'What strange fruits...' Atlas thought, noticing their peculiar shape, similar to the Burning Heart Peach, fruits native to the High Elves' highlands of the West.
This fruit was almost identical in shape and size to those unique peaches. The only substantial difference was its color, which resembled orange amber with a scarlet liquid flowing inside the tiny veins on the surface.
'This kind of fruit produced by a tree fed by lava will surely have incredible effects... Perhaps the mystical formation surrounding this little paradise was generated by the owner of this tree.'
Those little fruits had attracted his undivided attention and awakened the lustful dragon dormant in his heart.
He was about to leap and catch one of those glowing branches when he felt a firm pinch on his waist.
Looking at his new companion, he noticed she was rather annoyed.
Talking was impossible, but the girl seemed not too bothered about that and, with a simple hand gesture, let the young man know her thoughts.
Suddenly, a small inkwell and a majestic feather with celestial colors appeared in Rose's hand.
Without wasting any more time, the girl dipped the tip into the small container, and it came out soaked in a brilliant layer of red ink, thick as blood.
The pen gave off a very pungent odor that invaded the nostrils, burning even the ends of the inner hair.
Distracted by that smell, Atlas did not even realize that Rose's hand had moved so fast that the tip of the feather had left a tiny mark on his wrist.
It was a small symbol similar to a Chaos Rune, but within seconds, it vanished as if it had been absorbed into her body.
'Shit...' Atlas hastily freed himself from the grip of that soft palm and stared at the girl with a frigid expression.
He wanted so badly to scream... what have you done to me??... but that beast hovering around them kept him from committing a foolish act.
Concerned about what the presence of that mark in his body might entail, Atlas abruptly rubbed his wrist in a futile attempt to unearth that demonic ink.
Unfortunately, it was all to no avail.
Anguish turned to anger, so he unleashed one of his most nefarious glances at the young woman to strike fear into the foolish heart. Still, Rose's expression quickly soothed that anger, shattering it to smithereens.
There was an eerie smile on that tender face, which sent him a warm feeling.
'Maybe... this witch cursed me...'
One crazy idea after another invaded the young man's mind, and Rose seemed to rejoice in it, for the more his worry grew, the more that eerie smile widened.
It was inevitable. Having reached the limit of tolerance, Rose emitted a soft giggle.
"Hehehe..."
The sound was suave, but it did not reassure the young man. On the contrary, it unnerved him much more.
'Damn viper..." Atlas thought, seeing that satisfied expression on the witch's face.
He was not one to be easily resigned.
Indeed, he was ready to get the answers he desired in any way from that maiden, even if he had to break his principles.
Fortunately, there was no need for that because he unexpectedly heard an enchanting voice resonate in his mind: 'You idiot... calm down!'
That voice was accompanied by a faint warmth feeling at the same point where the mark had disappeared.
Even more strangely, a tiny portion of his Chaos Energy vanished as if absorbed by that mark.
Such a strange feeling was disturbing but also a little surprising since Rose was somehow communicating with him directly in his mind.
Atlas did not know whether he had to respond verbally or if it was enough for him to answer in his mind, but considering the dangerous place around them, he immediately tried to communicate with his mind: 'Can you hear me?'
'Certainly... I have recovered enough Chaos Energy so we can finally communicate quietly... what a relief..."
'Unbelievable...' Atlas was amazed by this unique ability, but first of all, he wanted to find out the origin of that mark: 'What did it do to me?'
'Hehehe...' Rose smiled again in an unsettling way, to say the least, and then carefully arranged her long hair.
It was noteworthy that her hair was also unique. It was an intact brown at the roots and tended increasingly to cinnamon toward the ends. It was so smooth and soft to the touch that Atlas had stroked it more than once while she rested.
'In your opinion... what punishment do you deserve after seeing my naked body?'
The nightmare he hoped to avert eventually came true, but it was not his fault, so he tried to appease the girl's ire, even telling lies: 'I swear... when I found you, your body was shrouded in a thick mantle of steam... it was impossible to see your seductive curves...'
Hearing his answer, her face turned a bit red. Still, Rose did not give up: 'Hmph... You are quite stupid... First, you tell me that you couldn't see my body because of a so-called mantle of steam... but then you have the nerve to tell me that I have sensuous curves... Doesn't that seem a little strange? If you haven't seen my body, how do you know that my body is so... captivating? Little thief... It seemed that you liked what you saw.'
Atlas was caught off guard by Rose's elaborate response. He wanted so badly to disagree, but seeing the crafty expression on her face, he decided to counter with some arrogance: 'Hey... It is because of you that I saw your body. So why did you get naked in such a place?'
'Idiot... it's already a miracle that I'm still alive... I stayed here for so long that my clothes turned to ashes. And still, I never imagined another fool would end up in this place.'
'Well...'
'Ah... never mind...' Rose interrupted him from keep going: '...Since you saved me, for the time being... I'll gloss over that little incident. But if you want me to remove the curse, I inflicted on you, you will have to do some things for me...'
'A curse???... Why did you do something like that?'
From Rose's expression, the young man couldn't tell if her words were the truth or a lie, so he was enraged hearing her words.
'Hehehe... Who told you to look at my body? However, if you behave yourself, nothing will happen to you. I promise.'
Atlas was even more frustrated.
The person he was supposed to protect had him. How could he imagine that that sweet and beautiful girl was so vindictive?
'You are so unreasonable. After all I've done for you... I only peeked for a few breaths... Don't you think it's too much to curse your savior?'
The girl's expression changed for a brief moment, but then she responded with an irritated tone: 'Stupid. No one except my parents has ever seen my naked body, so you should rejoice that you can still breathe after what you did. Anyway, I'm one step away from getting what I want, and I'm not backing down right now... If you help me get those fruits. I will remove the curse on your body."