When Esther burst back into the greenhouse, the sight that greeted her was alarming. The Silver Bloom had grown dramatically, its silver petals fully open and glowing with frantic, dangerous intensity. The tremors were now sharp, rhythmic jolts.
The Eternal Leaf was in a state of critical acceleration, burning through the last of the Stone's containment energy.
Esther moved quickly, locating the quarry chisel Samuel had left behind. She knew she couldn't simply uproot the entire terrarium; she had to surgically remove the plant itself.
She placed the diary open beside the terrarium, finding the page with the final instruction: To sever the connection without triggering the full B-A (explosion), the Keeper must use a stabilizing, natural element.
She looked around the greenhouse. There, in a corner, was her grandmother's famous Akwụkwọ Ọlaedo—The Golden Leaf—the common name for the common medicinal plant Ocimum gratissimum (scent leaf). Madam Chinwe had cultivated it to a magnificent size.
Esther rushed to the plant and tore off a handful of its broad, vibrant leaves. The scent of sweet basil was instantly calming.
She returned to the terrarium. The tremors intensified; the Silver Bloom was seconds away from detonating.
Esther took a deep breath, and with one hand, she pressed the chisel into the soil around the base of the Silver Bloom, severing its roots. With the other, she quickly wrapped the base of the plant in the cooling, medicinal scent leaf.
The moment the roots were cut, the Silver Bloom flared with a blinding white light, emitting a sound like screaming metal.
Esther clutched the precious, glowing plant, shielding it with her body and the scent leaf, and ran back out of the compound, heart pounding. She had the Bloom. Now she had to trust Fortune's bargain and Samuel's strength.