Cameliya opened her eyes and found herself in a thick, viscous fog. She couldn't see where she had come from, nor could she see what lay ahead.
Only the crimson flowers beneath her feet, layered upon layers, drifted with the wind across this Sonoro, stretching toward the distance.
"So many years have passed, and in the end… that person still made this choice."
A familiar tone, carrying a hint of emptiness, suddenly echoed through this mysterious Sonoro.
"I never asked her much. Whether it was about Black Shores, or her past with Zane…"
"Could this be the final period before the 'Flower Maiden' sealed her memories?" Hearing that familiar voice, Cameliya let out a cold laugh, as if she were watching the past of a stranger. "Heh, then let me listen too."
As she murmured, Cameliya clasped her hands behind her back and strolled forward alone, as if taking a leisurely walk. Along the endless sea of flowers, she walked toward the chaotic distance.
"Why ask? It would only add trouble. As long as we were happy during our time together, that's enough."
"But now, Zane is gone. Even she is about to leave Black Shores, and… she's going to abandon her own memories."
The vines above her head trembled with each step. Not far away, a vague figure stood alone in a flower bed. She held her head high, as if questioning herself, or questioning some other unseen existence.
"For the sake of… obtaining a better outcome?"
"Hah. For Black Shores, a better outcome means saving Solaris, right? She thinks so, Zane thinks so. Is Solaris really that important?"
"…Compared to you all, what does the survival of Solaris have to do with me!?"
The indistinct "Flower Maiden" of the past roared loudly, like a wounded beast accusing fate.
A gale swept across the sea of flowers, sending broken petals flying everywhere. Even Cameliya, who had walked up behind her, couldn't help but shudder.
In that instant, an indescribable suffocating pressure wrapped around her slender neck like a rope.
"Why should I lose my two dearest companions, the only two opponents left in this world for me!"
In Cameliya's gaze, the phantom of the "Flower Maiden" reached forward, trying to grasp something…
But looking ahead, there was only chaos.
"Ugh…" Cameliya let out a pained grunt. Her brows knitted slightly, yet the corner of her lips still curved upward as always. "Heh… so 'I' had such sentimental moments too."
As she laughed, her brows suddenly relaxed. "I already suspected it after going through the previous worlds."
"As expected, she is the former leader of Black Shores, and Zane is the 'Gardener' who was especially close to the leader."
As she brushed past the phantom of the "Flower Maiden," a gust of wind blew by. The figure that had been standing there turned into scattered petals and vanished, lost within the past.
After walking forward a couple of steps, Cameliya suddenly raised her head to look at the pitch-black sky. In this once isolated Sonoro, a light rain had begun to fall.
As Cameliya lowered her gaze and continued forward, a faint red tint appeared in her eyes.
"The Labelle Index has gotten worse. The doctor and the Shorekeeper both said my current condition isn't good, that I should rest."
"…The people of Black Shores are kind, but unfortunately… I understand myself too well."
Not far ahead, a bright red guided Cameliya forward. Yet at this moment, she failed to notice that the rain was growing heavier, soaking her long hair. The red in her eyes grew even more vivid.
"Treating the symptoms but not the root. Everything comes from emotion, because I've lost my anchor."
In the rain, the phantom of the "Flower Maiden" no longer looked up to question the heavens. Instead, she sat curled among the flowers, hugging her knees, head lowered, her long lashes trembling slightly.
"I've recently remembered some things from before I came to that Village."
"Heh, my encounter with those two in that Village… was it a gift from fate, or a curse?"
"But now, recalling the past is meaningless. It will only worsen the symptoms of overclocking."
"They're already gone. Maybe I could choose to wait, but can I really wait that long?"
"What if… by then, I'm already dead?"
"What if I never see them again?"
The phantom of the "Flower Maiden" suddenly lifted her head. Her tone shifted from low to excited in an instant. A hissing frequency echoed in the air.
"If I continue treatment, I can barely maintain my current state. But… constant heavy overclocking treatments and forced corrections will only make my body deteriorate further."
"My abundant stamina and spirit, my overflowing power, are all slipping away."
"Heh heh heh, even if one day I really wait until they return, what can a useless person like me do?"
The scenery ahead began to grow chaotic. Vines burst from the ground. Severed limbs and remains, human or remnant, it was impossible to tell, were scattered everywhere. The black vines were mottled with red…
Countless phantoms of the "Flower Maiden" were born from the flowers on the ground like ghosts.
"Unable to live freely as myself, only able to rely on sympathy to receive their care…"
In the next moment, all the phantoms turned their heads in unison, looking at her with determination.
"If this is how I'm going to live in the end, I'd rather just die!"
A piercing frequency exploded in Cameliya's ears. The black sky was suddenly ignited, dyed into a vivid red.
"…It's time to set out. Leave Black Shores, go to the place where I met them, and make it the end of this connection."
"The root of the symptoms is emotional instability, not just the present loss of control, but also the past I've remembered… so I just need to forget the source."
Pain had already begun to climb across this body, but Cameliya still looked ahead, waving away one phantom after another as she staggered forward.
"My clear sense of self is a gift from that person. I can't throw it away."
"For me, essence and instinct are no different. Just like flowers long for water, beasts long for flesh…"
The last remaining "Flower Maiden," who had been facing away from Cameliya, suddenly turned her head to look at this future version of herself. In her clear eyes was reflected a version of herself whose pupils had already been dyed crimson.
"Remove the shell of memory, and my instincts will still pursue them. Find the Gardener. Find her."
———
A deafening clap of thunder startled the girl curled on the ground awake. The icy rain had long soaked through her thin clothes.
But compared to the cold, the pain was more like a starving beast, devouring her body, devouring her sanity.
"You… will never again be able to stand on equal footing with them."
The red-haired "Flower Maiden" now stood on the other side of the crimson flowers, looking at the girl collapsed on the ground with a mocking smile.
Even so...
Cameliya forced herself to stand. Her legs were still trembling, her pale lips drained of color.
Yet she still reached her hand forward.
Ahead of her was the future.
'Even if I forget ten thousand times…'
'As long as instinct still guides me…'
'I will find you again!'
———
At the other shore of death before her eyes, a hand reached out from the light and grabbed her as she fell.
"Damn it, that stupid star chart core actually tried to pull a shell game on me… just wait till I twist your head off and shove it up your ass!"
The familiar curse, carrying a careless tone, made Cameliya's pain recede like a tide.
That's right. As the Gardener, how could he let his flowers wither?
This is the Gardener's instinct.