Chapter 67: Whispers Beyond the Bloom
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The wind over the Garden was no longer just air. It carried something older—memories, forgotten songs, fragments of voices from another time. As the petals fell like snow, the world itself seemed to hold its breath.
Perspective: Riku
Riku stood near the edge of a cracked stone bridge, staring down at the pond below. The water shimmered unnaturally—glimpses of a forgotten city beneath its surface, distant screams, and laughter echoing across eons.
He clutched the pendant again. The Seeds pulsed inside it, growing warmer with every step deeper into the Garden.
"We're nearing the core," Airi said softly behind him.
Riku didn't turn. His voice was hoarse. "I saw my brother last night. In a dream. Or maybe it was a memory. He told me something I still can't understand."
Airi walked beside him, placing a hand on the cracked stone.
"What did he say?"
"He said: 'When the ninth breaks, only the forgotten can mend what was never whole.'"
She frowned. "Cryptic enough to be prophecy. Or poetry."
Riku let out a breath that felt like it belonged to someone else. "Or a warning."
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Perspective: Kohana
Kohana sat with Rei and Kaoru in a clearing surrounded by dying bloom trees. Their petals, once a vivid azure, had dulled to grey.
She ran her fingers through the grass. Beneath her hand, she felt trembling.
"It's like the Garden is scared," she murmured.
Kaoru looked up from cleaning his blade. "The Garden is alive. Maybe it should be. If the Remnant is as old as they say... this place may have seen him born."
Rei remained quiet.
Kohana turned to him. "What is it?"
"I had a flashback," he said finally. "Of my old squad. But... they weren't blaming me this time. They were warning me. 'Not everything that blooms is beautiful.'"
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Perspective: Sera
Sera leaned against a pillar deep within a shrine overgrown with vines. She stared at a faded mural. Nine figures stood surrounding a throne of petals. One was crossed out.
A chill passed through her. Her hand hovered over her heart where the Seed of Reflection pulsed like a second heartbeat.
"Why does it feel like we were always meant to end up here?" she whispered.
Toma's voice replied from the shadows. "Because the story was never just ours. We inherited it. But that doesn't mean we have to repeat it."
Sera turned to him. "But what if we already are? What if we're the second coming of their mistakes?"
Toma stepped into the light. His eyes were calm but fierce. "Then we make new endings."
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Flashback: The Originals
A thousand years ago, the Nine stood in a circle around the First Garden.
The Bloom King, radiant and golden, raised his hand. "The world is fragile. We are not gods. These Seeds are not salvation. They are reminders."
But one among them, the Ninth, knelt.
"Why give gifts if we cannot choose how to use them?"
The others turned.
"You misunderstand," said the Bloom King. "Power cannot heal what's broken inside."
The Ninth rose, eyes full of sorrow.
"Then I shall become the reminder."
He vanished into the Garden, leaving silence.
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Perspective: Veyla
Veyla watched the team from afar. Her robes trailed behind her like mist. The starlight on her skin glowed brighter with each passing hour.
"It is happening again," she whispered. "But this time, you must choose better."
Her hand trembled. Not from fear. From memory.
Because she had been there once. Long ago. And she remembered the Ninth's eyes. Not mad. Not evil.
Just... human.
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Back in the Present
The group gathered in the stone cathedral at the heart of the Garden. The doors had appeared overnight, carved with shifting symbols.
Riku looked at each of them. Tired, bruised, but still standing.
"We're almost there. We either find the truth... or we lose ourselves."
Airi nodded. "Together. No more secrets."
One by one, they placed their hands on the door.
It opened.
And inside was not a battle.
But a boy.
Sitting on a throne of vines.
He looked up, eyes shimmering with ancient light. "So you've come."
Riku stepped forward.
"Are you the Ninth?"
The boy smiled. "I was. But now... I'm just what's left."
Silence fell.
Then the throne cracked.
And the world began to shift.
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