Chapter 7:

Zayne cannot recall the first time the jasmine appeared.

Even since he took upon the mantle of Foreseer, the Tower of Thorns had always been home to the jasmine that never bloomed.

It is like a riddle forever waiting to the solved, or maybe it’s a metaphor for his fragmented memories.

The jasmine’s existence is an unremovable thorn—a reminder of his past, of his failure to remember who he is.

Zayne dreams the same dream. It is one he has dreamt of many, many times. He kisses the jasmine bud, and then his entire being sinks into darkness.

“Zayne, Zayne.”

He yet hears her, her voice cutting through the shadows.

Why does her voice sound as if it’s from the jasmine itself and from the distant past?

Zayne waits for the darkness to swallow him once more, yet when he opens his eyes, the jasmine he kissed in his dreams has turned into the face of a girl.

**********

MC: “Zayne, Zayne.”

I frantically knock on Zayne’s door. Time passes before Zayne opens it. He appears to have just woken up, his eyes hazy with sleep.

——————————

MC: “I thought you were normally awake at this hour.”

Zayne doesn’t respond. He only looks at me, as if I were a stranger.

MC: “Never mind. Follow me!”

Brimming with excitement, I grab Zayne’s sleeve. I am surprised he lets himself be dragged out of his bedchamber.

**********

I bring Zayne to the top of the Tower. In the joyous glow of the sun, the jasmine’s trembling petals unfurl one after another.

MC: “Zayne, the jasmine has bloomed!”

I check Zayne’s expression, curious about his reaction.

His eyes hold a burning spark as he looks at me.

MC: “...What? Haven’t you been looking forward to this?”

Zayne lowers his gaze, suppressing the light in his eyes. It seems he’s looking at the jasmine and me.

Zayne: “...At last.”

MC: “Well? Am I not a skilled gardene?”

Zayne: “You were late.”

MC: “...?”

MC: “When not a single blade of grass grows here but a strange jasmine, you don’t need a gardener.”

Zayne: “Hence why it only bloomed in your presence.”

MC: “...Don’t shower me with praise. Now you’re making it sound like this was bound to happen.”

Deep in thought, Zayne stares at me.

MC: “Have I offended you again? Why are you looking at me like that?”

His gaze shifts to my hand still holding his sleeve.

MC: “Oh, I’m sorry. I was too excited.”

As I let go, Zayne grabs my hand.

Zayne: “This is not a mere coincidence.”

MC: “...What?”

Zayne: “You are not the first to step foot in the Tower of Thorns.”

Zayne: “No one has been able to make the jasmine bloom. Only you have succeeded.”

Something about his voice makes my heart beat more quickly.

MC: “What is it? You’re not your usual self...”

Zayne: “You’re right.”

Zayne hesitates, an indescribable emotion flooding his eyes.

Zayne: “Allow me to take you to another place.”

MC: “To where? You said I could leave once the jasmine blooms, did you not?”

Zayne: “Do you want to leave now?”

MC: “I...”

Do I?

Do I want to steal the Creatio Protocore, make Zayne lose his power, and leave him imprisoned in the Tower forevermore?

MC: (No... I don’t want him to be “perpetually frozen” anymore.)

But... I will die, won’t I?

**********

I never expected Zayne to take me to the field of jasmines in Philos: Floral Inquiry.

Under the warm sunlight, we walk amongst the sea of flowers.

**********

MC: “Zayne?”

He turns to me. The expression on his face is familiar yet unfamiliar.

It’s unfamiliar because of how different the Foreseer and I are—the distance between us a chasm. But... the current him reminds me of that wraith.

I don’t understand. Is the person in front of me real or an illusion?

Zayne: “Why did you bring me here, Zayne?”

Zayne’s eyes shimmer like a lake on a midsummer’s day.

Zayne: “I wish to confirm something.”

MC: “...What is there to confirm?”

He cups my cheek, seemingly losing himself in nh eyes

His gaze shines bright. My heart is racing, violently beating in my chest.

Zayne: “That... I won’t lose you again.”

But then, a suffocating indigo is all I see.

The blinding light consumes my vision while my heart feels like it is being crushed. I clutch my chest and faint.