NOVEL NEXT 131- Fleurine’s Message
Volume 04, Chapter 131
Fleurine's Message
The last thing I remember is that I was facing Guzman, then there was a flash, an explosion, the world torn apart by darkness and lightning. It was my spell, my own doing.
Now, there is nothing, just darkness so absolute it swallows even the memory of pain. I try to move, to reach out, but I cannot feel my arms or my legs. There is no sensation, no up or down, just endless black pressing in on every side.
How long have I been here? Minutes? Hours? Days? Time slips through my fingers like water. I try to count, try to remember what comes after a thousand heartbeats, but it is useless. There is no heartbeat here. Nobody. Just me and the echo of what I did.
Is this hell? Is this what awaits someone who destroyed his town? I was supposed to protect them, the people of Eñeforte. And yet, in the end, I was the one who destroyed everything. Guzman died, but so did everyone else.
Damn it. I should have found another way. I should have made a spell that was not so devastating, that did not burn everything to ashes. If I had not lost control, if I had not let anger and desperation guide me, maybe the town would still be standing. Maybe Celine would still be alive.
Maybe I am right where I belong, alone in this endless dark. Maybe this is justice, the price for my failure.
If this is my punishment, then I accept it. I deserve it. After all, how could I ask for forgiveness when I cannot even forgive myself?
Let the darkness take me. It is what I deserve.
"Hey, don't give up just yet!"
A girl's voice, young and bright, slices through the darkness. It startles me so much I almost gasp.
Suddenly, the world shifts. The blackness evaporates, replaced by the scent of sweet earth and a thousand pink petals fluttering in a gentle breeze. All around me, a sea of pink flowers stretches to the horizon, rolling and swaying like living waves beneath a sky streaked with rose gold light. The air is cool, the sun soft and warm.
I feel grass beneath my hands, the solid reassurance of a body I thought I had lost.
I flex my fingers and blink, half afraid this is another illusion. Sensation returns, flooding me with relief so sharp I almost weep. After the weightless emptiness, just being feels like a blessing.
But where am I?
I look around, searching for some sign, some landmark like a castle, a tree, a familiar shadow. Was this the same place where Gaia took me before? No, there are no castles, no endless purple flowers. Here, the flowers are pink.
Stolen novel; please report.
"Hey! Over here!"
I turn. There, standing amid the flowers, is a girl, maybe sixteen or seventeen, her silver hair shining with a faint inner light, her eyes the same delicate hue. She wears a white dress that dances in the wind, its sleeves tinged pink like the petals around us.
There is something familiar about her, though I cannot place it. She walks toward me, barefoot and graceful, each step unhurried, as if she belongs here in a way I never could.
"I thought you'd never wake up," she teases, a gentle laugh escaping her lips. "You and Dominic are just the same, always sleeping in, making everyone wait."
I freeze, every nerve tingling. She knows my name and Dominic's. How?
The girl smiles, as if she can read my thoughts.
"I'm Fleurine," she says softly, extending her hand. "Nice to meet you, Clark."
Hesitant, I reach out and take her hand. Her grip is warm, steady, almost reassuring. Somehow, I know she means me no harm.
Fleurine folds her hands behind her back and gazes at the fields. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she murmurs, her eyes distant, filled with something like longing.
I follow her gaze, letting the silence settle between us. There is a peace in it, a peace I do not deserve.
Then, without looking at me, Fleurine speaks again. "I've seen everything, Clark. Your battles. Your pain. The way you fought Guzman. The way you chose to sacrifice yourself to blow up the town."
Her words strike like a blow, and my chest tightens with shame. She does not need to remind me. The memory of my failure still haunts me.
I look at my hand, but all I can see are the shadows of what I did. I want to say something, to defend myself, to insist that I had no choice, but the words get stuck somewhere between my throat and my heart.
You do not understand, I want to say. You were not there, you did not feel the way panic choked the air, the way the weight of everyone's lives pressed down on me. I did what I thought I had to do. I just wanted to protect them.
But what good are excuses now? The town and Celine are gone. Even if I ever wake up, how do I look André, Clark, Arthur, Célestin, and Lumi in the eye? I can already feel their disappointment, hear it in their silence.
I close my eyes, letting the silence stretch out between Fleurine and me. It is peaceful, almost soothing, but it is also a little terrifying because in this quiet there is nothing left to drown out the guilt. No chaos, just me, standing in a field of flowers, forced to face what I did.
"I failed," I mutter. "I made a choice and destroyed everything I was supposed to protect. How can anyone forgive that? How can I ever forgive myself?"
"You think you're the only one who's ever failed?" Fleurine says softly, her voice gentle and understanding. "Do you believe you're the first person to hurt someone you care about?" She looks at me. "Everyone carries pain like that eventually. What matters isn't that you fall, but what you do when you stand up again."
I try to answer, but nothing comes out. The weight in my chest, the ache behind my eyes, is too much.
Suddenly, the world itself seems to brighten. The sky flares with an impossible light, so pure and golden I have to squint, raising an arm to shield my eyes.
"What…?" The question dies in my throat. The light grows stronger, washing the fields in radiance.
Fleurine glances at the sky, utterly unbothered by the brilliance. She looks peaceful, almost proud. "Looks like your time is up, Clark," she says, her voice soft but sure.
My heart stumbles. "What's happening?" I manage, voice hoarse.
She just smiles at me, kindly. "It means you have to wake up. Remember what I said, you must keep moving forward. Yes, you made mistakes, but that is not the end. You are still needed."
Before I can reply, I feel myself rising, gravity slipping away as if the light has taken hold of me. I spin in the air, helpless and weightless, the pink fields and Fleurine growing smaller beneath me.
She cups her hands around her mouth, her voice chasing me up into the light. "Oh, and one last thing, Clark, say hi to Arthur for me!"
The world dissolves into brightness, the field gone, Fleurine just a memory. For a heartbeat, I want to reach back, but the light swallows everything.