as he surged forward. Every step was effortless, as if gravity itself bent to let him chase her.
Every step was electric, the energy between them palpable, charged with something he hadn’t allowed himself to feel fully before.
She ran faster, but not for long. Sweat gleamed on her skin, her breathing became more pronounced, and her pace faltered. Bulb slowed only for a moment before closing the distance, his hands outstretched as though the world had conspired to let him reach her without effort.
And then, he caught her.
They collided mid-run, and laughter spilled from both of them, free and untethered. Valkyrie’s hands pressed against his chest, trying to push him away, but her laughter betrayed her, spilling into the salty air. He held her close and careful, but possessive in a way that made the heart race.
"Got you," he said, with a low and warm voice. "You can’t run forever..."
Valkyrie’s chest heaved with her own laughter as butterflies danced around her belly. "Bulb i didn’t know you could run this fast" she teased "You should join the school race team, they’d be glad to have you there".
"You think?..." He laughed.
"Come on...you know I’m right..." She said, feeling his heart beat as the air paused mid convo.
The beach seemed to stretch endlessly around them, golden grains beneath them, the waves lapping rhythmically at the shoreline like a heartbeat in sync with theirs.
In the moment, it was just the two of them— the world outside ceased to exist. Bulb lowered her gently, and they fell backward onto the sand.
They landed softly, limbs splayed, faces upturned to the sky. Stars had begun to sprinkle across the heavens, tiny points of light twinkling like they were being watched by a thousand unseen eyes. The night was calm. Peaceful and magical.
Bulb turned his head to look at her, and for a hot minute, words found him in a way they never had before. His hand brushed against hers, fingertips itching towards hers, and he felt a shock of warmth pass through his entire body.
"I... I think I’ve been waiting to tell you this for a long time," he admitted, voice barely above a whisper, raw in its sincerity. "Valkyrie... I like you. More than I should. More than I ever thought I could. And I... I can’t keep it inside anymore."
Valkyrie’s eyes widened, the depth of the ocean mirrored in them. Her lips parted as she tried to speak, but no words came. Instead, she let her hand move against his, squeezing lightly, an unspoken acknowledgment of what he had just said.
"I... I feel the same," she whispered, her voice trembling, but certain. "I don’t know... I don’t know if I should, but I... I like you too. I have for a long time."
The confession hung in the air between them, heavy with meaning. The waves seemed to hush, the wind stilled, and the sand beneath them held them in place as though the universe itself wanted them to feel this fully and completely.
Then, without warning, the distance between their faces disappeared. Lips met lips, soft at first. It was...testing and hesitant— then with increasing confidence, an explosion of emotion that had been held back too long.
It was a kiss that burned, yet soothed. A kiss that spoke of desire, trust, and the thrill of forbidden closeness.
They broke apart only to breathe, foreheads pressed together, hands still entwined. Bulb could feel the warmth radiating from her, the softness of her laughter returning as they lay on the sand, legs tangled, arms draped over each other.
"Is this even real? All of this?," Valkyrie murmured, though her eyes shone with mischief and delight.
"I don’t know if it is...but let us just...enjoy the moment..." he replied, voice low and intimate, almost lost to the sound of the waves.
They lay there in silence for a moment, gazing up at the stars, letting the intimacy linger. Every sound: the gentle crash of the waves, the distant call of a night bird, the whispering wind— felt heightened and amplified, as if the world had slowed down to let them breathe, just the two of them, suspended in a perfect instant.
Bulb’s heart pounded in his chest. The sky above seemed impossibly vast, stretching forever, and yet this tiny slice of existence, this perfect, suspended moment, was enough to make him feel infinite.
Valkyrie’s hand brushed against his cheek, warm and soft, and he leaned into it. "Don’t let go," she whispered.
"I won’t," he promised, feeling the weight of every second and every heartbeat. It all felt real for a sec...the sand, the waves, the stars, her, him. Them— All of it felt real.
And in that moment, time stretched, elongating, and wrapping around them like a cocoon. The air shimmered faintly, as if the magic of Euphoria had seeped into their very beings, blurring the line between reality and imagination.
Bulb closed his eyes, savoring the warmth, the laughter, the kiss, the feel of Valkyrie’s hands pressing against his chest. He felt her pulse against his own, the sync of their heartbeats like a drum, relentless and sure.
And for that fleeting eternity, nothing existed but them.
Somewhere distant, the faint cry of the night creatures echoed, a reminder that life outside this perfect moment still existed. But Bulb didn’t care. Valkyrie didn’t care. The world could wait for all they know.
He opened his eyes again and saw her smile, small, almost shy now, but radiant. He leaned closer, their noses brushing, and whispered, "I think... I’ve always felt this. Even when I shouldn’t."
"Me too," she breathed, voice trembling with honesty.
"Bulb?" She called. "Open your eyes..." Voice softer than fine sand.
"Huh? My eyes are opened..." He said with confusion in his voice.
"No! Open your eyes...to the real world, all these are not real..." She said, slowly fading away like dust powder.
And then, slowly, softly and almost imperceptibly, the world around him began to blur at the edges. Stars wavered. The gentle sound of the waves shifted, becoming indistinct. The golden sand beneath them felt unreal, like it could dissolve at any second. But even as the surroundings wavered, Bulb held onto the warmth, the closeness and the kiss that lingered.
Because no matter what, in this moment, it was real to him.
And even as the edges of reality began to fade, and the world of the beach stretched into a hazy dreamscape, Bulb’s heart didn’t stop pounding. His hand pressed against hers as she vanished, memories of their laughter echoed faintly [he had remembered]— suspended in time, as if Euphoria itself had frozen them in that perfect, fleeting moment.
Sadly for him... all those beautiful moments, all that running along the beach, all the laughter, the talks, the romantic sparks, even the kiss— none of it was real. It was all a dream, a creation of his mind.
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[Euphoria— Reality]
"Valkyrie! Valkyrie!" Bulb shouted, heart racing, his voice slicing through the stillness of the night— he was still waking up from his dream....
Then, a mocking voice echoed from the camp, sharp and teasing, carrying a tone that made his blood freeze while still in his dream.